September 9, 2025 • 5 mins
New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, and Canterbury arable farmer, talks about staying in Paris and the challenging times for his industry.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay. Our next guest is a Canterbury farmer. He's also
our Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Hamish Ma Hamish, you can
talk about anything you want other than the Ranfilly Shield.
Good afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
How are you, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Well, I'm still bruised and batted from that hiding, but
never mind unless we had it for a week six days. Hey,
talk to talk to me firstly about the lot, because
on yesterday's show, I don't know whether you're caught up
on this one. We talked to farmer Tom Martin, our
UK farm and correspondent. He was just saying how tough
the arable farmers of which he's won in the UK
(00:35):
are getting or having it at the moment. And I
know from talking to some of my arable farming friends
things are a bit challenging.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, things have certainly pretty bleak, all right, Jamie. And
no I didn't hear the interview yesterday, but I've been
following the UK situation and actually the situation in the
UK is no different to the situation here in some
parts of the United States. It's terrible farming. Generally. We
have fanned our situation ourselves in a situation where costs
(01:06):
have blown out compared to the price for their products,
so it's a real issue.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Could you be saved by a buoyant dairy industry, and
I'm talking about the feed grain side of things.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Well, we could, Yes, we certainly could. We'd need to
convince them to buy more of air product. The issue
we have, Jamie, is there alternatives such as palm kernel
and other things are still Brewer's grain and other supplements
that are available are easy to get and at a
(01:42):
discount by comparison or where we would need them to
be to be more profitable.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Beautiful day in Canterbury. I'm in christ Church obviously, but Canterbury.
We flew over this morning. Gee. It was interesting every
time I fly over Hamish my old university or as
a college in my day's link, and I look out
a window and I think, jeez, there's just new houses
being built daily out there. It's a far cry from
what it was when I was there in the eighties.
(02:09):
Are you a Lincoln old boy?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I'm a Lincoln old boy. I was there in nineteen
ninety six and I finished in two thousand and I
one hundred percent agree with you, and I think I
can anticipate your question. We're going to run out of
arable farm land, and where's it all going to come from.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
That's great farmland out there. We used to go and
look at visit all the cropping farms when we were
at Lincoln and they were right next door to us.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yep. And when I went to Lincoln, all of that
country there was potatoes and carrots and it was market
gaden country and now it was all houses. So it
is quite a thing, most beautiful place.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, we've got we've got to build up, not out,
but Canterbury or christ Church is certainly on the expansion trail. Anyhow,
my question was I'm not even sure what my question
was you you putting. Sorry, I'm trying to do two
things at once. In a new it's like, I'll give
a comparison to an arable farmer. It's like jumping into
a new tractor. You know, there's lots of buttons and
(03:07):
I'm just not quite sure which ones to push.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
But all you want to do is go forward, but
you don't know how.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Yeah, exactly, or even how to start the tractor. No, okay,
So put on put on your special agg trade in
boy hat and talk to me about Paris. You're on
the payroll. You want us to stay in.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, it's not that I'm on the payroll, but I
think it's very, very dangerous for us to come out.
And Look, I was listening to Jane on there before
and actually I agree with some of what Jane's saying.
You know, she was talking about We've got nationally determined contribution,
which is one hundred percent right. But what we need
to be really cognizant of is the fact that New Zealand,
(03:48):
we are so small, we can't we cannot dictate the terms.
And if we if we pull out of the Paris Accord,
what message does it seem? And to me, we've and
you'll hear all of our exporters say the same thing.
We're covered by seventy five I think it's between seventy
five and eighty percent three trade agreements, some of which
have got environmental stuff written in them. But the fact
(04:11):
that we've got so many free trade agreements, if we
were to pull out of this one, they would be
down on us like a ton of bricks, and the
tariffs that we've fought so hard to remove would be
straight back on us.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
So are we are we in a position to be
able to renegotiate terms, though I.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Would like to think we were. I mean, that's certainly
it's a very very good suggestion.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Let me just say, okay, I'll take that as my
complete answer there. Let me just finish on where I
was going to go before I got lost in the
news studio. Jane was talking about it getting dry and
north Otago. You're an arable farmer here and Canterbury. Where's
your farm by the way, are you mid Canterbury.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Mid Canterburry. I'm just below the retired gorge between Methavone
and Mounthat.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
So beautiful country up there, great cropping country up there.
Are you getting a bit drier? Have you fared a
bit better?
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Well, we're actually spot on at the moment, Jamie, and
yes we've had the ten days of Northwest, but I
think our seasons about ten days later than it normally
would be. I'm drilling week today which should have been
in the ground in August, so that sort of shows
you where we're at. It's just spot on right now.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Hamashmarra, lets you go and finish drilling the week. Thanks
for some of your time as an arable farmer and
in your capacity as a Special Agricultural Trade Envoy
Okay. Our next guest is a Canterbury farmer. He's also
our Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Hamish Ma Hamish, you can
talk about anything you want other than the Ranfilly Shield.
