September 6, 2026 • 40 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Andrew Hoggard, Grant McCallum, Tom Young, Rowena Duncum, Craig Wiggins, and Phil Duncan.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
I guess now it's time for me to give up.
I think it's time.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Got a picture of you beside me. Got your lipstick
mark still on your coffee.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Cup.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Good afternoon, New Zealand. I'm Jamie Mackay, back on the
tools after nearly three weeks off crook with Influenza A.
Back for good. Take that. Take that, Influenza A. Special
guest in the studio, more from her a wee bit later,
but I thought I'd kick it off with.
Well, a man I saw on the Q & A
(00:53):
rural debate on yesterday morning, Andrew Hoggart, Associate Minister of Agriculture,
of course, Minister of Biosecurity, and the well-known or renowned
Wellington property magnate, who's also the MP for Northland, Grant McCullum. Now, Grant,
who's telling porkies, you or Tamatha?
Speaker 5 (01:14):
Oh, Tamitha is, mate. Unfortunately for her, I've never owned
a property in Wellington, so therefore it's pretty hard to
rent it out. I do happen to own a property
in Pye here, which saves the taxpayer money because when
I'm in the Mid-North, I stay in my own place
and don't bill you guys for the motel I'm entitled
to stay in. But look, it's just really disappointing that
(01:34):
she just simply didn't apologise to get the facts wrong.
But it says all you need to know about the
Greens and their leadership and their morals and ethics.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Well, they're going to make food cheaper, Andrew Hoggard. They're
going to get into the supermarket business. And, you know,
they're renowned for their business skills, aren't they? How are
the Greens going to run a supermarket?
Speaker 6 (01:51):
They couldn't run a bath.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well, I think you just need to go look at
some documentaries from about 1987 Moscow, and that'll give you
a good indication as to how Soviet mart will work,
or the Green supermarket. Long lines for bread, I'm sure, but...
Just absolutely crazy. I mean, you're talking about nationalising a
(02:15):
whole bunch of supermarkets. What's that going to do for
foreign investment? Anyone wanting to come up and set up
shop here in New Zealand, they're going to say, hey,
we get too successful, the government will take our stuff
off us. Let's not bother. So just more dumb, crazy
ideas that completely aren't costed. And so they think that
somehow just taxing 6% of the population is going to
(02:37):
pay for all these dreams. You're sadly mistaken. Everyone's going
to get pinged pretty bloody hard.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yesterday morning, I watched the Q & A rural debate
with Jack Tame. Good on him. He got all the
six major players there. And if I was to believe
some of the feedback online, Steve Abel crushed it. He
was the winner.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Okay, well, whatever.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
What a lot of nonsense. When you listen to that debate,
all I can say is God help New Zealand farming
if the left ever get in. Basically, you had the
Greens who are out to lunch, complete mad policies wanting
to halve production, at least in this country. And then
you've got Labour with no policies. And then you've got
the top party with no idea and the complete naivety
(03:23):
of what they were saying was well demonstrated. And it
was just really, you know, it showed up. We had,
you know, the coalition government actually understands farming and understands
the importance to our economy.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Now, I could buy that, Andrew Hoggart, if only you
would play nicely with your coalition partners. You're digging away,
you know, Mark Patterson, and who was the other one?
Of course, Todd McClay, the Minister of Agriculture and Trade.
And you should have been working together to fight the
evil left.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
No, I don't disagree with that. I don't think I
got stuck into them too much. We had a little
joke with Mark on his trip to India. But no,
when I certainly jumped in and supported Todd with what
he was saying around no need to reduce methane to
zero emissions, Look, there may be the odd jab that
goes back and forth, but by and large we've managed
(04:16):
to work with each other pretty successfully over this term,
like I said in the debate. When I started this term,
farmer confidence was at an all-time low. It's actually doing
pretty good now.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
I thought Jo Luxton was the loser in this debate,
and I've been chewing her ear for months and months
and months. For God's sake, come out with some policy.
It's almost too late now.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
I agree, Jamie.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Basically, their policy is... Sorry, go ahead, Grant.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
No, no, no.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
Yeah, I agree, Jamie. I mean, the agriculture is such
a major part of our economy, and for Labour not
to have any idea what they're going to do. And ultimately, though,
the real people that will determine the fate of agricultural
policy in our country, in Labour, is not Joe Laxton.
It will be Rachel Brookie and the environmental thing. Having
spent the last... All part of this year with her
(05:08):
on the Environment Select Committee, seeing what she thinks about
farming and environmental rules, all I can say is beware.
That's where you've got to look for where the real
farming policy will be.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Andrew Hoggard, my takeaway from watching the debate was that,
you know, heaven help farming, the primary sector, small business,
whatever in this country, if we have a centre-left government
of Labour, I'm not even counting Te Pāti Māori, the Greens,
who are probably winning by default almost at the moment,
(05:39):
and Opportunity Party. And I thought Daniel Ebb was left
quite a wee bit short when he didn't even get
his numbers right about the cows.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
No, well, just backing up what Grant said, I mean,
it's not even perhaps Rachel Brookings that's going to set
their policy, because if they're in a coalition and they've
got no policies and the Greens have all the policies
on the left, then it'll be the bloody Greens we
end up with. But Yeah, I mean, all I heard
the other morning was, oh, let's tax our way to
prosperity and somehow we're going to pay more taxes and,
(06:12):
you know, it's only going to be a small percentage
of the population that'll get harmed. We'll just take off
them and give to you and you'll be fine. That
sort of politics never bloody works. It just drives the
productive people away from this country and eventually everyone will
have to bloody pay.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Now, are you going to come to some agreement with
the Nats, Andrew Hoggart, about net zero in the Paris Agreement?
A ditto if I probably should have Mark Patterson on
as well talking about it, because there seems to be
a bit of a rift developing there.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Yeah, look, we haven't said we're going to get out
of it straight away, but what we're saying is things
need to change. And the first thing off the cab
there is a split gas NDC. And it makes, as
I said in the debate, it makes absolutely zero sense
that we have this external target of which is net zero,
(07:05):
but then internally we're saying methane doesn't have to reduce
to zero. That's adding more cost to every New Zealander.
So look, we'll come up to some arrangement in the
coalition negotiations, I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Grant McCullum, are the Nats too woke on this?
Speaker 7 (07:20):
Not at all.
Speaker 5 (07:20):
We're just very sensible when it comes to wanting to
actually be able to sell our goods overseas, Jamie, and
into Europe and places like that where they're like, for example,
land getting record prices. Some of these countries need no
excuse to put up barriers just to help add cost
to our products going into these markets. So we just
have to play be smart and do our bit to
(07:41):
actually help fight climate change going forward. Because the goal
is 2050, not next year. So I think we have
to put that all in perspective.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
KiwiSaver... I'm sorry, Andrew, away you go.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Yeah, I was just going to say, we shouldn't talk
ourselves out of trying to get decent deals for New Zealand.
And I think the key thing we've got to remember
is none of these countries actually asked for all this
woke stuff to be put in the trade agreements. Actually,
it was New Zealand that said, oh, let's put all
this stuff in the trade agreements. So, quite frankly, I
think we need to test this as to whether or
(08:14):
not the rest of the world actually wants it. You know,
European farms are saying split gas is the way to go, so...
I think we've got a bit of support there for
that approach.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Well, Grant, it's your fault for putting all the woke
stuff into the FTAs.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
I wouldn't call Tom McClay woke. Let me promise you
that Tom McClay is not woke. We're getting on to KiwiSaver, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
KiwiSaver for young farmers. This is good.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
Yes, yes. Now, my good colleague, Suze Redmayne from the Rangitiki,
it was her private member's bill, which has actually been
adopted as a government bill, has now been put on
the order paper, which will allow those people who work
on farms and the houses provided... or the Defence Force,
or the police, and the House provided, to actually use
KiwiSaver to buy their first home, and they don't have
(09:01):
to live in it. It can be in town somewhere,
and they can rent it out, so they can get
on the property ladder. There's been a gap in the
whole system for quite some time, and I really applaud
Sue for being so persistent around this. I look forward
to this eventually getting into Parliament and becoming law.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Hey, just looking at the text machine, and thank you
for some nice messages welcoming me back. Even Andy Thompson
sent one in. Hey, here's one for you, and I
didn't pick up on this one. Jamie, do you realise
Opportunity Party's land tax won't apply to Maori-owned land? Is
that correct?
Speaker 3 (09:36):
I have no idea. I just looked at the point.
They said it was going to reduce land values by 15%
and realised... Well, that's just dumb enough on its own.
That will pretty much force up interest rates for everyone
because the banks will suddenly have less value to their
loan books, so they'll be viewed as more riskier by
(09:57):
the people that give them money to. loan out, so
up go interest rates. I didn't know about that one,
but that's equally as dumb.
Speaker 8 (10:06):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Hey, just to finish on, it was hoardings weekend for
all you politicians. I don't know why you bother, because
you just put your hoarding up beside the other bloke
and you negate each other anyhow. But Grant, I see
you were out there hammer in hand over the weekend
putting up hoardings. As a list MP, excuse me team,
almost got through the show without a cough. As a
(10:29):
list MP, Andrew Hoggard, you probably don't even have to
worry about it.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
No, I was actually out there on Saturday, got the
family in the car, getting some child slave labour to
help me put them up all over the manor too.
