Carol Stiles

Grant and Ross Skilton farm 5000 pigs near Whanganui. Each week 25 litters are born, usually on a Wednesday, and another 240 pigs head off the farm for processing. The pigs grow from one kilogramme to… Audio

The 2014 New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Association Tux South Island and New Zealand Championship is being hosted by the Geraldine Collie Dog Club at Waihi Station near Geraldine. There are four events… Audio

Two cracking frosts tickled up most North Island regions this week while in the South Island dairy cows are moving onto winter grazing. Audio

The Raukatauri Music Therapy centre has just celebrated its 10th birthday. Despite the growing demand for music therapy, the Auckland centre remains the only music therapy centre in New Zealand. Each… Audio

Scion's Precision Forestry work is enabling forest managers to get a bird's eye view of their forestry blocks so they can more accurately measure their crops... and map the contour of the land… Audio

A selection of the week's rural news. Audio

Store lamb prices have taken a strong jump up in recent weeks, and in the South Island winter pruning has begun in Marlborough's vineyards. Audio

This year Paparimu playgroup hosted its 14th annual possum hunt. The fundraising event draws people from the community and beyond who spend the weekend trapping and shooting possums and other pests… Audio

In the North Island there's still enough warmth generally for the grass to grow, and in the South Island dairy farmers are approaching the tail end of the milking season. Audio

Iconic Hawkes Bay sheep and beef station Tautane was purchased by Ngati Kahungunu in May 2013. It's leased by the agricultural training organisation Taratahi and students get the opportunity to work… Audio

When cows started to drop at Limestone Downs, the vet was called in and a vicious form of the disease Theileria confirmed. It's transferred by ticks and makes cows anaemic. One hundred and eighty cows… Audio

Rain has finally arrived delighting many farmers in the North Island but frustrating grape growers in the South. Audio

Every region of the North Island is wanting rain, but they're wary of how it will arrive when Cyclone Lusi hits the country from Friday night. In the South the dry conditions are making fruit… Audio

Leo Mangos was one of the key figures involved in setting up the single desk for exporting kiwifruit 25 years ago, this week. It was established in March1989 to turn around the fortunes of the… Audio

Carol Stiles meets Whangarei woman Vanassa McGoldrick who, when she was a teenager, dreamed of becoming a lawyer. Then, there were no accessible universities, and even a few years ago, arms had to be… Audio

One in Five is off to the circus this week. Circus Kumarani is a community circus based in Dargaville. It was set up ten years ago to use circus and social arts to help enhance the lives of people… Audio

Ten old orange tractors have been shipped across the Tasman to take part in a classic Aussie adventure around the South Island to raise money for children with cancer in New Zealand. Clink on this… Audio

The Hawkes Bay apple harvest is running a week early and the size and colour of the apples is superb, while in the South Island, tupping has started and hay and bailage is still being made. Audio