The Country-Wide Podcast

Mar 13 2025 63 ep. 52 mins 2
The Country-Wide Podcast artwork

Bringing' you the best of rural New Zealand for nearly 50 years via your mailboxes, now it’s time for our seasonal stories from the magazine to weekly updates straight to your ears.

Proud to celebrate the grit and the smarts it takes to farm as well as good ol' fashioned country culture with The Country-Wide Podcast.

Hosts: Sarah Perriam-Lampp - CEO & Editor-in-Chief at CountryWide Media

For more information & to subscribe to Country-Wide, visit www.country-wide.co.nz

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Episode 59 - How the Government can support catchment-level solutions

Mar 13 2025 30 mins  
In this episode, Sarah delves into an in-depth discussion with Geoff Simmons, Chief Economist for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. The conversation focuses on the report Going with the Grain: Changing Land Uses to Fit a Changing Landscape, which was published in May 2024. Geoff highlights the importance of adopting a catchment-level approach to land use changes,

Episode 58 - How can farmers navigate political and economic uncertainty?

Mar 06 2025 34 mins  
In this episode, Sarah Perriam-Lampp sits down with Methven farmer Hamish Marr, who serves as New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy. They discuss his role in representing New Zealand agriculture in global markets, the evolving international landscape, and the impact of policies like the Paris Accord and the Net Zero Banking Alliance. Hamish emphasises the fundamental

Episode 57 - From the Paddock: homeblock columnists on seasons and stock

Feb 20 2025 52 mins  
This episode brings together insights from a diverse group of Homeblock columnists, offering a broad perspective on farming both in New Zealand and abroad. Rebecca Greaves and Sarah Perriam-Lampp discuss a range of topics, from sheep breeding and cattle fertility to shifting seasonal conditions and life on the land. This episode explores the evolving challenges and triumphs of farm

Episode 56 - Farming’s next leap: AI, tech and the future of productivity

Feb 13 2025 36 mins  
The big craze over how technology and AI will drive the next wave of productivity gains in farming isn’t slowing down. Off the back of Tony Leggett’s feature on improvements in tech in the Summer issue of Country-Wide, Rebecca Greaves and Sarah Perriam-Lampp discuss where the biggest opportunities lie, the barriers to adoption—particularly cost—and the impor

Episode 55 - Lifting our game from woolshed to shop

Feb 06 2025 56 mins  
The hot topic at the moment is New Zealand’s wool quality challenges to position both merino and strong wool with a positive future. Following our release of the annual Merino Review magazine, Sarah Perriam-Lampp discusses merino clip tenderness and improvements through farmer education, the rise of female wool classers and wool research’s renewed mission to return bett

Episode 54 - Is your farm insurance keeping up with the changes?

Jan 30 2025 52 mins  
This episode we take a deep dive into the changes affecting rising insurance premiums and advice on how to navigate the changes including a new insurance model called parametric insurance that will help farmers insure in the face of extreme weather events. Guests include: Brett Borrell, Commercial and Rural Manager, Gallaghers Insurance Lucie Douma, Head of Client Strategy and Adv

Episode 53 - A national and international look at the sheep industry and where it’s heading

Jan 23 2025 51 mins  
With the start of the new year, more signs are appearing for the direction the sheep industry is going. The majority of these signs are positive and are pointing towards an exciting year for the industry. In this episode, hear from the South Island Livestock Manager for PGG Wrightson, Shane Gerken about how prices have looked over the summer break and what they’re shifting to

Episode 52 - How are farmers implementing low emissions solutions?

Jan 16 2025 39 mins  
Selecting sheep for their lower methane traits could be a great tool for farmers, if emissions pricing is on the cards. Cool Sheep Programme Manager Dr Cynthia Lawrence discusses how they are using gene selection to breed lower methane sheep. Central Otago farmer Emma Crutchley shares how they’ve tackled emissions reductions on her family farm, using a range of actions, inclu

Episode 51 - Shutting the paddock gate to cut costs

Dec 12 2024 60 mins  
Deferred grazing could be a great option for your farm, to reduce costs, and improve soil health, with environmental benefits too, and could be as simple as shutting the paddock gate. In this episode, hear from a Waikato farmer who has implemented this practice on his farm, and a scientist behind the research into deferred grazing. We also hear from Property Brokers about what chan

Episode 50 - Is 2025 the year of the deer?

Dec 05 2024 41 mins  
2025 could be a window of opportunity for farmers to get into the deer industry, as the sheep industry faces tough times. With new market access opportunities opening up in China and South Korea, and the benefits of mixed species farming in mind, could it be the year of the deer for New Zealand farmers? Guests include: Rhys Griffiths, CEO, Deer Industry New Zealand Mark McCoard