Horticulture
21 Years making Olive Oil - 'It's New Zealand in a cup'
Country Life joins Lot 8's twenty first olive harvest and talks to the olive oil brand's owners Nalini and Colin Baruch who are among the Wairarapa's pioneering olive oil producers. Video, Audio
A bumper feijoa harvest
On the slopes of Hawke's Bay's Te Mata Peak, many hands have been busy harvesting large plump feijoas. Country Life joins the pickers on a beautiful autumn day to find out more about Heather Smith's… Video, Audio
In pursuit of the perfect peanut
Can New Zealand grow peanuts suitable for peanut butter? Eight varieties are being trialed in Northland and one looks particularly promising... Audio
Choice Cherimoyas
Best of 2022 - Rich and Jose van Alphen say people either love or hate cherimoyas. They've been growing them organically in the Far North for more than 30 years. Audio
A sweet spot on the farm
Beef farmer Bex Trotter has transformed a roadside paddock into a strawberry field at Luggate in Central Otago. Despite a lack of tourists Red Bridge Berries has been well supported in its first… Audio
Growing without sight
One of Taranaki's pioneering environmentalists shows his ingenious method using ropes to help the visually impaired continue to enjoy growing things. Video, Audio
Roxy - Sweet, pink and heading to Asia
The new Roxy apple has taken 20 years to develop, is currently being picked and has customers waiting for it in China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Audio
Another season with staff shortages at orchards, farms
With harvest season set to kick off in the top of the South Island, orchardists, growers and hop farmers are facing staff shortages due to closed borders.
It's estimated the region needs 1500 more… Audio
A rum tale
Her parents were among New Zealand's first macadamia nut growers but Janet Charteris has taken over the original orchard shed near Oakura in Taranaki and installed a big and shiny copper still. Janet… Video, Audio
Healing the Land
A gully at the base of Mt Taranaki surrounded by dairy farms has been transformed into a food forest nourished by home waste. The family who live here save energy and water by farming on terraces and… Video, Audio
From Dumpster-Diving to No-Dig Greens
Solicitor Alexandra Morrisey ditched her office job, linked up with her best friend Victoria Sala and, with a baby on the way, set up a veggie box business using the time-efficient no-dig method… Video, Audio
The Otago 'dirt doctor' who fixed his damaged soil
North Otago vege grower Jim O'Gorman has spent the past 20 years studying the soil at his market garden at Kakanui. His research focuses on restoring to health and high productivity damaged land… Video, Audio
Keeping people safe on the orchard and on farm
WorkSafe NZ's Al McCone says two simple things could save many deaths a year in rural NZ. Audio
NZ's largest kiwifruit grower posts increase in profit
Produce company Seeka has posted a 12 percent increase in profits for the first half of the year, driven by more volume coming through its kiwifruit business.
Horticulture and wine industries: Get RSE workers in asap
The horticulture and wine industries are welcoming a government announcement of more seasonal workers from the Pacific, but say the unpredictability of Covid makes it prudent to move quickly. From… Audio
Summer Series - Growing for Gold
Budou table grapes can fetch up to $160 a bunch in Japan. Third generation grape grower Tetsuya Higuchi is growing the enormous, sweet, picture-perfect Japanese style grape in Hawke's Bay. The grapes… Audio
Guest - Stuart Weston, CEO Apata
Our guest this week is Stuart Weston, chief executive of the kiwifruit grower and packhouse operator Apata. The company is on the hunt for land around Whanganui. Audio
25 years of organics - 'We were all rebels in those days'
Cows and dogs as well as people around south east Asia are taking a daily tipple of Kim Baker's organic apple cider vinegar. He is one of New Zealand's earliest organic growers still producing and… Audio
Farming Flavour - chocolate and chillies
Chocolatier Johnty Tatham and his brother Paddy who is experimenting with chillies are forging new paths as the sixth generation on a sheep and beef farm on the Wairarapa coast. Video, Audio