Farmers Weekly Podcast

This week we examine the issues shaping rural New Zealand. Neal Wallace revisits the solar farm debate and looks at moves to bring food and fibre into secondary schools, AgriHQ’s Sara Hilhorst wraps up a massive Feilding-Marton hogget fair, AgFirst’s James Allen explains how small farm management changes can deliver big gains for dairy farmers, and Federated Farmers’ Sandra Faulkner examines the progress of local government reform.

Senior reporter Neal Wallace follows up on his story on solar farms, with advocates saying the better alternative to them is for every farmer to implement their own system. And, moves to introduce a food and fibre curriculum to secondary schools is being celebrated, though teachers are waiting on the details on how it will be taught.

AgriHQ analyst Sara Hilhorst wraps up the Feilding-Marton hogget fair, held in Feilding this week. It was a massive yarding and despite the size, vendors left happy.

AgFirst’s James Allen outlines how some small changes to farm management can realise big gains in profit on Waikato and Bay of Plenty dairy farms. He says being smarter with fertiliser and focusing on feed quality can really help the bottom line.

Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty vice-president Sandra Faulkner takes a look at how the government’s local government reforms are tracking, with many regions submitting a Head Start plan that outlines how they propose to structure councils in the future.