The Country's Best Bits 2020: Top farmer yarns

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Naturally stories about farmers are popular on The Country, but 2020 brought about a solidarity with farmers doing it tough as well.

Last year the pressure from Covid-19 restrictions, concerns about Government reforms and wild weather events were added to the regular challenges that can occur in the day to day running of a farming operation.

With this backdrop it was unsurprising that the most-read farmer story of 2020 was Southland dairy farmer Suzanne Hanning's Facebook post outlining her concerns over environmental reforms.

After reading the post on social media, Jamie Mackay interviewed Harding on The Country's radio show and the article was posted on our website with her permission.

The rest of the top five farmer yarns of 2020 celebrated Kiwi ingenuity and success both here and across the ditch.

Here are the top five farmer yarns of 2020

Dairy farmer tells story behind her viral Facebook post

Southland dairy farmer Suzanne Hanning's heartfelt Facebook post expressing her worries about where farming was going in New Zealand captured the attention of the rural community in 2020.

"We simply can't meet the rules. We can't do it. And it's really frustrating," she told Jamie Mackay.

Read all about it here: Dairy farmer tells story behind her viral Facebook post

Taranaki dairy farm doing twice the average milk production scoops national award

This story about a Taranaki dairy farmer's success with milk production was the second most popular farmer yarn of 2020.

Stefan Buhler milks 260 Holstein Friesian cows on his 80-hectare coastal farm at Manaia near Hawera. He put his success down to having well-grown young stock.

Read all about it here: Taranaki dairy farm doing twice the average milk production scoops national awards

Ashburton farmer takes out new Guinness World Record for wheat

This farmer, who was outstanding in his field, made it to number three on the list.

Eric Watson from Ashburton took out the Guinness World Record for the highest wheat yield - for the second consecutive time.

Watson produced an incredible 17.398 tonnes per hectare wheat crop, beating his previous record crop grown in 2017 of 16.791 tonnes per hectare.

Read more about Watson's achievements here: Ashburton farmer takes out new Guinness World Record for wheat

Kiwi farming family's incredible life in the Outback

The fourth most read farmer yarn of 2020 was a story about the Cook family's life in Australia.

A Kiwi farming family originally from Central Otago, the Cooks now wrangle feral cattle in Australia's remote Northern Territory.

"I call it the Wild, Wild West. It's like the last frontier," Liz Cook, wife, mother and bull catcher said.

Read the Cooks' story here: Kiwi farming family's incredible life in the Outback

Northland dairy farmers find bananas "apeeling"

This story from January 2020 about Northland dairy farmers going bananas made it to number five on the list of top farmer yarns.

There was method to their madness however, as banana plants had potential for "mopping up" nutrients in largely frost-free regions like Northland.

Apparently bananas could also provide additional revenue for some farmers, and banana plant foliage could be another source of supplementary feed for cows.

Read all about it here: Northland dairy farmers find bananas "apeeling"