Country Life

This week Country Life learns more about a dairy alternative made from barley and how farm life influences a Waitaki illustrator's work. The team also revisits a Cambridge farming family using regenerative agriculture to finish sheep and cattle they process for their butchery, Wholly Cow.

The Andrews family has gone from selling farm-raised meats at the Cambridge Farmers' Market to running their own butchery, adding a micro-abattoir, tannery and tallow production to complete the whole.

Emma Nowell transforms life on the land into art, children's stories and games, while keeping the farm and family at the heart of it all.

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

A new barley, bred for high fibre and low waste, is being turned into milk and yoghurt - a sustainable alternative with benefits for farmers and big potential in the global dairy-free market.

This week Country Life learns more about a woman trialling growing rice at her home in Nelson, we check in with dog trainer Chris and his young star Miley one last time and we take a look back through the archives to revisit the battle for the West Coast's top rugby prize, the Woodham Shield.

A trip to the archives where tradition meets passion as four South Westland teams compete for the region's foremost rugby prize, the Woodham Shield.

For the past year, Country Life has been in the yards or out in the paddock watching Wairarapa dog triallist Chris Shaw train up his latest working dog, Miley - a young Huntaway that's got that "X-factor".

Pretty much the last place you'd think you'd find a rice paddy growing is on a hill in Nelson, but Yuki Fukuda is doing just that.

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

This week Country Life takes a look at efforts to save soil on farms at both ends of the country and takes you to taste some traditional kai in the Bay of Plenty.

Producer Justine Murray flexes her tastebuds on traditional kai cooked up at Otawhiwhi Marae where food and stories came together as part of this year's Flavours of Plenty Festival. It's the first time a marae has taken part in the Bay of Plenty's annual foodie event.

Kaipara farmer Stephen Newman is intent on improving soils and pasture in low cost, natural ways. He's now helping others too and hopes these methods will become even more useful as the country experiences more and more intense weather events like flooding, heavy rainfall and drought.

The gloom and wet of winter is especially challenging for Southland's farms where pasture can go for nearly a third of the year without growth. Country Life heads south to find out how to keep paddocks and stock in good nick.