Country

A wintry blast has hit the deep south, where weather warnings have been covering most of Te Waipounamu overnight.

Severe gales, wind and snow were forecast, but are expected to ease off this morning.

Securing a stable workforce was top of the agenda at this morning's Apples and Pears Conference in Christchurch. 

Sally Murphy has the rural news. Audio

Hawkes Bay growers say following changes the Government has made to one of its cyclone recovery packages, they have a clearer path forward.

Monique Steel has the rural news. Audio

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… Audio

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… Audio

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

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. Audio

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

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… Audio

Waikato Federated Farmers dairy chair, Matthew Zonderop, says the combination of inflation, paying wages, high feed prices and a falling beef price schedule is putting people off raising bobby calves.