The Better Together Podcast

Bens journey to farming is far from ordinary. He was bought up in a family deeply rooted in gang life. At a young age, he found himself in prison for a serious crime. The prison he was in had their own farm which Ben worked on, and he soon fell in love with the industry. With some ups and downs, Ben now manages a highly productive farm, winning Māori Farmer of the year through the Ahuwhenua trophy, and Farm Manager of the year through DairyNZ.

Bens story is an inspirational one. It is one of previous violence, self reflection, improvement and forgiveness. 

It goes without saying that this episode touches on some heavy subjects.

Doug farms next door to a salt mine, that says enough about the difficulties of trying to produce quality lamb and beef. Doug went through some brutal droughts which was a factor in his mental health taking a dive. He has since changed his farm system and lifestyle to help out his top 2 inches. Doug is now a well known advocate for Men's and Rural Mental Health. He authored a book that can be found on many farmers nightstand 'The Resilient Farmer'. His farm also uses both FarmIQ and FARMAX.

In this episode, Doug lets his vulnerability show on some touchy subjects (just a heads up).

Physical copy of The Resilient Farmer

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/mn/buy/mighty-ape-the-resilient-farmer-26622502/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22013289064&gbraid=0AAAAADqxfik-tzIcHvdLaEbR9zfc5-CJl&gclid=Cj0KCQiAp-zLBhDkARIsABcYc6ujiHFK3nvah_lyqJOM6EjtLqeJjybUc-2D2byrG_czemsvglgN6Y8aAsabEALw_wcB

Audio book of The Resilient Farmer

https://www.audible.com.au/pd/The-Resilient-Farmer-Audiobook/014377588X

Rob is a sheep and beef farmer in the Manuka Gorge, Otago. He is better known as one of the most prolific governance workers in NZ, in particular agribusiness. Rob talks about his love for farming, how he got into governance through non rural work overseas, how he successfully juggles all of his roles currently, and why he puts himself through it all. 

Rob reveals what his most challenging governance role has been, and the answer will surprise you.

Michael is a First generation farmer near Perth in Scotland as well as being a farm consultant. A long his career, he studied 1st generation farmers in terms of how they do it, and how they differ to multi generational farmers. He is also on a crusade to implement better pasture management in Scotland, taking learnings and technology he got from New Zealand (including FARMAX).

Michael hosts his own podcast dedicated to pasture, funnily enough it is called "The Pasture Pod". 

Rogers' family has a history of innovation. His father invented Beatties insulators and eartags. Roger has carried on the outside of the box thinking in his own way, by farming what others have not thought of to be farmable things.

Roger is involved in:
- weka conservation + setting up a weka industry
- breeding wild sheep
- farming paua and their pearls
- harvesting of kelp

This is not only a story of farming outside the box, but also of the red tape that he encountered. Roger doesn't pull his punches.

https://rdbeattie.co.nz/

Rob has a yarn with Russell about his extensive farming and governance career. Businesses that he has had an association with have included: 

- Shell
- FarmIQ
- Silver Fern Farms
- Farmlands
- Strong Wool Action Group

Rob reveals what the toughest role in NZ rural governance he has come across, and the answer is not what you would expect. 

Outside of his governance work, Rob walks the talk with his 10,000 SU Sheep and Beef Farm in South Otago.

Sarah Hawkins is an Agribusiness Consultant with BakerAg in Masterton, and was the 2023 winner of the FarmIQ Emerging Rural Professional of The Year Award.

In this episode we chat to Sarah about her experience winning the award, and how it's impacted her career over the past year.

We also dive into her recent report: 'Learning from farmers – On farm emissions reductions' funded by the Our Land & Water RP Fund 2024, which studied farmers that were reducing emissions while also producing impressive levels of profit.

Applications are open for two RP of the year awards with NZIPIM, until 29th July 2024:
https://www.nzipim.co.nz/Story?Action=View&Story_id=123

Sarah's full report is also available here:
https://ourlandandwater.nz/outputs/learning-from-farmers-on-farm-emissions-reductions/

Ben Purua has a korero with Russell MacKay about his abnormal path to farming. Gangs, drugs, crime, and prison were a big part of his youth. Ben talks about how he turned his life around and is now a distinguished farmer, winning the Ahuwhenua Māori Young Farmer Award and the DairyNZ People and Leadership merit award in the Dairy Manager category.

Ben is a man who has made plenty of mistakes, but he owns them and is now helping men to make sure they don't go down the same path he was once destined for. This includes creating transition farms, where released inmates are employed on farms.

Check it out his TikTok vm.tiktok.com/ZSJuq6Yk1
Check out his clothing line https://www.kamutopamu.co.nz
Check out https://www.manup.org.nz/ 
 

A warning, this episode touches on subjects such as domestic violence, violence and drug abuse.

Laura Keenan is a co-founder, Director and Senior Consultant at KS Agri, and is currently completing a PhD looking at farm systems impacts of satellite farming with improved forages in New Zealand sheep and beef.

In this episode Laura shares her career journey to date, what farmers are currently seeking advice on in her consultancy business, and some exciting findings and tools from emerging from her PhD research.

Check out more from Laura: 
https://ksagri.co.nz/

Russell MacKay yarns to Doug Avery on farming through tough times. Doug was "in the trenches". He took over the family farm in Marlborough, took on debt to increase scale,  and then drought plus depression came. In this episode, Doug talks about:

- How to look after your own mental wellbeing in general
- How he got through consecutive years of tough years farming

Doug is the author of the best-seller "The Resilient Farmer" which can be found in all good bookstores.

This episode is dedicated to Dr Tom Mulholland. Just like Doug, he worked tirelessly to improve the overall health of kiwis, in particular our rural communities.