September 14, 2026 • 7 mins
This Wairarapa farmer is a primary industry leader and mentor. Today, look at the weather and El Niño, Growing Future Farmers, the Zanda Awards, and Feilding Ag High on Country Calendar.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's head to the Wairarapa, Shane McManaway. And Shane, you're
heading to Parliament this afternoon and Michelle has just told
me that the horseback hekoi hasn't arrived yet. Matua Shane
put me wrong this morning when he said it was
going to arrive sometime this morning. So you might get
tangled up in that on your way over the Rimutakas.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, good afternoon, Jamie. I certainly hope I don't get
caught up in that. And I imagine parking around Parliament
this afternoon will be a bit of a challenge. But yeah,
heading over there this afternoon to catch up with... Ministers
Hoggard and Ministers Patterson to talk through an Ag Pathways programme, Jamie,
for getting young people into agriculture. And we've already had
(00:45):
a couple of meetings with them. And today is just
a continuation to see if we can't try and get
some more of a collaborative approach with the many organisations
that are sort of working in this space, including ourselves
with Growing Future Farmers and the Xander MacDonald Award.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I'll tell you what, Andrew Hoggard, number three now on
the ACT Party list, and Mark Patterson, New Zealand first
ag guy, the latter a very understated sort of character.
They are really good farmer MPs.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Absolutely, yeah. When you go and meet with them in
the office, you almost sort of feel like they shouldn't
be there because they sort of look like they might,
even though they're doing a magnificent job there, they genuinely
are farmers and it's very evident when you go and
meet with them. But that's so, so refreshing. And I
guess it gives us great confidence that they understand what's
happening at grassroots.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Now, I know you're very passionate and have been your
entire farming career, effectively, and corporate career about encouraging our
youngest and brightest into agriculture. Didn't it give you faith?
Didn't it fill your heart with joy watching Country Calendar
and seeing what Fielding Agricultural High is doing?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I thought it was one of the best I'd seen
for a long, long time, Jamie. They're doing some magnificent
work and many of those young people are coming through there,
coming out the other side with so many, many skills.
And I think just good human beings, they're taught to
be a good human being there. And I think that's so,
so important. But what really sort of... heartens me is
(02:17):
that they're highlighting that there is a great career to
be had in the agri sector. And we underestimate that
a bit, I think. And we need to be out
there as cheerleaders. Every farmer needs to be out there
as a cheerleader, making sure that wherever they can, they
can help or they encourage or they mentor young people in.
Because if you get an opportunity to get into ag
(02:38):
and it goes OK for you, it can go really,
really well.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Well, it's a far cry, isn't it, from the 1980s? Look,
when I left university, people said, you're a really dumb
bugger to go farming. I didn't really have a choice
in the end, but I went farming. But we were
actively discouraging bright young people to go farming, yet it's
driving our whole economy.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yeah, absolutely, Jamie. And we've got to get out there
now and start to get this crop of people happening
so that they understand that there is a bright, bright
future in the agricultural sector. It's not only about pulling
your gumboots or your overalls on or milking cows. There's
so much happening now around this tech space, around the
(03:24):
agronomy space. It's just like it's an incredibly neat and
vibrant industry to be in. So, yeah, I was told
at about 15 I probably didn't make much of myself,
so I sort of thought I'd see if I could
try and demonstrate to the careers advisory I might have
made the wrong call. So he's unfortunately not with us now,
but I'm hoping that before he did leave he could
(03:45):
see I made a bit of a difference.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Well, you made a hell of a difference. You've made
a lot of money, if you don't mind me saying so,
and you've earned every cent of it. Weren't you told
to go and be a truck driver?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, I know you just suggested that
probably that would be something that I might be okay
at because I seem to obviously be a bit more
interested in machinery than I was mucking around learning algebra.
And I've really, you know, I'm just about 70 and
I've never come across anybody that's got a great deal of...
benefit out of learning algebra, but he seemed to think
(04:15):
we should learn it back then. But however, beside the point,
I'm not saying you should leave school at 15. I
think a good education is critically important, but so is
having our teachers in our colleges highlighting and demonstrating that
there is a great career path around agriculture.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
How are things in the Wairarapa? Because I was looking
at Phil Duncan's soil anomaly, soil moisture, whatever it is,
map yesterday, and the parts of the country that Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Well, we're in a pretty good spot here in the Wairarapa.
I mean, today would be, it's just unbelievable. 22 degrees,
not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of wind.
