('COUNTRY CALENDAR' THEME) - The best of New Zealand's rural heartland... (WHISTLING) - Sit down! - On this hill country station, they're working with nature... - You do get well-attuned to the natural environment you're living in. Living on a river is a great insight into farming practices and ecological health. - This kind of landscape gets into your skin a bit. It's pretty awesome. - ...and hooking nature's finest. - All right. Well done, mate. Captions by Tom Clarke. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2025 (BIRD SONG) (ENGINE REVS) (SOFT, ETHEREAL MUSIC) - You wanna answer your call on RT? - Yeah. I'll get you to give me a call when I get to the intersection. - Quintin and Rebecca Hazlett are at the start of a busy week on Hukarere Station in West Otago. - Right, thanks. - Righty-ho. - Their farm is 50 minutes north of Gore. - Come on. (WHISTLES TO DOGS) - This farm block is separate to the main station. It's where they fatten their stock. - We needed this block down here cos there's no real paddock country at the station block. To grow younger animals out, you sort of need an easier climate and better pastures. We tend to rear all our younger animals down here, where you can ensure they grow out better. (WHISTLES TO DOGS) (DOGS BARK) All right, Lance, behind. Behind, Lance! We're fortunate to have a decent day. We've had a very difficult spring. It's been cold and wet. We're hopefully turning a corner with the weather, and things are on the way up. - These hoggets need to be mustered and taken back to the station. (DOGS BARK) It's time for them to be shorn. - Come here, Flynn. They're just being typical hoggets, where they'll run to a gate and then stand and look at it for a bit, and then they'll all try to go at the same time. Quiet, Lance! They're going back to the station, which is the bigger shearing shed, so we can get the job done a lot quicker. It's about a 6km trip up this country road back to the station yards. That'll do! They're good runners, quite free-spirited, which is good ` you want that in your females. - Rebecca Hazlett is stationed along the route to prevent the mob taking a wrong turn. - They normally run straight through; but if you're not here, they will go down this road. (CHUCKLES) It's nice to wake up to a nice fine morning. It was even slightly frosty this morning, that little bit of fresh snow on the hills. It's been a pretty wet and cold spring, so everyone's happy to see a bit of blue sky and a bit of sunshine. - Rebecca ventured south just before the new millennium after growing up on a farm in Wairarapa. - Quinny and I met in London, actually, and then we came back to New Zealand and Hukarere in '99. This kind of landscape gets into your skin a bit. It's pretty awesome. - We've been Perendale breeding for, you know, probably 15 to 20 years of straight Perendale rams, so probably stabilised to full Perendale now, I'd imagine. - Quinny's a pretty patient person, actually, and so having a bit of patience, especially with Perendales, is normally a pretty good thing. - They're good for attitude. So they tend to work pretty hard. They don't like people, and they don't want help, and (CHUCKLES) that's what we need. We need a tough animal that doesn't need their hand held. You haven't been waiting too long, have ya? They raced up here. - No, I haven't actually. Nice going for a walk. (BOTH CHUCKLE) - No traffic is always good. Oh, they went beautifully, yeah. No, they didn't stop all the trip, so that was one of the better ones, actually. Too easy. - Mm. - Straight over the two bridges without even blinking. So no traffic, perfect day (CALLS DOGS) (TRANQUIL MUSIC) - Hukarere Station is 7500ha with the Pomahaka River running through it. Quintin and Rebecca Hazlett gradually took over from Quintin's family, who bought the station in the 1980s. - It wasn't easy for my father to let go of the reins over time. You put your heart and soul into the land and the countryside, And there's always next year, you're looking forward to making improvements. You would find it hard to let go, because you're letting go of all those ideas and ambitions of your own. - Quintin decided to farm as much as possible alongside nature. For the last 15 years, the station has been certified organic. - It's not a place you really want to be spraying. The soil is quite fragile, you know. There's not lots of it, so you do have to look after what you have, and there's a lot of natural biodiversity on the property. You don't wanna be getting rid of all your native biodiversity and the chase of production ` well, I don't, anyway. So you need some of that natural shelter for your animals to thrive in get out of that colder times weather too. Doesn't hurt when it comes to lambing time when animals can get some natural shelter. - Quintin spends most of his working days on the farm block. It's where he utilises