The Country 14/08/25: John Duffy talks to Jamie Mackay

We take our monthly look at the livestock markets. Today it’s the turn of PGG Wrightson’s Otago Region Manager, a man who’s been in the game for 45 years.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Monthly. Here on the country, we catch up with the
team from PGG Rights and talk to one of their
stock agents from around the country. Today it's the Otago
Regional Livestock Manager based out of Alexandra. What a great
place to live and play golf, that would be, John Duffy.
They tell me that you're stepping down or slowing down.
You've been in the industry for forty five years. You're

(00:20):
going to a part time worker later this year.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, good afternoon, Jamie. Yeah, so, yeah, forty five years
and an industry is a long time, and yeah, definitely
time to spend a bit more time enjoying this beautiful
central Otago whether and hopefully improve my golf having a
few more days to play it.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
You said to me in the break that this current
upturn for sheep, lamb and beef markets is the best
you've seen in forty five years. It's a big statement.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah. Well, this time last year when we spoke Jamie.
In fact, I think it was in October, and as
we know in the sheep industry was on its knees
and we wondered, you know, we're the future was to
be honest, and beef were slightly better and yeah, there
wasn't too much positivity around it, and it had been
extremely tough, you know, a couple of years in the
farming and there were all support industry to be fair,

(01:14):
and yeah, come in January it just all changed for
a positive note. The weather came right and the seat
and beef schedules jumped and interest rates started to drop.
So yeah, big turnaround.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Do you think these prices are sustainable? I certainly hope
they are.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Well, you know, the story seemed to be that it
is market driven. Obviously. You know there has been a
bit of overcapacity, which you know that we will be
some procurement at times, but that the world demand for
quality beef and lamb there seems to be shortages all
around the world. So now it seems to be market driven,
which is great to hear, but we just need to

(01:51):
see it continue for three or four years so that
you know, farmers can become profitable and everyone will benefit
from it.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Last week you were at Bealcluther and for people who
aren't unaware of the South Island geography, that's some heartland
South Otago. The winter store cattle sale I refer to
some of those Angus beef cattle these days as black gold.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, well it was great. It was a beautiful day
down in bell clear cool morning but a nice fine day.
Lots of frosts all over a target at nice days
and look the line of a cattle to be fere
was majority with dairy cross, which at this time it
is no surprise. But the good thing about it, you know,
there was a lot of online bidders on bidder. There
was a good crowd there. With the dry and July

(02:37):
in both Southend and the target, there's a lot of
crop utilization has been good, so a good crowd. But
look there was a lot of good dairy beef cross
here for Friesians, charlet Fresians, and they sold extremely well.
I mean right up there with the straight beef prices
that we're getting back a few months earlier to be freed.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
I'm hearing that a lot of Bobby calves are going
to be read this year, which is a good thing
because surreal issue for the dairy industry.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, definitely, but you know what it's showed down here
at Balcluth. People are raring calves. The main thing is
to make sure they're getting good calves, well breed, calves.
And you know if they buy good here, if at Angers,
Simondel or charlet balls whatever over good Treesian cows, you
know they produce very good calves that are sought after
at any stage because as we know, with rearing calves,

(03:25):
you know, often they can be sold one hundred CAGs,
two hundred cages, four hundred cag's or riotry to finishing
at six hundred. But the well breed ones, like the finishers,
will pay good money for them. So that's the important thing.
It costs us much to hear a poor calve as
it does a well bred calf, So go to the
well bred calves.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
Hey, thanks for you Tom, always good to chat.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Thanks Jamie, we'll see it down at Belle McGowan one
day