Canterbury Region

There's some horror stories down there, unfortunately, about the weather.

Today's farmer panel, one from the Maniatoto, Central Otago, Stew Duncan, the other one in North Canterbury, Stew Lowe.

We'll talk a bit of farming, footy and weather.

I think Stew Lowe's probably enjoying the Super El Nino so far.

Yeah, and that's right, and all the irrigation dams are full, and, you know, it's ideal for us.

It would give us a decent start because we've had a tight autumn and a tight winter, so if we can get a good spring now and pull away, everyone's pretty happy.

Well, you'll take the Super El Nino at this stage, heading up to Canterbury Stew, North Farming and North Canterbury there.

I understand you guys are pretty good.

Well, you'll take the Super El Nino at this stage.

Heading up to Canterbury, Stu, North Farming and North Canterbury there.

I understand you guys are pretty good.

The Super El Nino hasn't hit you yet.

Today we're heading to Canterbury for a popular South Island tramp less than two hours drive from Christchurch.

Let's talk about Mount Somers Track.

Kia ora and welcome to The Tramping Life, a podcast about hiking in Aotearoa, New Zealand, or as we call it here, tramping.

I'm Chanti, and in this episode, I'll talk about a specific track or hut.

I'll give an overview and share my experience, along with the highlights and some practical advice.

Mount Summers Track is located in Hakateri Conservation Park in Canterbury.

There's tracks that run to the north and south of Mount Summers Summit between Sharpland Falls Car Park and Woodshed Creek Car Park.

There are two huts on the track, the Pinnacles Hut and the Woolsheet Creek Hut, and it's typically completed as a one to two day tramp.

And you also get those kind of wind that act as an extra drying influence.

And then particularly over the South Island, the Canterbury Plains where they're light on water anyway and irrigation is an important part.

like we've looked through this historically and it's very hard to give kind of say, well, strong El Nino equals an impact on New Zealand.

Because it's on that edge zone, your small differences in how it develops, where the hot water is in the Pacific can make a big difference there.

Starting to get a few holidays for everybody, so trying to get everybody a week off between calving and mating is the main thing, and maybe even a day or two off for myself.

Thank you, Zach.

Excellent holiday time in Canterbury in the South Island.

Growth rates good, not bad at the moment.

When I was in New Zealand.

the winemakers in North Canterbury were saying the same thing.

We can't be about Burgundy.

And they also said, we can't be about Otago.

We're North Canterbury.

We're not Otago Pinot Noir.

We are our own thing.

If you ever travelled on the Transalpine through Canterbury in the late 80s, early 90s, there is a chance you might remember Rosie.

Although Steve sent me a text earlier on.

Steve doesn't remember Rosie.

It's nice to be talking to you, Kathy.

It's been a

very, very exciting time here in Canterbury.

Yesterday we had a front page article about Rosie's story being immortalised for New Zealand.

And today we had probably about 60 people at the launch at the Amberley Library.

It's been six months since conflict in the Middle East affected fuel and fertiliser exports, and prices for these key farm inputs are still well off pre-shock levels.

Federated Farmers President Colin Hurst farms mixed arable in South Canterbury and ventured into dairy this year too.

Springtime is a very busy time for farming.

I know on our farm, we've cranked in some cultivation today.

Earth Science's soil moisture deficit map shows much of the country is still quite wet compared to historical averages.

A new guide's been launched to show farmers how to use native trees to help boost pollination and control pests, and even improve crop yield.

For five years, the beneficial biodiversity team at the Bioeconomy Science Institute has been monitoring plantings and insects on 60 farms in Canterbury.

And research found a 25% boost to seed production if native tree plantings were nearby instead of a bare fence line.

Let's head south now to Banks Peninsula in Canterbury, where for a quarter of a century, farmers have been working towards restoring the native flora.

Producer Anisha Sathya joined the team for a day to see what collaborative conservation can look like in the long term.

The sun's out, the hills are green and the bays are blue.