May 26, 2025 • 38 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Damien O'Connor, Professor Alan Renwick, and Mark Leslie.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay thanks to Brent the starkest of
the leading agriculture brands. Hello, I Love you, want to
tell me your name?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hello, I love you?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Then your game?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hello, I love you, want to tell me your name?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Hello, I love you, Love your game?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Get Amy Zealand Welcome to the Country. I'm Jamie McKay.
The show's brought to you by Brant Michelle, my producer
has thrown in. She said the doors or Lord, and
I find Lord aweaed it self indulgent to be perfectly honest,
So I said, let's roll with the doors, because they've
found a stolen Jim Morrison Graveside bust after by chance,
after thirty seven years, I bet my first guests a
(00:51):
bit of a Dows fan. His name is Damian O'Connor,
Labour's trade minister. Hello, I love you. Should tell me
your name is by pure coincidence, Damien. Because you normally
come on the show for a good argument, are you
up for one today?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Like?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I don't believe any of that coming from your mouth
up until now. Of course, now I know you get
on to some more combatitive subjects. But yeah, the doors
were great and yes we can go back a long way.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Interesting.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I'm at eat Tippoo and that's looking to the future,
which is actually just as inspiring.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Okay, there's some farming conferences on around the country. Very shortly,
I'm going to be chatting to Cameron Baggery, who's a
guest speaker, has been a guest speaker today at the
Dairy and z Farmer Forum at the Claudlands Events Center
and the tre On where we're heading for a couple
of weeks. In a couple of weeks time should I
say for field days e tipper It's not a woke
(01:47):
talk fest, isn't, Damien.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
No, it's a whole lot of them. We just had
a presentation from fonterrahead of ingredients Strategy. She very very good. Look,
it's a whole lot of people who are out in
the market, people who traveling around the world. Part of science,
agri food and plant and food. Here a lot of
(02:11):
interesting people and this pharmacy there should be far more here.
I wish they could you find the time to come
to these things because there's a lot of wisdom emerging,
getting it in place and making the changes and the
progress that we need. That's a lot harder than you know,
talking about it, but putting it on the table and
(02:32):
discussing it at somewhere like Etip, who is very very good.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Okay, just on the subject of Fonterra diverting momentarily, are
you in favor of Fonterra selling its consumer brands?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Look, intuitively, I say no. I've had a couple of
very useful discussions with Pat McBride and others. You know,
they're very focused on in the fact that the word
used was laser focused on these areas of ingredients to
be really careful in a world that is changing so
quickly that you don't you know, you don't shut out
that lateral vision and opportunities that laser focus might eliminate.
(03:09):
So you know, I think farmers should ask the hard
questions and I'm not sure where it will end up.
At the start, of course, they said the question was
whether it should be sold or not. In fact it's
now moved on to what kind of sale should take place,
So that in itself is it's quite a significant step
forward for a cooperative to just assume that they should
(03:30):
sell it off. But I'll leave that up to the shareholders.
I think that it as our single biggest company out
in the world, for none of its products to be
branded in a consumer market or a supermarket is a
bit of a concern, but I guess all the other
smaller companies will just have to do their best.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
So it's palming North today. Tomorrow you're off to Masterton
for day one of the two day I'm calling it
eleven with Federated Farmers. This is the Labor Caucus or
some of the key labor spokes people meeting with Federated farmers.
Is this a complete waste of time?
Speaker 3 (04:05):
I don't know. I mean you have to ask a
Federated Farmers, I guess, And it's been set up. It's
a very useful forum.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Who instigated this, sorry Damien, who instigated it? Labor or feeds?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Chris Hipkins, you know, I think reached out. I think
it was both sides agreed that they should sit down
and talk about these things as we go forward. And
I'll be there for half a day tomorrow and you
know there'll be some useful discussions. It is important we
will be back in government. Farmers, you know, are absolutely
cornerstone to our economy and will be for a long
time into the future.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
But you forgot that on the last term.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
No, well, I guess you know, do we want to
get back into those old areas of debate.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Well, you can't come on the show, and you can't
come onto the show and be holier than bou supporting
the farming industry when you did your best shaft it,
especially on the second you.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Make some silly statements.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
No I don't.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I'm just thanking what I'm hearing from farmers.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Well, if you know, perhaps you should just go and
listen to Mars or to nesle fonter A's the biggest customers.
Now they've got European subsidies coming to help farmers to
move to a lower missions farming system. We were saying
that that, and we put a billion dollars in one
budget into the rural sectors around some integrated farm plans,
to get some waterway catchment groups, the whole lot to
(05:25):
move us forward. That's what we did. We committed to that.
But because you know, you were happy to kind of
kick the sand in our face in that area. And
I'll say, as the world is moving in that direction,
we have to keep up if we want an opportunity
and an advantage. We can try and get ahead of that.
At the moment we're kind of slow lagguards, but we
(05:46):
can get there if we try harder.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, he walkinoa was a great idea, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Well, I guess it was very challenging. And I said
that to the Prime Minister of the day that trying
to get sector leaders to sit down and agree on
anything move forwards almost impossible. That remains the reality today.
But until we do that and work out best land
use more efficient operation and coordination cooperation, you know we're
(06:12):
going to fail because we're simply too small as individual
companies and so we have to cooperate as under New
Zealand Inc. To say that we have some of the
best systems in the world. We're trying to be better
and will produce the very best food and finder for
the world market.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Sometimes I wonder if you believe in your hard hearts
what you're spouting. But I'll get on to land use change.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
We have to. There's no alternative because actually, unless we
are the best, and that does.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
We we are the best. We are currently the best.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
No we're not.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
No, we're not.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
So you you name a lower emissions producer of protein
than us around the world, Damien, who is it?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
There are other areas well who you have lower footprints
and different systems indoor system and.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I'm talking about in a past I'm talking about in
a pastoral sense. Who's a lower missions producer than New Zealand.
You haven't got an answer because there isn't one.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Well, well, yes, in a pastoral system, but the vast
majority of protein producer the world is not in the
pastoral system. It's in indoor systems and bought production, chicken production.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, but you are telling us you want clean green
and the way of the future is pasted your based production.
You can't have your cake and eat.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
There's an advantage in some of the markets if you
say it's past your base. People say there's there's more
AMaGA trees, it's healthier for you, it's better, we'll pay
more for it. But we also want to have a
low carbon footprint over time. That's what Nesle is saying,
that's what Mars are saying. So we've got to combine
those attributes and get the premiums that we need because
we don't have a subsidized food or farming system. We
(07:48):
need to get those premiums back into farmer's pockets so
they remain comfortable.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
What is our biggest customer, China saying.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
We've just heard today here from a couple of people
who live in market saying that China's moving in that
space very very quickly. They've got massive inroads and e
vehicles for example, because they want to reduce their carbon emissions.
You know, they've got issues around electricity production that I'm
sure people will point out.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
A new coal fired station, a new coal fired power
station every week. That's what John is doing about reducing
its emissions. Damien.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I think that what you'll find is that will reduce
over time, just as their pollution has reduced. They are
very focused on that direction, and we have to keep up.
They've got very smart consumers who are looking at their food.
They've got you know, systems through pure codes and traceability
that you know, leave us for dead. And they were
(08:43):
saying that there's virtually no use of money now, it's
all electronic communication and transactions over it. In a market
that you know, probably twenty years ago we thought was developing,
they are way ahead of us.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Hey, let's just finish on dairy conversions. In Canterbury. We're
hearing them, maybe up to fifteen of them. See that
didn't suit your kind of heywoker Echonoa rhetoric line. But
surely if we're looking to double and I don't know
whether you support this, Damien okondor if the government's looking
to double primary sector exports in the next decade, dairy
(09:17):
farming has to do some heavy lifting. What's wrong with
the dairy conversion is as long as it meets all
environmental consents.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Well, I guess you have to ask the people who
are living around Lakehood, you know, and around some of
the rivers and trying to get water from some of
the aquifers weather you know, we can continue to increase.
I guess that the intensive dairy in Canterbury. I can't
make that judgment, but there are some indicators that we
have to look at the impacts of that. And yes,
(09:50):
I agree we should get more value for what we're doing,
not just do more. And that's I said that all
the way through as Minister. Just getting people to do more,
use more is not necessarily the way forward. What we
need to do is get more for what we do
and that will lift the levels of productivity across our economy,
which are still pretty low. In the egg area it's
(10:13):
quite high, but a lot of other areas we have
low productivity and we've got to change that.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Hey, are you going to Field Days? You up for
another scrap at field Days?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Good man, there, yeah there, Damian O'Connor, there you go.
Labor's I was going to say agriculture spokesperson, but that is,
of course Joe Luxton. Lots of feedback coming and we'll
come back to that. But up next, going from one
conference at Tippoo and Palmerston North to the Dairy en
Z Farmer Forum at the Claudlands Events Center and Hamilton,
(10:46):
Cameron Baggery's there, of course he's an independent economist. We
have an OCR announcement tomorrow. Everyone knows where everyone agrees should.
I say we're going to see a twenty five basis
point drop. But the big question is do we see
another two of them or another three of them? Is
neutral now two point seven five percent rather than three?
(11:08):
We'll ask Cameron Bagriy next on the country.
Speaker 5 (11:17):
I love you to tell me hello.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
You know that if I was to say to you
much hot off the press from the ETAPO conference, Day one,
today in Palmi North is a report commissioned by ASB
and Lincoln University saying that optimizing land use by just
(11:47):
ten percent could add ten billion in value to the
economy if it's done the right way in the next
five to seven years. Sounds wonderfully simple on paper, Professor
Alan Rennick, the author of it. But how does it work?
Speaker 6 (12:02):
Yes, you're right, it does sound simple on paper. But
the way we look at it is that we take
advantage of the opportunities that we have in the sector
and we get our settings right, both the financial regulatory
market and the support. There is no reason why we
can't boost productivity in the sector by ten percent and
(12:22):
also reduce our external costs, and that could actually lead
to that ten billion growth that we're looking at.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Well, it sounds a weey, but wish she was she
to me, give me some concrete ways to do this
sell on.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
Yes, you're right, we need to think about the exact
ways that we can achieve it. And what we've shown
is through diversifying our landscape and our farms that we
can do this. So what do we mean by diversifying.
We have a huge opportunity in renewable energy production, for
having distributed energy production across the country and that can
be added value to many farms. We do have opportunities
(12:59):
in diversifying small areas of our sheep and beef farms
in that area, but also through food production, may be
horticultural expansion. So there's a range of ways that we
can do this. But the challenge is, as you say,
it's easy for us to say, oh, diversify, but we
recognize the challenges for farms doing this, and that's why
(13:22):
you need the support the market, etc. Because otherwise farmers
can spend ninety percent of their time trying to work
on ten percent of a divers diversification which doesn't really
help their business overall.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Is that just a cunning marketing ploy a fluff piece
by ISSP No No.
Speaker 6 (13:40):
I think ASP are very genuinely interested in the development
of the industry, and I think they're also interested in
developing their business. I think there's two aspects to it,
and all the way through this process, the passion that
they have for the sector has been has been very clear.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Asb's response to land land optimization was inspired in part
by one of their customers, High Pick Station. This is
of course the guild family. Now, I put it to
you that while that's a wonderful case study, they may
not be atypical of your average farm in the country.
From what I understand from the Guild family, they're well resourced,
(14:22):
they're well established, they're very entrepreneurial, they're very smart people,
as the average average Joe cocky going to be able
to replicate what they're doing.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
I fully understand what you're saying there, And that's not
really the point that we're trying to make in the report. Wait,
you know, everyone will be able to diversify, But what
we really are arguing very strongly is that we need
a system that gives viable options for all those farms
that wish to diversify, so that's more profitable alternatives, the
(14:55):
support to enable them to do it, the finance to
help them and ways to finance it, and then the
options that people can take, whatever their situation is, are
suited to optimizing their land. Yes, of course, and every
farm is different and not every farm can diversify. But
if we can create new markets, for example, for biodiversity,
(15:16):
if we could get this renewal of energy market going,
we give people options, and that's what we really need.
Options to be able to enhance their profitability but also
reduce their environmental footprint.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
So what do you do? You put a solar farm
on a north facing slope and then you plant the
flat bit's see your land into horticulture.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
Well, or what we're doing at Lincoln Universities. You put
the solar farm on and you plant the horticulture under
the solar panels.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
That's even better.
Speaker 6 (15:43):
Do you do agri voltaic? So there's you know, what
we need are the ideas, We need the research and development,
and we need to give people opportunities to be able
to take put it into place.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Do you think the banks, other than I spail back
the sort of initiative because it's all very well to
say I want to put a solar farm on the farm,
but you need some serious carepital to do that.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
Yeah, no, exactly, And that's what the heart of the
report is about, if you get to it, is what
sort of finance models can we have that enable this
to happen. And so we've got to recognize we need
finance models that can deal with this high upfront cross
delayed returns. And if we're going into horticulture and stuff,
maybe potentially very risky to returns, and so that's where
(16:26):
we need the banks to play a role. But we
also need to think about foreign direct investment, philanthropy, other
approaches of getting money in that can deal with this
risky approach, and even insurance SKIT systems and how we
can underwrite it. That's what we're really trying to get
it is that the change we're talking about really challenges
our finance system and are they up for the challenge?
(16:48):
That's the question.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Well, there you go. Optimizing out land use by just
ten percent could add ten billion in the next five
to seven years. Well, we love and hope, doctor professor.
Let me get it right. Alan Raannick from Lincoln University.
Great to chat, Thanks very much.
Speaker 6 (17:04):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
It is twenty seven after twelve. Thank you, Ellen. Air
Tippoo day one of two today tomorrow and mastered in
day one of two of the Labor Party Love and
with Federated Farmers. I'm honestly not sure what it's going
to achieve, but anyhow, maybe on the cynic there's a
lot of cynics out there. We're going to Michelle has
wandered in here. Michelle, what you need to do is
get your text machine, because I know it's on your laptop.
(17:29):
Can you just print me off a list of texts
I can read out. It may not be that many,
but there's lots of texts in here. We'll come back
to your feedback on DayMen, he's got that Irish streaking them.
I always think he's up for a bit of a scrap.
On yesterday's show we got interesting texts, an interesting text
around a Land Corp Palmu station going into carbon farming,
(17:54):
so we thought we'd better give them a rite of response.
So hopefully up next Mark Leslie, the chief executive of PAMU,
can't find Cameron Baggriy at this stage. He's possibly still
talking at that Dairy en Z Farmer forum in Hamilton today.
Really interested to get his thoughts on tomorrow's o CR announcement.
(18:16):
It will be twenty five basis points, but how many
more of those have we got to go? And if
you've got a mortgage, and I know most farmers have,
what should you be doing right at this moment? Just
writing the floating rate down or taking a fixed position.
We'll try and get an answer for you with from
Cameron Baggriy before the end of the aur Michelle, there
you go. That may take you sometime. You may be
(18:39):
like Captain Oates. I maybe sometime. See if you can
print me off a list of the texts so I
can read out, thank you very much. Up next to
Mark Leslie hopefully.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
Bus bouts wanna.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Screen Welcome back to the country. What happened to Jim
Morrison on the doors? Lord has snuck in here? Lord
help us? Okay? On yesterday's show, we got a couple
of interesting texts and texts and should I say one
of them said land corpse, Munga mingy. I hope I
got that right. Station and Rapparoa is going into trees.
