All Episodes

July 22, 2025 • 40 mins

Jamie Mackay talks to Christopher Luxon, Neville Clark, and Marion Cantillon.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay. Thanks to Brent, you're specialist in
John Dee machinery.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Good afternoon, New Zealand. Welcome to the Country. The show
is brought to you by Brent. Rest in peace, Ozzie
Osbourne Black Sabbath Now, apologies for the lack of a
news bulletin at the top of the air. We're flummoxed.
We don't know what happened to that you got the
sports news. We'll see if we can dig it up
for you. If we can't, we'll have a look on

(01:15):
our news Boss system and try and bring you the
big stories at midday. Earlier this morning I caught up
with the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxen. Did he send Nikola
Willis on a fool's errand to convince Fonterra to lower
the price of butter? Is it Fonterra's job to lower
the price of butter? Of course it's not that. And

(01:37):
many other subjects, including Chippy getting right under his skin yesterday?
Are you going to love this bloke? Neville Clark, the
storied and well traveled Gisbon auctioneer, stock agent, former New
Zealand Rodeo or is it rodeo depending if you winstant
Peters are not champion. He's just been awarded a life
membership of the Poverty Amp Association, its one hundred and

(02:00):
fiftieth year, reflecting on more than forty years in the industry.
This is the guy. I'm told he's in the top
two livestock auctioneers in the country. This is the guy
who had the hammer in his hand when they sold
the Angus bull for one hundred and sixty one grand. Recently,
we continue our innovation week here on the country and

(02:23):
we have got a beauty for you. I'm really looking
forward to this one, and well I actually know what's
in it because I caught up with her also earlier
this morning, because she's in Ireland. Her name is Marion Cantalon.
She was the subject of conversation at the PINS Summit,
Primary Industry of New Zealand Summit, the Big Farming Conference.

(02:44):
None other than the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor, John
Roach was talking about her product. Now, how about this,
Rather than covering your silence pit with a bit of plastic,
how about covering it with a bio bio and edible
biofilm made of seaweed and nutrients. You can cover it

(03:04):
with that instead of the plastics, and the animals can
then eat the biofilm. What a great technology that is.
And just to lighten things up a wee bit, Ozzy
Osborne's called the Prince of Darkness. I would describe Jeremy
Rocks thus as well, the Country's loquacious. Look it up,
look up what it means. Jeremy a hobby farming Correspondent's

(03:26):
ready to fire a few shots and anger. But who's
going to be in his sights? I think butter might be.
We've got all that to do on the Country, And
as I said, we'll try and find out what happened
to your news bulletin at the top of the hour,
Back with the Prime Minister Wednesdays on the Country, The

(04:02):
PM kicks off the show. Here's an opener for you,
Christopher Luxen, did you see and Nichola Willis on a
fool's errand when she went to chat to Miles Hurrel
about the price of butter.

Speaker 3 (04:13):
No nook Fonterra does for a meeting with Nicola with
respect to supermarkets. She's doing some good work behind the
scenes on trying to do everything we can to make
sure that we've got more competition in the supermarket sector.
She wants to talk to existing retailers, new potential new
retailers and also big big supplies as well. Obviously Fonterra
is one of the biggest, So you know, that was

(04:33):
what they would have been talking about. And I guess
she would have asked.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Me, well, we'll hang on, why didn't she go straight
to the Supermarkets's she more than anyone will know, and
being a former Fonterra executive that there's not much Fonterra
can do about it.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
No, No, it's a broader conversation JB about supermarkets that
Nicholas working on right now, and so she's talking to everybody,
big suppliers, think about, you know, the big multinational companies
obviously Fonterra is a big local compan company, the small
companies that are trying to provide into supermarkets across New Zealand,
as well as obviously the existing supplies or retailers here

(05:08):
as well as obviously trying to think about what would
it you know, what other issues are happening out there
with potential new entrants as well that might be interested
in coming to New Zealand or not and why so
and what could we do about it? So that's that's
she's on a very broad sort of engagement across the
system to understand the issues around having get more competition supermarkets.
You know, you're right, you know the story, which is

(05:29):
that you know, essentially you know, New Zealand jery prices
are in huge demand internationally. You know, you've seen China,
for example this year next year, I think, are actually
lowering productions and there's huge demand. You know what butter
means to different markets that we've got around the world,
it's just huge. I mean, as I came through China recently,
it's just obvious that New Zealand butter is We've trained
the Chinese consumer to think of New Zealand butter as

(05:51):
the best and as a result, it's being used by
all those bakers making cakes and all that stuff. So
that high global price is is what drives the price
of butter predominantly.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Back up on the commentary from Open Country dairy Mark
de Latour on the show last week saying they're building
a new butter factory in the White Catto zero of it,
zero percent of that zelch Nada will be sold domestically
because simply they can make more money exporting it.

