Today on The Country Jamie catches up with Marlin Bohling for a chat about the big issues in American farming.
On with the show:
Damien O'Connor:
The Minister of Agriculture discusses yesterday's Red Meat Sector Conference in Napier, the latest on M. bovis, the increasing number of farmers having to seek work off-farm plus he passes judgment on the tenures of John Wilson as Fonterra chairman and Winston Peters as Acting PM.
Rod Oram:
Is a leading business journalist who also attended the Red Meat Sector Conference. He says the influence of the very successful Zespri cooperative is now infiltrating the meat and dairy industries. Plus he reckons the new Fonterra chairman John Monaghan is "less of the same" compared to his predecessors, Sir Henry van der Heyden and John Wilson.
Listen below:
Marlin Bohling:
We head to Tennessee to talk to the Markets Editor of the Nashville-based Rural Media Group about Trump's proposed $12 billion subsidies for American farmers and how the drought is affecting beef and crop production. We also tell you how you can join us on the Southern USA Farming and Sightseeing Tour in November.
Peter Newbold:
The GM of PGG Wrightson Real Estate takes his monthly look at the rural market where dairy is in limbo off the back of M.bovis and OIO, sheep and beef properties are moving and horticulture continues to star.
'It is a much more efficient way of getting twice as many apples using a lot less water.'