August 13, 2025 • 36 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Wayne Langford, Chris Hipkins, Jen Corkran, John Duffy, and Chris Russell.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's The Country
Podcast with Jamie mckaye thanks to Brent the starkest of
the leading agriculture brands.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Good afternoon, New Zealand. Welcome to the Country. I'm Jamie McKay.
The show is brought to you by Brandt. But are
talking heads. We've got a talking head to kick off
the show and he does a good job of it.
To be fair to him. His name is Wayne Langford.
He is the president of Federated Farmers. Federated Farmers say
a report back to Parliament on the so called Band
(00:47):
of Carbon Forestry doesn't go far enough to stop the
march of pines across New Zealand's productive farmland. The battle continues,
but I reckon farmers and foresters can be friends. Mike
Hosking cut my lunch yet again this morning with Chris Hipkins.
You're going to get a chat from me with him.
(01:08):
Jen Corkran's with Rabobanks. She's in a place called Wagen
which is in Western Australia. She's over there for a
Western Australia Sheep and Wall tour. We're going to talk
to John Duffy out of PGG Rights in forty five
years in the business, never seen it better.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
He's in Otago.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
In fact, he's the Otago Region manager for PGG Rights
and Livestock. Rosie correspondent as Chris Russell. Let's kick off
the show with the President of Federated Farmers, Wayne Yolo Langford.
Wayne flat out carving. You haven't even had breakfast yet
and it's gone midday. I know.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Good to be Jamie. I'm sitting up in the trigger
at the back of the farm, just waiting for the
cows to arrive at their breaking and then I'll shoot
him and have some breakfast hopefully. It's been a big.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Morning, stressful time for dairy farmers carving, even in good weather,
which you're enjoying at the moment.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, we're going to trusty morning, sunny days, so I
can't complain about that. You're right though, you know it is.
It is pretty intense and you're just going from one
drama to the next, so just hoping that nothing happens.
I had the local contractor or the bobbyclf truck knockover
my knockover my Bobby calf pen this morning, so that
doesn't help it my dramas. So that's a right, we'll
(02:20):
work through that.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Have you got your head around the Federated Farmer's press release,
I think it came out yesterday the so called ban
on carbon forestry doesn't go far enough to stop the
march of pines across New Zealand's productive farmland, and your
Forestry spokesperson Richard Dawkins sears farmers will be feeling a
total sense of betrayal. Has he overegged that?
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah, well there is a bit of that going on,
because I mean we all remember that the promeinise a
standing on the Farmer Confidence Tour there in December saying hey,
we're going to we're going to stop this full farm conversion.
And I know that they're attempting to try and do that,
but when they're only banning on on class one to
five land, that's only twelve percent of the area going
into forestry. So we need to do better than that.
(03:06):
We've got two thirds of our sheem beef country that's
Class six or seven land and we need to protect it.
And so yeah, we definitely think it needs to go
further than what they've suggested.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
So what would you like to see happen?
Speaker 4 (03:21):
We need to make sure that we do cover off
those different areas of land a he of a lot
better than we are. You know, we're not against forest ruds,
a right try, right place, and all those sort of
soundbites is correct. But what we've got to stop is
making sure that we're still not seeing these full areas
of conversion across those really important parts of our land
(03:42):
for the sheep beef country.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I see Federated Farmers I EU saying massive loopholes still
remain in the Environment Select Committee's recommendations. Now, one of
these controversies was around if you'd bought a few seed
links and you said you had the intention to plant,
you were allowed to go into the ets.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Yeah, and that's right, that's what we are concerned about.
Theres And you know, if we knew that there was
going to be a full scales stop to the full
farming convergence, and hey, yeah, maybe we could live with
one of these one or two of these. But when
we know that, you know, this committee hasn't come back
as far as we'd like to go, and we know
that hey maybe this isn't going to stop, then hey,
(04:25):
as not as easey to let those go. So you're
definitely going to have to dig into some of those
loopholes to see what we're doing, and when we are
presenting quite a few of those to the Minister's table
very shortly, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
So you're happy that farmers or people can plant twenty
five percent of land land class one to five and
they're probably for a lot of them, especially the good
land classes. They're not going to plant pine trees anyhow.
You're saying land class six is potentially a lottery.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Yeah, well it's and that's the issue. And some of
that country is still good country and it is still
really important to farms and and particularly you know, we
often talk about it getting our young farmers on the land,
giving them opportunity to farm some of that land before
they move kind of up the ranks or on too
better country as well. So there is all these factors
to be considered, and we don't feel like that what's
(05:13):
come back from the Slick Committee has truly represented that
for fads and certainly they work there. Richard Dawkins and
the Meat Will Council have been putting in.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So I'm just trying to remember off the top of
my head how many land classes we have. Do we
stop at nine.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Do we is it nine? Where we stop? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (05:28):
He's nine?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Okay, so effectively, so effectively, And I'm playing devil's advocate here.
But you want the carbon farmers to go and plant
merely away on land class nine that is steep, erosion
prone land, way out the back of beyond. Maybe it's
all right for carbon farming. It certainly has little value
for forestry.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Yeah no, But what figurably we're saying is if it's
just for forestry, that's fine. But when you're carbon farming,
it's a completely different story. So yeah, hey, if they're
wanting to plant harvest it for wood and that sort
of thing, it's all good. But when you're claiming an
atheist credit, which is evictive what you said as a
subsidy and a poorly thalled out one, then that's not
a good place to be.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I don't know whether you heard Dennis Neilsen on The
Oracle of Forestry a wee bit earlier in the week.
He said, basically he doesn't believe any pine trees are
planted without the intention of harvesting them. I call bs
on that one. What do you reckon?
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Yeah? I would too. That's certainly not what I've been
hearing and send part of the country of course, where
we you know, we haven't got to that point yet.
I don't think, and we're saying it. We'll see a
gloss of it come in the next decade or two,
and then we're going to have to deal with all
those problems that are associated with it.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
We talked about the farmer and the forestra Can forester
can be friends? Well, how about federated farmers in the
Labor Party can be friends? You're quoted as saying or
feeds are that they support the Labor Party minority view
from the Select Committee hearings that a thorough review of
the etes and carbon forestry should be undertaken. This is
(07:00):
what Damien O'Connor was banging on about.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Oh it's good to see when you get to two
gingers putting their head together. I man Chibby. We you know,
we sometimes ring some sense to either and so and
so maybe that's maybe that's what's happening there and and yeah, ultimately,
you know, not everything that Damien has done has wrong.
We're incorrect, there is there are some points where he's
correct on at times.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Your meeting with Chippy, I think next week. Will you
be raising and I'm going to raise it with them shortly,
capital gains tax for farming or a wealth.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Takes will Yeah, no doubt we will be talking about that.
I think we're talking about a mission targets and a
few other things as well. But I mean that's a
pretty simple and short conversation from our point of view,
and we'll be letting him know that. It'll be interesting
to see what he's coming back back with and I'll
be looking forward to hearing your with him actually to
see what he says on it.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Wine Length and President the Federated Farmers, thanks for your
time at slunch time you go and.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Have some breakfast.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Well do thanks, Jamie appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
There he goes the President of Federated Farmers, Wayne Langford.
Up next Chris Hipkins. And I've got a warn here
the HOSK always cuts my lunch. But we do have
a food chain at News Talks EDB and it would
be fair to say that he's above me on it.
So anyhow, we'll get my take on Chris Hipkins. Jen
Corkran looking forward to catching up with her. What's the
(08:20):
time in Western Australia Now, it's like a quarter past
eight in the morning, she'll be up and going on
that Western Australia sheep in waltour. John Duffy from PGG
Writson been in the game for forty five years and
he reckons this is the best he's seen it for
sheep and beef.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Isn't that a good story?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
And Chris Russell's our assie correspondent, got that before or
him before the end of the hour.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
But you're not.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
Saying anything, why sakes I look for seal.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Take something once.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Apologies firstly for the second appearance of this man on
news Talk said be today, not because we don't want
to talk to him, but because we have a food
chain and on news Talk sad be Mike Hosking is
at the top of it.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
This interview, by the way.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Was scheduled about two or three weeks ago with labor
Leber leader Chris Hopkins. But Chris, you decided for the
second time this year to go on with Hosking. You
took a bit of a mauling over the COVID inquiry.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Why do you bother?
