Hyundai Country Calendar

On the shores of Lake Taupō a beekeeping whānau works together to carve out a unique market for raw organic honey, for both food and health products.

An ex-lawyer creates a community of food producers to provide an affordable and resilient local food supply, to mend what she believes is a broken food system.

A Southland farm owned by the Salvation Army trains teenagers in practical farming skills, helping to build the next generation of farm workers.

Five grown up children, with young families of their own, make the annual pilgrimage back to the family farm, inland from Wairoa, to help with the summer shear.

A crew of free-divers harvest from the waters around Rakiura / Stewart Island, with the shellfish going to the lucrative local market and to Australia.

An East Coast Station manager's first day on the job coincided with Cyclone Gabrielle and he's spent the time since, bringing the farm back to top production.

A family-owned business growing root vegetables in Southland's cool and fertile soils uses smart technology to help it transition into organic production.

A couple raising their young family on a sheep and beef farm in the Marlborough Sounds branch into new activities including tourism and adding value to wool.

We revisit a North Canterbury school-leaver who followed her dream to go farming; Ten years on and married with two kids, the couple is thriving on the land.

A Waikato woman with a passion for genetics, runs a top Coopworth sheep stud on rugged coastal country, using scientific testing to produce hardy, parasite-tolerant sheep.

A couple raise Perendales and coloured sheep on rugged cave country in the Waikato, creating knitting yarns from the wool, and bringing the next generation home to farm.

A southern bushman turns woodlots into timber and wilding pines into biofuel, and hunts feral deer, turning them into restaurant fare.

A northern Hawke's Bay station manager helps Ngāti Pāhauwera develop its land and people's future prospects through farming, orcharding and tourism.

A back-country Marlborough farm sells fine wool to Norsewear, a heritage clothing company with a dynamic new owner who sees a bright future for the fibre.

A Hawke's Bay woman runs a successful export business turning animal by-products into health supplements and beauty products, along with farming her own cattle.

A farming couple pioneers a field-to-fork co-op producing premium beef and lamb with fewer food miles, and selling local meat to local people.

A couple swap the corporate life to become homesteaders on a small block of land in Horowhenua, growing mushrooms, making specialty food products and raising a few animals.

A Taranaki dairy farming family diversifies into raising Gotland sheep, and growing paddocks of Mānuka to distil into oil for balms, gels and health products.

A high country family keeps alive the traditions of its annual autumn cattle muster, as the next generation starts to put their mark on the remote Marlborough station.

An award-winning farm manager and her wife are challenging stereotypes by running two large sheep and beef stations in Central Hawke's Bay.

A family realise their dream of owning a farm and now practice natural horsemanship and share their love of horses and the land with others on their Whanganui property.

A couple farms sheep and cattle on the exposed, steep hills west of Wellington, and sells their meat under their own label to restaurants and direct to customers.

A Bay of Plenty family continues to lead the way, growing gold kiwifruit on their orchard with the use of cutting-edge technology and careful soil management.

A self-taught cheese maker and lover of goats milks her own herd, making artisan cheeses and sharing her knowledge through tours and cheese making classes.

A Southland family diversifies into growing medicinal cannabis on their sheep farm, where they've bred stud animals for generations.

An olive grower takes an evidence-based approach to producing oil that is full of flavour and health benefits, focusing on enriching the soil on his Martinborough grove.

A new generation takes over an historic Rangitikei sheep station, employing both young workers and old hands, and creating a farm walk to add further income.

A Nelson vet farms a herd of Himalayan yaks along with his red deer, and juggles care of his own animals with his veterinary work around the district.

A Northland kumara growing couple bounces back after being hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle and now employs thirty staff.

A Christchurch couple wanting a change after the earthquakes buy a hazelnut orchard and turn their hand to creating an artisan range from their nuts and some grown by others.

A Bay of Plenty hapu develops flourishing kiwifruit orchards and dairy farms, returning its people to land previously confiscated by the Crown.

A couple finds their sheep and beef farm isn't paying its way, so they switch to regenerative farming, focus on soil health, and their finances start to improve. 

A Southland deer farmer has developed a natural, edible alternative to plastic for wrapping baleage, and hopes the innovation will fund his dream of owning a high-country farm.

A Northland couple escapes life in the big smoke to produce commercial quantities of subtropical fruit, making a positive contribution to the challenges of a warming climate.

A Manawatu family has robots milking their dairy cows, allowing each cow to choose when they're milked over 24-hours, and freeing up time for the farmers to do other things.

A Southland family breeds strong wool sheep for top-quality yarn, with one of their daughters using the wool-clip to create jerseys that are sold through a farm-gate business.

A central Canterbury cropping farmer, keen to have more control over the grains he grows, has built his own stone mill and grinds specialty flour using traditional methods. 

A Canterbury high country family runs a diverse farming operation, including deer, a breed of lamb that's renowned for its taste and texture, and a new agri-tourism venture.

A trapper and conservation worker helps farmers control predators on their land while revitalising the natïve whio population on the North Island's East Coast.

A Far North family of beekeepers are hands-on with their business from working with nature, through to packing, marketing and selling honey to their local community.

A family with deep roots to their King Country property pursues their passion for breeding Arabian horses and hosting endurance rides on their sheep and beef farm.

A young family at 90 Mile Beach is ensuring sustainably harvested and processed mussels continue to be a way of life for their Far North community.

A Southland woman shares her knowledge of kaimoana gathering and hunting with others wanting to connect with the whenua, while a global audience follows her on TikTok.

A Timaru couple passionate about pigs, produce high-quality, free-range pork, for restaurants and supermarkets around the country.

A love of farming discovered in prison has led a former inmate to become an award-winning manager of a Waikato dairy farm, while sharing his story with rangatahi.

A Wairarapa family hosts visitors on the North Island's original farm walk and develops two neighbouring properties to support the next generation's farming future.

A couple combines their two passions of running the family dairy farm and breeding Clydesdale horses for showing, ploughing and harness work.

A West Otago family works with nature on their large organic farm and sells their beef and lamb direct to customers.

Two young entrepreneurs take a run at rural life, focussing on connecting farmers and consumers & building a community around their egg farm.

A woman runs a flock of coloured sheep near Nelson, producing many shades for sale, and running craft workshops to inspire others with her love of wool.

A hunter & predator-trapper shares his passion for conservation with communities & farmers, while his wife teaches young farmers at the local college.

A tight-knit Canterbury family perfect their on-farm genetics to breed premium bulls and quality sheep that are sought after by buyers.

A Southland family with a novel approach to dairying, keeps their cows in barns over winter, feeds them homegrown hay, and herds them using a phone app.

A Kāpiti family runs one of the few nurseries that supplies commercial vineyards with baby vines, as well as growing blackberries and running cattle.

A resourceful couple raises cattle on family land in Samoa, employing locals & using the meat & other local produce at their guest house for tourists.

A Northland couple grows bananas and other tropical plants, finding the perfect varieties for the local climate, sharing their knowledge with others.

A Wairarapa family breeds their sheep flock to be wool-less, and adds a timber mill, a thriving rural café and a chocolate factory to their coastal station.

A woman rounds up and rehomes wild horses, and also rescues, rehabilitates and races neglected miniature ponies from her Far North farm.

An iwi-led community garden uses mātauranga Māori and permaculture principles to grow food for local people and connect them with the land.

A Marlborough couple re-invents the way oysters are farmed and exports their invention to the world.

A family farming sheep and cattle diversifies into the wellness market, turning their wool into felted exercise mats as part of their family succession plan.

A sheep farming family builds a business salvaging broken vineyard posts & recycling them for farm fences, saving hundreds of thousands of posts from landfill.

A Waikato family have been milking Jersey cows for nearly 100 years and now sell their own brand of organic milk and yogurt, as well as growing strawberries.

A Canterbury farming family grows crops to harvest the seeds, which are then used by gardeners and farmers all around the world to plant their own crops.

A couple with a love of the ocean, establishes a free-range egg farm overlooking the sea in Southland, to help realise their dreams of one day sailing away.

A Marlborough family grows grapes and makes new world wines using old world methods of planting and harvesting by the moon.

Two American brothers enlist the help of a woman with farming expertise to create a farm & garden to provide food for their local community near Upper Hutt.

