July 23, 2025 • 37 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Mark Hooper, Rhys Gardner, Craig Hickman, Duncan Humm, Chris Russell, and Jeremy Rookes.
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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 starkest of the
leading agriculture brands.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Godjam Be.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Gooday, News Ellen, Good afternoon. Welcome to the Country. I'm
Jamie McKay. The show is brought to you by Brandt
Going Country. Today on The Country, we're going to kick
it off with a Federated Farmer's new banking spokesperson. He's
filling the big shoes of Richard McIntyre, who did an
excellent job holding the banks to account. Now Federated Farmers
(00:49):
have just come out with the Banking Survey, rating the
banks from the best to the worst. You're going to
be interested in some of these results. We're continuing Innovation
week here on Country. Earlier this morning I caught up
with Rhys Gardner tried on a virtual reality headset for
the first time. He's doing some fantastic work. His company
(01:11):
is called g Factor when it comes to training, amongst
other things, farmers on quad bike and side beside safety.
Today's Farmer Panel Mid Canterbury Farmer Panel, a dairy farmer
and a deer farmer, The price of butter who should
be paying for it, Jeremy Rooks we missed him yesterday,
will get him today and our Rossie correspondent Chris Russell.
(01:32):
But let's just kick off the show with Mark Hooper,
the New Federated Farmer's Banking spokesperson. Sorry about the delay
that I was just getting a call from Ryan Bridge's
producer from the Herald now about a slot tomorrow morning.
Doesn't she know I'm on air between twelve and one anyhow,
(01:53):
Mark Hooper, Welcome to the country. I think for the
first time. Big shoes to fill Richard McIntyre's gun boots.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Yeah, very much.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
On Jamie.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Richard's done an outstanding job in his role and so
there's a but to live up there. Up to there,
it's going to be it's going to be a challenge,
but looking forward to it though.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Now you are you based on the Taranaki. You've obviously
got to be a cowcocky. You've got nothing else.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Up there, that's right, yep, yep, No, that's the way
to go.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
So tell us about your farming operation, just quickly give
us a week background.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Oh, we're very traditional Taranaki farmers, fourth generation on a
family farm, three hundred and twenty cows, owner operators, So
balancing between you know what I do with feeds and
then now the cares ship.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Now you've been involved, i think with feeds on the
national board for about four years, so you've got a
few runs on the board. So let's have a look
at this banking survey, ranking the banks from the best
to the worst. For the first time, Federated Farmers has
asked farmers to tell us how the banks are stacking up.
You surveyed six hundred and eighty one farmers in May
(03:09):
and found Rabobank and A and Z were the top
performing rural banks, sharing first place on the podium. So
you've rated these banks over several criteria the mortgage rate,
the overdraft rate, the undue pressure, their communications quality, the
mental health side of it, overall satisfaction, and that gives
(03:32):
you a final grade. I'll start with Rabobank top equal.
I've got a final grade of A minus alongside A
n Z. That'll please Antonio Watson. So what have you
got to moan about if you're giving a bank's an
A minus rating.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Yeah, well, let's not confuse the topics here. So obviously
the banking survey is actually something that we've done for
a period of ten years, and it's been reported in
various fashions, and so this is an opportunity, I guess,
to do something a little bit different, a little bit
(04:10):
constructive with that data. So this is an opportunity just
to provide a bit of transparency for those banks in
terms of what is the information that Federated Farmers members
who respond to that survey are giving back to us.
So they are the ones that we represent, and so
we wanted to do something constructive with that data and
(04:32):
have come up with this report card idea, which is
the report card itself is obviously these numbers behind it,
but we've tried to make it a little bit, a
little bit lighter and a little bit more transparent by
just converting it into an old form, you know, high school.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Well, I was going to say, it's like your high
school report card. I remember in the fourth form having
to get to actually with the set of cut off
the principal's comment at the bottom because it want the
father to read it. He would have kicked me right
up the backside if he'd read that. Bless him. Now. Okay,
So Rabobank Todd charteris will be very pleased to hear this.
Rabobank received the highest scores for overall satisfaction, communication quality,
(05:16):
and overdraft rate. A and Z scored the best farmer
ratings for mortgage rates, the level of undue pressure felt
by farmers, and mental health scores. So they topped three
of the six categories each and that got them a
tie at the top with the A minus. Let's look
at the poorer performers. WESPAC came in at third place
(05:38):
with A C plus B and Z fourth place C
minus ASB last place A D. What are those other
banks doing wrong?
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Well, I think if you look at if you look
at those top performers, A and Z RABO they were
closely with FEDERAD farmers have engaged, you know, pretty heavily
with the with the rural sector. So they're obviously, you know,
looking at what solutions are, what are the concerns that
(06:12):
farmers have got, and it would seem that you know,
they're addressing those pretty well, as you mentioned, across those
six categories, between the two of them, they all took
the top spot. And I think this is an idea here.
A follow up from this is that you know, we
want to reach out to each of the banks and
provide a little bit more detail in terms of the feedback.
(06:34):
Obviously we've just gone for the high level report cards here,
and so I think that's the opportunity just to provide
a bit of feedback and say, hey, these are there's
some low hanging fruit here for these lower ones. You know,
it's a few tweaks and changes and they could easily
jump up the rankings a little bit. So as I
say in this, in this regard, you know we've got
(06:55):
the whole banking inquiry stuff going on separately, but this
is something there we're hoping to make a little bit positive,
a little bit constructive reach out, engage with and see
if we can help get some better outcomes.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Mark Cooper with us FAED Farmer's new banking spokespans and
I guess to be Rabobank. They specialize in agri lending.
That's all they do. If they can't become or be
top of the class, I guess something's wrong. And I
guess the other connection with an Z is their background
is obviously come through the National Bank, which took over
the book of the Rural Bank. So I think that've
(07:29):
still got the biggest rural portfolio ASB trailing in last place.
I want to decleaar a conflict of interest here, but
I private bank with ASB couldn't ask for better service.
It's brilliant. I'm also an equity partnership on a farm
asb's banking that I could ask for better service. So
(07:52):
they are dragging the chain.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Yeah, yeah, I think so. That's the reason though, why
we want to reach out to them, because you know,
realizing that there's a few small tweaks in the numbers
which affect the rankings, and so it's an opportunity just
to look at those numbers and to say, well, we're
are areas that we could make changes.
Speaker 6 (08:13):
You know.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Overall, I think it's great to see that, you know,
the mental health, the feeling of undue pressure, those are
kind of key parameters. Are a little bit subjective, of course,
but that's what farmers are feeling. And so it does
as you say in that example, you know, you feel
you're getting really good service in terms of your private banking.
(08:34):
So there's obviously scope there within the A and Z
for example, sorry ASP for example too to be able
to make that change, and maybe it's just a few
teque tweaks required to get the comms a bit better
to their royal customers.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
All right, let's just really quickly touch on this one.
This one came out I think earlier in the week.
This is the Commerce Commission dismissing Federated Farmers complained on
net zero banking. They found no evidence of cartel like behavior.
The five big banks that we've mentioned in this report
card account for ninety seven percent of agricultural lending. Were
(09:10):
you disappointed in this result?
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Yeah, we were disappointed in this result, and I guess
you know, this is where we want to make the
distinction from what we've just been talking about, where that
was intended to be a constructive kind of approach. But
with regards to this, we disagree with the findings of
comcomon this. We think that, you know, the banks have
(09:34):
been behaving in a certain way that particularly with a
focus around this kind of net zero banking alliance concept.
But it's a little bit of a case of David
versus Glyath and ComCom have come out with their results.
They saw things differently to us, but that that is
what it is at this stage.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Mark Cooper, I'm just going to quote you here. You
were quoted as saying you remained concerned that banks were
straying from their core role of lending money based on
real risk considerations and not indulging in climate change space.
I'm with you on that one. Hey, that's not a
bad first up effort. What a good story. The banking
report card, it's like the old high school report cards
(10:15):
that we all used to have to suffer through. So
there you go, A and Z, well done, Rabobank, well done, Westpac,
bn Z and ASB could do better. And you can't
say to the farmers the dog ate my homework. Mark,
thanks for your time.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
It's been great. Thanks talking cheers there.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
He goes Mark Cooper, Taranaki Kawkoki, the new banking spokesperson. Right,
what's up next on the country? Let me get organized here.
