Ideas That Grow

In this episode of Ideas That Grow, Bryan Gibson, Farmers Weekly managing editor, talks to Richard Dawkins, 2023 Kellogg Scholar and Marlborough sheep and beef farmer. He is also the new meat and wool chair for Federated Farmers. Richard discusses his family’s diverse 602-hectare farm operation, which includes sheep, cattle, forestry, and viticulture. He shares his experiences abroad and how returning home reignited his passion for farming. He also talks about his Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme journey and research on lamb and ewe mortality, emphasising the need for better data and body condition scoring. The discussion also covers leadership, collaboration, and the importance of timing when engaging in personal development.

In this podcast, Hugh Ritchie, 2000 Nuffield Scholar and Hawke’s Bay farmer, shares his leadership journey and insights with Farmers Weekly managing editor Bryan Gibson. Hugh discusses growing Drumpeel Farms into a diverse 2000-hectare operation, the impact of his Nuffield experience on his personal growth, and on irrigation and strip tillage and the need for better water infrastructure. He emphasises collaboration, global learning, and the importance of leadership development as vital to strengthening NZ’s food and fibre future.

Jenni Vernon, 1994 Nuffield Scholar, farmer and director, talks to Farmers Weekly managing editor Bryan Gibson about her leadership journey, her Nuffield experience, research, and on not underestimating the power of face-to-face communication in a sometimes-disconnected social media age.

Phil Weir, 2020 Nuffield Scholar, farmer, farmer director for BLNZ and associate director for AGMARDT, talks to Farmers Weekly managing editor Bryan Gibson about the positive value industry good brings to farming. Phil also talks through some of the challenges and opportunities for sheep and beef farming and how his Nuffield Scholarship and research has given him a valuable global perspective.

In this Ideas that Grow podcast, Lisa Lunn, 2024 Kellogg Scholar, talks to Bryan Gibson, Managing Editor at Farmers Weekly about her Kellogg research into the use of genetic technologies in agriculture. Lisa’s research presents a balanced view that unpacks the challenges, and the opportunities genetic technologies offer the food and fibre sector.