Country Life

This week Country Life learns more about LIC's project to breed bulls which emit less methane, while a Waikato sheep farmer does the same, using genetics to reduce emissions. Also, from the future to the past, step back in time with the volunteers at Eketāhuna Museum.

Volunteers at the Eketāhuna Museum are getting ready to reopen. This treasure chest of curiosities shines a light on the small town's Scandinavian heritage and the challenges of running a country museum.

Alastair Reeves has followed in his father's footsteps, using genetics to help farmers solve problems on farm by breeding sheep that make for good eating, are tolerant of facial eczema and emit lower amounts of methane.

The team of scientists at LIC, the Livestock Improvement Corporation, hope to know by late next year if they can offer farmers more methane-friendly bulls.

A wrap of conditions on farms and orchards around the country.

This week Country Life meets some characterful Clydesdale horses, finds out about the Waimate Trail, explores rural life through objects via a new book and heads to threatened Thornton Lagoon in Bay of Plenty.

They used to be a regular sight on New Zealand's roads and paddocks - the plodding but magnificent Clydesdales. The horses with the hobbit hooves are becoming rare and their personality, dignity and legacy have inspired Susie Izard and her daughter Cate Smith to help save the breed.

Ben Banks is trying to protect the fragile dunes, wildlife and vegetation at a coastal lagoon near Whakatāne. Volunteering his time, he and his family trap for predators and pests but there's another threat to the area - the four-wheeled kind.

Husband and wife duo Te Radar and Ruth Spencer have recently partnered together on a new book 'Kiwi Country: Rural New Zealand in 100 Objects'.

Volunteers are nearing completion of the first leg of a new trail for walkers, runners and cyclists in South Canterbury, the 67km Waimate Trail which will pass through native forest, limestone rock formations, tussock tops, river flats and valleys.

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.

This week Country Life talks to researchers who say there’s potential for the brown kiwi to become a pest patroller in orchards and vineyards. Mark Leishman pulls on his Country Life gumboots to meet an entrepreneur behind an intriguing gateway made of the toughest timber – ironbark, and a visit to a Waikato farming family who’ve been integrating robotics and automation into their dairy operation.

When it comes to farming, planning for the next season today is key, says the Coubrough family. The 5th generation dairying family is are all on the same page - they want robotics to milk the cows for them.

Ever wondered what happened to some of the damaged timber from the Lyttelton wharves after the Canterbury earthquakes? The tough ironbark they were made from was too good not to be rescued and Oxford's Steve Evans was just the man for the job, as Mark Leishman discovered.

Could growers harness the kiwi as a way of reducing pests attacking their crops? A recent study has filmed the endangered birds entering vineyards and orchards at night to feast on beetles, weevils, grass grub and other insects.