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Latest FromJamie Mackay

Regional Economic Development Minister, Shane Jones. Photo / George Novak

THE COUNTRY | Listen

Shane Jones on who is responsible for dairy farming's woes

21 Aug, 2019 1:30pm
3 minutes to read

Jones says the Government isn't solely to blame for the pressure on Kiwi dairy farmers.

The National Party's primary industries spokesman, Todd Muller. Photo / File

THE COUNTRY | Listen

Muller: Govt thinks farming is 'yesterday's industry'

20 Aug, 2019 1:00pm
3 minutes to read

National's agriculture spokesman "frustrated" with the Govt's approach to agriculture.

THE COUNTRY

Tensions escalate over winter grazing in Mossburn

12 Aug, 2019 2:53pm
6 minutes to read

John Douglas wants environmentalists to talk to farmers rather than take photos at night.

SPORT

Jamie Mackay: A tribute to BJ Lochore

4 Aug, 2019 3:02pm
5 minutes to read

Your heroes should never die. Heroes are immortal.

The Country is on its way to bring a bit of farming, footy and fun to Radio Sport. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Jamie Mackay: The country comes to town

11 Jan, 2019 6:34pm
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Show is about a whole lot more than farming.

THE COUNTRY

Year in Review: Why Jacinda is not 'a sad example to all women'

24 Dec, 2018 7:00am
4 minutes to read

Looking back at one of the most popular stories on The Country in the past 12 months.

Jamie Mackay take a look at how 2018 treated rural New Zealand. Photo / File

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 2018

21 Dec, 2018 1:45pm
5 minutes to read

Comment: The Country's Jamie Mackay takes a look at the rural highs and lows of 2018.

The high-tech view from Dutch farmer Jasper Roubos' tractor. Photo / Supplied

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: 12 lessons from the Future of Farming Dialogue

1 Oct, 2018 9:42am
6 minutes to read

The Country radio host takes a sneak peek at the future of farming at a major Euro forum.

The National Agricultural Fieldays is celebrating its 50th anniversary this this week. Photo / Supplied

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: A Fieldays to remember ... if only I could

11 Jun, 2018 6:00pm
5 minutes to read

Opinion: Jamie Mackay tries to remember a particularly eventful Fieldays from the 1990's.

Environment Minister David Parker. Photo / Ben Fraser

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: Is Labour anti-farming?

14 May, 2018 6:00pm
5 minutes to read

Opinion: Jamie Mackay shares an interesting excerpt from his interview with David Parker.

President Barack Obama boards a helicopter at Mechanics Bay bound for a game of golf with Sir John Key in Northland. Photo / Brett Phibs

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Why farmers need an Obama

28 Mar, 2018 6:00pm
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay reckons Fonterra needs an Obama-esque type leader.

Valerie Adams competes in the gumboot throwing competition at the Hilux New Zealand Rural Games last year. Photo / Kurt Bayer

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: Speed climbing trees and the rungs of power

6 Mar, 2018 5:22am
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay on the joys of speed tree climbing and on Simon Bridges' top Nats role.

NEW ZEALAND

Why Jacinda is not a sad example to all women

7 Feb, 2018 6:00pm
4 minutes to read

Opinion: Jamie Mackay tackles a troll who thinks Jacinda is letting the side down.

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

2017: The good, the bad, the ugly, Trump and Winston

11 Dec, 2017 6:00pm
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay gives his review of the year that was and announces his Ag Person of the Year

Jamie Mackay has a few rural questions for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in this week's opinion piece. Photo / Brett Phibbs

NEW ZEALAND

Jamie Mackay: Good luck Jacinda - well, sort of.

30 Oct, 2017 3:48pm
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay puts a rural perspective on the Prime Minister.

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay: Broken foot highlights broken health system

2 Oct, 2017 6:00pm
4 minutes to read

A stint in Dunedin's emergency ward causes Jamie to doubt his political leanings...

Jamie Mackay had a bad dream that farming could become a thing of the past. Photo / File

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: Once upon a time, when farming was legal

18 Sep, 2017 6:00pm
4 minutes to read

Opinion: Jamie Mackay wonders what the future holds for farming - will it be extinct?

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: A eulogy for Sir Colin Meads

4 Sep, 2017 6:00pm
5 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay shares the eulogy he gave at Sir Colin Meads' funeral.

