In the episode Becks sits down with Amanda Hasselman from Temple Peak Station, a Toitū Certified Carbon Zero Sheep and Beef farm at the head of the Wakatipu Valley. As well as farming alongside her husband Mark, Amanda has been a trustee on the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust for 10 years since its inception, and is part of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary and within both roles is deeply passionate about predator management for the restoration and protection of our native biodiversity.  Having...

In this episode Becks is joined by Alexis Wadworth, Alexis is farming with her husband Nick and 2 year old daughter Addison down at Bare Hill Farming in Central Southland. Bare Hill is a sheep and beef property running almost 8000 stock units with a significant portion of ineffective land area. In all her spare time Alexis is also Chairwoman of the Makarewa Headwaters Catchment Group. With farming heritage and a banking background Alexis has brought a significant skillset into the farming...

The employer and job title my have changed since this episode was released but the incredible insights, enthusiasm, inspiration and relevance that this woman provides in this podcast most certainly have not! She has just done the West Coast Recharge Tour with B+LNZ and it has definitely left a few of us feeling a need for our Julia fix! So here it is! We are on a two-week break with Season Two of the podcast (as Becks has finally got off-farm for a holiday) but it's a timely reminder...

Take a listen to a throwback episode to the FIRST ever episode of The Whole Story Podcast. We are on a two-week break with Season Two of the podcast (as Becks has finally got off-farm for a holiday) but it's a timely reminder of what the UN Sustainable Development Goals are and how we can weave these into Agriculture! Take a listen if you havent already, or if you just want a reminder, and we look forward to bringing you fresh episodes in two weeks time!

In this episode Becks is joined by Nick Gill. Nick is the General Manager at NZ's first organic, regenerative, CarbonZero winery, Greystone Wines, and the other half of the powerhouse duo running The Food Farm alongside his wife Angela Clifford.  The Food Farm is their Tūrangawaewae, their place to stand, a place where they connect with the earth and organically grow annual and perennial vegetables, berries and tree crops. They have a young food forest, a traditional orchard and espaliered...

In this episode Becks is joined by John Hollows the Aquaculture Manager from Ernslaw One. Now most people from around our parts know Ernslaw One  as a forestry company, so what are they doing with an aquaculture manager? Well John is farming kōura, or freshwater crayfish, in areas of forestry that would traditionally be non-productive in the business. These kōura are marketed locally to restaurants within Central Otago under the KEEWAI brand. John is a freshwater cray fanatic having been...

In this episode Becks gets the chance to sit down with Ben Anderson, from the Central Hawkes Bay. An ex-Army Officer with a Risk Management background who grew up on a Sheep and Beef property, Ben is currently a Velvet Producer, Tree Farmer and Dairy Farmer but going through farm systems change as we speak! Ben is a Nuffield Scholar and his report was titled "The Green and the Black of it - Economic and Environmental Sustainability of the NZ deer industry and the case for change." It is...

In this episode Becks has the pleasure of reconnecting with Thomas MacDonald, Chief Operating Officer of Spring Sheep Milk Co - a sheep milk nutrition company taking the goodness of New Zealand sheep milk to the world. Spring Sheep Milk Co. is supplied by milk from around 20,000 milking sheep across the North Island.  Thomas MacDonald is a third-generation dairy farmer from Gordonton, Waikato, who has found a unique space within the New Zealand Agricultural sector combining our strengths...

In this episode Becks catches up with Lance Gillespie from Pastured Poultry in the Manawatu. Lance has a background in dairy farming but has been on a journey discovering biological farming practices, soil health and the opportunity for integrating chickens into a livestock farming system.  Lance is now basically full time importing, selling, assembling and distributing chicken trailers to large-scale farmers and small block holders nationwide, with a little bit of soil-coaching thrown in...

In this episode Becks catches up with Jo Hay, who alongside her husband Ross and their 3 kids farms Sheep & Beef in North Otago. Jo wears many hats in the agricultural sector including Director on the North Otago Irrigation Company, Beef+LambNZ Central South Island Farmer Councillor, Steering Committee member for North Otago Sustainable Land Management (NOSLaM) and most recently donning the hat of Director on the board of Meat the Need…But to Jo nothing beats that feeling of stepping...

In this episode Becks catches up with Andrew Darling, an arable farmer who farms with his wife Amy and their three boys just South of Timaru, leasing the family farm off Andrew's parents Warren and Joy. They discuss the importance of soil health and profitability in Sustainable agriculture and the benefits of tech integration on farm through the likes of sensing tractors and nutrient mapping. Andrew is Federated Farmers Vice-President Arable Chair, a Corteva Climate Positive regional...