Speaker 6 (09:26):
Oh? Well, you know, look, Mike Costing seems to have
had me blacklisted since the election, so you know great
to be back on his show again and farnest to me,
wouldn't you ask? He asks tough questions.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Job he certainly does, But wouldn't you be better to
stick with our n Z red radio. You're going to
get an easier run there. And how many of Hoskin's
listeners would ever vote for you?
Speaker 6 (09:45):
Well, I mean, like, I think it's it's ironic, isn't
it that you know, now we've got news'd be complaining
about me going on the show at Mike Costing this
morning was saved but I wasn't publicly accountable enough, So
you know you can't with I want to talk.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
To you today about capital gains and wealth tax and
how that farming. But just on the COVID inquiry, you
kind of said you didn't want to appear at the
second public inquiry, the Royal Commission because at risks subjecting
you to a torrent abuse, which you got. Anyhow, this
morning on newstalk said but why not just simply front
up for the optics of nothing else? Tick the box,
(10:19):
take it on the chin and get out of there.
Speaker 6 (10:22):
Well, I mean I think the thing is this is
being misrepresented. You know, we have actually been interviewed by
the Royal Commission. I've been interviewed by the First Royal
Commission and the Second Royal Commission, and I've given them
over twenty pages of written question answers and at the
end of that they basically said, look, you've answered all
of the questions that we had. I've said to them,
if they've got follow up questions, I'm more than happy
(10:42):
to answer them. So the suggestion that we're not appearing
by the Royal Commission is nonsense. The Royal Commission, we indicate.
I indicated some concern to them through my representatives about
the way the public hearings were going to go, as
did other former ministers, and they have ultimately decided that
they're not going to do that, and they're not going
to do third the public hearing. So, you know, I
(11:02):
think it's a bit more complicated, a more complex than
it the way it's been represented.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Yeah, but you can see the optics on this. They
look terrible for you. Judith Collins called you gutless and hypocritical.
Winston Peters let me see what he said. The podium
of truth has now become the podium of evasion. See
if I was you and I'm not you. Half the
country or more than half the country thought you got
it right up to the twenty twenty election. Why don't
you just front up to the inquiry and say, look,
(11:27):
there was no manual, there was no blueprint for this,
we did our best, we got it right, and then
we cocked it up.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
Well, I mean, of course, you know, Winston Beaters is
welcome to a pear before the Royal Commission himself. He
was a minister involved in the decision making, although I
do note that the terms of reference that his government
the current government seat for the Royal Commission, specifically excludes
their ability to question Winston Beaters over the decisions that
he was involved in, so people can draw their own
conclusions from that.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Do you think it's fair that Jacinda and Grant Robertson
are running for the hills? I mean they're not in
public office now, but you and Aisha Verel still are well.
Speaker 6 (12:02):
And you know I answer questions every day, Jamie. I'm
here answering questions from you, I as I might Costing
Show this morning, answer and questions from him. Have anyone's
got questions about COVID nineteen they want me to answer publicly?
They get the opportunity to ask me every day.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Well, the COVID Role Commission would love to ask you
some questions. Let's move on to a capital gains or
wealth tax.
Speaker 6 (12:22):
Now.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I discussed this with the Prime Minister yesterday. You are
as as aware as I am that a capital gains
tax would bring in very little initially. So the endgame
for you here has to be a wealth tax.
Speaker 6 (12:36):
Look, we haven't set out our policy. I think it's
clear that capital gains wealth taxt broadening the tax base
is something that the Labour Party is talking about at
the moment. One of the things that we're working through though,
is all the ins and outs of that, all of
the potential impacts that might have on different groups that
could be affected, to make sure that we design a
policy that's robust and that actually is not going to
(12:59):
have adverse consequences.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Why did you make a captain's call when you took
over from Jacinda not to run with the capital gains tax?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
What's changed your mind?
Speaker 6 (13:08):
Ultimately? I continued the existing Labor Party position. I didn't
think we were in a position to be able to
adopt a significant new policy like that that close to
the election. But we lost the election ultimately, and I
think when you lose the election, you do have to
listen to the electorate. The electorate said they were looking
for something different from us, and so now we're working
through a place.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Are you in danger of losing the next election? Is
it electoral suicide to go to the people with a
capital gains tax? Or are you going to exempt the
family homes and only kind of go for the rich
and the farmers.
Speaker 6 (13:38):
There's a lot of stuff that we have to work
through if we were going to announce the capital gains tax,
and so we're working through all the ins and outs
of the different options at the moment.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Okay, how might it work from a farming point of view? Hypothetically?
Come on, give me something.
Speaker 6 (13:53):
That's a fair question. And one of the things that
we've been talking a lot to farmers about, and particularly
the new generation of farmers coming through, is that the
current generation of farmers have had significant capital gains and
the next generation of farmers are looking at a profile
that is very very different to that. So if you're say,
buying your family farm off your parents, you're not going
(14:13):
to get the same capital gains that they got. And
so is that that is something that we have to
factor and it's much harder to buy a farm now
than it was forty or fifty years ago. And so
I'm very, very aware of those issues for younger farmers,
for the next generation of farmers, and I don't want
to make those problems worse. And so you know that
(14:35):
is one of the things.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Well, you're going to make it a hell of a
lot worse with the capital gains tax.
Speaker 6 (14:39):
Well, you're speculating, Jamie, and I haven't anounce to policy yet.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
We know you're going to go to the election with this.
Speaker 6 (14:46):
What I've just said to you is that the issues
around you know, the next generation of farmers are very
much one of the things that we're thinking about and
the design of any text policy that we take to
the election.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Just finally, when it comes to a capital gains or
wealth tax, so you are that there'll be a run
on the bank in terms of the wealthier people in
this country, the wealth creators, the ones who take the risks,
the ones who have a business, the ones who employ people.
Speaker 6 (15:10):
Well, I mean I've said before, and I've said it
very clearly at the beginning of the year. One of
the things that I want to see us do as
a country is invest more in productive businesses and have
less of a focus on buying and selling residential property
on the speculative market. And so any text design that
we come up with will have that front and center.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Chris Hipkins on the Country second time today, up to
the batter's box on newstalks. There'd be some of your
feedback that I can read out. This is an interesting one.
At the risk of dragging up yesterday's news to put
it all in a nutshell, Ted says, I'm basically saying
that your export grade logs at the war at the
(15:54):
wharf would be worth three times as much if they
were simply cut up for fire would And that is
one of the real issues for the forestry industry at
the moment. Paul returns and for some of these people
who are saying that they're planting some of these pines
for production forestry as an end use, I'm not sure
(16:14):
I buy that, because there's more money in the carbon credits,
certainly at the moment, than there is in production forestry.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Here's another one.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
This is sad as a nurse who was forced to
have the vaccines or lose my job, and therefore my
ability to pay my mortgage. The hardest thing I ever
had to do was hold a phone to my dying
patient's heir whilst his mother, unable to see him, had
to say goodbye. Never forget the cruelty placed in this
country by the previous government. Yep, they certainly or we
(16:42):
certainly didn't get it right. And you know, look back
in history and we got that one horribly wrong, didn't we.
Hipkins was in charge of police, health, education and Prime Minister.
Everything he touched over the last six years has turned
to custard. I honestly don't know how he believes he
can make a positive change for our country with a
(17:04):
smile on his face. The bloke is cooked, to be
honest with your Texter. It's not chippy or worried about.
It's Chloe and Roweri. That's what I'd be worrying about.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
That's what keeps me awake at nights up.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Next, we're off to West Australia, Western Australia. She is
a senior animal protein analyst with Rabobank. Her name is
(17:39):
Jen Corcoran and some people get all the best jobs.
