Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has taken a jab at Christopher Luxon off the back of the National Party leader's comment that New Zealand is a "wet, whiny" country.
Politicians have flocked to the Fieldays outside of Hamilton, keen to rub shoulders with primary producers and convince the rural community that their party is the one for them.
Among them is the Prime Minister as well as the National Party leader.
Asked what reception he's received at the Mystery Creek event, Hipkins responded: "It's been mostly positive. I haven't met anyone who's wet, I haven't met anyone who's whiny, I haven't met anyone who's inward-looking, I haven't met anyone who's really negative."
"Admittedly, I haven't run into Christopher Luxon yet."
Luxon earlier this week told a farmer in Helensville: "We have become a very negative, wet, whiney, inward-looking country and we have lost the plot and we have got to get our mojo back".
The National leader on Tuesday claimed it was Labour that was "wet and whiny" and he saw New Zealand as having "endless potential".
One person Hipkins has run into at the Fieldays is New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, one of Hipkins' former Cabinet colleagues before NZ First lost its position in Parliament.
Since leaving Parliament, Peters has been critical of Labour and ruled out working with the party after the election if it gets any seats.
"I did have a bit of a yarn to Winston Peters over lunch," Hipkins said. "We largely just talked about the weather."
Fieldays comes as debate heats back up over plans to price agricultural emissions.
The Government's plan has caused some consternation amongst farmers. It has taken up many of the recommendations of the He Waka Eke Noa partnership, including the split-gas levy idea, but differed on the issue of sequestration.
A final decision on pricing hasn't been reached, but Hipkins said there's not much distance between the relevant parties. He's meeting them on Thursday.
Hipkins on Wednesday said that when the farming sector is thriving, it benefits all New Zealanders.
"The farming community have a really important role as kaitiaki of our natural resources, guardians of our natural resources, to make sure we are preserving the environment for future generations as well.
"Farmers work in the environment every day. They understand the effects of human-induced climate change because they see that every day. Our farming community have a role to play in mitigating that as well."
He said Labour was the party for all New Zealanders.
Luxon believed National was the party of New Zealand farmers, which he called the most emissions-efficient in the world and the "backbone of the New Zealand economy".
"The answer is not to go cull our herds and to destroy farming because in doing that we make global greenhouse gas emissions no better and we certainly make New Zealand infinitely poorer and that's a situation we are not happy to tolerate."
He said those at Fieldays are "frustrated" and want a change of direction.
His party proposed an alternative to the Government's plan on Monday which would see farmers not have to pay for agricultural emissions until 2030. The current plan is for pricing by 2025.