Speaker 3 (06:14):
Yeah, I mean, honestly, it's it's it's incredible. I mean,
it's it's it's a you know, it's a problem that
obviously causes a higher butter price here at home, but
actually is the thing that actually makes returns for our
farmers that are very strong at the moment. So but
what's incredible is when you do go into these markets,
you know, we've trained them that our butter and the
color of our butter is better than white butter they
might get from any other country in the world. So

(06:36):
and honestly, the strategy of driving into the food service sectors,
whether it's the cake makers and the bakeries and stuff
like that, is really successful. So yeah, I mean I
get it. I mean there's a huge demand for news
on protein and particularly dairy.

Speaker 2 (06:48):
Okay, well, well, you may be better off letting nicol
Or off the leash. At the local body of councils
around the country. I don't know whether that's her domain.
I'm not sure who that sits under. West Coast Regional
Council sixty five percent rate rise over the past three
years Kluther District Council leading the charge just down the
road from me, nearly seventeen percent annually. These are unsustainable.

Speaker 3 (07:11):
Yeah, look, I mean that. I mean we certainly had
Local Government conference last week and Chris Bishop and Simon
Watts made that point incredibly strongly. I mean, if you
look at our inflation numbers that came out yesterday, you
know we were at two point seven percent. They would
have been at two point three, but there was about
forty basis points that was tied to rates. Because rates
have gone up twelve point two percent. All the rest

(07:32):
of the prices of everybody else is on off about
two and a half percent across the country. So you know,
we've got a real problem with rates. It's why I've
been being on about this for a year to say
hang on, actually, we need you to focus on the core.
So what we've done is we've got a bill going
through the Parliament that's kept off now which says get
rid of these well beings. That's nonsense that was created
by labor. That's not your core business. Focus on your

(07:52):
core business, which is core infrastructure and services that you
know to send your rate pass report on your spending
on contractors and consultants and those sorts of things and
the bigger piece of work that's happening. It will take
advice and we'll have a position on parely. Shortly will
be about rates caps. You know, I think we have
to introduce capping the rates. I think we have to
do that now. There be a lot of people. I

(08:12):
see a lot of political parties going up against us
and me saying that, but I think we have to
do that. Of councils after a year have not been
able to get it gripped up and sort it out.
They need to do so. I mean, it was interesting
to me. There's lots of ways to do it. Auckland
Council was a classic Jamie. They we used to run
their three watered assets. They put them into a separate
entity where they have local control but they have balance
sheet separation. They managed to move from a twenty four

(08:34):
percent proposed rate rise down to a six that's Auckland,
you know, our biggest city in the country. And we
did that through restructuring and using their funding and financing
in different ways. There's lots of ways to do this.
So yeah, so we've got a real challenge. Rates shouldn't
be going up twelve point two percent when the rest
of the prices going up about two and a half
across the country. And as a result, rate caps are
coming and we want to push that proposal hard.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
Maybe we should get grumpy old Wayne Brown to run
all the local body authorities around the country sort it out.

Speaker 4 (09:00):
Now?

Speaker 2 (09:01):
Are you concerned at what's happening with Palmu the sudden
resignation As I understand that he was pushed of long
standing well regarded manager of Molesworth Station, our biggest farm,
Jim Ward. It raises the question yet again, should the
state to be a farmer or is that an outmoded concept?

Speaker 3 (09:18):
Well, I think you know. I don't know enough about
the individual circumstances of his resignation. Obviously it's a matter
for Landcorp and for him. What I can say is
we have seen a very clear directive that we expect
all that SOEs to be incredibly well governed, deliver on
their goals and obviously generate a return. And Simon Brown's
made that crystal clear in recent letters to all the

(09:39):
CEOs and cheers of those SOEs. I know we're worried
about Mission Creep and within Land Corp. And you know,
we want that organization to get back to basics and
to do the basics well. And that means that any
capital that's raised through selling land should certainly be returned
obviously to shield as some capital or some surplus, but
not reinvested in new ventures like, for example, large plantings

(10:01):
of forestry on farm land. We're not doing that. We've
ruled that out, remember, So yeah, so I don't know
enough about the individual circumstances, but I just say to
you we expect better performance from Land Corps.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
Philosophically though, should the government be running farms well? The
answers probably no. Private enterprise probably does a better job well.

Speaker 3 (10:23):
I mean, our expectation is, you know that that's the
position that they do for you know, historical reasons. We
have these farms under the Land Corps. We expect them
to be well maintained and well run and well governed
and returns generated as it is in the private sector,
and as the farmers across the country has done an
exceptionally good job in the last couple of years of
turning things around and running their businesses really well, we

(10:44):
expect the same from from from from these guys. Not
actually sort of going off on diversions of wanting to
plant you know, farm land into forestry, which is just
not going to happen.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
Okay, just just finally, on a lighter note, what did frickin'
Chris Hipkins do to get under your skin yesterday? You
were sort of channeling your very best doctor evil there.