She's in Western Australia at the moment. On the Rabobank
Western Australia Sheep and Wall Tour. Now, Jen, I've spent
six hours in Perth, never left the airport, but I'm
going there in October to support the All Blacks and
play some bad golf. Had you been to Western Australia before.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
Hi, Jamie, Yeah, very very lucky to be here and no,
this is my first time over to w A and yeah,
really wonderful to be here with some clients from across
both New Zealand and Australia. And we've been looking at
some great sheep farms around the sort of great Southern area,
as well as sort of diving into stuff like the
(18:22):
live expook phase out and all sorts of things affecting
farms over here.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
I think today we find you in a place called
Way Jean, and I went to Lincoln with three lads
from Western Australia and I think one of them my
memory was from that area. I thought it was mainly cropping.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Yeah, so mixed sort of a lot of mixed cropping
and big farms Jamie. So you know we've visited properties
from anywhere between two and a half thousand hit DearS
and you know, nine thousand hidas in size, so big farms,
and you know, the properties we've been on have been
sort of seventy or eighty percent cropping, so wheat, barley, canola,
(18:57):
increasingly a lot of oats in this region too, cheaper
obviously integrated and is part of the crop and rotation.
And they play a very crucial role because not only
has it you know, historically been good and come from
well lots of marinos, but they play a role in
that pasta rotation around big yum based pastures for three
or four years in returning that caven to the soil.
(19:17):
And yeah, so they've been a wonderful part of the
farm systems, but they are small compared to that cropping part.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
You would have to be a fairly hardy sheep to survive.
In Western Australia, they get desert like rainfall numbers.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Yeah, Mediterranean climate. So essentially, you know, we talk about
the lack of rain sometimes in summer in New Zealand,
but dry from September sometimes earlier.
Speaker 7 (19:39):
Right through it all.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
They call it the break, which might happen and if
they're lucky April, but often may and then it's only
sort of through the period that we're now that they'll
get that small amount of rainfall that they do get.
So those crops are sowing and sort of via April
May through that all in period. And yeah, it looks
green enough, you know driving round at the moment, but
(20:00):
we can only imagine it's a dust bowl through that
smer period. And we've heard as such. You know, so
animals are often getting you know, these sheep are often
getting fit out on feed lots and by hand through
that period.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Well, let's talk about feed lots.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
That's where some animals go before they hop on a
boat for live export. Of course that's coming to an end, is.
Speaker 6 (20:17):
It not, yes, Jamie.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
So that was really interesting. So we spent day one
close to Perth and we really dived deeply into understanding
that phase out of the live explore and what that
means for producers here in terms of that shifting dynamic
and what they're going to do with their sheep farm
systems in the future. So the long and short of
it is that you know, in twenty twenty two, sheep
numbers in WA were about twelve point four million, and
(20:41):
they estimate that we might bet around between eight and
nine here million now, so the numbers already dropping quite
rapidly because of this phase out. So we went to
Peel feed lots basically the last stop before they jump
on these ships to the Middle East, and heard from
the people here and it's really quite a sad story
because what the Western Australia industry is done in terms
of you know, animal welfare and working with these middlested countries,
(21:04):
in terms of getting these animals across the sea and
working with people over there that are that are going
to use the animals afterwards. They've done great things and
the fact that it's been phased out is really unfortunate
in the fact that a lot of farming systems rely
on the fact that they can easily get rid of
animals on a ship and it is actually at a
very high animal welfare standard.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Okay, let's just finish on the Rabobank August Agribusiness Monthly.
You co authored this one. You probably did the beef
and sheep meat compartments or sections of this report.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Very positive.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
Yeah, thanks are looking good, aren't they, Jamie? And it's
nice to see that we expect sheep meat prices in
particular to remain strong over the next twelve or possibly
eighteen months because that global demand is strong, so that
European Union market is really driving things for us, especially
for land. And we also know that the supply of
(22:03):
sheet meat and China at the moment is not as
high as it's been. So although we know consumer sentiment
has not improved much in China yet, we are seeing
sort of a little bit of an uptick and interest
for volumes from China. So if we're yet China coming
back to play with a bit of money, Sishi run
mutton and toletlow value. But you know, we're expecting to
see the United Kingdom and the European Union continue to
(22:26):
take good volumes and.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
Pay for it.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
So that's going to drive prices for us, and that
ten dollars sort of forget that we joked about probably
six months ago. Jamie is very much reality.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
Now, absolutely well.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
And I mentioned this to Amma Higgins from Rabobank on
last week's show, The Holy Grail. If you want the
trifector ten dollar milk price, were there? Ten dollars lamb
price were there? What about the ten dollars beef price?
Speaker 5 (22:49):
Just quickly, Oh gosh, Jamie, Yes, well, beef had some
good legs for over twelve months now and it's looking
really strong. We you know, those Brazilian volumes that have
been going into the States, they're going to drop now
with your big tariff. But yeah, there is going to
be strong demand for that commodity product room into the
States over the next few years while they rebuild their head.
(23:12):
So you know, I don't know whether we'll get to
ten dollars, but we're certainly sitting pretty where we are
and it's actually not going down yet, so I think
we'll steady off similar to we we're at now for
a little while. But that there's just not enough global
beef and we've got a product that one of our
key markets really needs for the next few years. So
we're in good steed.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Jen Corchoran safe travels home from Perth.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
Thanks Amy.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Twenty five away from one.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
You're with the country right, Some of you have lots
of feedback coming in, Hi, Jamie. As much as I
agree with the sentiment of young farmers getting on the
land and food production versus ets, etc. It must be
the only thing left for and it might be the
only thing left should I say, for an individual on
the market that will bring them enough to retire on
(24:00):
they go on to right. The balance point must be
close to where scarcity of land will see values hold
for all types. Surely, what's happened to property rights? Willing
buy a willing seller? Look, that is a fair point,
But I think what Federated farmers are arguing, and I
would agree with them that it's not so much willing
buy a willing seller. The settings are wrong for the ets,
the incentives are wrong, and therefore it is distorting the
(24:24):
property market.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
That would be my view on it.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Michelle Watson here with Rural News. Next, we've got sports
news for you before the end of the hour. John
Duffy from PGG Rights and out of Alexandra. What a
great part of the country that is. And Chris Russell,
our Australian correspondent.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Real Life while Circle Killer.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Ah Memories of Itaga University nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
It's going back a bit, Michelle. Were you born then?
Speaker 8 (25:03):
No?
Speaker 3 (25:04):
It was not you? Sure anyhow? Talking here, Jamie talking? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Okay, fair enough talking heads. You picked the music today
you seem to most days. Occasionally we get We're got
to go country tomorrow on the country right we do?
Speaker 9 (25:20):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Yeah, okay, So David Byrne front man for Talking Heads,
is releasing a new solo album. I don't want this
new material. I want the old stuff from nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 9 (25:30):
Yeah, I think it'll be disappointing for people going to
a shower. I mean, here's a musical genius, but you'll
expect to hear talking hisas exactly.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
It's always time to go for a p when they
say here's a song from my latest album.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Anyhow, Here's Rural News.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
The country's world news with Coup Cadet, New Zealand's leading
right on lawn Bower brand. Visit steel Ford dot co
dot sim for your local stoggist.
Speaker 9 (25:56):
I was worried you were going to say something else,
then here's Rural News. Industry Group New Zealand Avocado says
the new season twenty twenty five for twenty twenty six
has started with a solid harvest or forecasts since picking
started last month, and we'll run into summer the new season.
For this new season, six point five million trays of
fruit were expected from the fourteen hundred orchards that were
part of the industry group, more than half of which
(26:19):
will be exported. Last year's twenty twenty four to twenty
twenty five season was a bumper, with seven point six
million trays reaching one hundred and sixty three million dollars.
It followed a horror season in twenty twenty three due
to adverse weather which impacted export grade fruit, running just
twenty million from international markets. And you can find more
rural news at the country dot co dot.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Enz and his sport Yet go the avocado growers. You
need a decent season after what you've been through recently.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Sport with AFCO. Visit them online at AFCO dot co
dot enz.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Now we're worried about all of our good pastoral land
going to pine trees. What about all of our good neckballers.
