The Country 30/10/25: Dr Jacqueline Rowarth talks to Jamie Mackay

From a cold and wet Waikato, one of our leading primary sector academics talks Fonterra, generators and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation conference she attended in Rome on our behalf. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
She is one of our leading primary sector academics irregular
here on the country, Doctor Jaquelin Roweth Jacqueline, I haven't
spoken to you since you've been to Rome and back
for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Conference. I'm
going to come back to that. But here in the
Deep South we've had some weather issues or woes that
have been well documented in the Waycao, where you're based.

(00:22):
I understand it's been cold and wet.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
It has been, and the maze is going in late
and that of course creates concern amongst farmers about whether
they'll get enough for the winter. So it's you know,
we look at it every day and look at wet
sloppy grass and think cows need more energy. And we
note that during the winter the PKE consumption was up. Well,

(00:47):
got to keep your cows in good neck because nobody
wants them to be losing body condition score. That's the
focus at the moment, keeping the cows happy and yes,
poor old Southland and the whole issues is generators and
trying to circulate them and make sure the cows will melt.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
Jacquelin, I think there's going to be quite a few
generators purchased over the next few weeks and months, and
some of that money will come from the Fonterra the
sale of the Fontira consumer brands. It's ten thirty in
the morning, by the way as we record this interview.
Because you're not available for life, and I'm that confident
about the result, I'm declaring it early, so I'll have

(01:25):
egg on my face if it's gone the other way.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Now. I think farmers are convinced by the figures that
have been shown to them by the clever people employed
in Fonterra, the clever people that we put on the
board to be informed to make the decisions and say
that this release of money, the selling to a company
that will be able to do better than New Zealand

(01:48):
or than from Terra cam with the brands, will actually
benefit the whole country. And yes, there might be some
generators bought, but you know, I'm generators aren't you needed
very often? And they need be big to power the
modern dairy shed. And the investigation you've got an asset
sitting there at what sixt eighty thousand dollars because I'm

(02:11):
sure they'll be going up in price in order to
run the shed. How long does it sit there for
before you use it again? How many of these bad
events are we going to get? And of course calculations
are being done on that by clever people at the
new whatever we call the public research organizations, the ones
that are connected that used to be called NIWA for instance,

(02:33):
or land care. So getting the research done, how often
and therefore what will the investment and the likely return be.
But nobody wants animal welfare issues with cows in early
lactation not being built.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
Absolutely well, maybe buying a generator between three or four
neighboring farms is the option. Look, talk to me about Rome.
You were over at this United Nations conference on Sustainable
Livestock transformation. Give me the short version.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
New Zealand's in a very good position to be able
to assist other people to achieve the change necessary. There
was a lot of talk about increasing food production to
meet the increased needs of the world because the world
population is growing, and in fact that was the overarching
message the main goal that the goal of the food
production system must be to produce food. Food is number one.

(03:27):
If we can reduce greenhouse gases or environmental impact on
the way of producing food, that is great. But our
primary focus must be feeding people. And we know that
there are an increasing number now of people that are malnourished,
and I'd say undernourished is the big concern, and can
we stop the ones that are overnourished? Now I put

(03:47):
it carefully, do a bit of food distribution, but the
focus was was making sure that animals are healthy and
ensuring that how do we achieve this anti minicrobial resistant
diseases without borders. All of those were big concerns at
the conference as well.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
Well well done on representing US New Zealand at the
UN conference in Rome. Glad you got back in one
piece and I hope you get some sunshine and some
warmer weather and the white catto lovely.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Thank you Jomie, and of course I missed talking with
you