June 10, 2026 • 5 mins
The chief executive of Rewiring Aotearoa is all fired up about solar and battery-powered farming.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, here's a man who's got brown groundbreaking news. He
is the chief executive of Rewiring at. His name is
Mike Casey. He's the electric cherry guy from Cromwell. What
do you got, Mike? Hit me between the eyes.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Sir, Jamie, So you've been you've been hearing me banging
on about the electrification of New Zealand for quite some time.
I just heard that your old mate Rowena has just
gone and bought a gone and bought an electric car
field days right here from the b WD.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Was this another impulse from you? This is a girl by.
This is a girl by the way who bought I
used when she worked with me. I called her two
houses because she bought.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
A second house.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
It's on an impulse by and made a poor parents
bridge the loan.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, this is an impulse electric bye, and I absolutely
love it. And you know the great thing, the whole
world is electrifying around you, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes, Well, talk Farmland's flex which is Farmland's solar or
electric or battery powered operation?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
And what connection do you have for that great product?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I used it, help to develop it on my farm,
hosted the Farmland's Board meeting at my farm to launch
that product. So it's an amazing product for farmers that
allow them to look at their energy and I ultimately
make the right decisions to just drive down farm and pookcofs.
And we're at the stage now where farmers across the country.
I think they've got over one hundred farms now that
they have installed solar on. It's like your own private
(01:23):
oil well and refinery, right energy on your farm for
your machine.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
And we talked about this one yesterday when the big
winds hit down south and in Canterbury, the power was
off for up to six or seven days for a
lot of those dairy farmers. And we know that cows
need milked twice a day and there was a real
rush on generators. There wasn't enough of them. Should this
is a dumb question to ask you because you're going
to say yes, But should every dairy shed or milking
(01:48):
shed or wool shed for that matter have solar panels
on the roof, especially you know the dairy sheds that
are used twice a day.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
It is the cheapest energy that a farmer is ever
going to get now. And so the answer for that
reason is one hundred percent yes. Makes good money in
the good times and you know in the bad times
you've got batteries with it. Well you'll keep the dairy
shed running when the when the lights go out. So
it's pretty exciting.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Now. Have we had the big announcement yet? I don't
think that that was Rowena? Oh well that was Rowena's car. Yeah, yeah,
that was the big announcement, all right. I thought I
was expecting something, but I thought that was huge news. Mate.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I've been bagging on about the stuff for so long
and finally, you know, starting to happen.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, I hope she bought a night Susu, because that's
a shameless plug time they're the sponsors of the country.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah no, no, she brought a by d a Sea Lion,
I believe, which is you know, when Azizu brings out
their electric Dmax or whatever it might be, we'll we'll
be right in there supporting that.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Well.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
I don't know what her other car is, but someone's
going to get a cheap car on trade me, I
would suspect. Okay, what's happening in the world of electrification.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So I've just been at a field days. The last
couple of days been absolutely amazing, just the number of
farmers now that are installing solar, thinking about installing solar,
taking their energy destinies into their own hands. I think
that's utterly you know, just absolutely fantastic. The shift in
the narrative, even in why year from last Farmlands has
been phenomenal. Good businesses like Farmland Flex the supporting farmers.
There's now a huge amount of solar installers here at Farmlands, sorry,
(03:08):
at our field days, and just a huge number of
electric machines on offer now. So it's happenings and I'm
really excited about it.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Okay, this is not only about farmers the field days.
It is town and country bringing them both together. There's
a lot of urban folk come, especially from the Taronga,
Hamilton and anywhere else around here. If you're a towny
and you're in the middle of Hamilton, do the numbers
stack up to put solar panels on your roof.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
One hundred percent?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
You'll probably get at about quarter of the price of the
grid and probably about one twentieth of the price of
diesel at the moment. So when you look at it
like that, it's phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
What is the payback period for solar panels on a
rooftop in Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Oh, probably somewhere between five to seven years, depending on
how many people in your home.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
But lawer, if you've got an electric.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Vehicle when you're selling your home, or if you're selling
your home, do you get you do you get payback
for the capital you put in there?
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Really?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Will people pay another one? I mean, what does it
cost to put solar panels on? Just about twenty grand?
Do you get an extra twenty grand?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
The Australians now definitely do. We don't have to dart
to support that.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
In New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
But I mean, if it's lowering your costs, it should
make the home more valuable. So I think it does,
but we're yet to see it officially ratified in New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And the other thing you do is I alluded to
you are the electric cheery guy. Cherries had a can
I say, a challenging season.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
I'm kind of happy that I went through that in
all honestly, Jamie, because I was starting to get a
bit arrogant as a farmer. I think I got onto
cherries in twenty nineteen and they were just falling off
the trees. And you know you've had them before, you
know what they're like, they're absolutely amazing.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Be'st cherries in New Zealand. A bad blizzard. MacLean might
not a grand i reckon.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
He does steed down, maybe quietly, but you know, at
the end of it, we had a bad season. Ultimately
that brought me down to earth a little bit and
I realized, you know just how tough farming can be,
and we'll be back to fight another day.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Well, good job, you're the most wanted man in New
Zealand on the celebrity speaking circuit. That's a good off
farming come for you.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Mike Casey is champion bloke. And the cherries are called
electric cherries, electric cherries, and I can take it from me,
they're absolutely brilliant.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And you've got the Two Kates coming up next. That's
going to be amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yes I am. I'm finishing. Not the two Runnies. I've
got the Two Kates.
