Hi from rural Rodney

Recently moved from a local township onto our 4 acre, family of six smallholding in Woodhill in Rodney, seven years after leaving inner-city London and a year after becoming citizens of this superb country.

We have a nice hillside location overlooking the valley leading to the Kaipara harbour, with three paddocks, a wetland area and fantastic sunsets. Enjoying settling into our new home and are blessed to have a friend and neighbour who is a life-long local farmer and is helping us learn heaps as we go.

Lots of ideas but plan to go slow, get to know our place before taking any major steps. That said and apart from the three cats and dog, we have three laying chickens, a small but feisty rooster and an orphan lamb to help the kids hone their husbandry skills. Keen to contribute to the local community, we're buying our milk at a local farm, bartering seasonal grazing for lamb and source our beef, venison and turkey through homekill and the odd wild meat hunt.

You sound well set up within your community, well done open hands.
There is the Kumeu Small Land Owners association and people join from all around the area and you might enjoy some of their field trips as well as their meetings.
Just google them and there are quite a few people from up your way who are members

Muri
Thanks for the advice. We have friends with a block in Taupaki who have invited us to the same meetings. Work and family commitments have kept us away so far but we plan to go along soon.
Cheers
Buzz