Country Life

There are two sorts of harvest on Country Life this week - muttonbirds on the tītī islands and walnuts at one of Canterbury's biggest walnut orchards. Also, a trip into the past to visit an historic farm on the Coromandel peninsula, linked to immigrants from Dalmatia.

The tree shaker and nut gatherer are cracking through Clive Marsh and Heather North's picturesque nuttery near Lincoln. By harvest's end, over 30 tonnes of walnuts will have been turned into premium products at a local walnut processing facility.

The story of a pioneering family of Dalmatian immigrants is kept alive through a cluster of rustic sheds on an historic farm near Thames.

Dan Tarrant's ancestors have been harvesting muttonbirds or tītī for 500 years. The autumn harvest is a family affair and a chance to pass down skills and traditions.

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.

This week Country Life is at a pumpkin farm in Whanganui, finding out about seed growing and meets a photographer from South Auckland who's spending time at one of New Zealand's iconic hill country stations.

Whanganui farming couple Clare and Grant Adkins are growing plant protein alongside their animals proteins.

Raymond Sagapolutele was not sure what to expect when he arrived at Castle Hill Station for a Creative NZ residency. The photographer hadn't spent time on a farm before.

Winter's coming up and that means pruning time in the vineyard. How do you prune a grapevine and why?

A round-up of conditions on farms and orchards around the country.

Country Life meets Hawke's bay stud owner Tony Thompson who's been breeding cattle for half a century. The team also find out about an organic vege growing business in Canterbury and chat to a sheep and beef farming family about diversifying their business.

Collecting fine china is one of the passions of long-time Simmental cattle breeder Tony Thompson, bringing new meaning to the saying "like a bull in a china shop".

Tucked under the Tararua Range, fifth generation sheep and beef farmers, the Robinsons, have added a diverse range of income streams to the family farm including finding new purposes for the old woolshed.

They started growing vegetables in paddock for lockdown vege boxes. Five years on, Penny Platt, her brother Ollie and Issac Green grow over 40 crops on 24 hectares of chemical free farmland in Canterbury.

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.