July 8, 2024 • 7 mins
Is a former Minister of Agriculture and current Chair of the Meat Industry Association and Apiculture NZ. We preview the annual MIA Conference (July 23) in Wellington, talk beekeeping, honey and the US Presidential Election.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Nathan Guy is a man who wears many hats in
New Zealand agriculture of course, a former Minister of Agriculture
these days chair of the Meat Industry Association and of
Apiculture en Zed. So we're going to talk a wee
bit of meat and honey and maybe a wee bit
of politics. Just to wrap it up, Nathan, before we
do all that, how are things on the horror for now?
(00:21):
A dairy farm?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'll get a Jamie. I haven't caught up with you
since you got your honor very recently. Congratulations on that.
I don't know whether to call you Sue Jamie or
just Jamie the good bastard. I'll just shay, I just
stick with the latter.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, I'll take that, and then I'll humbly deflect or
pivot as they say, Nathan, and I'll move and I'll
move on to the subjects of my choice. Well, the
Meat Industry Association. You've got your Meat Industry conference coming
up later this month at Takeina. I hope I got
that right where we had the primary industry somewhat in
(00:57):
the wards. It's a brilliant venue.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Great Venue've been there a few times. And answer your
first question before we deflect and pivot. Things on the
farm going pretty well. We had a very dry summer autumn,
had some quite good rain through the winter, but frost
at the moment, covers are looking good and carving starts
next week. Then back on pivoting back on to your
other question. Yep, we've got our big red meat sector conference.
(01:21):
We do that in collaboration with Beef and Lamb. It's
in Wellington this time we move around the country. We're
looking like we've got about three hundred coming to it
and it is conference season at the moment. Everyone seems
to have a conference in about two months over this
window before things go crazy on farm. So we're looking
forward to a lot of people coming along to our
(01:41):
conference and it's going to be future focused quite a
bit on innovation and technology, international markets, with Van Gallis
coming along. Raysmith is going to be speaking from MPI.
Nikola Gregg is standing in for Minister Maclay who's traveling
somewhere around the world. Looking forward to a pretty full
(02:01):
on day.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
I'm reading from the press release it says Meat Industry
Association Chair Nathan Guy said this year's theme, from Our
Pasture to Your Plate will cover emerging topics from across
the global red meat supply chain. Now, Nathan, this sounds
a wee bit like rinse and repeat to me, from
(02:23):
our pasture to your plate. Haven't I heard that somewhere before?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Oh? You have? You have? Maybe we could have come
up with a better title or theme. But the reality
is our farmers are up against it at the moment.
A lot of companies are struggling. It's mainly on the
back of China being a little bit depressed in terms
of their economic growth. As a few green shoots appearing
there now the US where Prime Minister Luxem's up there
(02:48):
this week. That's looking a bit better for us now,
particularly for beef. And when you think about the two
years of prolonged droughts that they've had. I was reading
the other day that they've had their worst levels of
beef culling since something like nineteen fifty one, so seventy
three years. They're going to take a long time to rebuild.
(03:10):
So that's going to be a positive for beef farmers.
I believe.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
What can you do for the sheep farmers, Nathan, Because
a lot of my mates are still sheep farmers. They're
telling me this is as tough as the eighties.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
It's bloody tough. I've got a lot of mates that
are sheep farmers. Some of them farm on the east
coast of the North arm of the Means smashed with
not only Cyclone Gabriel, but then another eight inches of
rain a couple of weeks ago. It's really tough. Meat
companies know it's tough. It all comes back to well
a couple of things. One is looking at markets and
(03:47):
we've just talked about China and we're going to invest
with beef and lamb and hopefully the government honor in
the country of origin regime up there, whereby we're going
to focus on our attributes. It's really competitive in China.
There's a lot more countries that have got the equivalent
of free trade access. Now our messaging is lost in translation,
(04:10):
so we need to be out on the front foot.
So we're looking forward to getting that started later this year.
