Country Life

This week Country Life gets up close and personal with some of the animals at Massey University's teaching farm and heads to a high country station near Omarama where merino sheep run alongside shorthorn cattle. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. In this episode: With thanks to: Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening. Send us your feedback or get in touch at country@rnz.co.nz Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

There's a romance attached to living in the Mackenzie High Country, but does it still exist? For Simon Williamson it is the only life he knows. He grew up through the harsh winters and hot summers and loves the challenge of it. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. With thanks to: Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening. Want to chat to us or find out more about RNZ Podcasts? Join the RNZ Podcasts Discussion Facebook group where we share behind the scenes info about our series, and invite you to share feedback, recommendations and ask us questions. Send us your feedback or get in touch at country@rnz.co.nz Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Set on 40-hectares near the university's Palmertston North campus, the Large Animal Teaching Unit, is home to a menagerie of animals for veterinary students to work with. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. With thanks to: Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

RNZ reporter Kate Green has recently returned from parts of Southeast Asia as part of a Jefferson Fellowship exploring food security issues across the region. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. With thanks to: Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Country Life meets Berwick Settle who's worked on huge dairy farms in Russia and China, joins a shearing gang for a day and finds out about the world of heritage seed saving. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening. Send us your feedback or get in touch at country@rnz.co.nz Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In this story for the long-running programme Spectrum, first broadcast in 1972, Jack Perkins joins a Wairarapa shearing gang, on a farm near Masterton. It starts at the beginning of a day's shearing, with sounds of sheep in the yards, dogs barking and shepherd's whistling. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

There's a story to many of the heritage seedlings which Jemma Ostenfeld grows on a patch of borrowed land in the eastern Bay of Plenty. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Twenty years ago Berwick Settle was a Southland sharemilker. Since then he's worked in some of the biggest dairy farms in the world, helping set up farms in China and Russia where cows live year round in huge barns, a far cry from New Zealand's pastoral system. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. In this episode: With thanks to: LICWaimai RomneyEketāhuna MuseumMake sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening. Send us your feedback or get in touch at country@rnz.co.nz Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. You can read more about the Eketāhuna Museum, here. With thanks to: Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening. Want to chat to us or find out more about RNZ Podcasts? Join the RNZ Podcasts Discussion Facebook group where we share behind the scenes info about our series, and invite you to share feedback, recommendations and ask us questions. Send us your feedback or get in touch at country@rnz.co.nz Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. You can learn more about Waimai Romney, here. With thanks to: Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. You can learn more about LIC, here. With thanks to: Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A wrap of conditions on farms and orchards around the country. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening. Send us your feedback or get in touch at country@rnz.co.nz Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. With thanks to: Silverstream Clydesdales Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. With thanks to: Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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'. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. With thanks to: One lucky listener can win a copy of the book - tell us the type of milkshed invented in New Zealand. Email country@rnz.co.nz with the answer to go into the draw - the winner will be announced on next week's show. The couple also have a couple of book tours coming up: Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here. You can find more about the project and track its progress, here. With thanks to: Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details