Born and raised in New Zealand, The Better Together Podcast discusses all things powering pastoral farming success today and in the future. Gain insight from across the board as hosts Russell MacKay and Tom Botica chat through the hottest topics in agriculture with friends from all over the industry.
#3 - Ben Purua: From Gangs and life behind bars to award winning dairy farmer
Bens journey to farming is far from ordinary. He was bought up in a family deeply rooted in gang life. At a young age, he found himself in prison for a serious crime. The prison he was in had their own farm which Ben worked on, and he soon fell in love with the industry. With some ups and downs, Ben now manages a highly productive farm, winning Māori Farmer of the year through the Ahuwhenua trophy, and Farm Manager of the year through DairyNZ. Bens story is an inspirational one. It is one of ...
30 Jan 2026
#2 - Doug Avery: Farming through tough times, 'The Resilient Farmer'
Doug farms next door to a salt mine, that says enough about the difficulties of trying to produce quality lamb and beef. Doug went through some brutal droughts which was a factor in his mental health taking a dive. He has since changed his farm system and lifestyle to help out his top 2 inches. Doug is now a well known advocate for Men's and Rural Mental Health. He authored a book that can be found on many farmers nightstand 'The Resilient Farmer'. His farm also uses both FarmIQ and FARM...
29 Jan 2026
#1 - Rob Hewett - Farmer and one of the most impressive governance resumes in NZ
Rob is a sheep and beef farmer in the Manuka Gorge, Otago. He is better known as one of the most prolific governance workers in NZ, in particular agribusiness. Rob talks about his love for farming, how he got into governance through non rural work overseas, how he successfully juggles all of his roles currently, and why he puts himself through it all. Rob reveals what his most challenging governance role has been, and the answer will surprise you.
16 Mar 2025
#10 - Michael Blanche: 1st generation farmer, consultant, and implementing NZ pasture systems in Scotland
Michael is a First generation farmer near Perth in Scotland as well as being a farm consultant. A long his career, he studied 1st generation farmers in terms of how they do it, and how they differ to multi generational farmers. He is also on a crusade to implement better pasture management in Scotland, taking learnings and technology he got from New Zealand (including FARMAX). Michael hosts his own podcast dedicated to pasture, funnily enough it is called "The Pasture Pod".
27 Sept 2024
#9 - Roger Beattie: Farming wild sheep, pearls, kelp, and weka
Rogers' family has a history of innovation. His father invented Beatties insulators and eartags. Roger has carried on the outside of the box thinking in his own way, by farming what others have not thought of to be farmable things.Roger is involved in:- weka conservation + setting up a weka industry- breeding wild sheep- farming paua and their pearls- harvesting of kelpThis is not only a story of farming outside the box, but also of the red tape that he encountered. Roger doesn't pull his pun...
12 Aug 2024
#8 - Rob Hewett: Farming and top level Governance
Rob has a yarn with Russell about his extensive farming and governance career. Businesses that he has had an association with have included: - Shell- FarmIQ- Silver Fern Farms- Farmlands- Strong Wool Action GroupRob reveals what the toughest role in NZ rural governance he has come across, and the answer is not what you would expect. Outside of his governance work, Rob walks the talk with his 10,000 SU Sheep and Beef Farm in South Otago.
2 Jul 2024
#7 - Sarah Hawkins: Emerging RP of the Year & GHG emissions vs. on-farm profit
Sarah Hawkins is an Agribusiness Consultant with BakerAg in Masterton, and was the 2023 winner of the FarmIQ Emerging Rural Professional of The Year Award.
In this episode we chat to Sarah about her experience winning the award, and how it's impacted her career over the past year.
We also dive into her recent report: 'Learning from farmers – On farm emissions reductions' funded by the Our Land & Water RP Fund 2024, which studied farmers that were reducing emissions while also producing impressive levels of profit.
