Federated Farmers Podcast
The Federated Farmers Podcast is your weekly guide to the issues affecting rural New Zealand. Join us as we unpack the policies, challenges and big ideas shaping life on farm. With frank conversations from farmers, advocates and experts, we break down what matters and why, so you can stay informed, prepared and heard. Hosted by Ben Chapman-Smith.
Episodes
66 episodes
When farming isn’t the problem – a Farmstrong story | EP 66
Marc Gascoigne, a Cambridge dairy farmer and Farmstrong Champion, joins us to share his wellbeing journey, including what it was like to suffer in silence for years and what helped him turn things around, including an unexpected conversation wi...
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43:27
Fix or float the farm loan? | EP 65
Interest rates have been shifting fast, and many farmers are wondering if now is the time to fix or float their loans. To help cut through the noise, we’re joined by NZAB founder and director Scott Wishart, who explains what’s happe...
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25:25
UK farmers under pressure – with Tom Bradshaw | EP 64
British farmers are facing many of the same pressures as Kiwi farmers – rising costs, land use change, tougher environmental rules, and greater public scrutiny.Tom Bradshaw, president of the UK’s National Farmers’ Union, joins us to shar...
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45:42
The dos and don'ts of farm equity partnerships | EP 63
Thinking about entering a farm equity partnership, or just curious about how they work? In this episode, rural accountant Joe Morgan breaks it all down. Joe, a director at GFA in Te Awamutu, explains what equity partnerships are, ho...
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30:47
Jim Ward and Simon Cameron — bringing grazing back to crown land | EP 62
For decades, grazing kept New Zealand’s Crown land in check, supporting healthy landscapes and holding back pests and weeds. But when livestock were removed, those problems exploded. In this episode, Jim Ward and Simon Cameron expla...
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38:22
How do we win the war on pines and pests? | EP 61
Feral pests like deer pigs are exploding in number across New Zealand, while wilding pines are marching across some of our most iconic landscapes. Farmers are seeing the fallout every day: destroyed pasture, lost production, biosecurity risks, ...
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42:32
How farmers can lead well when the pressure is on | EP 60
Running a farm means leadership under pressure is part of the job. When the weather turns, the workload spikes or the unexpected hits, there’s no pause button. Southland leadership trainer and former military veteran Tony Groves hel...
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34:55
The KiwiSaver roadblock facing young farmers | EP 59
It’s been more than two years since the Government promised to let young farmers use their KiwiSaver to buy their first home or farm — but nothing has changed. In this episode, we talk with Kylee Smit, a Cambridge-based mortgage adv...
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19:39
Contract milking insights from Colin Glass | EP 58
Contract milking remains a key stepping stone in New Zealand dairying, but what does it take to succeed in this role today? In this episode, Dairy Holdings chief executive Colin Glass shares his experience running one of the country...
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39:02
Unpacking the Alliance–Dawn Meats proposal with Professor Keith Woodford | EP 57
Alliance Group farmer-shareholders are facing one of the biggest decisions in New Zealand’s red meat sector in decades: whether to approve a proposed $250 million joint venture with Europe’s Dawn Meats Group. In this episode, we’re joined by Pr...
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23:48
Fonterra and the future | EP 56
Fonterra is at a crossroads, with its proposed sale of Mainland Group raising big questions for its farmer suppliers, the wider dairy sector, and everyday consumers.In this episode, we’re joined by Matt Montgomerie, a senior analyst at F...
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35:38
‘How are you really doing?’ — Bex Green’s mental health story | EP 55
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, and North Canterbury dairy farmer Bex Green is opening up about one of the toughest periods of her life. Between a severe injury, raising three kids, and running a 1000-cow contract milking operati...
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49:44
When farming meets red tape: David Clark and Colin Hurst on the consent crisis | EP 54
Farmers across New Zealand are voicing growing frustration with regional councils, resource consents, and the cost of compliance. Nothing has captured that frustration quite like Canterbury farmer
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47:08
Making the most of strong farmgate returns | EP 53
Dairy, beef and sheep farmers are all enjoying strong returns right now – but as every farmer knows, the good times don’t last forever. In this episode, Federated Farmers dairy chair Karl Dean shares practical advice on how to turn today’s prof...
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24:13
How farmers can unlock better banking deals | EP 52
Scott Wishart from agricultural loan broker NZAB joins us to discuss how farmers can take more control of their banking outcomes. Scott shares practical advice on how to become “bank-ready,” what information to gather beyond budgets...
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29:33
Can rural media survive? | EP 51
Farmers rely on rural media to stay informed – but shrinking print runs, social media, and changing news habits are putting pressure on traditional outlets. In this episode, we sit down with Dean Williamson, CEO of AgriHQ and publi...
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38:33
Will farmers finally get a fair deal on banking? | EP 50
Farmers have long been saying they’re getting a raw deal from the banks – higher interest rates, tougher lending rules, fewer options, and growing pressure around environmental reporting. That’s why Federated Farmers pushed so hard for a rural ...
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37:03
Carbon forestry crisis – the view from Southland | EP 49
Carbon forestry is spreading fast, and the impacts are becoming impossible to ignore for farmers in regions like Southland. In this episode, we’re joined by Dean Rabbidge, Southland Federated Farmers meat & wool chair, to talk about what he...
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30:26
Mental health on the land – what’s the plan? | EP 48
In this episode, we dig into the mental health challenges facing farmers and rural communities, and ask: is the support on offer actually working?Matt Doocey, New Zealand’s first dedicated Minister for Mental Health, joins us to discuss ...
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49:17
Hugh Jackson on farming, balance and backing himself | EP 47
A month since he won the prestigious NZ Young Farmer of the Year Award, we catch up with Hugh Jackson to find out how he’s feeling about the win and get to know a bit better. We dig into his background, his personal goals, his menta...
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42:49
Blocked and banned: why farmers are fed up with the EPA | EP 46
In this episode we’re digging into a hot topic in the primary sector – regulation of agrichemicals and the role of the Environmental Protection Authority, or EPA.David Birkett, Federated Farmers’ biosecurity spokesperson and arable chair...
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21:58
Red meat pressure points and potential solutions | EP 45
In this episode, we take a hard look at where things are at for the red meat and wool sectors right now, including what’s driving the strong red meat returns, but also pain points like processor viability, falling stock numbers, productive farm...
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35:53
Avoiding legal trouble on farm: what every farmer should know | EP 44
Legal issues on the farm can be stressful — and often dealt with only when things go wrong. In this episode, you'll hear from lawyer Simon Middlemiss about the most common legal and employment problems farmers face, and how to avoid them. ...
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29:35
Putting the success back into succession with Peter Templeton | EP 43
We’re continuing the theme of farm succession by chatting with Peter Templeton, a fifth-generation Southland dairy farmer, who spent five months travelling the USA and Europe as a Nuffield scholar, researching what works (and what doesn’t) when...
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