Did some more on Sunday and actually just came back
for a putting one up in the soaking rain and
ashes this morning. So yep, still getting out there.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
So are your hoardings, Grant, polluting the fine landscape of Northland?
Speaker 5 (10:56):
There's no such, definitely not polluting it. It's informing people
there's an election coming in, who the great party of
National they should be voting for. Give their party vote
to National. That's what it's all about, Jamie. So we
have a strong centre-right coalition government led by National. So
that's what the hoardings are there to say. And so
get out.
Speaker 8 (11:13):
There, people.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
And please, one promise, please, things, don't vandalise them. They're
a damn lot of work.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
To stick up.
Speaker 5 (11:19):
And having to keep fixing them all the time is
a real pain.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Hey, look, because I've been a bit crook, my hearing's
not as good as what it was. Did you say
led by National or led by Winston?
Speaker 5 (11:30):
Led by National, Dave.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Oh, sorry.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Smart. Well, the latest polls, it might be led by David.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Excuse me. Rightio, lads. Good to catch up. No worries.
A nice, entertaining light way to kick off the first
day back on the tools. Thanks for your time.
Speaker 7 (11:49):
All the best, everyone.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Cheers. Bye.
Speaker 7 (11:50):
There we go.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Today's panel, Andrew Hoggard, Grant McCullum. On the show today,
we've got a special guest in the studio. We'll chat
to her shortly. A new survey shows that New Zealand's
pest problems have reached crisis point. And this person is
doing her very best to reduce the number of pests
in New Zealand, but it would appear that weekend warriors
(12:13):
won't be able to get the job done. Now also,
Beef and Lamb New Zealand's about to come out with
its season update. on the price of lambs. So we're
going to have a look at that with Tom Young
from AFCO. Craig Wiggy Wiggins, based out of mid-Canterbury, arable
capital of the country. The poor old arable farmers are
having a real tough time of it at the moment.
(12:35):
And Phil Duncan, Monday's resident weatherman on the impending Super
Al Nino. Although I hear they got lots of rain
in Canterbury over the weekend. You're with The Country. I'm
Jamie Mackay. I'm back for good.
Speaker 8 (12:53):
Whatever I said, whatever I did, I didn't mean it.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I just want you back for good. See, I want
you back for good. I guess now it's time For
(13:28):
me to give up I think it's time Got a
picture of you beside me Got your lipstick marks still
on your coffee cup Oh yeah Got a fist of
your emotion, got a head of shattered dreams. Gotta leave it,
(13:54):
gotta leave it all behind now. Whatever I said, whatever.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I did, I didn't mean it.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
I just want you back for good. Want you back,
want you back.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Great to be back on the country, back on the tools,
and it's great to catch up with old mates who
were really concerned when I was off for three weeks crook,
including this man, the National Lightstock Manager for AFCO, Tom Young,
who sent me a text a week or so ago saying,
I'll send you down a jar of North Island water
from Harden Up Creek. That's a bit harsh, Tom.
Speaker 7 (14:33):
Well, deep down I was very concerned because I'd actually
spoken to Rowena and she said you weren't well, Jamie, so...
Bit of tongue-in-cheek stuff. And when you didn't respond in
a hurry, I thought, well, he's either died or he's sulking.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
No, I can confirm none of the above. Hey, good
to catch up with you. Just put on your meat hat.
I see Beef and Lamb New Zealand is about to
publish its new season outlook report for the week, this week,
for the 26-27 season. And they're talking pretty round numbers.
20 kilo lamb, 200 bucks, $ 10 a kilo. That'll please you, Tom,
(15:09):
because nothing you love more than talking the schedule down.
Speaker 7 (15:11):
That's a bit unfair. Now you're getting stuck into me.
We've led it up many times, so talking it down
is a bit of a reality. But yeah, I think
the fundamentals for red meat, Jamie, remain pretty good. Only
speaking from AFCO's perspective, but at the moment it's reasonably
hard trading. I think, you know, this time of year, obviously,
(15:35):
it's a bit more procurement pressure driven and probably market related. So, yeah, obviously,
these different schedules are going to work their way back.
I think, you know, if we get land back to
$ 10 or it's settled there, that'll be a good result
for possibly meat companies and the farmers. And obviously, you know,
some of those meat schedules have got a wee way
to come off too. Beef schedules, sorry, have got a
(15:57):
wee way to come off as well.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Now, I know you're based on Hawke's Bay, should I say,
my old mate up there Mark Warren's banging on about
his $ 1, 500 lamb. We've got a way to go, obviously,
to get there, but we have seen lambs getting close
to $ 500, albeit they're bloody big ones.
Speaker 7 (16:15):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, that might be a bit of
a sort of an anomaly through the sale yards or whatever, or,
you know, a butcher's lamb or something along those lines,
but I don't think you'll see that at a meat processor.
You know, probably we've seen farmers averaging... You know, mid-200s,
some have made $ 300 on a lamb. So they've all
(16:35):
done pretty well and probably had a successful winter trade. But, sorry,
the real crux of this whole industry is, you know,
the breeders making sure they get their drink of the
trough in the middle of summer. So it's the bottom
of the schedule when they sort of start killing their
lambs that makes the difference.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Will there be enough lambs to go around this year?
The lamb crop is forecast to be broadly... stable at
just under $ 20 million, down 0.3%, and obviously that's dependent
on what happens this spring.
Speaker 7 (17:08):
Look, there's never enough lambs to go around. There's too
much capacity. There has been for some time and still is.
At some point, we need to see some sort of rationalisation.
I think it's sort of a game of who's going
to blink first, and we just keep sort of trudging
on with how we're doing things. But at some point,
there will need to be factories shut.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
What are you guys at AFCO doing, or how are
you factoring in this Super El Nino? Because I know
some people say it's scaremongering, it may or may not happen,
but the science certainly suggests it will.
Speaker 7 (17:41):
Yeah, I mean, all we can do is get our
capacity on early. We're sort of looking at the lamb weights.
We don't really want to see a whole lot of
light lambs come through the plant, so we We've got
a bottom end weight range of 15 kilos in our
schedule and anything under that is not much for lamb.
There's a lot of opportunity lost when meat companies kill
(18:05):
lambs very light. So what we're going to try and
do or what we are doing is looking at all
our plants, getting the second shift up as quickly as
we can. We are talking to markets about possibly having
a little bit more volume coming earlier and that's about
as good as we can sort of do really.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
How's Hawke's Bay looking?
Speaker 7 (18:26):
Hawke's Bay is very dry, although you've seen up some
rain kindly in the last day. So we've just started
to see a little bit of rain now.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Well, Tom Young, I can tell you some of my
farming mates down in Southland who I've been keeping in
touch with are more than happy to send up some
of their excess moisture to Hawke's Bay and we can
even the map out a wee bit. Hey, thanks for
your time. And I know you were only joking when
you were giving me grief when I was on my deathbed.
Speaker 7 (18:53):
No, it's good to have you back, and there'll be
a few politicians a bit worried now you're back as well.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Thank you very much for your time, Tom.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
Wonderful.
Speaker 7 (18:59):
Thanks a lot, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Good on you, Tom. I won't take any offence from
your comments. Hey, Phil Duncan coming up a wee bit
later in the hour here on The Country, brought to
you by Isuzu and Farmlands. The old Isuzu MUX hasn't
had many Ks on it this month. It's only been
out of the garage once. But there's a text in here,
(19:23):
saying it's bloody wet and cold in South Otago. When
will we get some warm, sunny days? We'll tell you that.
We'll answer that question with Phil Duncan. Craig Wiggy Wiggins
is going to join us and our special guest in
the studio who's doing a damnedest to get rid of
pests and filling my freezer with venison's up next, Rowena Duncan.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
It is bang on 12 30 welcome.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Back to the country.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Jamie Mackay is my name good to be on while
I was away.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Influenza A, brutal, brutal, absolutely brutal. Hamish Mackay and this person,
Rowena Duncan, did a very good job filling in. And
not only do you fill in on the show, Rowena,
you fill my freezer with wild venison. You're always welcome
at our place. Now, did you catch up on the story?
And I'm sure you would have because you're across everything
(20:29):
in rural. Federated Farmers, Richard Dawkins, the PES spokesperson or
whatever he calls himself, says we're not going to shoot
our way out of this problem one weekend at a time,
but you're doing your best. Good afternoon.
Speaker 9 (20:42):
Good afternoon, Jamie. Yeah, definitely doing my best.
Speaker 10 (20:46):
Sometimes my best isn't good enough, but at least when
I arrived at your place last night, there was certainly
a lot of venison going into your freezer.
Speaker 9 (20:53):
So a successful weekend.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Shall we say. We love you visiting. Now, I know
you and your mates in the Mania Toto, you've got
about five or six.
Speaker 9 (21:01):
Six, yeah, six fellow.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
But when you're out there shooting the deer, and I
know you're picking the good young ones, What happens if
you see some mongrel old feral deer wandering past? Do
you just shoot that as well? Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 7 (21:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
So anything. What about pigs?
Speaker 8 (21:15):
Anything.
Speaker 9 (21:16):
Anything that moves, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Can you just, this is a dumb question from a
very poor duck shooter. But like if you're out on
these farms, are the farmers happy for you just to
shoot them and let them rot? where they lie?
Speaker 10 (21:28):
We haven't actually ever had that situation where we've shot
something and left it to rot. Everything we've shot, we've
been able to harvest just due to the nature of
the terrain that we're shooting on. Yes, sometimes it's a
bit of a climb or a bit of a walk,
but everything's retrievable. We haven't got to that situation where
we have just been culling and leaving them to rot,
as you say. But You know, it might come down
(21:50):
to that stage. I've got friends who have farms who,
you know, will happily let hunters on. They've got hundreds
of fallow. It's a massive problem through Wanganui, Manawatu, that
area there. And, you know, their rule of thumb is
if you're coming onto the property to go hunting, you've
got to leave with at least four carcasses on the
back of the ute. But it might for them come
to that stage because there's four, 800 fallow just running
(22:12):
through in mobs. And if they culled everything on their farm,
it would still come through from the neighbours. It has
been a really big issue.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Nearly one in three farmers are having to reduce their
stocking rates because pests are consuming so much pasture compared
to only one in nine in 2024. That's only two
years ago. Yeah, it's been.
Speaker 10 (22:31):
Really interesting the way numbers have gone over the past
few years or even looking at them over the past decade.
I've got friends who can't put crops on, they reckon,
about 65% of their property because it's just going to
bring the pests through the fence and into those crops.
They're putting a lot of money into getting that ground prepared,
getting that seed in there and cultivating those crops to
(22:51):
be feeding a bit of a pest. But another issue
that we're seeing out there, and a lot of commentary
has come out after this survey was released, is sometimes
it can also come down to access. Access can be
a bit challenging for hunters, but there's got to be
a lot of trust on both sides as well. You're
letting someone into your business with powerful rifles. So I
(23:12):
wonder if we have something like quite an Uber system
or a Tinder system for hunters and farmers and matching
them up. But, you know, somewhere where you can say,
you know, five stars, you know, left all the gates
shut or all the gates open where they were, dropped
me off some beer on the way, dropped me off
a skinned carcass ready to go. I know they've tried
it in the past and it hasn't worked, but, you know,
(23:33):
it's not going to solve the problem overnight, but it
might still, you know, open up a lot more access
for people.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Now, this has been made worse by carbon farming or forestry.
Because I know in South Otago is a really, Mark
Patterson's home patch is a really good example. I know
farmers up there who, like you're saying, literally cannot plant
a winter forage crop because they just can't stop the
deer and the pig coming down from the hills and
(24:00):
eating it.
Speaker 10 (24:01):
That's a massive issue. And it's not all carbon farms.
You know, some have really good pest management plans. They
have contracted hunters. They have people who get access and
who go through those properties. But they're not the same
as when they were farmed as well, when there were
people out there all the time. I know, you know,
back even when I was dairy farming, every time I
went and did the pasture metering, I'd take the rifle
and shoot hares and things like that. When you're on
(24:23):
the property, it's easier when you're seeing those pests every
single day. But when they are out of sight, out
of mind, that's when those numbers can absolutely explode. And
it's been particularly good at the moment. You know, if
you see a pig out there ahead of lambing, you're
always trying to get them because you know what damage
they can do to your lambing numbers.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Yeah, we talked about the numbers, one in three farmers
having to reduce their stocking. It's a horrendous number, reducing
their stocking rates. And the report, this is from the
Federated Farmers Report, one farmer reported losing around $ 100, 000 after
a leptospirosis outbreak caused widespread abortions and ewes in heifers,
which they believe was linked to wild pig's coming in
(25:01):
from neighbouring properties.
Speaker 10 (25:03):
Yeah, it's a huge issue in terms of that as well,
that animal health issue. We know possums and the TB
issue that's been coming through, especially on the West Coast,
but they seem to have got that a lot more
under control. But yeah, there's just so many facets to
this issue. And I must say, I have personally even
seen the numbers really explode. And I don't know if
it was just because of COVID and we couldn't get
(25:23):
out in the same numbers and people changed the way
they were doing things. But moving out there, you know,
It would be a really tough day if you didn't
see anything.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
OK, here's an idea for you straight off the top
of my head.
Speaker 9 (25:34):
Here we go. Brace yourselves.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Brace yourselves. Federated farmers saying we're not going to shoot
our way out of this problem one weekend at a time.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
A lot of.
Speaker 10 (25:43):
Farmers I know are getting helicopters. So they're bringing helicopters in.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
OK, what about the armies?
Speaker 9 (25:48):
Or they could use them for target practice, I guess.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Send in the army. Because the good thing about these
is we can make it into mints for the food banks.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Absolutely.
Speaker 9 (25:56):
And that's the really encouraging thing at the moment.
Speaker 10 (25:59):
You know, you can actually harvest these, feed hungry tummies,
nothing goes to waste. So it's a massive feel-good factor.
But there you go, Jamie.
Speaker 9 (26:06):
That's much better than dropping poison.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
That's a great idea, even if I say so myself. Yeah, rightio. Hey,
it's 23 away from 1. Michelle's going to do rural
news for a wee now. You can do sports news
because my voice is struggling a wee bit today.
Speaker 9 (26:21):
And I know lots about sport.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Well, no, you don't know as much about rugby as
I do. Obviously, it goes without saying. But you can
do sports news. We'll catch up with Craig Wiggy Wiggins.
And also before the end of the hour, we're going
to catch up with Phil Duncan and answer the question
from our friend in South Otago. When are they going
to get some fine sunny days? We'll ask him on
(26:43):
your behalf. Welcome back to the country brought to you
by Isuzu and Farmlands. Michelle's wandered in here. Here's the
(27:05):
latest in rural news.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
The country's rural news with Cub Cadet, New.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Zealand's leading ride-on lawnmower brand. Visit steelfort.co.nz for your local stockist.
And Michelle, just before we do rural news, thank you
so much for holding the fort for close to three weeks,
minus one day, organising Hamish and Rowena. She's a hard
dog to keep on the porch sometimes, so you did well.
Well done.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Oh, thanks.
Speaker 8 (27:30):
It was a very lonely time for me here in Dunedin,
I have to say. I was starting to feel very abandoned.
Speaker 9 (27:36):
After about two and a half.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Well, I was going quietly nuts at home, to be
perfectly honest. I don't know what I'll do if I retire.
I don't think I will. I just think I might
just die in the seat here. I might not be
too morbid about it, but honestly. It was doing my
head in.
Speaker 8 (27:53):
Well, now you've got me really worried. Please don't do that.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
While you go, what have you got for Rural News?
Speaker 8 (27:58):
Okay, so Rural News. Last week we had a story
around Madagascar ragwort. And I just want to clarify some
things because an email comes through about it. Now, I
told a story about my old pony club days. And
we learned a lot about common ragwort, which is also poisonous.
But Madagascar is a lot worse than that. So it's poisonous,
but it spreads a lot more dangerously and a lot
quicker as well. And it's spread through the North Island now.
(28:19):
I think they're finding it down in South Wairarapa. So
if you see any, just report sightings to your local
regional council on it. It looks a little bit like
a yellow daisy. It doesn't look like standard ragwort, though.
So go and have a look online at those pictures
so you can distinguish between the two.
Speaker 9 (28:32):
And that's Rural News.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Rightio, let's get Rowena in for sport to save my voice.
Speaker 9 (28:39):
Sport on the country with AFCO.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Invested in your farming success.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Even though I know more about rugby than you Oh
I'll give.
Speaker 10 (28:46):
You that Jamie But yeah I must say I reckon
Michelle was probably the happiest person in New Zealand In
the last three weeks Getting three weeks break from you
And you're certainly right And you're not good enough at
golf to retire Jamie No I'm not No In Sport
Warriors boss Cameron George I.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Haven't played golf for three weeks I.
Speaker 9 (29:03):
Have I played Ranfurly yesterday.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Morning I haven't had a drink for three weeks I
don't think I'll have one for another three And apart
from yesterday You.
Speaker 9 (29:12):
Must have been very boring for the past three weeks.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Incredibly boring and I've done no exercise, which absolutely does
my head in.
Speaker 8 (29:18):
Yeah, it does.
Speaker 9 (29:19):
Yeah, you've probably done your wife's head.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
In as well. I need golf beer and exercise.
Speaker 9 (29:23):
You do.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
In that order.
Speaker 10 (29:25):
In sports news, Warriors boss Cameron George has pleased the
NRL has agreed the club can host at least one
playoff match at Mount Smart Stadium.
Speaker 9 (29:33):
George says they'll get.
Speaker 10 (29:34):
Through the Dolphins match this Saturday before engaging with the
NRL on the venue for their second fixture. Scott McLaughlin
has won IndyCar's season-ending race at Monterey, California, his first
victory in two years. Sir Scott Dixon crossed in 17th
in his final drive with his team of 23 years.
