November 12, 2024 • 5 mins
Our second Smith for the day is an outspoken North Otago farmer and award-winning environmentalist, who doesn't spare the rod when it comes to Damien O'Connor, methane chambers and banks setting climate change targets.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
She is an North Otago farmer. A name is Jane Smith,
former winner, of course of the Balance Farm Environment Awards.
And on yesterday's show, Damian O'Connor, Jane got stuck into
me about giving him stick about going on his European
trade junket and he labeled you in with me, and
I reckon, I'm taking the cop for you because you've
been particularly harsh on Damien. You called him the wormy
(00:22):
weather when he was the Minister of Agriculture and.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Jamie, yes, I may have called him that, and they
have said he was that as useful as a used
tea bag. And you know, actually though, I just feel
a little bit sorry for it for Damienes today we
dilabeled him an elderly MP. And I know we've never
really agreed on too many things, Damien Night and I,
but actually sending politicians that have passed their shelf life
(00:46):
around the world concerns me a lot less than the
money that we're spending what is it, nearly a billion
dollars on me same litigation at the moment, Jamie, That's
what keeps me awake at night. Damien can be doing
what he likes, but it's actually the money that we're
spending here on something that could go into healthcare. That
concerns me. Jamie, talk to.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Me about methane chambers. Maybe I should put Damien in one.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Well, I've certainly thought about putting the old climate change
methae Messiah and one a few times, Jamie, and I've
been questioned on this recently quite a bit because there
are unfortunately a number of studs that have gone down
are going down this road, and so they're selecting sheep
on supposedly low methane. Now, in my mind, this is
(01:27):
about as useful as selecting an Olympic athlete team on
eye color. And we're not personally, we run up here
in our stud and we're not prepared to risk fifty
years of genetic games, so actually potentially decreasing genuine traits
and gain and those like growth, survival, mil drench fatality,
et cetera. And I think it will be irresponsible to
(01:49):
start selecting your sheep and cattle that's not too far
away as well. And just to take a short term
political box, Jamie, sorry.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Jane, just explain to me how this works. So you
chuck the ram or the sheep or the cattle beasts
into the methane chamber and do you what measure their emissions?
Is that how it works?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Correct, So you know it's in a laboratory and as
spreadsheet rather than out in the field of course, And
originally some of the findings were coming out that was
potentially a fifteen decent decrease in other productive traits. So
basically you're you know, you're you're going to decrease in
other areas in order to select for methane. Now also
what I guess what was concerning and those that are
(02:32):
doing it will be jumping up and down right now,
but potentially there's as shown that they have smaller roomens,
they are selectively grazing, so like a very fussy eater,
and so they're selecting a high quality diet. So that's
a bit like a you know, someone that's had a
gas bypass needs a very high quality diet in order
to eat. So if you put someone like that on
a week of week, it's just like our sheep do
(02:54):
out the back of the hill all winter, they would
not survive. And you know that is a really concerning thing.
Something may work single trait looking at it in a
laboratory but actually out in the field, I certainly do
not want an entire mob of fussy eaters.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Okay, Jane, But have you thought beyond this? Have you
thought that perhaps if you were to put your par
and ails into the methane chamber, that your bank might
give you a lower mortgage interest rate?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Jane? Well, it's interesting, Jamie. And this is the thing
we hear so much about mitigating methane. And you know
again this is why you know the list of apologists
or rather banks than lay am z aspeef Ontere have
all put money into the Egre zero Ponzi scheme. But
if you look at the legal you know the definition
of mitigate it's to lessen the gravity of an offense
(03:41):
or a mistake. So when was producing free range food
an offense or a mistake? And I guess my concern
is that we've seen this in the sector. As soon
as you enter into the mitigation conversation, and again we've
burnt nearly a billion dollars doing so, you're validating a
non issue. So you're effectively you're pleading guilty to a
crime it's never defined and that you didn't do, and
(04:02):
you're basically entering an early guilty plea hoping for a
shorter life sentence and an appalling waste of hard earned
tax car money, because you've got to member, all of
this research is generally matched dollar for dollar by taxpayer money, Jamie.
And imagine if we could actually be putting that into
into our healthcare sector instead of this. And it's absolutely
fastal and I have no doubt I do hear whispers
(04:23):
at some stage that there's going to be a taxpayer
inquirer into that, because I'm appalled that we're given, essentially
the ag sector a subsidy that we don't want and
need it and we don't need.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Okay, let's just quickly finish on what's happening on the
farm in north Otaga. I know up the road, Canterbury's
drying out, not unusual at this time of the year.
And I'm looking at the knee with drought index map. Jane,
I've got it in front of me. You haven't hawk
space getting really really dry once again not unusual, but
they're drier than normal. How are you faring in north
Otago because you're traditionally at this time of the year starting.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
To burn off Newsamy. Usually we've had about I don't
know five weeks of Norwsters foul isters alternating between days.
But yeah, I hate to say it because I do
sort of it guilty staying this because I understand fully
understand the pressure that the south and farmers are going
through in terms of deer weather and lack of growth
and North Canterbury and as you see other areas in
the North Island. But we probably we're certainly having one
(05:17):
of the bitter growthy springs than we've ever had in
terms of rain. It's certainly cold and we've been having
frosts even up to last week. But stock are looking good.
We're just irome scanning our balls today, so actually scanning,
you know, obviously for a real genuine trait, and they
look good and generally the stock arounds take a look good.
So just the contractors are flat out and it's really
(05:40):
good to see because it's certainly we haven't had a
spring like this for quite some time. Jamie.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Good on you, Jane Smith, thanks as always for your
time on the country. Go and get some of those
balls of yours into the methane chamber. It's all about marketing, Jane.