Jacinda Ardern and the Labour Party have ruffled a few rural feathers with the proposed water tax. Photo / Guy Coombes

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: Jacinda Ardern and the water tax

21 Aug, 2017 6:00pm
5 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay says farmers will find Labour's freshwater policy particularly taxing...

Jamie Mackay bemoans airport queues in this week's opinion piece. Photo / Grant Bradley

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay: Osama bin Laden has a lot to answer for

9 Aug, 2017 6:00pm
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay somehow pays tribute to his father in law Max via Osama bin Laden...

Jamie Mackay has been reading Doug Avery's new book The Resilient Farmer. Photo / Supplied

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: If you don't travel business, your kids will go first class

26 Jul, 2017 4:40pm
4 minutes to read

A recent family bereavement causes Jamie Mackay to take stock of his life.

The statue of Sir Colin Meads in Te Kuiti. Photo / Jamie Mackay

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: Saluting the greatest living New Zealander

26 Jun, 2017 6:00pm
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay's diary of the unveiling of the Sir Colin Meads statue in Te Kuiti.

Whether you love or loathe Peters, you have to admire his talent for political timing and eye for the main chance writes Jamie Mackay. Photo / Dean Purcell

NEW ZEALAND

Jamie Mackay: Does Winston Peters' talent hold no bounds?

12 Jun, 2017 4:06pm
5 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay can't help but respect Winston Peters' eye for the main chance.

A brass statue of Sir Colin Meads is to be unveiled in Te Kuiti on June 19th this year. Photo / Dean Purcell.

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay: Owning a brass piece of Pinetree

29 May, 2017 4:20pm
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay eagerly awaits the unveiling of the Sir Colin Meads statue in Te Kuiti.

Ducks can take it easy when Jamie Mackay is in the maimai. Photo / Warren Buckland

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay's 'From the Lip': Channeling my inner Muhammad Ali

8 May, 2017 3:51pm
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay would rather plant native trees around his duck pond than shoot ducks on it.

The dreaded campervan, the bain of Jamie Mackay's driving experience. Photo / Supplied

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay's 'From the Lip': Sunday, Sonny Bill and slow drivers

26 Apr, 2017 3:57pm
5 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay's calm Easter time of reflection is scuppered by a hatred of slow drivers

They may look cute but cleaning up after them is no picnic says Jamie Mackay. Photo / Michael Craig

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay's 'From the Lip': Farming jobs I've hated

13 Apr, 2017 10:13am
4 minutes to read

Crutching muddy ewes in winter? "No thank you!" says Jamie Mackay.

A trip down rugby memory lane has Jamie Mackay yearning for 1950. Photo / Getty

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

From the Lip: Justin Marshall, Jimmy Cowan and Me

28 Mar, 2017 5:00pm
5 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay loves modern technology. So why does he yearn for the simplicity of 1950?

The Country host Jamie Mackay sings the praises of Winston Peters in this week's opinion piece. Photo / Getty images

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

From the Lip: Lock up our politicians (except Winston)

14 Mar, 2017 4:49pm
5 minutes to read

It's all shearing and superannuation in this week's From the Lip.

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay's 'From the Lip' - The day Helen Clark totally ignored me

28 Feb, 2017 4:23pm
5 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay reflects on politicians he has known and interviewed over his radio career. Even the ones who ignore him...

Shearing legend Sir David Fagan concedes defeat to Prime Minister Bill English at the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships. Photo - NZH

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay's 'From the Lip': shearing memories of Sir David Fagan

13 Feb, 2017 5:00pm
5 minutes to read

Like all the young lads I went to boarding school with back in mid-seventies, the thing I looked forward to most on my 15th birthday

Donald Trump (pictured here with wife Melania), hasn't been idle in his first days in office writes The Country's Jamie Mackay.

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip: Trump - you have to hand it to him?

30 Jan, 2017 5:00pm
4 minutes to read

You can rightfully accuse Donald Trump of many things but you couldn't accuse the most powerful man in the world of sitting on his hands.

‘Global Warming in Gore’, an original art work by Bill English that Jamie Mackay hopes will be worth something one day. Charming.

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip - Don't die wondering

16 Jan, 2017 5:00pm
4 minutes to read

The Country host Jamie Mackay shares his list of things to see and do before he shuffles off this mortal coil.

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip: 2016 - The year of the upset!