And a hat-trick of victories for squash player Paul Cole
(29:54):
at the PSA Tour stop in London, forging his 34th
career title.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Thank you, Rowena. Thank you, Michelle. We're going to take
a break here on The Country. Up next, we're off
to mid-Canterbury. Craig Wiggy Wiggins, the man behind Lean on
a Gate, Talk to a Mate. Here's the man behind
(30:22):
Lean on a Gate, Talk to a Mate. His name
is Craig Wiggy Wiggins, based in mid-Canterbury. And, Wiggy, they
tell me, because I think you were clerking on the
old race course yesterday, that the Super El Nino and
the dry spring for the eastern parts of Canterbury, anyhow,
is taking its time getting there.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
Yeah, g'day, Jamie. Nice to have you back on here, mate.
I was a bit worried about you, but good to
see you're still doing the job. We've had a lot
of nor'westers in Canterbury, and there's been a lot of
work done with tractors and ploughs and implements and stuff
like that, but Yesterday was definitely one out of the box.
It got to about four degrees and I think we
had about 35 mils of rain while I was clarking
(31:02):
in the afternoon at the Methan racetrack. So it was
pretty wet yesterday. So we are getting a balance, but
there has been some pretty strong winds up till now too.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Now farming's ticking along quite nicely at the moment, or
largely ticking along quite nicely at the moment. But the
poor old arable farmers, and you guys are the grain bowl,
the seed bowl of New Zealand in mid Canterbury, are
really struggling. And I see that Some of the arable
farmers are saying, probably quite rightly, why are dairy farmers
using palm kernel rather than locally grown grain?
Speaker 4 (31:33):
I think it comes down once again to costs and historics. Jamie,
people have used palm kernel for the last 20-odd years
and find it as an easy option. And grain, of course,
even though it's locally grown, is definitely more expensive. It's
up to $ 200 a tonne more expensive. But My daughter
(31:53):
came home the other day and said, Dad, I like
pork ribs, but you're not to buy any more pork
ribs from Europe. I only want New Zealand ones. And
so that's $ 5 or $ 6 a pork rib side that
I've got to pay. It's not her money, but we
have to make the choice of what we're going to do. But,
you know, when you get people like David Clark and
even the head of Federated Farmers and that now talking
about making changes to the way they run their arable
(32:16):
farms to support the dairy industry in other ways, the
writing's on the wall that they can't bang their head
against the cost of palm kernel anymore. They've actually got
to look at making the changes that make them competitive.
Pretty tough decisions and obviously costly decisions. If you've got
a moral connection to the people that supply you the grain,
(32:39):
then maybe you can look at it. But the big
problem we have, Jamie, is the costs of actually growing
this grain. We've talked about that. David Clark and some
of those guys have certainly made no bones about the
fact of what diesel costs, what fertiliser costs, what harvester
costs there are now and transportation costs. So a lot
of that's been taken out of their hands.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Bit of a perfect storm for the poor old arable farmers,
to be perfectly honest. So, as you say, crops are
in the ground, which is good. You've had some rain,
30 mils of rain. Never turned down rain in Canterbury,
I'd imagine, in September onwards.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
No, it's great. And, you know, the soil temperature is
just starting to come along. And I have noticed the
little block that I've got now is really greening up
and the robotic lawnmower is taking a hiding, trying to
keep up with it. So that means there is some
growth going on. But it's definitely one of those typical
Canterbury springs, like really strong, hot north-westers and then a
(33:38):
good dose of rain. So, yes, I think we are
looking at some pretty good results for those that have
got crops in the ground now.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Good on them. Okay, just very quickly to finish on,
lean on a gate, talk to a mate. What are
you up to?
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Oh, we're busy, Jamie. It's been great. You know, we
did get the funding come through from MPI at the
Central District Field Days this year. We've done a lot
of trainings, workplace resilience trainings. The head of FarmStrong, Gerard Vaughan,
sort of said to us a little while ago, he said,
you guys, we do wellness and wellbeing and advertising and
(34:10):
general awareness. You guys do workplace resilience and training programmes.
and Rural Support Trust do all of the support networks
that they do. There's three really definite lanes, and there's
a fit for everybody. The milestone reports that we've done
for MPI show that what we're doing is really working,
and it's making some big cultural differences in the workplaces,
and people are seeking help and more help's available. So
(34:33):
we just need to get some of those big companies
and bigger farms, and even the smaller ones, we can
cater for the one-man bands as well to take up
these trainings. They're really cost-effective at the moment. and get
on board with it because we can make that difference.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Yep, mental health, it's all about the top two inches,
the top paddock. It's been good for my mental health
getting back on the tools today and even more so
chatting to you, Wiggy. Thanks for your time, mate.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
Thanks, Jamie. Look forward to seeing you in the flesh.
Speaker 1 (34:59):
That sounds a bit dodgy, Wiggy. Ten away from one.
Purely platonic relationship. He does a great job. Lean on
a gate, talk to a mate, Craig Wiggy Wiggins. We're
going to wrap the country up. with Phil Duncan, see
if we can sort the weather out for some of
you people. Some of your text traffic coming in. Good
to have you back, Jamie. Glad you haven't curled over
(35:21):
just yet, as I haven't met you. This is from Muz,
my bitter and twisted texter from Hawke's Bay. Muz, we
were meant to meet when we took the tiny pub
up for the Cyclone Gabrielle shout, but my plane couldn't
land in Wellington. I think Rowena might have gone and
represented the country on my behalf. We will meet, Mars.
(35:41):
We will meet. Someone else saying, I didn't think it
was very nice, Damien O'Connor, putting your obituary in the
paper from Mike. I didn't read that. I might get
him on the show tomorrow because I feel like a
bit of a scrap, actually. I've been so placid for
three weeks. I think I need a bit of Damien.
It'll be good for me. Good for my constitution. We
might see if we can do that tomorrow. Up next,
(36:03):
Phil Duncan in the weather. Welcome back to the country.
One of my longest serving correspondents is this man, Phil Duncan. Phil,
(36:26):
we haven't chatted for three weeks. I've missed you, my friend,
from Weather Watch.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
I've missed you.
Speaker 6 (36:30):
It's been very different for the last few weeks without
you around.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Well, there you go. But I'm back and I'm back
for good. Hey, this text from a farmer or a farmer?
someone anyhow in South Otago, saying it's bloody wet and cold.
When are we going to get some warm, sunny days?
I'm hearing the same things from my Southland farming mates,
and this is kind of classic early El Nino, isn't it?
Southland having a shit of a spring.
Speaker 6 (36:54):
Yeah, it is. The lower South Island, Fiordland, Southland, Otago,
that kind of corner, southwest corner, is definitely getting the
brunt of all these cold changes. At the moment, most
of the wet weather today, though, up around the top
of the country and clearing now away from parts of
the South Island, where it has been raining around Marlborough
(37:16):
and Nelson this morning. Now we're seeing some heavy rain
going through Hawke's Bay, especially the north of Napier going
up towards Wairoa. Some heavy rain through Central Plateau as
well and the lower North Island. And the top of
the country, the top half of the North Island, getting
some heavy downpours as low pressure moves in. So we've
got a low crossing the North Island tonight. That moves
(37:37):
away tomorrow. And then on Wednesday night, in comes the
next cold change. And it's a wintry snap that will
go right across New Zealand over Thursday and Thursday night.
And then as early as Friday, it gets pushed away
from us again. So it's classic spring.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Yeah, is there any, Tom, you talked about, Tom Young
talked about the rain coming into Hawke's Bay. He said
they were kind of dry. It is going to get
dry on the east coast of both islands. But is
there anywhere right at the moment that's desperately dry?
Speaker 6 (38:06):
I don't really think there's anywhere that's desperately dry. But
I have had farmers writing to me more and more
over the last couple of weeks around the North Island.
just saying things are drying out a bit, we could
do with more rain. One of those farmers wrote to
me from Northland, and then literally the next day they
had a huge amount of rain. So, you know, the
soil moisture map is looking pretty good at the moment.
(38:27):
It is leaning a bit dry in some eastern parts
of the country. Not all of the eastern parts of
the country, though. So I think we're in a pretty
good shape. The North Island's got plenty of rain over
the next week ahead. The eastern side of the South Island,
in particular North Canterbury, southwest, Sorry, North Otago, South Canterbury.
That's one area that may miss out on some of
(38:47):
the rain, though, over the next week and a half.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
Hey, Phil Duncan, great to have you back on the country.
Thanks very much, mate. Appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (38:54):
Great to have you back.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
Yeah, thank you. It is good to be back. I
was slowly going nuts at home.
Speaker 3 (39:00):
Seriously.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Anyhow, some of your texts to finish on. G'day, Jamie.
Nice to have you back on here. Thank you very much.
We have a problem with red deer, writes this texter.
Since February 2025, I've shot well over 130 deer on
our small farm in the Catlins. I could have shot
a lot more if I didn't have to run the farm.
(39:24):
Most of my shooting has been done at night with
a thermal. That's the best way to get the buggers.
But we really do have a problem with red deer.
a problem in this country with pests. And a lot
of these pests, especially the deer, and to a lesser extent, obviously,
the pigs, is food. We've got so many people going
hungry in this country, and we've got food banks crying
(39:45):
out for mints. There has to be a solution. Maybe
my idea of sending the army in, that's a silly idea,
but a target practice for them. Talking about target practice,
hopefully Damien O'Connor tomorrow.
