The Country 12/12/25: Tim Dangen and Hugh Jackson talk to Jamie Mackay

Today’s farmer panel features the 2022 and 2025 Young Farmers of the Year, respectively. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Farmer Panel with the Isuzu Dmax the Kiwi U'te
built Tough with Truck DNA. Today's Farmer Panel features Tim
Dangin twenty twenty two New Zealand Young Farmer of the
Year and Hugh Jackson twenty twenty five Young Farmer of
the Year. Tim's dairy farming in Southland. Hugh is sheep
and beef farming in tr Cow. Opposite ends of the

(00:23):
country and opposite farming sectors. Hugh Jackson, I might start
with you the way sheep farming's going and a bit
of a drop on the price of dairy farming. Maybe
you're on the winning side of this deal.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah, it's definitely a good time to be killing some
lambs and hopefully the schedule continues to hold up. It's
hold up bloody well so far. So yeah, who knows.
Maybe some dairy farms will go back to sheep farming
that it.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
Might be a bit of a long shot.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Now, we missed you last week because you were on
the hand piece. Hamish Mackay was filling in for me.
So we've got you today. But you weren't our first choice,
sorry you. Our first choice was Emma Paul which is
Tim or who is Tim's sister of course younger sister.
But Tim, we couldn't get Emma today because she has
had baby number three. So this woman is not only

(01:15):
the young farmer of the year, not only a vet,
not only running a couple of dairy farms. She's now
got three kids. Does she wonder woman or what? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:24):
You get Jamie gett a here she goes pretty good
to Emma, so it's pretty exciting for her and christall
welcome along the third All went well, they're so nice,
healthy baby girl, and very exciting for the family. We're
looking forward to Christmas and catching up with everyone for
a bit of a break. Then what is it.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
About you dairy farmers? You're all good breeders.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
I think Chris has got pretty tight pockets, so he'll
be looking at his future labors. Jamie there, I'd say so, No,
it's pretty neat. Chrest also comes from a big family
and us dangeins on one of five, so so two
big families have combined. And so I don't think Emma
and Chris will stop at three, that's for sure.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Now, as I said, Tim, you're dairy farming or sheer
milking down for Simon Hopcroft, who is also a former
New Zealand Young Farmer of the Year down on South
and of course you had that terrible storm in late
October and I was reading a piece from work Safe
yesterday and there's already been a couple of really bad
accidents with farmers trying to chop up some of these

(02:21):
fallen trees themselves. It's a springbak thing. There's a lot
of unleashed tension when you're dealing with these trees, and
I know, as hard as it sounds, you've got to
leave it to the professionals.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
Yes, certainly in some cases, Jamie. There's been some very
big trees go down, and Simon and I were pretty
careful when we were going around watching. You're just the
weight on the routing of these trees when you do
chop through them in the spring. Bet that they have
it can it can send brack flying everywhere, so got
to be keep your wits about you. But I think
it's just fatigue at this time of the year as well, Jamie's.

(02:53):
It's been a busy season and the storm sort of
came right when everyone was trying to have a break
between carving and mating. So I think at this time
of the year, just got to really make sure that
you're giving yourself enough rest to make good decisions. And
it's sort of that grind to the end of the year,
isn't it. You can certainly see it amongst staff and
within the community. So everyone's just got to make sure

(03:15):
that they sort of look out for those top two
inches in yourselves and makes you get him plenty of
rest because any of the year is coming and that
always feels like a bit of a mental checkpoint. I think, is.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
Simon going to milk the cows on Christmas morning give
you a break?

Speaker 3 (03:27):
That's a bit of a long shot. He enders right
there with Christmas off, though not the team and I
will make sure we get everything done. We'll still be
mating then as well, so we'll hang out till mid
January really, and that's when we'll have our big break.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
Well. I reckon Simon Hopcroft could get his brother, Bevan
and to milk the cows on Christmas morning because Bevan's
a big fan of dairy farming. Okay, what are you doing?
It's a bit easier, isn't it. Hugh Jackson twenty twenty five,
young farmer of the year. I know this because I
used to be one to get a bit of a
break or a bit of a breather at Christmas time
on a sheet farm.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah, definitely is a little bit easier, Jamie.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
We do.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
We run a lot of balls here though, and well
the balls are our main enterprise and they get pretty
cranky if they run out of water or or the
there's a leak or two that springs up. So I
will be keeping an eye on on that that we've
got over the sort of Christmas period and making sure
that that's all up to date and giving the rest

(04:28):
of the team some time off and shift a few
of the bulls around and try and keep them all
good and watered whilst whilst a few of the other
team members have a worlds have break.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
You got a Young Farmer's Christmas party at your place tonight,
no doubt on the wallshed.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, not quite at my place. But just Alix deaf
Rose is both actually he's a good self and then
he's doing with the contract milking up here just out
and the other war here. So yeah, Hamilton Young Farmers Club,
We're going to go have been look around his farm
and have a barbecue and yeah, sort of the last
event of the year, it would be good.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
Well, so I hope I'm not speaking out of turn,
but he did tell me a few weeks ago that
you'd gone ahead and fixed some of your milk with Fonterra.
Your supply Fonterra at nine sixty or nine seventy or
something like that, that'll be looking pretty good now.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
It's amazing how quickly it can change, isn't it, Jamie.
We obviously did it from a risk perspective for us
coming down here for our first season, but yeah, we're
taking a long term approach with dairy farming, Jamie. We
know that we can't just dip in and out of
it and hope for the winds. So yeah, it's interesting
to see it fall away. And it's amazing to see
how quickly that world supply can pick up. But the

(05:39):
quaker goes down, the quicker it comes up, I think,
And that's yeah, it's often in these these downturns that's
when the real opportunities pop up around stock and land ownership.
So it's not too worried about it.

Speaker 1 (05:51):
We're looking long term, fix the milk price, fix the
interest rates, as well they look like that, like they've
bottomed out and could be heading back up, so it's
all about risk mitigation. Well, thank you very much, Tim
Dangel twenty twenty two Young Farmer of the Year. Congratulations
to your sister Emma Paul for having a baby or
child number three and Hugh Jackson you enjoy up in
the Arcal There, sheep and beef farmer, you enjoy the

(06:15):
Hamilton Young Farmer's Christmas Do tonight.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
Thank you. Jerry Peers Zmy