RNZ: Country Life

Retired Oxford farmer Ray Mehrtens collects and restores vintage agricultural machinery from the North Canterbury area.

It's been another week of mild temperatures in the North Island, while in the South there's been some welcomed rainfall.

Taihape vet Anthony Oswald.

Frank van Steensel and Josje Neerincx run Wairarapa Eco Farms. It's an organic fruit and vegetable produce scheme for those who like eating seasonally and don't mind if broccoli or carrots aren't always in the shopping basket. Customers buy shares in the scheme and in return get their weekly bag of goodies. Deliveries are made to the Wellington region once a week.

From all over the country, firefighters, some paid, some volunteers, have taken part in the United Fire Brigades Associations' Combat Challenge. Some say it's the toughest two minutes in sport.

Rain has at last fallen in good quantities in many places, although it's still terribly dry around Taihape and in parts of Hawkes Bay.

Matt Russell from Massey University on the reasons farmers subdivide.

Bunny and John Mortimer farmed for many years on the outskirts of Hamilton and, following years of gathering seeds in New Zealand and overseas and planting them, they gifted the arboretum they nurtured to the city.

Chilean sharemilker's Marcello Serrano and Carolina Burgos have come a long way since they began working on a dairy farm in North Canterbury in 2003.

There has been good rain over much of the North Island, but some severely hit drought zones are still waiting for relief. In the South there's a backlog of lambs waiting to go to the freezing works.

"Down the Back Paddock" child safety programme organiser, Kerry Miles.

Traditionally grain silos are found in the country filled with feed, however designer Stuart Wright-Stow's 'Silo Stay idea in Little River is going against the grain.

The persistence of the pasture at Sheep Heaven, the lifestyle block sheep farm, isn't great so regrassing is the name of the game.

Arnold Van Asch has been breeding South Devon cattle on his farm up the Awatere Valley for over 35 years.

A selection of agricultural news from the week. For further rural news go to the Radio New Zealand website.