Shearing

The Golden Shears is underway in Masterton, and from early Thursday the War Memorial Stadium has been buzzing to the sound of shears, woolhandlers' brooms and the cranking of wool presses. Video, Audio

Sheep farming and wool innovation took centre stage at the New Zealand Agricultural Show. The new Wool Zone section showcased the versatility of sheep and educated visitors on the myriad uses for… Audio

Agricademy doesn't have classrooms or a campus, instead students can dip in and out of on-line videos, filmed with experts in the dairy or wool shed. Audio

A three-month stint with New Zealand shearing gangs has brought life changing skills to four Mongolian herders. Audio

Evalyn McGregor is New Zealand's only full-time female blade shearer. With a pair of special scissors, the 23-year-old currently shears 100 sheep a day and aims to double that number in the future. Video, Audio

It's a big week for the sport of lamb shearing. On Tuesday 19 year old Reuben Alabaster, raised in Taihape, beat a decade-long world record of 744 lambs in eight hours by Irish shearer Ivan Scott at… Audio

Trying to break sheep shearing records has been likened to running an ultra-marathon. That sounds hard enough, but actually organising a World Record attempt has its own challenges.  Audio

How do you know where you're going, if you don't know where you've come from? It's a question that plagues Professional Sheep Shearer and entertainer Billy Black Woolman. Audio

Today on the pre-panel Wallace and panellists Lavina Good and Sam Johnson talk to shearing legend John Kirkpatrick who was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queens Birthday… Audio

Dozens of curly haired kids browse under the watchful eyes of their nannies at Joseph Burstons' Angora goat farm in North Canterbury. Video, Audio

A new training programme is being rolled out for shearers, pressers and wool handlers. Audio

Scotty Newman and his team clean out woolsheds - not inside - but underneath. They dig out decades worth of compacted sheep manure. Video, Audio

Fresh off the hills the merino wethers are being shorn at Lake Heron Station in Canterbury. The low micron wool is contracted to the Icebreker brand. The mountainous 19,600 hectare property is also… Video, Audio

Rabobank is relocating its HQ to Waikato and its CEO insisted the new premises be fitted out with woollen carpet - even if it meant using a crane to lift the rolls onto the fourth floor. Audio

Matt Black says it felt like winning lotto when he and his wife Sarah were selected to became equity partners at Marble Point Station, a scenic 2400 hectare sheep and beef property between Culverdon… Audio

Serena Lyders grew up in shearing sheds - she is now an advocate for support and mental health services to be made available to people working in shearing gangs. Audio

A High Country Life is a memoir of life through the different seasons on Otematata Station, a high country sheep and beef station in North Otago. The author Philippa Cameron joins the show to discuss… Audio

Country Life's guest this week is Irish shearer Enda Bradley, one of the foreign agricultural workers who've been allowed into New Zealand during the pandemic to plug gaps in the labour market during… Audio

Phil Keoghan grew up in awe of the strength and discipline of his own family members - a lineage that included farmers, gold miners, builders and coal minders. His new series, Tough as Nails is in… Video, Audio

The Shearing Contractors Association says it may have to recruit newcomers to the industry if shearers and shed workers form the northern hemisphere are unable to come in to New Zealand this year. Audio