Rare Breeds
A love for Clydesdales - 'They just become your mates'
Steve Muggeridge's beloved Clydesdales have returned to Taranaki. Not far from the original family stud, at the base of the maunga, he chats about the changing use of the heavy horse and hitches a… Video, Audio
Rare horses relax at show
Eleven rare equine breeds, including the only black Percheron in the country, are on display in a quiet and sunny corner of the Canterbury A&P Showgrounds. Audio
The Garden of Eatin
Ross Nolly is a former butcher now writer and photographer who, amongst other things, farms maggots. Ross is trying to live self sufficiently near Stratford in Taranaki. The maggots feed on the parts… Audio, Gallery
A Gentle Horse with a Wild Past
Norwegian Fjord horses were domesticated about 4000 years ago and were famously used by the Vikings as war mounts in their travels to Scotland and Iceland. There's a small herd in New Zealand… Audio
A lot to crow about
This year, 1250 birds were entered into the Waikato Poultry and Pigeon Club's championship show. It's a beauty pageant that organisers hope will delight members of the public so they too will decide… Audio
Country Life Summer Edition Saturday December 26, 2016
A selection of some of the best Country Life stories from 2015. In this episode: Golden Reflections, Ponds of Gold and Woosters of Orira Audio, Gallery
Longbush Free Range Pork and The Prodigal Daughter
An American couple, Naya Brangenberg and Jeremy Wilhelm, have settled in Wairarapa and turned a hobby of running rare breed pigs into a full scale, free range system supplying specialty outlets and… Audio, Gallery
Taste the Exotic
Brian Hales farms exotic sheep alongside his commercial flock in Wimbledon, southern Hawkes Bay. Recently he invited the public onto his farm so they could see the sheep being shorn, run their fingers… Audio
Avonstour Farm
John Earney farms rare breeds on his property near Douglas in Eastern Taranaki. He aims to live self-sufficiently and makes ends meet by supplying meat to New Plymouth's Farmers' Market and by running… Audio
Belted Galloways
Linda van Eyk breeds belted galloway cattle at Pirongia in Waikato. In the US, the striking cows are sometimes called Oreos - that's because their coats resemble the Oreo cookie - which has creamy… Audio