Rabobank Best of The Country - June 22, 2019

This week on The Best of The Country, Jamie Mackay caught up with Rabobank's Australasian Horticulture and Wine Analyst Hayden Higgins, to find out if New Zealand can crack the crowded US premium wine market.

This week's top interviews are:

Lewis Nichols:

We catch up with the man who took home more than $20,000 worth of prices when he won the 2019 Rural Catch title at Fieldays. He also talks about this passion for rural mental health.

Damien O'Connor:

We chew the farming fat with the Minister of Agriculture and on the menu today is the Farm Debt Mediation Bill, Fieldays and Winston Peters.

Jane Smith:

Is an outspoken North Otago farmer who pulls no punches when it comes to calling out extreme feminists plus she shares her concerns about extreme animal welfare activists.

Hayden Higgins:

Rabobank's Australasian Horticulture and Wine Analyst looks at the branding opportunities for New Zealand wine in the US premium market and says it's all about having a point of difference.

Mike Butterick:

Is a Wairarapa sheep farmer who's a spokesperson for 50 Shades of Green. Today he denies his ginger group is "a secret voice" for Nathan Guy and the National Party, as claimed by Forestry Minister Shane Jones.

Simon Bridges:

We ask National's besieged leader if he's got the worst job in the country following speculation Christopher Luxon is next in line for a shot at the title. We also talk 50 Shades of Green, partisan forestry foes and a world where Donald, Boris and bad haircuts are running the cutter.

Listen below: