Listen: Farmers 'happy' with Jacinda Ardern's visit

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meets farmers near Te Awamutu this morning. Photo / Alan Gibson.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Agriculture Damien O'Connor visited a Te Awamutu dairy farm this morning to talk to farmers about Mycoplasma bovis.

The farm owner, John Haywood, caught up with The Country's Jamie Mackay for a chat about the visit and what it could mean for New Zealand farmers.

Haywood organised farmers to attend the meeting after he was contacted by the Government about hosting the visit. He believes his farm was chosen due to its central location and because he has "had a bit to do with [the] Farm Systems Change project with MPI."

Many believe Mycoplasma bovis is too widespread to continue to focus on wiping it out completely, but Haywood says "the Government, from what I can make out, is still confident of eradication."

Farmers left the meeting well-informed and "happy that they'd had the opportunity to get their opinion across," says Haywood.

He also thinks Ardern and O'Connor left his farm with "key things to...get some direction on where they're going."

Haywood is an environmentally-conscious farmer and he believes a lot of rural people are like him but they are not as keen to promote themselves.

"On a whole I think the industry is working well."

Listen below: