The Country 30/05/25: Stu Loe and Stu Duncan talk to Hamish McKay

Today’s Farmer Panel is the “Two Stus”, who talk a bit of farming, footy, and rural connectivity.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're going to kick straight into it with the farmer panel. Hey,

(00:04):
this is a great way to start here Friday. Get
some men of the land, you know, scanning and shearing
in all weather conditions, you know, tidying up heading into winter,
although I guess at this time of the year we
are pretty much into winter. Of course. Our farmer panel
is Stuo Low and Stew Duncan too. Jews, gentlemen, good afternoon, Yeah, good,

(00:29):
thank you. Will start with you Stu Dunk, and I
hear there is a bit of you know, the bit
of the white stuff starting to fluff around in there,
and they never never regions down near you.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
You know, we've had a bit of a cold blast
go through and everything was completely wide about an hour
and a half ago. But the share has gone roll
through into the white taking now and we've got beautiful
clear blue sky and the snow is starting to retreat.
But the hawkings are one hundred percent white and the
top of the hill country is still pretty white. So
once cold just remind us that one is just around
the corner. So that's just what happens fi year, so

(01:01):
get used to it.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah, exactly, stud you been trying to do a bit
of sharing and a bit of scanning. How are you
getting on?

Speaker 3 (01:07):
Yeah, no, we had a sort of we're had frosty
starts in foggy days have not the fo ideal for
keeping sheep dry. But we got it done, got a
few done yesterday and yeah that southerly's just now. It's
dry at the moment, but it's cold here so it's
obviously roaring up the country. So but yeah, she said,

(01:28):
it's t winter time and it's probably what we expect.
But hopefully get the scanning scan man and next week
and get a few figures and a few things sorted
out for the for the coming feed budgets and things
like that.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Where's your place to you exactly? And we're about you now.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Northur Christ he quit VLAs gaggle.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah, and you still remain a good Glenn mark man.

Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yes. Yeah. The boys been dead Oxford last night. I
think Stew's boy Mitch as he's playing, and they had
a good wind slight of Oxford under the light solar
want to get away form long weekend, So that was
been a good start rugby wise, So hopefully the Red
and Blacks can do it tonight.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
Yeah, excellent Brumby's tonight, and of course at the business
end of the season. I don't know whether I should
mention the Highlanders to the other stew though. I mean
still we've got the Chiefs the chance to, you know,
at least put something on the table to end the season.
Stu Duncan.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, it's been a pretty amazing competition, hasn't it really?
But you know, the Wholders have not wanted to be
there for trying. They've been trying everything and they've got
pretty close at times, definitely, but that's.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
A tough gig.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
They're very young side, so you know, in a couple
of years will be interest to see how they come
through it. And every team has a bit of a redevelopment,
don't they, And we saw that with Crusaders last year.
So no, it's been a pretty fierce competition.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Right, our gentlemen. We'll talk a bit more footy a
little bit later later on the show. We're going to
be talking to somebody who's very good in the world
of science and that is doctor John Rasho, of course,
is the MPI Chief of so Clients Advisor, among many
other things, and science and technology on the Farm now Stu,

(03:07):
you know the as the mayor of weather Burn down there.
How important is your phone to you and everything you
do across your your work life, your social life, your
farming life, everything.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Well, it's become really important now if you can get connectivity,
and we're probably I think you know you talked about
Omercare before, where it's the most central part of New
Zealand on two coasts, and not always do we get
connectivity and cell phone reception. But you know, whether you're
using the resolution app or or you're checking a meat schedule,
or you're checking the currency or your will prices. Technology,

(03:40):
the technology and the ability to use your phone is
all the time, and and you wear the forecast, so
you know it is massively important. But it wasn't that
long ago we had party lines and so we've come
a long way, and I guess the next twenty years
of here a pretty big step forward to And for
some of those older ones or not that clever, that
does get challenging, but for the young ones they around

(04:00):
it pretty well well.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Stue of course, the others Sto Loan, he's been very
challenged by his phone because he's lost it. Ste how
are you coping that. I mean, there's one thing where
you don't get a bit of connectivity and you know
you might have to you know, borrow the neighbors or something,
but to lose your phone in this day and age,
that's debilitating.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
Yes. Yeah, as you said before, we were sharing and
all sorts of things were about to happen. And you know,
my phone actually got a crack and the screen after
being dropped several times obviously, and then then it gave
up the ghost. But yeah, we fill it down and
I think you was able to put a new screen
on it this morning. We're back up and running. So
but yeah, you're absolutely shared without your phone, and because

(04:42):
you lose all your phone numbers and that sort of
thing when it doesn't work. But we still run a
landline here and but the hard ever goes. My mum
brings me on that and my uncle and it's probably
probably about it. And then you get a few scammers
now and again, so here, Yeah, at least with the
with your cellphone, you can see who's ringing and if
you know them, you answered, if you if you don't,

(05:04):
you swipe it and carry on.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
You still run a landline?

Speaker 3 (05:08):
Hell yeah, yeah, I'm not sure for how much longer?
But I'm not here. Yeah, there's not mine us yeah
and ex sad yet the cell phones don't always work
around here, so it's it's handy to have it.

Speaker 1 (05:23):
So yeah, yeah, stew from further south, you'd still have
a landline when you because you're a little bit more
isolated than our north of christ it's stue Low.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
Yeah, we have to got landlines and not much for
sure how long they'll be around, but to avoid a role.
But I think they're going to be cleaned out pretty soon.
So you know, sometimes you don't get any reception anywhere
around here, especially you know there are catably somewhat stand
on the line in the creek, or a diging might
go through and you're out of both.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
But it's.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
Stud and you get to get a bit of a
breakover King's Birthday weekend or what's sort of happening on
the farm as you head into the into the you know,
into the business end in the into winter.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
No, the kids are coming home from all over the
country and the snow froll We brought a few deer down,
so we'll just see what's happening. And now this's coming
from Upton, so she's getting picked up now, so she'll
get a fright coming into the cold. But I was
hanging around and trying to do something over the weekend,
and that's about it really.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
Stockwise. What's happening. Are you getting a few away? What's
what's sort of wrapping up for house and looking.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
Yeah, I've got a week few store lambs to go
next week just to tie out the CrossBridge and then
it gives us a room for the harp bridge and
take them through and shear them and we've got a
wall contract which is pretty good and give them away
hopefully ten or ten plus schedule, and then we'll start
killing them big bullets that are on beating out and
all the rest of the cattle are on crop and
all the ues now pushed out in the hill for
a couple of weeks, a lot of feed out there,

(06:40):
and then we'll bring them in a start feeding them
get ready for scanning. So we're sort of really hunking
into a bullsar. Last week was meant really well. So
the last of the bull's going away today, so we're
just tieding up loose ends, thrill in and they'll be
about us.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
Yeah, Well, stew feured up north Scott is scanning to
do next week. How about in thirty seconds, gentlemen, given
this like called Trump and now these three judges have
sort of given him a bit of a saddy mind
his backside a bit. But you know he has a
rule unto himself. Have you had thirty seconds each, starting
with the East you, how would you how would you
sum him up? And your thoughts on him and the

(07:14):
impact that he could have on us in our economy?

Speaker 3 (07:18):
Uh, well, we we obviously it's dawned on the world
that we produce high quality food in the States certainly
need our lean grinding beef for their for the hamburger trade,
which is obviously huge. And on the scheme of things,
we're only a little pimple on the on the back
side of it and really in the world trade things.

(07:38):
But yeah, when when, when whatever ideas he's got it effects,
it will effect us. But at the moment, everyone wants
to red meat and products that we've got in the
in the dairy stuff. So things are looking looking good.
If we can keep the quality and in and that

(07:59):
sort of thing going forward and keep promoting the clean
green image that we that we do.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah, yeah, not very good set, Dagham, What are you
recking of them?

Speaker 2 (08:08):
Oh well, he's not frightened to ask those hard questions.
And you know, you'd argue, in the last twenty years
of politics, we haven't been asking enough hard questions. And
he's trying, in his own way, probably to bring peace.
And I know, I just one of Wane of the
meat companies. Rush is a big market for us, and
you know he's not getting on too well there. But
you know, I think he's just asked the questions. He's
bringing negotiation and he wants America to be better and brighter.

(08:31):
Whether he gets that, I don't know, but the markets
have settled down after his tariffs, and I you know,
all we want really in New Zealand is a steady,
steady market to export into. And those markets open up
and we have our dollars staying around the fifty six
to fifty eight cents, and the US dollar strengthens, and
we go into America and Australia, and Australia look at
their beef schedule and their lamb schedule and we can

(08:51):
just follow on behind that and we export a lot
into Canada and into America, into Europe. I think we know,
he's just brought a few debates to the table. We
might not like it. He seems to be able to
say what he wants. Eve One gathers around so the
out But at the moment it's all good, So we'll
just hope it stays that way.

Speaker 3 (09:08):
Right.

Speaker 1 (09:08):
They're going to wrap it up very quickly with some footy,
and I know that your hearts won't be broken. But
if the Blues get home over the wiretas Maana Pacifica
have to beat the Hurricanes. Now, I reckon that they
you know, like it was a bit of the baby
out with the bathwater against the Chiefs last week from
from Tana's team. But they can they beat this hurricane
sider and knock the Blues out and and and be

(09:28):
in the top sex What a story?

Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yeah, well, yeah it will be. The Hurricanes are sort
of heading having heaving form at the right time of
the year. So even though they're coming off a buyer,
I think are they I think I think the Hurricanes
will do it.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
Yeah, okay, and the Blues might just sneak in there
and they just might be the sleeper in there, the
banana skin. So they say, hey, gentlemen, gott to wrap
it up there, thank you very much. That is our
our farmer Panel, the men of the land of course
from down there, Winnaboury and Waste stew Dancin Stewlo from
from North Canterbury. Fantastic to talk to those two