Cate and Mike King of Pauariki Honey lost a quarter of their hives after Cyclone Gabrielle hit Tairāwhiti in February. They also faced a poor season of manuka flowering. But the raw beauty of the region and its people keep them going and provide inspiration for Cate's batik-style art which in turn is helped along by the bees.

Crafting honey and art from bees

Karamea dairy farmer Peter Langford says he and his wife Debbie are ready to hang up their gumboots. With none of their four children keen on taking over the farm, it's now up for sale - lock, stock and barrel.

"Bring the cash in a suitcase and the farm's yours!"

Two organisations have teamed up to encourage hunters to cull high-density goat populations across the country with prizes up for grabs.

Wild goats in hunters' sights in crack down on destructive population

Kim Swan, joins Country Life this week for a chat about her latest book and what it takes to be a woman on tough terrain.

Pig hunting escapades of a woman in pink

RNZ's rural news reporter, Sally Murphy, takes a look at the week's agricultural news.

Rural News Wrap

This week Country Life meets a couple who are still inspired by the rugged beauty of Tairāwhiti to produce honey and art from their bees despite having lost many of their hives to Cyclone Gabrielle, and they also chat to a pair of Karamea dairy farmers who are putting their remote and beautiful farm up for sale lock, stock and barrel.

Country Life for 28 July 2023

Richard Thompson planted Papaiti forest with alternative species 30 years ago. He never dreamt at the time he would become a timber merchant with a joinery workshop and retail shed.

The Whanganui forest which never stopped growing opportunity

Christopher and Siobhan O'Malley stand in a paddock with smiles that could melt one of the nearby West Coast glaciers. The couple have finally achieved their long-term goal of farm ownership and now have their own slice of paradise.

Hard work makes dreams come true

Agricademy doesn't have classrooms or a campus, instead students can dip in and out of on-line videos, filmed with experts in the dairy or wool shed.

Agricademy - reinventing agricultural training in NZ

RNZ's rural news reporter, Leah Tebbutt, takes a look at the week's agricultural news.

Country Life takes you down country roads to meet ordinary people achieving their dreams. We live in a beautiful country and we'd love to show it. Have you got a great photo? Drop us an email below.

This week Country Life meets the O'Malleys who have realised their dream of farm ownership after saving for ten years. Also, ag training without a classroom and a forester making the most of his 30 year old exotic plantation.

Country Life for 21 July 2023

As well as managing 4 farms and 35 staff, Jack Raharuhi is a passionate surfer who finds his mindfulness on the water. Country Life visits him at Pāmu's Cape Foulwind farming complex near Westport.

Farming and surfing a good balance for young Ag leader

Under new ownership Tio Ōhiwa, or Ōhiwa Oyster Farm as it was formally known, is bringing fresh oysters and opportunity to locals' plates.

'A dream from growing up' - Bay of Plenty oyster farm owner

Push your way through a tangle of bush only kilometres from the Napier-Taupō highway and you are on an ancient pa site. Tangata whenua sheltered here hundreds of years ago but this site is known to only a few. Country Life joins a group documenting the region's cultural sites on a walk to discover a hidden treasure.

Ngā kura huna - on a path to hidden treasure at Opepe

Oyster farm, Jack Raharuhi, Opepe and the Ag news roundup

Country Life for 14 July 2023

Kokopuru Station in northern Hawke's Bay had slips and sinkholes a-plenty but the Hallmark Angus cattle stud managed to rebuild the farm ahead of their annual bull sale.

Bulls for sale after Gabrielle - celebrating the wins 

Lee Pryor has been delivering post along the Whakatāne coastline for 25 years, but he is not the first in his whānau and now his wife has even joined the ranks.

Three generations on the same rural route

Adrian Sutherland has more than a hundred fruit trees on his slice of suburban Gisborne and plenty of veges besides.

A quarter-acre food paradise in Gisborne

I visited New Zealand several times in the past and listening to this podcast transports me back to that incredibly beautiful country.  Greetings from NY

evokes my best memories

I live in New York and love listening to the show every Friday. A wonderful, entertaining and informative program!

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Country Life takes you down country roads to meet ordinary people achieving their dreams. <br>We live in a beautiful country and we'd love to show it. Have you got a great photo? Drop us an email below.

Country Life

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