Speaker 3 (11:03):
No, I just I just of it, honestly, like these guys,
you know, they crash this economy, they ran the car
into the ditch and then like they don't care about
lower middle and come working New Zealanders because they end
up running the economy in such a way it drove
inflation and interest rates and put us into recession for
three years. And then he sort of has the audacity
to sort of asked some question about, you know, our

(11:23):
Family Boost program, which is designed to help you know,
help help you know, lower middle and.

Speaker 2 (11:28):
No, no, no, no help help people who are earning two
hundred grand.

Speaker 3 (11:32):
No, And I just think about it. You know, a
nurse on one hundred and twenty five, a teacher on
you know, one hundred, both working hard. It doesn't remember
it care. It also tapers off before it hits that number.
So at one hundred, and forty, I think it starts
tapering off. But my issue was just more like, honestly,
these guys are a joke. I mean honestly that you know,
how do you have the audacity to ask these questions

(11:52):
when you are the people that created the huge problem
and you created so much pain and suffering for New
Zealanders and you're trying to gaslight your record. And that's okay.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
I'm not arguing with that. I agree with you on
that one. But if we take the latest Talbot Mills
poll into consideration, most people don't agree with you and
I in fact that Labor, the Greens and to party
Maury would have enough to govern.

Speaker 3 (12:14):
Joie, I just wouldn't. There are so many poles, my friend,
they all say completely often different things. Are the only
polls that matter is, Oh.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
Come on, come up on something original.

Speaker 3 (12:25):
No, I just say to you, just don't let yourself
get bounced around. Focus on the mission here, which is
that we're here to change the country, sort of out,
get it turned around, get it moving in the right direction,
realizing the potential.

Speaker 4 (12:34):
That it's got.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be bounced around
every week by a different pole and make decisions on
that basis. We get to fix things and so polls
they say lots of different things, as you know you've seen,
and what we're focused on is if we've done our
job in twenty twenty six, these elves have a pretty
clear choice. Do you want Marla Mara and Chloe and
Rai and Debbie and Crisp consitting around the table or

(12:56):
do you want a more stable coalition that can actually
get on and get things done. And they'll be your choice.

Speaker 2 (13:00):
Well, yesterday your channel doctor evil. Today I think you
should have channeled former Prime Minister Jim Bolger Bugger the
polls Prime Minister Chris Luxon. Thanks for your time.

Speaker 3 (13:09):
Hey, you always good chatting Jamie. You take care of
a great week.

Speaker 2 (13:13):
It is eighteen after twelve years the country YEP. Caught
up with them earlier this morning. Some feedback coming in.
Tell the PM to answer your frickin' questions, not talk
for five minutes of diversion and we lost the news.
Turned out it was Michelle's fault. Hello Michelle, Hello.

Speaker 5 (13:33):
Thanks for checking me under the bus Jamie. You know
I love it. Yeah, he did, shout me a coffee
this sight.

Speaker 2 (13:38):
To be honest, We've got to the bottom of it.
Apparently it was because of an evil act performed. Have
you got something get a problem here? An evil act
performed in this very studio yesterday afternoon, but we can't
tell you about that. Someone pushed a wrong button and
it ditched the midday news. But because we're quick on

(13:59):
our feet here on the country, I've gone to a
news boss, which is our news machine basically, and here's
the top story, poor old Tory Farnw. Videos emerged of
an Auckland councilor discussing a sexual rumor about Wellington's mayor
and a council meeting Morris Williamson. Of course, Morris is

(14:19):
a former National Party MP. Attended the November twenty twenty
three meeting by video are saying he was told of
Tory Farnow performing a sex act. Independent Maoris Statutory board
member Toe Henery asked for action from chair Richard Hills,
saying he should sanction the outburst. The clips re emerged

(14:40):
after the revelations of an email from Wellington Merrill candidate
Ray Cheng including gossip about Farnow and newsroom. This is
the nz ME newsroom has approached Williamson for comments. So
that's the top story as we understand it, that you
missed out on at the top of the hour. I
hope that's made your life a wee bit better. Michelle

(15:00):
Ozzy Osbourne Black Sabbath because we were grabbing a coffee
this morning and we were discussing whether it was Ossie
or Alice Cooper who but the head off the bat?
It was Ossie, wasn't it It was.

Speaker 5 (15:15):
Ozz Yeah, Ossie but the head.

Speaker 6 (15:17):
Off the bat?

Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, okay.

Speaker 5 (15:19):
Cooper did do some crazy things on stage, but not
quite that well.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
Alice Coopers are very measured and smart, sort of goy.
He's a scratch golfer and I don't think he drinks
at all. You couldn't level that at Ossie. Ozzie's outlandish
exploits include relieving himself on the Alamo, snorting a line
of ants off a sidewalk, and, as we discussed, most memorably,
biting the head off a live bat that a fan

(15:48):
through on stage during a nineteen eighty one concert. He
said he thought it was rubber, and he put the
head off the bat.

Speaker 5 (15:56):
And you're lucky you're not on stage, and you know,
here in a studio where people can't throw things like
that at.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
You, Jamie exactly right up next, this is a great story.
This bloke, Oh Jeseu. He's one of the country's top
livestock auctionaires. A former New Zealand Rodeo or is it
Rodeo champion, Neville Clark awarded life membership with the Poverty
Bay Amp Association for endless amounts of charity work he

(16:21):
has done. I'm really looking forward to playing this interview
because we caught up with the first thing this morning,
because it's the middle of the night in Ireland now,
Marilyn Cantalon. So instead of covering your silent stack and plastic,
you can cover it in a biofilm that's made of
seaweed and nutrients and you just dig it up, chuck

(16:42):
it in the silage wagon and the live stock will
eat the biofilm as well. I think this is a
brilliant innovation. It's all part of Innovation Week here on
the Country, brought to you by Herdye. Of course, they're
the smart AI company that has multi cameras set up
and they can detect body condition, scoring and of course
lameness in cows. Neville Clark up next, a great thing

(17:26):
about this job is you get to know people all
around the country and my phone has been running hot
in recent times from some of my contacts in the
Poverty Bay area. Because a bit of a local legend,
in fact, he's a national legend. Was awarded life membership
at the Poverty Bay Amp Association one hundred and fiftieth dinner.

(17:46):
His name is Neville Clark. We go way back to
the eighties when he was a stock agent in Riversdale
and we played footy together. Neville, congratulations, you are widely
regarded as so I'm told, in the top two livestock
auctionaire in the country. Well done on the life membership, mate,
Yeah it was.

Speaker 4 (18:04):
It was a tremendous thrill. I'm not often lost for words,
but I was that night. And yeah, they Norm Thomas
had sort of did a bit of a preview and
there's a couple of things he said no to that
I knew it for I like death and near that
unrolled it had it come. So now it was a
really it was a great thrill and it was a
huge night. It was a wonderful night for the show.

(18:25):
And of course it's a great show. It's a wonderful show.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
Well, I'm lucky enough to be coming up to it
this year. I was meant to be there in twenty
seventeen and I tripped up over on a golf course
and broke my leg, so I couldn't go. And I've
always promised to go back. And the good thing about
the Poverty Bay amp Show is literally more than half
the population of the region goes through the gates during
the two days of the show. It has to be
the most highly attended AMP show in the country.

Speaker 4 (18:50):
Yeah, it is. And I think it's just just a combination.
You know, we're an isolated you know, an isolated place,
and I mean it's a chance to come together, and
we've got a wonderful committee. There's so much goes on
at the shows. Two wonderful days. We cater for the town,
we cater for the country, and I mean it's just
to feel good and it launches, it launches our summer,

(19:13):
our spring and summer for us here. And you know,
it's a wonderful place to live. As I say, cad isolated,
but g we're surrounded by great people.

Speaker 2 (19:22):
You are not only one of the top live stock
auctioneers and stock agents in the country with PGG rights.
And by the way back in the day when you
and I were playing rugby in the nineteen eighties and Riversdale,
you were also the All Round New Zealand rodeo champion.

Speaker 4 (19:38):
Yeah, that was a period of my life. It was
a great period really, And I'd been away to Canada
and rodeod on the circuit over there and come home,
move down to Riversdale and yeah, applied the trade and
you know, we practiced hard and rodeoed hard and it
went my way. So that was good. And you had
to win the all around in eighty seven was wonderful.

(20:00):
It again in ninety four that was a great experience
as well. But I mean the sport of rodeo and
A and P shows, it's all about bringing people together
and one of us one of the same. Really. It's
a little form of entertainment, but it's just getting great
country people together. And yeah, whether they're a committee or
a club, it doesn't matter, but it has the same

(20:20):
effect that brings good people together.

Speaker 2 (20:22):
Now, I'm guessing you've been a stock agent slash auctionaire
for more than forty years. You would have had to
have been. What about the changes you've seen in the
industry in your time.

