CountryWide CONNECT

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

 

Federated Farmers is welcoming Labour’s promise to restore rural school bus routes but says farming families will want to see the detail before getting too excited.

Rural education spokesperson Greg Anderson says if Labour is talking about fixing fundamental flaws in eligibility criteria, that’s genuinely worth hearing more about. But if it’s a Band-Aid solution to score election points, it won’t be well received in rural New Zealand.

Anderson acknowledges bus route cuts have happened under the current Government — but similar cuts occurred when Labour was last in power. He says the system works well for most rural communities, but those who have lost routes face real pressure on families.

All three main rural-focused parties now have school bus policies on the table — Labour promising to restore cancelled routes, ACT pushing an Open Seat Rule allowing any child on a route to board if seats are available regardless of which school they attend.

 

Parts of New Zealand are enjoying their warmest spring day so far today, with Christchurch, Hastings and Napier reaching as high as twenty-seven to twenty-eight degrees — nearly ten degrees above average for this time of year.

A northwesterly flow over the South Island ranges is driving the warm, dry conditions across eastern areas of both islands. But farmers and growers shouldn’t get too comfortable — a significant cold front is on its way.

Temperatures in Christchurch are expected to drop to eleven degrees by Friday — a sixteen-degree swing in just three days. Buller is under an orange heavy rain warning from midnight tonight through to Wednesday evening.

Metservice is urging people to keep a close eye on watches and warnings as the front moves up the country over the next few days.

 

The eighth annual Agfest at Greymouth aerodrome this weekend is shaping up to be the biggest yet, with three-hundred-and-fifty sites and more than thirteen-hundred individual exhibitors — three extra pavilions added to cope with demand.

A charity auction on Saturday will raise funds for Ranui House and the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust, with heavy agricultural gear among the items on offer. About eighteen percent of Ranui House occupancy is West Coast people, making it a cause close to home for many attending.

There’s plenty on for all ages — the Agri Kids competition runs Friday, woodchopping Saturday, and Sturgeons Amusements will have dodgems, chair-o-planes and a ferris wheel. Scenic flights are also available through Andersons Helicopters.

CountryWide Connect will be broadcasting live from AgFest on Friday.

You can get more information at agfest.co.nz.

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This episode features Tony Trewinnard, Blue Skies Weather discussing the latest weather developments and what they could mean for rural communities and farmers.

 

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

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This episode features Amy Eggleston, thedairydaughter discusses running a New Zealand-style system and how they coped with the extreme heat over the past summer.

 

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode features Stephen Thomson, Poverty Bay A&P Spring Show discussing this weekend’s Poverty Bay A&P Spring Show.

 

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode features Mark Hooper, National Board Member & Telecommunications spokesperson, Federated Farmers discussing the 3G shutdown and rural New Zealand’s connectivity crisis.

 

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode features Libby Price, Australian Rural Commentator discussing the Guzman y Gomez backlash and the fight for menu transparency.

 

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode features Kit Arkwright, BLNZ, CEO discussing it’s legacy, supply chain collaboration and World Iron Awareness Week.

 

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode features Cameron Bagrie, Chair, The Parents Alliance discussing transport infrastructure, fiscal rigour and Labour’s pledge to restore rural school buses.

 

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode features Ginny Anderson, Spokesperson for Education, Labour Party discussing the party’s pledge to restore rural school buses and protect school attendance.

 

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ

 

Labour has committed to restoring rural school bus routes cut under the current Government, with the Parents’ Alliance welcoming the announcement as one of the simplest attendance policies on the table.

Parents’ Alliance chair Cameron Bagrie says for rural families the school bus isn’t a convenience — it’s the difference between a child in class and a child stuck at home. He says the Government can’t make attendance a priority while removing the buses that get children there.

Labour says where a cancelled route can’t be fully restored, it will work with rural communities and local councils to find alternatives.

Bagrie says it’s not a left or right issue — it’s a rural kids issue — and urges whichever parties form the next government to both restore cut routes and fill empty seats under ACT’s Open Seat policy.

 

Rural mobile coverage has deteriorated significantly since the 3G network shutdown in March, with a new Federated Farmers survey of nearly six-hundred-and-fifty farmers painting a bleak picture of connectivity across farming New Zealand.

Half of farms now have mobile coverage on less than half of their property. A third of farmers report places on their farm that previously worked on 3G but no longer do. Nearly two in three say they can’t reliably reach 111 from most of their farm, and eight percent say connecting to emergency services is impossible anywhere on their property.

One in seven farms had to replace equipment relying on the 3G network — irrigation controls, cow collars and farm systems — with some spending thousands of dollars replacing gear that was still working.

Telecommunications spokesperson Mark Hooper says of one-hundred-and-twenty-six farms that reported problems to providers, just two had them resolved. He is holding urgent meetings with telcos to explore what can be done within existing infrastructure.

 

Beef and Lamb New Zealand Incorporated is marking forty years of keeping red meat front of mind for New Zealand consumers, with the organisation founded in 1986 as the NZ Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau.

Chief executive Kit Arkwright says what makes the organisation globally unique is that farmers, processors and retailers — who compete every day — have set commercial priorities aside for four decades to promote their shared product.

The organisation is behind campaigns including the Iron Maidens featuring Olympic champions the Evers-Swindell twins and Sarah Ulmer, the National Lamb Day, and the Quality Mark introduced in 1997.

The anniversary coincides with World Iron Awareness Week, which BLNZ Inc started in 2014 and which is now backed by sixty partners across the food system.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.