Rural New Zealand, explained from the paddock up.
REX follows the people, pressures, and practical decisions shaping rural New Zealand. Recent conversations move from deer farming and agri-tech to farm books, political life, apple exports, tax structures, and supply-chain compliance.
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REX is a New Zealand rural affairs show that keeps returning to one useful question: what does this mean on the ground? Its interviews are built around farmers, rural business leaders, writers, political candidates, correspondents, and sector specialists. The format is plain and conversational. A guest is introduced, the issue is set up, and the discussion works through the practical details before widening into the bigger stakes for agriculture and country life. Recent episodes show that range clearly. Chloe Walker talks through Precision Farming, Newpoint, machine connectivity, traceable supply chains, AI, and why farming remains a biological operation as much as a software problem. Linda Gray brings deer-sector reporting into conversations about solar power, EVs, biodiversity, future food and fibre thinking, and Korean approval for products containing New Zealand farmed velvet. Shane Kingston explains the growth of the Envy apple brand, from shopper loyalty and global markets to the long work behind a billion-dollar milestone. Jazz Matheson brings a different rural texture, connecting Awakino Station, seasonal cooking, vegetable gardens, family farming backgrounds, and the making of a book. Peter MacDonald’s appearance moves between farming roots, Environment Southland, political culture, rural family history, and the appeal of calmer public debate. The show is comfortable with technical subjects, but it usually translates them into farm-level consequences. Compliance becomes paperwork and market access. Agri-tech becomes time saved, records kept, and work made less frustrating. Export success becomes growers, partners, markets, shoppers, and long-term brand trust. The tone is warm, direct, and lightly dry when needed. It does not flatten rural life into nostalgia, and it does not treat technology as magic. REX is strongest when it lets a practical detail carry the weight of a larger national conversation.
Made for: REX suits listeners who follow New Zealand farming, rural business, food production, agri-tech, and country life. It is especially useful for people who want sector news explained through practical interviews rather than abstract commentary.
What sets it apart: The show’s strength is its farm-level translation of big issues: AI, exports, politics, tax, compliance, and sustainability are discussed through everyday rural consequences. It balances sector seriousness with lived detail from farms, homesteads, markets, and families.
This is the REX Podcast feed - your one-stop-shop for all things Rural. REX is the best of rural radio hosted by Dominic George. Dedicated to the backbone of NZ, join us as we discuss rural challenges and issues, find stories that inspire and empower, and celebrate key players in the sector across Aotearoa. For more rural news and updates, head to www.rexonline.co.nz.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
REX makes rural New Zealand's economic, political and environmental pressures legible through practical, consequence-focused interviews.
REX turns rural New Zealand into a sequence of practical interviews, with Dom George asking how decisions made in markets, politics and environmental programmes land on farms and in regional communities.
A flexible water-trough arm becomes your doorway to the economics of keeping rural New Zealand running.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Practical rural reporting that ties market pressure, biosecurity, and farm-level consequences.
Rex keeps this Monday edition close to the ground: cheese markets, Whitestone Cheese's Monte Cristo taking best cheesemaker in the country for the second year running, the grind of wilding pine control, and a brief nod to a young farmer result.
A practical rural politics-and-family hour with Southland and Hunterville texture.
Rex Daily spends the Tuesday, April 14 slot moving from politics into rural life. Peter MacDonald, a Dipton farmer, lays out why he is standing for the Southland electorate for the Labour Party, and Dom George then turns to Liz Gieson, whose Hunterville farm life runs through…
A grounded livestock-market discussion that turns trade pressure into practical consequences for New Zealand producers.
Real Optimism stays close to the hard mechanics of global red meat trade. Middle East demand, China's safeguards, North American appetite, and what all of that means for New Zealand producers are the real focus, with Simon Quilty circling back to supply, demand, prices, and…
Strong farm profits, but costs and catch-up spending are still working their way back in.
Angie Fisher offers a steady read on the Beef and Lamb New Zealand mid-season outlook, with sheep and beef farmers still enjoying strong returns.
A plainspoken discussion of Daggy, drench resistance, and the realities of building something farmers can actually use.
Ryan Luckman treats Daggy as a practical response to drench resistance in sheep parasites, and the conversation stays close to what it takes to make a tool like that work on farm.
Practical rural innovation with a plainspoken, on-farm focus.
Rex's April 2 episode keeps its feet on the ground. Ron Parker talks through a New Zealand red meat range with a tongue-soft texture for elderly or unwell people, Mary-Anne Auburn looks at Springarm and what it can do on farm, and Natasha Cave turns to wearables and Halter in…
A practical rural briefing that keeps turning headlines into farm-gate consequences.
The hour tracks the pressure points on the farm calendar: nitrogen supply, co-op finances, and the run-up to Fieldays. It turns sector headlines into usable farm-gate context, linking fertiliser supply in New Zealand, the reported $70 million turnaround at Silver Fern Farms, and…
Stephen Dubner tests bourbon economics, Alzheimer's research, and money advice against hard data.
