The Country - Budget edition

Today on The Country, Jamie Mackay patiently waits for the Government's Budget announcement at 2pm today.

On with the show:

Hayden Dillon:

The Head of Agribusiness for Findex warns of tough times ahead for farmers, especially dairy farmers, despite good commodity prices, as the banks and the Reserve Bank play hardball with equity requirements and principal repayment. His advice is to have is to have a well-prepared budget with some contingency wriggle room when you meet your bank manager.

Steve Carden:

We ask the chief executive of the nation's biggest farm, Pāmu (formerly Landcorp), about the state-owned farmers' downgrade to its earning forecast, whether it should be the government's guinea pig for tomorrow's farming systems and what role will Pāmu play in the forestry boom?

Julia Jones:

In a rather short interview, NZX Agri's Head of Analytics looks at what's likely to be in this afternoon's Budget for farming.

Peter Newbold:

We take our monthly look at the state of the rural market with the GM of PGG Wrightson Real Estate and we address the elephant in the paddock - the burgeoning price of land for forestry conversion.

Chris Russell:

Our Australian correspondent talks State of Origin, the political re-birth of Scott Morrison and veganism.