You can almost see the grass growing. And I feel
very sorry for our friends down in the deep south
listening to your show yesterday. We were quite wet earlier on,
but it's a pretty typical spring. If the El Nino
(05:05):
turns up, we're geared up for it. One of our places, Ongaha,
has got its big five pivot irrigators ready to just
flick the switch on and start pouring water on if
we need it. But this is not too dissimilar to
a normal spring for us if you take it over
many years.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Are you concerned about the prospect of the El Nino?
I don't know. I almost... Dread raising this because I
get texts, people going, you're scaremongering, blah, blah, blah. But
I see the numbers from the likes of Earth Sciences,
NZ and Phil Duncan and all that. And it is coming.
It's going to bite somebody in the backside. Are people
in the Wairarapa, traditionally a summer dry area, making contingencies
(05:45):
for it?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Yeah, I believe they are, Jamie. I think most people
have got a watching eye on it to make sure
that they don't get themselves in a predicament. And it's
always easy to find you do that in the spring
when you've got lots of grass around you. But I've
grown up in this region and I've seen many a
time here at Christmas where there isn't anything green apart
from the wrapping paper on the Christmas presents. It's absolutely
(06:07):
dry as dry grass. And so I'm not sure that
it'll be the first time we've been super dry. But yeah,
I think everybody's certainly mindful of it and getting ready
to pull the right levers if they have to.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Yeah, and any rain from here on in is absolute
gold on the east coast of either islands.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, absolutely. We're a little lucky on the place on
our Gold Creek farm. We sit in under the Taurua Ranges,
as you know, and we get a bit of rain
if it's in the north-westerly direction. We get a bit
off there, but further out to the east towards our
property at Martin, just at West of Martinborough, you know,
it can go pretty dry there, so we're very mindful
of it.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
We need to see in some of the rain from
the Southland rice paddies up the country.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
A bit, eh? Yeah, absolutely, yeah. Well, my thoughts go
out to all of those people down there because I
tell you what, it's not much fun farming in mud
up to your bloomin' knees. It's bloody awful. So let's
hope that starts to improve for them down there.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, especially lambing and calving in it. Shane McManaway out
of the Wairarapa. Thank you very much for your time.
Keep up the great work with... Growing Future Farmers and
the Xander MacDonald Awards.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, thanks, Jamie. We had an intake this year of
the Growing Future Farmers of just north of 80, and
the application's open for the Xander MacDonald Award 1st of October.
If you're between 21 and 35 and you think you've
got something to offer, go and put your application, and
we'd love to see you or hear from you.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Great to chat. See you later.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Cheers, Jamie.
Let's head to the Wairarapa, Shane McManaway. And Shane, you're
heading to Parliament this afternoon and Michelle has just told
me that the horseback hekoi hasn't arrived yet. Matua Shane
put me wrong this morning when he said it was
going to arrive sometime this morning. So you might get
tangled up in that on your way over the Rimutakas.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, good afternoon, Jamie. I certainly hope I don't get
caught up in that. And I imagine parking around Parliament
this afternoon will be a bit of a challenge. But yeah,
heading over there this afternoon to catch up with... Ministers
Hoggard and Ministers Patterson to talk through an Ag Pathways programme, Jamie,
for getting young people into agriculture. And we've already had
(00:45):
a couple of meetings with them. And today is just
a continuation to see if we can't try and get
some more of a collaborative approach with the many organisations
that are sort of working in this space, including ourselves
with Growing Future Farmers and the Xander MacDonald Award.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I'll tell you what, Andrew Hoggard, number three now on
the ACT Party list, and Mark Patterson, New Zealand first
ag guy, the latter a very understated sort of character.
They are really good farmer MPs.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Absolutely, yeah. When you go and meet with them in
the office, you almost sort of feel like they shouldn't
be there because they sort of look like they might,
even though they're doing a magnificent job there, they genuinely
are farmers and it's very evident when you go and
meet with them. But that's so, so refreshing. And I
guess it gives us great confidence that they understand what's
happening at grassroots.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Now, I know you're very passionate and have been your
entire farming career, effectively, and corporate career about encouraging our
youngest and brightest into agriculture. Didn't it give you faith?
Didn't it fill your heart with joy watching Country Calendar
and seeing what Fielding Agricultural High is doing?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
I thought it was one of the best I'd seen
for a long, long time, Jamie. They're doing some magnificent
work and many of those young people are coming through there,
coming out the other side with so many, many skills.
And I think just good human beings, they're taught to
be a good human being there. And I think that's so,
so important. But what really sort of... heartens me is
(02:17):
that they're highlighting that there is a great career to
be had in the agri sector. And we underestimate that
a bit, I think. And we need to be out
there as cheerleaders. Every farmer needs to be out there
as a cheerleader, making sure that wherever they can, they
can help or they encourage or they mentor young people in.
