Rabobank Best of The Country - February 20, 2021

This week on The Best of The Country, Jamie Mackay caught up with Blake Holgate, to talk about his newly appointed role as Head of Sustainable Business Development for Rabobank.

This week's top interviews are:

John Brakenridge:

The New Zealand Merino chief executive explained why the fine wool industry was heading down the regenerative agriculture track. He also explained why global Merino wool apparel and footwear brands - Allbirds, Icebreaker and Smartwool - were jumping on the bandwagon.

Damien O'Connor:

The Minister of Agriculture said farmers shouldn't be worried about changes to the Resource Management Act. He also discussed the latest developments in freshwater reforms and biosecurity.

Hunter McGregor:

Our Chinese correspondent is a Kiwi selling New Zealand venison in Shanghai - but this week he looked at how, and why, Chinese were consuming dairy products in greater volumes.

Miles Hurrell:

Fonterra's chief executive was bullish about cows this week, following the seventh consecutive positive Global Dairy Trade Auction. He also looked at how the co-op was future proofing itself against any potential future pandemic lockdowns.

Blake Holgate:

Rabobank's newly appointed Head of Sustainable Business Development said part of his new role was not only managing increasing environmental risk, but also seizing opportunities created by a scarcity of resources and a growing global population.

Dr Jacqueline Rowarth:

One of New Zealand's leading farming academics said she believed the Prime Minister was softening her stance towards agriculture. She also reckoned agrichemicals had been getting bad press over cancer rates in the farming sector.

Listen below: