Country not quite enough for city folk

[MotherBear]

Country not quite enough for city folk
5:00AM Saturday June 28, 2008
By James Ihaka

City slickers considering a quieter life in the country be warned: farmers are not going to stop their early morning milking or their dogs from barking so you can get a good night's sleep.

Figures show 18,000 Aucklanders gave up the traffic jams and city conveniences for rural life in the five years to 2006.

The dairying boom, technological advances, a decentralising of the manufacturing sector and lifestyle choices are all considered factors in the growth of areas such as Waikato and the Bay of Plenty in the North Island and Canterbury and Otago in the South.

But some farmers say people expecting vistas of peaceful rolling hills, the "occasional" moo from a cow and wheat swaying gently in the breeze need to think again.

Andrew Fenton, who is the president of HortNZ and runs an avocado and kiwifruit orchard near Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty, said growers were now defending practices they had followed without any problems for years.

More [url-=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10518767] here [/url]