
Damian Buckley on New Zealand Farming, Free Markets, and Aerial Top Dressing History
Trent Loos welcomes New Zealand farmer Damian Buckley for a deep dive into global agriculture, grazing systems, and free-market farming. Damian explains how dairy farms balance year-round grazing with baleage and pit silage to keep milk production strong through winter. The conversation shifts to the fascinating history of aerial top dressing, the game-changing practice that used airplanes to fertilize New Zealand's steep hill country starting in 1949. They compare farm subsidies, soil health, and sulfur deficiency between New Zealand and the United States, and examine how losing brand power, like Fonterra's sale to Lactalis, threatens New Zealand's agricultural identity and lamb reputation abroad.