(19:24):
The Angus cowherd is getting sold at the Talpo Sallyards
this week. A magnificent food producing station gone now as
fate would have it. Another text is said the CEO
of Palmu Land Corp is Mark Leslie. Rapparoa born and
bred might be worth a chat. Well let's give him
the opportunity of a chat. Mark. I thought you were
(19:47):
meant to be representing as the government's farm the government's
wishes going into carbon farmings, not really doing that. Good afternoon, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Good afternoon, Jomie and hey spawn right up front of
that one. We're not going into carbon farming. And I
think I listened to your show yesterday and I think
I agree with a lot of what you're saying. If
you look at what we are doing, We're not planting
high quality land into locke leave a carbon forestry. We've
very clearly as you've heard of say plenty of times
right tree, right place. So our focus is around sort
(20:21):
of having ten to fifteen percent of our state and forestry.
And we can come back and talk.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Well, how much of Mungaming East Station and RAPPERO is
going into trees? What only ten or fifteen percent of it?
Speaker 4 (20:32):
So for Mungaming Station, greater than nine percent of that
is land class six and seven.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
So the whole lot's going into trees.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
No, not, the whole lot's going into trees. There will
be a block of land of a circle two hundred
and thirty one hundred and fifty eight years or six
hundred acres that'll be staying as a farming operation that
links into our broader farming operations there. So that'll be
moving into carfararing and dairy support and aligns to our
units just down the road, as well as providing options
(21:03):
for us to continue to expand out what we're doing
with dairy beef.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
So okay, you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong here,
because I'm only going by memory. But isn't the government,
you know who owns you. Aren't they limiting the amount
of land class or a Class six land that can
go into forestry. Isn't it like something like fifteen thousand
hectares per annum? You'll gobble the whole lot up at
Land Corp.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
No, no, we won't because we've already this, as you know,
has been part of our strategy for a number of years.
So we're probably already served a ten or eleven percent
of our area in forestry, and we looking at next
year we're planting less than a thousand heads into forestry.
So that is very much has been clearly part of it.
(21:47):
That rtere right place, as you said yesterday, we will
pick those right places. And for the land we've got leaft.
If you look at our annual accounts for the last
couple of years, our total livestock production, our sheep and
beef numb continue to increase as we drive more efficiency
out of the land. The land that has left.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Why don't you redeploy if that's the correct word, the
angus cow herd that's being sold at the tail Post
sale yards this week, why don't you move it to
one of move the herd to one of your other farms.
Surely beef's a good business to be in now.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Yeah, and hey, we have looked at that as well.
But equally for our we do have a large number
of animals across our across the number of our farms,
so we're clear breeding drags where we do move those
animals around. The decision was made to sell that herd
as a whole herd from an interest perspective. As you know,
we've still got one hundred thousand plus beef animals that
(22:40):
will be on have properties this year, so we've made
that decision to sell that one as one as one
going going light.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
It's a hand on heart. Mark Leslie, Chief executive of Palmer.
Are you planting the trees for the carbon credits or
are you going to do something with them eventually like
production forestry. What's the main incentive here? Surely in the
short term it's carbon credits because at the moment, the
return on forestry isn't that flesh. I'm not saying it
won't be in twenty or thirty years time, but am
(23:08):
I right in saying that.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
No.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
We have always been very clear that any forest we
plant is planted with a harvest and teat. We are
not too earlier point. We're not planting good quality land
and locking it up and leaving it. It is always planted,
and then from a looking after it, from a pruning
thinning perspective, it is always done with the perspective that
it will be of harvest nature. And in around those areas,
(23:34):
as you know, there's a large amount of forestry as well,
so it integrates into where there is sawmills and things
like that. So our intent is always that those forests
are planted will have a harvest purpose.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
How many other land called farms or stations are going
to carbon farming?
Speaker 4 (23:49):
None of them are going to carbon farming. They're all
we are going.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I'll rephrase the question, how many are going to trees?
Speaker 4 (23:56):
I mean, as I said, across many of our dairy units,
they won't have large of areas of forestry unit, But
across our fifty or sixty livestock units in the North Island,
there most of them will have an element of forestry
on them, and as I said earlier, they clearly are
in areas where it suits from an animal's perspective, shade
and shelter. It may be fencing off. I think you
(24:17):
caught it yesterday, those tough gullies or gullies that are
dirty gullies that need to be planted out. So we
continue to plant out those areas, and as I said earlier,
that has then allowed us to reinvest in from a
fencing perspective water supply to then be able to actually
farm what's remaining with that extra subdivision and increase the
(24:38):
output from those farms that are left.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Hey, Mark, just a couple of texts coming in here.
They're actually in a grumpy mood out there today. One's going,
I'm sorry, planting less than a thousand hectares this year,
and this text is saying that's like two large scale
dairy farms lost to food production. And another one says
the government months are full of bullshit. Their words not mine.
(25:02):
Why are they selling their stock? And that's a fair
argument if you're meant to represent the government's wishes, and
the government is wishing for less carbon farming. Slash forestry.
Surely you should be leading the charge.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Yeah, And I would argue, Jammie that we are leading
the charge because, as I've repeatedly said, we will continue
to far very good land class land from an animal's perspective,
and where there is that steep high country lane Clan
class six or seven where it makes sense for it
to be.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Okay, So on that steep land class six or seven,
we'll talk about the land class seven. Is it realistic
that that land will ever be harvested for production forestry
because all the forestry people tell me they're not interested
in harvesting that land. They want the flatter stuff, the
better stuff, the quicker growing stuff, the stuff are near
(25:56):
the stuff that's near reports.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
So that our intenders are said with all of those
lands that that land that does get planted has as
an intent of forestry when it is planted, for that
to be harvested. Equally, as you know we have we
have ten thousands plus of land that's been put into
Q two covenants where it is more than natives and
protected for the long term. So they're probably slightly different.
But where we are planting that land, it is an
(26:20):
intent that it's planted. From a forestry perspective, it will
be harvested.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Hey, Mark Leslie, thanks for some of your time and
thanks for giving your response to some of the criticisms
that came your way, well came Palmer's way on yesterday's show.
Here's another one. The spin from Mark Leslie is unreal.
Two hundred hectares left and grass at among A Mingy,
they have two thousand hectares in grass right now, so
(26:46):
they're not they're not buying it, Mark, Hey, and.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Yep, I hear the view. But I'll just reiterate we
are looking at those integrated farms right across. We know
we're a big part of that community, and we continue
to be a big part of that community. We have
and people that work in around that area. So absolutely
we know that we're part of that community.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
You might have a few less in the future.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
No, we continue where we were looking at opportunities to
those people to be employed across their other operations.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
All right, there we go, Mark Leslie, Chief Executive of PARMU.
That's like Michelle, good afternoon, the old when someone gets
the chop in this business, it's never been gassed. It's
they're looking for new opportunities afternoon.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
Are you done parking beers now?
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Oh? No, no, the look Mark's a good guy. I
don't mind what he's saying at all, but I just
he's still on the line, so he's possibly listening to this.
I'm just surprised that perhaps pamu Land Corps not leading
more from the front if the government is determined to
halt carbon farming, because I do challenge whether some of
(27:54):
those trees will ever be harvested, but maybe that's the
best use for them, especially on some of that steep land.
Maybe they don't need to be harvested in the future.
I don't know, but we're certainly opening ourselves up to
huge risks around climate change and fires and pests and
all that sort of stuff. It's an argument that will
(28:14):
not go away. But like Lord, she won't go away,
or there she is, she's gone. We're going to try
and track down Cameron Bagri who's at the What is
he at? He is at? I've got so many pieces
of paper in front of me. It's information overload, the
darien Z farm before him at Claudland's. Yes, you're right,
we'll try and get home. If we can't, we might
(28:35):
try and track down Blair Blizzard MacLean our viticulture corresponds
because we've got another big issue in this country, especially
when it comes to our wine industry, which is worth
two billion dollars. The issue we've got is we haven't
got enough homes for all the grapes we're growing. So
we'll come back with rural news and sports news and
hopefully excuse me Cameron Baggriy before the end of the hour,
(28:59):
welcome back to the country. Very shortly the latest and
rural news and sports news. But first, if you're serious
about protecting your farm from the growing challenge of roundworm control,
don't miss the latest in our podcast series, drench Wise
Farm Smart. Proudly brought to you by Alanco. This series
goes beyond drenching. It's all about smarter, more sustainable parasite
(29:21):
management that protects your stock, you soil and your bottom line.
