Is Farming Still the Backbone of New Zealand’s Economy?

Food prices, protein trends, and the methane vaccine debate This episode covers three big farming and food topics that are all showing up in the same week: UK subsidy reform, the rise in high-protein consumer demand, and the controversy around methane-reduction technology for cattle. Myfi and Emily connect the dots between policy, public health trends, and the realities of producing food in a unique pasture-based system.We discuss why UK farmers are facing a major funding reset, why shoppers are leaning hard into protein and whole foods, and why a new cattle methane vaccine is drawing both interest and concern.

141 | Emily and Myfanwy cover a packed farm news update, from record red meat export returns and PAMU’s profit surge to the political noise around freshwater rules. The main deep dive looks at why diesel and fertiliser costs are climbing together, how Middle East supply disruptions are rippling through global markets, and what farmers can do to reduce input pressure.

EP 140 | El Nino, not all sunshine and warm winds

139 | The episode covers wilding pines, the new mandatory farm plastics recycling scheme, drone spraying rule changes, and what the major farming organisations are asking of politicians ahead of the election. They close with a practical resource for rural governance and trustee vacancies across New Zealand.

EP 138 | 🎙️ So… What Did We Miss?