They're not going to pine trees. They're all going to
Australia Central Pulse and Silver Fern's Midquarter. Maddie Gordon has
joined the netball exodus across the Ditch the twenty five
year olds, following teammate Kelly Jackson to the Queensland Firebirds
(27:12):
and in the Super Netball competition, having received an eligibility
exemption from Netball New Zealand. A nine time Grand Slam
tennis champion Monica Sallis, you might remember she got stabbed
in the back by a nutter has revealed she has
a muscular auto immune disease which currently has no cure,
and Penrith coach Ivan Clary, why did the Warriors ever
(27:35):
let them go? Has caught on the NRL to soften
the rule around tackling attacking players in the air ahead
of tonight's match against the Melbourne Storm in Sydney. How actually,
I'm not a huge leg fan, but Penrith we've won
something like nine in a row reigning premieres against Melbourne,
(27:55):
all top four sides. The Warriors used to be a
top four side. That will be worth staying up for tonight.
Up next talking about Australia, we'll head there to finish
the hour out. But up next we're off to Alexandra
in central Otago. John Duffy from PGG Rights.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
And Monthly here on the country.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
We catch up with the team from PGG Rights and
talk to one of their stock agents from around the country.
Today it's the Otago Regional Livestock Manager based out of Alexandra.
What a great place to live and play golf, that
would be, John Duffy. They tell me that you're stepping
down or slowing down. You've been in the industry for
forty five years. You're going to a part time worker
(28:48):
later this year.
Speaker 7 (28:50):
Yeah, good afternoon, Jamie. Yeah, so yeah, forty five years, man,
industry is a long time. And yeah, definitely time to
spend a bit more time enjoying this beautiful central of
Targo whether and hopefully improve my golf having a few
more days to play it.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
You said to me in the break that this current
upturn for sheep, lamb and beef markets is the best
you've seen in forty five years.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
It's a big statement.
Speaker 6 (29:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (29:17):
Well, this time last year when we spoke Jamie. In fact,
I think it was in October, and as we know
then the sheep industry was on its knees and we wondered,
you know, where the future was, to be honest, and
beef were slightly better, and yeah, there wasn't too much
positivity around it, and it had been extremely tough, you know,
a couple of years in the farming and they were
all support industry to be fair, and yeah, come in January,
(29:42):
it just all changed for a positive note. The weather
came right and the sheet and beef schedules jumped and
interest rates started to drop. So yeah, big turnaround.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
You think these prices are sustainable? I certainly hope they are.
Speaker 7 (29:57):
Well, you know, the story seemed to be that it
is get driven. Obviously. You know there has been a
bit of overcapacity, which you know that we will be
some procurement at times, but that the world demand for
quality beef and lamb there seems to be shortages all
around the world. So now it seems to be market driven,
which is great to hear, but we just need to
(30:17):
see it continue for three or four.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Years so that you know.
Speaker 7 (30:21):
Farmers can become profitabar and everyone will benefit from it.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Last week you were at Bell clother and for people
who aren't unaware of the South Island geography, that's some
heartland South Otago the winter store cattle sale. I refer
to some of those Angus beef cattle these days as
black gold.
Speaker 7 (30:41):
Yeah, well it was great. It was a beautiful day
down in Bell clear cool morning, but a nice fine day.
Be lots of frosts all over a target at nice days.
And look, the line of a cattle to be fere
was majority with dairy cross, which at this time there
is no surprise. But the good thing about it you know,
there was a lot of online bidders on bidder. There's
a good crowd there with the dry and July in
(31:03):
both Southend and the Target, there's a lot of crop
utilization has been good, so a good crowd. But look,
there was a lot of good dairy beef cross here
for Freeesians, sharlet Frisians and they sold extremely well. I
mean they're right up there with the straight beef prices
that we're getting back a few months earlier.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
To be fear, I'm hearing a that a lot of
bobby calves are going to be read this year, which
is a good thing because it's a real issue for
the dairy industry.
Speaker 7 (31:29):
Yeah, definitely, But you know what it's showed down here
at Valclutha. People are raring calves. The main thing is
to make sure they're getting good calves, well breed calves.
And you know, if they buy good here, if at ngs,
Cimontel or charlet bulls, whatever over good Friesian cows, you
know they produce very good calves that are that are
sought after at any stage because as we know with
(31:50):
rearing calves, you know often they can be sold at
one hundred cag's, two hundred cages, four hundred cage's, or
rotary to finishing at six hundred. But the well breed
ones like the finished all pay good money for them.
So that's the important thing.
Speaker 6 (32:02):
It costs as much to.
Speaker 7 (32:03):
Her a poor cart as that does a well breadcast.
So go to the well breadcast.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Hey, thanks for your time. Always good to chat.
Speaker 7 (32:10):
Thanks, Jamie, We'll see you down a bell Mgowan one day.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
He's our guy across the Dutch. His name is Chris Russell.
Speaker 6 (32:21):
Chris.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
So we're going to start with.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
The court ruling that animal rights activists filming secret videos
don't actually have the rights to those videos. They're illegal
and they belong to the owner of the facility.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Tell me more.
Speaker 8 (32:36):
Yeah, So, an animal activist group has been banned from
ever using the footage that it took inside of Victorian Abatoar.
Now they were told initially by a judge and it's
now been confirmed by a federal court appeals court ruling
to stop this mob called the Farm Transparency International, from
(32:58):
publishing a fourteen long minute long video that was taken
by hidden cameras in during twenty twenty four. Now, they
were trying to use that because you know, they're all
about stopping people eating meat and animals and so on
and so forth. And the court said, no, this is
not only does this belong to them because you took
it illegally, but you can pay them damages as well,
(33:19):
though they think the damages aren't enough, but nonetheless one
hundred thousand dollars. And they've told them to assign the
copyright of the images to the owner of the avatoire.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
And all this.
Speaker 8 (33:31):
Means that we hopefully might see people thinking twice before
trying to destroy these businesses by going in and sneaking
photographs of things. That's not to say that we should
condone animal welfare breaches that are blatant, but a lot
of these are out of contents, misconstrued and or just
simply mistakes which can be fixed. They certainly don't deserve
(33:52):
the destruction of a business which might be crucial to
a particular town.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
I love the story about the Great Australian Kettle dry.
It's just ended, but the background to that is that
people actually pay to go on it.
Speaker 8 (34:06):
Yes, this has been quite a popular thing for people
to do. It's they seventeen hundred head of cattle it's
just reached Roma four hundred and seventy, which is about
four hundred and seventy kilometers northwest of Brisbane and about
seven hundred and seventy kilometers from where they started out
at bar Holden. It follows the old original, it's say old.
(34:29):
They still use stock roots and some of the guys
running it are people that do this all the time.
In this case, you could join this cattle drive as
a volunteer, mustra you paid for that privilege, and then
they raised quite a lot of money for I'm not
quite exactly how much they raised, but it was significant
amounts of money for charity. These stock roots have always
(34:51):
been part of our history and it's wonderful to see
them being kept open and I think everyone who participated
in that saw that as something pretty special to do.
So I think it will become after twenty years of
some of these musters have never been in the saddle,
they get back in the saddle. I think it will
become something we see happening, if not every year, certainly
every second year.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Chris Russell, thanks for your time, no problem, Good on
you mate. It is for away from one you're with
the country brought to you by Brent. Talking heads day.
Some people like some talking heads, some people don't like
other talking heads. Someone says, don't try and do Mike
Hoskin's job. If you're going to abuse me, get your
(35:33):
spelling right. Let's hear more about farming matters with real
people and not politicians all the time. More talk with
farmers and stock agents and stock buyers. Or you just
heard from one more from the regions. You just heard
from someone from the regions. Bring back Hamish, Hamish Makai.
Well he is the villain. Now are welcome you listening
to Hamish? But I just remind you if you don't
(35:54):
like it, don't ingin mon just go and change channels,
change stations. There are so many radio stations are now
podcasts out there. Just change if you don't like it.
I don't really want your listening. You're a winger anyhow.
Here's a bit of humor to finish from some wag
out there in rural New Zealand from the regions. It
(36:15):
might even be a stock agent who knows things could
be worse than labor and government. Imagine the Alliance directors
running the country. Ouch Burn will catch you back on
tomorrow's show. Thanks for listening today.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie mckuae. Thanks to friend. You're specialist in
John Deere construction equipment.