Episode four is live now. Joining Row once again is
Colin Mackay no relation from Alanko alongside North Canterbury sheep
and beef farmer and vet anger skib Angus shares how
he's using both as veterinary background and hands on farming
experience to stay on top of roundworm control, from quarantine
(29:44):
protocols and reduction testing to breeding changes and pasture strategies.
So whether you're on the bike and the yards or
having a well earned smoco, make sure you check out
Drenchwise Farm Smart. You'll find it on the Country's podcast
stream wherever you get your podcasts, and the links on
our Facebook page. Okay it is it is coming up
(30:08):
to quarter away from one. Yeah, going up a look
at that podcast series with Rowena. We'll hear more from
her at Field Days. But here's Michelle with the latest
and rural news.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
The country's rural news with Cod Cadet, New Zealand's leading
right on lawn Bower brand. Visit steel Ford dot co
dot z for your local stockist.
Speaker 7 (30:29):
And a New Zealander has won one of the craziest
races in the world Byron Smith. One was the last one,
the Last Man's Race at the annual Coopers Hill Cheese
Rolling Race and Gloucestershire in the UK. Now, this race
goes down a very steep hill. They chase wheels of cheese.
They have lots of injuries and stuff like that. Actually
whin the cheese at the end of it. So that's
kind of a good thing. But they get up to one
(30:51):
hundred and twelve kilmeters an hour too, Jamie, which is pretty.
Speaker 5 (30:54):
Scary running down hell.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Well, not not the runners, no, the chief cheese does.
Speaker 5 (30:57):
Yeah, yeah, but that's pretty so.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I used to have a New Zealand She's rolling championship
in Southland.
Speaker 5 (31:02):
Whereoul the hell bear it's quite flat down there.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
No, no, no, no no, it's in the hills behind
Whitkaka and the two years in a row. Then his
Zealand cheese rolling champion was none other than Tom McKay.
Really yeah, because he was only one silly enough to
run down the hill fast after the piece of cheese.
It's a young man's game because they did this on
a cattle paddock on the Henderson's property at Waitkaka, and
(31:27):
it had all these kind of hoof pop marks from
the cattle in the winter. It was just a recipe
for broken joints, and I think there were a few.
But anyhow, if you're young enough, you bounce, and that's
what happened to Tom McKay. And we got a whole
lot of Camembert cheese for that. There you go.
Speaker 5 (31:44):
Oh that sounds alright, didn't that.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
And here was me saying at the time he's never
going to amount to anything.
Speaker 7 (31:50):
Well, that's something to be paradic he can hold. You
find that story and more on our website Country dot
co dot.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Yet some great feed back coming and we're going to
have to dedicate a show to the feedback from today's show.
He's a good one off the record from a very
good source, a very good source on the West Coast.
All the deare units of land Corp are going into trees.
The plot Thickens has sports news for you.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Sports. We're thenth go Kiwi to the bone since nineteen
oh four.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
I haven't read this, Michelle, because I've been too busy
reading the text. They're very entertaining. But the Wellington Phoenix
have lost marquee striker Costa barbarusis the club's top goalscorer
in the past two A League seasons, has informed as
employers he won't return next season and we'll play elsewhere.
We're all Phoenix. I had a bit of a tough time,
if it haven't. They all Black Sevens, Duo, Olie Mathis
(32:49):
and Frank somebody else Bolster The New Zealand Under twenty
rugby squad for the World Championship in Italy and former
Crusader White Crocketts super rugby appearance record is under threat
with fellow prop James Slipper signing a one year contract
extension at the Brumbies. He has been around forever and
(33:11):
a day up next on the country either Cameron Baggery
or Blair Blizzard MacLean. We're going to try desperately to
get them, and we're filtering and we're censoring your feedback
and we'll try and get to that before the end
of the show as well. Well, hang on, I'll tell
you what. We've got one more thing to do before
I forget Michelle. What about our steel chainsaw?
Speaker 4 (33:32):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (33:32):
Yes, we've got to winners to announce, don't we.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Have you got the winner?
Speaker 5 (33:35):
I have got the winner in front of.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
You, hang on in front of me. Right, Today's winner, well,
Monday's winner, we're announcing it today is William Milne from Southland.
And he was able to tell us in twenty twenty
six how many years will still have been making chainsaws four?
The answer was, of course one hundred years now. Today's
question to win the what are we winning today? Just
(33:58):
the chainsaw just the chainsaw worth five hundred and fifty
five dollars. It is the MS one eight two chainsaw,
forty centimeter great chainsaw, perfect for on farm jobs, the
lighter jobs.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
That is.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
So today's question is what is the engine capacity of
a still? MS one eight two? I think that would
be pretty easy to work out, wouldn't it. Now you're
actually gonna have to go to the website to answer
that one, but if you do, you'll get a chainsaw.
So to enter, go to the country dot co dot
in Z and fill in the entry form with the
correct answer to today's question what is the engine capacity
(34:38):
of a still? MS one eight to chainsaw? It's all
part of stool chainsaw safety awareness Week, right, I got
I'm getting drowning in paper here up next, hopefully Cameron Bagreg.
Speaker 7 (34:56):
Get you this world re.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
Like a dog without a bone and alone. Welcome back
to the country. Look, we can't get Cameron Bagrey from
his dairy and zed farmer for him. We'll get him
on tomorrow's show because the o cr announcement will be
tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock, So we'll just get them
on the show tomorrow, hopefully. Blair Blizzard MacLean as well
(35:21):
from Blenham. Some are your feedback white Stone Blue Cheese.
Yeah that was the big Wheels of cheese that we
won or sometime one good on them. Mark Ellis also
won the World championship I think, or the one in England.
Radio pines need to be harvested. They are a weed
and they start falling and blowing over after thirty five
(35:42):
years or so dead right, spray and walk away with
carbon farming, and that's what we're going to be left with.
Here's another one from Craig. Hey, Jamie, I know Munga
Mingy Well flew over it many times. Awesome rolling cattle country.
Rumor was they as in land court Pam who was
making no money? Typical, says Craig. So that's not very good.
(36:02):
Here's another one. You did an excellent job of demolishing
Damien O'Connor's baseless arguments. Well, thank you very much for that,
very entertaining. The downside to this, though, confirms that there
are too many irrelevant politicians like him still on the payroll.
How does Damien think we can get We can just
get more and more for our produce. We can't put
(36:24):
the price up so high that people just won't buy
off us. He is living in a different world than
the rest of us, and there's certainly a really good
argument to say that for a lot of people. Not
for a lot of people, but certainly for some customers.
Low carbon footprints not the number one buyer buying initiative
(36:45):
for those people they want, especially the likes of the Chinese.
They want food security, and they want good product and
they want it at a good price. And here's one
from Bryce McKenzie from ground Swell. I was going to
say Farmstrong, Well, good on you Jamie for getting it
to Damien. He can't help but run New Zealand agriculture down.
(37:05):
Don't think he realizes he's doing it. Well, he's not
afraid of an argument. We'll have another one at Field
Days with him. We're going to come back after the
break with some Maria feedback. Okay, Yeah, Wrapping the country
can't find Cameron Baggery will get him on the show tomorrow.
(37:26):
One here from well known farmer Roger Barton. Thank you
for listening. Roger. He says, if O'Connor is to visit
the Wira Rapper, he needs to be taken east of Pie.
Here tour to see the Havoc radiator plantings have done
to the live stock industry. And there's another really good
one up here. There's so many. Oh, clearly that station
(37:48):
Mung and Minghy was good enough for beef cows since
it had a beef cow stud. So why is now
saying it's not good for cows? Look, I agree, I
agree with you absolutely. I'm going to try and sort
out some more of your feedback for tomorrow's show. We'll
catch you then.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay. Thanks to friends. You're specialist in
John Deere construction equipment.
