The Country 27/11/25: Nigel Woodhead talks to Jamie Mackay

We catch up with the 2017 Young Farmer of the Year and the host of this afternoon’s Southern Storm Shout at the Woodhead farm at Lovell’s Flat (halfway between Milton and Balclutha). The Emerson’s Tiny Pub and Speight’s Bar will be in attendance, sharing the love, and Silver Fern Farms is in charge of the barbecue.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Nigel Woodhead twenty seventeen Young Farmer of the Year joins us,
I think from the Emerson's tiny pub venue this afternoon
for the sudden storm shout as I said, what's all
the noise in the background, Nigel.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
The afternoon, Jamie, it's it's your mates at Spakes putting
up the bar and the background and putting a hand
railing around the around the beer drinking what they called
out the front the deck.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
So it's yeah, she's all go here.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
We're getting set up. It's the beautiful days heating up.
It's going to be warm, it's going to be yeah,
good good beer drinking with it later on.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Now, when we were settling this up, we discussed that
someone somewhere would come up with the health and safety plan.
Someone obviously has. If we've got a hand railing.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
There, wow, Spake's here anyway, it's good.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
I think Michelle's onto a health and safety plan. We'll
bring it down with us.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
No sounds good. We've no, we've thought about it.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Like I say, the hend railings going on the deck
and we've got a we've got a Cursey coach and
sob driver. Later on again, people home locally, so Yeah,
the works can work, sofe can sleep tonight.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Well, it's not all about drinking beer, that's part of it.
There's plenty of nine alcoholic options. We've got plenty of
food thanks to silver Fern Farms, and we've got a
coffee cart and I reckon the ice cream cart might
go quite well this afternoon in the heat as well,
because yesterday here in Dunedin anyhow, Nigel, I don't know
what it was like down the road in South Otago

(01:28):
was very very warm.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Oh no, it was hot, yelled thanks to SNeW the
local who's bringing the ice cream and coffee card up.
I don't know if she knows what's going to hit
her if.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
It stays hot. So yeah, it's that was definitely hot yesterday.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
And it's like I say, it's getting hot again today
and flying northwest, which means if it's northweast here that'll
be howling and land.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, this is a bit like the fishes and the loaves.
We've got no idea how many people are going to
turn up?

Speaker 3 (01:55):
How many can you cater for everybody?

Speaker 2 (01:59):
We've got plenty of We've got a whole farmer for that,
So you mus and boys assure me they've got plenty
of bers and the lions guys.

Speaker 3 (02:08):
Got heaps of food.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Some of it's provided by locals and some of it
by silver and farms. Like you say, so, heaps the drink,
heaps the eight and there's always plenty of plenty of
yarns to go around as well.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
There's no there's no rain in the forecast, as the nodulem.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Nah, no, no, no substance.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
Have you got Have you got covet yards nearby? Because
when we did the thirtieth Celebration of the Country, we
parked it under Mark Shellon's covered covering yards. It was
an ideal with then you I was.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
There, it was a good affidnt. Yes, the covet yards
are right here, and.

Speaker 4 (02:38):
We're going to implement sheets right here, the whole wall sheet.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
So if it decides to rain, which I wouldn't be
disappointed because we could do with one. You don't worry
about that, you know, don't don't be afraid coming down
later on after the kids have finished school with our
kids are looking forward to running around with Eve, run
up on the lawn and all the adults to be
down here in the garden and we're where the entertainment,

(03:01):
is it, Yeah, and everybody.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
And we have got a health and safety plan. Michelle
has assured me. You talked about you're getting a wee
bit dry in South Otaga. Of course you had a
very wet spring or the southern part of the country, didn't.
We look, Nigel, and I know you've well connected in
farming circles because of your background as a young farmer
of the year. The east coast of both islands are
starting to get worryingly dry and you get temperatures like

(03:25):
thirty plus degrees. It just sucks evpo transpiration so much
out of the soil.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
One hundred percent of the eight yesterday it would have
been five or sex miles easy. You could see you
could see pastures starting to sort of get that we
brow that we sort of blue color, which means that
they're struggling to keep up and it's seeking day to
day and I'd say it'll probably similar tomorrow. So yeah,
it's a crucial time here on farms, say, sitting the

(03:53):
season up, going.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
Memes and keeping condition. But you founded much about it, idd.

Speaker 4 (03:59):
Rather it was weave it dry now and then rained
at Christmas so we could finish all our lambs but.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
Can't do anything about it.

Speaker 4 (04:05):
That's the and Nigel.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
Were good news, and we're going to finish the show
with Greg Emerson's to wrap it Greg Emerson's Greg Greg
Mensis from Emerson's. Your lambs are going to be worth
really good money, the daring things calling its heels a
weaver that we'll talk to Mark dellat or an open
country about that, but certainly the lamb and particularly beef Gee,

(04:27):
I've never known it to be so buoyant.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah, they're talking to eleven dollars for lamb at the moment,
which is unreal. I've done plenty of budget. I'm in
finding that I've done plenty of budgets and the four,
five and six dollars Mark, So yeah, it's definitely a
rarity to see eleven, but it's good. So we'll we'll
hopefully be in a.

Speaker 4 (04:45):
Position to kill some lambs in about three weeks time,
and yeah, hopefully we can get as many away before Christmas,
before before the rest of the rush turns up.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
But it's good to see a bit of boyants around
the place alight. It just flows onto the whole of
the royal communities. It's fantastic and everyone seems to be
having a good year, so long that continue.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Fantastic. If people want to join us from three o'clock
this afternoon, we're going to boot you out at about seven.
What's your rapid address because you're at Level's Flat which
is halfway between Bellcluther and Milton. What's your rapid address.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
Seven eight nine Remote Road and we're at the end
of no exit road. So if you think you're getting
into what to keep driving and please be careful on
the road. There's a bit now, but we'll get your
run up for you safely and have good afternoon.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
Good on you, hey, look forward to your company this afternoon.
Nigel or Wardhead, along with Leanne and the whole Wardhead clan,
who are very kindly hosting the Southern Storm shout for
all those farmers in South Otago was particularly badly hit
by the wind, but that's not lessening the issues that
for instance, some of our farming friends in North Canterbury

(05:48):
are facing. They're facing the dry as well.