CountryWide CONNECT

Show Summary
(Working backwards from 1pm to 11am)
We finish at 12:48 with Tony Trewinnard from Blue Skies Weather bringing the latest outlook for farmers around the country and what conditions are shaping up like across the regions.
At 12:33, Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award winner Tony Dodunski joins us to discuss practical on-farm innovation, how technology is being used at farm level, and the role of Ag Assist in connecting rural services and support.
At 12:18, Dr Shaun Presow from the Environmental Protection Authority joins us following the withdrawal of an appeal against the EPA’s glyphosate ruling, discussing what the High Court decision means for science-based regulation and chemical oversight in New Zealand.
At 12:05, Edward Fitzgerald joins us ahead of this week’s New Zealand Century Farms & Station Awards in Lawrence, celebrating farming families who have remained on the same land for more than 100 years.
At 12:00 it’s Rural News with Farmlands.
At 11:48, Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson discusses looming local government reform, council amalgamation pressure, and what structural change could mean for rural representation and local decision-making.
At 11:33, Cristina Alvarado from NZX breaks down the latest Global Dairy Trade event, dairy futures and what current market signals are telling farmers.
At 11:18, Federated Farmers Vice President Colin Hurst discusses biodiversity credits, environmental investment and whether farmers are finally beginning to get recognised for conservation work already happening on-farm.
We open at 11:05 with Robyn Haugh from True Nature discussing the new partnership with Pāmu exploring native restoration projects, biodiversity credits and the emerging environmental investment market in New Zealand.
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CountryWide Connect – Show Summary

(Working backwards from 1pm to 11am)

We finish at 12:48 with Geoff Ross from CarbonCrop discussing the Government’s Nature and Carbon Markets announcement, the future of environmental markets and whether farmers can generate meaningful income from natural capital and carbon systems.

At 12:33, Jo Hendy — Chief Executive, Climate Change Commission — joins us to unpack the Commission’s latest climate risk assessment, why agriculture is identified as a major long-term climate risk, and what adaptation and resilience could realistically look like for the sector by 2050.

At 12:18, Associate Minister for the Environment Andrew Hoggard joins us to discuss the Government’s Nature and Carbon Markets announcement, balancing environmental outcomes with practical farming realities, and where the Coalition wants to take climate and land-use policy.

At 12:05, Jim van der Poel reflects on receiving special recognition at the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards for more than four decades of service to the dairy sector, including leadership through major industry change and the creation of Fonterra.

At 12:00 it’s Rural News with Farmlands.

At 11:48, Murray Hart — Business Development Manager, Animal Health at Ecolab — discusses calving season biosecurity, hygiene and milk quality, and the practical steps farmers can take to minimise disease pressure and improve outcomes this season.

At 11:33, Matt Watson — Host, ITM Fishing Show — discusses the Fisheries Amendment Bill backlash, public concern around commercial fishing reform, and whether Shane Jones has politically misread mainstream New Zealanders on fisheries management.

At 11:18, Scott and Stacey Mackereth — 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmers of the Year — join us in studio to discuss their journey through the industry, leadership, progression and what success looks like in modern dairying.

We open at 11:05 with Richard Harman for Politics Monday, covering the NZ Herald poll of polls, coalition tensions, local government reform, and the growing debate around trust and culture inside New Zealand media.
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CountryWide Connect – Show Summary
(Working backwards from 1pm to 11am)
We finish at 12:45 with the Farmer Panel — Harriet Bremner, North Canterbury sheep and beef farmer, and Chris Lewis, Southland dairy farmer and former Federated Farmers president — discussing how New Zealand’s own farming standards and practices now sit at the centre of the imported food welfare debate.
At 12:33, Jeremy Bryant, Founder and CTO – Aimer Farming, joins us on AI-powered pasture management and how tools like “Ask AIMER” are turning farm data into real-time grazing decisions.
At 12:18, Daniel Eb, Deputy Leader – The Opportunities Party, on future farming policy, productivity, healthy land and why TOP still hasn’t settled on a position around imported food welfare standards.
At 12:03, Simon Watts, Minister of Local Government, Climate Change, Revenue and Auckland, discusses sweeping council reform and why councils now have three months to propose structural change.
At 12:00 it’s Rural News with Farmlands.
At 11:48, Steve Abel, Agriculture Spokesperson for the Green Party, discusses the Animal Products (Closing the Welfare Gap) Amendment Bill and whether imported food should meet New Zealand animal welfare standards.
At 11:17, Dansy and Greg Coppell, Co-Founders of Repost, discuss hitting one million repurposed social posts and how businesses are extracting more value from existing digital content.
And we kick off at 11:05 with Helen Lash, Mayor of the Westland District, on West Coast roading resilience, South Westland funding pressure and whether roads like Haast to Jackson Bay are finally being treated as critical national infrastructure.
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CountryWide Connect – Show Summary
(Working backwards from 1pm to 11am)
We finish at 12:48 with Tony Trewinnard, BlueSkies Weather, as the season turns — heavy rain this week, then a cold snap and first real frost window mid-May, with dry risk building in eastern regions.
At 12:33, Colin Glass, Outgoing Chief Executive – Dairy Holdings, on a career at scale in dairy, the big shifts he’s seen, and where the sector — and Fonterra — are heading.
At 12:18, Alan Thomson, Chief Executive – Beef + Lamb New Zealand, lays out exactly what sheep and beef farmers want from the next government — fewer rules, lower costs, and certainty.
At 12:05, Andrew Hoggard, Minister for Biosecurity and Food Safety, on the “Open Seat Rule” — fixing rural school transport inefficiency.
At 12:00 it’s Rural News with Farmlands.
At 11:48, Jon Pemberton, Nuffield Scholar and Environment Southland Councillor, challenges the clean green narrative — arguing the problem isn’t farmers, it’s the system.
At 11:33, Corina Jordan, Chief Executive – Fish and Game New Zealand, on freshwater, access, and the growing clash between environment and production.
At 11:18, Campbell Parker, Chief Executive – DairyNZ, on Foot and Mouth readiness — and new evidence showing good farming practices are delivering real water quality gains.
And we kick off at 11:05 with James Meager, Minister for the South Island and Minister of Hunting and Fishing, on opening weekend and the pressure points around access and environment.
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This episode features Karen Williams, Chief Executive, Irrigation & John Sunkel, New Zealand Environment Canterbury Councillor, Dairy Farmer, Arable Farmer discussing the big picture of farming.

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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