Farmers Weekly Podcast

Senior reporter Richard Rennie dials in to explain the fuss over plantain. A new scientific study suggests it’s not the nitrate busting weapon we thought it was. There are other species that could do the job for farmers here.

Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford outlines the results of the latest rural confidence survey, which paints a dismal picture of farmer sentiment. He says uncertainty over regulation, high interest rates and low farmgate returns are the cause.

Bryan attended the Red Meat Sector Conference in Wellington and caught up with Meat Industry Association chair Nathan Guy, who outlined some of the structural shifts in the industry and gave his views on the big challenges sheep and beef farmers are facing at the moment. Immigration settings are still causing headaches for farmers as calving begins. Many are struggling to get migrant worker visas...

Bryan attended the Red Meat Sector Conference in Wellington and caught up with Meat Industry Association chair Nathan Guy, who outlined some of the structural shifts in the industry and gave his views on the big challenges sheep and beef farmers are facing at the moment.

Senior reporter Neal Wallace joins Bryan to wrap up the Red Meat Sector Conference, which brought together processors, industry groups, stakeholders and farmers. The sector is doing it tough right now and judging by the conference programme, there’s more uncertainty ahead.

Immigration settings are still causing headaches for farmers as calving begins. Many are struggling to get migrant worker visas processed so they can begin work. Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre tells Bryan what he’s doing to help improve the process and gives some tips on how farmers can give themselves the best chance of clearing the hurdles.

Bryan talks with Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey about how the government plans to tackle the mental health crisis in rural communities. Doocey says local organisations are best placed to meet the needs of their communities and he outlines a new decentralised approach. Bernadette Hunt from Federated Farmers in Southland also joins the studio, to discuss concerns about how sites and areas of...

Bryan talks with Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey about how the Government plans to tackle the mental health crisis in rural communities. Doocey says local organisations are best placed to meet the needs of their communities and he outlines a new decentralised approach.

Senior reporter Neal Wallace has been looking at the challenges exporters face as some of our biggest trade partners embrace a more protectionist approach to trade. And, recent sales may be signalling a lift in farmgate returns for sheep and beef farmers.

Bernadette Hunt from Federated Farmers in Southland has some concerns about how sites and areas of significance to Māori are being categorised. She says farmers have no clue about how to identify specific sites on their land. 

Bryan catches up with senior reporter Richard Rennie who has just returned from a trip through Brazil, taking in its arable and beef farming systems. He visited the Mato Grosso state, which is Brazil’s third largest and most productive agricultural state, claiming the bulk of the country’s cattle, corn, cotton and soybean production. Its scale is eye-wateringly vast, accounting for a land area fou...

This week Bryan catches up with senior reporter Richard Rennie who has just returned from a trip through Brazil, taking in its arable and beef farming systems. He visited the Mato Grosso state, which is Brazil’s third largest and most productive agricultural state, claiming the bulk of the country’s cattle, corn, cotton and soybean production. Its scale is eye-wateringly vast, accounting for a lan...

Bryan chats with newly re-elected Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford following last week’s successful Primary Industries Summit. Wayne talks about the federation’s priorities for the coming year.

We have a different type of episode this week. Bryan moderated some of the panel discussions at the 2024 Primary Industries Summit in Wellington. One of them was on the future of wool and brought together some of the leaders in an industry that is struggling to return fair value to growers. How can we turn this around? Join Bryan as he discusses the way forward with Federated Farmers meat and wool...

With our regular host Bryan Gibson still laid low with covid this week, senior journalist Richard Rennie talks to Joanne Todd, director of the high-value nutrition for National Science Challenge, talks about the Challenge's funding round coming to an end this week, with no prospect of any immediate funding to fill the gap. While a review is underway on the country's entire science funding programm...

With our regular host Bryan Gibson still laid low with covid this week, senior journalist Richard Rennie talks to Joanne Todd, National Science Challenge director for high-value nutrition. After a decade of ground breaking research, four patents, 137 products researched and 60 business partnerships funding comes to an end this week, along with funding for the country's other 11 National Science ch...

With our regular host Bryan Gibson still laid low with covid this week, senior journalist Richard Rennie talks to senior journalist Hugh Stringleman. Stringleman unpacks some of the recent record prices paid for Angus stud bulls at this late point in the selling season, coming after a relatively lacklustre round of stud sales in past weeks. He also talks in detail about the challenge facing Synlai...

With our regular host Bryan Gibson still laid low with covid this week, senior journalist Richard Rennie talks to Federated Farmers board member and Leeston farmer David Birkett. Birkett outlines concerns he has as a farmer, and as a spokesperson, about Health and Safety regulations that despite creating headaches for farmers needing to comply, have done little to bring down the incidence of on fa...

Senior Farmers Weekly journalist Richard Rennie is subbing in for Bryan this week.  He talks to Harriet Mellish, general manager for Australia's AgriFutures GrowAG initiative based in Wagga Wagga. Harriet outlines the opportunities GrowAg provides for Kiwi agritech startups to tap into,opening them up to a far wider funding and partnership arena at a time when NZ's own funding environment is tight...

Senior Farmers Weekly journalist Richard Rennie is subbing in for Bryan this week.  He caught up with Harriet Mellish, the GM for Australia's AgriFutures GrowAG initiative. It provides a platform for researchers, startups and innovators here to identify and meet up with potential partners through an comprehensive online digital platform. Harriet made a brief visit to NZ this week, to address the E...

Senior Farmers Weekly journalist Richard Rennie is subbing in for Bryan this week.  He speaks to fellow senior journalist Neal Wallace, who takes  a look at the dire shortage of livestock available for processing this winter, what it means for plant shutdowns and markets. He also reports on the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's terse words for environmentalists, calling for solution...

Senior Farmers Weekly journalist Richard Rennie is subbing in for Bryan this week. He speaks to Federated Farmers Southland provincial president Jason Herrick has raised concerns farmers and stock truck drivers have about rules around driving hours, rest times and the problems this poses for the inexact task of transporting livestock. Drivers are required to take a 30-minute rest break after a fiv...

Bryan reports from National Fieldays where there has been a flurry of government announcements including Minister for Regulation David Seymour telling farmers he’s going to cut the red tape that’s holding them back from doing what they do best.  Food and fibre export revenue is tipped to reach $54.6 billion this year and hit a record $66.6bn in 2028, according to the latest Situation and Outlook f...

Bryan reports from National Fieldays where there has been a flurry of government announcements including Minister for Regulation David Seymour telling farmers he’s going to cut the red tape that’s holding them back from doing what they do best. Farming will be the second sector the Ministry turns its attention to and Seymour says farmers will be given the chance to highlight what roadblocks they’d...

Food and fibre export revenue is tipped to reach $54.6 billion this year and hit a record $66.6bn in 2028, according to the latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report. Bryan chats with MPI director-general Ray Smith about how agricultural exports have performed over the past year. He says it is pleasing to see some smaller primary industries perform well.