Listen to The Country online: Fieldays day three - Labour leader Chris Hipkins talks to farmers

Labour leader Chris Hipkins (left) chats to The Country's Jamie Mackay at Fieldays.

Today on The Country radio show, host Jamie Mackay catches up with a cast of thousands at Fieldays, including Labour leader Chris Hipkins, who says he will spend time listening to farmers instead of doing “Prime Ministerial things” this year.

On with the show:

Peter Nation:

The chief executive of Fieldays gives his impressions on how the big event is going so far, including a review of the impressive goings on at the Innovation Hub.

Chris Hipkins:

The Labour leader says this year’s Fieldays is an opportunity to spend time listening to farmers, instead of being “whisked around” doing “Prime Ministerial things”. He said it was also a time to amend the “strained relationships” between the agricultural sector and his previous government. Plus, he talks about the Coalition Government’s decision to exclude agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme and the scrapping of He Waka Eke Noa.

Jo Luxton:

Labour’s agriculture spokeswoman reveals she has been dubbed “The Princess of the Provinces” by Federated Farmers and has decided to own the title. She talks about her conversations with farmers at Fieldays and her constructive discussions with Minister of Agriculture, Todd McClay.

Ray Smith:

The Director General of MPI looks over yesterday’s Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report, which he remains positive about despite a forecast drop in export revenue. He also talks about meeting the Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and whether job losses at MPI will affect biosecurity.

Tim Dangen and Emma Poole aka The Dangen Zone, finally get to meet The Country's Jamie Mackay in person at Fieldays.

Emma Poole and Tim Dangen:

This brother and sister duo are also the 2023 and 2022 Young Farmers of the Year. “The Dangen Zone” meets Jamie Mackay face-to-face for the first time at Fieldays.

Mike Casey:

The Central Otago zero-carbon cherry grower is at Fieldays with his electric tractor, which he says is the perfect tool for what he needs, and is keen for others to find out whether it would work for them too.

Wayne Langford:

The president of Federated Farmers says he’s cautiously welcoming the government’s announcement of an independent inquiry into rural banking but still has a few questions about how “rural” it will be. He also talks about the Rural Advocacy Hub at Fieldays.

Bryce McKenzie and Laurie Paterson:

The co-founders of Groundswell join The Country at Fieldays to talk about how they got the farming advocacy group up and running, along with what they think about the rural banking inquiry.

Jason Te Brake:

The new chief executive of Zespri talks about how his role is going so far and what he’s going to do about those mice that ruined over a million trays of kiwifruit.

Tim Ormrod:

Brandt’s senior vice president for Australia and New Zealand reflects on a successful Fieldays, with loads of visitors to the award-winning site.

Listen below: