The Country 23/10/25: Doug Avery talks to Jamie Mackay

The Resilient Farmer is being tested weatherwise today in Marlborough.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Calling in some favors from some old farming mates today.
Here's another one of them. As we go up and
down the east coast of the North and South Islands.
Doug Avery, the resilient farmer in Marlborough. The resilience of
farmers in Marlborough will be tested today.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Oh yeah, sure, Jamie. I think the last few days
to me, so far today hasn't been as bad as
it was the other day. And so I've just been
talking to a friend of mine who's in the ward
Fibergate and they set off to go to kai Kora
the other day, but they uncountered so many fires on
the way down. Some they drove straight past because they
weren't affecting buildings and they ended up dealing with other fires.

(00:38):
Didn't even get to kay Kora. So that win the
other day has done a lot more damage, I think,
as far as I know. Back out at the farm
bond Bery, they all hunkered down. They got up early
this morning, did their work and they just hunkered down
for the day. It's as bad as it gets, but
it's not as bad as it could be. I guess
that's why i'd put it.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah, Well, I know you didn't get a chance to
listen to Shane mcmanaway, but he was saying his Sun's
dairy farm and kai Kourra, they're having to milk the
neighbors scales because their milk and shed burnt down. And
he was saying to me earlier this morning, a lot
of the plastic piping and all that sort of stuff's
all burnt or buckled or gone. So see, the recovery
of this is going to take a while.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Oh yeah, for sure. The kai Kora thing. I was
actually down there for a weekend just a couple of
weeks ago, and I struggled to believe that a fire
could carry so far. So it's been a real sharp
awakening for us all to realize just how deadly. I
think all the fires that we've seen were started from

(01:43):
multitude of different ways, but a lot of them were
started from people that have burnt off, and which is
quite a sensible thing to do before the summer. But
the embers were there, and when the strong winds come,
it's flicked it into gear and simultaneously the farman didn't
know which one they should be going to next and where.

(02:04):
That's how it was. On the coast, there was a
whole lot of fires that haven't been reported that are
curred down the East coast.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
How dry are when we've we've heard in the wire
Wrapper and Hawks Bay, for instance, they're starting to get
worryingly dry. I'm assuming like and I'm going to chat
to Stu Low on the show tomorrow in North Canterbury,
but is there what's the old saying in Canterbury you're
only a week away from a drought once those Northwesters
get blowing. I'm assuming you guys are pretty dry as well.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, So here in Blenham we've been picking up ten meals,
twenty mills, fifteen meals and it's been getting blown away.
But from here west and Marlbor, up the Warrior River
and stuff, it's it's fine as soon as you go
out to the east coast. Grasp Me is very dry,
but it gets worse as you head down the coast.

(02:52):
So Kaikoura is green and I've got feed and it
all looks very nice. But as we're shine by that
fire the other day, there's a worrying level of dryness
on that particular part of the country at the moment.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
And just to finish on, I know you've done a
lot of good work on rural mental health. There will
be some people who will be under a lot of
pressure after this weather event. And I guess it's easy
for me to say sitting in a radio studio and
you hunkered down at home, but just don't be afraid
to ask for help is probably the most important message,
is it?

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Absolutely? And remember that it's always the worst that can
be at the time, and that wonderful phrase bounce forward
from your travels. Figure out how are you going to
make it so that what you've suffered this time you
are not going to suffer again. So yep, just deal
with stuff and there's always people around that can come
in and help you if you just reach out.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Okay, good on you, dog. I always appreciate your time
here on the country. Doug Avery, the resilient farmer in Marlborough,