Okay, here's a man who's got brown groundbreaking news. He
is the chief executive of Rewiring at. His name is
Mike Casey. He's the electric cherry guy from Cromwell. What
do you got, Mike? Hit me between the eyes.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Sir, Jamie, So you've been you've been hearing me banging
on about the electrification of New Zealand for quite some time.
I just heard that your old mate Rowena has just
gone and bought a gone and bought an electric car
field days right here from the b WD.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Was this another impulse from you? This is a girl by.
This is a girl by the way who bought I
used when she worked with me. I called her two
houses because she bought.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
A second house.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
It's on an impulse by and made a poor parents
bridge the loan.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, this is an impulse electric bye, and I absolutely
love it. And you know the great thing, the whole
world is electrifying around you, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes, Well, talk Farmland's flex which is Farmland's solar or
electric or battery powered operation?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
And what connection do you have for that great product?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I used it, help to develop it on my farm,
hosted the Farmland's Board meeting at my farm to launch
that product. So it's an amazing product for farmers that
allow them to look at their energy and I ultimately
make the right decisions to just drive down farm and pookcofs.
And we're at the stage now where farmers across the country.
I think they've got over one hundred farms now that
they have installed solar on. It's like your own private
(01:23):
oil well and refinery, right energy on your farm for
your machine.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
And we talked about this one yesterday when the big
winds hit down south and in Canterbury, the power was
off for up to six or seven days for a
lot of those dairy farmers. And we know that cows
need milked twice a day and there was a real
rush on generators. There wasn't enough of them. Should this
is a dumb question to ask you because you're going
to say yes, But should every dairy shed or milking
(01:48):
shed or wool shed for that matter have solar panels
on the roof, especially you know the dairy sheds that
are used twice a day.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
It is the cheapest energy that a farmer is ever
going to get now. And so the answer for that
reason is one hundred percent yes. Makes good money in
the good times and you know in the bad times
you've got batteries with it. Well you'll keep the dairy
shed running when the when the lights go out. So
it's pretty exciting.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Now. Have we had the big announcement yet? I don't
think that that was Rowena? Oh well that was Rowena's car. Yeah, yeah,
that was the big announcement, all right. I thought I
was expecting something, but I thought that was huge news. Mate.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I've been bagging on about the stuff for so long
and finally, you know, starting to happen.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, I hope she bought a night Susu, because that's
a shameless plug time they're the sponsors of the country.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah no, no, she brought a by d a Sea Lion,
I believe, which is you know, when Azizu brings out
their electric Dmax or whatever it might be, we'll we'll
be right in there supporting that.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Well.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
I don't know what her other car is, but someone's
going to get a cheap car on trade me, I
would suspect. Okay, what's happening in the world of electrification.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So I've just been at a field days. The last
couple of days been absolutely amazing, just the number of
farmers now that are installing solar, thinking about installing solar,
taking their energy destinies into their own hands. I think
that's utterly you know, just absolutely fantastic. The shift in
the narrative, even in why year from last Farmlands has
been phenomenal. Good businesses like Farmland Flex the supporting farmers.
There's now a huge amount of solar installers here at Farmlands, sorry,
(03:08):
at our field days, and just a huge number of
electric machines on offer now. So it's happenings and I'm
really excited about it.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Okay, this is not only about farmers the field days.
It is town and country bringing them both together. There's
a lot of urban folk come, especially from the Taronga,
Hamilton and anywhere else around here. If you're a towny
and you're in the middle of Hamilton, do the numbers
stack up to put solar panels on your roof.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
One hundred percent?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
You'll probably get at about quarter of the price of the
grid and probably about one twentieth of the price of
diesel at the moment. So when you look at it
like that, it's phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
What is the payback period for solar panels on a
rooftop in Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Oh, probably somewhere between five to seven years, depending on
how many people in your home.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
But lawer, if you've got an electric.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Vehicle when you're selling your home, or if you're selling
your home, do you get you do you get payback
for the capital you put in there?
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Really?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Will people pay another one? I mean, what does it
cost to put solar panels on? Just about twenty grand?
Do you get an extra twenty grand?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
The Australians now definitely do. We don't have to dart
to support that.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
In New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
But I mean, if it's lowering your costs, it should
make the home more valuable. So I think it does,
but we're yet to see it officially ratified in New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And the other thing you do is I alluded to
you are the electric cheery guy. Cherries had a can
I say, a challenging season.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
I'm kind of happy that I went through that in
all honestly, Jamie, because I was starting to get a
bit arrogant as a farmer. I think I got onto
cherries in twenty nineteen and they were just falling off
the trees. And you know you've had them before, you
know what they're like, they're absolutely amazing.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Be'st cherries in New Zealand. A bad blizzard. MacLean might
not a grand i reckon.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
He does steed down, maybe quietly, but you know, at
the end of it, we had a bad season. Ultimately
that brought me down to earth a little bit and
I realized, you know just how tough farming can be,
and we'll be back to fight another day.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Well, good job, you're the most wanted man in New
Zealand on the celebrity speaking circuit. That's a good off
farming come for you.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Mike Casey is champion bloke. And the cherries are called
electric cherries, electric cherries, and I can take it from me,
they're absolutely brilliant.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
And you've got the Two Kates coming up next. That's
going to be amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yes I am. I'm finishing. Not the two Runnies. I've
got the Two Kates.
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