Catch all the latest from the land. It's The Country
Podcast with Jamie mckaye thanks to Brent the starkest of
the leading agriculture brands.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Good afternoon, New Zealand. Welcome to the Country. I'm Jamie McKay.
The show is brought to you by Brandt. But are
talking heads. We've got a talking head to kick off
the show and he does a good job of it.
To be fair to him. His name is Wayne Langford.
He is the president of Federated Farmers. Federated Farmers say
a report back to Parliament on the so called Band
(00:47):
of Carbon Forestry doesn't go far enough to stop the
march of pines across New Zealand's productive farmland. The battle continues,
but I reckon farmers and foresters can be friends. Mike
Hosking cut my lunch yet again this morning with Chris Hipkins.
You're going to get a chat from me with him.
(01:08):
Jen Corkran's with Rabobanks. She's in a place called Wagen
which is in Western Australia. She's over there for a
Western Australia Sheep and Wall tour. We're going to talk
to John Duffy out of PGG Rights in forty five
years in the business, never seen it better.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
He's in Otago.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
In fact, he's the Otago Region manager for PGG Rights
and Livestock. Rosie correspondent as Chris Russell. Let's kick off
the show with the President of Federated Farmers, Wayne Yolo Langford.
Wayne flat out carving. You haven't even had breakfast yet
and it's gone midday. I know.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Good to be Jamie. I'm sitting up in the trigger
at the back of the farm, just waiting for the
cows to arrive at their breaking and then I'll shoot
him and have some breakfast hopefully. It's been a big.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Morning, stressful time for dairy farmers carving, even in good weather,
which you're enjoying at the moment.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, we're going to trusty morning, sunny days, so I
can't complain about that. You're right though, you know it is.
It is pretty intense and you're just going from one
drama to the next, so just hoping that nothing happens.
I had the local contractor or the bobbyclf truck knockover
my knockover my Bobby calf pen this morning, so that
doesn't help it my dramas. So that's a right, we'll
(02:20):
work through that.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Have you got your head around the Federated Farmer's press release,
I think it came out yesterday the so called ban
on carbon forestry doesn't go far enough to stop the
march of pines across New Zealand's productive farmland, and your
Forestry spokesperson Richard Dawkins sears farmers will be feeling a
total sense of betrayal. Has he overegged that?
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah, well there is a bit of that going on,
because I mean we all remember that the promeinise a
standing on the Farmer Confidence Tour there in December saying hey,
we're going to we're going to stop this full farm conversion.
And I know that they're attempting to try and do that,
but when they're only banning on on class one to
five land, that's only twelve percent of the area going
into forestry. So we need to do better than that.
(03:06):
We've got two thirds of our sheem beef country that's
Class six or seven land and we need to protect it.
And so yeah, we definitely think it needs to go
further than what they've suggested.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
So what would you like to see happen?
Speaker 4 (03:21):
We need to make sure that we do cover off
those different areas of land a he of a lot
better than we are. You know, we're not against forest ruds,
a right try, right place, and all those sort of
soundbites is correct. But what we've got to stop is
making sure that we're still not seeing these full areas
of conversion across those really important parts of our land
(03:42):
for the sheep beef country.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I see Federated Farmers I EU saying massive loopholes still
remain in the Environment Select Committee's recommendations. Now, one of
these controversies was around if you'd bought a few seed
links and you said you had the intention to plant,
you were allowed to go into the ets.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Yeah, and that's right, that's what we are concerned about.
Theres And you know, if we knew that there was
going to be a full scales stop to the full
farming convergence, and hey, yeah, maybe we could live with
one of these one or two of these. But when
we know that, you know, this committee hasn't come back
as far as we'd like to go, and we know
that hey maybe this isn't going to stop, then hey,
(04:25):
as not as easey to let those go. So you're
definitely going to have to dig into some of those
loopholes to see what we're doing, and when we are
presenting quite a few of those to the Minister's table
very shortly, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
So you're happy that farmers or people can plant twenty
five percent of land land class one to five and
they're probably for a lot of them, especially the good
land classes. They're not going to plant pine trees anyhow.
You're saying land class six is potentially a lottery.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Yeah, well it's and that's the issue. And some of
that country is still good country and it is still
really important to farms and and particularly you know, we
often talk about it getting our young farmers on the land,
giving them opportunity to farm some of that land before
they move kind of up the ranks or on too
better country as well. So there is all these factors
to be considered, and we don't feel like that what's
(05:13):
come back from the Slick Committee has truly represented that
for fads and certainly they work there. Richard Dawkins and
the Meat Will Council have been putting in.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So I'm just trying to remember off the top of
my head how many land classes we have. Do we
stop at nine.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Do we is it nine? Where we stop? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (05:28):
He's nine?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Okay, so effectively, so effectively, And I'm playing devil's advocate here.
But you want the carbon farmers to go and plant
merely away on land class nine that is steep, erosion
prone land, way out the back of beyond. Maybe it's
all right for carbon farming. It certainly has little value
for forestry.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Yeah no, But what figurably we're saying is if it's
just for forestry, that's fine. But when you're carbon farming,
it's a completely different story. So yeah, hey, if they're
wanting to plant harvest it for wood and that sort
of thing, it's all good. But when you're claiming an
atheist credit, which is evictive what you said as a
subsidy and a poorly thalled out one, then that's not
a good place to be.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I don't know whether you heard Dennis Neilsen on The
Oracle of Forestry a wee bit earlier in the week.
He said, basically he doesn't believe any pine trees are
planted without the intention of harvesting them. I call bs
on that one. What do you reckon?
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Yeah? I would too. That's certainly not what I've been
hearing and send part of the country of course, where
we you know, we haven't got to that point yet.
I don't think, and we're saying it. We'll see a
gloss of it come in the next decade or two,
and then we're going to have to deal with all
those problems that are associated with it.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
We talked about the farmer and the forestra Can forester
can be friends? Well, how about federated farmers in the
Labor Party can be friends? You're quoted as saying or
feeds are that they support the Labor Party minority view
from the Select Committee hearings that a thorough review of
the etes and carbon forestry should be undertaken. This is
(07:00):
what Damien O'Connor was banging on about.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Oh it's good to see when you get to two
gingers putting their head together. I man Chibby. We you know,
we sometimes ring some sense to either and so and
so maybe that's maybe that's what's happening there and and yeah, ultimately,
you know, not everything that Damien has done has wrong.
We're incorrect, there is there are some points where he's
correct on at times.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Your meeting with Chippy, I think next week. Will you
be raising and I'm going to raise it with them shortly,
capital gains tax for farming or a wealth.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Takes will Yeah, no doubt we will be talking about that.
I think we're talking about a mission targets and a
few other things as well. But I mean that's a
pretty simple and short conversation from our point of view,
and we'll be letting him know that. It'll be interesting
to see what he's coming back back with and I'll
be looking forward to hearing your with him actually to
see what he says on it.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Wine Length and President the Federated Farmers, thanks for your
time at slunch time you go and.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Have some breakfast.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Well do thanks, Jamie appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
There he goes the President of Federated Farmers, Wayne Langford.
Up next Chris Hipkins. And I've got a warn here
the HOSK always cuts my lunch. But we do have
a food chain at News Talks EDB and it would
be fair to say that he's above me on it.
So anyhow, we'll get my take on Chris Hipkins. Jen
Corkran looking forward to catching up with her. What's the
(08:20):
time in Western Australia Now, it's like a quarter past
eight in the morning, she'll be up and going on
that Western Australia sheep in waltour. John Duffy from PGG
Writson been in the game for forty five years and
he reckons this is the best he's seen it for
sheep and beef.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Isn't that a good story?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
And Chris Russell's our assie correspondent, got that before or
him before the end of the hour.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
But you're not.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
Saying anything, why sakes I look for seal.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Take something once.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Apologies firstly for the second appearance of this man on
news Talk said be today, not because we don't want
to talk to him, but because we have a food
chain and on news Talk sad be Mike Hosking is
at the top of it.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
This interview, by the way.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Was scheduled about two or three weeks ago with labor
Leber leader Chris Hopkins. But Chris, you decided for the
second time this year to go on with Hosking. You
took a bit of a mauling over the COVID inquiry.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Why do you bother?
