Listen: Helping farmers 'stand tall again'

Photo / File

Julia Jones is proud of the progress New Zealand agriculture has made with environmental issues – she just wishes Kiwi farmers felt the same way.

The Head of Analytics for NZX told the Country's Jamie Mackay, her mission is to "get farmers to stand tall again."

"I get to travel the country and talk to farmers and I kind of get the feeling that they're getting beaten up - they're exhausted, and it makes me feel sad."

Jones is concerned that farmers have been blamed for issues that aren't entirely their fault when it comes to the environment.

Julia Jones. Photo / Duncan Brown

"We've beaten them up and said they did all these wrong things. They didn't get up one day and decide to do these things. It was the market [that] was pushing it, the industry was pushing it. We were pushing them to produce more and do more."

The changes that Kiwi farmers have made in response to environmental concerns is something Jones wants them to be able to take ownership of.

"It makes me sad that farmers don't feel they can stand tall in their industry."

Listen below:

Jones admitted that not everyone was pulling their weight, and had a message for the bad apples who let the industry down.

"Let's not tolerate them as an industry – we're better than that. Let's not allow the neighbour to be a terrible farmer. Let's help them up, or help them out [of the industry]."

The work that Kiwi farmers do should be celebrated said Jones, who takes the opportunity during her on-farm presentations.

"I get to talk about farming in New Zealand and I'm really proud of talking about it," she said.

Also in today's interview: Jones talks about the greatest advantage New Zealand has on the world agricultural stage - clean, green, GE free, grass-fed production.