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Private Notes
Hyundai Country Calendar celebrates its 50th birthday by revisiting families it has filmed in the past to see what has and hasnt changed on the land.
Country Calendar celebrates the life of producer Frank Torley with an episode in which Frank tells his own story, originally aired to mark the show's 45th birthday in 2011.
"Another adventure with Tim" is how one of Tim Wallis’ friends wryly puts it. The "adventure" came about when Wallis combined an “expensive toy”, and a noxious pest: using helicopters to recover deer shot by hunters in inaccessible South Island backblocks. Next deer were captured alive, to stock deer farms; a multi-million dollar industry was born. At the peak of his operations, Wallis had a fleet of 35 helicopters. The aerial shots in and around Milford Sound are magnificent. The stories he tells of his many crashes are 'she'll be right' Boy's Own classics.
New Season: As a boy, John Blakie hated working on the family chook farm. Now he farms thousands of organic chooks and loves it.
Faced with a cap on the number of stock they're allowed to farm, a Taupo couple respond by starting their own beef brand.
Mussel farming allows a family to stay on their land in the Marlborough Sounds.
A Coromandel family grows avocados to avoid subdividing their farm.
A Hawkes Bay farmer goes to the United States to promote New Zealand carpet wool.
A shepherd steps up to her first job as a farm manager.
A vet couple take a break from their farm and business to join a trail ride.
A Northland dairy farmer with a sense of history and theatre, takes us to his world.
Meet a couple who love the farm they work on, even though they don't own it.
A Buller dairy farming couple uses horses for work and play.
Clydesdale horses are at the centre of a Southland farming couple's life.
A couple try farming and love the lifestyle it gives them.
A forester thinks beyond pinus radiata and sees the value of other trees.
A high country station is shared between 27 owners.
A Waiheke Island couple breed alpacas for the world market.
A couple make a remarkable turnaround to win an international deer-farming award.
A family getaway spot becomes a thriving vineyard.
A Kiwi cowboy prefers to work on horseback.
Wild scenery gives Wairarapa farmers extra income through tourism.
A rural vet becomes a chick-lit author.
A young woman works towards taking over her fathers fishing boat.
A family diversifies to keep their farm viable.
A North Otago family win an environment award for their mix of sheep, beef cattle and dairy grazing.
Southland farmers with a passion for producing nutritious food.
A young couple work hard for their farm and their community.
A woman turns her passion for native plants into a thriving business.
A Kiwi and his Samoan partner forge a new business exporting coconut oil.
Season Finale: The sixth generation of a Marlborough Sounds family follow the family tradition of farming and fishing.
A Northland dairy farming family breaks with convention and rears the calves that aren't destined to join the herd. They do it by running a beef farm alongside their dairy unit.
A Bay of Plenty family are among the last in New Zealand with a commercial permit for drag-netting. They've been using the traditional fishing method for nearly 100 years.
A woman achieves her dream of living off the land by moving to New Zealand. Her parents wanted her to lead a city life in Zurich, but Meret Horlacher knew her destiny was elsewhere.
A dairy farming family turn their backs on large-scale production and use their milk to make gourmet cheese. What started as a hobby has become an award-winning business.
A couple develop a way to grow Bluff oysters on ropes hung in the sea, the way mussels are farmed. Their Stewart Island business is booming and international interest is growing.
Becca got her first working dog at nine-years-old and ever since, she's wanted to be a farmer. Now she's achieved her dream.
A young woman from Paris adjusts to life on a salmon farm in a remote part of Westland. Alice now loves jet-boating and horse-riding and doesn't miss her former life in the city.
When an entrepreneurial couple couldn't find good organic compost for their lettuce crop, they decided to make their own and it has led to a thriving business on their Waihi farm.
A team of people spend most of their time in remote bush hunting pests like goats and deer for DOC and regional councils. Country Calendar joins them in north-west Nelson.
Meet a couple who grow roses and work hard to ensure their finest blooms are in peak condition to sell on St Valentine's Day.
Mark Shadbolt is a driving force behind Banks Peninsula Farms, a group of forty four local farmers who've banded together to market and sell their Romney wool overseas.
A Sydney-based corporate high-flier comes home to run the family farm when her father dies suddenly. Many locals thought Jacquetta Ward wouldn't cope, but she and the farm are both thriving.
A couple develop a new business harvesting seaweed so they can achieve their dream of living in a Bay of Plenty community where jobs are scarce.
A couple achieve their dream of buying a big hill-country station and are rewarded with top prices in the sale ring. As a bonus, their Wairarapa farm offers glorious coastal views and great fishing.
A couple fall in love with a farm on the Whanganui River that can be accessed only by jet-boat. They build up a tourism business to supplement the income they get from grazing cattle.
A couple expand their sheep farm by growing peacherines, a delicious cross between a peach and a nectarine. The business proves successful and provides employment for dozens of locals.
Team building is the driving force on a big Landcorp sheep and beef farm in the King Country. Manager Alan MacDonald gives his mainly youthful staff a chance to develop their skills.
Native birds have as much importance as sheep and beef on a Kaipara farm where two generations of a family are committed to raising a future generation of Brown Kiwi.
Engineer Otto Muller is supposed to have retired long ago but the 90-year-old is still full of innovative plans to expand his Central Otago walnut orchard.
A big sheep, cattle and deer farm welcomes people cycling the Central Otago Rail Trail. The Duncan family says the trail is the biggest change that's happened in their 110 years on the land.
A Northland dairying couple farm to fit in with the environment. They feed their herd on waste from Auckland food outlets and recycle effluent onto the land to minimise fertiliser use.
Wairoa Farmer Sheena Martin played with the farm pups at two years old and owned a dog at six. Today, sheco-owns a large team of working dogs and goes away dog-trialling most weekends.
A helicopter pilot musters stock and hunts wild deer in some of Central Otago's most scenic high country. The money he earns goes into developing his own farm in the Cardrona Valley.
A couple run a successful sport horse stud near Nelson Lakes, where they breed horses for eventing, jumping, hunting and the show ring.
A Gisborne couple extend the capacity of their hill country farm by improving the fences. And when they have a day in town, they go off with a roar in their 1962 Chevy.
A bee enthusiast aims to reverse declining numbers by encouraging others to become part-time beekeepers. He says bees are essential if agriculture is to thrive.
