Country Life

This week Country Life celebrates Matariki with stories about Māori horticultural wisdom and a couple setting up star gazing experiences on their farm.

This Matariki, the stars align for Mark and Susannah Guscott - award winners bringing whakapapa and astronomy together on their sixth-generation Wairarapa farm.

The McClutchie whānau explores growing different crops, with aspirations to grow Māori medicinal plants, on their family whenua in North Taranaki.

Nick Rahiri Roskruge is Country Life's guest this week. His work in agriculture and soil science have taken him far afield looking at crops sustaining indigenous communities.

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

This week Country Life is out and about at Fieldays, meets a boy with a side hustle farming quail eggs, and chats around the kitchen table with the Harvey family about their century of farming.

Strong family support, innovation and a dash of good luck have seen the Harvey family of Wairarapa clock up a hundred years on Daisybank Farm near Martinborough. They're banking on a similar mix to see them through the next century.

Hamish Sturgeon is on his first farming venture rearing quails for their eggs. They're healthy, delicious and it's a fun side-hustle keeping the cute little birds fed, watered and healthy, the young teen says.

As Rural Women New Zealand marks its centennial year, it hopes a $250,000 boost in government funding can help fuel its mission to connect, support, and advocate for women in rural communities. President Sandra Matthews is Country Life's guest this week.

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

This week Country Life delves into the world of protein, finds out how a small community raises money for a rescue service through its hunting competition and meets an orchardist with a knack for upcycling as well as growing.

The annual Pongaroar hunting competition is remote Tarara District helps hunters and farmers tackle growing pest numbers, while getting together and raising funds for the local rescue helicopter.

Bob Teale's resourcefulness has allowed him to keep growing a niche range of berries into his 80s at Bruntwood Orchard near Cambridge. He uses upcycled push chairs as picking trolleys and adapted his golf cart to run under his DIY tunnel houses.

Distinguished professor Paul Moughan from the Riddet Institute breaks down what protein is, why we need it and all the things you need to know when considering your protein fix.

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