I'm going to bubble some of that great country music
under myself. Will I get organized? We've got paper for
Africa in here. Ris Gardner caught up with them a
wee bit earlier this morning. He came in and I
(10:52):
put a virtual reality headset on for the first time.
He's doing some great work around training farmers for quad
bike and side beside safety. He's part of Innovation Week
here on the Country. It's brought to you by Heard Eye.
We've got the Dairy and Deer Farmer panel, Craig Hickman
and Dunkenhem, Jeremy Rooks and Chris Russell. It's all on
(11:14):
the country today. It is Innovation Week here on the Country.
It's brought to you by heard I two to go
and this is an absolute cracker. He's based here in Dunedin.
He is the founder and CEO of g Factor. His
(11:37):
name is Reese Gardner. Comes from a very well known
farming family. His father Howie, a former director of CRT
or Farmland's whatever it was back in the day and
big in Wall as well. Reece, you're not farming anymore
you used to be. For the first time this morning,
I tried a virtual reality headset and it was a
(11:58):
lot of fun. And what we're going to talk about
today is what you are doing to prevent a huge
problem in New Zealand farming, and that is quad bike
and side beside deaths. Good afternoon, Yeah, how are you, Jimmy,
I'm not bad at all. I'm all the better for
having a go on the virtual headset. That is wonderful technology.
Tell me about your background from a well known farming family,
(12:18):
as I said, and how did you get into this fairly.
Speaker 7 (12:21):
Broad some farming in there on a steep sheven beef
place in South Otago. Also some rally and motorsport and
motocross and things like that. So we were coaching kids
in a paddock to try and improve skills there as
part of our rally program. And realize this doesn't scal
very well, you know, we'd ever look, Pat got wet.
(12:42):
We couldn't do it. So we sort of turned to
simulation about ten years ago and thought, this seems like
a no brainer, plenty of naivety. We sort of launched
into that despite it being apparently sort of impossible to
achieve on small budgets. And yeah, that's ten years ago,
so we've shifted into VA since then.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Well, I know that you're in kind of still in
the startup phase of this company, g factor, but you
must be buoyed here in Dunedin that other entrepreneurs and
I think of Sirien Taylor with what he's done, are
the world's your oyster?
Speaker 7 (13:14):
Yeah, funny enough, New Zealand's actually a leader in sort
of graphics technologies and spaces like that with Ian and
obviously we're to workshop and stuff like that, so yeah,
we're probably in the right country to do it.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Talk to me about quad bike deaths and side beside
deaths and what g Factor can do through your virtual
reality headset training to prevent them.
Speaker 7 (13:32):
I think if we strip it down to the basics,
is that people learn by doing right. And if people
or anything like me, they can't really be told they
can't read something. You know, there's a big difference between
knowing something and understanding it. The cool thing about VR
is the ability to fall around and find out and
if you can build an understanding of consequences, we think
(13:54):
that you naturally move to better decisions. And if we
set it up like that, we also don't have to
tell anyone what to do. We can collect the war
stories and the lessons and insights from everybody who's had
an accident or a near mass and learn from each other.
It's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Well, one of the situations we looked at this morning
through the VR headset was recreated by you, and it's
actually a real life accident which led to the death
of a young man. I think in the US it
has been recreated with the blessing of the victims family.
That's tough.
Speaker 7 (14:27):
Yeah, it's pretty powerful. That family ended up starting a
safety foundation in the US as a result of that
accident around ten years ago, so we were able to
recreate that scenario where keys were left available to a
youth and unfortunately that you thought that they could jump
on that vehicle and ride it, and it did result
(14:49):
in a fatal accident. So I guess that loss has
been tended to some sort of powerful momentum there in
the US around awareness of safety and accident for youth
on ATVs, which is part of what we're doing now,
But all of that applies in New Zealand as well.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Obviously, the US foundation you're working with promotes awareness as
you've been talking about around quad bikes, and the stats
on quad bikes and the US alone are astounding. Ten
million quad bikes in the US contributing to at least
forty thousand serious or fatal youth injuries each year. Obviously
these aren't all farming related, but they're dangerous beasts.
Speaker 7 (15:29):
Yeah, they are, and I don't think we should pretend
that they aren't. I kind of like what the helicopter
industry does around just recognizing the risk of the vehicles
that they're operating, and anytime there's an incident, they learn
from it and they share it and they bring it
back so that everybody can benefit from I guess the
insights in that.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Res Gardner with us, founder and CEO of G Factor,
What are you doing for about educating New Zealand farmers?
I mean, can they, for instance, get a hold of
you and jump onto a virtual reality headset like I
did this morning, or are you going for a bigger
audience for instance? Are you working with Safer Farms.
Speaker 7 (16:06):
Yeah, so we were with Safer Farms at Mister Creek
Field Days, which was fantastic, really good response out of
that and also the chance to have a lot of
discussions with different partners in the industry and figure out
how this could look. They've obviously got to focus on
broader farm safety and with ATVs as a focus as well.
(16:26):
So I think we learned a lot of lessons out
of that. We've come home and built a module around
seat belts and helmets on side by sides because that
constantly comes up latee a side beside myself for five
years when I was farming, and.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Yeah, because not many farmers built themselves in do they.
Speaker 7 (16:44):
Yeah, it's a tricky one and you sort of get
it that you get in, in and out of the vehicle
all the time. A seat belt becomes a househole. Human
nature being what it is. We take corners of corners
over time, and you get away with something a few times,
you expect to get it every time. Said, Yes, seat
belts and helmets. Yes, it's kind of foundational.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
So Reese, what's the ultimate aim for G factor world domination?
Speaker 2 (17:10):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (17:11):
I think Look, we'll try and reach one hundred thousand
kids in the US with a program next year. We'd
like to do more in New Zealand around obviously ATV
and so beside safety here as well. That sits alongside
schools programs around safer driving and road safety for teenagers
gaining licenses, plus also the launch of a terrorist driving
(17:33):
support program.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Fantastic technology. It's part of Innovation Week here on the Country,
brought to you by heard Iris Gardner. Thanks for coming in.
Sale to your mom and dad. Your dad's a great tourists.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
New Zealand's Rural Revolution Innovation Week on the Country, where
heard Eye automatically assessing your herd's body conditions objectively, consistently, precisely.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Try turning my mic on. Sorry about that, folks, twenty
seven after twelve you are with the Country. Think you
heard I's been and we've got a good story to
finish on tomorrow for Innovation Week. Up next the Dairy
and Deer Panel. Someone's texted in rather Crawley and said,
can't believe I want to talk about the price of butter.
I don't want to talk about the price of butter,
but I want to talk about who should be paying
(18:18):
for it, because I, for one, I think the dairy farmers,
Fonterra Open Country or whoever should not be paying for
it obviously, but it's just been a bit of a
lightning rod for discussion around the country. To be perfectly honest,
Like one other commentator on z B this morning, I'd
be much more worried about the cost of my rates
and insurance and maybe your overdraft rate too, farmers than
(18:41):
I would be around the price of butter. Up next
to the Dairy, Farmer and Deer Farmer panel.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Dure all the child bowing.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
A muffall bang on twelve point thirty here on the Country,
brought to you by brand It's the dear farmer and
dairy Armor Panel. I want to start with you, Craig Hickman,
a dairy man. You made an interesting comment on social
media I think earlier in the week. You've got a
big following and you bang on. People need to take
heed of the message from Mark Delatour from Open Country Dairy.
(19:15):
They've got a new butter factory. They're going to export
the whole damn lot, no domestic production at all because
they can make more money exporting it. Good afternoon, Good affnoon.
Speaker 6 (19:27):
Yes, it's a bit ironic given that Nikola Willis made
such a hue and try about hauling Miles Harold C.
