The Country 14/11/25: Stu Duncan and George Dodson talk to Jamie Mackay

Today's farmer panel is made up of a Maniototo farmer and a 2024 FMG Young Farmer of the Year. They talk about regional councils, the weather, and conditions on-farm.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Farmer Panel with the Isuzu Dmax, the Kiwi ute
built tough with truck DNA.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Do you get thrashed you at home?

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Absolutely all the time?

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Yeah. I know, like I'm kind of a bit of
a dictator at work and I roll with an iron
fist and I have a food chain and I'm very dictatorial.
But I get home, I'm like a lamb to the
slaughter most of the time. That Jamie now talking about
lands to the slaughter. You're part of the Farmer Panel
with you're the old farmer relatively and George Dudson twenty

(00:31):
twenty four Young Farmer of the years, the young farmer.
You've been in Wellington because you're also moonlight as a
local counselor in the many A Toto region. There's too
many of you, buggers, jew you're not doing enough.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Well, it's probably right, and I think the discussion we
had from the Minister's yesterday in local government, there's going
to be a wholesale change and they suggest that there's
going to be a Taunarmi coming at us and when
we get out the other side of our pencil bey
on fire. So what that means, I don't know. But
I'd say if you're in the regional council format and
the way it is now.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Your book, Shane Jones wants what rid of regional councils.
He wants unitary authorities. And you know, I look it
down the road from us and Dundeed and the kluth
Of District Council. It's a very small area. They got
a seventeen percent rates increase or something like that cause similar,
you know, they should be amalgamated with bigger authorities. That
would be my idea around the country because look how

(01:20):
many local body councilors we've got.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, and that's that's probably what's going to happen by
the feel of what was coming out yesterday. And you know,
who knows South of Tiger could be emerging in them
of South and in very light minded places. But that's
the discussion that's been had. And yeah, there is probably
too many, but you know a lot of people want
their communities to have a say and you can't have
everything run out of Wellington. And we've seen that with
the storms, and we've seen that with Cyclone Gabrielle and

(01:44):
all those and the local people on the ground. Local
people know what's best in their area, and governments don't
always get that right, but they're trying and they they're
chucking it out there.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
So I vote for U STU. That was quite impressive.
How are things going in the many at Toto? Are
you guys getting dried because you're traditionally aweb but some
of dry your farm for it.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
We had nine inches of snow in the second week
the other day a couple of weeks ago, and that
gave a lot of moisture. So there's been those five
and ten mills of rain dropping in. So the minitite
is looking an absolute picture at the moment. But it
doesn't take long with the week of northwest as we
had a hot week the other day, a hot few days.
So as long as we get these showers and I
think you know Canaby North Canary got a good shower

(02:21):
yesterday and we got to weep it in. This a
bit more forecast. But now we're looking at a picture
just getting rid of the last of the hogits and
the bulls are starting to go out and by the
ai and going on.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
So just to the farm, strong message. Why not make
time this weekend to catch up with the mate over
a coffee or a beer. Hell's Andrew Whore.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
He's good. Yeah. I haven't had to be with him
for a day too actually, but no, he's been busy
and he's landmarking and you know, he's good and he's
had a pretty good year with cattle and the wall
things been a lift, so it's helped those Marina guys
a lot, right.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
I Stu Dunkin, thanks for your time. You're out of here.
You're the old farmer relatively. Here's the young farmer to
wrap the show. Good Canterbury man, although he supports the
South and stacks. George Dodson. Good to get a front
up again here again because we caught up, same time,
same place last year.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Yeah, that's right, Jamie. It was great to meet you
then and it's great to see you again today.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Well, thank you very much for what you and the
other young farmers. And I think of Emma and all
those guys, and you've got a really good sort of
collegial thing going on with former winners of the Young
Farmer of the Year and it's important that you guys
are the future leadership. And I know, just talking to
Nigel Woodhead, I think who won in twenty seventeen. He's

(03:29):
doing a lot of governance work now, so there's the
next generation of leaders coming through. Is that something you
aspire to?

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, definitely interests me right, governance and I quite enjoy
public speaking and that sort of thing, So that's something
I'd like to get into in the future, and it
definitely is our duty right So as young Farmers of
the year, we want to be at the forefront of
the agricultural industry and keep carrying the good word forward.
I suppose.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
No, You've got a great gathering of former young Farmers
of the Year. They've all gone on and done very
well for themselves in life. How are things on the
to ask you this every time? Darfield farm? Right, yep, Darfield.
Did you escape the winds?

Speaker 3 (04:05):
We got a bit. We only got really one hour
of that really horrendous wind a couple weeks ago, so
we escaped pretty lightly compared to what was forecast. We
got really dry and it was looking pretty bad sort
of late last week. We kept getting that Norway hot
winds through all of October, but the start of this
week we got about eighteen meals of rain, and then
yesterday as well another twenty odd meal, so that's going

(04:27):
to carry us forward for the next few weeks beautifully.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yeah, you couldn't have scripted it better for the farmers.
Even though it was a miserable day here yesterday, the
farmers who came into the Emerson's tiny pub to have
a bear with us, they had a big smile on
their face.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
You needed that rain, yeap, one hundred percent. We were
all stoked. All of cannery were starting to get quite dry,
even the irrigated spots, so you were certainly happy with it.
In the grass will be absolutely thumping for the next
few weeks.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
Got on you. George Dodson, a young farmer on the
Farmer panel along with the old farmers, Jew Duncan