RNZ: Country Life

Syd Slee was a leader of the 1978 "Bloody Friday" protest.

The Otepopo cemetery in Herbert, North Otago, is perched atop a windswept hill with sweeping views over the district. Jim Craig, who farms the land around the cemetery and Herbert historian Dorothy McKenzie meet Cosmo Kentish-Barnes at the site to share its history and some of the stories of those who are buried there.

Every week crates of basil are flown in from Fiji and are trucked to Levin. There, they are made into pesto. Genoese Foods is the largest pesto maker in the country, and it all started with a kitchen whiz in the shed of a dairy farm. Ron Parkin and Sean Kerins.

Brett Te Whare discusses plantain and chicory as species to use for lamb growth.

Pastures are making a steady recovery in the North Island while in the South, dairy herds are starting to make their way on to winter grazing.

Cam Lewis and promoting career opportunities in agriculture to young Aucklanders.

Three North Island chestnut growers have banded together and are exporting their nuts frozen to Japan. They're hoping their venture will help jump-start New Zealand's beleagured chestnut industry. Grant Sharman and John Margetts.

Graham Thurlow uses a ground penetrating radar to locate wires and water pipes on Otago farms.

Grass is leaping out of the ground in the North Island while milking is winding up in the South.

Ohoka teenager Charlotte Flay has been passionate about breeding dairy cattle for as long as she can remember.

Ian Henderson was one of the Biodynamic pioneers in New Zealand agriculture. His farm in Scargill, North Canterbury is Demeter and BioGro certified and produces and sells beef, mutton, whole grains, flour and flakes. It was first certified organic in 1983 and is now managed by Ian's son Matthew.

Professor Natalie Jackson, director of the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis, Waikato University says central Government seems to focus on population trends in places like Auckland, which means it doesn't have a good handle of dealing with population decline in many rural regions.

Rain and warm temperatures have fueled grass growth across much of the North Isalnd while in the South Island a few more frosts are starting to nip back pasture growth.

Dairy farmer Paul Bourke has just returned from helping install a water system for a remote rural village in Nepal.

Sherwood Estate in the Waipara Valley operate their own modern and fully equipped winery where all winemaking tasks are undertaken from crushing and pressing, through to bottling under the careful guidance of senior winemaker, Petter Evans, who takes Cosmo Kentish-Barnes into the belly of the winery to discuss this year's vintage. Owner Jill Sherwood is also on hand to shed some light on Sherwood Estate's history and the challenges of running the business side of things.