Ponterra in for a meeting to discuss the price of
butto when you've got a new butter factory that's going
to send one hundred percent of its product oversease. It's
the biggest belief to be honest.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Well, Duncan Hum, you're the man behind the end Zed
Farming Facebook page. You're a media man. How embarrassed were
you by Mikey Sherman breathlessly door stopping Miles Hurrell as
he was trying to make his way to Parliament to
be told off by Nicoler.
Speaker 8 (20:02):
Just luckily I don't watch the news to have to
endure Mickey's brainlessness. But yeah, no, actually interesting, Nichola Willis
didn't really seem to know much about butter either or
what effects.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Which surprised me, duncan because she's a former top Fonterra executive.
I think Christopher luxon Center on the Fall's errand.
Speaker 8 (20:23):
Yeah, interesting, isn't it like a good point that, yeah,
she should understand the dynamics of what influences the butter price.
And yeah, I was probably most surprised by that.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Hey, Craig, Craig Heckman, away you go what? No?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Way you go?
Speaker 3 (20:38):
No?
Speaker 6 (20:38):
I think I think the whole thing's spun out of control.
Two weeks ago Nikola will Have said to on the
radio that she was going to haul Miles Harrolyn and
get some answers, and then on Mike asking very sorely
after that, Chris Lucklin was walking it back. I don't
think will have expected the sort of scrutiny she was
(20:58):
she was getting over this and it all blew out
up out of control and became a bit of a
pr disaster for her. But she does know full well
how butter prices are set. She's even walked back further
and said, way, actually, it's only going to be about March,
about margin things. She walked back further and said that
it was Miles had actually asked for the interview. I
(21:19):
think she just totally lost disaster of her own making.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Miles didn't look my dairy man. Miles didn't look that
shaffed walking to Parliament to be scolded by Recola.
Speaker 6 (21:32):
Why why would any CEO want to engage with the
government now after a fawting tony show like that? It
was it was an absolute embarrassment and no CEO could
have to endure that sort of ye that sort of
carry on. His answerable to his shareholders, and he had
these regular meetings with the government. There's there's good and
(21:53):
good faith and will have showed anything but good say.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Well him and Chris lux And are as thick as thief.
So it's a whole it's interesting, the whole thing. So
duncan hum, I've got to rattle through this. What do
you reckon? I think people should be I know, butter
costs a lot of money, as does cheese, and they're
a luxury item for a lot of families. Now, but
when you're looking at the household budget, I'd be more
concerned about insurance and rates.
Speaker 8 (22:16):
Oh absolutely, But I've gone that how good is butter,
and if anyone wants to make their own butter, go
for it yourself, because you know that is what you
pay for a block of butter, to go to the
effort of making yourself as very hard. So I think
we can appreciate just the work that goes into it
and how good it is for us to actually be
(22:37):
having an our diet as a superfood. So we've going
to appreciate that. But yeah, you're right, absolutely right. Like
rates and insurance, energies the other big one in people's budgets.
And I suppose we could probably say two big thing
that influences the cost of all those things is stuff
like carbon taxes, emissions trading scheme and all that that.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
We won't go down that rabbit hole today. Finally, your banks.
You don't have to tell me who you're banking with,
dairy Man. Are you happy with your bank?
Speaker 6 (23:08):
Yeah, I'm very happy. I speak to my bank manager
reasonably often. He's happy. I'm happy. He even shaved a
few weeks a basis points off my inst rate a
few weeks ago. Because yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
You're happy with your bank, duncan are you happy with
your bank? See, dairy man, there's no problem being happy
with because he's making that much money. The bank will
be falling over backwards to keep him happy. What about
a poor old deer farmer like you?
Speaker 8 (23:33):
Yeah, well mine's coming to see me on Monday, actually
about that. So yeah, no, I'll be hoping for some
more favorable rates, just like daring man has. I don't
I doubt we'll get it, but the banks always do better,
I guess, But no, my god, I.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Mike ripe with the rural banks, guys. Final comment for
me as a lot, they don't lend, as far as
I'm aware, much over fifty percent equity, so they own
no more than half the farm anyhow So if the
whole thing went balley up, the banks aren't going to
be the ones out of pocket. They've got they've got
one hundred percent guilt edged investment there. It'll be the
farmers that go out the other end. So I reckon
(24:11):
they need to get their rates closer to housing rates,
but the Reserve Bank asks them to hold more capital.
Got to go, guys, Thanks, for being the panel today
and sorry for that texture about going on about butter,
but I just think it's a bit of a lightning
ride at the Marment. We're going to take a break
on the other side of it, Rural news and sports
news before the end of their Jeremy Rooks in he's
(24:33):
probably on a ski field somewhere, and Chris Russell and Australia.
Speaker 9 (24:39):
It's Jane good Tool.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
All these good songs you can get on iHeartRadio a
new country channel, really good listening. Here's Michelle Watt with
the latest and rural news.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
The country's world news with Cob Cadet, New Zealand's leading
right on Lawnlower brand. Visit Steelford dot co dot Nz
for your low and.
Speaker 10 (25:01):
Some exciting news and sharing results toa Henderson has scored
a big win and claiming the Royal well Show All
Nations title. Now, of course Jack Fagan has actually won
that title. I think he was going for a third
try it this this time. This is tour's first time
over in the UK and Europe competing, so I hope
he's had a great time. Jack, however, got third. He
was just down no point fifteen down point fifteen points
(25:24):
Does that make sense, Jamie.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
No, No, that makes no sense at all.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
But it doesn't look it.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
Where I'm coming for. I used to it.
Speaker 10 (25:30):
Yeah, it used to me rambling on And that's what's
happening in Rawal News. We'll try and catch up with
David Fagan or one of the guys next week. I
think with Hamous.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, Toyer Henderson, as Jack said, he's been over there
for fifteen years sharing. He knows the sheep, he knows
the condition's first time ever for Toler Henderson, who was
of course our Golden Shares and New Zealand sharing champ
and he is going great guns doing his country proud sport.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
With AFCO Kiwi to the bone since nineteen oh four.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
No qualms from tactics which Donna Wilkins over the timing
of netball New Zealand's changes to the silver silverfern farms.
I keep trying to turn sports news into rural news.
Let's try that again. Changes to silver ferns eligibility criteria,
the revised guideline Mike might make some overseas based players
(26:20):
available for national selection via a formal exemption process. And
there's a story here on Max for Stappen. Rumors that
Formula one defending champ Max for Stappen might be lured
from Red Bull to Mercedes by team principal Toto Wolf
appeared to have driven down the cul de Sac. You
can find out more about that at the top of
(26:42):
the hour on Newstalks EDB. But up next, and don't
moan Rooks, because we're leaving you plenty of time. You're
going to be the finisher. You are going to finish
the show and we've got plenty of time for you.
But up next, I do have to go to Australia
because this bloke's got to get to a meeting at
one o'clock in Z time. So we're going to to
(27:02):
Chris Russell, our Australian correspondent that's up next on the Country.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Would your booth maybe we can do there.
Speaker 11 (27:15):
You're a good little luci MoU bear.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Oh yeah, here's our Aussie correspondent, Chris Russell, based out
of Sydney, born and bred in South Australia, Adelaide. Chris
had speen in a crippling drought and I'm talking about
the southern part of Australia that's about to change this
week or this weekend.
Speaker 11 (27:32):
Yeah, well that's right. They're expecting the heaviest rain and
snow in years. To quote the paper this morning for
Southern Australia bringing drought relief. We've been waiting for it
for a long time. I've had cousins down in South
Australia dry sowing crops and you know, no one knew
which way to turn. But we're looking at a massive
(27:53):
amount of rain over a huge percentage of Australia, probably
widespread rain covering. Maybe looking at the weather map here,
sixty percent of Australia maybe even more is going to
get good rain this weekend over fifty mils. The snow
season looks like it's going to be amazing. They're they're
really expecting a big drop of snow as well. So
(28:14):
I think we're in hope that maybe the drought is
over down there. And my goodness, they need follow rain
of course as always, but that's a very welcome relief.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Jamie Lamb prices keep setting new records every week now
up to now up to a whopping four hundred and
sixty dollars per head. How big with those Lambs?
Speaker 11 (28:33):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean normally I don't keep repeating stories
each week, but I mean every week I come in
with another record. This one was said at Forbes this
week thirty three lambs selling four hundred and sixty dollars
a hen. That's a lot of money for a lamb.
Mind you, when you look at them, they are big lambs.
But we've had big lamb records down in Tasmania, in Ballarat,
(28:55):
all over the place. So I guess the concern now
is we want to have a heck of a good
spring or we're going to be pretty short of lambs
when that comes about then, because everybody is putting all
their sheep on the market. The overseas market seems almost
insatiable at the moment, Jomie now.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
And it doesn't help that some of that pastoral land
that you want to grow or breed some lambs on
as being overtaken by kangaroos, goats and EMUs no.
Speaker 11 (29:20):
And this is a real concern because very limited in
how many you can shoot or get a license to cull.
But you know, if you've got forty thousand kangaroos running
around on your property, you get the professional shooter in.
He might knock off sixty five a night, But you know,
that's not even going to make a dent. So there
are farmers actually stocking some of their land in West
(29:42):
New South Wales because that the feed is just disappearing
under the weight of native animals that are moving into
that area. And I think we're going to see more
of that. Although this rain, if it now becomes pretty general,
that maybe will spread them back out again. But at
the moment, goats which they can't have go enough killing
capacity to get more taken off. EMUs and kangaroos which
(30:04):
are all protected, and the prices are low anyway, it's
a real challenge for the farmers.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Jamie Australia has lifted it's US beef band is this
elbow folding?
Speaker 11 (30:14):
Well, this is the question I think I've said to
you before that the US beef was never banned. It
was just that they couldn't tell us which US beef
actually came from the US and which had been brought
in earlier from Mexico and other places. We still have
foot in mouth disease prevalent. Now it sounds like the
Americans have given more assurances about being able to trace
their beef, and that sounds like where this has come
(30:37):
from but of course everyone over here is screaming that
we're folding, and we're trying to get good brownie points
with Trump and so on. We'll just see what happens.
I think it's academic to a large degree, Jamie, because
to be honest, us beef ain't ever going to sell
here other than some sort of boutiquey thing where an
American company might want to proclaim they're selling US beef.
(30:59):
But in terms of being competitive here, it's just not competitive.
So we're not going to see a kilo sold here
if it's down to general price. But psychologically, maybe it
is a giveaway. We can, in a calculated way give
away in order to try and get some of these
other tariffs on things like pharmaceuticals, steel and aluminium reduced, Jamie.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Chris Russell, thanks for your time as always. Good luck
for that second Lion's Test. This weekend, MCG sell out
one hundred thousand people. You got a chance.
Speaker 11 (31:32):
Look, based on the second half, I hope we're going
to be competitive. It's all about confidence, Jamie. We didn't
have our confidence they did in the first half.
Speaker 8 (31:40):
They walked all over us.
Speaker 11 (31:42):
If we can be expansive with the ball I'd love
to see Tom Lainer back getting the ball again, if
he can do to do his thing and get a
bit more chance with the ball. We've certainly got a chance.
It'll be a good game.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Don't hold your breath. See you next week, see.
Speaker 9 (31:56):
Mate, jammuslves but they learned to see.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Wrapping. The country ads ate away from one with Jeremy Rocks.
The country's loquacious. I'llby farming correspondent fires a few shots
and anger. But who's in his sights today? Let's ask him? Jess,
who are you lining up?
Speaker 5 (32:27):
I'm not lining up anyone.
Speaker 9 (32:28):
Abo.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
That's disappointing.
Speaker 5 (32:30):
No, no, well, I do take I'm just concurring was
what the farmer panel say about Nikola Willis. I mean,
you know, the fundamental one of the fundamental principles that
Labor National Party of Hart Whoopsa was founded on was
to keep government out of business. Because I've actually read
that today, and then she's just puffing away and virtue
(32:51):
signaling and making a what idiot of herself?
Speaker 11 (32:53):
Right?
Speaker 5 (32:53):
The government has no business? And how much dairy farmers
are getting for butter and how much can humans are paying?
The market sets the price period Unfortunately, what.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Did you make of the Federated Farmers Banking Survey? Like
the old secondary school report card, A and ZEN and
rabobank at the top, Westpac, third B and Z who
would have to get the price for the most woke
of the banks in fourth place, ASB trailing up the rear.
Speaker 5 (33:19):
Well, funnily enough, I banked with Westpac for quite a
long time, and about half and half of Westpac and ASB,
And fundamentally, I think it just comes down to the
quality of your actual bank managure that you've got. I mean,
we had awesome west Pack and then we got one
asshole and we left and went to the ASP and
(33:39):
there had nothing but good times with them. So at
the end of the day, I just think if the
banks have got good people, when you can build up
a good rapport, then it should be Okay.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
That's actually very sensible commentary. Yeah, the products are very similar.
It's the personal relationship with your banker. But you want
your banker to care, and I'm sure most of them do,
but some care more than others well, and I.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
Was fortunate to have guys that if I just gave
them a bit of a four because I'm very computer phobic,
so and I just said, there you go, there's my budget,
and they sort of let me away with it. So
I was pretty happy with that.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
I've got to say I banked with the B and
Z all my life fifty years until I moved to
the NEED and I had Margaret and Gore who looked
after my account. I wanted Margaret and Gore to keep
looking after my account, but the B and Z decided
to send me to the call center. They wouldn't let
Margaret handle my account. Consequently, the B and Z has
not seen me for the last fifteen years, nor will
(34:28):
in the future. It's all about the personal relationships one.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
Hundred percent, and that's what everything should be about in life,
is getting on with people and building trust and away
you're going it's happy days.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
Well, you're too come by our today. Can't you be
a weab at vitriolic about something bitter and twisted and cynical,
because that's your nature.
Speaker 5 (34:46):
I'm not. I'm just an observer, that's all that. No. No,
it's another beautiful day in Canterbury, very very cold this morning.
When I went for my morning walked Jamie, it was
minus four a quarter to seven this morning. As I
but thankfully I was mother and wool from the Mon's
Royal Beanie, the ice Breaker and the Mon's Roll, theirm well,
the ice Breaker, long chimes, the Swan dry woolen socks,
(35:10):
the Swan dry woolen jacket, and even my underpants. But
from three six five fantastic.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
You just sound like a walking advertisement. Wouldn't you be
better to get well? What wouldn't you be getting better
to get your daily steps up by I don't know,
walking along a swede paddock and shifting a break.
Speaker 5 (35:30):
Well, I'm actually at the moment where can serve in grass.
My ten hiffers are getting a bar of hevery second
day I'm watching them. Now, my and my twenty four
years are getting four hundred grams per head of reliant
sheep nuts. Jamie. So I'm all over and I'm I'm
saving my feet.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
This is a sponsored segment. Now, how you could you
could aim for what Chris Russell's getting in Australia four
hundred and sixty dollars lambs, because what lambs you do?
Get off your hobby block, Jeremy, are going to be
worth a fortune this year, and good on you. You
deserve it. Our sheep farmers did over the beef.
Speaker 5 (36:01):
No, no, no, I've got a crisis because I borrow
a ram every year I made of mine. I think
he gave me a teaser this year because I always
put a harness on at the end of the first cycle,
and he marked a lot in the second cycle. And
then unfortunately I had to I had to go over
to my other lifestyles and borrow one of their rams
for the third cycle, so I might not start eleven
(36:22):
until September. At this road, which is a bloody concerned.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
Maybe you should have used the harness they put on
you at Lincoln College.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
Well that I was. I was unharnessed then, jam, Thank goodness,
that's all right, that's all right, all.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
Right, Well you enjoy a brilliantly fine Canterbury day. I
can say it's the same. And the deep side.
Speaker 5 (36:41):
We need some snow. I haven't even been on peace.
I've got a season's pass at Porters and it's just
a bit of a tiny bit of snow out there,
so we need to dump shortly.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
You're talking about snow there, Jeremy Rocks. Yes, first world
problems from the Canterbury Harvey farmer wrapping the Country for today.