organic farming practices to the fullest. He needs good grass growth to fatten stock. - We've moved into a higher-density grazing system. The idea of it is ` as well as encourage soil health as much as we can, and your biodiversity under the ground ` trying to transfer that massive amount of pasture through to the winter in a quality sense. A lot of people otherwise would take land out and put it into crop as a way to carry volume through. So we're trying to do it with a grass-based system. - The cattle are shifted with an automated timing system. - We'll tend to shift them every three to four hours during the day, only in that really high-growth time. And the idea is to have a high impact on a small area so that every plant is grazed, and it sort of allows all the animals to get well fed, even though they're close together. They're not competing with each other, because they'll get another new fresh feed in three hours' time. This soil is beautiful. It's got a nice structure, crumby structure. There's plenty of worms, no real compaction. So this is quite encouraging, what we're seeing. Good deep tap roots from some of the herbs. So it's ideal for breaking up any compaction and creating pathways for worms and other things to get down as deep as possible. We've been doing this grazing system for about five seasons now, so we're starting to get the hang of it, yeah. It's keeping the pastures youthful, which is good. I really enjoy the challenge of it. You are constantly trying to find solutions to natural questions and things that crop up in farming that a lot of farmers deal with. We don't have the same toolbox, so we have to look at it outside the square a lot more. And trying to work with nature as much as you are, you know, she'll still push back (CHUCKLES) quite a lot. (CHUCKLES) If you get it wrong, you get it wrong just the same as anybody else, but you do like to believe that you're going in the right direction. - You'll often get them sitting on these drop-offs here. - The station also attracts anglers in search of that prized catch. (GENTLE MUSIC) - On Hukarere Station in West Otago, it's an early start for a job that requires a team effort, from musterers on horseback to farm workers and members of the Hazlett family travelling in convoy. - It's another day of tailing lambs. So we're on the hilltop here. So the hilltop is where we do the breeding stock. So the lambs and calves are actually born on the hill country out here. It's probably about 1770 yesterday and probably about the same today. (SHEEP BLEAT) - The ewes and lambs are mustered in by the stock manager on the station, McKenzie Smith, and by shepherd Reve Malik. (DOGS BARK) - Get in behind, get in behind. - They've both been here nearly two years, actually. (CALLING, WHISTLING) It makes these guys' jobs so much easier when it's clear and you're not fighting the weather elements, and it's just, you know, clear visibility ` and no wind as well, which is really good. If it's really windy, it's really hard for the dogs to hear, and things start flapping, which, you know, distracts the lambs and ewes coming in. So it's a perfect morning. - We're going well. Everyone's working well together, and we're getting through them. Yeah, it's good. They're looking all right. We struck it pretty lucky with the weather compared to a lot of people. And we've got a lot of lambs on the ground, but they're a bit like everyone else, and they all need a bit of sun on their back to get them going. So they could be a wee bit better, but they'll catch up ` hopefully. - The gang will muster and tail lambs all day on several different blocks. - By the time we set up the Prattleys in three or four different spots and muster the blocks and get them in, we'll be going well, yeah. (SHEEP BLEAT) - The kids, they're growing up now, so they come back for things like tailing and weening, and it's nice for them to be out on the hill again, and it's, um` yeah, it's pretty magic spot for them to be, actually. Jack is second-year Otago varsity, and he's 20. - It's always good coming home and doing things like this from university, a bit different to the town life, but I enjoy getting back out and getting into some physical activity on the farm. It's always good to come home, get a diverse range of skills, whether it be jobs like this, in the tractor, just fencing. I don't know, you name it, just a lot of everything. - Toby's going into year 12, actually, and at school in Dunedin. - Good to just hang out with people, and, I dunno, work with animals and stuff. I'm supposed to be studying for my science exam, but I'd rather be doing this. - It's a fun week. Everyone enjoys it cos it's good fun, and there's a good team. Lots of laughs, lots of work, lots of laughs, and, yeah, just good times. (EASY-GOING MUSIC) - Quintin Hazlett learned to farm on the station with his father, but these days, he