CountryWide Connect – Show Summary

(Working backwards from 1pm to 11am)

We finish at 12:48 with Geoff Ross from CarbonCrop discussing the Government’s Nature and Carbon Markets announcement, the future of environmental markets and whether farmers can generate meaningful income from natural capital and carbon systems.

At 12:33, Jo Hendy — Chief Executive, Climate Change Commission — joins us to unpack the Commission’s latest climate risk assessment, why agriculture is identified as a major long-term climate risk, and what adaptation and resilience could realistically look like for the sector by 2050.

At 12:18, Associate Minister for the Environment Andrew Hoggard joins us to discuss the Government’s Nature and Carbon Markets announcement, balancing environmental outcomes with practical farming realities, and where the Coalition wants to take climate and land-use policy.

At 12:05, Jim van der Poel reflects on receiving special recognition at the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards for more than four decades of service to the dairy sector, including leadership through major industry change and the creation of Fonterra.

At 12:00 it’s Rural News with Farmlands.

At 11:48, Murray Hart — Business Development Manager, Animal Health at Ecolab — discusses calving season biosecurity, hygiene and milk quality, and the practical steps farmers can take to minimise disease pressure and improve outcomes this season.

At 11:33, Matt Watson — Host, ITM Fishing Show — discusses the Fisheries Amendment Bill backlash, public concern around commercial fishing reform, and whether Shane Jones has politically misread mainstream New Zealanders on fisheries management.

At 11:18, Scott and Stacey Mackereth — 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmers of the Year — join us in studio to discuss their journey through the industry, leadership, progression and what success looks like in modern dairying.

We open at 11:05 with Richard Harman for Politics Monday, covering the NZ Herald poll of polls, coalition tensions, local government reform, and the growing debate around trust and culture inside New Zealand media.