We'll catch your back, same time, same place tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay. Thanks to Brent, your specialist in
John Deere machinery
Catch all the latest from the land. It's The Country
Podcast with Jamie mckaye thanks to Brent starkest of the
leading agriculture brands.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Godjam Be.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Gooday, News Ellen, Good afternoon. Welcome to the Country. I'm
Jamie McKay. The show is brought to you by Brandt
Going Country. Today on The Country, we're going to kick
it off with a Federated Farmer's new banking spokesperson. He's
filling the big shoes of Richard McIntyre, who did an
excellent job holding the banks to account. Now Federated Farmers
(00:49):
have just come out with the Banking Survey, rating the
banks from the best to the worst. You're going to
be interested in some of these results. We're continuing Innovation
week here on Country. Earlier this morning I caught up
with Rhys Gardner tried on a virtual reality headset for
the first time. He's doing some fantastic work. His company
(01:11):
is called g Factor when it comes to training, amongst
other things, farmers on quad bike and side beside safety.
Today's Farmer Panel Mid Canterbury Farmer Panel, a dairy farmer
and a deer farmer, The price of butter who should
be paying for it, Jeremy Rooks we missed him yesterday,
will get him today and our Rossie correspondent Chris Russell.
(01:32):
But let's just kick off the show with Mark Hooper,
the New Federated Farmer's Banking spokesperson. Sorry about the delay
that I was just getting a call from Ryan Bridge's
producer from the Herald now about a slot tomorrow morning.
Doesn't she know I'm on air between twelve and one anyhow,
(01:53):
Mark Hooper, Welcome to the country. I think for the
first time. Big shoes to fill Richard McIntyre's gun boots.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Yeah, very much.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
On Jamie.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Richard's done an outstanding job in his role and so
there's a but to live up there. Up to there,
it's going to be it's going to be a challenge,
but looking forward to it though.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Now you are you based on the Taranaki. You've obviously
got to be a cowcocky. You've got nothing else.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Up there, that's right, yep, yep, No, that's the way
to go.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
So tell us about your farming operation, just quickly give
us a week background.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Oh, we're very traditional Taranaki farmers, fourth generation on a
family farm, three hundred and twenty cows, owner operators, So
balancing between you know what I do with feeds and
then now the cares ship.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Now you've been involved, i think with feeds on the
national board for about four years, so you've got a
few runs on the board. So let's have a look
at this banking survey, ranking the banks from the best
to the worst. For the first time, Federated Farmers has
asked farmers to tell us how the banks are stacking up.
You surveyed six hundred and eighty one farmers in May
(03:09):
and found Rabobank and A and Z were the top
performing rural banks, sharing first place on the podium. So
you've rated these banks over several criteria the mortgage rate,
the overdraft rate, the undue pressure, their communications quality, the
mental health side of it, overall satisfaction, and that gives
(03:32):
you a final grade. I'll start with Rabobank top equal.
I've got a final grade of A minus alongside A
n Z. That'll please Antonio Watson. So what have you
got to moan about if you're giving a bank's an
A minus rating.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Yeah, well, let's not confuse the topics here. So obviously
the banking survey is actually something that we've done for
a period of ten years, and it's been reported in
various fashions, and so this is an opportunity, I guess,
to do something a little bit different, a little bit
(04:10):
constructive with that data. So this is an opportunity just
to provide a bit of transparency for those banks in
terms of what is the information that Federated Farmers members
who respond to that survey are giving back to us.
So they are the ones that we represent, and so
we wanted to do something constructive with that data and
(04:32):
have come up with this report card idea, which is
the report card itself is obviously these numbers behind it,
but we've tried to make it a little bit, a
little bit lighter and a little bit more transparent by
just converting it into an old form, you know, high school.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Well, I was going to say, it's like your high
school report card. I remember in the fourth form having
to get to actually with the set of cut off
the principal's comment at the bottom because it want the
father to read it. He would have kicked me right
up the backside if he'd read that. Bless him. Now. Okay,
So Rabobank Todd charteris will be very pleased to hear this.
Rabobank received the highest scores for overall satisfaction, communication quality,
(05:16):
and overdraft rate. A and Z scored the best farmer
ratings for mortgage rates, the level of undue pressure felt
by farmers, and mental health scores. So they topped three
of the six categories each and that got them a
tie at the top with the A minus. Let's look
at the poorer performers. WESPAC came in at third place
(05:38):
with A C plus B and Z fourth place C
minus ASB last place A D. What are those other
banks doing wrong?
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Well, I think if you look at if you look
at those top performers, A and Z RABO they were
closely with FEDERAD farmers have engaged, you know, pretty heavily
with the with the rural sector. So they're obviously, you know,
looking at what solutions are, what are the concerns that
(06:12):
farmers have got, and it would seem that you know,
they're addressing those pretty well, as you mentioned, across those
six categories, between the two of them, they all took
the top spot. And I think this is an idea here.
A follow up from this is that you know, we
want to reach out to each of the banks and
provide a little bit more detail in terms of the feedback.
(06:34):
Obviously we've just gone for the high level report cards here,
and so I think that's the opportunity just to provide
a bit of feedback and say, hey, these are there's
some low hanging fruit here for these lower ones. You know,
it's a few tweaks and changes and they could easily
jump up the rankings a little bit. So as I
say in this, in this regard, you know we've got
(06:55):
the whole banking inquiry stuff going on separately, but this
is something there we're hoping to make a little bit positive,
a little bit constructive reach out, engage with and see
if we can help get some better outcomes.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Mark Cooper with us FAED Farmer's new banking spokespans and
I guess to be Rabobank. They specialize in agri lending.
That's all they do. If they can't become or be
top of the class, I guess something's wrong. And I
guess the other connection with an Z is their background
is obviously come through the National Bank, which took over
the book of the Rural Bank. So I think that've
(07:29):
still got the biggest rural portfolio ASB trailing in last place.
I want to decleaar a conflict of interest here, but
I private bank with ASB couldn't ask for better service.
It's brilliant. I'm also an equity partnership on a farm
asb's banking that I could ask for better service. So
(07:52):
they are dragging the chain.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Yeah, yeah, I think so. That's the reason though, why
we want to reach out to them, because you know,
realizing that there's a few small tweaks in the numbers
which affect the rankings, and so it's an opportunity just
to look at those numbers and to say, well, we're
are areas that we could make changes.
Speaker 6 (08:13):
You know.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Overall, I think it's great to see that, you know,
the mental health, the feeling of undue pressure, those are
kind of key parameters. Are a little bit subjective, of course,
but that's what farmers are feeling. And so it does
as you say in that example, you know, you feel
you're getting really good service in terms of your private banking.
(08:34):
So there's obviously scope there within the A and Z
for example, sorry ASP for example too to be able
to make that change, and maybe it's just a few
teque tweaks required to get the comms a bit better
to their royal customers.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
All right, let's just really quickly touch on this one.
This one came out I think earlier in the week.
This is the Commerce Commission dismissing Federated Farmers complained on
net zero banking. They found no evidence of cartel like behavior.
The five big banks that we've mentioned in this report
card account for ninety seven percent of agricultural lending. Were
(09:10):
you disappointed in this result?
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Yeah, we were disappointed in this result, and I guess
you know, this is where we want to make the
distinction from what we've just been talking about, where that
was intended to be a constructive kind of approach. But
with regards to this, we disagree with the findings of
comcomon this. We think that, you know, the banks have
(09:34):
been behaving in a certain way that particularly with a
focus around this kind of net zero banking alliance concept.
But it's a little bit of a case of David
versus Glyath and ComCom have come out with their results.
They saw things differently to us, but that that is
what it is at this stage.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Mark Cooper, I'm just going to quote you here. You
were quoted as saying you remained concerned that banks were
straying from their core role of lending money based on
real risk considerations and not indulging in climate change space.
I'm with you on that one. Hey, that's not a
bad first up effort. What a good story. The banking
report card, it's like the old high school report cards
(10:15):
that we all used to have to suffer through. So
there you go, A and Z, well done, Rabobank, well done, Westpac,
bn Z and ASB could do better. And you can't
say to the farmers the dog ate my homework. Mark,
thanks for your time.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
It's been great. Thanks talking cheers there.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
He goes Mark Cooper, Taranaki Kawkoki, the new banking spokesperson. Right,
what's up next on the country? Let me get organized here.