Daily business news with Kai Ryssdal, tracking Fed policy, oil shocks, and private credit.
Galloway rotates Office Hours Q&A, Raging Moderates politics, and China Decode geopolitics weekly.
Joel and Matt answer listener money questions weekly in the show's Ask HTM segments.
Brené Brown's long-form conversations linking grief, caregiving, politics, and nonviolence to her vulnerability research.
Jaz Mathisen discusses her book 'A Year at Awakino Station', which combines farm life stories, history, and recipes from her family's homestead in North Otago.
This episode features interviews with Chloe Walker from Precision Farming discussing agri-tech software and AI, Shane Kingston on the Envy Apple brand's billion-dollar milestone, and Lynda Gray on deer industry news including solar power events and new products.
This episode features an interview with Chloe Walker, CEO of Precision Farming, discussing the company's recent acquisition of Newpoint and its role in providing machine connectivity and operational systems for farmers in the digital age.
This episode features an interview with Lynda Gray discussing how solar power, electric vehicles, and AI are transforming deer farming, highlighted by a case study of Bex Smith's solar irrigation project.
This episode features an interview with Peter MacDonald, a farmer and Labour candidate for Heartland Southland, discussing his transition from regional council work to politics driven by concerns about the country's direction.
Shane Kingston discusses TNG Global's Envy Apple brand becoming New Zealand's first billion-dollar apple brand, highlighting the team effort and challenges in the agricultural supply chain.
An interview with Jazz Matheson about her book combining farm life, history, and recipes from Awakino Station.
A daily rural news podcast discussing Fonterra shareholder ownership implications and a farmer's cookbook.
An interview with tax expert Craig McAllister discussing the tax challenges dairy farmers face when receiving a capital return from Fonterra's sale of mainland brands.
Interview with Food HQ CEO about upcoming Future Food and Fibre Summit and challenges in New Zealand's food sector.
A rural radio podcast discussing New Zealand farming community issues and a guest's decision to enter politics.
A daily rural news podcast covering New Zealand's agricultural sector, featuring interviews with industry leaders and discussions on rural challenges.
Host Dominic George interviews rural real estate agent Dave Heffernan about the North Otago property market and dairy conversions.
Monday's REX opens in Oamaru.
Peter MacDonald steps into politics.
Host Dominic George interviews Fenton Hazelwood about the implications of Watties and McCains plant closures for New Zealand agriculture.
This episode features interviews with Oscar Ellison discussing farm fuel theft during a global crisis, Dan Hawke on rainwater system vulnerabilities, and Scott Higgins on sales leadership for Optiway in New Zealand.
An interview with Agri-Tech New Zealand CEO Brendan O'Connell about the Field Days Innovation Awards and the state of agri-tech.
Simon Quilty opens on red meat markets, where Middle East uncertainty, China beef safeguards, and North American demand are all shifting the board.
A daily rural news podcast covering agritech innovation and mountaineering apparel business updates.
This episode of the Rural Exchange podcast discusses agricultural updates including dairy market prices with Stu Davison, the Daggy app for sheep parasite management with Ryan Luckman, and mid-season farm profit forecasts with Angie Fisher.
Dominic George interviews Ryan Luckman, developer of the Daggy app, about its role in managing drench resistance in sheep parasites through predictive modeling and the FARMED strategy.
New Zealand sheep and beef farmers are experiencing a dramatic profit surge, with average farm profits forecast to nearly double to $287,600 per farm in 2025-26.
This episode previews interviews with Mark Maitland on Gallagher's farm tech integrations and Coast to Coast racing, Kara Tait on PAMU's 140-year history, and Wendy Paul on dairy pilot programs and future farming needs.
Interview with Mark Maitland from Gallagher discussing data integration with Trev for farm business analytics.
This episode explores the viability of wearable technology in hill country farming through a discussion with Natasha about her Kellogg paper research on the topic.
Thursday's episode has three practical rural chats.
Nitrogen supply comes first.
Host Dominic George interviews Fenton Hazelwood about the implications of Watties and McCains plant closures for New Zealand agriculture.
A daily rural news podcast covering agricultural industry challenges, including plant closures and a young farmer competition.
A daily rural news podcast covering agricultural technology, political developments, and interviews with key figures in New Zealand's farming sector.
Interview with Daniel Ebb about his transition from agricultural communications to running for political office, discussing systemic issues in New Zealand.
An interview with a sheep scanner and shearer from North Canterbury discussing his work and rural life.
An interview with a Greenlandic farmer about sheep farming and agriculture in Greenland.
An interview with a founder who built a hunting app to solve information fragmentation for hunters in New Zealand.
A daily rural news podcast covering weather impacts on farming, a hunting app, and farming in Greenland.
Walls of New Zealand CEO John McWhirter explains a new trading model designed to link wool growers directly with international customers to ensure more value flows back to the farm gate.