June 4, 2026 • 8 mins
Today’s panel talks farming and footy.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Farmer Panels, Stu Duncan and the many a Toto Odd's
own farm. It's a beautiful basin. Can I call it
a basin? Steve Duncan? Can I call it a basin?
The man a Toto? It's more than a valley, isn't it?
Well hang on, hang on, I'll turn your fader up.
Sorry about that. I just got put off by Dolly Parton.
Well there you go. Is it a basin? It's more
(00:21):
than a valley, right.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, it is. And it's a million acres of land
surrounded by mountains actually, so it's got a big, big
dam in the middle, and it's yeah, pretty cool. It
starts away at the top of the sticks and heads
out to Danzi's parsons and patterns, So that's pretty big area.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
The only problem is it can get a bit dry stew,
you can.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And we are right at the moment that we've had
probably ten to fifteen mills of rain the mustiple days
and fifteen degrees in the first week of June. So
there's definitely we grant picking the stock of loving it.
So we'll just take it because other years we've had
eighteen inches of snow and wat frost and you start
feeding out of mend of May. We went nineteen eighty six.
I think we curled the bond spill the twenty eighth
(01:00):
of May, so we're happy to have sunshine.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
With climate change and global warming, do your bond spills
ever happen? For people who don't realize what it is,
it's when the dams freeze over and you do the curling.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, we haven't had one for fifteen or twenty years,
and you've got to have it over by the end
of July, or asked quite often get that Northwest break
from comes in from Aussie after about the eighteenth of July,
so you really need to get it June July and
to make enough ice to hold the ice for two days.
So we haven't had any real major frost yet, so
we'll touch wood. But there's no snow on the mountains
(01:34):
and a lot of those streams out on the mountains
are pretty dry, so it will definitely at the moment
heading into a dry spring, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Okay, stew Lowe and North Canterbury. I guess Stu Duncan
doesn't know what dry is. Is it true that you
guys only I know christ City only got what one
millimeter of rain in the month of May. How did
you fare?
Speaker 3 (01:54):
They're not much been Jamie, about four miles I think,
and that was mainly heavy Jews in the fog that
we sort of went to the rain gage and yeah,
felt better tipping something out. But you know we're very dry.
But it's all about averages, isn't it. So generally we'll
get the rail at some stage, so fingers crossed we
get it before we start lemming sort of in July.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
You must be worried though you'd have to be worried
in the back of your mind all this talk. And
it looks more and more likely as each day goes
on that we New Zealand will face a super ol
Nino event that will won't be good news for Canterbury.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
No, so I'm starting to look at getting rid of
some fat kettle that that because we had such a
good sort of summer early autumn have done really well,
so that you know, they'll be killable, probably at lighter weight,
but they can start going and whether we actually tell
a few elm us, we'll sort of make a final
(02:53):
decision on that, but yeah, that's an option, but yeah,
they'll have to go a bit further afield because there's
not not much demand in their amuse around here at
the moment.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah. I mean there's so many positives in farming and
the primary sect their agriculture at the moment. On the
income side of the ledger, and we talked about this
one yesterday. The other side's not so flash, the debit
side of the ledger. If you want farm inputs, interest rates, well,
foreign exchange is working okay for us. The dollars reasonably
friendly at the moment. Oil and freight and Rabo research Minjie.
(03:27):
This is Michael every the world's greatest alarmist. They're global
strategists out of Singapore. They've now changed their mind. They
don't think the strait of a Moves is going to
be opened Stu Duncan until September. If that does come
to pass, it's going to make it really sticky for
all of us.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah, I think so. And to be fair, they look
pretty good, didn't They just talked ten days ago, and
now they're back scrapping and what happens and even if
they do have settlements and months a long time in politics,
so you've only got to have something. But way we're going,
but it is quite concerning and to be feared at
one hundred and twenty dollars a bar or the fuel
prices into the spring and Christmas will be pretty tough.
(04:07):
But we don't actually how to control, isn't it so
like the snowstorm in the spring. You just don't know
what's going to happen over there, So we can only
play with the cards we've got. And at the moment
everything's looking bright. But you know who knows.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Well red meat's looking particularly bright. Ste Low, you're a
sheep and beef farmer. A wall cracking through this is clean,
of course, cracking through the seven dollars a kilogram barrier
for the first time I think in fifteen years. I know,
it's got a long way to go to get to
where it was in real terms in the nineteen eighties,
but this is such an improvement on where we were
(04:39):
five years ago at the absolute COVID low, when farmers
were getting not much more than a dollar a kilogram.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Ye know, the wall job has certainly picked up, which
is which it needed to. And I guess it's supply demand.
Been a few of those brands that don't grow well,
you know, don't grow all or specially is pretty out,
which I suppose those of us who stick with the
wooly crossbreads will benefit in the short term, I guess.
