In New Zealand, urbanites are moving out into the country to get away from the hustle bustle of city life. But then there's the problem of all those country folk and their smelly cows and loud tractors.

A farmer left his herd in a paddock one night, they say. In the morning they were gone. The lifestyler next door had moved them to another paddock because he was having a barbecue that night and the smell of cows ruined the ambience.

Lifestyle block owners are complaining of noise, smells and activity of animals and machinery. So much so that the Franklin District Council is striving to keep lifestylers and commercial farmers apart.

The problem, says Mayor Heather Maloney, is that "people on lifestyle blocks don't understand noise in the country. They cannot understand why someone should need to start a tractor at 5.30 in the morning".

Franklin farmers leader Wendy Clark has heard the talk at meetings.

"There was a woman who rang a farmer about being woken early. She had a responsible position in the city, she said. 'Couldn't you milk your cows a bit later?' "