I'm going to bubble some of that great country music
under myself. Will I get organized? We've got paper for
Africa in here. Ris Gardner caught up with them a
wee bit earlier this morning. He came in and I
(10:52):
put a virtual reality headset on for the first time.
He's doing some great work around training farmers for quad
bike and side beside safety. He's part of Innovation Week
here on the Country. It's brought to you by Heard Eye.
We've got the Dairy and Deer Farmer panel, Craig Hickman
and Dunkenhem, Jeremy Rooks and Chris Russell. It's all on
(11:14):
the country today. It is Innovation Week here on the Country.
It's brought to you by heard I two to go
and this is an absolute cracker. He's based here in Dunedin.
He is the founder and CEO of g Factor. His
(11:37):
name is Reese Gardner. Comes from a very well known
farming family. His father Howie, a former director of CRT
or Farmland's whatever it was back in the day and
big in Wall as well. Reece, you're not farming anymore
you used to be. For the first time this morning,
I tried a virtual reality headset and it was a
(11:58):
lot of fun. And what we're going to talk about
today is what you are doing to prevent a huge
problem in New Zealand farming, and that is quad bike
and side beside deaths. Good afternoon, Yeah, how are you, Jimmy,
I'm not bad at all. I'm all the better for
having a go on the virtual headset. That is wonderful technology.
Tell me about your background from a well known farming family,
(12:18):
as I said, and how did you get into this fairly.
Speaker 7 (12:21):
Broad some farming in there on a steep sheven beef
place in South Otago. Also some rally and motorsport and
motocross and things like that. So we were coaching kids
in a paddock to try and improve skills there as
part of our rally program. And realize this doesn't scal
very well, you know, we'd ever look, Pat got wet.
(12:42):
We couldn't do it. So we sort of turned to
simulation about ten years ago and thought, this seems like
a no brainer, plenty of naivety. We sort of launched
into that despite it being apparently sort of impossible to
achieve on small budgets. And yeah, that's ten years ago,
so we've shifted into VA since then.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Well, I know that you're in kind of still in
the startup phase of this company, g factor, but you
must be buoyed here in Dunedin that other entrepreneurs and
I think of Sirien Taylor with what he's done, are
the world's your oyster?
Speaker 7 (13:14):
Yeah, funny enough, New Zealand's actually a leader in sort
of graphics technologies and spaces like that with Ian and
obviously we're to workshop and stuff like that, so yeah,
we're probably in the right country to do it.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Talk to me about quad bike deaths and side beside
deaths and what g Factor can do through your virtual
reality headset training to prevent them.
Speaker 7 (13:32):
I think if we strip it down to the basics,
is that people learn by doing right. And if people
or anything like me, they can't really be told they
can't read something. You know, there's a big difference between
knowing something and understanding it. The cool thing about VR
is the ability to fall around and find out and
if you can build an understanding of consequences, we think
(13:54):
that you naturally move to better decisions. And if we
set it up like that, we also don't have to
tell anyone what to do. We can collect the war
stories and the lessons and insights from everybody who's had
an accident or a near mass and learn from each other.
It's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Well, one of the situations we looked at this morning
through the VR headset was recreated by you, and it's
actually a real life accident which led to the death
of a young man. I think in the US it
has been recreated with the blessing of the victims family.
That's tough.
Speaker 7 (14:27):
Yeah, it's pretty powerful. That family ended up starting a
safety foundation in the US as a result of that
accident around ten years ago, so we were able to
recreate that scenario where keys were left available to a
youth and unfortunately that you thought that they could jump
on that vehicle and ride it, and it did result
(14:49):
in a fatal accident. So I guess that loss has
been tended to some sort of powerful momentum there in
the US around awareness of safety and accident for youth
on ATVs, which is part of what we're doing now,
But all of that applies in New Zealand as well.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Obviously, the US foundation you're working with promotes awareness as
you've been talking about around quad bikes, and the stats
on quad bikes and the US alone are astounding. Ten
million quad bikes in the US contributing to at least
forty thousand serious or fatal youth injuries each year. Obviously
these aren't all farming related, but they're dangerous beasts.
Speaker 7 (15:29):
Yeah, they are, and I don't think we should pretend
that they aren't. I kind of like what the helicopter
industry does around just recognizing the risk of the vehicles
that they're operating, and anytime there's an incident, they learn
from it and they share it and they bring it
back so that everybody can benefit from I guess the
insights in that.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Res Gardner with us, founder and CEO of G Factor,
What are you doing for about educating New Zealand farmers?
I mean, can they, for instance, get a hold of
you and jump onto a virtual reality headset like I
did this morning, or are you going for a bigger
audience for instance? Are you working with Safer Farms.
Speaker 7 (16:06):
Yeah, so we were with Safer Farms at Mister Creek
Field Days, which was fantastic, really good response out of
that and also the chance to have a lot of
discussions with different partners in the industry and figure out
how this could look. They've obviously got to focus on
broader farm safety and with ATVs as a focus as well.
(16:26):
So I think we learned a lot of lessons out
of that. We've come home and built a module around
seat belts and helmets on side by sides because that
constantly comes up latee a side beside myself for five
years when I was farming, and.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Yeah, because not many farmers built themselves in do they.
Speaker 7 (16:44):
Yeah, it's a tricky one and you sort of get
it that you get in, in and out of the vehicle
all the time. A seat belt becomes a househole. Human
nature being what it is. We take corners of corners
over time, and you get away with something a few times,
you expect to get it every time. Said, Yes, seat
belts and helmets. Yes, it's kind of foundational.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
So Reese, what's the ultimate aim for G factor world domination?
Speaker 2 (17:10):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (17:11):
I think Look, we'll try and reach one hundred thousand
kids in the US with a program next year. We'd
like to do more in New Zealand around obviously ATV
and so beside safety here as well. That sits alongside
schools programs around safer driving and road safety for teenagers
gaining licenses, plus also the launch of a terrorist driving
(17:33):
support program.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Fantastic technology. It's part of Innovation Week here on the Country,
brought to you by heard Iris Gardner. Thanks for coming in.
Sale to your mom and dad. Your dad's a great tourists.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
New Zealand's Rural Revolution Innovation Week on the Country, where
heard Eye automatically assessing your herd's body conditions objectively, consistently, precisely.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Try turning my mic on. Sorry about that, folks, twenty
seven after twelve you are with the Country. Think you
heard I's been and we've got a good story to
finish on tomorrow for Innovation Week. Up next the Dairy
and Deer Panel. Someone's texted in rather Crawley and said,
can't believe I want to talk about the price of butter.
I don't want to talk about the price of butter,
but I want to talk about who should be paying
(18:18):
for it, because I, for one, I think the dairy farmers,
Fonterra Open Country or whoever should not be paying for
it obviously, but it's just been a bit of a
lightning rod for discussion around the country. To be perfectly honest,
Like one other commentator on z B this morning, I'd
be much more worried about the cost of my rates
and insurance and maybe your overdraft rate too, farmers than
(18:41):
I would be around the price of butter. Up next
to the Dairy, Farmer and Deer Farmer panel.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Dure all the child bowing.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
A muffall bang on twelve point thirty here on the Country,
brought to you by brand It's the dear farmer and
dairy Armor Panel. I want to start with you, Craig Hickman,
a dairy man. You made an interesting comment on social
media I think earlier in the week. You've got a
big following and you bang on. People need to take
heed of the message from Mark Delatour from Open Country Dairy.
(19:15):
They've got a new butter factory. They're going to export
the whole damn lot, no domestic production at all because
they can make more money exporting it. Good afternoon, Good affnoon.
Speaker 6 (19:27):
Yes, it's a bit ironic given that Nikola Willis made
such a hue and try about hauling Miles Harold C.
