Primary Matters

Primary Matters - This Gold does not Glitter

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 01:00:17 GMT

In today’s podcast we’re wielding a high pressure hose at a Waikato lake – which has become home to the unwanted freshwater gold clam. Lake users are being asked to check, clean and dry anything that touches the water to prevent the spread of the clam to other waterways.

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Primary Matters - Tips for Farmers in Dry Times

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 03:00:03 GMT

Waikato dairy farmer Pete Morgan has farmed through a number of droughts in his 30-year farming career. He's made many mistakes along the way but says those dry summers have made him a better farmer. On this week's podcast Pete shares what he has learnt...

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Primary Matters - Having a Plan for the Big Dry

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 00:00:24 GMT

A dry summer’s on the horizon and, in this week’s podcast, we’re with MPI's John Roche to hear what farmers can do to successfully farm through it, and where they can turn for help....

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Primary Matters - Boosting Rural Resilience

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 03:00:10 GMT

In this week’s podcast we’re hearing how a rural community hub, in an isolated area, is bringing people together. Podcast host Carol Stiles has been invited to breakfast to watch the All Blacks in action, but the hub also organises workshops, further education and action-packed days off the farm….

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Hook, Line & Sinker - Is the Future of Food Blue?

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 01:15:01 GMT

On Hook Line and Sinker today we’re hearing from a visiting fisheries scientist who is big on promoting sustainable seafood. Emily De Sousa’s been in New Zealand looking at our aquaculture industry and says people around the world would love to know more about growing seafood the New Zealand way....

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Gut Feelings: Cook that Chook!

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 03:00:05 GMT

Campylobacter and the BBQ season go hand-in-hand. Each year 5800 cases of the foodborne illness are reported in New Zealand, and almost 1000 people will end up in hospital. In this week's podcast, host Carol Stiles is in the kitchen with the head of NZ Food Safety, Vincent Arbuckle who has some simple tips that will keep you and your guests safe this summer.

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Gut Feelings: Fit for the frying pan

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 23:20:21 GMT

On Gut Feelings this week we hear about efforts to develop rapid test kits for seafood that can tell you right then and there if it's safe to eat. Join host Carol Stiles as she speaks with marine toxin chemist Tim Harwood.

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Gut Feelings: Date Expectations

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 23:30:55 GMT

In Gut Feelings this week we hear about what could be lurking in your dip and why it's important to throw it out once it hits its use-by date. As for the best-before date, if it looks good and passes the 'sniff test', feel free to give it a whirl.

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Gut Feelings: Mussel Maladies

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 23:30:30 GMT

New Zealanders love their shellfish, but oysters, mussels, tuatua, pipi, toheroa, cockles, scallops, and kina can harbour viruses, bacteria and toxins. In this episode, host Carol Stiles talks to shellfish specialist Piers Harrison about what can happen if you eat contaminated shellfish and how to avoid it.

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Hook, Line & Sinker - Seaweed on the Menu

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 00:15:36 GMT

NZ Seafood Sustainability award winner Lucas Evans likes his seaweed with some chilli and lime, some cucumber and sesame. He wants to see everyday New Zealanders having seaweed on their plates. Lucas is looking to turn seaweed grown and harvested in New Zealand into premium products. He says a thriving seaweed industry would have huge benefits for coastal communities.

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Hook, Line & Sinker - Mussel Power

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 00:30:58 GMT

In this week’s podcast we’re hearing how greenshell mussels are not only good for us but could be even better for the economy. Trials at Nelson's Cawthron Institute have shown taking greenshell mussel powder can reduce joint pain and shorten recovery time after strenuous exercise.

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Hook, Line & Sinker - The Marine Environment Needs Kelp

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 01:45:15 GMT

New Zealand has established oyster, mussel and salmon farms - and now moves are afoot to see if it’s feasible to farm seaweed. A pilot project is under way to test whether common kelp, aka ecklonia radiata, takes well to being ‘planted’ at sea.

