Country Life

This week on Country Life the team catch up with a Wairarapa farming family that's added sheep dairy to their farming operation, and every day is a hoot for Gloria Harris, who runs a little owl and morepork rescue service near Invercargill.

Fernglen Farm is a family affair helping people learn more about the benefits of sheep milk, while finding new ways to balance the hardships of farming on Wairarapa's coast.

Gloria Harris has been running a ruhu nohinohi little owl and ruru morepork rescue service for 30 years. "I've probably cared for close to 300 birds," she told Country Life proudly.

Dean Martin has carried on the legacy set by his dad and is not afraid to try new things - from shedding sheep to regenerative agriculture practices.

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

Country Life this week digs deep into the world of kūmara and finds out about farm training for young people with disabilities.

A training initiative in Southland is giving young adults with high-functioning disabilities the skills required to work on a dairy farm.

It's nearly time for the kūmara harvest at Kai Rotorua and this year there's something new to weave into the legends, poetry and traditional knowledge surrounding the staple crop.

A look at what's been making headlines on the rural news desk this week.

This week the Country Life team catch up with some sheep farmers busy with docking and crutching on the land, and then a taste of the sea, as they sample different seaweeds.

Farming in the wake of the Mt Tarawera eruption has tested the Ford family for nearly a century. But dam-building and a lighter footprint on the land in the sensitive Rotorua Lakes area has earned them environmental accolades.

As part of Aotearoa's first seaweed festival, Pacific Harvest hosted a seaweed tasting event where people could sample various red, green and brown dried seaweeds.

Sometimes it takes an outsider to come in and give a dyed-in-the-wool farmer a wee nudge. This is where Southland entrepreneur Laura Todd comes in.

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

This week on Country Life the team head to a luxury lodge where farming is all part of the experience, and Tuatapere's domain is transformed into a sensory celebration of rural life during the annual Waiau A&P Show.