Listen to The Country online: Tuesday, February 27, 2024

NZ's dairy industry wants immediate capping of agricultural subsidies. Photo / Warren Buckland

Today on The Country, Jamie Mackay talks to UK correspondent Farmer Tom Martin, former Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Damien O’Connor, and Open Country Dairy chief executive Mark de Lautour about agricultural subsidies.

On with the show:

Damien O’Connor:

We ask the former Minister of Agriculture and Trade if he’s going to do a Stuart Nash and drop a few historical truth bombs about the former Labour government. Also, as the world’s trade ministers head to a WTO meeting in Abu Dhabi - we ask if the call for an immediate capping of agricultural subsidies is a pure pipedream. Plus, we go back in time to the 80s when a young Damien O’Connor entered the Young Farmer of the Year Contest and made it through to the Tasman regional final on two occasions.

Mark de Lautour:

We find the chief executive of Open Country Dairy in the Netherlands, after having attended Gulf Food in Dubai - the largest food show in the world. We look at the real trade opportunities in the Middle East and some of the challenges we’re facing in the UK and Europe.

Farmer Tom Martin:

Our UK farming correspondent talks about the end of subsidies (really?), farmer protests and a wet winter for arable farmers.

Listen below: