Life on Te Rata Family Farm

A typical day at Te Rata Family Farm starts at about 6am, when Bert gets up, has some tea and toast, and heads out on to the farm, a dog or two following along behind.

The morning round includes feeding the pigs; broken eggs from the henhouses, kumara from nearby Dargaville and surplus mozzarella cheese from a boutique cheese producer are among their favourites.

It's a time of the day that Bert loves - the day is still fresh, and being alone with the animals gives him time to enjoy this life and to reflect on how much more he likes this work than his previous job behind a desk in a government department.

Meanwhile, Rebecca tends to the domestic front, feeding James, Miriam and Lillian and getting the household ready for the day.

About 9am Bert heads back in for his "real" breakfast - which invariably features Te Rata Family Farm eggs, bacon and sausages, and often the jam Rebecca makes from the massive crop of strawberries they grow using manure from the henhouses.

Around 10am it's school time. A qualified teacher, Rebecca gets a real kick out of homeschooling. It fits with the family's philosophy about life, and allows the children to be part of the day-to-day running of the farm. And although the formal teaching is done in the schoolroom that Bert built in a section of the old shearing shed they've converted into a house, learning continues all day as the children join their parents in the busy life of running a farm.

His farmhouse breakfast under his belt, Bert gets on with whatever job he's assigned himself for the day - anything from fencing way up the back of the farm, to driving a load of organic eggs to the Frenz packhouse in Auckland.

With three children and a domestic menagerie that includes dogs, goats, pet lambs, cats and very often chickens in the garden, Rebecca is never short of jobs for the day. Nevertheless, she finds time to take an active part in the community, serving on the committee of the local Play Centre and participating in women's groups.

It's this community involvement that really appeals. To many people, Paparoa might look like a one-horse town, but after years of living in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Indonesia, Bert and Rebecca really value village life. Bert especially enjoys pitching in with neighbouring farmers for jobs like haymaking, crutching and docking.

In the late afternoon, Bert's back around the chooks, feeding them, collecting eggs and generally checking that all is well. With 9000 of them to tend to as well as the rest of the farm to run, it's no surprise that he employs a bit of help - from staff as well as James and Miriam, who earn their pocket money by collecting eggs.