I guess now it's time for me to give up.
I think it's time.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Got a picture of you beside me. Got your lipstick
mark still on your coffee.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Cup.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Good afternoon, New Zealand. I'm Jamie Mackay, back on the
tools after nearly three weeks off crook with Influenza A.
Back for good. Take that. Take that, Influenza A. Special
guest in the studio, more from her a wee bit later,
but I thought I'd kick it off with.
Well, a man I saw on the Q & A
(00:53):
rural debate on yesterday morning, Andrew Hoggart, Associate Minister of Agriculture,
of course, Minister of Biosecurity, and the well-known or renowned
Wellington property magnate, who's also the MP for Northland, Grant McCullum. Now, Grant,
who's telling porkies, you or Tamatha?
Speaker 5 (01:14):
Oh, Tamitha is, mate. Unfortunately for her, I've never owned
a property in Wellington, so therefore it's pretty hard to
rent it out. I do happen to own a property
in Pye here, which saves the taxpayer money because when
I'm in the Mid-North, I stay in my own place
and don't bill you guys for the motel I'm entitled
to stay in. But look, it's just really disappointing that
(01:34):
she just simply didn't apologise to get the facts wrong.
But it says all you need to know about the
Greens and their leadership and their morals and ethics.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Well, they're going to make food cheaper, Andrew Hoggard. They're
going to get into the supermarket business. And, you know,
they're renowned for their business skills, aren't they? How are
the Greens going to run a supermarket?
Speaker 6 (01:51):
They couldn't run a bath.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well, I think you just need to go look at
some documentaries from about 1987 Moscow, and that'll give you
a good indication as to how Soviet mart will work,
or the Green supermarket. Long lines for bread, I'm sure, but...
Just absolutely crazy. I mean, you're talking about nationalising a
(02:15):
whole bunch of supermarkets. What's that going to do for
foreign investment? Anyone wanting to come up and set up
shop here in New Zealand, they're going to say, hey,
we get too successful, the government will take our stuff
off us. Let's not bother. So just more dumb, crazy
ideas that completely aren't costed. And so they think that
somehow just taxing 6% of the population is going to
(02:37):
pay for all these dreams. You're sadly mistaken. Everyone's going
to get pinged pretty bloody hard.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yesterday morning, I watched the Q & A rural debate
with Jack Tame. Good on him. He got all the
six major players there. And if I was to believe
some of the feedback online, Steve Abel crushed it. He
was the winner.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Okay, well, whatever.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
What a lot of nonsense. When you listen to that debate,
all I can say is God help New Zealand farming
if the left ever get in. Basically, you had the
Greens who are out to lunch, complete mad policies wanting
to halve production, at least in this country. And then
you've got Labour with no policies. And then you've got
the top party with no idea and the complete naivety
(03:23):
of what they were saying was well demonstrated. And it
was just really, you know, it showed up. We had,
you know, the coalition government actually understands farming and understands
the importance to our economy.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Now, I could buy that, Andrew Hoggart, if only you
would play nicely with your coalition partners. You're digging away,
you know, Mark Patterson, and who was the other one?
Of course, Todd McClay, the Minister of Agriculture and Trade.
And you should have been working together to fight the
evil left.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
No, I don't disagree with that. I don't think I
got stuck into them too much. We had a little
joke with Mark on his trip to India. But no,
when I certainly jumped in and supported Todd with what
he was saying around no need to reduce methane to
zero emissions, Look, there may be the odd jab that
goes back and forth, but by and large we've managed
(04:16):
to work with each other pretty successfully over this term,
like I said in the debate. When I started this term,
farmer confidence was at an all-time low. It's actually doing
pretty good now.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
I thought Jo Luxton was the loser in this debate,
and I've been chewing her ear for months and months
and months. For God's sake, come out with some policy.
It's almost too late now.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
I agree, Jamie.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Basically, their policy is... Sorry, go ahead, Grant.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
No, no, no.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
Yeah, I agree, Jamie. I mean, the agriculture is such
a major part of our economy, and for Labour not
to have any idea what they're going to do. And ultimately, though,
the real people that will determine the fate of agricultural
policy in our country, in Labour, is not Joe Laxton.
It will be Rachel Brookie and the environmental thing. Having
spent the last... All part of this year with her
(05:08):
on the Environment Select Committee, seeing what she thinks about
farming and environmental rules, all I can say is beware.
That's where you've got to look for where the real
farming policy will be.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Andrew Hoggard, my takeaway from watching the debate was that,
you know, heaven help farming, the primary sector, small business,
whatever in this country, if we have a centre-left government
of Labour, I'm not even counting Te Pāti Māori, the Greens,
who are probably winning by default almost at the moment,
(05:39):
and Opportunity Party. And I thought Daniel Ebb was left
quite a wee bit short when he didn't even get
his numbers right about the cows.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
No, well, just backing up what Grant said, I mean,
it's not even perhaps Rachel Brookings that's going to set
their policy, because if they're in a coalition and they've
got no policies and the Greens have all the policies
on the left, then it'll be the bloody Greens we
end up with. But Yeah, I mean, all I heard
the other morning was, oh, let's tax our way to
prosperity and somehow we're going to pay more taxes and,
(06:12):
you know, it's only going to be a small percentage
of the population that'll get harmed. We'll just take off
them and give to you and you'll be fine. That
sort of politics never bloody works. It just drives the
productive people away from this country and eventually everyone will
have to bloody pay.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Now, are you going to come to some agreement with
the Nats, Andrew Hoggart, about net zero in the Paris Agreement?
A ditto if I probably should have Mark Patterson on
as well talking about it, because there seems to be
a bit of a rift developing there.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Yeah, look, we haven't said we're going to get out
of it straight away, but what we're saying is things
need to change. And the first thing off the cab
there is a split gas NDC. And it makes, as
I said in the debate, it makes absolutely zero sense
that we have this external target of which is net zero,
(07:05):
but then internally we're saying methane doesn't have to reduce
to zero. That's adding more cost to every New Zealander.
So look, we'll come up to some arrangement in the
coalition negotiations, I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Grant McCullum, are the Nats too woke on this?
Speaker 7 (07:20):
Not at all.
Speaker 5 (07:20):
We're just very sensible when it comes to wanting to
actually be able to sell our goods overseas, Jamie, and
into Europe and places like that where they're like, for example,
land getting record prices. Some of these countries need no
excuse to put up barriers just to help add cost
to our products going into these markets. So we just
have to play be smart and do our bit to
(07:41):
actually help fight climate change going forward. Because the goal
is 2050, not next year. So I think we have
to put that all in perspective.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
KiwiSaver... I'm sorry, Andrew, away you go.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Yeah, I was just going to say, we shouldn't talk
ourselves out of trying to get decent deals for New Zealand.
And I think the key thing we've got to remember
is none of these countries actually asked for all this
woke stuff to be put in the trade agreements. Actually,
it was New Zealand that said, oh, let's put all
this stuff in the trade agreements. So, quite frankly, I
think we need to test this as to whether or
(08:14):
not the rest of the world actually wants it. You know,
European farms are saying split gas is the way to go, so...
I think we've got a bit of support there for
that approach.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Well, Grant, it's your fault for putting all the woke
stuff into the FTAs.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
I wouldn't call Tom McClay woke. Let me promise you
that Tom McClay is not woke. We're getting on to KiwiSaver, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
KiwiSaver for young farmers. This is good.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
Yes, yes. Now, my good colleague, Suze Redmayne from the Rangitiki,
it was her private member's bill, which has actually been
adopted as a government bill, has now been put on
the order paper, which will allow those people who work
on farms and the houses provided... or the Defence Force,
or the police, and the House provided, to actually use
KiwiSaver to buy their first home, and they don't have
(09:01):
to live in it. It can be in town somewhere,
and they can rent it out, so they can get
on the property ladder. There's been a gap in the
whole system for quite some time, and I really applaud
Sue for being so persistent around this. I look forward
to this eventually getting into Parliament and becoming law.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Hey, just looking at the text machine, and thank you
for some nice messages welcoming me back. Even Andy Thompson
sent one in. Hey, here's one for you, and I
didn't pick up on this one. Jamie, do you realise
Opportunity Party's land tax won't apply to Maori-owned land? Is
that correct?
Speaker 3 (09:36):
I have no idea. I just looked at the point.
They said it was going to reduce land values by 15%
and realised... Well, that's just dumb enough on its own.
That will pretty much force up interest rates for everyone
because the banks will suddenly have less value to their
loan books, so they'll be viewed as more riskier by
(09:57):
the people that give them money to. loan out, so
up go interest rates. I didn't know about that one,
but that's equally as dumb.
Speaker 8 (10:06):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Hey, just to finish on, it was hoardings weekend for
all you politicians. I don't know why you bother, because
you just put your hoarding up beside the other bloke
and you negate each other anyhow. But Grant, I see
you were out there hammer in hand over the weekend
putting up hoardings. As a list MP, excuse me team,
almost got through the show without a cough. As a
(10:29):
list MP, Andrew Hoggard, you probably don't even have to
worry about it.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
No, I was actually out there on Saturday, got the
family in the car, getting some child slave labour to
help me put them up all over the manor too.
Did some more on Sunday and actually just came back
for a putting one up in the soaking rain and
ashes this morning. So yep, still getting out there.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
So are your hoardings, Grant, polluting the fine landscape of Northland?
Speaker 5 (10:56):
There's no such, definitely not polluting it. It's informing people
there's an election coming in, who the great party of
National they should be voting for. Give their party vote
to National. That's what it's all about, Jamie. So we
have a strong centre-right coalition government led by National. So
that's what the hoardings are there to say. And so
get out.
Speaker 8 (11:13):
There, people.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
And please, one promise, please, things, don't vandalise them. They're
a damn lot of work.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
To stick up.
Speaker 5 (11:19):
And having to keep fixing them all the time is
a real pain.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Hey, look, because I've been a bit crook, my hearing's
not as good as what it was. Did you say
led by National or led by Winston?
Speaker 5 (11:30):
Led by National, Dave.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Oh, sorry.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Smart. Well, the latest polls, it might be led by David.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Excuse me. Rightio, lads. Good to catch up. No worries.
A nice, entertaining light way to kick off the first
day back on the tools. Thanks for your time.
Speaker 7 (11:49):
All the best, everyone.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Cheers. Bye.
Speaker 7 (11:50):
There we go.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Today's panel, Andrew Hoggard, Grant McCullum. On the show today,
we've got a special guest in the studio. We'll chat
to her shortly. A new survey shows that New Zealand's
pest problems have reached crisis point. And this person is
doing her very best to reduce the number of pests
in New Zealand, but it would appear that weekend warriors
(12:13):
won't be able to get the job done. Now also,
Beef and Lamb New Zealand's about to come out with
its season update. on the price of lambs. So we're
going to have a look at that with Tom Young
from AFCO. Craig Wiggy Wiggins, based out of mid-Canterbury, arable
capital of the country. The poor old arable farmers are
having a real tough time of it at the moment.
(12:35):
And Phil Duncan, Monday's resident weatherman on the impending Super
Al Nino. Although I hear they got lots of rain
in Canterbury over the weekend. You're with The Country. I'm
Jamie Mackay. I'm back for good.
Speaker 8 (12:53):
Whatever I said, whatever I did, I didn't mean it.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I just want you back for good. See, I want
you back for good. I guess now it's time For
(13:28):
me to give up I think it's time Got a
picture of you beside me Got your lipstick marks still
on your coffee cup Oh yeah Got a fist of
your emotion, got a head of shattered dreams. Gotta leave it,
(13:54):
gotta leave it all behind now. Whatever I said, whatever.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I did, I didn't mean it.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
I just want you back for good. Want you back,
want you back.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Great to be back on the country, back on the tools,
and it's great to catch up with old mates who
were really concerned when I was off for three weeks crook,
including this man, the National Lightstock Manager for AFCO, Tom Young,
who sent me a text a week or so ago saying,
I'll send you down a jar of North Island water
from Harden Up Creek. That's a bit harsh, Tom.
Speaker 7 (14:33):
Well, deep down I was very concerned because I'd actually
spoken to Rowena and she said you weren't well, Jamie, so...
Bit of tongue-in-cheek stuff. And when you didn't respond in
a hurry, I thought, well, he's either died or he's sulking.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
No, I can confirm none of the above. Hey, good
to catch up with you. Just put on your meat hat.
I see Beef and Lamb New Zealand is about to
publish its new season outlook report for the week, this week,
for the 26-27 season. And they're talking pretty round numbers.
20 kilo lamb, 200 bucks, $ 10 a kilo. That'll please you, Tom,
(15:09):
because nothing you love more than talking the schedule down.
Speaker 7 (15:11):
That's a bit unfair. Now you're getting stuck into me.
We've led it up many times, so talking it down
is a bit of a reality. But yeah, I think
the fundamentals for red meat, Jamie, remain pretty good. Only
speaking from AFCO's perspective, but at the moment it's reasonably
hard trading. I think, you know, this time of year, obviously,
(15:35):
it's a bit more procurement pressure driven and probably market related. So, yeah, obviously,
these different schedules are going to work their way back.
I think, you know, if we get land back to
$ 10 or it's settled there, that'll be a good result
for possibly meat companies and the farmers. And obviously, you know,
some of those meat schedules have got a wee way
to come off too. Beef schedules, sorry, have got a
(15:57):
wee way to come off as well.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Now, I know you're based on Hawke's Bay, should I say,
my old mate up there Mark Warren's banging on about
his $ 1, 500 lamb. We've got a way to go, obviously,
to get there, but we have seen lambs getting close
to $ 500, albeit they're bloody big ones.
Speaker 7 (16:15):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, that might be a bit of
a sort of an anomaly through the sale yards or whatever, or,
you know, a butcher's lamb or something along those lines,
but I don't think you'll see that at a meat processor.
You know, probably we've seen farmers averaging... You know, mid-200s,
some have made $ 300 on a lamb. So they've all
(16:35):
done pretty well and probably had a successful winter trade. But, sorry,
the real crux of this whole industry is, you know,
the breeders making sure they get their drink of the
trough in the middle of summer. So it's the bottom
of the schedule when they sort of start killing their
lambs that makes the difference.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Will there be enough lambs to go around this year?
The lamb crop is forecast to be broadly... stable at
just under $ 20 million, down 0.3%, and obviously that's dependent
on what happens this spring.
Speaker 7 (17:08):
Look, there's never enough lambs to go around. There's too
much capacity. There has been for some time and still is.
At some point, we need to see some sort of rationalisation.
I think it's sort of a game of who's going
to blink first, and we just keep sort of trudging
on with how we're doing things. But at some point,
there will need to be factories shut.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
What are you guys at AFCO doing, or how are
you factoring in this Super El Nino? Because I know
some people say it's scaremongering, it may or may not happen,
but the science certainly suggests it will.
Speaker 7 (17:41):
Yeah, I mean, all we can do is get our
capacity on early. We're sort of looking at the lamb weights.
We don't really want to see a whole lot of
light lambs come through the plant, so we We've got
a bottom end weight range of 15 kilos in our
schedule and anything under that is not much for lamb.
There's a lot of opportunity lost when meat companies kill
(18:05):
lambs very light. So what we're going to try and
do or what we are doing is looking at all
our plants, getting the second shift up as quickly as
we can. We are talking to markets about possibly having
a little bit more volume coming earlier and that's about
as good as we can sort of do really.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
How's Hawke's Bay looking?
Speaker 7 (18:26):
Hawke's Bay is very dry, although you've seen up some
rain kindly in the last day. So we've just started
to see a little bit of rain now.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Well, Tom Young, I can tell you some of my
farming mates down in Southland who I've been keeping in
touch with are more than happy to send up some
of their excess moisture to Hawke's Bay and we can
even the map out a wee bit. Hey, thanks for
your time. And I know you were only joking when
you were giving me grief when I was on my deathbed.
Speaker 7 (18:53):
No, it's good to have you back, and there'll be
a few politicians a bit worried now you're back as well.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Thank you very much for your time, Tom.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
Wonderful.
Speaker 7 (18:59):
Thanks a lot, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Good on you, Tom. I won't take any offence from
your comments. Hey, Phil Duncan coming up a wee bit
later in the hour here on The Country, brought to
you by Isuzu and Farmlands. The old Isuzu MUX hasn't
had many Ks on it this month. It's only been
out of the garage once. But there's a text in here,
(19:23):
saying it's bloody wet and cold in South Otago. When
will we get some warm, sunny days? We'll tell you that.
We'll answer that question with Phil Duncan. Craig Wiggy Wiggins
is going to join us and our special guest in
the studio who's doing a damnedest to get rid of
pests and filling my freezer with venison's up next, Rowena Duncan.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
It is bang on 12 30 welcome.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Back to the country.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Jamie Mackay is my name good to be on while
I was away.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Influenza A, brutal, brutal, absolutely brutal. Hamish Mackay and this person,
Rowena Duncan, did a very good job filling in. And
not only do you fill in on the show, Rowena,
you fill my freezer with wild venison. You're always welcome
at our place. Now, did you catch up on the story?
And I'm sure you would have because you're across everything
(20:29):
in rural. Federated Farmers, Richard Dawkins, the PES spokesperson or
whatever he calls himself, says we're not going to shoot
our way out of this problem one weekend at a time,
but you're doing your best. Good afternoon.
Speaker 9 (20:42):
Good afternoon, Jamie. Yeah, definitely doing my best.
Speaker 10 (20:46):
Sometimes my best isn't good enough, but at least when
I arrived at your place last night, there was certainly
a lot of venison going into your freezer.
Speaker 9 (20:53):
So a successful weekend.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Shall we say. We love you visiting. Now, I know
you and your mates in the Mania Toto, you've got
about five or six.
Speaker 9 (21:01):
Six, yeah, six fellow.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
But when you're out there shooting the deer, and I
know you're picking the good young ones, What happens if
you see some mongrel old feral deer wandering past? Do
you just shoot that as well? Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 7 (21:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
So anything. What about pigs?
Speaker 8 (21:15):
Anything.