(05:08):
So if the wall does does indeed stay up, and
hopefully it does because once people get to realize that
the qualities after synthetics, it is a great product.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Hey, you need to be like your old mate, famous
west Otago farmer. I hope he doesn't mind me quoting
him here, Graham Parnell Edgar. He's taking a real punt
on walk because he's stuck with those buffeed Romney's with
hair from their eyeballs to their TOAs well.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
I don't think mine can see where they go after
after the grown wall for about eight months and just
eight months a year, so you know. And it's any
any of the fiber, as long as it's nice and
clean and white and bright, it's well. Hey.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Nowadays, nowadays oddments of the new gold. They're paying huge
money for the oddments to mix them with the main fleece.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Yes, I heard them say that the other day.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yes, okay, stu Wol's never been a problem for you
because the wall you're producing on your farm is not
strong crosspread wall. It's what mid micron is it? So
you've always been well paid, that'll get a bite.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Well, it's been pretty flat in the last couple of years,
but that mid micon's pretty popular. And I've just got
two contracts on the table and ones come up two
dollars clean a kilo in the last two weeks. So
tod someone comes around next couple of weeks, you might
get it more. But it's pretty popular at the moment.
And we're in that pog it at twenty twenty one
micron and you will at twenty five. So that's definitely
(06:37):
had a lift, but it needed to because you know
that's it takes a wee bit to share them. But
nowhere happy enough for that. Everything is looking positive and
we'll just hold and grab some hold and let's see
what happens.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Well, crouch and hole. There we go. We can segue
very briefly to rugby. You and I haven't got a
team to follow now our Highland has gone. I'm focusing
on the Southland Stags and the MPC. But Stue Low,
you've still got a team that's your old team, the
team you used to play for, the Crusaders, and it's
just the hottest ticket in town, isn't it to go
to the new one New Zealand Stadium. I better get
(07:09):
it right and watch anything.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, they had had a pretty good number there at
the concert. That's six sixty concert. There's still a few
teething problems as far as getting in and out with
some of the door you know, not having enough doors
open and everyone's queuing up. But hopefully that gets rictified
because I think they've got the warriors and the Orblet's
coming so that I'm not sure if I've actually got
(07:34):
the temporary seeking up this week for another five thousand people,
but you know, it's a great a great venue so
close to town and hopefully, yeah, the heart of Christ
is and for a bit of a renaissance after you
know what has been a pretty tough tough time since
twenty eleven.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Yeah, yeah, and good on you. Every dog has his
day and you've got a wonderful new stadium. I can't
believe I said this the top of the show's dulo.
I'm I'm wishing for the Crusaders. I don't think I've
ever said that in my life.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
ABC. Isn't it anyone but Kenny normally? But hopefully they've
always been. Depending on other results of course as to
what the layout going forward. But ye first and foremost,
get a win and you go another week.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Good on you, okay, lads, thank you very much for
your time. I got to go. There we go Today's
Farmer Panel
Farmer Panels, Stu Duncan and the many a Toto Odd's
own farm. It's a beautiful basin. Can I call it
a basin? Steve Duncan? Can I call it a basin?
The man a Toto? It's more than a valley, isn't it?
Well hang on, hang on, I'll turn your fader up.
Sorry about that. I just got put off by Dolly Parton.
Well there you go. Is it a basin? It's more
(00:21):
than a valley, right.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, it is. And it's a million acres of land
surrounded by mountains actually, so it's got a big, big
dam in the middle, and it's yeah, pretty cool. It
starts away at the top of the sticks and heads
out to Danzi's parsons and patterns, So that's pretty big area.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
The only problem is it can get a bit dry stew,
you can.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And we are right at the moment that we've had
probably ten to fifteen mills of rain the mustiple days
and fifteen degrees in the first week of June. So
there's definitely we grant picking the stock of loving it.
So we'll just take it because other years we've had
eighteen inches of snow and wat frost and you start
feeding out of mend of May. We went nineteen eighty six.
I think we curled the bond spill the twenty eighth
(01:00):
of May, so we're happy to have sunshine.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
With climate change and global warming, do your bond spills
ever happen? For people who don't realize what it is,
it's when the dams freeze over and you do the curling.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, we haven't had one for fifteen or twenty years,
and you've got to have it over by the end
of July, or asked quite often get that Northwest break
from comes in from Aussie after about the eighteenth of July,
so you really need to get it June July and
to make enough ice to hold the ice for two days.
So we haven't had any real major frost yet, so
we'll touch wood. But there's no snow on the mountains
(01:34):
and a lot of those streams out on the mountains
are pretty dry, so it will definitely at the moment
heading into a dry spring, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Okay, stew Lowe and North Canterbury. I guess Stu Duncan
doesn't know what dry is. Is it true that you
guys only I know christ City only got what one
millimeter of rain in the month of May. How did
you fare?
Speaker 3 (01:54):
They're not much been Jamie, about four miles I think,
and that was mainly heavy Jews in the fog that
we sort of went to the rain gage and yeah,
felt better tipping something out. But you know we're very dry.