A farming couple take on the daunting task of taming wild horses mustered from the Kaimanawa Ranges. Without their intervention, the ponies would face a grim future.
The Wellington wind turns from a liability into an asset for farmers when they encourage the development of a wind farm on their land above Cook Strait.
Series Final: Six generations of a family have run a big Wairarapa farm, mainly focused on sheep and beef. After more than 160 years, they feel so strongly linked to the land that they could never sell it.
Returning: When a boutique family cheese-making business finds the price of milk is too high, they buy their own dairy farm, create more jobs within the family and win national awards for their cheese.
A couple convert historic buildings into a farm-stay and encourage guests to get involved in day-to-day life on their sheep and beef farm. They find their visitors love the hands-on rural experience.
A 100-year-old orchard on the Hokianga Harbour passes into the hands of the next generation two sisters who couldn't face seeing the farm sold and have returned home to work the land.
The far-sighted general who led the New Zealand troops at Gallipoli and in France during World War I came home to build a farming heritage that still flourishes in Hawkes Bay, three generations on.
A couple give up city corporate life to chase their dream of farming heritage breeds of pigs free-range, then develop their own range of small goods to sell at farmers markets and on-line.
One teaches horse-riding, the other ballroom dancing, but a couple find common ground in their careers and personal lives and say both activities involve building successful partnerships.
A couple successfully farm merinos in a low-rainfall area by ensuring the plants suit the different types of land on their North Otago farm.
A couple use biological farming methods on their Hawkes Bay farm, focusing on the health of the soil to improve the quality of their stock and crops.
Family life on a remote but beautiful farm at French Pass in the Marlborough Sounds would be too tough for most, but Georgie Archbold loves it she was brought up on D'Urville Island nearby.
Matt Newton, a larger-than-life character who combines farming with flying helicopters, goes on a bush cattle muster with a group of volunteers seeking action and excitement.
Former corporate high-flyer Debbie Campbell had no farming background when she left the city to buy an organic orchard but she loves her new life in Golden Bay and hasn't looked back.
They say Kingi Winiata could ride before he could walk. Head stockman on a big Wairarapa station, the highlight of his year is riding with family and others up the coast to a horse sports event.
On a Marlborough almond orchard, a couple see their hard work blossom into sought-after nuts, and his engineering skills have created many labour-saving machines to improve production.
A family of three women aim to produce top-quality suri fibre from the 150 alpacas at their Banks Peninsula stud. They farm organically, using a variety of other stock to minimise disease problems.
A Swiss German family love their new life farming in eastern Taranaki but they are always looking for ways to make the job easier, such as running Wiltshire sheep that dont need shearing.
A Kerikeri dairy-farming woman writes a newspaper column and helps others in the community, drawing on her own experiences. With her partner and children, theyre expanding their dairy herd.
On a Marlborough almond orchard, a couple see their hard work blossom into sought-after nuts, and their engineering skills have created many labour-saving machines to improve production.
The tutors loves their jobs teaching young people agriculture skills on a marae-based training course near Ohakune and it gives the youngsters a chance to follow their dream of working on the land.
A wine-maker creates fine wine on one of Marlboroughs most prized parcels of land, while his daughters get hands-on, learning the ropes in the family business.
An 11-year-old boy strives to achieve the top award in his chosen field of showing cattle a red ribbon at the Auckland Easter Show.
A Southland couple propagate ancient apple varieties brought to the region by early settlers. And theyve converted a once-barren hectare of land into a lush forest of food.
A Northland fisherman works the tides of the historic Kaipara Harbour in his small boat, catching flounder for export and for the locals in his community.
When injury threatened a Whanganui womans future on her farm, a female neighbour stepped in to help. Now the two have started a new venture giving others a taste of back-country life.
A Swiss couple turn a childhood tradition of gathering wild mushrooms into a thriving business. They rediscover varieties that have grown in Nelson for years, ignored by the locals.
A couple breed Appaloosa horses on their small Southland farm and use them for trekking in the mountains and wilderness areas nearby.
A couple achieve their dream of making wine and growing most of their own food on a patch of land near Martinborough but they face constant setbacks and challenges.
As fish become scarce in the inner Marlborough Sounds, a father and son flounder fishing team join scientists in a bold attempt to re-seed stocks and improve future catches.
A couple relish the opportunity to manage a large high country station and raise their family in the rural community that exists in the district.
A woman with a passion for trees hands her walnut orchard on to the next generation. One of their new moves is to produce nut-fed pork by grazing pigs under the trees to eat the rejects.
Series Final. A sixth generation Waikato dairy farmer and keen whitebaiter takes on a mammoth tree-planting project to preserve the water quality around his farm - for the fish, the birds, and for the future.
A massive farm gives its profits away every year. The employees and the local Hawkes Bay community love the concept and the unique story of two pioneering sisters behind it.
A Hawkes Bay farmer throws his property open so local school-children can learn about the environment and one pupil discovers a rare and ancient worm.
A young family live life at high pace and with maximum laughter on their Gisborne stud farm. Sam Hain says every day alive is a blessing so he makes the most of it.
A couple start a new venture milking goats and making organic cheese after they get bored in their retirement. Theyre working harder than ever before, but they love their new role.
When a shearing family are turned down for a bank loan, they help one another to lease, then buy, a farm each. One couple has gone on to win a prestigious Maori farming trophy.
When a master horseman becomes a solo father, he has to re-think his career. He feels his added responsibilities have made starting wild horses too dangerous.
When Northland bee-keeper Blanche Murray started the Kai Ora Honey business a few years back, she had no idea it would soon turn into a global concern.
A 76-year-old ex-possum trapper still runs his remote sheep and beef farm with help from his grandkids. He and his wife have lived in the area for 50 years, raising six children.
A Hawke's Bay fisherman has re-invented the fishing net, to fish more sustainably. His success fishing with his steel cage innovation has fisheries staff keen to conduct trials.
In the heart of dairy country, a Waikato farmer is bucking the trend by raising sheep and beef cattle. He is also keen to leave greener pastures for his young family's future.
Hawkes Bay orchardist Mark Ericksen says picking the right apple to grow is just like backing race horses – you want to pick winners.
Two generations of Chatham Islanders make a living from cray-fishing, farming and showing tourists around the islands they're grown to love.
