#20 - Seeing the opportunity in consumer demands with Geoff Ross

Lake Hawea Station's Geoff Ross brings his entrepreneurial perspective to the table in this wide-ranging chat about regenerative farming and the opportunities opening up to Kiwi farmers. With consumers demanding closer ties to the food and fibres the buy, and the spotlight on environmental issues growing ever brighter, he discusses some of the possibilities that lie ahead.

The conversation covers the value of diversity, building soil health and carbon sequestration, both for our future and to the marketplace. Geoff sees farmers as ideally placed to be the stewards of our landscape, and in better telling their stories, reduce the divide between farm and city.

Enjoy the episode!

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“You know, I think dynamic sectors need dynamism, and that comes from a whole bunch of smart people trying a whole bunch of smart things. Some's going to work a lot's not going to work.

“Unless we do that and try things, there's not going to be advancement. And without advancement we're not going to get ourselves out of this pretty poor state, I reckon, of beef and sheep farm returns. Beef and Lamb said the average return on capital for sheep and beef farms is 2%.

“So no-one would invest in a business with that proposition, I certainly wouldn't.”