CSB - Lawrence Meredith - EU Ambassador to Aotearoa New Zealand

We find out what the EU Ambassador to Aotearoa New Zealand is doing at the Fieldays. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
But let's get into it show we because Lawrence has
joined us this morning, got to say welcome to New Zealand.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Thank you very much. Great to be here. First time
in the field days really impressed.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
So what is the European Union doing here? Because you
have a stand, haven't you in the main pavilion.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
We have a stand that a number of our member
states are exhibiting here Enterprise Island. The Dutch a here,
the Polish are here, the Spanish are here, the Germans
are here. Wow, the European Union out in force. Oh
we're open for business.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
It's an invasion. Are you finding the markets in Europe
much the same as New Zealand? They fairly flat at
the moment.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Listen. One of the reasons I wanted to be here,
and I grew up in a dairy farming village, is
I think it's really important to listen to how farmers
feel and hear what they see as the opportunities and
also the challenges up and down the country.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
So I noticed that the eccent a little bit of
Irish in there.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
A lot of Irish there. I grew up in the
north of England, so yeah, I grew up in a
dairy farming area.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
And of course dairy farming is big in New Zealand.
So what have you made of the Field Days so far?

Speaker 2 (01:00):
I'm really impressed. I think it's an absolutely fantastic show.
Incredible amount of people, lots of energy, a lot of tech,
and people seeming an extremely good mood. It's true that
the you know, the economy is tough, but we heard
upbeat presentations from the Prime Minister and very interesting thoughts

(01:22):
on the Agri Business Agenda twenty twenty four.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Do you have a similar kind of show over the
year like our field ace here in the UK.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Well where I grew up. The actually it's the biggest
one is the Great Yorkshire Show, and I think it's
a bit like an AMP show here. There's a lot
more animals, but it's a lot of farmers and a
lot of tech as well.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
I'll apologize the noise behind us here. We're just above
an area that they call the tractor pull and that
some farmers built some kind of va tractor that's attract
to believe it.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Or not, it certainly sounds I though it was a
steel chainsaw over there.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
You go, so when people visit your standing, you're in
the main pavilion. What have you got on your stand
as such?

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Well, enjoy its Europe. We've got lots of good food
from Europe showing off what we can do on our side.
And quite a lot of bit of cheese bolsa make
from different parts Greece, France, Spain, Italy, just showing what
Europe can do as well.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
It's such a mess of area to kind of represent
in a way, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Well, it's exciting to be representing the twenty seven member
states of the European Union. But why there isn't I'm here?
It's two reasons. First, we've got a new free trade
agreement with New Zealands. There are new great opportunities, especially
in horticulture, so I've been listening to horticulture New Zealand,
apples onions, pears, but also Horizon Europe is the world's

(02:42):
largest research program, so I've been talking to a lot
of people about how science can really help with some
of the challenges of farming today.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
And there's a lot of innovation here just over there
as the Innovation Hub, with robotics and things like that.
There's a lot of changes coming.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
There's an increased use of artificial intelligence. I saw what
Gallagher are doing with really smart electric fencing, and incredible
what you can do with technologies now.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
And similar things happening in the EU as well.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Definitely, I mean it's the way it's going. It makes
farming much more modern, much more efficient and more profitable.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Well, come over and try some of your cheeses later
on when I finish here.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
It'll be very welcome.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
It's very good to have you along, Lawrence, so thank
you for calling in. Thank you very much, and enjoy
you stay here in New Zealand. Thanks a lot, Lawrence Meredith,
who was the European Union name Bessador to New Zealand.
Great