A 17-year-old woman leaves school and opts to follow her dream to go farming. Louisa says everyone was surprised at first, but they now support her choice.
A husband and wife farm with a love for each other and of the land. She's a city girl turned farmer, and together they breed horses, train working dogs and ride endurance.
On Great Barrier Island, a market gardening couple grow top-quality heritage fruit and veges using organic methods. They've had to be inventive and hard-working to survive.
A couple expand their free range pig farm in Wairarapa with the help of Hong Kong backers, turning heritage breeds into pork much sought-after by chefs.
What sort of farmer invites 10,000 people to a three-day party at their place every New Year?
Out the Back: A couple uses traditional draught horses for all their farm tasks on a Canterbury high country station. The horses pull the supply wagon for the team working the annual autumn muster.
As a young scientist, John Young began investigating if mussels could be farmed and 40 years later he's still on the water, leading New Zealand's second-biggest mussel farming company.
An immigrant family perfects the art of growing feijoas and capsicums using natural biological methods. They see feijoas as New Zealand's next big horticulture export success story.
Actor Sam Neill has immersed himself in a second career, growing grapes and making wine in Central Otago. He believes his pinot noir will create a longer-lasting legacy than his films.
A family welcomes tourists and walkers to their spectacular and remote inland Gisborne farm. They breed horses to work the steep terrain and also compete at riding events.
A family work the wild waters around Stewart Island, chasing paua, kina and blue cod. They also run a surf school in Riverton, bringing surfing back to Southland.
Two women leave the city to grow peonies, discover the roots have properties that ease their children's skin problems, so they start a new venture selling peony soaps and skin balms.
A family in the Canterbury high country prepare for their annual deer auction, while entertaining trophy hunters from the USA, and being part of a traveling theatre troupe.
Two brothers find success chasing crayfish off the wild Marlborough coast. They export them live, providing jobs for their small community, as well as farming beef and growing grapes
Maniototo Merino: A karate black belt's love of Japanese culture helps him secure a lucrative contract to supply his Central Otago ultra-fine merino wool to Tokyo suit manufacturers.
A city couple move to rural Kaikoura, learn to farm goats and make their own award-winning cheese, which they sell to restaurants and from their own shop.
A Kawhia farmer hand-rears the offspring of sheep that give birth to as many as six lambs each. She also writes and records country music songs and traps possums.
A sharemilking couple work with Maori landowners to ensure their historic land is farmed sustainably. They send their milk to New Zealand's only Maori-owned dairying company.
A conservationist leads teams of international student volunteers who are restoring one of New Zealand's most significant privately-owned wetlands south of Dunedin.
A couple moves from their island home in the Marlborough Sounds to take over managing a massive sheep station in the MacKenzie Country owned by a family of artists.
Two women farm a leased property in the foothills of the Ruahine Range, where they raise sheep and train working dogs, including animals given up by other farmers as useless.
When their parents become too ill to work, the teenagers from a family of eight children take over running their North Otago orchard, to avoid having to sell the land.
A couple turn their rough swampy land into the perfect place to run free-range heritage breed pigs, then start an on-farm butchery and kitchen, using traditional English recipes.
A father and daughter spend years working to create a successful truffle industry in North Canterbury and their dogs are finding increasing amounts of valuable black gold.
The third generation on a North Otago high country station follow in their forebears' footsteps and continue the farm's tradition of innovation.
A West Coast woman who runs a dairy farm with a big emphasis on family life brings the same values to the team on the Landcorp farms that she also manages.
After the November 2016 earthquake, people running a big North Canterbury farm have to recover from the initial shock, cope with the immediate damage and still keep the farm running.
It’s springtime at Kakahu Angus Stud near Geraldine in Canterbury, and calving is in full-swing for farmer Tom Hargreaves.
A former truck driver turned organic sheep and beef farmer joins with 50 other suppliers to form a network supplying Southlanders with organic meat.
After starting a career in town, a woman comes home to take over the family high country sheep farm, first undergoing a long apprenticeship to learn how to get the best out of the land.
Three generations of a Northland family run a herd of 100 buffalo, producing milk and cheese that they sell to restaurants, speciality cheese shops and high-end food outlets.
The biggest flood in the recorded history of the Waitotara Valley, near Whanganui, hasn't put a couple off their dream of taking full ownership of their leased sheep and beef farm.
A couple take a radical approach to farm ownership, believing the whole community should share and benefit from their land, which they farm on ecological principles.
Tailing time is a busy season for a Southland farmer and his Dutch born wife as they balance helping in their local community with running their sheep and beef operation.
A traditional sheep and beef farmer plants a tart cherry orchard to diversify, and uses the cherries in healthy home-made dog biscuits, which he's now marketing to the nation.
A former international gold-medalist target shooter runs her farm single-handedly on North Island's Central Plateau. She's also a priest at Taihape's Anglican Church.
A twelve year old boy and champion sheep breeder sets his eye on the top prizes at the Hawke's Bay A and P Show. His family's stud rams also attracts buyers from across the Tasman.
A young commercial fisherman in Whitianga fishes sustainably for his family's future. His long trips to sea chasing snapper are complemented by days off surfing with his family.
A former share-milking couple plant a blueberry orchard and develop a boutique fruit ice cream outlet near Matamata, despite knowing nothing about horticulture beforehand.
A colourful character farms cattle on the shores of Lake Pukaki. His floral shirts and unconventional farm vehicles are added attractions to his Hobbit film location tours.
A coastal couple on an historic farm carve out a lifestyle on the wild Wairarapa coast. They're kept busy with cattle, kai moana and teaching at their cooking school.
Year 7 and 8 pupils at a Northland school buy seed and fertiliser to plant their own crop on unused school land, aiming to make a profit and learn about the realities of farming.
A Wairarapa family runs a high-tech intensive-care lamb orphanage in spring to increase their flock's survival rates. Their young boys play an active role in the life of the farm.
A couple aim to grow all their own food in a sustainable way on their Waikato farmlet. Cows, pigs and ducks live beneath a canopy of trees that yield fresh fruit all year round.
A farmer breeds top eventing and show-jumping horses by letting them run free on his Gisborne hill-country farm, where they develop their own unique style and spirit.
A Canterbury family grows barley and turns it into malt which they sell to international craft brewers. Their traditional cropping farm is now home to a state-of-the-art malt-house.
Two families farm cattle in a remote south Westland valley. They enjoy the adventure of being off-grid as they join together to muster cows and calves for the annual sale.
A Te Puke family who diversified into avocados 40 years ago enjoy seeing new growth in the industry as two exporters join forces to expand markets in Japan and Australia.
A couple who met through a mutual love of horses now have their own farm, where they have achieved their dream of spending their lives training both horses and riders.
A macadamia nut grower hopes other Maori landowners follow her example to make a good profit from their land. She has spent 30 years finding the trees that give the best return.
The fourth, fifth and sixth generations of a family continue a tradition of aiming to breed the perfect bull and strive for record-breaking prices at their annual on-farm bull sale.
An American couple's world-wide search for the best soil to make wine lead them to north Canterbury, where they create world class wine using biodynamic principles.
Three family members use natural horsemanship methods on their north Canterbury farm and compete against each other in a new and fast-growing sport, Cowboy Challenge.
When a Waikato policeman started spending his days off helping a struggling elderly farmer, he had no idea that he would fall in love with the land and end up owning the farm.
A young farming family works hard to build a business selling their own meat direct to customers. They're also busy working day jobs, running the farm and raising three children.
A south Westland family battle swollen rivers to muster their cattle out of the remote Arawhata Valley. They muster with horses and dogs, just as they've done for generations
An environmental hero combines oysters, livestock farming and conservation on his special patch of Waiheke Island, determined to leave the land better for future generations
A retiring couple's decision to plant grapes results in their entire family moving into wine making, and three generations are now producing wines in Wanaka, Central Otago.
A farmer who has switched from sheep to angora goats is encouraging others, especially lifestylers, to follow. He says mohair fibre is more profitable than wool and his stock are cuter and more fun.
A New Zealand family starts a business producing coconut oil soaps and lip balms in Vanuatu, making use of a wasted resource as well as generating much-needed income for the locals.
After a farmer recovers from severe depression, he focuses on helping others in the rural community who suffer from stress and mental illness
A young woman shepherd convinces a farmer to let her milk his sheep, and a local French man turns the milk into a variety of cheeses. The new venture keeps the Tasman trio busy year-round.
A Cambridge couple raise lamb for the USA Wholefoods store chain and pay great attention to animal health and welfare. They also take great care of their land and surrounding native bush.
Former farmers get huge satisfaction teaching prison inmates agriculture skills on a farm inside Christchurch Men's Prison, aiming to help them find work after they are released.
When a couple struggle to make a living selling fruit from their citrus orchard, they turn it into high-value preserves that win international awards, bringing them growing sales
Farmer Amanda Goodman bought a few goats so her children could enjoy them, but what started as family fun has turned into an award-winning cheese business.
A dairy farmer uses every inch of his 37 hectares branching into forestry, tourism and ducks. Off the farm he reinvents himself and finds love on the dance floor.
A co-op of farmers produce speciality lamb cuts for food-savvy urban consumers from the outskirts of Auckland, reducing the production footprint from paddock to plate
A Marlborough couple run two contrasting farms in spectacular locations, raising lambs on the coast near Cape Campbell and farming rare Saxon merinos in the inland high country.
A Far North family builds up a thriving export business harvesting manuka honey from remote locations all over the North Island and processing it in their own factory
Three generations of a family work closely together, on and off farm, to overcome the impact of a farm suicide. Their message is that for people suffering depression, help is available
Tunnel Vision: A couple buy an old avocado orchard in the Far North and replace the least productive trees with a new crop blueberries, which they grow in tunnel houses.
A dairy-farming family overcome new challenges when they move to a coastal farm north of Kaikoura, with weather extremes, unpredictable market prices and a massive earthquake
Catch of the Day: A couple who catch tuna and sell it to Wellington restaurants find the chefs want a wider range of ingredients, so they expand into hunting and supplying wild game.
A couple grows organic plums on their Marlborough orchard and sell direct to customers at the local farmers' market. They're experimenting with new varieties, including heritage plums.
Farming the historic Routeburn Station next to Mt Aspiring National Park is a balancing act between caring for the land and stock, and managing the many passing tourists and walkers.
A marine scientist farms fresh-water koura in forestry ponds across the south, giving a new lease of life to an ancient species and creating a new market for the restaurant delicacy.
A Northland couple growing gold kiwifruit for Zespri harvest their bumper crop for the export market. The family juggles kiwifruit with grapes and a new venture brewing beer.
After farming sheep for almost a hundred years, a family diversifies into wine. The Marlborough grape growers are also keen birders and members of the ornithological society.
Ata Rangi vineyard was one of the pioneers of an industry that has turned Martinborough from a sleepy town into a vibrant community with international links.
Gisborne beekeeper Bill Savage got his first beehive when he was a slightly allergic but fascinated 12-year-old and he has loved bees ever since. Now, 44 years later, he still finds his millions of workers intriguing. “There are 60,000 bees in a hive at the peak of the season and the queen is mother to every one of them – laying around fifteen hundred eggs – per day! That’s quite a feat when you think about it.” Bill’s a high-UMF manuka honey specialist. UMF, or Unique Manuka Factor, is an industry standard for measuring the anti-bacterial compounds found only in certain grades of New Zealand manuka honey. A kilo of one of his higher grades will retail for over $100 and Bill says the demand offshore is growing and growing. But it’s a fickle business. Yields fluctuate wildly from year to year. “In a good year you can make a lot of money, but in a bad year you can lose a lot of money” he says. The East Cape region abounds with wild manuka but Bill has big dreams of increasing quality and volume. He is converting his own 1200 hectare bush block into a mono-floral, high-UMF manuka forest, clearing kanuka and planting thousands of the high-grade trees there every year. “But you can’t spot a high-UMF tree by looking at it.” In summer, he painstakingly collects nectar from his own wild manuka and has a lab analyse it for DHA, the precursor to UMF. Then in winter, he collects seed from those trees identified as high in DHA and grows tens of thousands of new trees each year from that seed. He’s experimenting with planting systems to maximise nectar production. Kitt Higgins and Bill Savage harvesting honey at Ahititi But he’s more than happy to share his knowledge. “It’s for the good of the industry.” A tireless advocate for quality and integrity in the industry at large, and in his own practice, Bill says that the honey industry is enjoying ”a goldrush” at the moment as demand soars, evidence for UMF
Keeping it in the family takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to Morrison Farming in the Rangitikei district. The family has farmed sheep and cattle near Marton since 1864 but the land had been divided over the years. When the opportunity came up in 2009 to put the original Morrison property back into one farm, the family leapt at the chance. Advertisement John Morrison, his sons William and Richard and John’s cousin Graham formed a partnership that has been the foundation for growing a big and busy breeding and finishing property.
Two generations of a Hawke's Bay family work together across a beef cattle farm and a dairy farm, to raise sought-after marbled wagyu beef for the international market.
The owners of a classic high-country run invest the profits back into the land, allowing it to maintain old traditions while also developing into a more diverse and productive farm.
A South Otago family says goats are more fun to raise than sheep and sees a big future for cashmere as demand grows for fibre produced sustainably in New Zealand.
A Rangitikei family runs a farm training school for shepherds, where 16 young people learn practical skills while also getting involved in the local community.
A Nelson-farming family goes back to the future and sells their milk direct to customers in glass bottles as the next generation takes over from their parents.
A woman moves from urban Brazil to a Wairarapa sheep stud to live her farming dream. She now juggles new motherhood with post-grad study and work on the farm's breeding programme.
Two sisters give up city life in Auckland and return to whanau land on the remote East Cape to run a family bee-keeping business and farm cattle alongside their grandfather.
A Waikato horseman uses the natural talents of the horse to improve the confidence and skills of riders the world over. He and his wife also run treks for riders returning to the saddle.
Jo and her family grew up on sheep and beef farms but have been involved in dairy goats for the last six years. After a tough few years setting up, the family is working together to ensure a legacy.
A couple growing the new super-food, quinoa, on their Taihape sheep and beef farm find demand is so great that they’ve had to lease additional land to expand the size of their crop.
A Southland family farming in a traditional sheep and beef region goes organic, leading to big improvements in production, and their neighbours are sitting up and taking notice.
Two brothers who believe in sustainability make a living off the land in different ways, one with a sheep farm using holistic principles, the other with a native plant nursery.
A couple run seven farms in the lower North Island, including one that's open to the public for walking and riding, and also market their own meat direct to customers.
A Northland couple farm goats for their fibre and prove that it's possible to create a sustainable rural enterprise on a lifestyle property far from the madding crowd of the city.
A farming couple can’t make enough money from their small farm so they’re forced to spend time off the land to earn extra income, which leads them to build up a successful new venture.
A couple who farm sheep next to an internationally-renowned lagoon have committed their lives to the wetlands around them and the fish and birdlife that use it as habitat.
A woman follows her dream to grow and sell her favourite flowers from her Waiheke Island home, as well as teaching flower-arranging to her customers.
The new generation of a dairy-farming family branches out in a different direction, growing hemp and pumpkin seeds as well as turning the pumpkin seeds into oil and gluten-free flour.
A family grows their own food, from berries to bacon, potatoes to poultry. Teaching what they preach, they want all New Zealanders to connect with their food and know where it comes from.
A couple buys a property with just two walnut trees and embarks on a nutty adventure, planting a hazelnut orchard, expanding their operation and winning numerous food awards along the way.
An entrepreneur returns to his family's chestnut orchard to farm free-range nut-fed pigs to supply a world-class charcuterie he has created in his home-built butchery.
A beekeeper passes his love of bees and honey on to his daughters, and re-shapes the business to be more sustainable for the family and for their bees.
A go-ahead dairy farmer is the Imam of his local mosque and focuses on clean water in the environmentally sensitive area where he farms, as well as keeping an eye on profitability.
A remote off-grid family strikes the perfect balance between working at their successful mussel business and enjoying the remote Marlborough Sounds paradise where they live.
A family aims to produce the country’s best organic wine, and at the same time use their business success to benefit society.
A couple take advantage of the unique microclimate in Karamea, at the northern end of the South Island's West Coast, to grow subtropical fruit for the local and Canterbury markets.
A Pakeha family manages a large Wairarapa sheep station for its Maori owners, who have embarked on a hundred-year plan to improve the dry, steep, coastal property.
A Wellington man is passionate about making a living from the sea and fishes in Cook Strait for crays and wetfish all year round, often battling stormy weather.
A young family buys a share of a Coromandel farm from a semi-retired couple and establishes a quarter-acre organic market garden, where they grow enough salad greens to make a living.
A young woman who works as a shepherd embarks on a national tour to encourage young farmers to speak up about mental health, after losing her own partner to depression.
The next generation of a sheep-farming family persuade their parents to join them in a radical new venture producing flavoured sheep-milk drinks for the consumer marketplace.
A Southland man sets out to save his local fishery by completely changing the way he catches, sells and markets his fish, only catching to order and selling direct to chefs.
A quirky original thinker who has built up a successful sheep and beef farm is thrilled that the next generation wants to be involved and he's handing the land over!
Six generations have gradually changed from sheep and beef farming to specialising in growing daffodils, and their biggest day of the year is the Cancer Society's Daffodil Day.
On New Zealand's only commercial pine nut orchard, a former forestry worker's game of patience pays off as his pinoli product finds markets locally and around the world.
The owners of a remote Marlborough high country station have successfully bred their own strain of merino sheep that yield good returns for both meat and wool.
City boy Nick Dawson always wanted to own a farm. He's finally achieved his ambition with his dairy farm and now his son is working on his own dream, which is to breed sheep.
Logan Massie learnt to ride before he could walk. Now, at just 26, he's one of New Zealand's top show-jumping riders and has just opened his own stables, as well as managing five farms.
A farming couple borrow to buy three more stations to give their adult children the chance of farming careers. They work all four farms as one, which brings the family closer together.
Biological dairy farmers in Otago grow the most nutrient dense food they can, expanding into free-range chooks & eggs, raised on pasture fed with seawater from the local coast.
A very busy young farmer is making life easier for lifestyle block owners while also giving everything she can back to the community.
A Northland family adds hydroponically grown berries to their kiwifruit orchard, giving themselves and their staff a secure future they can bank on, supplying to Kiwis and the world!