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Hook, Line & Sinker - Pulling Mussels

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 00:15:36 GMT

In this week’s podcast we’re talking about mussels. The Coromandel mussel industry’s worth about $65 million in export revenue, and Lance Townsend has been part of it for 32 years. The boat skipper can be found at 4.30 am on work days, whatever the weather, rowing out in a 13 foot dinghy to start up the mussel barge.

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Hook, Line & Sinker - Counting the Catch

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 02:00:54 GMT

Fishery officers spend their days making sure recreational and commercial fishers stick to the rules that’ll ensure there’s plenty of kaimoana left in the sea for everyone. This week, podcast host Carol Stiles is heading out on a sparkling Kaikōura day with fishery officer Howard Reid.

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Hook, Line & Sinker - World First Nets Award

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 00:30:27 GMT

In this week’s podcast we’re meeting a commercial fisher who has invented award-winning technology that uses AI to recognise exactly what is going into the net. Dom Talijancich says it allows fishers to carefully target species, avoiding fish they are not entitled (and don’t want) to catch. It can also provide valuable data on the health of fish stocks.

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Hook, Line and Sinker: Keeping Watch at Sea

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 02:09:27 GMT

In this week’s podcast we’re with Fisheries Observer Nigel Hollands. He heads out on commercial fishing vessels to collect data that helps with fisheries management and protects stocks for future generations. Sometimes Nigel shares a bunkhouse with the crew, other times he's allocated his own cabin. If there's no cook on board, you can find Nigel mucking in to help with the meals. The longest Nigel's spent working at sea, without setting foot on land, is three months.

In this series, Hook Line and Sinker, were taking a dive into Aotearoa New Zealand’s seafood sector. We’ll meet some of the people working in it and learn about innovations designed to help the industry grow and thrive.

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Hook, Line & Sinker - An Anchor in Stormy Waters

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 01:25:03 GMT

Working at sea can be challenging, both emotionally and physically. In today’s podcast we’re hearing about First Mate, the organisation set up to offer guidance and support to fishers, their whanau, and others in the seafood industry.

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Primary Matters - The Wonders of Wool

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 00:30:57 GMT

Cosmetics made of the finest wool powder, soft popcorn-like wool buds for stuffing, and acoustic wool panels for schools are all innovations their creators hope will reinvigorate New Zealand's struggling strong-wool sector. The goal is to double, if not treble, wool returns to farmers.

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You Do What?! - Detecting Biosecurity Porkies

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:45:52 GMT

Zoran Sinovcic pulls out jars of antelope horn, pangolin scales and exotic insect larvae. All of them pose a danger to our primary industries and could be carrying diseases we are desperately trying to keep out. Zoran’s job is to ensure commercial food products from Asia, and traditional Chinese medicine ingredients coming in to New Zealand, comply with our strict regulations.

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You do what?! - What lies beneath

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 00:30:38 GMT

It’s much more difficult to detect marine pests than land-based pests but there is a network of people diving and scouring beaches to identify anything unwanted and new. Marine pest sleuth Abe Growcott says the public also has an important role to play.

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You Do What?! - No Way Out

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 02:43:28 GMT

The National Animal Health Laboratory is New Zealand’s most sophisticated building. It’s here that animal diseases are identified and has been designed so nothing can leak out, even in the event of a one-in-500-year earthquake. To make sure dangerous organisms don't hitch a ride out with staff, glasses and hearing aids must be left outside the highest security lab, and second sets are provided for inside. Strict protocols govern whether tradies can take their tools home at the end of the day.

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You do what?! - Not to be sniffed at

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 00:00:16 GMT

At MPI’s detector dog centre in Auckland tiny pups can be found tumbling over each other playing to the sound of rumbling explosions and whooshing fireworks. In this podcast we meet an MPI dog care specialist who works with the pups to prepare them for work in busy, noisy environments. The pups will go on to run their noses over parcels at the International Mail Centre and bags in airports, to sniff out anything that could harm New Zealand’s primary industries.

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You do what?! - Don't bug us!

