RNZ: Country Life

Two sisters, Sheila and Marge, grew up on a high country station up the Lindis Pass in the late 40's and 50's. They reminisce about rural life, which included spending three days riding horses to boarding school after the summer holidays, and riding back home again in December.

Poultry breeder and A&P show judge Murray Harneiss has a particular interest in Old English Game Fowl.

Jan Wills is the secretary general of the World Hereford Council. Recently she's been promoting the breed in Uzbekistan and Turkey. When she's not traveling, Jan spends many hours every day on the computer at home in Matamata answering queries about the distinctive red cattle.

Around the North Island it was wet and cold earlier on, but warmed up by the week's end, however spud growers near Mt Ruapehu haven't been able to harvest because the ground's stayed frozen all day. In the South Island Ewe scanning's underway despite some freezing conditions.

Bob Lynn established the Lynn Museum of Woodworking and Ornamental Turning Lathes and Tools in Tinwald, South Canterbury. Highlights of the collection are eleven lathes dating from 1804, including six Holtzapffel.

This Central Otago business produces up to 10% of New Zealand's export cherries and 15 to 20% of the export apricots. The products are world class and general manager Ian Nicholl says they need to promote that fact more loudly.

Around the North Island ewe scanning results are generally 10 to 20% up on last year, but last season wasn't flash. On the mainland it's been pretty miserable weather for feeding out in Southland.

Tim Hauber from the Bahamas talks about growing vegetables in a hothouse.

In 1970 when the school bus and postal service were being axed from Cardrona Valley near Wanaka, visionary farmer John Lee bulldozed tracks on his farm and started the Cardrona Ski Field. People moved in, the services stayed. He and wife Mary went on to develop a Proving Ground for testing products in sub zero temperatures, a cross country ski field and a skate board park for snow boarders. They also have consent to build a gondola from the valley floor up to a proposed new ski field, Roaring Meg.

Timaru based New Zealand Light Leathers supply spongy deerskin to some of the world's top fashion houses who use it for making garments, gloves and handbags.

Around the country things have warmed up in the North Island and in the South, Otago's sitting pretty with a colossal amount of feed on hand.