Speaker 9 (21:16):
Anything that moves, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Can you just, this is a dumb question from a
very poor duck shooter. But like if you're out on
these farms, are the farmers happy for you just to
shoot them and let them rot? where they lie?
Speaker 10 (21:28):
We haven't actually ever had that situation where we've shot
something and left it to rot. Everything we've shot, we've
been able to harvest just due to the nature of
the terrain that we're shooting on. Yes, sometimes it's a
bit of a climb or a bit of a walk,
but everything's retrievable. We haven't got to that situation where
we have just been culling and leaving them to rot,
as you say. But You know, it might come down
(21:50):
to that stage. I've got friends who have farms who,
you know, will happily let hunters on. They've got hundreds
of fallow. It's a massive problem through Wanganui, Manawatu, that
area there. And, you know, their rule of thumb is
if you're coming onto the property to go hunting, you've
got to leave with at least four carcasses on the
back of the ute. But it might for them come
to that stage because there's four, 800 fallow just running
(22:12):
through in mobs. And if they culled everything on their farm,
it would still come through from the neighbours. It has
been a really big issue.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Nearly one in three farmers are having to reduce their
stocking rates because pests are consuming so much pasture compared
to only one in nine in 2024. That's only two
years ago. Yeah, it's been.
Speaker 10 (22:31):
Really interesting the way numbers have gone over the past
few years or even looking at them over the past decade.
I've got friends who can't put crops on, they reckon,
about 65% of their property because it's just going to
bring the pests through the fence and into those crops.
They're putting a lot of money into getting that ground prepared,
getting that seed in there and cultivating those crops to
(22:51):
be feeding a bit of a pest. But another issue
that we're seeing out there, and a lot of commentary
has come out after this survey was released, is sometimes
it can also come down to access. Access can be
a bit challenging for hunters, but there's got to be
a lot of trust on both sides as well. You're
letting someone into your business with powerful rifles. So I
(23:12):
wonder if we have something like quite an Uber system
or a Tinder system for hunters and farmers and matching
them up. But, you know, somewhere where you can say,
you know, five stars, you know, left all the gates
shut or all the gates open where they were, dropped
me off some beer on the way, dropped me off
a skinned carcass ready to go. I know they've tried
it in the past and it hasn't worked, but, you know,
(23:33):
it's not going to solve the problem overnight, but it
might still, you know, open up a lot more access
for people.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Now, this has been made worse by carbon farming or forestry.
Because I know in South Otago is a really, Mark
Patterson's home patch is a really good example. I know
farmers up there who, like you're saying, literally cannot plant
a winter forage crop because they just can't stop the
deer and the pig coming down from the hills and
(24:00):
eating it.
Speaker 10 (24:01):
That's a massive issue. And it's not all carbon farms.
You know, some have really good pest management plans. They
have contracted hunters. They have people who get access and
who go through those properties. But they're not the same
as when they were farmed as well, when there were
people out there all the time. I know, you know,
back even when I was dairy farming, every time I
went and did the pasture metering, I'd take the rifle
and shoot hares and things like that. When you're on
(24:23):
the property, it's easier when you're seeing those pests every
single day. But when they are out of sight, out
of mind, that's when those numbers can absolutely explode. And
it's been particularly good at the moment. You know, if
you see a pig out there ahead of lambing, you're
always trying to get them because you know what damage
they can do to your lambing numbers.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Yeah, we talked about the numbers, one in three farmers
having to reduce their stocking. It's a horrendous number, reducing
their stocking rates. And the report, this is from the
Federated Farmers Report, one farmer reported losing around $ 100, 000 after
a leptospirosis outbreak caused widespread abortions and ewes in heifers,
which they believe was linked to wild pig's coming in
(25:01):
from neighbouring properties.
Speaker 10 (25:03):
Yeah, it's a huge issue in terms of that as well,
that animal health issue. We know possums and the TB
issue that's been coming through, especially on the West Coast,
but they seem to have got that a lot more
under control. But yeah, there's just so many facets to
this issue. And I must say, I have personally even
seen the numbers really explode. And I don't know if
it was just because of COVID and we couldn't get
(25:23):
out in the same numbers and people changed the way
they were doing things. But moving out there, you know,
It would be a really tough day if you didn't
see anything.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
OK, here's an idea for you straight off the top
of my head.
Speaker 9 (25:34):
Here we go. Brace yourselves.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Brace yourselves. Federated farmers saying we're not going to shoot
our way out of this problem one weekend at a time.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
A lot of.
Speaker 10 (25:43):
Farmers I know are getting helicopters. So they're bringing helicopters in.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
OK, what about the armies?
Speaker 9 (25:48):
Or they could use them for target practice, I guess.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Send in the army. Because the good thing about these
is we can make it into mints for the food banks.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Absolutely.
Speaker 9 (25:56):
And that's the really encouraging thing at the moment.
Speaker 10 (25:59):
You know, you can actually harvest these, feed hungry tummies,
nothing goes to waste. So it's a massive feel-good factor.
But there you go, Jamie.
Speaker 9 (26:06):
That's much better than dropping poison.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
That's a great idea, even if I say so myself. Yeah, rightio. Hey,
it's 23 away from 1. Michelle's going to do rural
news for a wee now. You can do sports news
because my voice is struggling a wee bit today.
Speaker 9 (26:21):
And I know lots about sport.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Well, no, you don't know as much about rugby as
I do. Obviously, it goes without saying. But you can
do sports news. We'll catch up with Craig Wiggy Wiggins.
And also before the end of the hour, we're going
to catch up with Phil Duncan and answer the question
from our friend in South Otago. When are they going
to get some fine sunny days? We'll ask him on
(26:43):
your behalf. Welcome back to the country brought to you
by Isuzu and Farmlands. Michelle's wandered in here. Here's the
(27:05):
latest in rural news.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
The country's rural news with Cub Cadet, New.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Zealand's leading ride-on lawnmower brand. Visit steelfort.co.nz for your local stockist.
And Michelle, just before we do rural news, thank you
so much for holding the fort for close to three weeks,
minus one day, organising Hamish and Rowena. She's a hard
dog to keep on the porch sometimes, so you did well.
Well done.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Oh, thanks.
Speaker 8 (27:30):
It was a very lonely time for me here in Dunedin,
I have to say. I was starting to feel very abandoned.
Speaker 9 (27:36):
After about two and a half.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Well, I was going quietly nuts at home, to be
perfectly honest. I don't know what I'll do if I retire.
I don't think I will. I just think I might
just die in the seat here. I might not be
too morbid about it, but honestly. It was doing my
head in.
Speaker 8 (27:53):
Well, now you've got me really worried. Please don't do that.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
While you go, what have you got for Rural News?
Speaker 8 (27:58):
Okay, so Rural News. Last week we had a story
around Madagascar ragwort. And I just want to clarify some
things because an email comes through about it. Now, I
told a story about my old pony club days. And
we learned a lot about common ragwort, which is also poisonous.
But Madagascar is a lot worse than that. So it's poisonous,
but it spreads a lot more dangerously and a lot
quicker as well. And it's spread through the North Island now.
(28:19):
I think they're finding it down in South Wairarapa. So
if you see any, just report sightings to your local
regional council on it. It looks a little bit like
a yellow daisy. It doesn't look like standard ragwort, though.
So go and have a look online at those pictures
so you can distinguish between the two.
Speaker 9 (28:32):
And that's Rural News.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Rightio, let's get Rowena in for sport to save my voice.
Speaker 9 (28:39):
Sport on the country with AFCO.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Invested in your farming success.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Even though I know more about rugby than you Oh
I'll give.
Speaker 10 (28:46):
You that Jamie But yeah I must say I reckon
Michelle was probably the happiest person in New Zealand In
the last three weeks Getting three weeks break from you
And you're certainly right And you're not good enough at
golf to retire Jamie No I'm not No In Sport
Warriors boss Cameron George I.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Haven't played golf for three weeks I.
Speaker 9 (29:03):
Have I played Ranfurly yesterday.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Morning I haven't had a drink for three weeks I
don't think I'll have one for another three And apart
from yesterday You.
Speaker 9 (29:12):
Must have been very boring for the past three weeks.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Incredibly boring and I've done no exercise, which absolutely does
my head in.
Speaker 8 (29:18):
Yeah, it does.
Speaker 9 (29:19):
Yeah, you've probably done your wife's head.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
In as well. I need golf beer and exercise.
Speaker 9 (29:23):
You do.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
In that order.
Speaker 10 (29:25):
In sports news, Warriors boss Cameron George has pleased the
NRL has agreed the club can host at least one
playoff match at Mount Smart Stadium.
Speaker 9 (29:33):
George says they'll get.
Speaker 10 (29:34):
Through the Dolphins match this Saturday before engaging with the
NRL on the venue for their second fixture. Scott McLaughlin
has won IndyCar's season-ending race at Monterey, California, his first
victory in two years. Sir Scott Dixon crossed in 17th
in his final drive with his team of 23 years.
