The Country 13/02/26: Vanessa Winning talks to Jamie Mackay

MPI’s programme director of export growth and director of on-farm support, on the Science for Farmers programme.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Country's been all over the country this week. Wednesday
it was National Lamb Barbecue Day at Parliament Lawns. Someone
I caught up with there and she's been an agri
business as long, well not as long as me, because
she's not as old as me. Vanessa winning who these
days is with MPI But Vanessa, I think I first

(00:20):
came across you when you were with a n Z
and you were a great supporter of the country. And
I remember running a quiz and this is one of
your finest, finest moments at the Zander McDonald Awards or
Shane mcmanaway's Summit to Master It and many years ago,
and it was to find the brightest person in the
room and you won it.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Well, I think, as you might recall, you started off
with the brightest man in the room, keeping your brightest
man in the room until we got down to about
the last four and then you had to change it
to brightest person.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Well, we're an inclusive show. That's why I thought you.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
I think, am I the only woman I'm today?

Speaker 1 (00:58):
No, But we're about to hear a bit about from
Michelle about how she spilt coffee over my neat New I.
Suzie Rowena is out there for the running of the lambs.
But look, I picked people on Merit not gender excellent,
and that's how you haven't made that. You're not a
token woman on the show today. I'm glad to hear
it you are here on Merit. Hey, So from a

(01:19):
and Zed to irrigation New Zealand and a couple of
other things in between these days, MPI did Ray smith Head,
don't you.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yeah. I've got the best job I think at MPI.
So I run the on farm Support team, so we've
got people throughout the country looking after and supporting farmers,
and we also do all of the recovery work, so
you know, disasters hit and we get in there and
help and support farmers get back up and running. So
really good job. And I think we were just talking

(01:49):
earlier about what we're here for today, and we've got
the Science for Farmers program at Fair Days right now.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
I didn't even want to talk about that because that
sounded a bit boring. I wanted to talk about out
the hornets in Auckland and how you put a wee
like a mini drone or a camera on them and
they fly back to the hornet's nest and then you're new.
But I'll give you a moment on science for Farmers
because it'll be more than my life's worth if I don't.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
You know how your bread's about it? Is that what
you're suggesting?

Speaker 3 (02:16):
Exactly? Okay the fight Chicken one.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, exactly. Well my last name is winning, so yeah, okay,
Science for Farmers thigs for Farmers. So it's a joined
out program with lac palmu, BSI agg admissions, Egg zero,
durings in and Messy. So it's bringing science out to farmers.
So we've got activity that we're doing that we're supporting
that goes around the regions, across all of the regional events.

(02:41):
So it's really cool stuff.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
That's Ray Smith down here.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
I know he's not here today, but he's normally at
all of these sorts of things.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
Okay, let's do the exciting bit about new king the hornets.
This is cool technology, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
It is amazing technology and who ever thought of it
and put it together as an incredible person and who
ever signed off, you know, making sure that this was
going to happen is even better. So I think it's
probably one that you want to talk to Ray about.
But we have had some real.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
Success with sated. What do you do? What do you
put on the back? You find a hornet and then
you put what on it?

Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, it's an rfd ID tag. Essentially, you've got to
make sure that the hornet's big enough to take it,
because it has to carry it back to the nest.
But you know, it's incredible technology and it's amazing what
we do in New Zealand and our biosecurity with the
incredible people that we've got up in Auckland running this stuff.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
Well, I think of the likes of m bovas and
you know, MPI got a wee bit of grief to
start with, but we're the only country in the world
that looks like eliminating m bovas. So I say well
done to all the team at MPI, including you.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
No, the biosecurity work that gets done in New Zealand
is amazing and we have some awesome people, including Stuart Anderson,
and you know, definitely talk to Ray about this because
I just think we don't get necessarily all the credit
that we acting for all the work that goes on,
but it's also the people on the ground. You'd be
surprised how many people dobbin hornets like there's an eight

(04:05):
hundred number, and they're looking in their in their gardens because.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
You've got nothing better to do on your weekend.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Well, you know, it's up exciting to see a little
hornet go back to its ness with these little tags
on it to be

Speaker 3 (04:17):
I've got to go lovely to chat to you