The country's first commercial coffee grower found the right bean for New Zealand conditions on a hunch, and his Northland coffee plantation is now on the verge of expansion.
This week, a very busy young farmer is making life easier for lifestyle block owners while also giving everything she can back to the community.
A couple start their own honey business to achieve a better work/life balance for their young family and find the sacrifices they’ve had to make have been worthwhile.
After Peter Barrett took over Linnburn Station and ran the numbers, he realized that if he continued farming in the traditional way, he would go broke, so he had to make big changes. Linnburn Station is a massive hill country station in Central Otago’s Maniototo district. The 9300 hectares of land had been in Peter’s wider family since 1954, run first by his grandfather, then his uncle, then by managers.
After eight months of training, a Central Otago shearer attempts a world record and uses the event to raise awareness about teen suicide after the loss of his 16-year-old daughter.
A husband and wife run a Central Otago 'fruit salad' orchard growing a huge variety of heritage berries, stone fruit and pip fruit, including hard-to-find mulberries.
A thriving business based on mānuka oil, honey and tea provides an income for dozens of people in the tiny East Cape community, north of Gisborne.
A family uses a growing method called syntropics to produce all their own food on just one hectare of land, and their favourite crop is bananas.
Two generations of a family develop a lavender farm on the shores of Lake Wanaka where they also grow herbs to create their own range of lavender products.
A traditional sheep and beef farming family take the plunge into the unknown and start growing quinoa, a crop that few others in New Zealand have attempted.
A family finds ways to bounce back and take positives from the earthquake damage their farm suffered, as they make repairs and look to the future.
Two generations of a family run a series of successful ventures including apple and persimmon orchards and a cheese factory, but now they're milking sheep to make high-value cheese.
The heart of the King Country is an unusual place to grow kiwifruit, but the location means a later harvest, resulting in good prices for a couple who also run sheep and beef.
A big Wairarapa station overlooking Cook Strait diversifies from tradition to take on new challenges, including traceable meat and honey, tourism and wetland restoration.
A sheep farming family in the remote outer Marlborough Sounds diversifies into farming hops, while they future-proof their picturesque farm by retiring marginal land.
A forager supplies restaurants around the country with food he finds in the wild and says most parts of New Zealand have a diverse range of species that can be foraged year-round.
A family who were pioneers in growing organic kiwifruit have continued to expand their operation over 45 years and now the next generation is deeply involved in the business.
The COVID-19 lockdown had a silver lining for a North Canterbury family growing vegetables for locals, with demand for home delivered vege boxes soaring through the winter.
A woman abandons a corporate career to live her rural dream, only to have it nearly ruined by the global pandemic. But she fights back and helps inspire other rural women along the way.
A woman has farmed alone since her husband died in a farm accident 13 years ago, but she gets a lot of community help to restore and conserve the native bush on her land.
A couple change career and go market gardening, but their new land turns out to be heavy clay unsuitable for growing. Instead of giving up, they work out how to make it highly productive.
Five children help run their family sheep and beef farm, as well as helping their mother embark on a new venture producing honey.
A woman returns home to become the fourth generation to work in the family's market garden, continuing a tradition of innovation to keep the business up with the times.
A sheep-farming family launches a grassroots campaign to revive wool as a valued fibre, creating knitting kits to teach schoolchildren about the wonders of wool.
A couple's free-range egg farm provides them an income as they head towards retirement. Their hens have a great quality of life and produce eggs for cafés around the top of the South.
A family goes back to their roots, growing organic vegetables and milking cows in a regenerative and profitable system that's lighter on the land.
A beekeeper’s adult daughter returns home with her husband and children to join the family honey business, taking it in new directions.
A family carves out a varied living on a challenging coastal sheep and beef farm near Nelson, balancing livestock farming with tourism, forestry and dealing with wild goats and pigs.
A Northland share-milking couple finds their bottled fresh milk is so popular that they're about to take on the huge Auckland home-delivery market.
A beekeeping family produces honey from flowers growing in the Kaikoura mountains behind their home. They've also diversified into producing the beverage mead from their honey.
A family has farmed for more than a century among spectacular limestone outcrops, cliffs and caves near Waitomo and they're determined to preserve the natural landscape around them.
A Motueka orcharding family say they couldn't get their harvest in without a team of RSE workers from Samoa, who also benefit from the relationship and got through MIQ in time to help out.
A family move from town to whānau land on a remote island in Foveaux Strait south of Bluff, where they plan to farm sheep and produce mānuka honey.
Where most of us see just weeds, Mike King sees sources of food and flavour after years of foraging wild plants for restaurants and teaching people about what's in their own backyards.
A Central Otago vineyard aims for a closed system in which all inputs come off its own land and are recycled back after the wine is made, so the only additional input is water.
A Chatham Islands family creates an international seafood export business, despite the many challenges of living in such a remote island setting.
A young Manawatu woman juggles stock work on the family farm with breaking horses, dog training, tertiary study and working as a district councillor.
A Marlborough man harvests mussels for nutraceuticals and wild seaweed for natural fertilisers, and divides his time between the family rose nursery and his vineyard home.
An Englishman with a dream creates an organic co-op of farms producing eggs, greens, meat and milk, proving a healthy agricultural footprint can create high end food for the masses.
Old and new go hand in hand on a rugged high country Canterbury farm as a family finds ways to diversify and make a living on a station that's now home to the fifth generation.
A couple set up New Zealand's only lime juicing operation on their Wairoa orchard, a breakthrough that means they can expand the business and provide income for others in the community.
A Central Otago couple turns their hands to distilling whisky and gin to complement the sheep, beef and cropping operations on their station.
They're growing the world's most expensive spice, saffron, in northern Southland, where the quality of the sunlight makes for an almost perfect crop that's worth $50,000 a kilo.
A couple continues a family tradition of market gardening but branches out into home deliveries to bolster their business, harvesting a variety of crops year-round.
After growing avocados for three generations over 100 years, a family have perfected a new variety. Many who have sampled it predict it will become an international success.
The fourth generation of a Manawatū family grow potatoes on leased farms in the district and run cattle & sheep as well. Their business supports their local community and school.
A couple wanted to run their own business, so they decided to have a go at dairying and now sell their output, including raw milk, in glass bottles direct to consumers.