Because if you get an opportunity to get into ag
(02:38):
and it goes OK for you, it can go really,
really well.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Well, it's a far cry, isn't it, from the 1980s? Look,
when I left university, people said, you're a really dumb
bugger to go farming. I didn't really have a choice
in the end, but I went farming. But we were
actively discouraging bright young people to go farming, yet it's
driving our whole economy.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yeah, absolutely, Jamie. And we've got to get out there
now and start to get this crop of people happening
so that they understand that there is a bright, bright
future in the agricultural sector. It's not only about pulling
your gumboots or your overalls on or milking cows. There's
so much happening now around this tech space, around the
(03:24):
agronomy space. It's just like it's an incredibly neat and
vibrant industry to be in. So, yeah, I was told
at about 15 I probably didn't make much of myself,
so I sort of thought I'd see if I could
try and demonstrate to the careers advisory I might have
made the wrong call. So he's unfortunately not with us now,
but I'm hoping that before he did leave he could
(03:45):
see I made a bit of a difference.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Well, you made a hell of a difference. You've made
a lot of money, if you don't mind me saying so,
and you've earned every cent of it. Weren't you told
to go and be a truck driver?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, I know you just suggested that
probably that would be something that I might be okay
at because I seem to obviously be a bit more
interested in machinery than I was mucking around learning algebra.
And I've really, you know, I'm just about 70 and
I've never come across anybody that's got a great deal of...
benefit out of learning algebra, but he seemed to think
(04:15):
we should learn it back then. But however, beside the point,
I'm not saying you should leave school at 15. I
think a good education is critically important, but so is
having our teachers in our colleges highlighting and demonstrating that
there is a great career path around agriculture.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
How are things in the Wairarapa? Because I was looking
at Phil Duncan's soil anomaly, soil moisture, whatever it is,
map yesterday, and the parts of the country that Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Well, we're in a pretty good spot here in the Wairarapa.
I mean, today would be, it's just unbelievable. 22 degrees,
not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of wind.
You can almost see the grass growing. And I feel
very sorry for our friends down in the deep south
listening to your show yesterday. We were quite wet earlier on,
but it's a pretty typical spring. If the El Nino
(05:05):
turns up, we're geared up for it. One of our places, Ongaha,
has got its big five pivot irrigators ready to just
flick the switch on and start pouring water on if
we need it. But this is not too dissimilar to
a normal spring for us if you take it over
many years.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Are you concerned about the prospect of the El Nino?
I don't know. I almost... Dread raising this because I
get texts, people going, you're scaremongering, blah, blah, blah. But
I see the numbers from the likes of Earth Sciences,
NZ and Phil Duncan and all that. And it is coming.
It's going to bite somebody in the backside. Are people
in the Wairarapa, traditionally a summer dry area, making contingencies
(05:45):
for it?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Yeah, I believe they are, Jamie. I think most people
have got a watching eye on it to make sure
that they don't get themselves in a predicament. And it's
always easy to find you do that in the spring
when you've got lots of grass around you. But I've
grown up in this region and I've seen many a
time here at Christmas where there isn't anything green apart
from the wrapping paper on the Christmas presents. It's absolutely
(06:07):
dry as dry grass. And so I'm not sure that
it'll be the first time we've been super dry. But yeah,
I think everybody's certainly mindful of it and getting ready
to pull the right levers if they have to.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Yeah, and any rain from here on in is absolute
gold on the east coast of either islands.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, absolutely. We're a little lucky on the place on
our Gold Creek farm. We sit in under the Taurua Ranges,
as you know, and we get a bit of rain
if it's in the north-westerly direction. We get a bit
off there, but further out to the east towards our
property at Martin, just at West of Martinborough, you know,
it can go pretty dry there, so we're very mindful
of it.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
We need to see in some of the rain from
the Southland rice paddies up the country.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
A bit, eh? Yeah, absolutely, yeah. Well, my thoughts go
out to all of those people down there because I
tell you what, it's not much fun farming in mud
up to your bloomin' knees. It's bloody awful. So let's
hope that starts to improve for them down there.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, especially lambing and calving in it. Shane McManaway out
of the Wairarapa. Thank you very much for your time.
Keep up the great work with... Growing Future Farmers and
the Xander MacDonald Awards.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, thanks, Jamie. We had an intake this year of
the Growing Future Farmers of just north of 80, and
the application's open for the Xander MacDonald Award 1st of October.
If you're between 21 and 35 and you think you've
got something to offer, go and put your application, and
we'd love to see you or hear from you.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Great to chat. See you later.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Cheers, Jamie.
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