Carter's Tyres brand ambassador and overall good sort Richard Loe joined REX host Dom George to provide an in-depth view of the present and future landscape of New Zealand's agriculture, particularly the red meat industry.
He also offers insights based on his personal experiences in farming and livestock management on the Chatham Islands.
His discussion on the increasing industry costs, the weather's impact on farming, the aftermath of Hawke's Bay's Cyclone Gabrielle disaster, and the Canterbury dry spell, provide a detailed perspective of the challenges that New Zealand's farming landscape is currently facing.
Turning to the red meat industry and its future, especially regarding exports to China Loe expressed his uncertainty.
"Then you hear this last week, exports are down on this time last year but that's in dollar terms, are we going to grow by January?" he questioned.
"The returns I would say on red meat this season will be quite low, so of course we hope that it will increase in dollar terms but will the quantities be there with land use?"
The conversation also touched on the issue of rising costs in farming, particularly in the more isolated areas of the country.
"We talk about costs on the mainland, as soon as you add transport, that's what they're having.
"We know what filling up the ute or the family car has done in the last two or three years, how the fuel costs have just gone up and up … it keeps on going up and you can't keep up with farming."
The episode concludes with a reflection on the past year and anticipation for the future.
The sentiment of the concluding message is to move forward, "No use worrying about the past, let's get into the future and see if we can make it better," Loe concluded.
Listen to the full chat between Richard Loe and Dominic George above.
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