A couple quickly realised that parts of their new farm were too steep to graze stock easily, so they've planted the gullies in high-value native timber that can eventually be logged.
A family-run horticulture business grows millions of capsicums a year in their vast high-tech glasshouse operation, in the most environmentally sustainable way they can.
A South Auckland farmer runs one of the country's largest goat operations, breeding from the best animals and milking thousands of dairy goats to create a new milk brand.
A Rangitikei family on a coastal farm markets their sea-seasoned lamb to the world. They're also planting wetlands and pine forests to make the best use of their sandy soil.
A couple makes a living by growing, drying and selling a wide range of medicinal herbs, while also producing most of the food they and their family eat.
A couple harvests world-renowned Black Perigord truffles from their Nelson orchard where they live off-grid, and sells the sought-after fungi direct to chefs in Wellington and Auckland.
The COVID-19 lockdown means a couple growing daffodils can't sell their flowers at auction and the Daffodil Day event is cancelled, so they explore other ways to survive.
A Banks Peninsula family raises cattle and exotic sheep on their historic farm, while working to make their land a haven for the little penguins that nest on the shore.
A sixth generation dairy farmer who lived with depression changes his focus to restore balance to his life, reconnect with his family and start a charity to help others.
A young couple moves their cows and their family to the King Country to run their own dairy farm and lead a more balanced life, also raising Angora goats for their mohair fibre.
A couple buys an old citrus orchard and brings it back to life, growing oranges and juicing them for the local café market, and diversifying into new citrus varieties.
A Manawatu family farming bulls, sheep and crops, branches out into growing flowers. Their great soil grows beautiful blooms which they sell at the local market and direct to florists.
A couple manages an historic sheep and beef station on the wild Wairarapa coast, while also looking after the guests who stay at the luxury lodge on the property.
A Central Otago woman builds on her experience running a tree nursery when she establishes a business growing Christmas trees for local families, along with lavender and peonies.
A couple with no farming experience return to the husband's family land and prove so successful that they win the ultimate award - the Ahuwhenua Trophy for dairy farming.
A North Canterbury family, farming sheep and beef, stage a controlled burn-off to save their good livestock country from the encroaching wilding pines threatening their pasture.
Iwi owners of an Eastland sheep and beef farm turn their fortunes around, buy more farms and move into new ventures to create more jobs in their community.
A Horowhenua market gardening family creates year-round work for their team by adding hydroponic berryfruit and dairying to their asparagus operation.
A woman splits her time between the family farm and her veterinary work, as well as running a new social enterprise focused on sustainable farming.
A former electrician and his wife turn their backyard chook run into a free-range egg farm, selling to restaurants until COVID forces them to seek new markets.
A father and son break with tradition by mustering with a helicopter on their high country sheep station, but produce some of the world's finest merino fibre.
A paua fisherman on Rakiura/Stewart Island joins a research mission exploring the use of seaweed to reduce methane emissions and help fight climate change.
A traditional sheep farming family use their coarse wool to make their own line of high-end bags, hats and wallets.
A Southland cropping and sheep-farming family develops a traditional whisky distillery on their farm, doing everything themselves from grain to glass.
A sheep and crop-farming family branches out into new ventures, including tulips and hemp.
A beekeeper successfully combines his natural love of bees with a wish to explore new ways of doing things
A woman whose passion for rare Irish Sport Horses saw her buy her first at 17 aims to breed the perfect horse on the sheep farm she runs with her husband.
One cousin grows crops such as sunflowers and canary seed, while the other runs a factory that turns the grain into birdseed products.
A keen hunter-gatherer from the top of the south turns his passion for spearfishing into a business and showcases his way of life on his own TV show
A Nelson family expands their kiwifruit and apple orchard into a thriving business, employing the entire family and meeting staffing challenges by innovating.
Two successful entrepreneurs go back to their rural roots, buy a high-country station and convert it into New Zealand's first carbon zero certified farm.
In Rangitikei, a farming family on a big hill-country station seek a better return for their coarse wool by turning it into blankets that they design and sell themselves.
A family farming near Aoraki Mt Cook harvests their wilding pine trees and puts the proceeds back into their sheep & beef operation.
A dairy farmer makes big changes to the way he runs his farm, putting the welfare of his herd ahead of other priorities such as profit.
When a Northland couple planted New Zealand's first commercial pineapple orchard everyone told them they'd fail, but they're selling everything they can grow.
Two sisters share the running of the family sheep and beef farm between them and also keep their own careers going by working part-time elsewhere.
A young Taranaki family farms sheep & beef on steep country, and makes the most of the mānuka they once dismissed as scrub by developing a honey business.
A Marlborough family, whose farm was too steep for cattle, became mussel farmers instead, and host a big equestrian event on their new farm among the grape vines.
Three generations of a farming family and their staff spend a week in a musterers' hut at the back of one of NZ's biggest privately-owned high-country stations.
An East Coast whānau sets about securing their family's future by restoring their lands, through partnership with a new farm carbon-forestry venture.
A North Island farmer moves south to manage a government-owned farm on the edge of Fiordland National Park, making changes to improve the farming system.
A Rakiura Stewart Island family have all made their living on the sea, catching crays or diving for pāua, and the next generation is now becoming an expert fisher.
A Canterbury family turns its bare paddocks into one of the country's largest walnut orchards, working with other local growers to process and sell the nuts.
A retired couple took a punt growing truffles on their Te Puke block, and are now busy producing, selling and showcasing their nuggets of black gold.
A couple develops a bare block of stony Wairarapa ground into a vineyard and olive grove producing top-class wine and oil.
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A couple farming sheep and beef near the shores of Lake Taupō build an on-farm brewery after facing restrictions on livestock numbers and needing to diversify.
A Coromandel man joins with a mussel farmer to trial growing seaweed in a 3D ocean farm to provide food for restaurants and to mitigate climate warming.
A woman uses her Thai background to start a mushroom farm in Northland, while her partner leaves the finance industry for a new life growing avocados.
Despite being busy with lambing and calving on their Rangitikei sheep and beef farm, a couple fosters art by hosting an artist in residence.
A Gisborne couple turn their sheep and beef farm into an outdoor classroom as part of an industry-led initiative for young people keen to be farmers.
A Golden Bay dairy farm provides a way-of-life for three families, with the owner, farm manager, and neighbouring cheese-makers all working together.