I'll see you later.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Thank you.
She is an North Otago farmer. A name is Jane Smith,
former winner, of course of the Balance Farm Environment Awards.
And on yesterday's show, Damian O'Connor, Jane got stuck into
me about giving him stick about going on his European
trade junket and he labeled you in with me, and
I reckon, I'm taking the cop for you because you've
been particularly harsh on Damien. You called him the wormy
(00:22):
weather when he was the Minister of Agriculture and.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Jamie, yes, I may have called him that, and they
have said he was that as useful as a used
tea bag. And you know, actually though, I just feel
a little bit sorry for it for Damienes today we
dilabeled him an elderly MP. And I know we've never
really agreed on too many things, Damien Night and I,
but actually sending politicians that have passed their shelf life
(00:46):
around the world concerns me a lot less than the
money that we're spending what is it, nearly a billion
dollars on me same litigation at the moment, Jamie, That's
what keeps me awake at night. Damien can be doing
what he likes, but it's actually the money that we're
spending here on something that could go into healthcare. That
concerns me. Jamie, talk to.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Me about methane chambers. Maybe I should put Damien in one.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Well, I've certainly thought about putting the old climate change
methae Messiah and one a few times, Jamie, and I've
been questioned on this recently quite a bit because there
are unfortunately a number of studs that have gone down
are going down this road, and so they're selecting sheep
on supposedly low methane. Now, in my mind, this is
(01:27):
about as useful as selecting an Olympic athlete team on
eye color. And we're not personally, we run up here
in our stud and we're not prepared to risk fifty
years of genetic games, so actually potentially decreasing genuine traits
and gain and those like growth, survival, mil drench fatality,
et cetera. And I think it will be irresponsible to
(01:49):
start selecting your sheep and cattle that's not too far
away as well. And just to take a short term
political box, Jamie, sorry.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Jane, just explain to me how this works. So you
chuck the ram or the sheep or the cattle beasts
into the methane chamber and do you what measure their emissions?
Is that how it works?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Correct, So you know it's in a laboratory and as
spreadsheet rather than out in the field of course, And
originally some of the findings were coming out that was
potentially a fifteen decent decrease in other productive traits. So
basically you're you know, you're you're going to decrease in
other areas in order to select for methane. Now also
what I guess what was concerning and those that are
(02:32):
doing it will be jumping up and down right now,
but potentially there's as shown that they have smaller roomens,
they are selectively grazing, so like a very fussy eater,
and so they're selecting a high quality diet. So that's
a bit like a you know, someone that's had a
gas bypass needs a very high quality diet in order
to eat. So if you put someone like that on
a week of week, it's just like our sheep do
(02:54):
out the back of the hill all winter, they would
not survive. And you know that is a really concerning thing.
Something may work single trait looking at it in a
laboratory but actually out in the field, I certainly do
not want an entire mob of fussy eaters.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Okay, Jane, But have you thought beyond this? Have you
thought that perhaps if you were to put your par
and ails into the methane chamber, that your bank might
give you a lower mortgage interest rate?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Jane? Well, it's interesting, Jamie. And this is the thing
we hear so much about mitigating methane. And you know
again this is why you know the list of apologists
or rather banks than lay am z aspeef Ontere have
all put money into the Egre zero Ponzi scheme. But
if you look at the legal you know the definition
of mitigate it's to lessen the gravity of an offense
(03:41):
or a mistake. So when was producing free range food
an offense or a mistake? And I guess my concern
is that we've seen this in the sector. As soon
as you enter into the mitigation conversation, and again we've
burnt nearly a billion dollars doing so, you're validating a
non issue. So you're effectively you're pleading guilty to a
crime it's never defined and that you didn't do, and
(04:02):
you're basically entering an early guilty plea hoping for a
shorter life sentence and an appalling waste of hard earned
tax car money, because you've got to member, all of
this research is generally matched dollar for dollar by taxpayer money, Jamie.
And imagine if we could actually be putting that into
into our healthcare sector instead of this. And it's absolutely
fastal and I have no doubt I do hear whispers
(04:23):
at some stage that there's going to be a taxpayer
inquirer into that, because I'm appalled that we're given, essentially
the ag sector a subsidy that we don't want and
need it and we don't need.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Okay, let's just quickly finish on what's happening on the
farm in north Otaga. I know up the road, Canterbury's
drying out, not unusual at this time of the year.
And I'm looking at the knee with drought index map. Jane,
I've got it in front of me. You haven't hawk
space getting really really dry once again not unusual, but
they're drier than normal. How are you faring in north
Otago because you're traditionally at this time of the year starting.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
To burn off Newsamy. Usually we've had about I don't
know five weeks of Norwsters foul isters alternating between days.
But yeah, I hate to say it because I do
sort of it guilty staying this because I understand fully
understand the pressure that the south and farmers are going
through in terms of deer weather and lack of growth
and North Canterbury and as you see other areas in
the North Island. But we probably we're certainly having one
(05:17):
of the bitter growthy springs than we've ever had in
terms of rain. It's certainly cold and we've been having
frosts even up to last week. But stock are looking good.
We're just irome scanning our balls today, so actually scanning,
you know, obviously for a real genuine trait, and they
look good and generally the stock arounds take a look good.
So just the contractors are flat out and it's really
(05:40):
good to see because it's certainly we haven't had a
spring like this for quite some time. Jamie.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Good on you, Jane Smith, thanks as always for your
time on the country. Go and get some of those
balls of yours into the methane chamber. It's all about marketing, Jane.
I'll see you later.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Thank you.
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