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay thanks to Brent the starkest of
the leading agriculture brands. Hello, I Love you, want to
tell me your name?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hello, I love you?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Then your game?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hello, I love you, want to tell me your name?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Hello, I love you, Love your game?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Get Amy Zealand Welcome to the Country. I'm Jamie McKay.
The show's brought to you by Brant Michelle, my producer
has thrown in. She said the doors or Lord, and
I find Lord aweaed it self indulgent to be perfectly honest,
So I said, let's roll with the doors, because they've
found a stolen Jim Morrison Graveside bust after by chance,
after thirty seven years, I bet my first guests a
(00:51):
bit of a Dows fan. His name is Damian O'Connor,
Labour's trade minister. Hello, I love you. Should tell me
your name is by pure coincidence, Damien. Because you normally
come on the show for a good argument, are you
up for one today?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Like?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I don't believe any of that coming from your mouth
up until now. Of course, now I know you get
on to some more combatitive subjects. But yeah, the doors
were great and yes we can go back a long way.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Interesting.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I'm at eat Tippoo and that's looking to the future,
which is actually just as inspiring.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Okay, there's some farming conferences on around the country. Very shortly,
I'm going to be chatting to Cameron Baggery, who's a
guest speaker, has been a guest speaker today at the
Dairy and z Farmer Forum at the Claudlands Events Center
and the tre On where we're heading for a couple
of weeks. In a couple of weeks time should I
say for field days e tipper It's not a woke
(01:47):
talk fest, isn't, Damien.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
No, it's a whole lot of them. We just had
a presentation from fonterrahead of ingredients Strategy. She very very good. Look,
it's a whole lot of people who are out in
the market, people who traveling around the world. Part of science,
agri food and plant and food. Here a lot of
(02:11):
interesting people and this pharmacy there should be far more here.
I wish they could you find the time to come
to these things because there's a lot of wisdom emerging,
getting it in place and making the changes and the
progress that we need. That's a lot harder than you know,
talking about it, but putting it on the table and
(02:32):
discussing it at somewhere like Etip, who is very very good.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Okay, just on the subject of Fonterra diverting momentarily, are
you in favor of Fonterra selling its consumer brands?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Look, intuitively, I say no. I've had a couple of
very useful discussions with Pat McBride and others. You know,
they're very focused on in the fact that the word
used was laser focused on these areas of ingredients to
be really careful in a world that is changing so
quickly that you don't you know, you don't shut out
that lateral vision and opportunities that laser focus might eliminate.
(03:09):
So you know, I think farmers should ask the hard
questions and I'm not sure where it will end up.
At the start, of course, they said the question was
whether it should be sold or not. In fact it's
now moved on to what kind of sale should take place,
So that in itself is it's quite a significant step
forward for a cooperative to just assume that they should
(03:30):
sell it off. But I'll leave that up to the shareholders.
I think that it as our single biggest company out
in the world, for none of its products to be
branded in a consumer market or a supermarket is a
bit of a concern, but I guess all the other
smaller companies will just have to do their best.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
So it's palming North today. Tomorrow you're off to Masterton
for day one of the two day I'm calling it
eleven with Federated Farmers. This is the Labor Caucus or
some of the key labor spokes people meeting with Federated farmers.
Is this a complete waste of time?
Speaker 3 (04:05):
I don't know. I mean you have to ask a
Federated Farmers, I guess, And it's been set up. It's
a very useful forum.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Who instigated this, sorry Damien, who instigated it? Labor or feeds?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Chris Hipkins, you know, I think reached out. I think
it was both sides agreed that they should sit down
and talk about these things as we go forward. And
I'll be there for half a day tomorrow and you
know there'll be some useful discussions. It is important we
will be back in government. Farmers, you know, are absolutely
cornerstone to our economy and will be for a long
time into the future.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
But you forgot that on the last term.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
No, well, I guess you know, do we want to
get back into those old areas of debate.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Well, you can't come on the show, and you can't
come onto the show and be holier than bou supporting
the farming industry when you did your best shaft it,
especially on the second you.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Make some silly statements.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
No I don't.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I'm just thanking what I'm hearing from farmers.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Well, if you know, perhaps you should just go and
listen to Mars or to nesle fonter A's the biggest customers.
Now they've got European subsidies coming to help farmers to
move to a lower missions farming system. We were saying
that that, and we put a billion dollars in one
budget into the rural sectors around some integrated farm plans,
to get some waterway catchment groups, the whole lot to
(05:25):
move us forward. That's what we did. We committed to that.
But because you know, you were happy to kind of
kick the sand in our face in that area. And
I'll say, as the world is moving in that direction,
we have to keep up if we want an opportunity
and an advantage. We can try and get ahead of that.
At the moment we're kind of slow lagguards, but we
(05:46):
can get there if we try harder.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, he walkinoa was a great idea, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Well, I guess it was very challenging. And I said
that to the Prime Minister of the day that trying
to get sector leaders to sit down and agree on
anything move forwards almost impossible. That remains the reality today.
But until we do that and work out best land
use more efficient operation and coordination cooperation, you know we're
(06:12):
going to fail because we're simply too small as individual
companies and so we have to cooperate as under New
Zealand Inc. To say that we have some of the
best systems in the world. We're trying to be better
and will produce the very best food and finder for
the world market.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Sometimes I wonder if you believe in your hard hearts
what you're spouting. But I'll get on to land use change.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
We have to. There's no alternative because actually, unless we
are the best, and that does.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
We we are the best. We are currently the best.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
No we're not.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
No, we're not.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
So you you name a lower emissions producer of protein
than us around the world, Damien, who is it?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
There are other areas well who you have lower footprints
and different systems indoor system and.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I'm talking about in a past I'm talking about in
a pastoral sense. Who's a lower missions producer than New Zealand.
You haven't got an answer because there isn't one.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Well, well, yes, in a pastoral system, but the vast
majority of protein producer the world is not in the
pastoral system. It's in indoor systems and bought production, chicken production.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, but you are telling us you want clean green
and the way of the future is pasted your based production.
You can't have your cake and eat.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
There's an advantage in some of the markets if you
say it's past your base. People say there's there's more
AMaGA trees, it's healthier for you, it's better, we'll pay
more for it. But we also want to have a
low carbon footprint over time. That's what Nesle is saying,
that's what Mars are saying. So we've got to combine
those attributes and get the premiums that we need because
we don't have a subsidized food or farming system. We
(07:48):
need to get those premiums back into farmer's pockets so
they remain comfortable.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
What is our biggest customer, China saying.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
We've just heard today here from a couple of people
who live in market saying that China's moving in that
space very very quickly. They've got massive inroads and e
vehicles for example, because they want to reduce their carbon emissions.
You know, they've got issues around electricity production that I'm
sure people will point out.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
A new coal fired station, a new coal fired power
station every week. That's what John is doing about reducing
its emissions. Damien.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I think that what you'll find is that will reduce
over time, just as their pollution has reduced. They are
very focused on that direction, and we have to keep up.
They've got very smart consumers who are looking at their food.
They've got you know, systems through pure codes and traceability
that you know, leave us for dead. And they were
(08:43):
saying that there's virtually no use of money now, it's
all electronic communication and transactions over it. In a market
that you know, probably twenty years ago we thought was developing,
they are way ahead of us.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Hey, let's just finish on dairy conversions. In Canterbury. We're
hearing them, maybe up to fifteen of them. See that
didn't suit your kind of heywoker Echonoa rhetoric line. But
surely if we're looking to double and I don't know
whether you support this, Damien okondor if the government's looking
to double primary sector exports in the next decade, dairy
(09:17):
farming has to do some heavy lifting. What's wrong with
the dairy conversion is as long as it meets all
environmental consents.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Well, I guess you have to ask the people who
are living around Lakehood, you know, and around some of
the rivers and trying to get water from some of
the aquifers weather you know, we can continue to increase.
