Rural
Midday Rural News for 14 May 2024
Growers are scrambling to help their Vanuatu RSE workers stuck here. Audio
Egg and poultry businesses 'lucky' bird flu not here yet
Bird flu, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, was top of the agenda at the International Poultry Council's annual meeting in Argentina last week.
Banned plant toxic to humans and livestock set to bloom
Farmers and gardeners are being asked to keep an eye out for a poisonous pest plant that will bloom in June.
The not-so-lame story of a country vet
Who knows what goes on in a herd of cows as they walk to the milking shed? Plenty, according to Inglewood vet Neil Chesterton, who has made this his life's work and become a world-renowned expert on… Audio
Feeding time at the zoo
Have you ever wondered where all the food for Wellington Zoo's 500 animals come from? The answer might surprise you... Gianina Schwanecke meets with the zoo's animal science manager to find out more… Video, Audio
The last day of the kumara harvest with Doug Nilsson
It's the last day of the kumara harvest at Dunsmore Gardens, a farm on the outskirts of Dargaville. It's also time to celebrate after the grower lost 99 percent of his crop last season. Audio
Country Life for 10 May 2024
This week Country Life is at the last day of the kumara harvest in Northland, joins a quartet of otters at Wellington Zoo for dinner to learn more about where the animals' food comes from and speaks… Audio
'A lot of people are moving back'
A former Taumarunui meatworks has a new lease of life as a pet food factory - and is providing plenty of jobs for locals. Audio
Farming family donates significant land to community
A prominent Bay of Plenty farming family is giving up 100 hectares of farmland that has served them for 60 years.
ANZCO posts full-year profit, bucking industry trend
The profit is a standout considering other major meat players, Silver Fern Farms and Alliance, have posted big losses.
Sheep farmers cutting costs, looking for new income sources as prices plummet
One of them said Wellington was "a vortex sucking cash out of the rest of the economy".
In pictures: From 'shocker' kumara crop to 'best in 20 years'
After the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Gabrielle, Kaipara's kumara growers are celebrating a bumper harvest.
The future of farming: Robots and drones
NZ could have a competitive advantage to be the closest to net zero dairy in the world, fifth-generation farmer Stu Taylor says. Audio
Duck hunting season begins with first wheelchair-accessible maimai
It's the opening day of the game bird season and more than 5000 shooters are expected to turn out today in the Otago region alone.
City couple's mushroom venture sprouts from pandemic
On the rural outskirts of Taupō a young couple have started a mushroom venture far removed from their previous life in Auckland. Maggie Tweedie took a trip to a small block of land amid the green… Audio
From the Archives - D-Day for Ducks
In 1973 Alan Wilkes was out with his Labrador Zara and comrades at the opening of the duck shooting season. This story from the Spectrum archives was recorded on Kohangatera, a network of lagoons… Audio
Duck shooting - a family tradition
West Otago farmer, Adrian McIntyre, says the late grain harvest down his way means there are plenty of ducks around for the opening of the duck shooting season. The first weekend is a bit like… Audio
On the Farm - a wrap of conditions around the country
Many drought-declared areas have now had some rain, but farms still have very low pasture covers going into winter. There's been superb weather for the gold kiwifruit harvest in Bay of Plenty which… Audio