And a hat-trick of victories for squash player Paul Cole
(29:54):
at the PSA Tour stop in London, forging his 34th
career title.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Thank you, Rowena. Thank you, Michelle. We're going to take
a break here on The Country. Up next, we're off
to mid-Canterbury. Craig Wiggy Wiggins, the man behind Lean on
a Gate, Talk to a Mate. Here's the man behind
(30:22):
Lean on a Gate, Talk to a Mate. His name
is Craig Wiggy Wiggins, based in mid-Canterbury. And, Wiggy, they
tell me, because I think you were clerking on the
old race course yesterday, that the Super El Nino and
the dry spring for the eastern parts of Canterbury, anyhow,
is taking its time getting there.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
Yeah, g'day, Jamie. Nice to have you back on here, mate.
I was a bit worried about you, but good to
see you're still doing the job. We've had a lot
of nor'westers in Canterbury, and there's been a lot of
work done with tractors and ploughs and implements and stuff
like that, but Yesterday was definitely one out of the box.
It got to about four degrees and I think we
had about 35 mils of rain while I was clarking
(31:02):
in the afternoon at the Methan racetrack. So it was
pretty wet yesterday. So we are getting a balance, but
there has been some pretty strong winds up till now too.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Now farming's ticking along quite nicely at the moment, or
largely ticking along quite nicely at the moment. But the
poor old arable farmers, and you guys are the grain bowl,
the seed bowl of New Zealand in mid Canterbury, are
really struggling. And I see that Some of the arable
farmers are saying, probably quite rightly, why are dairy farmers
using palm kernel rather than locally grown grain?
Speaker 4 (31:33):
I think it comes down once again to costs and historics. Jamie,
people have used palm kernel for the last 20-odd years
and find it as an easy option. And grain, of course,
even though it's locally grown, is definitely more expensive. It's
up to $ 200 a tonne more expensive. But My daughter
(31:53):
came home the other day and said, Dad, I like
pork ribs, but you're not to buy any more pork
ribs from Europe. I only want New Zealand ones. And
so that's $ 5 or $ 6 a pork rib side that
I've got to pay. It's not her money, but we
have to make the choice of what we're going to do. But,
you know, when you get people like David Clark and
even the head of Federated Farmers and that now talking
about making changes to the way they run their arable
(32:16):
farms to support the dairy industry in other ways, the
writing's on the wall that they can't bang their head
against the cost of palm kernel anymore. They've actually got
to look at making the changes that make them competitive.
Pretty tough decisions and obviously costly decisions. If you've got
a moral connection to the people that supply you the grain,
(32:39):
then maybe you can look at it. But the big
problem we have, Jamie, is the costs of actually growing
this grain. We've talked about that. David Clark and some
of those guys have certainly made no bones about the
fact of what diesel costs, what fertiliser costs, what harvester
costs there are now and transportation costs. So a lot
of that's been taken out of their hands.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Bit of a perfect storm for the poor old arable farmers,
to be perfectly honest. So, as you say, crops are
in the ground, which is good. You've had some rain,
30 mils of rain. Never turned down rain in Canterbury,
I'd imagine, in September onwards.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
No, it's great. And, you know, the soil temperature is
just starting to come along. And I have noticed the
little block that I've got now is really greening up
and the robotic lawnmower is taking a hiding, trying to
keep up with it. So that means there is some
growth going on. But it's definitely one of those typical
Canterbury springs, like really strong, hot north-westers and then a
(33:38):
good dose of rain. So, yes, I think we are
looking at some pretty good results for those that have
got crops in the ground now.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Good on them. Okay, just very quickly to finish on,
lean on a gate, talk to a mate. What are
you up to?
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Oh, we're busy, Jamie. It's been great. You know, we
did get the funding come through from MPI at the
Central District Field Days this year. We've done a lot
of trainings, workplace resilience trainings. The head of FarmStrong, Gerard Vaughan,
sort of said to us a little while ago, he said,
you guys, we do wellness and wellbeing and advertising and
(34:10):
general awareness. You guys do workplace resilience and training programmes.
and Rural Support Trust do all of the support networks
that they do. There's three really definite lanes, and there's
a fit for everybody. The milestone reports that we've done
for MPI show that what we're doing is really working,
and it's making some big cultural differences in the workplaces,
and people are seeking help and more help's available. So
(34:33):
we just need to get some of those big companies
and bigger farms, and even the smaller ones, we can
cater for the one-man bands as well to take up
these trainings. They're really cost-effective at the moment. and get
on board with it because we can make that difference.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Yep, mental health, it's all about the top two inches,
the top paddock. It's been good for my mental health
getting back on the tools today and even more so
chatting to you, Wiggy. Thanks for your time, mate.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
Thanks, Jamie. Look forward to seeing you in the flesh.
Speaker 1 (34:59):
That sounds a bit dodgy, Wiggy. Ten away from one.
Purely platonic relationship. He does a great job. Lean on
a gate, talk to a mate, Craig Wiggy Wiggins. We're
going to wrap the country up. with Phil Duncan, see
if we can sort the weather out for some of
you people. Some of your text traffic coming in. Good
to have you back, Jamie. Glad you haven't curled over
(35:21):
just yet, as I haven't met you. This is from Muz,
my bitter and twisted texter from Hawke's Bay. Muz, we
were meant to meet when we took the tiny pub
up for the Cyclone Gabrielle shout, but my plane couldn't
land in Wellington. I think Rowena might have gone and
represented the country on my behalf. We will meet, Mars.
(35:41):
We will meet. Someone else saying, I didn't think it
was very nice, Damien O'Connor, putting your obituary in the
paper from Mike. I didn't read that. I might get
him on the show tomorrow because I feel like a
bit of a scrap, actually. I've been so placid for
three weeks. I think I need a bit of Damien.
It'll be good for me. Good for my constitution. We
might see if we can do that tomorrow. Up next,
(36:03):
Phil Duncan in the weather. Welcome back to the country.
One of my longest serving correspondents is this man, Phil Duncan. Phil,
(36:26):
we haven't chatted for three weeks. I've missed you, my friend,
from Weather Watch.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
I've missed you.
Speaker 6 (36:30):
It's been very different for the last few weeks without
you around.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Well, there you go. But I'm back and I'm back
for good. Hey, this text from a farmer or a farmer?
someone anyhow in South Otago, saying it's bloody wet and cold.
When are we going to get some warm, sunny days?
I'm hearing the same things from my Southland farming mates,
and this is kind of classic early El Nino, isn't it?
Southland having a shit of a spring.
Speaker 6 (36:54):
Yeah, it is. The lower South Island, Fiordland, Southland, Otago,
that kind of corner, southwest corner, is definitely getting the
brunt of all these cold changes. At the moment, most
of the wet weather today, though, up around the top
of the country and clearing now away from parts of
the South Island, where it has been raining around Marlborough
(37:16):
and Nelson this morning. Now we're seeing some heavy rain
going through Hawke's Bay, especially the north of Napier going
up towards Wairoa. Some heavy rain through Central Plateau as
well and the lower North Island. And the top of
the country, the top half of the North Island, getting
some heavy downpours as low pressure moves in. So we've
got a low crossing the North Island tonight. That moves
(37:37):
away tomorrow. And then on Wednesday night, in comes the
next cold change. And it's a wintry snap that will
go right across New Zealand over Thursday and Thursday night.
And then as early as Friday, it gets pushed away
from us again. So it's classic spring.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Yeah, is there any, Tom, you talked about, Tom Young
talked about the rain coming into Hawke's Bay. He said
they were kind of dry. It is going to get
dry on the east coast of both islands. But is
there anywhere right at the moment that's desperately dry?
Speaker 6 (38:06):
I don't really think there's anywhere that's desperately dry. But
I have had farmers writing to me more and more
over the last couple of weeks around the North Island.
just saying things are drying out a bit, we could
do with more rain. One of those farmers wrote to
me from Northland, and then literally the next day they
had a huge amount of rain. So, you know, the
soil moisture map is looking pretty good at the moment.
(38:27):
It is leaning a bit dry in some eastern parts
of the country. Not all of the eastern parts of
the country, though. So I think we're in a pretty
good shape. The North Island's got plenty of rain over
the next week ahead. The eastern side of the South Island,
in particular North Canterbury, southwest, Sorry, North Otago, South Canterbury.
That's one area that may miss out on some of
(38:47):
the rain, though, over the next week and a half.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
Hey, Phil Duncan, great to have you back on the country.
Thanks very much, mate. Appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (38:54):
Great to have you back.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
Yeah, thank you. It is good to be back. I
was slowly going nuts at home.
Speaker 3 (39:00):
Seriously.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Anyhow, some of your texts to finish on. G'day, Jamie.
Nice to have you back on here. Thank you very much.
We have a problem with red deer, writes this texter.
Since February 2025, I've shot well over 130 deer on
our small farm in the Catlins. I could have shot
a lot more if I didn't have to run the farm.
(39:24):
Most of my shooting has been done at night with
a thermal. That's the best way to get the buggers.
But we really do have a problem with red deer.
a problem in this country with pests. And a lot
of these pests, especially the deer, and to a lesser extent, obviously,
the pigs, is food. We've got so many people going
hungry in this country, and we've got food banks crying
(39:45):
out for mints. There has to be a solution. Maybe
my idea of sending the army in, that's a silly idea,
but a target practice for them. Talking about target practice,
hopefully Damien O'Connor tomorrow.
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