Speaker 4 (20:33):
Yeah, there has been a lot of changes, and I
mean at the moment, you know, land us change is
the biggest one, and we're just really starting to see it,
especially up here with a lot of forestry in that.
But I mean it's going to have a lot of
places when you think of you know this, three hundred
thousand hectares have gone since twenty seventeen. I heard Mike
Peterson on the show saying that, you know, we've schooled

(20:55):
got the same amount of forestry, and that's technically correct,
but it's like the Labor Party say, and how well
they did last six years. I mean the land that
we've lost now is land that's got sheep and beef,
and I mean it's good country that's moving into forestry.
It's so wrong. It would always entertains me that the
people in town can't believe their dear food is well.

(21:18):
If you keep taking the good stuff away, of course
it's going to get bloody deer, you know. I mean,
as they get on a plane and bug off overseas,
you know, thinking they're saving the planet, we're at home
here trying to feed the world. I mean, it's not
rocket science.

Speaker 2 (21:32):
No, it is not rocket science. And you guys have
suffered more from carbon than most regions. I want to
talk to you about your region and a really positive
livestock story. The ball selling season. You are an expert
in selling deer and you also do the big bull
sALS and I think you were the auctioneer with the
hammer in your hand when that at Black Angus bull

(21:53):
went for one hundred and sixty one thousand dollars, a
new record from the Tanguy House stud.

Speaker 4 (21:59):
Yeah, what a couple of days we had. We broke
the record the day before at crickled Angus at one
hundred and we got Snack a ball through there at
one hundred and fifty six, which eclipped the record that
stood since ninety two with Daho Legacy at one fifty five.
So we got that one over on Sunday afternoon at Cricklewood.
The next day, you know, the stars aligned again and

(22:21):
what a wonderful salete was there was Once again, it
was just a wonderful atmosphere. The ball was Lot sixteen
at Tangy Hore sale got off pretty good and then gee,
when we got going there, she was a last man
standing it's a great game if you win. And you know,
all credit to Tangy, how they've done a lot of
work on getting getting the right for the cattle, the

(22:41):
rights for the numbers, and the perfect storm that arrived,
and Keith, Keith Higgins from Oregon stud on his own,
you know, fronted up and changed a record that's been
standing since ninety ninety two. So all powder to Keith
and certainly all power of Tangy here.

Speaker 2 (22:56):
Have you ever known the beef market to be more buoyans?

Speaker 4 (22:59):
No, No, I haven't, And I mean it's on the
back of a few things. Land Yates changed the cow
herd in Americas that are seventy three year low. I mean,
there's a lot of things that are like that. You know,
where the dots are lining up and say, we're going
to see it too. We're going to have a wonderful
spring here in the North. We're wet, we're wet now,
and a little bit of heat turns up and we'll

(23:21):
have a lot of grass and we'll see just how
how much land use change and how much stocks you know,
disappeared out of the system. When these boys start to
restock in August septem Rocktober.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
There's a wicked irony, isn't The record prices for beef
lamb's very very good, and yet we're growing pine trees
where we should be growing food. You've sold a black
angus ball for one hundred and sixty one grand, but
you also are the master. And I know this because
I've been told from people in high places when it
comes to deer auctions, apparently the top deer farmers won't

(23:53):
go to auction unless you do it. I'm assuming that
you've probably sold a deer or a stag for more
than that.

Speaker 4 (24:00):
Yeah, I had. I had the joys selling a stag
at Todd Crowley's in Hamilton for three hundred and ninety thousand,
and he was an amazing animal. It was, it was,
it was a sight to behold. I know a lot
of people don't like those big, multi headed deer, you know,
the old traditionalists, but that's fine, each to his own.
But it was a wonderful stag and it was a
wonderful occasion we had. We had a couple of players

(24:22):
in the room, we had one on the phone, and
it was pretty exciting. And it's still it's still a record,
and the stag went on to do wonderful things and
we've seen his progeny come out now and yeah, it
was it was a it was a great day.

Speaker 2 (24:35):
Now mile mat Graham Williams and your neck of the
wood's been chewing my big time. And he says he's
not content with you being a life member of the
Poverty by a m P Association, Nevil Clark. He wants
you to get a night on it. I know where
Graham gets carried away on occasions, but he says, for
all the work you've done over the years for charity,
especially when it comes to auctioning, you never say no, no.

Speaker 4 (24:58):
I really am no. Just you know, if we all
do a little, then something they have to do so much.
So no, it's and it's still going on. We've got
the Calcutter at Tolliger Bay on Saturday night for the
King of the Coast Golf so that'll that'll be a
bit of fun. And yeah, we've got the charity, the
Big westp Charity dinner for Helicopter here and sit tem

(25:20):
that's a great occasion. And yeah, some of these things,
it's it's good. It's it's just what makes the community work.
And I'm happy, happy, to give it be one way
I'm going to get to heaven.

