Podcasts

It’s bull and sheep buying season, and advancements in the genetics space are continuing to develop, to provide sheep and beef breeders with better New Zealand specific data. But how do farmers make the most of this information?

We talk to genetics specialists, Dr Shannon Clarke from AgResearch, Genetics Specialist and Gemma Jenkins from Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Informing New Zealand Beef programme, about projects running at the moment, what data they already have available, and how farmers can start using it in their systems.

Drench resistance is a growing challenge for many New Zealand farms, but it doesn’t have to be a death sentence. Hear about what tools are out there, including adapting farm systems, and being proactive with testing.

Rebecca Greaves talks to Wormwise Programme Manager Ginny Dodunski about what to do if you discover drench resistance onfarm, and Hawke’s Bay farmer Charles Yule, who is farming with drench resistance and wrote his Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme report on this topic.

Lifting the price of wool, the benefits of deferred grazing and capturing money left on the table from everyday tools - Sarah Perriam-Lampp was roving around Fieldays to capture yarns reflecting the opportunities in front of us today.

She checked out some exciting announcements for farmers across New Zealand: outdoor clothing company Stoney Creek’s pledge to pay farmers more for their wool; a new deferred grazing study from AgResearch; and innovations in animal management with Gallagher.

How do we keep the next generation and beyond engaged in the agriculture sector? In order to keep the agriculture sector growing, we have to get young people interested and provide training pathways. Hear from Farmer Time in Schools, which connects primary and intermediate-aged children with different farming systems across the country, and the Waipaoa Farm Cadet Training Trust, who train up the next generation of farmers in their skills-based cadetship.

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.

Those in New Zealand’s deer industry have an exciting future ahead of them, Following the recent Deer Industry NZ conference, we talk to Ron Schroeder 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.

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.
In this episode, we hear from Julia Jones, who asks what reputation we want New Zealand to have; Dr Helen Beattie, a veterinarian who advocates for animal welfare; and Brent Wallace, who sees this as an opportunity to lead the industry.

Waste takes many different forms onfarm and there’s some great initiatives out there with an aim to give these resources another life - sometimes even back on the same farm!
In this episode, we hear from three experts who discuss the exciting ways we can begin to utilise onfarm waste as a resource.

When it comes to looking at the future of regenerating biodiversity, farmers have a key role to play, with 24% of native biodiversity found on sheep and beef farmland, second only to conservation estate.

The wellness industry is valued at $1.8 trillion so why aren’t we positioning New Zealand’s red meat’s positive health attributes? From selecting the right sire through to how we market our beef, hear from three experts on what they think we need to do. We talk about livestock genetics sales ahead of bull sale season, meet our new host of BEEF Country and hear the updates in nutrient profiling of meat cuts from an AgResearch scientist.