The Country-Wide Podcast CountryWide Media

We have a mountain to climb to shift a narrative with society of farming as well as a determined effort by political leaders to develop the best stable of agricultural policies in the world - but first we must draw on what is happening globally as New Zealand is but isn't unique. 

2023 Nuffield scholar and Gisborne sheep & beef farmer, Kerry Worsnop says, we need better leadership that's prepared to elevate the importance of the primary sector to the New Zealand public both environmentally and economically even if it's at the expense of political wins.

Guests include:


Kerry Worsnop - 2023 Nuffield Scholar and Gisborne sheep & beef farmer.

Hosts:


Sarah Perriam-Lampp, Managing Director, CountryWide Media

Read Kerry's full Nuffield Report "Designing agricultural policy for a future in farming"

This episode is a special bonus episode through CountryWide Media’s partnership with Rural Leaders and the New Zealand Nuffield Farming Scholarship. 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s no denying times are tough right now for most farm businesses, and profitability is severely challenged. The key to surviving is being as solutions-focussed as possible. 

Cutting costs is the obvious solution, but it’s important to continue investing in your farm business, even during tough financial times. We hear from those in the rural business industry about what farmers can practically do now to keep afloat, and how to stay hopeful for the future when pressures ease again. 

Guests include:


Ed Harrison, Agribusiness Consultant, Baker Ag 
Geordie McCallum, Director/Rural Business Consultant, Wairarapa Property Consultants

Hosts:


Rebecca Greaves, Editor, Country-Wide
Sarah Perriam-Lampp, Managing Director, CountryWide Media

BakerAg Agribusiness Consultant Ed Harrison says despite prices being poor, farmers still need to focus on capitalising on what they can get. He says part of this is planning ahead, and being adaptable to the situation at hand. He says cutting costs onfarm can only go so far; it’s important to balance being as lean as possible without undermining the farming asset. Ed also discusses the value of off-farm income when times are tight.

Rural Business Consultant Geordie McCallum says everything is stacked against farmers at the moment but it’s important to remember that bad years and good years are cyclical, and pressures will ease again in the future. He says having resilience and hope is key to survival - believe there is something better coming in the future.

Rebecca and Geordie also discuss the proposed inquiry into bank lending from Federated Farmers. With Geordie’s background in rural banking he provides useful advice for getting the most from your banker and cultivating a good relationship.

Check out the Dairy Exporter episode on managing fertiliser costs

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Those in New Zealand’s deer industry have an exciting future ahead of them, as they come out the other side of the pandemic era. Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) held its conference earlier this month, and say there is a lot to look forward to, including disseminating into more overseas markets and moving into the retail space.

We hear from a key specialist in the industry, Ron Schroeder, ahead of his retirement, about his hope for the future of deer, and how we got here. And we speak to DINZ executive chef, Graham Brown, who shares his love for venison and its versatility, and gives us some tips for cooking venison at home.

Guests include:


Graham Brown, Executive Chef, DINZ
Ron Schroeder, deer specialist of 50 years, PGG Wrightson 
Rhys Griffiths, Market Manager, DINZ

Hosts:


Rebecca Greaves, Editor, Country-Wide
Sarah Perriam-Lampp, Managing Director, CountryWide Media

Deer Industry NZ Executive Chef Graham Brown has just spent time in China and Korea upskilling the market on how to utilise lesser known cuts of venison in their cooking. Back home on local soil, there’s an emphasis on making sure cuts provided to restaurants are as user-friendly as possible, to take pressure off restaurants with less staff. 

He’s been with DINZ for the past 30 years, and loves working with venison due to its versatility. He shares his top tips on how to perfect cooking venison at home in your kitchen. 

Deer industry stalwart Ron Schroeder has recently announced his retirement, after 49 years as a deer specialist at PGG Wrightsons. Ron got on the deer ladder back in the 70s, and has watched it grow and develop in the following decades. He shares his insights and wisdom with Sarah Perriam-Lampp, from his time at Lincoln to now. He’s excited about where the deer industry is at, and has enjoyed mentoring the next generation. 

DINZ Market Manager Rhys Griffiths says in the post-covid climate they’re focusing on diversifying their options overseas, and not relying on the food service market. Prior to the pandemic, the USA market had been growing. Now they’re evenly distributed across Europe, USA, and the Asia markets.

DINZ held their conference earlier this month and Griffiths says it went really well, and there’s a lot to look forward to in the future. The sector is starting to recover and move forward now, in the aftermath of the pandemic. 

