Welcome to Blue Shed Diary - a podcast about and for growers, farmers, and rural communities.

Blue Shed Diary loves a road trip, and for our latest roadie we visited PGG Wrightson's Research & Development Site in Hastings and interviewed our newest Technical Advisor, Laura Morgan.

Laura started her career as an intern but has since moved up the ladder into a full-time gig at the R&D Station where she works with the Tech Team on the 50-odd trials currently in operation.

She joins Milton Munro, our host and Technical Teams Manager (a.k.a. her boss) for a conversation.

The Rural Support Trust helps our Farmers, Growers, and Rural Communities thrive in good times and bad. Through well-being initiatives to community connection to advice and support through financial pressure or adverse events, RST is there.

The people of the Rural Support Trust are farmers and growers, too. They know the life, and the challenges, too. PGG Wrightson are big fans of the Rural Support Trust and their mahi, so at Fieldays, host Milton Munro sat down with Michelle Ruddell, Te Tai Tokerau Trustee and Chair of the National Council.

Two years ago, when Cait Majeski (decidedly not a farmer) returned to the family farm to help her father after surgery, she often found herself crying in the field trying to figure out what to do next.

With an office background, she was used to having tools to help manage the workload, but she couldn't find anything like it for farming. So, she built it herself.

Introducing Pacala - a spatial management system -- or software platform for use on-farm. No wifi, no problem. At your fingertips you have blueprints, paddock maps, logbooks -- all on one screen. So, everyone on the team is connected to the same source of truth.

Cait debuted Pacala at the Innovation Hub at Fieldays, and joins the conversation.

To try Pacala yourself, visit: Pacala Demo

Each year, Young Winemakers (30 years or younger) from around Aotearoa compete for top prize in the Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year Competition. Part of the prize, besides bragging rights, is a regional winemaking tour with PGG Wrightson Fruitfed Supplies.

The three National Finalists for 2025 got a tour of the Wairarapa wine region and Blue Shed Diary came along on the ride. Together they visited several local vineyards, got to know about more about the craft from the head winemakers, and tried many a delightful drop along the way.

It was a jam-packed few days, so we fit in our interview where we could, literally, by recording from the car on the way toanother winery visit. So, we apologies in advance for a bit of road noise and the recorded voice giving directions. Despite this, we were able to explore what winemaking means for these young creators, how exploring the craft through another maker's work inspires them, and what makes a good and interesting drop.

Joining the conversation are the 2025 National Finalists:

Thalia Osborne, North Island Young Winemaker from Hawke's Bay, Dingying Jiang, Central Otago Young Winemaker, and National Winner of the 2025 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year competition, Ruby McManaway, whois from Marlborough.

Welcome to Blue Shed Diary - podcast for Farmers and Growers. This year we hit the road and headed to Fieldays at Mystery Creek to talk to the movers and shakers of the industry.

One group, sharing a tent with PGG Wrightson, is LANDSAR or Land Search and Rescue. They are the volunteer rescue organisation you hope to never need but are so grateful they exist when you do. They help kiwis and visitors in need in diverse environments - urban, suburban, rural, wilderness - hither and yon.

They have thousands of volunteers available 24/7/ 365 to answer the call of people in trouble. One of those volunteers, Alan Gregory, sat down with Blue Shed Diary to talk about his experiences. He joins the conversation now.

Blue Shed Diary hit the road for Mystery Creek in June to talk to the movers and shakers of Fieldays.

Innovators are among many of the movers and shakers at Fieldays and in the Primary Industries. They are at the forefront of many changes in the sector.

Halter is a New Zealand agriculture tech company who has developed solar-powered cattle collars and farm management software to assist farmers with virtual fencing, animal monitoring, and pasture management.

Joining the conversation is Halter's Regional Sale Manager for the Upper South Island, Kate Clausen.

Blue Shed Diary - PGG Wrightson's podcast for Farmers and Growers - hit the road for Mystery Creek to interview the movers and shakers of Fieldays.

Taking Fieldays, rural New Zealand, fashionistas, and soon the world by storm are the team of Honest Wolf. Sophie and Sam Hurley of Papanui Estate started Honest Wolf, using the wool from their farm, to find a fashionable and cool product using Wool.

For our very first video interview, Blue Shed Diary host Milton Munro sat down with Sophie to talk about Honest Wolf, the value of wool, and the reinvigoration of New Zealand's greatest natural fibre.

She joins the conversation now.

Welcome to Blue Shed Diary - a podcast for Farmers and Growers.

In July's Tech Talk, we turn to Christian Muller, PGG Wrightson's Technical Expert for Animal Production to talk about Dairy Cows.

It's calf rearing season, and dairy cows are particularly vulnerable right now to metabolic diseases and disorders during the transition period around calving. So, how do you help cows transition from pregnancy with minimal stress and body-fat loss post calving? Christian joins to the conversation with the answers.

Welcome to Blue Shed Diary, a podcast for Farmers and Growers.

In Agriculture, there are things we can control but one ofthe biggest influences on-farm is something we can’t control – the weather.

 A few days ago, Earth Sciences New Zealand (formally NIWA) confirmed we are in officially in an El Niño period. Predictions are calling this a 'supercharged' El Niño and say this could be one of the strongest on record. This weather pattern will definitely impact all of us, but especially those who make a living from the land.

To get a better understanding of what this may mean for us,we are joined by Chris Brandolino, Principal Scientist of Forecasting and Media for Earth Sciences New Zealand. He joins the conversation now.

Blue Shed Diary went to Fieldays 2026 to have conversations with the movers and shakers of the Primary Industries.

A relatively new mover and shaker is Heather Sorensen. She was appointed the new President of Rural Women New Zealand in April, though she has been a faithful member since 1979.

Milton Munro spoke with Heather about her new role and the evolution of the organisation.