Speaker 6 (09:26):
Oh? Well, you know, look, Mike Costing seems to have
had me blacklisted since the election, so you know great
to be back on his show again and farnest to me,
wouldn't you ask? He asks tough questions.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Job he certainly does, But wouldn't you be better to
stick with our n Z red radio. You're going to
get an easier run there. And how many of Hoskin's
listeners would ever vote for you?
Speaker 6 (09:45):
Well, I mean, like, I think it's it's ironic, isn't
it that you know, now we've got news'd be complaining
about me going on the show at Mike Costing this
morning was saved but I wasn't publicly accountable enough, So
you know you can't with I want to talk.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
To you today about capital gains and wealth tax and
how that farming. But just on the COVID inquiry, you
kind of said you didn't want to appear at the
second public inquiry, the Royal Commission because at risks subjecting
you to a torrent abuse, which you got. Anyhow, this
morning on newstalk said but why not just simply front
up for the optics of nothing else? Tick the box,
(10:19):
take it on the chin and get out of there.
Speaker 6 (10:22):
Well, I mean I think the thing is this is
being misrepresented. You know, we have actually been interviewed by
the Royal Commission. I've been interviewed by the First Royal
Commission and the Second Royal Commission, and I've given them
over twenty pages of written question answers and at the
end of that they basically said, look, you've answered all
of the questions that we had. I've said to them,
if they've got follow up questions, I'm more than happy
(10:42):
to answer them. So the suggestion that we're not appearing
by the Royal Commission is nonsense. The Royal Commission, we indicate.
I indicated some concern to them through my representatives about
the way the public hearings were going to go, as
did other former ministers, and they have ultimately decided that
they're not going to do that, and they're not going
to do third the public hearing. So, you know, I
(11:02):
think it's a bit more complicated, a more complex than
it the way it's been represented.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Yeah, but you can see the optics on this. They
look terrible for you. Judith Collins called you gutless and hypocritical.
Winston Peters let me see what he said. The podium
of truth has now become the podium of evasion. See
if I was you and I'm not you. Half the
country or more than half the country thought you got
it right up to the twenty twenty election. Why don't
you just front up to the inquiry and say, look,
(11:27):
there was no manual, there was no blueprint for this,
we did our best, we got it right, and then
we cocked it up.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
Well, I mean, of course, you know, Winston Beaters is
welcome to a pear before the Royal Commission himself. He
was a minister involved in the decision making, although I
do note that the terms of reference that his government
the current government seat for the Royal Commission, specifically excludes
their ability to question Winston Beaters over the decisions that
he was involved in, so people can draw their own
conclusions from that.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Do you think it's fair that Jacinda and Grant Robertson
are running for the hills? I mean they're not in
public office now, but you and Aisha Verel still are well.
Speaker 6 (12:02):
And you know I answer questions every day, Jamie. I'm
here answering questions from you, I as I might Costing
Show this morning, answer and questions from him. Have anyone's
got questions about COVID nineteen they want me to answer publicly?
They get the opportunity to ask me every day.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Well, the COVID Role Commission would love to ask you
some questions. Let's move on to a capital gains or
wealth tax.
Speaker 6 (12:22):
Now.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I discussed this with the Prime Minister yesterday. You are
as as aware as I am that a capital gains
tax would bring in very little initially. So the endgame
for you here has to be a wealth tax.
Speaker 6 (12:36):
Look, we haven't set out our policy. I think it's
clear that capital gains wealth taxt broadening the tax base
is something that the Labour Party is talking about at
the moment. One of the things that we're working through though,
is all the ins and outs of that, all of
the potential impacts that might have on different groups that
could be affected, to make sure that we design a
policy that's robust and that actually is not going to
(12:59):
have adverse consequences.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Why did you make a captain's call when you took
over from Jacinda not to run with the capital gains tax?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
What's changed your mind?
Speaker 6 (13:08):
Ultimately? I continued the existing Labor Party position. I didn't
think we were in a position to be able to
adopt a significant new policy like that that close to
the election. But we lost the election ultimately, and I
think when you lose the election, you do have to
listen to the electorate. The electorate said they were looking
for something different from us, and so now we're working
through a place.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Are you in danger of losing the next election? Is
it electoral suicide to go to the people with a
capital gains tax? Or are you going to exempt the
family homes and only kind of go for the rich
and the farmers.
Speaker 6 (13:38):
There's a lot of stuff that we have to work
through if we were going to announce the capital gains tax,
and so we're working through all the ins and outs
of the different options at the moment.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Okay, how might it work from a farming point of view? Hypothetically?
Come on, give me something.
Speaker 6 (13:53):
That's a fair question. And one of the things that
we've been talking a lot to farmers about, and particularly
the new generation of farmers coming through, is that the
current generation of farmers have had significant capital gains and
the next generation of farmers are looking at a profile
that is very very different to that. So if you're say,
buying your family farm off your parents, you're not going
(14:13):
to get the same capital gains that they got. And
so is that that is something that we have to
factor and it's much harder to buy a farm now
than it was forty or fifty years ago. And so
I'm very, very aware of those issues for younger farmers,
for the next generation of farmers, and I don't want
to make those problems worse. And so you know that
(14:35):
is one of the things.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Well, you're going to make it a hell of a
lot worse with the capital gains tax.
Speaker 6 (14:39):
Well, you're speculating, Jamie, and I haven't anounce to policy yet.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
We know you're going to go to the election with this.
Speaker 6 (14:46):
What I've just said to you is that the issues
around you know, the next generation of farmers are very
much one of the things that we're thinking about and
the design of any text policy that we take to
the election.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Just finally, when it comes to a capital gains or
wealth tax, so you are that there'll be a run
on the bank in terms of the wealthier people in
this country, the wealth creators, the ones who take the risks,
the ones who have a business, the ones who employ people.
Speaker 6 (15:10):
Well, I mean I've said before, and I've said it
very clearly at the beginning of the year. One of
the things that I want to see us do as
a country is invest more in productive businesses and have
less of a focus on buying and selling residential property
on the speculative market. And so any text design that
we come up with will have that front and center.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Chris Hipkins on the Country second time today, up to
the batter's box on newstalks. There'd be some of your
feedback that I can read out. This is an interesting one.
At the risk of dragging up yesterday's news to put
it all in a nutshell, Ted says, I'm basically saying
that your export grade logs at the war at the
(15:54):
wharf would be worth three times as much if they
were simply cut up for fire would And that is
one of the real issues for the forestry industry at
the moment. Paul returns and for some of these people
who are saying that they're planting some of these pines
for production forestry as an end use, I'm not sure
(16:14):
I buy that, because there's more money in the carbon credits,
certainly at the moment, than there is in production forestry.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Here's another one.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
This is sad as a nurse who was forced to
have the vaccines or lose my job, and therefore my
ability to pay my mortgage. The hardest thing I ever
had to do was hold a phone to my dying
patient's heir whilst his mother, unable to see him, had
to say goodbye. Never forget the cruelty placed in this
country by the previous government. Yep, they certainly or we
(16:42):
certainly didn't get it right. And you know, look back
in history and we got that one horribly wrong, didn't we.
Hipkins was in charge of police, health, education and Prime Minister.
Everything he touched over the last six years has turned
to custard. I honestly don't know how he believes he
can make a positive change for our country with a
(17:04):
smile on his face. The bloke is cooked, to be
honest with your Texter. It's not chippy or worried about.
It's Chloe and Roweri. That's what I'd be worrying about.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
That's what keeps me awake at nights up.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Next, we're off to West Australia, Western Australia. She is
a senior animal protein analyst with Rabobank. Her name is
(17:39):
Jen Corcoran and some people get all the best jobs.