In terms of the other issues that farms are facing,
are these big headwinds of costs. Yes, they had come
back a little bit in terms of fertilizer. Wages have
kept going up. There's a lot of also costs coming
(04:31):
out of local government now with rates rises and also
insurances on the back of cyclone Gabriel and others. So
there's no silver bullet right now, Jamie. But it will turn.
It'll just take a bit longer than we'd all hoped.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
How's agriculture en Z going. How's the honey industry? I
understand tough times for the beekeepers as well.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yes, beekeepers are no different to our sheep farmers. Really,
it's certainly a real struggle for them right now. Some
exporters are doing okay on the back of Manukah. We
came out with a strategy a couple of months ago
which was really Manukah focused. That's the biggest game in town.
And we know that we've got to work constructively with
(05:14):
other honeys as well, and that's market opportunities. But really,
when you think about it, it's got to be Manukah first,
and a rising tide JFK. A rising tide floats all boats.
So if we can get the Manuka story right and
get deeper penetration and market, then they could well be
(05:35):
an opportunity for other honeys. But yep, it's tough right now,
and the uk FDA has helped honey that's a small
and emerging market for US now that the tariffs have
been white So it's some upside there, but it's going
to take like red meat's going to take a bit
of a time, a bit of time for this to
(05:55):
turn as well.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Well, let's segue from JFK one of the great American
pressvidence and pivot. It's such a terrible word, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Pivot.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
It's like learnings. I hate it. But anyhow, we're pivoting
off to the election that's coming up this year. It's
going to be fascinating. It's like train wreck television watching
Fox TV. At the moment, Trump's going to waltz home
off the back of poor old Joe Biden, who was
a very good man in his day. He's lost the plot.
He's lost as marbles. He shouldn't be standing. This wouldn't
(06:26):
even happen in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
No interesting times, isn't it? In fact? Fascinating? Got a
wee way to go in November. Till November we see
if Kamala Harris comes in or not, if there's a change.
I think if I was heading down to the tab
I'd probably bet there is going to be a change
for the Democrats and looks like yeah, Trump's riding high
(06:52):
at the moment, but we know that these campaigns are
long and anything could happen.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Hate Nathan Guy always good to catch. Thanks for your
time on the country.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Thanks Jamie,
Nathan Guy is a man who wears many hats in
New Zealand agriculture of course, a former Minister of Agriculture
these days chair of the Meat Industry Association and of
Apiculture en Zed. So we're going to talk a wee
bit of meat and honey and maybe a wee bit
of politics. Just to wrap it up, Nathan, before we
do all that, how are things on the horror for now?
(00:21):
A dairy farm?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'll get a Jamie. I haven't caught up with you
since you got your honor very recently. Congratulations on that.
I don't know whether to call you Sue Jamie or
just Jamie the good bastard. I'll just shay, I just
stick with the latter.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, I'll take that, and then I'll humbly deflect or
pivot as they say, Nathan, and I'll move and I'll
move on to the subjects of my choice. Well, the
Meat Industry Association. You've got your Meat Industry conference coming
up later this month at Takeina. I hope I got
that right where we had the primary industry somewhat in
(00:57):
the wards. It's a brilliant venue.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Great Venue've been there a few times. And answer your
first question before we deflect and pivot. Things on the
farm going pretty well. We had a very dry summer autumn,
had some quite good rain through the winter, but frost
at the moment, covers are looking good and carving starts
next week. Then back on pivoting back on to your
other question. Yep, we've got our big red meat sector conference.
(01:21):
We do that in collaboration with Beef and Lamb. It's
in Wellington this time we move around the country. We're
looking like we've got about three hundred coming to it
and it is conference season at the moment. Everyone seems
to have a conference in about two months over this
window before things go crazy on farm. So we're looking
forward to a lot of people coming along to our
(01:41):
conference and it's going to be future focused quite a
bit on innovation and technology, international markets, with Van Gallis
coming along. Raysmith is going to be speaking from MPI.
