Manawatu
Trappers unite over the net
Amid the shiny tractors, new sheep breeds and delicious smelling spit roast at the Central Districts Fieldays in Feilding this weekend, was a stand featuring different types of pest traps. People were… Audio
Museum stop - Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom - Foxton
Our last Summer Times museum stop is the Horowhenua town of Foxton where a very unique centre links Maori, Dutch and pioneering history together. Incoroporating the landmark Dutch windmill, Te Awahou… Audio
From pasture to biodiversity on a Whanganui farm
Look underneath and you'll know what's right for the land, says forest and soil consultant Ian Moore. He's hanging up his workboots and now has more time to spend nurturing stands of harakeke… Video, Audio
A fine grind in Foxton
Flour is being ground the old fashioned way, powered by wind in Foxton's 17th century style Dutch windmill. Country Life takes a tour. Audio
High-tech strawberry farm aims high in Foxton
Best of 2022 - Country Life takes a tour of a high-tech strawberry farm in Foxton. Audio
Photo Essay: Next Speaker please
A Parliament with no Speaker is a motley collection of disputants and debaters awaiting direction. This week Parliament elected itself a new leader and the Governor General affirmed their choice. We…
Mountain bike trails put new spin on Whanganui farm
Tom Oskam has built mountain bike trails in Australia and Canada and has returned to his family land on the Whanganui River to create tracks through the regenerating forest. The old woolshed is now… Video, Audio
Local kind: A Palmy' day with Tangi Utikere
MP’s workdays are busy with meetings, public and visits. More so when they try to actualise the national call to kindness. Shilpy Arora follows Palmerston North MP Tangi Utikere from morning till…
New florist in town is paying it forward before she's even opened up her shop
A new florist has announced their arrival in a small town in the Tararua District in a very generous way. Sarah Romanos has been dropping bouquets of flowers around the Pahiatua town centre for locals… Audio
Testing the Waters
A group of farmers near Palmerston North are taking the lab into the paddock and learning to understand and measure what's running off their land into streams and creeks and eventually the Manawatu… Video, Audio
Kath Irvine: practical tips from Ōhau’s organic gardener
Horowhenua-based organic gardener Kath Irvine is passionate about the value of homegrown food - and the key, she says, is to keep it really simple. For her new book The Edible Backyard, Irvine… Audio
'If it weren't for your gumboots where would you be?'
Curly Troon is a stalwart of the gumboot throwing world in New Zealand. The Taihape local has been honoured this year with a Toyota Lifetime Legacy to Rural Sports Award for the sport. He is also the… Audio
Guest - Stuart Weston, CEO Apata
Our guest this week is Stuart Weston, chief executive of the kiwifruit grower and packhouse operator Apata. The company is on the hunt for land around Whanganui. Audio
Young farmer, important rural voice on District Council
One of the country's youngest local body politicians, is a farmer, sheepdog trial champion, bull breeder and horse trainer. Farmer Heather Gee-Taylor talks to Jesse about making sure her rural… Audio
Ōpiki, Tokomaru - two towns no council seems to want
Opiki and Tokomaru residents in the Manawatu want to break away from their current council, which they say has neglected them for years, and forge a new future with Palmerston North.
They feel more… Video, Audio
Whanganui facing future GP shortage
Half the general practitioners in Whanganui plan to retire within five years, sparking a search for new doctors for the region.
An angel on the trail
Mary Nettle is what's known as a trail angel. She feeds and waters bikepackers on the 3000 kilometre Tour Aotearoa cycle ride from her travelling kiosk, raising funds for her local community hall. Audio
One dead after Wairarapa crash
One person has died following a two vehicle crash at Pahiatua, near Palmerston North.
Meihana Durie: Mātauranga Māori at the Interface
Professor Meihana Durie defines Mātauranga Māori as Māori knowledge that can be applied to contemporary realities. In a conversation with Justine Murray explains how this knowledge eco-systems can… Audio
Summer Series - Hunterville
Seventy five percent of people who pass through Hunterville on State Highway 1 have not turned off into its main street. Those who do are often surprised. Hunterville has fewer than 440 residents and… Audio, Gallery