She's in Western Australia at the moment. On the Rabobank
Western Australia Sheep and Wall Tour. Now, Jen, I've spent
six hours in Perth, never left the airport, but I'm
going there in October to support the All Blacks and
play some bad golf. Had you been to Western Australia before.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
Hi, Jamie, Yeah, very very lucky to be here and no,
this is my first time over to w A and yeah,
really wonderful to be here with some clients from across
both New Zealand and Australia. And we've been looking at
some great sheep farms around the sort of great Southern area,
as well as sort of diving into stuff like the
(18:22):
live expook phase out and all sorts of things affecting
farms over here.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
I think today we find you in a place called
Way Jean, and I went to Lincoln with three lads
from Western Australia and I think one of them my
memory was from that area. I thought it was mainly cropping.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
Yeah, so mixed sort of a lot of mixed cropping
and big farms Jamie. So you know we've visited properties
from anywhere between two and a half thousand hit DearS
and you know, nine thousand hidas in size, so big farms,
and you know, the properties we've been on have been
sort of seventy or eighty percent cropping, so wheat, barley, canola,
(18:57):
increasingly a lot of oats in this region too, cheaper
obviously integrated and is part of the crop and rotation.
And they play a very crucial role because not only
has it you know, historically been good and come from
well lots of marinos, but they play a role in
that pasta rotation around big yum based pastures for three
or four years in returning that caven to the soil.
(19:17):
And yeah, so they've been a wonderful part of the
farm systems, but they are small compared to that cropping part.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
You would have to be a fairly hardy sheep to survive.
In Western Australia, they get desert like rainfall numbers.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Yeah, Mediterranean climate. So essentially, you know, we talk about
the lack of rain sometimes in summer in New Zealand,
but dry from September sometimes earlier.
Speaker 7 (19:39):
Right through it all.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
They call it the break, which might happen and if
they're lucky April, but often may and then it's only
sort of through the period that we're now that they'll
get that small amount of rainfall that they do get.
So those crops are sowing and sort of via April
May through that all in period. And yeah, it looks
green enough, you know driving round at the moment, but
(20:00):
we can only imagine it's a dust bowl through that
smer period. And we've heard as such. You know, so
animals are often getting you know, these sheep are often
getting fit out on feed lots and by hand through
that period.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Well, let's talk about feed lots.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
That's where some animals go before they hop on a
boat for live export. Of course that's coming to an end, is.
Speaker 6 (20:17):
It not, yes, Jamie.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
So that was really interesting. So we spent day one
close to Perth and we really dived deeply into understanding
that phase out of the live explore and what that
means for producers here in terms of that shifting dynamic
and what they're going to do with their sheep farm
systems in the future. So the long and short of
it is that you know, in twenty twenty two, sheep
numbers in WA were about twelve point four million, and
(20:41):
they estimate that we might bet around between eight and
nine here million now, so the numbers already dropping quite
rapidly because of this phase out. So we went to
Peel feed lots basically the last stop before they jump
on these ships to the Middle East, and heard from
the people here and it's really quite a sad story
because what the Western Australia industry is done in terms
of you know, animal welfare and working with these middlested countries,
(21:04):
in terms of getting these animals across the sea and
working with people over there that are that are going
to use the animals afterwards. They've done great things and
the fact that it's been phased out is really unfortunate
in the fact that a lot of farming systems rely
on the fact that they can easily get rid of
animals on a ship and it is actually at a
very high animal welfare standard.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Okay, let's just finish on the Rabobank August Agribusiness Monthly.
You co authored this one. You probably did the beef
and sheep meat compartments or sections of this report.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Very positive.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
Yeah, thanks are looking good, aren't they, Jamie? And it's
nice to see that we expect sheep meat prices in
particular to remain strong over the next twelve or possibly
eighteen months because that global demand is strong, so that
European Union market is really driving things for us, especially
for land. And we also know that the supply of
(22:03):
sheet meat and China at the moment is not as
high as it's been. So although we know consumer sentiment
has not improved much in China yet, we are seeing
sort of a little bit of an uptick and interest
for volumes from China. So if we're yet China coming
back to play with a bit of money, Sishi run
mutton and toletlow value. But you know, we're expecting to
see the United Kingdom and the European Union continue to
(22:26):
take good volumes and.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
Pay for it.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
So that's going to drive prices for us, and that
ten dollars sort of forget that we joked about probably
six months ago. Jamie is very much reality.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
Now, absolutely well.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
And I mentioned this to Amma Higgins from Rabobank on
last week's show, The Holy Grail. If you want the
trifector ten dollar milk price, were there? Ten dollars lamb
price were there? What about the ten dollars beef price?
Speaker 5 (22:49):
Just quickly, Oh gosh, Jamie, Yes, well, beef had some
good legs for over twelve months now and it's looking
really strong. We you know, those Brazilian volumes that have
been going into the States, they're going to drop now
with your big tariff. But yeah, there is going to
be strong demand for that commodity product room into the
States over the next few years while they rebuild their head.
(23:12):
So you know, I don't know whether we'll get to
ten dollars, but we're certainly sitting pretty where we are
and it's actually not going down yet, so I think
we'll steady off similar to we we're at now for
a little while. But that there's just not enough global
beef and we've got a product that one of our
key markets really needs for the next few years. So
we're in good steed.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Jen Corchoran safe travels home from Perth.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
Thanks Amy.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Twenty five away from one.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
You're with the country right, Some of you have lots
of feedback coming in, Hi, Jamie. As much as I
agree with the sentiment of young farmers getting on the
land and food production versus ets, etc. It must be
the only thing left for and it might be the
only thing left should I say, for an individual on
the market that will bring them enough to retire on
(24:00):
they go on to right. The balance point must be
close to where scarcity of land will see values hold
for all types. Surely, what's happened to property rights? Willing
buy a willing seller? Look, that is a fair point,
But I think what Federated farmers are arguing, and I
would agree with them that it's not so much willing
buy a willing seller. The settings are wrong for the ets,
the incentives are wrong, and therefore it is distorting the
(24:24):
property market.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
That would be my view on it.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Michelle Watson here with Rural News. Next, we've got sports
news for you before the end of the hour. John
Duffy from PGG Rights and out of Alexandra. What a
great part of the country that is. And Chris Russell,
our Australian correspondent.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Real Life while Circle Killer.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Ah Memories of Itaga University nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
It's going back a bit, Michelle. Were you born then?
Speaker 8 (25:03):
No?
Speaker 3 (25:04):
It was not you? Sure anyhow? Talking here, Jamie talking? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Okay, fair enough talking heads. You picked the music today
you seem to most days. Occasionally we get We're got
to go country tomorrow on the country right we do?
Speaker 9 (25:20):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Yeah, okay, So David Byrne front man for Talking Heads,
is releasing a new solo album. I don't want this
new material. I want the old stuff from nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 9 (25:30):
Yeah, I think it'll be disappointing for people going to
a shower. I mean, here's a musical genius, but you'll
expect to hear talking hisas exactly.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
It's always time to go for a p when they
say here's a song from my latest album.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Anyhow, Here's Rural News.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
The country's world news with Coup Cadet, New Zealand's leading
right on lawn Bower brand. Visit steel Ford dot co
dot sim for your local stoggist.
Speaker 9 (25:56):
I was worried you were going to say something else,
then here's Rural News. Industry Group New Zealand Avocado says
the new season twenty twenty five for twenty twenty six
has started with a solid harvest or forecasts since picking
started last month, and we'll run into summer the new season.
For this new season, six point five million trays of
fruit were expected from the fourteen hundred orchards that were
part of the industry group, more than half of which
(26:19):
will be exported. Last year's twenty twenty four to twenty
twenty five season was a bumper, with seven point six
million trays reaching one hundred and sixty three million dollars.
It followed a horror season in twenty twenty three due
to adverse weather which impacted export grade fruit, running just
twenty million from international markets. And you can find more
rural news at the country dot co dot.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Enz and his sport Yet go the avocado growers. You
need a decent season after what you've been through recently.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Sport with AFCO. Visit them online at AFCO dot co
dot enz.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Now we're worried about all of our good pastoral land
going to pine trees. What about all of our good neckballers.
