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Featured Country Life stories
Carving a business out of salvage timber from the Canterbury quakes
Ever wondered what happened to some of the damaged timber from the Lyttelton wharves after the Canterbury earthquakes?
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Could kiwi be used on pest patrol in orchards and vineyards?
18 Oct 2025A recent study has filmed the rare and vulnerable birds entering vineyards and orchards at night to feast on beetles, weevils, grass grub and other insects.
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Tech is key on this Tirau dairy farm
18 Oct 2025When it comes to farming, planning for the next season today is key for a fifth generation Waikato dairying family.
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'Big money' changing hands at Feilding saleyards
11 Oct 2025Global demand for red meat is driving strong prices for sheep and cattle, some of the best former Feilding farmer Eric Linklater has seen.
Country Life headlines with summaries.
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New kiwifruit orchard bought to fund Mormon church
The investment arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has purchased a new kiwifruit orchard in Bay of Plenty.
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Barker's $60m factory expansion nearly complete
The iconic South Canterbury fruit company's factory expansion will come to fruition later this year, in efforts to "future-proof" the growing business.
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Government's cut to methane target a 'missed opportunity'
But the Climate Change Minister said the new lower methane target would give farmers certainty and keep the country on track to meet its other climate commitments. Audio
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Global leaders gather for New Zealand's largest ever climate event
13 Oct 2025The Adaptation Futures Conference, recognised as the world's largest and most influential climate adaptation gathering begins in Christchurch today.
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Cattle, cookhouses and call of back country
Country Life spends a day with the stockmen, farmer and cook at Molesworth Station, peeling back the mystique of New Zealand's most famous farm. Audio
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Growing vegetables 'like cakes relying on solar energy'
11 Oct 2025David Ruan says the colourful vegetables growing in his garden are like little mooncakes relying on the sun for energy, hence the name Suncakes Gardens.
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From shearing shed to chic
4 Oct 2025Country Life visits a shearing shed where the wool clip's being turned into fashionable woollen coats.
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Inside the Kiwi cream cheese factory whipping up treats for Asia
4 Oct 2025A growing taste for pastries, cakes and dairy-topped drinks in China and Southeast Asia is fuelling demand for New Zealand-made cream cheese.
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Farming, tea and tales gone by
27 Sep 2025Farmer Ian Buckingham was born at Lansdown Farm at Hook near Waimate 85 years ago, and he's never left.
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Storm's got your back (and knees)
27 Sep 2025Physio and farmer Storm Baynes-Ryan gives in-paddock advice to help Te Tai Rāwhiti farmers recover from injuries, stay strong and keep fit.
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Country Life: Sniffing out new life at Trufflewood
27 Sep 2025Springer Spaniel Indie has just finished her first harvest as a truffle hunter, showing outstanding skills for a pup.
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Romene: From sheep to sheet mask
20 Sep 2025Southland sheep farmer Megan Seator is unravelling new uses for Romney's strong wool in a range of skincare products.
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The many lessons of the pā harakeke
20 Sep 2025For close to 30 years, Whanganui couple Marilyn and Marty Vreede have been making paper from leftover harakeke from the district's many weavers, while also helping to revitalise te reo Māori.
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A thread runs through it
20 Sep 2025Huhana Smith grows fruit and harakeke at Kuku, north of Wellington. Standing on the shoulders of her ancestors, she's growing healthy food and, potentially, a sustainable fashion industry.
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Treading Lightly - shoelaces made from sheep and salad
13 Sep 2025Meet Jacob Smith, the 21-year-old turning wool and veggie scraps into fashion-forward biodegradable shoelaces.
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A cosmic farewell to the man who makes rural radio sing
13 Sep 2025For nearly two decades, RNZ producer Cosmo Kentish-Barnes has been roaming the South Island countryside on the trail of stories for Country Life.
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Dairy farmer rewarded for environmental efforts on Canterbury plains
16 Sep 2025It's all go in the calving shed, but with tech doing the heavy lifting, dairy farmer Dan Schat has time for a yarn about the cold, the costs, and the season so far.
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Country Life: From the Archive - Rewilding at Punawai
After a lifetime of working to clear land, Chris Bolderston is rewilding parts of his sheep and beef farm in North Canterbury.
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A wild night in the bush with 'Jack-of-all-trails'
6 Sep 2025Fifteen-year-old Jack Karetai-Barrett took Country Life on a night walk through Whakatāne's kiwi country.
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DIY crew nail it for pest-free Te Horo
6 Sep 2025A garage in Te Horo is buzzing to the sounds of backyard builders making traps to protect birds moving between the coast and the Tararua range.
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Green brew benefits for livestock emissions
30 Aug 2025Researchers across the ditch are making good progress in their efforts to reduce emissions created from the brewing process, while also creating benefits for livestock.
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Old tool, new cool
30 Aug 2025Beth Pearsall wants to revive the ancient skill of scything. She loves swishing the sharp-bladed tool through her own garden and holds workshops to teach others about the scythe and its uses.
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Trans-Tasman farmers dig deep for dairy's future
30 Aug 2025Swapping science, stories and solutions about regen dairying was the task at hand for farmers, researchers and advisors from NZ and Australia at a gathering in Canterbury.
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Creamy, sustainable and high in fibre - barley eyes up the dairy aisle
A new barley, bred for high fibre and low waste, is being turned into milk and yoghurt - a sustainable alternative with benefits for farmers and big potential in the global dairy-free market.
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