12 Dec, 2016 3:17pm
4 minutes to read

The Country Host Jamie Mackay reflects on the good, the bad and the ugly of 2016.

A freight train sitting where it came to a halt beside Highway One north of Kaikoura. Photo / Mark Mitchell.

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip - aftershocks and shocking omissions

28 Nov, 2016 4:07pm
4 minutes to read

The Country host Jamie Mackay reflects on some seismic shifts in the rural community.

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay's From The Lip - An ode to Trump

23 Nov, 2016 4:25pm
4 minutes to read

I first met East Coast farmer and raconteur, Graeme Williams, about a dozen or so years ago. He was a mate of Grant 'Disaster' McMaster

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip - bobby calves and Big Brother

31 Oct, 2016 12:05pm
3 minutes to read

The Country host Jamie Mackay tackles the bobby calf abuse issue.

The only way we could think of conveying the word

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Confessions of a 'Left Wing Tosser'

18 Oct, 2016 4:30pm
5 minutes to read

In this week's From the Lip - Jamie answers an ill-informed critic who labels him left-wing. Don't they know he's apolitical?

The Country host Jamie Mackay addresses his friends and foes in this week's From the Lip.

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip - 'The media is no place for shrinking violets'

4 Oct, 2016 3:47pm
4 minutes to read

The Country host Jamie Mackay tackles his detractors in this week's column, but it's not all bad news.

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip - swimming in murky waters

20 Sep, 2016 4:14pm
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay wades in to the water quality debate

Jamie Mackay comments on Internet trolls who have been having a field day with the 500 missing dairy cows mystery. Photo / Mark Mitchell

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip - ruminant ruminations and rural rugby

5 Sep, 2016 3:10pm
5 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay ruminates on the location of those 500 missing cows in this week's From the Lip.

Jamie Mackay's treasured bubblegum cards signed by his hero Sir Colin Meads.

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip: Sleeping with sporting royalty

22 Aug, 2016 5:00pm
4 minutes to read

The Country's Jamie Mackay reminisces about a night he spent in the company of sporting heroes Dick Tayler and Sir Colin Meads.

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip: Agricultural ABCs

8 Aug, 2016 2:35pm
3 minutes to read

The Country's Jamie Mackay is flexing his creative muscles with a clever Agricultural ABC poem.

THE COUNTRY

From the Lip: Pokémon NO. A message for the youth of today

25 Jul, 2016 3:27pm
5 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay continues his obsession with Pokémon Go by chastising the youth of today about their obsession with Pokémon Go.

All together now: Shanghai plus Exit equals - SHEXIT

THE COUNTRY

From the Lip: Agricultural Acronyms with Jamie Mackay

11 Jul, 2016 4:15pm
3 minutes to read

Do you know your GDT from your OMG? The Country's Jamie Mackay is here to teach you the ways of the agricultural acronym!

Fieldays 2016: Jamie 'Shades' Mackay with Stephen 'Beaver' Donald and Andrew 'Horey' Hore.

THE COUNTRY

Opinion: Horey, Beaver and Fieldays

27 Jun, 2016 4:22pm
4 minutes to read

Jamie Mackay lets us read his personal Fieldays diary filled with amateur mistakes and blatant disregard for curfews.

Jamie interviews Andrew Little at the 2015 Fieldays

THE COUNTRY

From the Lip: Fieldays and Fieldnights

13 Jun, 2016 2:35pm
4 minutes to read

THE COUNTRY

From the Lip: The good, the bad, the ugly plus Damian McKenzie

30 May, 2016 9:54am
4 minutes to read

THE COUNTRY

From the Lip: Glass half full or empty?

17 May, 2016 11:50am
4 minutes to read

We all have our foibles. I'm an odd mix of impulsive and conservative.

THE COUNTRY

Jamie Mackay's From the Lip: Welcome to The Country

2 May, 2016 10:31am
4 minutes to read

There are three adages by which I try to live my life. The first is to err is human. It's forgivable to make a mistake, just as long as you don't make the same mistake twice.

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

From the Lip: My most valuable stock unit

18 Apr, 2016 4:08pm
4 minutes to read

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

From the Lip: In the long run

4 Apr, 2016 12:32pm
4 minutes to read

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

From the Lip: Mackay's small rise

21 Mar, 2016 12:56pm
5 minutes to read

THE COUNTRY | Opinion

From the Lip: One hell of a ride

7 Mar, 2016 1:02pm
4 minutes to read