Geoff Ross faces backlash over his farming methods. Photo / Supplied
There's probably a version of Geoff Ross sitting in every sector around New Zealand.
This is according to NZX head of insights and rural analyst Julia Jones, who tells the Front Page podcast that the kerfuffle surrounding a recent episode of Country Calendar is reflective of fear of change.
"The world is transitioning and things are moving a lot faster than they've ever moved," says Jones.
"We're all feeling a little bit tense and fatigued. And so, anything like this can trigger someone."
Jones notes that this resistance to change isn't limited to farming.
"If you looked at any sector, anywhere, where changes are happening and it's driven at pace, it can be overwhelming. It's scary… Some of the change coming at farmers has been overwhelming and it has come with too much pace."
There's Country Calendar episode also reflected the growing tension between rural and urban New Zealand - which is often reduced to the idea of urbanites telling rural people how to live their lives.
"If you're a farmer, who cares and thinks about your environment every day, it is a little bit frustrating when somebody who just turns the tap off while brushing their teeth has a go at you about not doing enough," says Jones.
"I think that's where a lot of tension comes in. It's a lack of understanding between the farmer and the non-farmer."
While there was certainly an element of this tension in the criticism of the Country Calendar episode, Jones says it's important to remember that Ross actually comes from an agricultural background and is now pouring his money and effort into trying new things.
Jones says she doesn't believe that most of the farming community minds the Ross family doing things their way, but the problem with modern discourse is that the loudest voices are sometimes treated as representative of an entire group of diverse people.
Jones advises caution against painting the entire rural community in a single hue and accusing them of being resistant to change.
"If we broke it down, there's a good portion of the sector that is trying hard to embrace change… These are people who are constantly thinking about how to better the environment. Yes, there are some bad ones. You will have some people who aren't doing the right things, but that's the same in every sector. So let's not punish a whole sector based on one or two bad ones."
Jones also believes that having entrepreneurs bring a disruptive attitude to any sector can be good. Not everything they try will necessarily work, but it's always good to have people trying new things.
"When we talk about them disrupting, they're not actually trying to disrupt the whole sector," says Jones.
"They're actually trying to disrupt their business and see what they can what they can achieve. It's also about what others can learn from it."
Watching the Country Calendar ep on Geoff Ross’s sheep station that sparked all the “ZOMG woke” comments. All looks like pretty sound commercial strategy to add value https://t.co/PZi7DqPnx3 pic.twitter.com/Jx8lpkZW84
— Chris Keall (@ChrisKeall) July 3, 2022
Some of the loudest online criticism of the Ross farm was directed at their decision to play Vivaldi rather than AC/DC to their sheep in the shearing shed.
On this topic, Jones can't hold back a giggle.
"The actual shearing company thought it was great. They didn't have an issue with it. They weren't out of pocket.
"So, whose business is that what music they're playing for their sheep in a shed? Who's actually getting hurt by that? Why are we so upset by what music someone puts in their shearing shed?"
The point Jones makes here is that no one else in the rural community is under the obligation to follow the same path as the Ross family.
Unless, of course, they see some value in some of the strategies.
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