Speaker 2 (25:28):
I guess Neville Clark. I'm honored to know you, and
I'm looking forward to catching up with you again and
renewing our acquaintance at the Poverty by A and P
Show in October. Looking forward to it.

Speaker 4 (25:40):
Yeah, it'll be a great occasion. We're gonna we're going
to a committee meeting this afternoon with you, with the
entertainment crowd. So we're going to go all out to
make it the best ever. And yeah, so there'll be
some great surprises and we'll probably relive the Shepherd's Challenge,
you know, just for for another time. It's been a
great event at the show and we've had a year
or two will from that. But yeah, it's a real hoop,

(26:02):
the Shepherd's Challenge, and yeah, we're going to do lots
of things and just make it. Yeah, one fiftieth to remember.

Speaker 2 (26:08):
Hey Clarky, great to catch up. Congratulations, will see you
in October.

Speaker 4 (26:12):
Yep, No, looking forward to Jamie and yet we'll have
a beer and talk about old time.

Speaker 2 (26:17):
Indeed, we will thank you. Neville Clark. Twenty six away
from one, Michelle, I've got a confession to make. I
think I actually only know or like one of Ozzie's songs.

Speaker 5 (26:31):
I think that was too classy, was it?

Speaker 2 (26:33):
Well, I mean you're from Balkluther, so you obviously would
have been a lot closer to Black Sabbath and Ozzie
Osborne than I was. But I mean, Paranoid's a great
catchy pop song. Anyhow, what's your favorite Ozzie Osborne or
Black Sabbath song out there? Drop us a line on
what is that texting about five double O nine early
onset happening here? Because on Hosking this morning played one

(26:58):
of Ozzie's songs which I knew, but I can't find it.
If you know what that song was this morning that
Mike played, let me know and I'll play that one.
He's a text coming in, Hi mackay, that's rather impersonal.
Has luxon been drinking goare'e night rate poisoned water? Before
he caps local body rates, he should first cap climate change.

(27:19):
He should give back and this isn't a bad idea.
He should give back all the gst on rates gouged
by central government to Hawkes Bay and Tasman to fund
their cyclone recovery. That's from ash Maybe he's got a
fair point up next Rural News and sports News before
the end of the hour. Earlier this morning I caught

(27:39):
up with Marion Cantalon in Ireland. This is a great
innovation for Innovation Week and Jeremy Rooks to wrap it
on the Country. Welcome back to the Country. The show

(28:01):
is brought to you by Brandt Very shortly the latest
and rural news and sports news talking about sport. Just
like any good team, you want your stock performing to
their potential. Proloject has long been a trusted part of
stock performance and now it's helping feed communities too. Proloject
B twelve has always been the reliable go to for
treatment and control of cobalt deficiency ahead of critical times

(28:23):
such as carving, mating, or lambing. Smart farmers know that
timing is everything when it comes to maintaining herd health
and productivity. Now Proloject is pulling double duty this winter.
For every pack of Prolojects sold to participating vet clinics,
Alanco is making a donation to meet the need, the
charity that gets quality food from farms and farmers to

(28:45):
food banks. One pack, two meals. It's that simple. When
you choose Prologeic, you're not just investing in your stock's performance,
You're helping strengthen communities. Alanco Enriching lives on farm and
now in our communities. Proloject is registered pursuant to the
ACVM Act nineteen ninety seven. Always read and follow label instructions.

Speaker 1 (29:09):
The country's world use with cod Cadet, New Zealand's leading
right on lawn bower bread. Visit steel Ford dot co
dot nz for your local stockist.

Speaker 2 (29:19):
One twenty one away from one. Here's Michelle with the
latest and rural and news.

Speaker 5 (29:22):
What do you got so just following on since we're
doing Innovation Week, Jamie as she I got sent in
a story by someone we both know incredibly well. Thanks
ro from the BBC. Researchers are developing a new app
which will use artificial intelligence to warn farmers of a
fungal disease which can devastate potato crops. While scientists say
that app will allow farmers to detect late flight using

(29:43):
their phone before it becomes visible to the human eye,
which is super interesting. AI has been used in so
many different ways in agriculture and we've had a few
on this week already.

Speaker 2 (29:51):
Yeah, exactly, including heard ee and yesterday's.

Speaker 5 (29:55):
Yesterday's and we've got another one.

Speaker 2 (29:57):
Tomorrow, are ai?

Speaker 4 (29:58):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (29:59):
What have we got tomorrow?

Speaker 5 (30:01):
G Force is from but the VR system for ATVs,
well there you go.

Speaker 2 (30:05):
So it teaches you how to drive an eight agent could.

Speaker 5 (30:08):
Happen if you did something and drove in a silly
place like what would happen.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
In Well, it's a real issue out there, let's be
honest about it. Look forward to that one tomorrow. His sport.