leaves much of the work to his stock manager and farm workers. - This sort of country is a young man's sport. I'm getting a bit old to tear around on these hills, But it's nice to see them. They love the dog work and love the horse work. And I used to too, actually. It's still a beautiful place to visit and a lot of natural biodiversity on it. You get quite a kick coming back out. We're very fortunate. I mean, it's beautiful living next to a river and it adds a lot to the value of it. - Quintin oversees work on the station and lends a hand for the shearing of the hoggets with the help of their daughter, 22-year-old Olivia. - I live in Christchurch, and I'm studying my registered nursing, and then I work as a nurse as well. I love nursing, kind of sick of studying, (CHUCKLES) but, uh, no, it's good. I don't get home that often, so when I do it, it's so nice. I always come home for tailing. It's my favourite part. (LAUGHS) I love it because I get to go out the back. It's totally different. It's good, but it's hard work ` I forget. I don't know how they do it every day, but, no, it's good for me. - All looking pretty good? - Yeah, it's come out nice. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Happy with it? - Well, it's better than I thought it might have been. It's a bit grubby, but it's, um... There's no break in the wool. It's nice and strong. It's a good length for what they're looking for for that contract. - Yeah. - The Hazletts' wool is in demand. And unlike a lot of crossbred wool, it fetches a good price because it's organic. - This wool's going to America to a company called Jeffco. And they've been exporting there for about 16 years organic wool. So it goes into Jeffco. They onsell some wool, but they use a lot of it for their own products. So they make a, um, organic certified mattresses. It does make sense that they use the organic wool and bedding, cos you spend a lot of time in bed. And especially with younger children, people like to have their children lying and something that's organic that they can trust. It makes sense to me. I'd appreciate it too. There is a lamb contract for finer wool than that again, and that's going to` that's just started in a luxury European market. So that's a new market that's just developing, so it's quite encouraging. It's an extra premium again. They're going all right? - Yeah. No, the guys've done well. - What's the plan tomorrow, you reckon ` there'll be a half a run, half a day less or not quite? - Probably three hours. - Oh, yeah. We've had Ronny Hill as our contractor for as long as I've been here, actually, yeah. So we've had him for 20-odd years, I guess. He's part of the furniture, and he's been really good to us. It's great having the ganger on the board. And if you've got a problem, you can talk to him directly. And he's always got a good crew, and they've always been reliable and got your best interests in heart, and they take care being in a valuable line of wool for a specific contract. They really do take care of preparing it properly for you. - After a hard day of work on the station, there's time to relax by the river. - It's the least we can sort of do. They're long days and it's hot and it's hard work, and we appreciate what they do, and we're lucky to have them. And it's good fun having a chat and a bit of banter and a bit of a laugh about the day's effort. I enjoy it as much as they do, hopefully. - It's just a nice way for them to sit around and relax and not to worry about having to cook for themselves. Come around and park up by the river and have a cold beer, and something on the barbie's always a nice way to finish the day. It's always been part of our lives. Since the kids were little, we spent hours down by the river and still do. The kids swim and fly-fish. It's a real asset to have it here on Hukarere, actually. It just kind of makes our place extra special. - The Hazlett's have also started a venture to deliver their meat directly to customers. (PEACEFUL ACOUSTIC MUSIC) - The Pomahaka River that flows through Hukarere Station in West Otago is a favoured spot for fly-fishers. Jake Berry is a fishing guide and a regular on the river in summer. - You'll often get them sitting on these drop-offs here, Mark. There might actually be one in there just now. I can just see a wee smudge. - Rebecca Hazlett runs the family tourism business on the station, Hukarere Adventures. - Morning. River's looking pretty good. - Yeah, river's in good shape, yeah. Had a lot of water through it, maybe? - Yeah, we have. You always have that really wet spring, but it's kind of clearing up nicely now. We've got the fishing hut, which is right by the river. We also have another hut which is further out the back of the station, which is where the hunters predominantly stay. - OK. And just remember, don't look at your fish. Look where you want to put the fly, OK? - We