But it's all about averages, isn't it. So generally we'll
get the rail at some stage, so fingers crossed we
get it before we start lemming sort of in July.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
You must be worried though you'd have to be worried
in the back of your mind all this talk. And
it looks more and more likely as each day goes
on that we New Zealand will face a super ol
Nino event that will won't be good news for Canterbury.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
No, so I'm starting to look at getting rid of
some fat kettle that that because we had such a
good sort of summer early autumn have done really well,
so that you know, they'll be killable, probably at lighter weight,
but they can start going and whether we actually tell
a few elm us, we'll sort of make a final
(02:53):
decision on that, but yeah, that's an option, but yeah,
they'll have to go a bit further afield because there's
not not much demand in their amuse around here at
the moment.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah. I mean there's so many positives in farming and
the primary sect their agriculture at the moment. On the
income side of the ledger, and we talked about this
one yesterday. The other side's not so flash, the debit
side of the ledger. If you want farm inputs, interest rates, well,
foreign exchange is working okay for us. The dollars reasonably
friendly at the moment. Oil and freight and Rabo research Minjie.
(03:27):
This is Michael every the world's greatest alarmist. They're global
strategists out of Singapore. They've now changed their mind. They
don't think the strait of a Moves is going to
be opened Stu Duncan until September. If that does come
to pass, it's going to make it really sticky for
all of us.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah, I think so. And to be fair, they look
pretty good, didn't They just talked ten days ago, and
now they're back scrapping and what happens and even if
they do have settlements and months a long time in politics,
so you've only got to have something. But way we're going,
but it is quite concerning and to be feared at
one hundred and twenty dollars a bar or the fuel
prices into the spring and Christmas will be pretty tough.
(04:07):
But we don't actually how to control, isn't it so
like the snowstorm in the spring. You just don't know
what's going to happen over there, So we can only
play with the cards we've got. And at the moment
everything's looking bright. But you know who knows.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Well red meat's looking particularly bright. Ste Low, you're a
sheep and beef farmer. A wall cracking through this is clean,
of course, cracking through the seven dollars a kilogram barrier
for the first time I think in fifteen years. I know,
it's got a long way to go to get to
where it was in real terms in the nineteen eighties,
but this is such an improvement on where we were
(04:39):
five years ago at the absolute COVID low, when farmers
were getting not much more than a dollar a kilogram.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Ye know, the wall job has certainly picked up, which
is which it needed to. And I guess it's supply demand.
Been a few of those brands that don't grow well,
you know, don't grow all or specially is pretty out,
which I suppose those of us who stick with the
wooly crossbreads will benefit in the short term, I guess.
(05:08):
So if the wall does does indeed stay up, and
hopefully it does because once people get to realize that
the qualities after synthetics, it is a great product.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Hey, you need to be like your old mate, famous
west Otago farmer. I hope he doesn't mind me quoting
him here, Graham Parnell Edgar. He's taking a real punt
on walk because he's stuck with those buffeed Romney's with
hair from their eyeballs to their TOAs well.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
I don't think mine can see where they go after
after the grown wall for about eight months and just
eight months a year, so you know. And it's any
any of the fiber, as long as it's nice and
clean and white and bright, it's well. Hey.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Nowadays, nowadays oddments of the new gold. They're paying huge
money for the oddments to mix them with the main fleece.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Yes, I heard them say that the other day.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yes, okay, stu Wol's never been a problem for you
because the wall you're producing on your farm is not
strong crosspread wall. It's what mid micron is it? So
you've always been well paid, that'll get a bite.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Well, it's been pretty flat in the last couple of years,
but that mid micon's pretty popular. And I've just got
two contracts on the table and ones come up two
dollars clean a kilo in the last two weeks. So
tod someone comes around next couple of weeks, you might
get it more. But it's pretty popular at the moment.
And we're in that pog it at twenty twenty one
micron and you will at twenty five. So that's definitely
(06:37):
had a lift, but it needed to because you know
that's it takes a wee bit to share them. But
nowhere happy enough for that. Everything is looking positive and
we'll just hold and grab some hold and let's see
what happens.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Well, crouch and hole. There we go. We can segue
very briefly to rugby. You and I haven't got a
team to follow now our Highland has gone. I'm focusing
on the Southland Stags and the MPC. But Stue Low,
you've still got a team that's your old team, the
team you used to play for, the Crusaders, and it's
just the hottest ticket in town, isn't it to go
to the new one New Zealand Stadium. I better get
(07:09):
it right and watch anything.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, they had had a pretty good number there at
the concert. That's six sixty concert. There's still a few
teething problems as far as getting in and out with
some of the door you know, not having enough doors
open and everyone's queuing up. But hopefully that gets rictified
because I think they've got the warriors and the Orblet's
coming so that I'm not sure if I've actually got
(07:34):
the temporary seeking up this week for another five thousand people,
but you know, it's a great a great venue so
close to town and hopefully, yeah, the heart of Christ
is and for a bit of a renaissance after you
know what has been a pretty tough tough time since
twenty eleven.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Yeah, yeah, and good on you. Every dog has his
day and you've got a wonderful new stadium. I can't
believe I said this the top of the show's dulo.
I'm I'm wishing for the Crusaders. I don't think I've
ever said that in my life.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
ABC. Isn't it anyone but Kenny normally? But hopefully they've
always been. Depending on other results of course as to
what the layout going forward. But ye first and foremost,
get a win and you go another week.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Good on you, okay, lads, thank you very much for
your time. I got to go. There we go Today's
Farmer Panel
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