Country Life

This week Country Life is helping with the grape harvest, taking you line-dancing and meeting rural women at the Shepherdess Muster.

A weekend retreat filled with crafts, relaxation, learning, fun and connection in the remote rural community of Tokanui in Southland.

The rurally-rooted dance style has had a resurgence across New Zealand. Country Life attends a class to learn why.

Harvest time at Big Sky Wines, established by Kath Jacobs and Jeremy Corban, begins or ends with friends and neighbours in the vineyard helping to bring in the first grapes of the season.

A round-up of the week's rural news.

ANZ's general manager for business and agri discusses how the Fonterra consumer brands sale will impact rural towns and supermarket shelves.

Country Life visits the Duff family's permaculture farm in the Hawke's Bay, a farming festival in North Canterbury, chats to young Kiwi pilot Henry Phelps, who's fighting Australia's bushfires, and Gary Lancaster of the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival.

The Underground Festival brings rural folk from across the motu together to learn about regenerative agriculture, and share kai from the land. Anisha Satya toured around the event.

The Duff family's focus is working with nature when it comes to their permaculture farm and organic nursery, Kahikatea Farm.

Kiwi pilot Henry Phelps has gone from wilderness flying to helping combat Australia's bushfires, flying planes with special technology which provide photos to assist in the tracking and fighting of fires on the ground. He's not the only Phelps in the air over the fires. Sometimes his brother is flying over the same area in a helicopter, also on a similar mission. Henry chats to Country Life about his job and working alongside his brother as fires rage below.

From wild deer to huhu grubs - the Wildfoods Festival in Hokitika celebrates all foods foraged and feral. Anisha Satya talks to vender coordinator Cary Lancaster.

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

Country Life is with blade shearers from around the world in a woolshed in Tinui and immersed in the many attractions of the tiny community of Duntroon. Sir Charles Godfray is the show's guest talking about how food systems will have to change in the face of global warming.

For a town of only 100 people, Duntroon has more than its share of attractions, with a blacksmiths, a master saddler, the intriguing Vanished World Heritage Centre with its fossils, and a Heritage Trail.

Blade shearers from around the world have been sharpening their tools and their eye before the Golden Shears in Masterton under the tutelage of Allan Oldfield, a world champion blade shearer, at a woolshed in Tinui.