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.
Federated Farmers Podcast
SOS: Save Our Sheep | EP 37
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New Zealand’s sheep population has plummeted from over 70 million in the 1980s to just 25 million today—and the decline is accelerating.
In this episode, we speak with Toby Williams, national meat and wool chair and a sheep farmer himself, about the alarming state of the red meat sector.
What’s driving the loss—land use changes, climate policy, farmer confidence, or economics? What’s at stake for rural communities and the wider industry? And crucially, what can be done to reverse the trend? It’s a wake-up call for the future of sheep farming in New Zealand.