Farming

Asparagus growers, in the two key growing regions of Waikato and Horowhenua, are on tenterhooks with temperatures predicted to plunge overnight.

Monique Steele has the rural news. Audio

There are early warnings that the just-arrived El Niño weather pattern could produce droughts as severe as ones suffered in 1982 and 1997. 

Monique Steele has the rural news. Audio

The fruit preserving business was founded in the late sixties by Anthony and Gillian Barker as a way of supplementing their farm income. Now it employs over 250 people and produces about 800 finished… Audio

Veteran New Zealand actor Sir Sam Neill takes Country Life on a tour of his Central Otago vineyard just before the 2023 season got underway. Audio

Ruawai kumara grower Warwick Simpson hopes seed contingency schemes will bring hope to the paddocks. Audio

Despite a dry period in Pukekohe in the middle of the month, warmer temperatures and residual soil moisture has stimulated crop growth. Most farmers are through calving on the West Coast and are busy… Audio

This week on Country Life; Since the late sixties, Barkers of Geraldine has been filling Kiwi pantries with jams, syrups and sauces, and since linking up with a French jam maker the rural business… Audio

NIWA says an El Niño has officially arrived. The weather pattern brings strong winds which could cause dryness and drought to East Coast regions, like Canterbury, Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay.

Sally… Audio

Three unlikely bedfellows have joined forces - calling for urgent action over what they say is an exploding population of browsing pests across the country.

Federated Farmers, the New Zealand… Audio