Speaker 1 (30:20):
Sport with AFCO. Visit them online at a fco dot
co dot nz.

Speaker 2 (30:24):
All black Smithfelder, Anton LENNARTT Brown assigned a two year
extension through to the end of twenty twenty eight, despite
having a full year to run on this current deal
and Silver Fern Karen Berger is lukewarm at the prospect
of playing her club netball in Australia after the national
bodies review of their overseas eligibility criteria. The Tactics defender

(30:44):
says it won't be a simple decision and I say
go the Tactics because that's Donna Laffagen, Donna Wilcome. She
is now coaching team. She used to work with us
at Hocknui way back in Gore and the good old days,
great sportswoman of South She's doing a pretty good job
as a coach as well, so look forward to the
tactics taking home the an z Premiership or whatever they

(31:06):
call it this weekend up next. Earlier this morning we
went to Ireland Marion Cantalon. What a great story she's
got when it comes to innovation. That is up next
on the Country.

Speaker 1 (31:28):
From grassroots to Greatness, Innovation Week on the Country with
Heard Eye. The future is right here, right now, Surge
heard I.

Speaker 2 (31:37):
It is Innovation Week here on the Country, brought to
you by Herdeye and this is the interview I'm probably
most looking forward to now. Doctor John Roach, the Prime
Minister's new or relatively new Chief Science Advisor, talked about
this particular product at the PINNs Primary Industry in New
Zealand conference that we were recently at. Product called pit Sel,

(32:02):
it's a biofilm made from unique strains of seaweed and
nutrients which forms an air tight and waterproof layer on
top of silage pits, fully replacing traditional plastic coverings and weights.
The biofilm is later consumed by the ruminant animals as
part of their winter feed, creating a zero waste cycle.

(32:25):
The inventor or the founder of this wonderful product is
Marian Cantalon, and she's joining us all the way from
Ireland and Marion, there is a great backstory about how
you came about this product. Good afternoon, New Zealand time.

Speaker 6 (32:40):
Good afternoon everybody in a big hello from Ireland. Yeah,
they're a fantastic backstory about how I came about. I
guess I have to preface this and tell you I'm
not a farmer by trade. I had both and a
lot of farms, but me myself, I don't have any
plant or I dawned farmeland. But what I did have
was during my masters, I was studying nutritional science and

(33:01):
we were tasked with pieces or your mastered masters project
as part of the university was to replace plastic covering
on your fresh fruit fruit produce. So you know, anything
like a strawberry, do you have the packs of strawberries
at the film on top of it, or lrasberries or
any fresh fruit berries come with a little plastic filma.
And our task for the Masters was to replace that

(33:25):
for retail space. So in super in big supermarkets like
any big grocer, and I was writing up my pieces
and COVID hits. I got sent back home and I'm
from a very rural part of Ireland where farm is
very common, so I got put to work doing farm
work instead of doing my pieces work. And one of
the jobs that I got put to and was silent

(33:48):
and it's quite tedious and time consuming. And I remember
covering the first couple of pits and I was like,
oh my god, this is this is the way too
time consuming, a way too cumbersome for the amount of
work earth amount of work they were putting out and
energy that's going into us. And I remember going back
in to write up my thesis and I was like,
I guess that was my light bulber, My eureka moment

(34:10):
was if I can do we can talk about writing
and having series of covering fresh root projects in the
retail space, why can't we bring it to agriculture. And
I guess that was the way. It's all kind of stemmed.

Speaker 2 (34:21):
From Mary and Kentle and with us from Ireland. Tell
me about your uncle because he played a role in
this product slipping over on the top of the silid pit.

Speaker 6 (34:31):
Yeah, so he did I actually ended up taking a
lot of the farmwork over my uncle's run dairy farm
in the West coast of Ireland, and one of them
ended up slipping and falling off the silent pits. So
I ended up taking his position in the farm for
the humans that he was in hospital trying to recupiate.
He had a broken knee, but he was all good

(34:53):
and well. I took over the reins and I think
after that I remember considering how dangerous and commersome this
is for friends, and how time consuming it is, So
it was a massive safety feature. I know New Zealand
you're a bit different. You have bunkers, but in Ireland
we of pits, so they're on top of the ground,
so trying to fall off one of those is not
a pretty size. So yeah, he did play a massive

(35:14):
role in the development of an Actually me kind of
putting my head behind it and trying to actually get
it to fruition.

Speaker 2 (35:19):
Did you know that the Prime Minister's chief science advisor
was touting your product at a major one of the
major farming conferences on the other side of the world.

Speaker 6 (35:29):
No, I didn't, but I'm quite flattered. I know he
has some Irish connections, so I think maybe that my
Irish charm might have worked a bit of a truce there.
But I'm really pleased that he did, and I'm sure
he's doing fatherless work. He's a great scientist. I know
some of who's work, but I'm delighted to even see
that I've really taught about in that part of the world.