I guess that the intensive dairy in Canterbury. I can't
make that judgment, but there are some indicators that we
have to look at the impacts of that. And yes,
(09:50):
I agree we should get more value for what we're doing,
not just do more. And that's I said that all
the way through as Minister. Just getting people to do more,
use more is not necessarily the way forward. What we
need to do is get more for what we do
and that will lift the levels of productivity across our economy,
which are still pretty low. In the egg area it's
(10:13):
quite high, but a lot of other areas we have
low productivity and we've got to change that.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Hey, are you going to Field Days? You up for
another scrap at field Days?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Good man, there, yeah there, Damian O'Connor, there you go.
Labor's I was going to say agriculture spokesperson, but that is,
of course Joe Luxton. Lots of feedback coming and we'll
come back to that. But up next, going from one
conference at Tippoo and Palmerston North to the Dairy en
Z Farmer Forum at the Claudlands Events Center and Hamilton,
(10:46):
Cameron Baggery's there, of course he's an independent economist. We
have an OCR announcement tomorrow. Everyone knows where everyone agrees should.
I say we're going to see a twenty five basis
point drop. But the big question is do we see
another two of them or another three of them? Is
neutral now two point seven five percent rather than three?
(11:08):
We'll ask Cameron Bagriy next on the country.
Speaker 5 (11:17):
I love you to tell me hello.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
You know that if I was to say to you
much hot off the press from the ETAPO conference, Day one,
today in Palmi North is a report commissioned by ASB
and Lincoln University saying that optimizing land use by just
(11:47):
ten percent could add ten billion in value to the
economy if it's done the right way in the next
five to seven years. Sounds wonderfully simple on paper, Professor
Alan Rennick, the author of it. But how does it work?
Speaker 6 (12:02):
Yes, you're right, it does sound simple on paper. But
the way we look at it is that we take
advantage of the opportunities that we have in the sector
and we get our settings right, both the financial regulatory
market and the support. There is no reason why we
can't boost productivity in the sector by ten percent and
(12:22):
also reduce our external costs, and that could actually lead
to that ten billion growth that we're looking at.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Well, it sounds a weey, but wish she was she
to me, give me some concrete ways to do this
sell on.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
Yes, you're right, we need to think about the exact
ways that we can achieve it. And what we've shown
is through diversifying our landscape and our farms that we
can do this. So what do we mean by diversifying.
We have a huge opportunity in renewable energy production, for
having distributed energy production across the country and that can
be added value to many farms. We do have opportunities
(12:59):
in diversifying small areas of our sheep and beef farms
in that area, but also through food production, may be
horticultural expansion. So there's a range of ways that we
can do this. But the challenge is, as you say,
it's easy for us to say, oh, diversify, but we
recognize the challenges for farms doing this, and that's why
(13:22):
you need the support the market, etc. Because otherwise farmers
can spend ninety percent of their time trying to work
on ten percent of a divers diversification which doesn't really
help their business overall.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Is that just a cunning marketing ploy a fluff piece
by ISSP No No.
Speaker 6 (13:40):
I think ASP are very genuinely interested in the development
of the industry, and I think they're also interested in
developing their business. I think there's two aspects to it,
and all the way through this process, the passion that
they have for the sector has been has been very clear.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Asb's response to land land optimization was inspired in part
by one of their customers, High Pick Station. This is
of course the guild family. Now, I put it to
you that while that's a wonderful case study, they may
not be atypical of your average farm in the country.
From what I understand from the Guild family, they're well resourced,
(14:22):
they're well established, they're very entrepreneurial, they're very smart people,
as the average average Joe cocky going to be able
to replicate what they're doing.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
I fully understand what you're saying there, And that's not
really the point that we're trying to make in the report. Wait,
you know, everyone will be able to diversify, But what
we really are arguing very strongly is that we need
a system that gives viable options for all those farms
that wish to diversify, so that's more profitable alternatives, the
(14:55):
support to enable them to do it, the finance to
help them and ways to finance it, and then the
options that people can take, whatever their situation is, are
suited to optimizing their land. Yes, of course, and every
farm is different and not every farm can diversify. But
if we can create new markets, for example, for biodiversity,
(15:16):
if we could get this renewal of energy market going,
we give people options, and that's what we really need.
Options to be able to enhance their profitability but also
reduce their environmental footprint.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
So what do you do? You put a solar farm
on a north facing slope and then you plant the
flat bit's see your land into horticulture.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
Well, or what we're doing at Lincoln Universities. You put
the solar farm on and you plant the horticulture under
the solar panels.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
That's even better.
Speaker 6 (15:43):
Do you do agri voltaic? So there's you know, what
we need are the ideas, We need the research and development,
and we need to give people opportunities to be able
to take put it into place.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Do you think the banks, other than I spail back
the sort of initiative because it's all very well to
say I want to put a solar farm on the farm,
but you need some serious carepital to do that.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
Yeah, no, exactly, And that's what the heart of the
report is about, if you get to it, is what
sort of finance models can we have that enable this
to happen. And so we've got to recognize we need
finance models that can deal with this high upfront cross
delayed returns. And if we're going into horticulture and stuff,
maybe potentially very risky to returns, and so that's where
(16:26):
we need the banks to play a role. But we
also need to think about foreign direct investment, philanthropy, other
approaches of getting money in that can deal with this
risky approach, and even insurance SKIT systems and how we
can underwrite it. That's what we're really trying to get
it is that the change we're talking about really challenges
our finance system and are they up for the challenge?
(16:48):
That's the question.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Well, there you go. Optimizing out land use by just
ten percent could add ten billion in the next five
to seven years. Well, we love and hope, doctor professor.
Let me get it right. Alan Raannick from Lincoln University.
Great to chat, Thanks very much.
Speaker 6 (17:04):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
It is twenty seven after twelve. Thank you, Ellen. Air
Tippoo day one of two today tomorrow and mastered in
day one of two of the Labor Party Love and
with Federated Farmers. I'm honestly not sure what it's going
to achieve, but anyhow, maybe on the cynic there's a
lot of cynics out there. We're going to Michelle has
wandered in here. Michelle, what you need to do is
get your text machine, because I know it's on your laptop.
(17:29):
Can you just print me off a list of texts
I can read out. It may not be that many,
but there's lots of texts in here. We'll come back
to your feedback on DayMen, he's got that Irish streaking them.
I always think he's up for a bit of a scrap.
On yesterday's show we got interesting texts, an interesting text
around a Land Corp Palmu station going into carbon farming,
(17:54):
so we thought we'd better give them a rite of response.
So hopefully up next Mark Leslie, the chief executive of PAMU,
can't find Cameron Baggriy at this stage. He's possibly still
talking at that Dairy en Z Farmer forum in Hamilton today.
Really interested to get his thoughts on tomorrow's o CR announcement.
(18:16):
It will be twenty five basis points, but how many
more of those have we got to go? And if
you've got a mortgage, and I know most farmers have,
what should you be doing right at this moment? Just
writing the floating rate down or taking a fixed position.
We'll try and get an answer for you with from
Cameron Baggriy before the end of the aur Michelle, there
you go. That may take you sometime. You may be
(18:39):
like Captain Oates. I maybe sometime. See if you can
print me off a list of the texts so I
can read out, thank you very much. Up next to
Mark Leslie hopefully.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
Bus bouts wanna.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Screen Welcome back to the country. What happened to Jim
Morrison on the doors? Lord has snuck in here? Lord
help us? Okay? On yesterday's show, we got a couple
of interesting texts and texts and should I say one
of them said land corpse, Munga mingy. I hope I
got that right. Station and Rapparoa is going into trees.