Applications are open for two RP of the year awards with NZIPIM, until 29th July 2024:
https://www.nzipim.co.nz/Story?Action=View&Story_id=123
Sarah's full report is also available here:
https://ourlandandwater.nz/outputs/learning-from-farmers-on-farm-emissions-reductions/ (https://ourlandandwater.nz/outputs/learning-from-farmers-on-farm-emissions-reductions/)
3 Jun 2024
#6 - Ben Purua on gang life and prison to award winning dairy farmer
Ben Purua has a korero with Russell MacKay about his abnormal path to farming. Gangs, drugs, crime, and prison were a big part of his youth. Ben talks about how he turned his life around and is now a distinguished farmer, winning the Ahuwhenua Māori Young Farmer Award and the DairyNZ People and Leadership merit award in the Dairy Manager category.
Ben is a man who has made plenty of mistakes, but he owns them and is now helping men to make sure they don't go down the same path he was once destined for. This includes creating transition farms, where released inmates are employed on farms.
Check it out his TikTok vm.tiktok.com/ZSJuq6Yk1 (https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvm.tiktok.com%2FZSJuq6Yk1%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR118IbFSHE00KEKwZlIg6itVvbw2o2FuCfw6fMtglBRX08yyd5yDhI-dKo_aem_Ab0K15P5lCct0N9XopNuFd7hpLNF0pgr6empKDWZz-WhBbPcqlkcjEUvGc8MPRybufaxqu71CDPpgwwActxPbfsE&h=AT07NY74w97qj-RYL4OmOnsDvFFrWZLJvtfa4D9IYIOabB1mbfCyoYqtPUz3YE8HCVKzuk-aJ4I558poB5Wrzq8a14d7zKtfVgHuaTjYBNdAbYBI5v1yZrBxoj2epSyksqcOQiUWNaeHdDLnqTWk&__tn__=%2Cd)
Check out his clothing line https://www.kamutopamu.co.nz (https://www.kamutopamu.co.nz/)
Check out https://www.manup.org.nz/ (https://www.manup.org.nz/)
A warning, this episode touches on subjects such as domestic violence, violence and drug abuse.
10 Nov 2023
#5 - Laura Keenan on profiting from improved forages
Laura Keenan is a co-founder, Director and Senior Consultant at KS Agri, and is currently completing a PhD looking at farm systems impacts of satellite farming with improved forages in New Zealand sheep and beef.
In this episode Laura shares her career journey to date, what farmers are currently seeking advice on in her consultancy business, and some exciting findings and tools from emerging from her PhD research.
Check out more from Laura:
https://ksagri.co.nz/
10 Oct 2023
#4 - Doug Avery on farming through tough times
Russell MacKay yarns to Doug Avery on farming through tough times. Doug was "in the trenches". He took over the family farm in Marlborough, took on debt to increase scale, and then drought plus depression came. In this episode, Doug talks about:
- How to look after your own mental wellbeing in general
- How he got through consecutive years of tough years farming
Doug is the author of the best-seller "The Resilient Farmer" which can be found in all good bookstores.
This episode is dedicated to Dr Tom Mulholland. Just like Doug, he worked tirelessly to improve the overall health of kiwis, in particular our rural communities.
30 Mar 2023
#3 - David Whillans & Andrew Hill on sustainable finance in agriculture in New Zealand
Tom Botica discusses sustainable finance in agriculture in New Zealand with Westpac Agribusiness's Senior Manager for Research, David Whillans, and Senior Manager of Strategy and Operations, Andrew Hill.
Where NZ is at in terms of sustainable lending practices
The role of sustainable finance in New Zealand and why they exist
How do farmers and rural professionals access sustainably linked loans
16 Nov 2022
#2 - Todd Charteris on sustainable farming
Rabobank CEO, Todd Charteris, joins Alison Worth to discuss sustainable farming and the role of Rabobank in this space.
13 Nov 2022
#1 - Jack Keeys on KPMG Agri-food
KPMG's Senior Manager for Agri-food, Jack Keeys, joins Tom as they discuss the role of KPMG in New Zealand's agricultural sector right through to synthetic proteins.
2022 KPMG Agribusiness Agenda (https://home.kpmg/nz/en/home/insights/2022/06/2022-agribusiness-agenda.html)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
438,904
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Podcast Authority Score: 25 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
7
Social presence
0
YouTube
82
Engagement
27
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