Good afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
How are you, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Well, I'm still bruised and batted from that hiding, but
never mind unless we had it for a week six days. Hey,
talk to talk to me firstly about the lot, because
on yesterday's show, I don't know whether you're caught up
on this one. We talked to farmer Tom Martin, our
UK farm and correspondent. He was just saying how tough
the arable farmers of which he's won in the UK
(00:35):
are getting or having it at the moment. And I
know from talking to some of my arable farming friends
things are a bit challenging.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, things have certainly pretty bleak, all right, Jamie. And
no I didn't hear the interview yesterday, but I've been
following the UK situation and actually the situation in the
UK is no different to the situation here in some
parts of the United States. It's terrible farming. Generally. We
have fanned our situation ourselves in a situation where costs
(01:06):
have blown out compared to the price for their products,
so it's a real issue.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Could you be saved by a buoyant dairy industry, and
I'm talking about the feed grain side of things.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Well, we could, Yes, we certainly could. We'd need to
convince them to buy more of air product. The issue
we have, Jamie, is there alternatives such as palm kernel
and other things are still Brewer's grain and other supplements
that are available are easy to get and at a
(01:42):
discount by comparison or where we would need them to
be to be more profitable.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Beautiful day in Canterbury. I'm in christ Church obviously, but Canterbury.
We flew over this morning. Gee. It was interesting every
time I fly over Hamish my old university or as
a college in my day's link, and I look out
a window and I think, jeez, there's just new houses
being built daily out there. It's a far cry from
what it was when I was there in the eighties.
(02:09):
Are you a Lincoln old boy?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I'm a Lincoln old boy. I was there in nineteen
ninety six and I finished in two thousand and I
one hundred percent agree with you, and I think I
can anticipate your question. We're going to run out of
arable farm land, and where's it all going to come from.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
That's great farmland out there. We used to go and
look at visit all the cropping farms when we were
at Lincoln and they were right next door to us.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yep. And when I went to Lincoln, all of that
country there was potatoes and carrots and it was market
gaden country and now it was all houses. So it
is quite a thing, most beautiful place.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, we've got we've got to build up, not out,
but Canterbury or christ Church is certainly on the expansion trail. Anyhow,
my question was I'm not even sure what my question
was you you putting. Sorry, I'm trying to do two
things at once. In a new it's like, I'll give
a comparison to an arable farmer. It's like jumping into
a new tractor. You know, there's lots of buttons and
(03:07):
I'm just not quite sure which ones to push.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
But all you want to do is go forward, but
you don't know how.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Yeah, exactly, or even how to start the tractor. No, okay,
So put on put on your special agg trade in
boy hat and talk to me about Paris. You're on
the payroll. You want us to stay in.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, it's not that I'm on the payroll, but I
think it's very, very dangerous for us to come out.
And Look, I was listening to Jane on there before
and actually I agree with some of what Jane's saying.
You know, she was talking about We've got nationally determined contribution,
which is one hundred percent right. But what we need
to be really cognizant of is the fact that New Zealand,
(03:48):
we are so small, we can't we cannot dictate the terms.
And if we if we pull out of the Paris Accord,
what message does it seem? And to me, we've and
you'll hear all of our exporters say the same thing.
We're covered by seventy five I think it's between seventy
five and eighty percent three trade agreements, some of which
have got environmental stuff written in them. But the fact
(04:11):
that we've got so many free trade agreements, if we
were to pull out of this one, they would be
down on us like a ton of bricks, and the
tariffs that we've fought so hard to remove would be
straight back on us.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
So are we are we in a position to be
able to renegotiate terms, though I.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Would like to think we were. I mean, that's certainly
it's a very very good suggestion.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Let me just say, okay, I'll take that as my
complete answer there. Let me just finish on where I
was going to go before I got lost in the
news studio. Jane was talking about it getting dry and
north Otago. You're an arable farmer here and Canterbury. Where's
your farm by the way, are you mid Canterbury.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Mid Canterburry. I'm just below the retired gorge between Methavone
and Mounthat.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
So beautiful country up there, great cropping country up there.
Are you getting a bit drier? Have you fared a
bit better?
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Well, we're actually spot on at the moment, Jamie, and
yes we've had the ten days of Northwest, but I
think our seasons about ten days later than it normally
would be. I'm drilling week today which should have been
in the ground in August, so that sort of shows
you where we're at. It's just spot on right now.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Hamashmarra, lets you go and finish drilling the week. Thanks
for some of your time as an arable farmer and
in your capacity as a Special Agricultural Trade Envoy
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.