
Country Life
RNZ New Zealand
The Country Life team take you all over the motu to hear the extraordinary stories of every day rural New Zealand.
Location:
Wellington, New Zealand
Networks:
RNZ New Zealand
Description:
The Country Life team take you all over the motu to hear the extraordinary stories of every day rural New Zealand.
Language:
English
Contact:
PO Box 489, Hamilton 07 8580729
Website:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/
Episodes
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 4 July 2025
7/4/2025
This week Country Life returns to a vegetable farm to see whether it's radical plan to feed the community is working and looks at plans for plastic waste on farm. And the team meet a animal advocate who has turned her rural property in North Canterbury into a haven for rescued farm animals.
You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.
In this episode:
With thanks to guests:
AgrecoveryCrooked VegeCanterbury Tails Animal Rescue SanctuaryMake sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:49:59
Snorts, snuggles and second chances at animal sanctuary
7/4/2025
Sharlene Wilson has turned her rural property in North Canterbury into a haven for rescued farm animals who find healing, freedom and a place to truly belong.
You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.
In this episode:
With thanks to:
Canterbury Tails Animal Rescue SanctuaryMake 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
Duration:00:19:05
Crooked Vege's pay-what-you-can model feeding families two years on
7/4/2025
Crooked Vege's pay-what-you-can model for its vege boxes may have been a radical idea two years ago but it's plan seems to be working. The small farm has had its challenges, though.
You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.
If you'd like to support Crooked Vege's fundraiser, go to their website
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:13:57
Agrecovery: Rural recycling on the rise
7/4/2025
Agrecovery's seen huge growth in the 20 years it's been operating, with those in the primary sector looking for new ways to recycle on-farm plastic. "We know the farmers and growers are wanting solutions."
You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.
You can learn more about Agrecovery, here. And for more information about the proposed regulations, see here.
With thanks to:
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:07:17
On the Farm for 4 July 2025
7/4/2025
Country Life speaks to farmers and growers around New Zealand to find out about growing conditions over the past month.
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
Duration:00:07:57
Roebuck Farm: Where the garden beds are rich 'like chocolate cake'
6/27/2025
Over the past 20 years, Jodi Roebuck and his wife Tanya have turned a bare paddock into a thriving market garden with an emphasis on microgreens, teachers others from around the world how to do the same.
You can find photos and read more about this episode on our webpage, here.
You can learn more about Roebuck Farm, 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.
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
Duration:00:18:30
Bokashi by the Tonne: Farmers turns waste into natural fertiliser
6/27/2025
Bokashi, the Japanese anaerobic composting system which ferments organic matter, is helping to maintain healthy soils on a sheep and dairy grazing farm in North Canterbury.
You can find photos and read more about this episode on our webpage, here.
With thanks to:
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:13:26
Rural News Wrap for 27 June 2025
6/27/2025
A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:05:06
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 27 June 2025
6/26/2025
This week Country Life dives underground to take a closer look at soils, from Canterbury farmers using the Japanese Bokashi system to a market gardener making garden beds as rich as chocolate cake in Taranaki. We also unpack the recently announced biodiversity credits.
You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.
In this episode:
With thanks to guests:
EkosRoebuck FarmMake sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:51:01
Dollars for nature - a look at biodiversity credits
6/26/2025
News that the government is looking to support a market system to help fund the huge cost of restoring nature could be music to the ears of farmers and iwi wanting to do their bit for biodiversity but facing huge costs. So what are biodiversity credits and how do they work?
You can find photos and read more about this episode on our webpage, here.
With thanks to:
EKOSMinistry for the Environment
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:11:58
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 20 June 2025
6/20/2025
This week Country Life celebrates Matariki with stories about Māori horticultural wisdom and a couple setting up star gazing experiences on their farm.
You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.
In this episode:
With thanks to guests:
Glen Eden FarmsMake sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:50:40
Stars, soil and whakapapa - 'We're just caretakers really'
6/20/2025
This Matariki, the stars align for Mark and Susannah Guscott - award winners bringing whakapapa and astronomy together on their sixth-generation Wairarapa farm.
You can find photos and read more about this episode on our webpage, here.
You can learn more about Glen Eden Farms, here. You can also learn more about their Star Safari, here.
And for Whitimanuka Retreat, see 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.
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
Duration:00:21:16
'We can grow anything here': A family's growing experiment
6/20/2025
The McClutchie whānau explores growing different crops, with aspirations to grow Māori medicinal plants, on their family whenua in North Taranaki.
You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.
You can learn more about Venture Taranaki's Branching Out, here. Or by listening to this interview with Michelle Bauer here.
With thanks to:
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:14:19
Nick Roskruge - digging into indigenous knowledge
6/20/2025
Nick Rahiri Roskruge is Country Life's guest this week. His work in agriculture and soil science have taken him far afield looking at crops sustaining indigenous communities.
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
Duration:00:08:06
Rural News Wrap for 20 June 2025
6/20/2025
A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:05:14
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 13 June 2025
6/13/2025
This week Country Life is out and about at Fieldays, meets a boy with a side hustle farming quail eggs, and chats around the kitchen table with the Harvey family about their century of farming.
You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.
In this episode:
With thanks to guests:
Rural Women New ZealandMake sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:50:14
From generation to generation - a century at Daisybank
6/13/2025
Strong family support, innovation and a dash of good luck have seen the Harvey family of Wairarapa clock up a hundred years on Daisybank Farm near Martinborough. They're banking on a similar mix to see them through the next century.
You can find photos and read more about 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.
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
Duration:00:21:40
The Quail Kid - cracking the egg market aged 12
6/13/2025
Hamish Sturgeon is on his first farming venture rearing quails for their eggs. They're healthy, delicious and it's a fun side-hustle keeping the cute little birds fed, watered and healthy, the young teen says.
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
Duration:00:11:50
Rural Women New Zealand at 100
6/13/2025
As Rural Women New Zealand marks its centennial year, it hopes a $250,000 boost in government funding can help fuel its mission to connect, support, and advocate for women in rural communities. President Sandra Matthews is Country Life's guest this week.
You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.
You can read more about the centenary rose, here.
With thanks:
Rural Women New ZealandGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:08:00
Rural News Wrap for 13 June 2025
6/13/2025
A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Duration:00:06:52