Country Life

This week we're between the rows at 144 Islands vineyard in Northland and on the Hurunui River where off-the-beaten track tourism is helping sustain a sheep farming family.

Dome glamping, farm tours and jetting up the Hurunui River supplements income and highlights cultural heritage at a traditional sheep and beef farm in North Canterbury.

Old grape vines clambering over a tumbledown shed inspired Jake Dromgool's wine-growing venture 144 Islands. He grows an array of varieties on the volcanic soils outside Kerikeri.

Richard Burke, chief of Leaderbrand, one of New Zealand's biggest horticulture groups, is returning the reins to the family which founded the firm 50 years ago.

A round-up of the week's agricultural news.

We meet a mother and daughter growing microgreens and head to a North Canterbury dairy farm using crops to mop up nasties which could end up in waterways.

Kali sold shoes in China before coming to NZ. She discovered her green fingers just out of Te Puke where she has joined forces with her daughter to grow microgreens.

Trials on a North Canterbury dairy farm have found that early sown oats and Italian ryegrass are taking up excess urine deposited by winter grazing cows.

Nuffield scholar and former Gisborne District Councillor Kerry Worsnop on how policymakers can better work with those on the land.

A round-up of the week's agricultural news.

Hear from an expert on China's consumer market, meet a former dairy high-flyer now farming a very different sort of protein and learn more about a niche rural business using deer antlers.

Jacinda and Richy Sheridan have carved out a niche for themselves, making hunting and farm knives using deer antlers.

Meet a farmer who has developed a food supplement based on a protein extracted from green leaves and established North Canterbury's first commercial hop gardens.

Mark Tanner knows what people in China are consuming. He's the founder of China Skinny, a market research company based in Shanghai.

A round-up of the week's agricultural news.