The Country 13/03/26: Andy Borland talks to Jamie Mackay

The chief executive of the Scales Group discusses how the Iran conflict and local weather affect horticulture at the Wānaka Show.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm just going to chuck another Andy on. This is

(00:03):
Andy Borland, who's the chief executive these days. Well we
were at Lincoln together back in the early eighties. Andy,
these days, you've done so much better in life than
I have. I mean, just look at your salary compared
to mine. But you're the chief executive Scales Group. Huge
in horticulture, huge also in pet food. And you told
me I've got a mind my p's and q's. Today
there are certain subjects you don't want to broach, just

(00:25):
in case you Chairman Mike Peterson's listening.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Oh thanks, thanks, Jamie. Look, you know you have enjoyed
my time at Scales. The great, great team of people
working there across the divisions. With the horticulture business were
flat out harvesting at the moment. The looks like a
pretty good crop so far, but you know we're still
in that process. We don't really like to count them
till they're all under tin as it were in the shed.

(00:49):
So yeah, that's the guy whos are flat out doing
that now. And yeah, the obvious question that we were
discussing not to talk about was the little kafuffle in
the Middle East.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
So we're allowed to talk about it, Mike, letting us
talk about it.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
I knew, I knew you'd ask.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
But anyway, because last night at the Lincoln fundraising and
he did a great job, you and Howie Morrison, but
you were flogging off apples for good causes for charity,
and it looked like you might have had to contain
a load or two that you couldn't get rid of,
so you were going to flog them off for a
donation at the Link dinner.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
It was all good. I was just getting them to
you know, see what great apples they were, because we
don't sell that many Dazzle in the in the retail
shops in New Zealand because they're all exported. No, look
the the we had a few early apples stuck in
Singapore which will divert to another market. Look, it's not
never good these things. They creed uncertainty. But you know,

(01:42):
so far, you know, we're just waiting, watching and you know,
getting good information out of the government, and we'll be
just taking a watching brief on it. It'll, it'll, it'll.
You know, everyone's hoping it's a short war, not a
long one.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
Well history might suggest otherwise. I hope I'm wrong on
that one. Hey. Just to finish on, the most important
thing for you guys at this time of the year is,
dare I say it, the weather. We all remember Cyclone
Gabrielle and the apples are coming off now and then
the keyweed fruits starting to come off. So the long
range forecast. We're going to talk to Chris Brandolino from NEIWA.
But it's quite good for March. That is such good

(02:18):
news for the horticulture industry.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yeah, look, it's really it's good when it's dry, you know,
picking the apples and the rain's not that productive, so
it's important. Dry weather through autumn is great for us.
So yeah, we'll be watching the weather. But yeah, hopefully
by the end of April they're all in the shed.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Hey, Andy Borland, to you and Donald Howie Morrison from
our Lincoln days. I mean you've both done very well
and you two were the main drivers, or two of
the main drivers behind our fundraising dinner, Andy Dalton guest
speaker Gary Stead wasn't he good? Former black Cap and
Black Caps coach. So you've got a wonderful array of
talent up there. It was a good evening, well done

(02:59):
and a big shower out to Alan Dippy, the guy
who owns the vintage Yea Machinery shed.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
It's impressive shed. And yeah he's got to As he
said himself, he's got a very serious addiction to collecting.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
Well, when he said I've only got three hundred and
fifty tractors, now I'm thinking, jeez, yeah he had over
five hundred. He's amazing.