(19:24):
The Angus cowherd is getting sold at the Talpo Sallyards
this week. A magnificent food producing station gone now as
fate would have it. Another text is said the CEO
of Palmu Land Corp is Mark Leslie. Rapparoa born and
bred might be worth a chat. Well let's give him
the opportunity of a chat. Mark. I thought you were
(19:47):
meant to be representing as the government's farm the government's
wishes going into carbon farmings, not really doing that. Good afternoon, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
Good afternoon, Jomie and hey spawn right up front of
that one. We're not going into carbon farming. And I
think I listened to your show yesterday and I think
I agree with a lot of what you're saying. If
you look at what we are doing, We're not planting
high quality land into locke leave a carbon forestry. We've
very clearly as you've heard of say plenty of times
right tree, right place. So our focus is around sort
(20:21):
of having ten to fifteen percent of our state and forestry.
And we can come back and talk.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Well, how much of Mungaming East Station and RAPPERO is
going into trees? What only ten or fifteen percent of it?
Speaker 4 (20:32):
So for Mungaming Station, greater than nine percent of that
is land class six and seven.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
So the whole lot's going into trees.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
No, not, the whole lot's going into trees. There will
be a block of land of a circle two hundred
and thirty one hundred and fifty eight years or six
hundred acres that'll be staying as a farming operation that
links into our broader farming operations there. So that'll be
moving into carfararing and dairy support and aligns to our
units just down the road, as well as providing options
(21:03):
for us to continue to expand out what we're doing
with dairy beef.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
So okay, you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong here,
because I'm only going by memory. But isn't the government,
you know who owns you. Aren't they limiting the amount
of land class or a Class six land that can
go into forestry. Isn't it like something like fifteen thousand
hectares per annum? You'll gobble the whole lot up at
Land Corp.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
No, no, we won't because we've already this, as you know,
has been part of our strategy for a number of years.
So we're probably already served a ten or eleven percent
of our area in forestry, and we looking at next
year we're planting less than a thousand heads into forestry.
So that is very much has been clearly part of it.
(21:47):
That rtere right place, as you said yesterday, we will
pick those right places. And for the land we've got leaft.
If you look at our annual accounts for the last
couple of years, our total livestock production, our sheep and
beef numb continue to increase as we drive more efficiency
out of the land. The land that has left.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Why don't you redeploy if that's the correct word, the
angus cow herd that's being sold at the tail Post
sale yards this week, why don't you move it to
one of move the herd to one of your other farms.
Surely beef's a good business to be in now.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Yeah, and hey, we have looked at that as well.
But equally for our we do have a large number
of animals across our across the number of our farms,
so we're clear breeding drags where we do move those
animals around. The decision was made to sell that herd
as a whole herd from an interest perspective. As you know,
we've still got one hundred thousand plus beef animals that
(22:40):
will be on have properties this year, so we've made
that decision to sell that one as one as one
going going light.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
It's a hand on heart. Mark Leslie, Chief executive of Palmer.
Are you planting the trees for the carbon credits or
are you going to do something with them eventually like
production forestry. What's the main incentive here? Surely in the
short term it's carbon credits because at the moment, the
return on forestry isn't that flesh. I'm not saying it
won't be in twenty or thirty years time, but am
(23:08):
I right in saying that.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
No.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
We have always been very clear that any forest we
plant is planted with a harvest and teat. We are
not too earlier point. We're not planting good quality land
and locking it up and leaving it. It is always planted,
and then from a looking after it, from a pruning
thinning perspective, it is always done with the perspective that
it will be of harvest nature. And in around those areas,
(23:34):
as you know, there's a large amount of forestry as well,
so it integrates into where there is sawmills and things
like that. So our intent is always that those forests
are planted will have a harvest purpose.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
How many other land called farms or stations are going
to carbon farming?
Speaker 4 (23:49):
None of them are going to carbon farming. They're all
we are going.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I'll rephrase the question, how many are going to trees?
Speaker 4 (23:56):
I mean, as I said, across many of our dairy units,
they won't have large of areas of forestry unit, But
across our fifty or sixty livestock units in the North Island,
there most of them will have an element of forestry
on them, and as I said earlier, they clearly are
in areas where it suits from an animal's perspective, shade
and shelter. It may be fencing off. I think you
(24:17):
caught it yesterday, those tough gullies or gullies that are
dirty gullies that need to be planted out. So we
continue to plant out those areas, and as I said earlier,
that has then allowed us to reinvest in from a
fencing perspective water supply to then be able to actually
farm what's remaining with that extra subdivision and increase the
(24:38):
output from those farms that are left.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Hey, Mark, just a couple of texts coming in here.
They're actually in a grumpy mood out there today. One's going,
I'm sorry, planting less than a thousand hectares this year,
and this text is saying that's like two large scale
dairy farms lost to food production. And another one says
the government months are full of bullshit. Their words not mine.
(25:02):
Why are they selling their stock? And that's a fair
argument if you're meant to represent the government's wishes, and
the government is wishing for less carbon farming. Slash forestry.
Surely you should be leading the charge.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Yeah, And I would argue, Jammie that we are leading
the charge because, as I've repeatedly said, we will continue
to far very good land class land from an animal's perspective,
and where there is that steep high country lane Clan
class six or seven where it makes sense for it
to be.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Okay, So on that steep land class six or seven,
we'll talk about the land class seven. Is it realistic
that that land will ever be harvested for production forestry
because all the forestry people tell me they're not interested
in harvesting that land. They want the flatter stuff, the
better stuff, the quicker growing stuff, the stuff are near
(25:56):
the stuff that's near reports.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
So that our intenders are said with all of those
lands that that land that does get planted has as
an intent of forestry when it is planted, for that
to be harvested. Equally, as you know we have we
have ten thousands plus of land that's been put into
Q two covenants where it is more than natives and
protected for the long term. So they're probably slightly different.
But where we are planting that land, it is an
(26:20):
intent that it's planted. From a forestry perspective, it will
be harvested.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Hey, Mark Leslie, thanks for some of your time and
thanks for giving your response to some of the criticisms
that came your way, well came Palmer's way on yesterday's show.
Here's another one. The spin from Mark Leslie is unreal.
Two hundred hectares left and grass at among A Mingy,
they have two thousand hectares in grass right now, so
(26:46):
they're not they're not buying it, Mark, Hey, and.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Yep, I hear the view. But I'll just reiterate we
are looking at those integrated farms right across. We know
we're a big part of that community, and we continue
to be a big part of that community. We have
and people that work in around that area. So absolutely
we know that we're part of that community.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
You might have a few less in the future.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
No, we continue where we were looking at opportunities to
those people to be employed across their other operations.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
All right, there we go, Mark Leslie, Chief Executive of PARMU.
That's like Michelle, good afternoon, the old when someone gets
the chop in this business, it's never been gassed. It's
they're looking for new opportunities afternoon.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
Are you done parking beers now?
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Oh? No, no, the look Mark's a good guy. I
don't mind what he's saying at all, but I just
he's still on the line, so he's possibly listening to this.
I'm just surprised that perhaps pamu Land Corps not leading
more from the front if the government is determined to
halt carbon farming, because I do challenge whether some of
(27:54):
those trees will ever be harvested, but maybe that's the
best use for them, especially on some of that steep land.
Maybe they don't need to be harvested in the future.
I don't know, but we're certainly opening ourselves up to
huge risks around climate change and fires and pests and
all that sort of stuff. It's an argument that will
(28:14):
not go away. But like Lord, she won't go away,
or there she is, she's gone. We're going to try
and track down Cameron Bagri who's at the What is
he at? He is at? I've got so many pieces
of paper in front of me. It's information overload, the
darien Z farm before him at Claudland's. Yes, you're right,
we'll try and get home. If we can't, we might
(28:35):
try and track down Blair Blizzard MacLean our viticulture corresponds
because we've got another big issue in this country, especially
when it comes to our wine industry, which is worth
two billion dollars. The issue we've got is we haven't
got enough homes for all the grapes we're growing. So
we'll come back with rural news and sports news and
hopefully excuse me Cameron Baggriy before the end of the hour,
(28:59):
welcome back to the country. Very shortly the latest and
rural news and sports news. But first, if you're serious
about protecting your farm from the growing challenge of roundworm control,
don't miss the latest in our podcast series, drench Wise
Farm Smart. Proudly brought to you by Alanco. This series
goes beyond drenching. It's all about smarter, more sustainable parasite
(29:21):
management that protects your stock, you soil and your bottom line.