Nikola Gregg is standing in for Minister Maclay who's traveling
somewhere around the world. Looking forward to a pretty full
(02:01):
on day.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
I'm reading from the press release it says Meat Industry
Association Chair Nathan Guy said this year's theme, from Our
Pasture to Your Plate will cover emerging topics from across
the global red meat supply chain. Now, Nathan, this sounds
a wee bit like rinse and repeat to me, from
(02:23):
our pasture to your plate. Haven't I heard that somewhere before?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Oh? You have? You have? Maybe we could have come
up with a better title or theme. But the reality
is our farmers are up against it at the moment.
A lot of companies are struggling. It's mainly on the
back of China being a little bit depressed in terms
of their economic growth. As a few green shoots appearing
there now the US where Prime Minister Luxem's up there
(02:48):
this week. That's looking a bit better for us now,
particularly for beef. And when you think about the two
years of prolonged droughts that they've had. I was reading
the other day that they've had their worst levels of
beef culling since something like nineteen fifty one, so seventy
three years. They're going to take a long time to rebuild.
(03:10):
So that's going to be a positive for beef farmers.
I believe.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
What can you do for the sheep farmers, Nathan, Because
a lot of my mates are still sheep farmers. They're
telling me this is as tough as the eighties.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
It's bloody tough. I've got a lot of mates that
are sheep farmers. Some of them farm on the east
coast of the North arm of the Means smashed with
not only Cyclone Gabriel, but then another eight inches of
rain a couple of weeks ago. It's really tough. Meat
companies know it's tough. It all comes back to well
a couple of things. One is looking at markets and
(03:47):
we've just talked about China and we're going to invest
with beef and lamb and hopefully the government honor in
the country of origin regime up there, whereby we're going
to focus on our attributes. It's really competitive in China.
There's a lot more countries that have got the equivalent
of free trade access. Now our messaging is lost in translation,
(04:10):
so we need to be out on the front foot.
So we're looking forward to getting that started later this year.
In terms of the other issues that farms are facing,
are these big headwinds of costs. Yes, they had come
back a little bit in terms of fertilizer. Wages have
kept going up. There's a lot of also costs coming
(04:31):
out of local government now with rates rises and also
insurances on the back of cyclone Gabriel and others. So
there's no silver bullet right now, Jamie. But it will turn.
It'll just take a bit longer than we'd all hoped.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
How's agriculture en Z going. How's the honey industry? I
understand tough times for the beekeepers as well.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yes, beekeepers are no different to our sheep farmers. Really,
it's certainly a real struggle for them right now. Some
exporters are doing okay on the back of Manukah. We
came out with a strategy a couple of months ago
which was really Manukah focused. That's the biggest game in town.
And we know that we've got to work constructively with
(05:14):
other honeys as well, and that's market opportunities. But really,
when you think about it, it's got to be Manukah first,
and a rising tide JFK. A rising tide floats all boats.
So if we can get the Manuka story right and
get deeper penetration and market, then they could well be
(05:35):
an opportunity for other honeys. But yep, it's tough right now,
and the uk FDA has helped honey that's a small
and emerging market for US now that the tariffs have
been white So it's some upside there, but it's going
to take like red meat's going to take a bit
of a time, a bit of time for this to
(05:55):
turn as well.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Well, let's segue from JFK one of the great American
pressvidence and pivot. It's such a terrible word, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Pivot.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
It's like learnings. I hate it. But anyhow, we're pivoting
off to the election that's coming up this year. It's
going to be fascinating. It's like train wreck television watching
Fox TV. At the moment, Trump's going to waltz home
off the back of poor old Joe Biden, who was
a very good man in his day. He's lost the plot.
He's lost as marbles. He shouldn't be standing. This wouldn't
(06:26):
even happen in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
No interesting times, isn't it? In fact? Fascinating? Got a
wee way to go in November. Till November we see
if Kamala Harris comes in or not, if there's a change.
I think if I was heading down to the tab
I'd probably bet there is going to be a change
for the Democrats and looks like yeah, Trump's riding high
(06:52):
at the moment, but we know that these campaigns are
long and anything could happen.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Hate Nathan Guy always good to catch. Thanks for your
time on the country.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Thanks Jamie,
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