Stories by Sally Round

James Moore is up to his knees in the waves at Cable Bay in Northland, a bucket in each hand. He's a small-scale salt farmer, with a plan to help others into salt farming. Audio

Warmer weather means people can now grow fruits like pawpaw and bananas as far south as Invercargill. Audio

Jared Hiakita has been germinating a seed of an idea while nurturing his food forest at the off-grid family farm in Hokianga. The seed has grown into a charity which will grow and donate fruit tree… Audio

A South Wairarapa riverside farm is turning into a rich classroom, offering lessons in science and the environment, maths, language, and legends of the land. Audio

Step inside an old post office in rural Taranaki and you'd think you were in a grand mansion in Europe. It's been converted into a small luxury hotel, but there's more than meets the eye behind its… Audio

Kohirā is a solar farm near Kaitaia that is experimenting with agrivoltaics - combining agriculture with harvesting the energy of the sun. They run sheep under the solar panels and are looking at… Audio

Sandra Heihei is the 17th generation of her family living in remote Taemaro Bay. She and her husband Alfonso live off grid and are among kaitiaki of this ancestral coastal land. Passing on knowledge… Audio

Taranaki dairy farmer Cliff Shearer's practices may seem old-fashioned, but they've helped him make his way into the history books. Audio

The Norsewear factory in Norsewood is a community affair, with families, an entire volunteer fire brigade and neighbours working alongside each other over the decades. They have been celebrating 60… Audio

Neil and Sandra Chesterton and their two sons escaped Afghanistan over the mountains on horseback after 9/11. The Inglewood vet was working for a charity there. He and Sandra chat to Country Life… Audio

Who knows what goes on in a herd of cows as they walk to the milking shed? Plenty, according to Inglewood vet Neil Chesterton, who has made this his life's work and become a world-renowned expert on… Audio

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

Country Life takes a walk with mountain ranger Tāne Houston through the forest on the slopes of Mt Taranaki. We head up the volcano along a trap line, resetting bait, foraging and chatting about the… Video, Audio

Morgan Kane moved back home when she lost her job at a tech start up. It was the start of her move, with her husband, into market gardening. She and her parents welcome the advantages of… Audio

A search is underway for descendants of hundreds of British boys sent out for farming training in New Zealand a century ago. Flock House, a flagship agricultural school in New Zealand was set up 100… Audio

A distinctive booming sound is returning to the Wairarapa Moana. Most of the surrounding wetlands have been lost after land was drained for farming. Now, after years of rehabilitation work, more of… Video, Audio

Karolin van Onna and her friend had dreamt about horse trekking the length of the South Island for years - and last summer they finally did it. Video, Audio

Tartan, bagpipes, sheafs and cabers were out in force at the Turakina Highland Games, billed as New Zealand's longest-running such event. They're into their 160th year. Video, Audio

A year ago the Wilson family's apple trees were bowled like nine pins when logs came crashing through stop banks and silt drowned many areas. Did the trees come good?  Audio

Scott Jimmieson sold cars to upskill for his paddock-to-plate free range egg business. It was tough-going but good training for understanding his customers. Country Life hops in the delivery van… Audio

Colyton Clocks' Bill Williams reckons he has the largest clock collection in the world. A converted church in the village of Colyton is home to his ticking, chiming, talking timepieces dating from the… Audio

Country Life meets former dairy farmer Lance Gillespie, who's launching a kiwi style chicken trailer. Pasture-raised egg production fits with his interest in regenerative farming practices and… Video, Audio

A wetland at the bottom of a dairy farm in South Wairarapa is reducing most of the nitrates being drained from the paddocks. The project at Kaiwaiwai Dairies is nearly a decade old and one of the… Audio

Jono Walker, chair of Farmers' Markets New Zealand, is Country Life's guest this week. He's been in Rome mingling with other farmers' market representatives from around the world. Audio

George and Diana Turney went from tragedy to starting Mangaweka Asparagus three decades ago. After the community came to their aid, they have enjoyed giving back and helping others gain a living from… Audio