Episode four is live now. Joining Row once again is
Colin Mackay no relation from Alanko alongside North Canterbury sheep
and beef farmer and vet anger skib Angus shares how
he's using both as veterinary background and hands on farming
experience to stay on top of roundworm control, from quarantine
(29:44):
protocols and reduction testing to breeding changes and pasture strategies.
So whether you're on the bike and the yards or
having a well earned smoco, make sure you check out
Drenchwise Farm Smart. You'll find it on the Country's podcast
stream wherever you get your podcasts, and the links on
our Facebook page. Okay it is it is coming up
(30:08):
to quarter away from one. Yeah, going up a look
at that podcast series with Rowena. We'll hear more from
her at Field Days. But here's Michelle with the latest
and rural news.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
The country's rural news with Cod Cadet, New Zealand's leading
right on lawn Bower brand. Visit steel Ford dot co
dot z for your local stockist.
Speaker 7 (30:29):
And a New Zealander has won one of the craziest
races in the world Byron Smith. One was the last one,
the Last Man's Race at the annual Coopers Hill Cheese
Rolling Race and Gloucestershire in the UK. Now, this race
goes down a very steep hill. They chase wheels of cheese.
They have lots of injuries and stuff like that. Actually
whin the cheese at the end of it. So that's
kind of a good thing. But they get up to one
(30:51):
hundred and twelve kilmeters an hour too, Jamie, which is pretty.
Speaker 5 (30:54):
Scary running down hell.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Well, not not the runners, no, the chief cheese does.
Speaker 5 (30:57):
Yeah, yeah, but that's pretty so.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I used to have a New Zealand She's rolling championship
in Southland.
Speaker 5 (31:02):
Whereoul the hell bear it's quite flat down there.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
No, no, no, no no, it's in the hills behind
Whitkaka and the two years in a row. Then his
Zealand cheese rolling champion was none other than Tom McKay.
Really yeah, because he was only one silly enough to
run down the hill fast after the piece of cheese.
It's a young man's game because they did this on
a cattle paddock on the Henderson's property at Waitkaka, and
(31:27):
it had all these kind of hoof pop marks from
the cattle in the winter. It was just a recipe
for broken joints, and I think there were a few.
But anyhow, if you're young enough, you bounce, and that's
what happened to Tom McKay. And we got a whole
lot of Camembert cheese for that. There you go.
Speaker 5 (31:44):
Oh that sounds alright, didn't that.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
And here was me saying at the time he's never
going to amount to anything.
Speaker 7 (31:50):
Well, that's something to be paradic he can hold. You
find that story and more on our website Country dot
co dot.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Yet some great feed back coming and we're going to
have to dedicate a show to the feedback from today's show.
He's a good one off the record from a very
good source, a very good source on the West Coast.
All the deare units of land Corp are going into trees.
The plot Thickens has sports news for you.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Sports. We're thenth go Kiwi to the bone since nineteen
oh four.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
I haven't read this, Michelle, because I've been too busy
reading the text. They're very entertaining. But the Wellington Phoenix
have lost marquee striker Costa barbarusis the club's top goalscorer
in the past two A League seasons, has informed as
employers he won't return next season and we'll play elsewhere.
We're all Phoenix. I had a bit of a tough time,
if it haven't. They all Black Sevens, Duo, Olie Mathis
(32:49):
and Frank somebody else Bolster The New Zealand Under twenty
rugby squad for the World Championship in Italy and former
Crusader White Crocketts super rugby appearance record is under threat
with fellow prop James Slipper signing a one year contract
extension at the Brumbies. He has been around forever and
(33:11):
a day up next on the country either Cameron Baggery
or Blair Blizzard MacLean. We're going to try desperately to
get them, and we're filtering and we're censoring your feedback
and we'll try and get to that before the end
of the show as well. Well, hang on, I'll tell
you what. We've got one more thing to do before
I forget Michelle. What about our steel chainsaw?
Speaker 4 (33:32):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (33:32):
Yes, we've got to winners to announce, don't we.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Have you got the winner?
Speaker 5 (33:35):
I have got the winner in front of.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
You, hang on in front of me. Right, Today's winner, well,
Monday's winner, we're announcing it today is William Milne from Southland.
And he was able to tell us in twenty twenty
six how many years will still have been making chainsaws four?
The answer was, of course one hundred years now. Today's
question to win the what are we winning today? Just
(33:58):
the chainsaw just the chainsaw worth five hundred and fifty
five dollars. It is the MS one eight two chainsaw,
forty centimeter great chainsaw, perfect for on farm jobs, the
lighter jobs.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
That is.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
So today's question is what is the engine capacity of
a still? MS one eight two? I think that would
be pretty easy to work out, wouldn't it. Now you're
actually gonna have to go to the website to answer
that one, but if you do, you'll get a chainsaw.
So to enter, go to the country dot co dot
in Z and fill in the entry form with the
correct answer to today's question what is the engine capacity
(34:38):
of a still? MS one eight to chainsaw? It's all
part of stool chainsaw safety awareness Week, right, I got
I'm getting drowning in paper here up next, hopefully Cameron Bagreg.
Speaker 7 (34:56):
Get you this world re.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
Like a dog without a bone and alone. Welcome back
to the country. Look, we can't get Cameron Bagrey from
his dairy and zed farmer for him. We'll get him
on tomorrow's show because the o cr announcement will be
tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock, So we'll just get them
on the show tomorrow, hopefully. Blair Blizzard MacLean as well
(35:21):
from Blenham. Some are your feedback white Stone Blue Cheese.
Yeah that was the big Wheels of cheese that we
won or sometime one good on them. Mark Ellis also
won the World championship I think, or the one in England.
Radio pines need to be harvested. They are a weed
and they start falling and blowing over after thirty five
(35:42):
years or so dead right, spray and walk away with
carbon farming, and that's what we're going to be left with.
Here's another one from Craig. Hey, Jamie, I know Munga
Mingy Well flew over it many times. Awesome rolling cattle country.
Rumor was they as in land court Pam who was
making no money? Typical, says Craig. So that's not very good.
(36:02):
Here's another one. You did an excellent job of demolishing
Damien O'Connor's baseless arguments. Well, thank you very much for that,
very entertaining. The downside to this, though, confirms that there
are too many irrelevant politicians like him still on the payroll.
How does Damien think we can get We can just
get more and more for our produce. We can't put
(36:24):
the price up so high that people just won't buy
off us. He is living in a different world than
the rest of us, and there's certainly a really good
argument to say that for a lot of people. Not
for a lot of people, but certainly for some customers.
Low carbon footprints not the number one buyer buying initiative
(36:45):
for those people they want, especially the likes of the Chinese.
They want food security, and they want good product and
they want it at a good price. And here's one
from Bryce McKenzie from ground Swell. I was going to
say Farmstrong, Well, good on you Jamie for getting it
to Damien. He can't help but run New Zealand agriculture down.
(37:05):
Don't think he realizes he's doing it. Well, he's not
afraid of an argument. We'll have another one at Field
Days with him. We're going to come back after the
break with some Maria feedback. Okay, Yeah, Wrapping the country
can't find Cameron Baggery will get him on the show tomorrow.
(37:26):
One here from well known farmer Roger Barton. Thank you
for listening. Roger. He says, if O'Connor is to visit
the Wira Rapper, he needs to be taken east of Pie.
Here tour to see the Havoc radiator plantings have done
to the live stock industry. And there's another really good
one up here. There's so many. Oh, clearly that station
(37:48):
Mung and Minghy was good enough for beef cows since
it had a beef cow stud. So why is now
saying it's not good for cows? Look, I agree, I
agree with you absolutely. I'm going to try and sort
out some more of your feedback for tomorrow's show. We'll
catch you then.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay. Thanks to friends. You're specialist in
John Deere construction equipment.
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