Ponterra in for a meeting to discuss the price of
butto when you've got a new butter factory that's going
to send one hundred percent of its product oversease. It's
the biggest belief to be honest.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Well, Duncan Hum, you're the man behind the end Zed
Farming Facebook page. You're a media man. How embarrassed were
you by Mikey Sherman breathlessly door stopping Miles Hurrell as
he was trying to make his way to Parliament to
be told off by Nicoler.
Speaker 8 (20:02):
Just luckily I don't watch the news to have to
endure Mickey's brainlessness. But yeah, no, actually interesting, Nichola Willis
didn't really seem to know much about butter either or
what effects.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Which surprised me, duncan because she's a former top Fonterra executive.
I think Christopher luxon Center on the Fall's errand.
Speaker 8 (20:23):
Yeah, interesting, isn't it like a good point that, yeah,
she should understand the dynamics of what influences the butter price.
And yeah, I was probably most surprised by that.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Hey, Craig, Craig Heckman, away you go what? No?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Way you go?
Speaker 3 (20:38):
No?
Speaker 6 (20:38):
I think I think the whole thing's spun out of control.
Two weeks ago Nikola will Have said to on the
radio that she was going to haul Miles Harrolyn and
get some answers, and then on Mike asking very sorely
after that, Chris Lucklin was walking it back. I don't
think will have expected the sort of scrutiny she was
(20:58):
she was getting over this and it all blew out
up out of control and became a bit of a
pr disaster for her. But she does know full well
how butter prices are set. She's even walked back further
and said, way, actually, it's only going to be about March,
about margin things. She walked back further and said that
it was Miles had actually asked for the interview. I
(21:19):
think she just totally lost disaster of her own making.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Miles didn't look my dairy man. Miles didn't look that
shaffed walking to Parliament to be scolded by Recola.
Speaker 6 (21:32):
Why why would any CEO want to engage with the
government now after a fawting tony show like that? It
was it was an absolute embarrassment and no CEO could
have to endure that sort of ye that sort of
carry on. His answerable to his shareholders, and he had
these regular meetings with the government. There's there's good and
(21:53):
good faith and will have showed anything but good say.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Well him and Chris lux And are as thick as thief.
So it's a whole it's interesting, the whole thing. So
duncan hum, I've got to rattle through this. What do
you reckon? I think people should be I know, butter
costs a lot of money, as does cheese, and they're
a luxury item for a lot of families. Now, but
when you're looking at the household budget, I'd be more
concerned about insurance and rates.
Speaker 8 (22:16):
Oh absolutely, But I've gone that how good is butter,
and if anyone wants to make their own butter, go
for it yourself, because you know that is what you
pay for a block of butter, to go to the
effort of making yourself as very hard. So I think
we can appreciate just the work that goes into it
and how good it is for us to actually be
(22:37):
having an our diet as a superfood. So we've going
to appreciate that. But yeah, you're right, absolutely right. Like
rates and insurance, energies the other big one in people's budgets.
And I suppose we could probably say two big thing
that influences the cost of all those things is stuff
like carbon taxes, emissions trading scheme and all that that.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
We won't go down that rabbit hole today. Finally, your banks.
You don't have to tell me who you're banking with,
dairy Man. Are you happy with your bank?
Speaker 6 (23:08):
Yeah, I'm very happy. I speak to my bank manager
reasonably often. He's happy. I'm happy. He even shaved a
few weeks a basis points off my inst rate a
few weeks ago. Because yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
You're happy with your bank, duncan are you happy with
your bank? See, dairy man, there's no problem being happy
with because he's making that much money. The bank will
be falling over backwards to keep him happy. What about
a poor old deer farmer like you?
Speaker 8 (23:33):
Yeah, well mine's coming to see me on Monday, actually
about that. So yeah, no, I'll be hoping for some
more favorable rates, just like daring man has. I don't
I doubt we'll get it, but the banks always do better,
I guess, But no, my god, I.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Mike ripe with the rural banks, guys. Final comment for
me as a lot, they don't lend, as far as
I'm aware, much over fifty percent equity, so they own
no more than half the farm anyhow So if the
whole thing went balley up, the banks aren't going to
be the ones out of pocket. They've got they've got
one hundred percent guilt edged investment there. It'll be the
farmers that go out the other end. So I reckon
(24:11):
they need to get their rates closer to housing rates,
but the Reserve Bank asks them to hold more capital.
Got to go, guys, Thanks, for being the panel today
and sorry for that texture about going on about butter,
but I just think it's a bit of a lightning
ride at the Marment. We're going to take a break
on the other side of it, Rural news and sports
news before the end of their Jeremy Rooks in he's
(24:33):
probably on a ski field somewhere, and Chris Russell and Australia.
Speaker 9 (24:39):
It's Jane good Tool.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
All these good songs you can get on iHeartRadio a
new country channel, really good listening. Here's Michelle Watt with
the latest and rural news.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
The country's world news with Cob Cadet, New Zealand's leading
right on Lawnlower brand. Visit Steelford dot co dot Nz
for your low and.
Speaker 10 (25:01):
Some exciting news and sharing results toa Henderson has scored
a big win and claiming the Royal well Show All
Nations title. Now, of course Jack Fagan has actually won
that title. I think he was going for a third
try it this this time. This is tour's first time
over in the UK and Europe competing, so I hope
he's had a great time. Jack, however, got third. He
was just down no point fifteen down point fifteen points
(25:24):
Does that make sense, Jamie.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
No, No, that makes no sense at all.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
But it doesn't look it.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
Where I'm coming for. I used to it.
Speaker 10 (25:30):
Yeah, it used to me rambling on And that's what's
happening in Rawal News. We'll try and catch up with
David Fagan or one of the guys next week. I
think with Hamous.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, Toyer Henderson, as Jack said, he's been over there
for fifteen years sharing. He knows the sheep, he knows
the condition's first time ever for Toler Henderson, who was
of course our Golden Shares and New Zealand sharing champ
and he is going great guns doing his country proud sport.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
With AFCO Kiwi to the bone since nineteen oh four.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
No qualms from tactics which Donna Wilkins over the timing
of netball New Zealand's changes to the silver silverfern farms.
I keep trying to turn sports news into rural news.
Let's try that again. Changes to silver ferns eligibility criteria,
the revised guideline Mike might make some overseas based players
(26:20):
available for national selection via a formal exemption process. And
there's a story here on Max for Stappen. Rumors that
Formula one defending champ Max for Stappen might be lured
from Red Bull to Mercedes by team principal Toto Wolf
appeared to have driven down the cul de Sac. You
can find out more about that at the top of
(26:42):
the hour on Newstalks EDB. But up next, and don't
moan Rooks, because we're leaving you plenty of time. You're
going to be the finisher. You are going to finish
the show and we've got plenty of time for you.
But up next, I do have to go to Australia
because this bloke's got to get to a meeting at
one o'clock in Z time. So we're going to to
(27:02):
Chris Russell, our Australian correspondent that's up next on the Country.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Would your booth maybe we can do there.
Speaker 11 (27:15):
You're a good little luci MoU bear.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Oh yeah, here's our Aussie correspondent, Chris Russell, based out
of Sydney, born and bred in South Australia, Adelaide. Chris
had speen in a crippling drought and I'm talking about
the southern part of Australia that's about to change this
week or this weekend.
Speaker 11 (27:32):
Yeah, well that's right. They're expecting the heaviest rain and
snow in years. To quote the paper this morning for
Southern Australia bringing drought relief. We've been waiting for it
for a long time. I've had cousins down in South
Australia dry sowing crops and you know, no one knew
which way to turn. But we're looking at a massive
(27:53):
amount of rain over a huge percentage of Australia, probably
widespread rain covering. Maybe looking at the weather map here,
sixty percent of Australia maybe even more is going to
get good rain this weekend over fifty mils. The snow
season looks like it's going to be amazing. They're they're
really expecting a big drop of snow as well. So
(28:14):
I think we're in hope that maybe the drought is
over down there. And my goodness, they need follow rain
of course as always, but that's a very welcome relief.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Jamie Lamb prices keep setting new records every week now
up to now up to a whopping four hundred and
sixty dollars per head. How big with those Lambs?