A Hawke's Bay community supporting people with intellectual disabilities provides jobs on a dairy farm, cheesery and a garden.
The fourth generation of an Indian immigrant family works hard on their Waikato sheep, beef and dairy farm, creating a farming legacy for future generations.
A Murupara couple who built up their sheep, beef and dairy farm from nothing now provide employment to locals who've struggled to find employment elsewhere.
A Central Otago sheep-farming couple build a business around coloured wool - carding, spinning & dyeing their own, along with wool grown by other farmers.
A farmer makes the most of the wild Siberian cherry trees on the family’s deer farm, harvesting the fruit & turning the timber into handmade furniture.
A former firefighter and his family grow citrus and berries on their Gisborne orchard, specialising in new varieties of pink seedless lemons and finger limes.
A solo mum takes over the family farm, but because it’s small, she has to find additional sources of income to provide a future for her daughters.
A Cromwell couple weren’t ready to semi-retire on their small cherry orchard, so they now grow produce for market & plants for local gardeners to grow.
A woman develops a gin distillery on the family’s Kaikoura sheep & beef farm, sourcing botanicals from the surrounding landscape & creating additional income.
A young family starting out on their first farm add a roadside paddock of sunflowers to supplement their income from sheep and cattle.
A South Canterbury cropping family take on growing, processing and selling buckwheat, despite previously knowing nothing about the plant.
A new mum gets involved with dog trialling to re-establish her personal focus, and becomes determined to succeed in what’s been often been seen as a man’s sport.
Hawke’s Bay orchardists and farmers pick up the pieces and start down the long road to recovery after Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed livelihoods across the region.
A dairy farming couple trial regenerative practices and balance work, children and the well-being of their staff across six Mid Canterbury farms.
A Marlborough farm provides diversity for brothers raising cattle, horses, sheep and grapes, as they prepare for their annual on-farm Angus bull sale.
An East Coast wool broking family aims to re-invigorate the strong wool industry by finding new high-end markets, so they can pay farmers a higher price.
Hunters partner with chefs to recover wild wapiti venison from Fiordland National Park, supplying restaurants and using the profits to help save native birds.
A woman takes over the family hill-country farm, first working the land on her own, then with her partner. And the arrival of children hasn’t slowed her down.
A Canterbury sheep farming family combines merino with hemp to create a new soft yet strong fibre for high-end fashionwear.
A Southland family adds a hop garden to their sheep farming operation, despite being novices and a long way south of the rest of the country’s hop growers.
A Bay of Plenty couple with a modest 10 hectares of land run a productive farm that provides them with a living and helps feed the local community.
A Southland couple develops their run-off block into an intensive stock-raising farm with cattle, sheep and deer, and also leases a second nearby farm.
A city couple buys a Central Otago farm and find it’s not profitable, so they stop buying chemicals and fertiliser and switch to regenerative farming.
A Waikato man develops a native plant nursery on his cattle farm, raising a million seedlings a year & helping other farmers restore native ecosystems.
A Waikato couple change careers, buying their first farm to raise organic cattle, focusing on the health of the land, their stock & their local waterways.
A musterer buys his dream high country station to farm merino sheep & Angus cattle, while his he & his wife develop a tourism business for horse trekkers.
A Hawke’s Bay farmer and his family recover from the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle while he also competes in the FMG Young Farmer of the Year final.
A Gisborne family use lessons from 1988’s Cyclone Bola about the value of tree planting, to soften the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Kiwi are returned to one of the country’s oldest stations, where the owners and managers farm sheep, cattle, goats, and the capital city’s wild wind!
A Canterbury couple grows organic vegetables on a commercial scale and delivers them to customers around the region, while raising their young family.
A Canterbury man shares with farmers, the knowledge of his tīpuna, his passion for mahinga kai or food gathering, and the value of protecting our waterways.
A Tararua dairy farming family brings together the local community and iwi to help care for their land and the river running through it.
A Golden Bay man establishes the world’s only commercial horopito farm in the foothills of the Kahurangi range, using the leaves for their medicinal properties.
A Central Otago couple creates the country’s first fossil-fuel-free cherry orchard, using electricity, solar power and an electric tractor.
Avocado harvest time in the microclimate of Mōtītī Island off the Tauranga coast, whose fruit is first to market, despite needing to be transported by barge.
A Waikato couple moves to a macadamia orchard on the Hauraki Plains, embracing their new rural lives and producing highly sought-after top-notch nuts.
The staff of a remote Gisborne hill country sheep and beef station returns to horse-back mustering, as they restore the farm after Cyclone Gabrielle.
A Central Otago merino breeder divides her time between farming her own sheep & helping other farmers select the best stud rams for producing meat as well as wool.
A Hawke’s Bay family adopts a gentle approach to farming and milking their dairy sheep, to create distinct cheeses used in local restaurants.
A Banks Peninsula woman has never been busier since taking over the family flower farm, growing proteas for her own shop and for local markets.
A farming couple make garden and horticultural products from strong wool, creating new uses for sheep fleece and reducing plastic in the environment.
A passionate spinner & a champion axeman buy a dozen Polwarth sheep for their small Canterbury farm, growing the business and selling fine wool.
A farmer on a Banks Peninsula coastal property raises lambs for their on-farm auction, while his wife draws inspiration from their land for her paintings.
A Bay of Plenty whānau Māori runs an oyster farm, providing jobs for local rangatahi & delicious kaimoana for people passing through their coastal village.
A Taupō couple milks sheep on their first farm, on the shores of the lake; treading lightly on the land & protecting the water that enters the lake.
An award-winning South Auckland couple builds a team to embrace new farming and conservation practices to future-proof their dairy and sheep & beef operations.
After many years working away from the land, a couple return to take over the family farms where they were brought up and develop new outlets for their lambswool.
A former AgResearch staff member gets his own farm & puts what he’s learned into practice by taking a scientific approach to how he runs it.
A Central Otago orchardist runs an export cherry business, built up from childhood paper-run savings and saves second-rate cherries from going to waste.
Two shepherding brothers on a vast East Coast hill country station go on to buy the property and draw the community together for their traditional on-farm sale.
A Gisborne family grows citrus & apples for the domestic & export markets, processing it in their new packhouse, and providing work for locals & travellers.