Two Marlborough brothers make their mark on their diverse family businesses which include cherries, vineyards and making hay for horses.

A North Canterbury couple produces free range eggs, beef cattle and sheep and have started their own butchery, all built up since they moved here from Germany.

A Southland family whose farm was saved by them growing swedes, and who now have built a thriving business from their humble roadside vegetable stall.

A Northland fisherman with a passion for the industry helps other fishers navigate changes to regulations and looks after their mental wellbeing.

A Rangitikei couple manages three big hill country sheep and beef farms while starting a new business making nutritious dog food for working dogs.

A manager takes a job on a farm newly bought by an Austrian business couple who know little about farming, but bring a new approach to how the farm is run.

A retired Canterbury engineer buys a rundown apple orchard and converts it to organics, running it with the help of his family who also run a flower business.

An American family moves to Otago, creates a boutique dairy farm, grow flowers and sells all their produce direct to the local community.

A Motueka family grows heritage varieties of apples, pears & plums on their organic orchard, selling the fruit and producing cider vinegars, juices & tonics.

Two young bee-keeping brothers in Manawatū have built up their honey business through hard graft, inventiveness and with timber milled from the family farm.

A third generation vet with a passion for everything equine runs a busy horse reproduction business with her husband on their Manawatū family farm.

A Gisborne family grows citrus & apples for the domestic & export markets, processing it in their new packhouse, and providing work for locals & travellers.

Two shepherding brothers on a vast East Coast hill country station go on to buy the property and draw the community together for their traditional on-farm sale.

A Central Otago orchardist runs an export cherry business, built up from childhood paper-run savings and saves second-rate cherries from going to waste.

A former AgResearch staff member gets his own farm & puts what he's learned into practice by taking a scientific approach to how he runs it.

After many years working away from the land, a couple return to take over the family farms where they were brought up and develop new outlets for their lambswool.

An award-winning South Auckland couple builds a team to embrace new farming and conservation practices to future-proof their dairy, sheep & beef operations.

A Taupō couple milks sheep on their first farm, on the shores of the lake, treading lightly on the land & protecting the water that enters the lake.

A Bay of Plenty whānau Māori runs an oyster farm, providing jobs for local rangatahi and delicious kaimoana for people passing through their coastal village.

A farmer on a Banks Peninsula coastal property raises lambs for their on-farm auction, while his wife draws inspiration from their land for her paintings.

A Rakiura Stewart Island family have all made their living on the sea, catching crays or diving for paua, & the next generation is now becoming an expert fisher.

A North Island farmer moves south to manage a government-owned farm on the edge of Fiordland National Park, making changes to improve the farming system.

An East Coast whanau sets about securing their family's future by restoring their lands, through partnership with a new farm carbon-forestry venture.

A family attempt to start growing quinoa, a crop that few New Zealanders have been successful with.

Following two generations of a family running a lavender farm.

A couple buy their first farm and find success.

A family growing all their food off the land who love bananas is featured.

A look at a Manuka honey business in Gisborne.

Two brothers find success chasing crayfish off the wild Marlborough coast. They export them live, providing jobs for their small community, as well as farming beef and growing grapes.

A family in the Canterbury high country prepare for their annual deer auction, while entertaining trophy hunters from the USA, and being part of a traveling theatre troupe.

As a young scientist, John Young began investigating if mussels could be farmed and 40 years later he's still on the water, leading New Zealand's second-biggest mussel farming company.

A young King Country couple take over the running of the parents' farm on the banks of the Whanganui River. They produce woollen baby blankets from the lambs' first shear.

A couple uses traditional draught horses for all their farm tasks on a Canterbury high country station. The horses pull the supply wagon for the team working the annual autumn muster.

A couple expand their free range pig farm in Wairarapa with the help of Hong Kong backers, turning heritage breeds into pork much sought-after by chefs.

On Great Barrier Island, a market gardening couple grow top-quality heritage fruit and veges using organic methods. They've had to be inventive and hard-working to survive.

A husband and wife farm with a love for each other and of the land. She's a city girl turned farmer, and together they breed horses, train working dogs and ride endurance.

A 17-year-old woman leaves school and opts to follow her dream to go farming. Louisa says everyone was surprised at first, but they now support her choice.