In this episode Becks catches up with Myfanwy Alexander, a contract milker from Duntroon as we launch into our first episode of Season 2! In this episode we discuss Myfanwy’s path into farming, the low-hanging sustainability fruit that she has put into practice and the crucial role that team management plays in sustainability. This season has a slightly different flavour, each week Becks will be discussing a different farming system from a variety of industries within of our food and...

In this episode Becks catches up with Emma Rowe, Sustainability Specialist from FMG Insurance. A bittersweet episode as it brings the first season of The Whole Story Podcast to a close, but this conversation was such a highlight. This episode is based around the UN SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals; and that’s why Emma is the perfect guest for this topic. Without the partnership with Emma and the team at FMG, this podcast would not be a reality! Emma shares her agricultural background...

In this episode Becks catches up with Andrew Morrison, Chairman of Beef+Lamb New Zealand. Andrew is a true blue Southland, sheep and beef farmer, passionate about rural communities and the contribution these communities make through the agricultural sector to New Zealand's economy.  This week's episode is based around the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” and Andrew is going to reflect on the role beef and lamb New Zealand plays in this space and his...

In this episode Becks catches up with Emeritus Professor David Norton; a man whom having taught and researched the ecology and conservation of Aotearoa NZ’s native biodiversity for over 35 years, David is “just plain passionate about plants.” This week’s episode is based around UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 “Life on Land” and David highlights the work he is doing through individual farm consultancy, workshops, public speaking, industry body and independent advocacy. As an avid...

In this episode Becks catches up with Alison Dewes from Tipu whenua, a veterinarian, farmer, mother to 3 children and passionate holistic systems thinker. Alison comes from a background of multi-generational dairy farming and she herself has farmed both here and in Australia. She now works with catchment ecosystems with her veterinary diagnostic hat on and a one-health “Mountains to Sea” approach allowing her to problem-solve at the root cause.  This week’s episode is based around UN...

In this episode Becks catches up with Cam Henderson, a dairy farmer from North Canterbury, director on the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd board and the Federated Farmers representative on the He Waka Eke Noa partnership.  This week’s episode is based around UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 “Climate Action” and Cam highlights the work he is doing and has been a part of already in NZ’s Agricultural sector to enable us to take urgent action to combat climate change and it’s impacts on NZ...

In this episode Becks catches up with Tony Wilson, General Manager of Agrecovery. Tony is a lifelong-learner, currently doing his 7th qualification, a Masters at Massey University on the Sustainable Development Goals; but he manages to balance out the heavy-lifting his grey matter is doing as he is also a keen mountain-biker and surfer! This week’s episode is based around UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production and Tony highlights the work Agrecovery is...

In this episode Becks sits down in-person with Gill Naylor the National President of Rural Women New Zealand. Gill has had a career of taking deep breaths and stepping up when opportunities arise. With a background of farming for over 30 years with her husband Dave in Becks, Central Otago she worked her way up the through the committee and voluntary role network to find her way to her current role as National President. This episode is based around the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 –...

In this episode Becks catches up with Carl Storey, Farm and Land Enterprises Manager from Hōhepa Hawkes Bay. Carl is a man with a lifetime of experience in the agricultural sector who has travelled and brought some niche cheese-making skills home to Aotearoa, NZ. The work he does with Hōhepa has gifted him some beautiful insights into the world around inclusivity and the joy he has found by being involved shines through in this episode. This episode is based around the UN Sustainable...

In this episode Becks has the incredible opportunity to chat to Julia Jones, head of analytics at NZX where she has arrived after spending almost 15 years in the rural banking sector before moving to KPMG in consulting. It is this experience that makes her the perfect guest to speak on this weeks episodes.  This episode is based around the UN Sustainable Development Goal 9 – Industry, Infrastructure and Innovation and we touch on the successes and opportunties for all three of these in our...

In this episode Becks sits down with the legendary Pita Alexander, chartered accountant and founder of Alexanders, a leading Christchurch-based agribusiness accountancy and advisory firm. Pita has been in the agribusiness accountancy game for over 35 years and has seen many boom and bust cycles in agriculture.  This episode is based around the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth; and with Pita’s wealth of experience his thoughts on the importance of good...

In this episode Becks chats with Mike Casey, Cromwell’s new kid on the block when it comes to horticulture. With a background in tech, not farming, Mike is definitely making his own mark on the industry by starting the worlds first 100% electric, zero fossil fuel cherry orchard and selling their cherries through the consumer brand that he co-founded called NZ0. Mike reached out to me over social media and I had the pleasure of heading over to check out the orchard.  This Episode is based...

In this episode Becks chats to Keri Johnston, chair of the IrrigationNZ board, farming wife and mother, natural resources engineer and founding director and principle of Irricon Resource Solutions. Keri’s professional passion for land and water shines strongly through our conversation and her career to date.  This Episode is based around UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation which is focused on ensuring water availability and sustainable management of water...