CountryWide CONNECT

This episode features Fenton Hazelwood, Rural commentator & author of "Thank a Farmer" discussing record horticultural exports versus the financial reality facing growers. Are the headline figures masking widespread stress across the sector?

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This episode features Andrew Hoggard, Minister for Biosecurity discussing what has been detected, the risks to New Zealand's livestock industries, and the Government's biosecurity response.

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

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Pre-calver nutrition is the starting point for reducing empty rates and milk fever cases for next season. Chris Stephens, Team Lead of Nutrition at SealesWinslow, says that with herds drying off, the focus is now on building body condition and getting mineral levels right before the start of calving.

He says that cows that go into calving in poor condition cycle less reliably, and the cost shows up when it is too late to fix them.

Milk fever starts with mineral deficiency in primarily calcium, he says, with magnesium and phosphorus also playing a part. Pre-calver pellets address those requirements in the lead-up to calving while supporting development.

"It starts right before the cow's even calved... when everything comes through to mating itself, the cows’ had many, many days' opportunity to be in peak condition."

Getting the diet right means knowing what is actually in it. Stephens says SealesWinslow uses a modelling system called Ruminix, which takes in all available feed on a farm alongside targets for growth rate, condition, size and milk yield, then identifies gaps in protein, starch or dry matter.

"We delve down into where the problem lies, so that we can actually help fix it."

He says their solution is built around what each farm needs, rather than a standard package. Where gaps exist, SealesWinslow can supply customised pellets, blends, high-energy straights like soybean meal, or paddock-fed options such as palm kernel, depending on the farm system.

The dry period is the right time to go back through last season's data. Fat-to-protein ratios and milk levels point to where the diet fell short, and whether the fix is adjusting protein, adding bypass fat or changing mineral rates before calving arrives.

With the current milk payout front of mind for many farmers, he says now is the time to act.

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

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This episode features Chloe Walker, CEO, Precision Farming and their recent acquisition of Newpoint enhances connectivity and efficiency in agricultural operations, focusing on technology integration, cost savings, and market trends.
CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch / listen.

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Federated Farmers calls for Government intervention on council partnership agreement rush

Councils to be required to plan for climate risks under new law

Former Open Country Dairy exec admits taking kickbacks from Indonesian customer


WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

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Federated Farmers calls for Government intervention on council partnership agreement rush
Federated Farmers is calling on the Government to intervene after Environment Canterbury became the latest council to fast-track an iwi partnership agreement before the Resource Management Act is replaced.
RMA reform spokesperson Mark Hooper says Environment Canterbury has given elected councillors just one week to consider a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement with Ngāi Tahu — with no public notification before it appeared on the agenda.
The rush is being driven by a quirk in the Government's replacement legislation, which as currently drafted would carry over existing agreements but prevent new ones being signed. Hooper says that has triggered councils and iwi organisations to lock agreements in before the law changes, with dozens now initiated around the country.
Hooper says the timing is particularly poor given local government reform is also underway — new agreements could bind future councils that don't yet exist.
Farmers are concerned some agreements extend beyond collaboration into resource consent processes, potentially adding costs, delays and cultural impact assessment requirements to routine consent applications for feed pads, effluent systems and worker accommodation.

Councils to be required to plan for climate risks under new law
Councils across New Zealand will for the first time be legally required to plan how high-risk communities prepare for climate change impacts, under new legislation introduced by Climate Change Minister Simon Watts.
The Climate Change Response Act amendments will require councils in the highest-risk areas to develop adaptation plans covering at least thirty years, setting out the sequence of actions and investment needed to manage climate-driven natural hazard risks over time.
The bill also strengthens governance of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme secondary market to improve transparency and integrity, and fixes disincentives to invest in decarbonisation. Agriculture remains outside the ETS.
For rural communities in high-risk areas — including coastal and flood-prone farming regions — the adaptation planning requirement could have direct implications for land use decisions and long-term investment.

Former Open Country Dairy exec admits taking kickbacks from Indonesian customer
A former Open Country Dairy executive has pleaded guilty to accepting more than two-hundred-and-seventy-six-thousand dollars in secret payments from an Indonesian customer in exchange for confidential pricing information.
Simon Stewart, former group market manager at Open Country Dairy, admitted one charge under the Secret Commissions Act in the Manukau District Court following a Serious Fraud Office investigation. He received twenty-seven payments between 2019 and 2023 from Indonesian customer PT Anta Tirta Kirana, in exchange for information that influenced pricing negotiations with the company.
SFO director Karen Chang says the offending risked undermining confidence in one of New Zealand's most important export industries. Open Country Dairy referred the matter after its own internal investigation and cooperated throughout.
Stewart will be sentenced on October fifteenth.
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