Speaker 11 (28:33):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean normally I don't keep repeating stories
each week, but I mean every week I come in
with another record. This one was said at Forbes this
week thirty three lambs selling four hundred and sixty dollars
a hen. That's a lot of money for a lamb.
Mind you, when you look at them, they are big lambs.
But we've had big lamb records down in Tasmania, in Ballarat,
(28:55):
all over the place. So I guess the concern now
is we want to have a heck of a good
spring or we're going to be pretty short of lambs
when that comes about then, because everybody is putting all
their sheep on the market. The overseas market seems almost
insatiable at the moment, Jomie now.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
And it doesn't help that some of that pastoral land
that you want to grow or breed some lambs on
as being overtaken by kangaroos, goats and EMUs no.
Speaker 11 (29:20):
And this is a real concern because very limited in
how many you can shoot or get a license to cull.
But you know, if you've got forty thousand kangaroos running
around on your property, you get the professional shooter in.
He might knock off sixty five a night, But you know,
that's not even going to make a dent. So there
are farmers actually stocking some of their land in West
(29:42):
New South Wales because that the feed is just disappearing
under the weight of native animals that are moving into
that area. And I think we're going to see more
of that. Although this rain, if it now becomes pretty general,
that maybe will spread them back out again. But at
the moment, goats which they can't have go enough killing
capacity to get more taken off. EMUs and kangaroos which
(30:04):
are all protected, and the prices are low anyway, it's
a real challenge for the farmers.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Jamie Australia has lifted it's US beef band is this
elbow folding?
Speaker 11 (30:14):
Well, this is the question I think I've said to
you before that the US beef was never banned. It
was just that they couldn't tell us which US beef
actually came from the US and which had been brought
in earlier from Mexico and other places. We still have
foot in mouth disease prevalent. Now it sounds like the
Americans have given more assurances about being able to trace
their beef, and that sounds like where this has come
(30:37):
from but of course everyone over here is screaming that
we're folding, and we're trying to get good brownie points
with Trump and so on. We'll just see what happens.
I think it's academic to a large degree, Jamie, because
to be honest, us beef ain't ever going to sell
here other than some sort of boutiquey thing where an
American company might want to proclaim they're selling US beef.
(30:59):
But in terms of being competitive here, it's just not competitive.
So we're not going to see a kilo sold here
if it's down to general price. But psychologically, maybe it
is a giveaway. We can, in a calculated way give
away in order to try and get some of these
other tariffs on things like pharmaceuticals, steel and aluminium reduced, Jamie.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Chris Russell, thanks for your time as always. Good luck
for that second Lion's Test. This weekend, MCG sell out
one hundred thousand people. You got a chance.
Speaker 11 (31:32):
Look, based on the second half, I hope we're going
to be competitive. It's all about confidence, Jamie. We didn't
have our confidence they did in the first half.
Speaker 8 (31:40):
They walked all over us.
Speaker 11 (31:42):
If we can be expansive with the ball I'd love
to see Tom Lainer back getting the ball again, if
he can do to do his thing and get a
bit more chance with the ball. We've certainly got a chance.
It'll be a good game.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Don't hold your breath. See you next week, see.
Speaker 9 (31:56):
Mate, jammuslves but they learned to see.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Wrapping. The country ads ate away from one with Jeremy Rocks.
The country's loquacious. I'llby farming correspondent fires a few shots
and anger. But who's in his sights today? Let's ask him? Jess,
who are you lining up?
Speaker 5 (32:27):
I'm not lining up anyone.
Speaker 9 (32:28):
Abo.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
That's disappointing.
Speaker 5 (32:30):
No, no, well, I do take I'm just concurring was
what the farmer panel say about Nikola Willis. I mean,
you know, the fundamental one of the fundamental principles that
Labor National Party of Hart Whoopsa was founded on was
to keep government out of business. Because I've actually read
that today, and then she's just puffing away and virtue
(32:51):
signaling and making a what idiot of herself?
Speaker 11 (32:53):
Right?
Speaker 5 (32:53):
The government has no business? And how much dairy farmers
are getting for butter and how much can humans are paying?
The market sets the price period Unfortunately, what.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Did you make of the Federated Farmers Banking Survey? Like
the old secondary school report card, A and ZEN and
rabobank at the top, Westpac, third B and Z who
would have to get the price for the most woke
of the banks in fourth place, ASB trailing up the rear.
Speaker 5 (33:19):
Well, funnily enough, I banked with Westpac for quite a
long time, and about half and half of Westpac and ASB,
And fundamentally, I think it just comes down to the
quality of your actual bank managure that you've got. I mean,
we had awesome west Pack and then we got one
asshole and we left and went to the ASP and
(33:39):
there had nothing but good times with them. So at
the end of the day, I just think if the
banks have got good people, when you can build up
a good rapport, then it should be Okay.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
That's actually very sensible commentary. Yeah, the products are very similar.
It's the personal relationship with your banker. But you want
your banker to care, and I'm sure most of them do,
but some care more than others well, and I.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
Was fortunate to have guys that if I just gave
them a bit of a four because I'm very computer phobic,
so and I just said, there you go, there's my budget,
and they sort of let me away with it. So
I was pretty happy with that.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
I've got to say I banked with the B and
Z all my life fifty years until I moved to
the NEED and I had Margaret and Gore who looked
after my account. I wanted Margaret and Gore to keep
looking after my account, but the B and Z decided
to send me to the call center. They wouldn't let
Margaret handle my account. Consequently, the B and Z has
not seen me for the last fifteen years, nor will
(34:28):
in the future. It's all about the personal relationships one.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
Hundred percent, and that's what everything should be about in life,
is getting on with people and building trust and away
you're going it's happy days.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
Well, you're too come by our today. Can't you be
a weab at vitriolic about something bitter and twisted and cynical,
because that's your nature.
Speaker 5 (34:46):
I'm not. I'm just an observer, that's all that. No. No,
it's another beautiful day in Canterbury, very very cold this morning.
When I went for my morning walked Jamie, it was
minus four a quarter to seven this morning. As I
but thankfully I was mother and wool from the Mon's
Royal Beanie, the ice Breaker and the Mon's Roll, theirm well,
the ice Breaker, long chimes, the Swan dry woolen socks,
(35:10):
the Swan dry woolen jacket, and even my underpants. But
from three six five fantastic.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
You just sound like a walking advertisement. Wouldn't you be
better to get well? What wouldn't you be getting better
to get your daily steps up by I don't know,
walking along a swede paddock and shifting a break.
Speaker 5 (35:30):
Well, I'm actually at the moment where can serve in grass.
My ten hiffers are getting a bar of hevery second
day I'm watching them. Now, my and my twenty four
years are getting four hundred grams per head of reliant
sheep nuts. Jamie. So I'm all over and I'm I'm
saving my feet.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
This is a sponsored segment. Now, how you could you
could aim for what Chris Russell's getting in Australia four
hundred and sixty dollars lambs, because what lambs you do?
Get off your hobby block, Jeremy, are going to be
worth a fortune this year, and good on you. You
deserve it. Our sheep farmers did over the beef.
Speaker 5 (36:01):
No, no, no, I've got a crisis because I borrow
a ram every year I made of mine. I think
he gave me a teaser this year because I always
put a harness on at the end of the first cycle,
and he marked a lot in the second cycle. And
then unfortunately I had to I had to go over
to my other lifestyles and borrow one of their rams
for the third cycle, so I might not start eleven
(36:22):
until September. At this road, which is a bloody concerned.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
Maybe you should have used the harness they put on
you at Lincoln College.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
Well that I was. I was unharnessed then, jam, Thank goodness,
that's all right, that's all right, all.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
Right, Well you enjoy a brilliantly fine Canterbury day. I
can say it's the same. And the deep side.
Speaker 5 (36:41):
We need some snow. I haven't even been on peace.
I've got a season's pass at Porters and it's just
a bit of a tiny bit of snow out there,
so we need to dump shortly.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
You're talking about snow there, Jeremy Rocks. Yes, first world
problems from the Canterbury Harvey farmer wrapping the Country for today.
We'll catch your back, same time, same place tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay. Thanks to Brent, your specialist in
John Deere machinery
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