Speaker 2 (35:48):
So is this product available in New Zealand at the moment.

Speaker 6 (35:52):
No, we're currently in testing phases, so we haven't launched
market yet.

Speaker 2 (35:56):
Now it's one thing replacing plastic solids covers and with
all agree that's a good thing, creating a zero waste cycle.
But cost comes into all this. Have you any idea?
I know that this is early on in the development
of the product, but how's it going to compare cost wise?

Speaker 6 (36:14):
Yeah, of course, like plastic is very, very cheap, I'm
not going to be price competitive with plastic. That was
never ever going to be the goal. I guess our
offering what we're trying to do is we're saving on
the labor force too, because it's the one man job,
and of course we don't have the waste from us.
I guess our mindset of it. Yes, I'm going to
be expensive. I think I'll know that going to the market,

(36:37):
but I don't see plastic being in the market in
ten years time, so I want to be the leader
in that field and with the replacement of lay styloge
So albeit I will be expensive for the first two
three years, maybe for when we launch into the market,
I do see a pathway to reducing that, but it's
more about being the alternative to plastic.

Speaker 2 (36:57):
Look, I think your product has a wonderful potential. Pit
seal is a biofilm. How do you apply it once
you've got all the silo john and squashed it down.

Speaker 6 (37:08):
That's a great question. We actually build the applicator ourselves,
so we've actually a machine that does that for you,
and it comes with it attaches on the back of
a tractor onto a trailer and you just drive up
on top of the pest and roll it out. It
has eight brain nozzles as the breath of the sprailer,
and then it comes with a lance as well to

(37:28):
do any awkward corners or awkward connections to especially around
the ends of the pest. Now apologies, I'm using an
Irish silent pitter's reference because this is on top of
the ground. If that makes sense, it's Marion.

Speaker 2 (37:43):
We have a few of those in New Zealand doesn't
as well, so we get where you're coming from. And
one more final question, he said for the final time.
So it's got unique strains of seaweed and nutrients in
the biofilm, So I presume that in itself helps methane reduction.

Speaker 6 (37:59):
Of course. Yeah, So I guess that's one of my
big interests, and that's what my doctor's in a doctors
is in at the moment, So I'm focusing mainly on
mitigating emissions from the livestock. What we have at the
moment is kind of like a blank canvas, and we
can add in additives and of course, you know, and
I think anyone in the science fields of know that
there's a lot of nice technology and nice science coming

(38:22):
out about meet in reducers and specific ingredients of specific
strains of ingredients. But being able to adapt that and
add that into a base film will be a game
stranger when we're going to fortify the film. If that
makes sense, I guess, Now that's the kind of a
world wind answer to your question. But of course we're
looking into that, and since my area is in science.

(38:43):
It's really one of my peak interests at the moment.

Speaker 2 (38:47):
What a brilliant innovation for innovation wait here on the country, doctor,
I was going to call you doctor Mary and kentalt
you're about two months away from being a doctor. Look,
I have really enjoyed chatting to you. We're going to
keep in touch. This a wonderful product.

Speaker 6 (39:01):
Go well, thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (39:10):
Well, welcome back to the Country. I've run myself out
of rope. Jeremy Rooks on the show tomorrow summer your feedback, Jamie.
Every time I hear an Irish woman on your show,
I fall in love, writes Mike Neville Clark for Prime Minister.
What a bloke. Great interview with nevill arel character top Auctioneer,
got some of the best one liners I've ever heard,
and lots of texts and from Balclouth to today on

(39:30):
Black Sabbath and Osie Osbourne, Fairies wear boots. That's what
we're playing at the moment. One of the great songs
not war Pigs, War Pigs, I'm just a Dreamer, the
one that Ozzie did on his own and given What's
happening and Ukraine and Gaza, I request war pigs, so

(39:53):
I think war pigs wins by default. We'll be back
to wrap the country after this. God wrapping the country
on a day when I've run myself out of rope.
More innovations tomorrow, The good one, The old headset teaches
you how to drive the ATV safely. Reese Gardner on

(40:14):
the show tomorrow. Come on, Jamie, get with it. No
one is working harder than Luxeon for overseas trade and
exports from Graham, and I'm not arguing with you at
all there Graham Luson, Winston, Peter's, Judith Collins and who's
the other one, Todd McLay of course, are doing a
great job. They're getting off their ass. We'll see you tomorrow,

(40:37):
catch you all the latest from the land.

Speaker 1 (40:39):
It's The Country Podcast with Jamie McKay. Thanks to Brent,
You're specialist in John Deere construction equipment.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.