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 23:40:05 GMT

The brown marmorated stink bug is on New Zealand’s ‘most wanted’ list. It could do huge damage to our export crops and make them unmarketable. Many feared it would have established in Aoteoroa by now, but thanks to controls at the border and offshore, we’ve managed to keep it at bay.

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You do what?! - No shore excursions for pests

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 23:43:21 GMT

MPI sends quarantine officers in to examine the buffet of every cruise ship that berths in New Zealand. They’re not assessing the quality of the food but check whole fruit isn’t on display in case visitors are tempted to slip some into their pockets and bring it ashore. The quarantine officers also have a list of other checks to make to ensure any unwanted pests and diseases don’t get the chance to disembark.

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You do what?! - Where's Wally?

Thu, 25 May 2023 23:59:25 GMT

Tim Day spends his work days clambering though gorse and blackberry looking for signs of wallabies. It’s estimated there are more than a million wallabies in New Zealand quietly mowing down any new growth and causing huge damage to our forests. Tim’s part of a the effort to ensure Aotearoa becomes wallaby free.

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You do what?! - Not easily rattled

Thu, 18 May 2023 23:44:28 GMT

When a snake’s found curled up in a container of imported washing machines, who are you going to call? Zoran Sinovcic is a trained Ministry for Primary Industries snake handler. He travels with snake-catching equipment and a snake-bite first-aid kit in his car.

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Get Your Boots On: Budding Horticulturists

Thu, 04 May 2023 23:12:39 GMT

Episode 6: If the NRL doesn’t beckon, AJ Ulugia wants to work in horticulture. He’s one of 30 students taking part in the new Akongoue programme designed to inspire Pasifika school leavers to take up careers in the sector. The students are being snapped up by local businesses and AJ found a summer job packing vegetables. He’s looking to apply for a scholarship to study horticulture at university.

In this Primary Matters series we’re meeting people who are pulling on a pair of boots to kick-start a career in the primary industries

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Get Your Boots On: Working with fellers is the way to go...

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 23:53:25 GMT

Episode 5: Eighteen-year-old Olive Williams can’t wait to learn how to operate huge, million-dollar, mechanical, tree felling machines. She left school early, not knowing what she wanted to do, but stumbled across the Generation programme that gives an introduction to the Forest and Wood industry. Olive’s currently a quality controller for a forest harvesting company.

In this Primary Matters series we’re meeting people who are pulling on a pair of boots to kick-start a career in the primary industries.

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Get Your Boots On: A pearler of a job

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 23:38:35 GMT

The glowing sunrises and working besides dolphins pods alone would be worth getting up for every day but oyster farmer Jacob Thompson also gets a work-out on the job – and he’s paid for it.

In this Primary Matters series we’re meeting people who are pulling on a pair of boots to kick-start a career in the primary industries

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Get Your Boots On: Planting, drilling and watching the magic grow

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:37:03 GMT

When he was a small child Mat Peart would stand in the paddock next to his house in the hope any tractor working there would stop and take him for a ride. Today it’s Mat behind the wheel. The young rural contractor can sometimes be found, long after the work day is done, surveying paddocks he planted weeks before. He says its hugely rewarding to be part of the food production cycle.

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Get Your Boots On: Shepherd's Delight!

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 00:00:13 GMT

Even on a miserable day, getting out of bed is no problem for shepherd Ella Eades. She loves the variety of work and spending her days outside but, without a doubt, the best part of the job is working with her sometimes overly enthusiastic trio of young dogs, Chip, May and Bess.

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Get Your Boots On: The dairy-free dairy farmer

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 02:00:44 GMT

Episode 1: Edward Roskam used to bike 15 kms home from school rather than take the bus, so he’d be able to get out onto the farm earlier. The top student shocked his teachers by leaving school early to pursue a career as a dairy farmer.

In this Primary Matters series we’re meeting people who are pulling on a pair of boots to kick-start a career in the primary industries.

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Primary Matters

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 02:24:49 GMT

Welcome to Primary Matters – a podcast that tells the stories that matter to New Zealand’s primary industries. Hear what’s being done to keep our food and fibre sectors growing and safe, and meet the people at the heart of them.

This podcast is brought to you by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

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