only have one hunting party at one time, so that exclusivity is good peace of mind, especially when you're hunting. It's not a full year-round business, but it's just summer and spring months that people can enjoy. And then in autumn, you've got the deer roaring, and so that's... that's pretty spectacular. - Nice being in here so early too. - Good. Aw, that's awesome. Oh well, I'll leave you to it. Nice to see you. Good luck. - Yeah, you too, Becs. I'll catch up with you later. - Sounds great. - Just slow it down. Let the rod do the work. The water's crystal clear. At the moment, you'll see it's running a little bit kind of peaty and dark. As the summer goes on, it clears up a lot more. But you'll see big brown trout clear as day. I mean, they see us as well, so that makes it, you know, quite a challenge to catch. It runs through native bush, which is absolutely spectacular. Opens out into beautiful tussock country, which, you know, is kind of another great feature as well. And then one section of river can be big deep pools, and then you come up, and there's just beautiful, nice riffy runs. I think there's been a lot of work in this catchment done on the health of the river, and it certainly showed, because I think over the years it's had its problems, especially lower down, maybe from a pollution runoff point of view. But, you know, farmers have been working really hard to mitigate that, which is fantastic. Yep? - Yeah. - Well done, Mitch. That might do it. Follow with your rod. - Yep. - Yeah! - Yep. Wahey. Well done. You have really good days on it. It's a challenging river, though, so you've really got to know what you're doing and be at the top of your game. Technically it's quite a tricky one. Brown trout are also renowned for being pretty wily. (MELLOW MUSIC) (SHEEP BLEAT) - The Hazletts have started another business ` selling their meat directly to the public. - There's two nice Angus heifers in that'll suit, so I'll get them out. - They look quite nice and shiny. They look great. - Get you on the road here, yeah. That sounds good. All right. - Every fortnight, they select two cattle to take to Gore to be processed for their label, Meat With Us. - The idea of the name was that people would become involved with us and learn why we do it and how we do it. Oh, she's had a look. She's away. Come on. - We really wanted to be able to let people around New Zealand have the opportunity to eat great-quality organic meat. -And then we've got a slogan, 'the right choice feels good', which is knowing exactly where your meat's come from. The traceability is really important; um, heaps of environmental sustainability stuff, ticks all those boxes; really good animal welfare. Head to the bright lights of Gore for the morning. It takes about 50 minutes to get there, to Gore, from home. The feedback has been amazing. A lot of people have said that the delivery has been really good because it arrives vacuum-packed fresh. The quality is outstanding. We won a few of the Outstanding Producers Awards, and that was pretty encouraging actually, to come away with those. So the ones that don't go through to our own business and our own butchers, that goes through a company called New Zealand Organic Meats, and that distributes to customers in the North Island and South Island supermarkets. (MELLOW MUSIC) - And occasionally, Rebecca travels to Dunedin to talk to the butchers who do the final processing of their lamb and beef. - Hi, Michael. - Gidday. How are ya? - I'm good. You? - Just in time to cut up some beautiful ribeye. - Awesome. - This one is huge, but really, really... - It was quite a big beast, this one. - Yes, it was. - Michael Coombes is the butcher. - It's very nice. It's really good-quality meat with the marbling in the sirloin, and also the ribeye. Dealing with Rebecca and the quality is really, really top, because we like just to sell the best we can. (RELAXING ACOUSTIC MUSIC) - QUINTIN: As organic farmers, we all want a direct market. I think we wanna be in front of people, telling a story and sharing our enthusiasm and our passions for, you know, animal welfare and human health and environment. We also don't wanna put our products in sort of faceless boxes that end up overseas. We'd rather the products were sold to New Zealanders, where they can be the most benefit, and it was one of our goals from the start, so we're chuffed we've sort of got to this point. - It certainly has its challenges, that's for sure, but I don't think we would go back farming conventionally anymore. It can be harder. Aspects of it can be harder, but there's also those rewarding parts as well. - Yeah, it's a stimulating challenge. It's also I don't like working with chemicals. If I'm not comfortable doing it, then why should I ask someone else to do it for me? - I'm proud of what we've done. We've tried to keep it as raw and natural as we can.