They're not going to pine trees. They're all going to
Australia Central Pulse and Silver Fern's Midquarter. Maddie Gordon has
joined the netball exodus across the Ditch the twenty five
year olds, following teammate Kelly Jackson to the Queensland Firebirds
(27:12):
and in the Super Netball competition, having received an eligibility
exemption from Netball New Zealand. A nine time Grand Slam
tennis champion Monica Sallis, you might remember she got stabbed
in the back by a nutter has revealed she has
a muscular auto immune disease which currently has no cure,
and Penrith coach Ivan Clary, why did the Warriors ever
(27:35):
let them go? Has caught on the NRL to soften
the rule around tackling attacking players in the air ahead
of tonight's match against the Melbourne Storm in Sydney. How actually,
I'm not a huge leg fan, but Penrith we've won
something like nine in a row reigning premieres against Melbourne,
(27:55):
all top four sides. The Warriors used to be a
top four side. That will be worth staying up for tonight.
Up next talking about Australia, we'll head there to finish
the hour out. But up next we're off to Alexandra
in central Otago. John Duffy from PGG Rights.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
And Monthly here on the country.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
We catch up with the team from PGG Rights and
talk to one of their stock agents from around the country.
Today it's the Otago Regional Livestock Manager based out of Alexandra.
What a great place to live and play golf, that
would be, John Duffy. They tell me that you're stepping
down or slowing down. You've been in the industry for
forty five years. You're going to a part time worker
(28:48):
later this year.
Speaker 7 (28:50):
Yeah, good afternoon, Jamie. Yeah, so yeah, forty five years, man,
industry is a long time. And yeah, definitely time to
spend a bit more time enjoying this beautiful central of
Targo whether and hopefully improve my golf having a few
more days to play it.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
You said to me in the break that this current
upturn for sheep, lamb and beef markets is the best
you've seen in forty five years.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
It's a big statement.
Speaker 6 (29:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (29:17):
Well, this time last year when we spoke Jamie. In fact,
I think it was in October, and as we know
then the sheep industry was on its knees and we wondered,
you know, where the future was, to be honest, and
beef were slightly better, and yeah, there wasn't too much
positivity around it, and it had been extremely tough, you know,
a couple of years in the farming and they were
all support industry to be fair, and yeah, come in January,
(29:42):
it just all changed for a positive note. The weather
came right and the sheet and beef schedules jumped and
interest rates started to drop. So yeah, big turnaround.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
You think these prices are sustainable? I certainly hope they are.
Speaker 7 (29:57):
Well, you know, the story seemed to be that it
is get driven. Obviously. You know there has been a
bit of overcapacity, which you know that we will be
some procurement at times, but that the world demand for
quality beef and lamb there seems to be shortages all
around the world. So now it seems to be market driven,
which is great to hear, but we just need to
(30:17):
see it continue for three or four.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Years so that you know.
Speaker 7 (30:21):
Farmers can become profitabar and everyone will benefit from it.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Last week you were at Bell clother and for people
who aren't unaware of the South Island geography, that's some
heartland South Otago the winter store cattle sale. I refer
to some of those Angus beef cattle these days as
black gold.
Speaker 7 (30:41):
Yeah, well it was great. It was a beautiful day
down in Bell clear cool morning, but a nice fine day.
Be lots of frosts all over a target at nice days.
And look, the line of a cattle to be fere
was majority with dairy cross, which at this time there
is no surprise. But the good thing about it you know,
there was a lot of online bidders on bidder. There's
a good crowd there with the dry and July in
(31:03):
both Southend and the Target, there's a lot of crop
utilization has been good, so a good crowd. But look,
there was a lot of good dairy beef cross here
for Freeesians, sharlet Frisians and they sold extremely well. I
mean they're right up there with the straight beef prices
that we're getting back a few months earlier.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
To be fear, I'm hearing a that a lot of
bobby calves are going to be read this year, which
is a good thing because it's a real issue for
the dairy industry.
Speaker 7 (31:29):
Yeah, definitely, But you know what it's showed down here
at Valclutha. People are raring calves. The main thing is
to make sure they're getting good calves, well breed calves.
And you know, if they buy good here, if at ngs,
Cimontel or charlet bulls, whatever over good Friesian cows, you
know they produce very good calves that are that are
sought after at any stage because as we know with
(31:50):
rearing calves, you know often they can be sold at
one hundred cag's, two hundred cages, four hundred cage's, or
rotary to finishing at six hundred. But the well breed
ones like the finished all pay good money for them.
So that's the important thing.
Speaker 6 (32:02):
It costs as much to.
Speaker 7 (32:03):
Her a poor cart as that does a well breadcast.
So go to the well breadcast.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Hey, thanks for your time. Always good to chat.
Speaker 7 (32:10):
Thanks, Jamie, We'll see you down a bell Mgowan one day.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
He's our guy across the Dutch. His name is Chris Russell.
Speaker 6 (32:21):
Chris.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
So we're going to start with.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
The court ruling that animal rights activists filming secret videos
don't actually have the rights to those videos. They're illegal
and they belong to the owner of the facility.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Tell me more.
Speaker 8 (32:36):
Yeah, So, an animal activist group has been banned from
ever using the footage that it took inside of Victorian Abatoar.
Now they were told initially by a judge and it's
now been confirmed by a federal court appeals court ruling
to stop this mob called the Farm Transparency International, from
(32:58):
publishing a fourteen long minute long video that was taken
by hidden cameras in during twenty twenty four. Now, they
were trying to use that because you know, they're all
about stopping people eating meat and animals and so on
and so forth. And the court said, no, this is
not only does this belong to them because you took
it illegally, but you can pay them damages as well,
(33:19):
though they think the damages aren't enough, but nonetheless one
hundred thousand dollars. And they've told them to assign the
copyright of the images to the owner of the avatoire.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
And all this.
Speaker 8 (33:31):
Means that we hopefully might see people thinking twice before
trying to destroy these businesses by going in and sneaking
photographs of things. That's not to say that we should
condone animal welfare breaches that are blatant, but a lot
of these are out of contents, misconstrued and or just
simply mistakes which can be fixed. They certainly don't deserve
(33:52):
the destruction of a business which might be crucial to
a particular town.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
I love the story about the Great Australian Kettle dry.
It's just ended, but the background to that is that
people actually pay to go on it.
Speaker 8 (34:06):
Yes, this has been quite a popular thing for people
to do. It's they seventeen hundred head of cattle it's
just reached Roma four hundred and seventy, which is about
four hundred and seventy kilometers northwest of Brisbane and about
seven hundred and seventy kilometers from where they started out
at bar Holden. It follows the old original, it's say old.
(34:29):
They still use stock roots and some of the guys
running it are people that do this all the time.
In this case, you could join this cattle drive as
a volunteer, mustra you paid for that privilege, and then
they raised quite a lot of money for I'm not
quite exactly how much they raised, but it was significant
amounts of money for charity. These stock roots have always
(34:51):
been part of our history and it's wonderful to see
them being kept open and I think everyone who participated
in that saw that as something pretty special to do.
So I think it will become after twenty years of
some of these musters have never been in the saddle,
they get back in the saddle. I think it will
become something we see happening, if not every year, certainly
every second year.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Chris Russell, thanks for your time, no problem, Good on
you mate. It is for away from one you're with
the country brought to you by Brent. Talking heads day.
Some people like some talking heads, some people don't like
other talking heads. Someone says, don't try and do Mike
Hoskin's job. If you're going to abuse me, get your
(35:33):
spelling right. Let's hear more about farming matters with real
people and not politicians all the time. More talk with
farmers and stock agents and stock buyers. Or you just
heard from one more from the regions. You just heard
from someone from the regions. Bring back Hamish, Hamish Makai.
Well he is the villain. Now are welcome you listening
to Hamish? But I just remind you if you don't
(35:54):
like it, don't ingin mon just go and change channels,
change stations. There are so many radio stations are now
podcasts out there. Just change if you don't like it.
I don't really want your listening. You're a winger anyhow.
Here's a bit of humor to finish from some wag
out there in rural New Zealand from the regions. It
(36:15):
might even be a stock agent who knows things could
be worse than labor and government. Imagine the Alliance directors
running the country. Ouch Burn will catch you back on
tomorrow's show. Thanks for listening today.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie mckuae. Thanks to friend. You're specialist in
John Deere construction equipment.
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