Podcasts

Investing off-farm in property or shares can be a daunting prospect, however it’s an increasingly appealing way to future proof your funds and diversify wealth away from land. Navigating how to start, what to invest in, and how to manage the risks should be top of mind for anyone interested in investing.
Learn more about how managing your wealth can help with farm succession, retirement, and preparing your rainy day fund. We also cover the importance of estate planning and insurance when it comes to key people in your business. Hear from Financial Advisor Carissa Fairborther, Scott McKenzie from PMG Funds, and Wealth Management Advisor Angus Marks.

When the traditional income streams are not delivering enough to the bottom line, is it time to diversify into activities that don’t rely on the cyclical nature of farm commodities? It can be hard to know what options are out there to diversify onfarm income, and how they can be integrated into your farming system. In this episode hear about different options for diversifying, from raising goats for cashmere to horticulture and viticulture. We speak to Olivia Sanders from NZ Cashmere; Che Charteris from Craigmore Sustainables; and Marcus Bousfield from ANZ.

Could solar farming be the next value-add option for New Zealand farmers? Agrivoltaics, which sees dual use of farmland between solar farming and traditional farming, is gaining traction as a viable way of diversifying income.
Hear what’s already happening in this space, including the Lincoln University energy farm project, how Lodestone Energy is partnering with farmers to expand their solar farm network, and listen to farmer Hamish Hills, who researched, financed and installed his own solar setup on his Golden Bay dairy farm.

Farmers looking to implement a value-add business onfarm might want to consider looking into agritourism - with options such as self-contained holiday homes, glamping, and sunflower fields just to name a few. What you might consider ordinary on your farm, might just be extraordinary to an overseas or domestic customer.
But where do you get started? And does it really bring in enough revenue to make it worth it? Hear from three experts in both the consultancy and agritourism space, covering where to start, what to consider, and what the rewards are.

Tough times in New Zealand and globally have taken their toll on the luxury goods market, and New Zealand’s merino sector is no exception.
In this episode, we hear from those who know merino best, and how they’re planning to overcome challenges related to financial recession, and overseas regulations, that demand higher quality and processing accountability. We also look at how new technologies in the AI and genetics space could help enhance merino quality. Hear from NZ Merino CEO Angus Street, neXtgen Agri Co-Founder & Director Mark Ferguson, and Devold New Zealand General Manager Craig Smith.

Protecting our farm businesses for future generations is front of mind for many in the farming world, including when it comes to land use, and freshwater degradation.
Guests Lee Matheson and Tanira Kingi have both been part of Our Land And Water (Toitū te Whenua, Toiora te Wai) research projects, and spoke at the symposium held in May, to discuss ways farmers already are and can continue to protect their greatest asset: the land. Whether this is getting involved in protecting your local catchment, or diversifying land use, the opportunities are out there.

One of the hot topics at the Red Meat Sector Conference this week was the recently enacted EU deforestation regulation, and how this will impact New Zealand meat exporters. Rebecca Greaves talks to farmer and Special Agricultural Trade Envoy for New Zealand, Hamish Marr, and lawyer Sarah Salmond, about this and more - including negotiating the minefield of Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and whether we should join forces with the Aussies.
Then hear from McDonald’s New Zealand's Simon Kenny about what they’re doing to get ahead of the game when it comes to sustainability, meeting their climate obligations and goals with their beef suppliers.

Farm succession is something that affects every farming family at some point - whether it be from parent to child, or outside the family unit, there are many ways to approach it, and definitely no silver bullet.
Hear from three people who know succession’s in-and-outs best:, a farmer currently in the succession process; a rural banking expert; and a family succession planning consultant.

Rural banking is a hot topic. The government says it has heard farmers’ concerns about a disparity between rural and urban bank lending practices, and has requested an inquiry into the state of competition in New Zealand banking, with a particular focus on rural areas.

Hear from those in the industry about why they believe this inquiry is needed, whether the current situation is unfair to farmers, and where personal business responsibility fits into this. Federated Farmers also outline the results of their latest banking survey, and what they hope will come from the inquiry.

The government has announced that agriculture will no longer be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for now, but the effects of climate change and the way we might potentially price agricultural emissions are still front of mind for those in the sector. Industry bodies say that New Zealand food producers need to think about how a global demand for sustainably grown and produced food will impact our place in the supply chain.