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Reinstating live animal exports from New Zealand is currently on the table under the new coalition government and is drawing attention from all sides of the debate.

Sceptics are worried about how it will impact New Zealand’s reputation and protecting animal welfare, and question whether it’s giving away our valuable genetics. 

On the other side of the debate, those in the industry say it's a great opportunity to take leadership on setting a new gold standard.

Guests include:


Julia Jones, Agricultural industry commentator 
Dr Helen Beattie, Veterinarian, Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa
Brent Wallace, formerly worked in the live exports industry

Hosts:


Rebecca Greaves, Editor, Country-Wide
Sarah Perriam-Lampp, Managing Director, CountryWide Media

Rural commentator Julia Jones says we need to decide as a country what we want our brand to be, and what we want to be proud of. She says at the moment we’re missing the opportunity to have a proud New Zealand brand overseas with our animal products and, if we decide to remove the ban on live exports, it’s a vital consideration. 

She also says we need to think about our situation independently, and not compare ourselves to the likes of Australia, America and Europe.

Veterinarian Dr Helen Beattie says protecting the live export ban isn’t just about the welfare of the animals during the voyage - it’s also about what happens when they get to the overseas destination; how they’re treated for the rest of their lives, and how they are slaughtered. 

Brent Wallace has worked first-hand in live exports, and says it’s the perfect opportunity for New Zealand to set a world leading standard, and to do a better job than Australia, which is currently considered the best in the live export industry.  

He says the key thing to get right is overseeing what is happening on-board live export ships. Having independent observers to oversee how each ship is managed from loading, to sea-passage, to the discharge point, is one possible step. 

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What keeps rural advisors awake at night? How to feed an ever-increasing population from a declining land area whilst at the same time reducing its environmental footprint.

2023 Nuffield scholar and AgFirst Chief Executive, James Allen says, their are significant trends in the use of technology in the agricultural sector coming at farming faster than we can understand and the role of the agricultural advisor needs redefined. 

Guests include:


James Allen - 2023 Nuffield Scholar and chief executive, AgFirst 

Hosts:


Sarah Perriam-Lampp, Managing Director, CountryWide Media

Read James’ full Nuffield Report “Redefining excellence in agribusiness advisory"

This episode is a special bonus episode through CountryWide Media’s partnership with Rural Leaders and the New Zealand Nuffield Farming Scholarship. 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waste takes many different forms onfarm, such as plastic packaging and chemical drums, and there are some great initiatives out there with an aim to give these resources another life - sometimes even back on the same farm!

So when it comes to the circular economy of recycling onfarm waste, it is about viewing it as a resource, rather than rubbish.

Guests include:


Evan Maehl, Managing Director, WM New Zealand
Greg Coppell, Founder, Repost
Tony Wilson, Chief Executive, Agrecovery

Hosts:


Rebecca Greaves, Editor, Country-Wide
Sarah Perriam-Lampp, Managing Director, CountryWide Media

Managing Director of WM (formerly Waste Management) Evan Maehl says we need to think about what type of products are being produced, and how well they can be reused, to have a circular lifecycle. 

He says it’s important to look at what products we’re using onfarm, such as cardboard and certain types of plastic, which can be recycled; otherwise we are just creating more waste for future generations to deal with. 

Repost is an innovative business that recycles waste posts from the viticulture industry destined for landfill into low-cost, sustainable fence posts for farms. Farmer, and founder of Repost, Greg Coppell puts it down to his typical New Zealand farmer mentality of hating to see anything go to waste. He says the options for reusing onfarm waste are endless. 

Greg gives Rebecca an update on what’s next for Repost, including two nominations for the 2024 WasteMINZ Awards for Excellence, for their work with the Hawke's Bay Regional Council following Cyclone Gabrielle last year. 

Tony Wilson, Chief Executive of Agrecovery, says in order to have a circular economy with waste, we need to improve what plastic can become. Agrecovery is a rural recycling programme and product stewardship scheme. With over 160 sites over New Zealand, they are a sustainable solution for recycling common plastics found on farms, such as containers, drums, and small seed, feed and fertiliser bags.

He explains the difference between product stewardship and recycling, and how most linear systems would just turn waste back into a single-life plastic bag. He asks what the point is of doing that when it only has one more use out of it, when for example, that same plastic could be turned into car parts, which would last at least a decade, and go on to be recycled again after that.

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