September 9, 2026 • 4 mins
PGG Wrightson Livestock’s National Dairy Specialist talks about the rise and rise of dairy beef.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's talk a bit of dairy now on the country.
Jamie Cunningham is PGG Wrightson's National Dairy Specialist. He's based
in one of my favourite towns, I think, in this country, Fielding. Jamie,
where else do you have the stockyards? Right smack in
the middle of town, eh?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yeah, good afternoon, Jamie. Yes, there's plenty happening in here
in Fielding on a sale day, that's for sure. And
it's quite an iconic and unique setting for a sale
yards to be where they are.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Now, my old mate Hamish Mackay, he loves nothing better
than getting down to the fielding sale yards. It's a
Friday sale, isn't it, and having a cup of tea?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, our major store sales on a Friday, and then
we have prime sales on a Monday, and then we
also have seasonal sales throughout the season on different days
of the week, which are generally fairs and things like that.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
And if that's not enough, Fielding has a clock tower there,
I want to talk to you today, Jamie, putting on
your dairy hat here, the rise and rise, if you
want to call it that, of dairy beef. Is this
going to get rid of our bobby calf problem?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, there's no doubt that dairy beef is building momentum
and come a long way. Farmers have looked at it.
Lots of different options around, you know, putting some dairy
beef in the mix over the last few years.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
And it's been pleasing to see the numbers of calves
that have been read over the last couple of years,
but also the interest in dairy beef and calves, from
feeded calves this year, which we've seen read in the spring.
So it's definitely a step in the right direction. Whether
it's going to entirely fix our bobby car thing, I'm
(01:44):
unsure about that.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Well, you've still got to get your replacements, obviously. Has
the sex semen helped out there? It must have.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, it definitely has.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
And the AI companies and things have done a lot
of work in that dairy beef space and finding balls
that are purpose fit for the dairy space.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
But also give a viable dairy beef calf for finishes
and for people to grow on and rear.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
So it's definitely helping.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
I want to get a plug in for the charity
that I'm lucky enough to be the ambassador for, the
IHC Calf and Rural Scheme. But before I do, I'm
going to give you a wee chance, Jamie Cunningham out
of Fielding, to give a plug for Deferable. Quite a
good play on words, that one.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, deferrable is our serviceable phonics and an option that
we have.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
That we have within the company. It's a big product now.
It's been going for a number of years, 20-plus years,
and gets repeat users year and year.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
The great thing about it is people can buy their
bulls in the spring when cash flows a little tight
and not have to pay for them until they've finished
with their bulls.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
And generally speaking, it could be out as four to
six months down the track. So it's a great way to...
help farmers with spring cash flow, and they can still
get their bull teams that they need and park them
at a later payment date once they're finished with the bull.
So great product, repeat users year and year, and we
(03:17):
definitely get a lot of interest in that, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
You guys at PGG Wrightson do a great job around
the IHC Cartham Rural Scheme, back since the days, or
back in the days, when pine tree meads kicked it
all off, which is over $ 40 years ago, and you've
raised over $ 40 million. I know the canvases have probably
been around the dairy farms and the cattle farms, the
(03:40):
beef farms, but it's not too late to donate.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
No, the I Exceed Carp Scheme is a fantastic charity,
and it's something that we've been involved with since day dot,
and the company's very proud of that. It's still heaps
of time for, you know, if you did want to
pledge a carp, the only thing I'd say with the
guys around that is pledging a good quality calf that's
(04:05):
well marked, rear it well and it's a fantastic charity
to donate towards. It's changed a lot in the last
few years because now there's an option to donate a
virtual calf if you don't have the ability or don't
want to rear any extras then the virtual calf is
a great way to donate to a fantastic charity as well.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Yep. Come on, farmers, you can just carry one more
calf over the spring, summer and autumn and it's for
a great cause. Hey, Jamie Cunningham out of PGG Wrightson,
out of Fielding, one of my favourite towns in the country.
Thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Thanks very much. Have a good day.
Let's talk a bit of dairy now on the country.
Jamie Cunningham is PGG Wrightson's National Dairy Specialist. He's based
in one of my favourite towns, I think, in this country, Fielding. Jamie,
where else do you have the stockyards? Right smack in
the middle of town, eh?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yeah, good afternoon, Jamie. Yes, there's plenty happening in here
in Fielding on a sale day, that's for sure. And
it's quite an iconic and unique setting for a sale
yards to be where they are.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Now, my old mate Hamish Mackay, he loves nothing better
than getting down to the fielding sale yards. It's a
Friday sale, isn't it, and having a cup of tea?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, our major store sales on a Friday, and then
we have prime sales on a Monday, and then we
also have seasonal sales throughout the season on different days
of the week, which are generally fairs and things like that.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
And if that's not enough, Fielding has a clock tower there,
I want to talk to you today, Jamie, putting on
your dairy hat here, the rise and rise, if you
want to call it that, of dairy beef. Is this
going to get rid of our bobby calf problem?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, there's no doubt that dairy beef is building momentum
and come a long way. Farmers have looked at it.
Lots of different options around, you know, putting some dairy
beef in the mix over the last few years.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
And it's been pleasing to see the numbers of calves
that have been read over the last couple of years,
but also the interest in dairy beef and calves, from
feeded calves this year, which we've seen read in the spring.
So it's definitely a step in the right direction. Whether
it's going to entirely fix our bobby car thing, I'm
(01:44):
unsure about that.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Well, you've still got to get your replacements, obviously. Has
the sex semen helped out there? It must have.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, it definitely has.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
And the AI companies and things have done a lot
of work in that dairy beef space and finding balls
that are purpose fit for the dairy space.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
But also give a viable dairy beef calf for finishes
and for people to grow on and rear.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
So it's definitely helping.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
I want to get a plug in for the charity
that I'm lucky enough to be the ambassador for, the
IHC Calf and Rural Scheme. But before I do, I'm
going to give you a wee chance, Jamie Cunningham out
of Fielding, to give a plug for Deferable. Quite a
good play on words, that one.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, deferrable is our serviceable phonics and an option that
we have.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
That we have within the company. It's a big product now.
It's been going for a number of years, 20-plus years,
and gets repeat users year and year.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
The great thing about it is people can buy their
bulls in the spring when cash flows a little tight
and not have to pay for them until they've finished
with their bulls.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
And generally speaking, it could be out as four to
six months down the track. So it's a great way to...
help farmers with spring cash flow, and they can still
get their bull teams that they need and park them
at a later payment date once they're finished with the bull.
So great product, repeat users year and year, and we
(03:17):
definitely get a lot of interest in that, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
You guys at PGG Wrightson do a great job around
the IHC Cartham Rural Scheme, back since the days, or
back in the days, when pine tree meads kicked it
all off, which is over $ 40 years ago, and you've
raised over $ 40 million. I know the canvases have probably
been around the dairy farms and the cattle farms, the
(03:40):
beef farms, but it's not too late to donate.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
No, the I Exceed Carp Scheme is a fantastic charity,
and it's something that we've been involved with since day dot,
and the company's very proud of that. It's still heaps
of time for, you know, if you did want to
pledge a carp, the only thing I'd say with the
guys around that is pledging a good quality calf that's
(04:05):
well marked, rear it well and it's a fantastic charity
to donate towards. It's changed a lot in the last
few years because now there's an option to donate a
virtual calf if you don't have the ability or don't
want to rear any extras then the virtual calf is
a great way to donate to a fantastic charity as well.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Yep. Come on, farmers, you can just carry one more
calf over the spring, summer and autumn and it's for
a great cause. Hey, Jamie Cunningham out of PGG Wrightson,
out of Fielding, one of my favourite towns in the country.
Thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Thanks very much. Have a good day.
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