The Country Full Show: Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Hamish McKay talks to Rebecca Greaves, Angus Gidley-Baird, Te Radar, and Sam Ward.

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Episode Transcript

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.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
It's reasonable, Yeah, screaming shell.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Welcome into the Country on your Wednesday. Hamish mackay with
you several minutes after midday. Man, I feel like a woman, Hay.
It's to their own ization. I Twain and a bit
of land down the South Island at one stage, if
my memory serves me right. Coming up on International Rural
Women's Day, Rebecca Grease punga ra farmer journalist, outstanding contributor

(00:47):
to the rural scene. The latest RAVO research looking at
volatility predictability in all of the above juxtapositions. That's coming
out of RABO research from RABO anchor Senior Analyst of
Animal Protein Angus Gidley. Bed will join from join us
from across the Tasman Tiradar a new book going all

(01:10):
folks see and country love to a bit of Tiradar
here on the country and also today Heartland Rugby, the
Meads Final, the whole Final, It's a beautiful thing. This

(01:34):
is the country On your Wednesday, Hamish Mcca Last day
in for Jamie for a while, but I imagine I'll
be back at some point because it'll be rugby or
golf somewhere that the big guy has to get off to.
But it's been a really enjoyable last three weeks or so.
Right Today is International Rule Women's Day, so we're gonna
head over the certainly Tarua district because I always get
told off for saying sort of southern Hawk's Bay Northern Marappa,

(01:56):
and I don't like getting told off by this person.
Rebecca Grease begs, how are you?

Speaker 4 (02:02):
Oh, I'm great, Thanks, Taime. I never tell you off.

Speaker 3 (02:05):
No, No, I actually don't you know you haven't maybe
once somewhere over the over the years. Hey, look, International
Rural Women's Day. I could rattle off this huge, long
list of names of amazing women in the agg and
primary sector in New Zealand. The Katie Milns, that Julia
Jones Is, the Kate Ecklers, the Cara Williams, Jackeln Rowe.
I could just go on and on, and I would

(02:26):
have missed out about fifty It is egg still a
man's world, of or we crack through that one.

Speaker 4 (02:33):
Well, I like to think that it's a world where
women can succeed as equally as well as men and
obviously some other women. You just lost it showing the
way in leadership positions and some incredible kind of thought
leadership and showing us I guess how it can be done.
I kind of feel like it's weird that you need

(02:54):
a day to recognize these things. But then at the
same time, I'm all for it. If we have to
have a special day to highlight the fact that there
are so many incredible rural women, then hey, why not?
Why not go with it? And we are doing a
specially Bana today actually with I am hosting it, but
I'm doing it with three women who are an incredible

(03:17):
example of leadership in the mental health space. And we
particularly chose to do it today because of the fact
that it is International Day of Rural Woman. It's the
tongue twister.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
Yeah, it is International Rural Woman's Day, a variation on
that we can we can date that we know what
it is. Look because you know, look, I've got this,
you know, as you know from a previous life, a
very solid contact book of people in the rule and
the primary sector across the board. And if I go
through and go like Hey, if I want to make
a contribution of people to be on the country, I

(03:51):
go through and I go tick, and it's primarily woman.
So I'm just going to say it out loud. I mean,
it's just a fact. The leaders that, as you say,
the ideas people, you know, at the heart of so
many of the tanks, in the backbone of so many businesses. Women.

Speaker 4 (04:08):
Yeah, it's slowly And also I think i'd point out that,
you know, rural women. New Zealand is celebrating one hundred
years this year as well, so that's a pretty big
milestone for them. And obviously there's some incredible women and
Sundramcu's as someone who I would say is a great leader,
a great rural woman, even though she is Australian. I
think she'll forgive me for pointing that out, but yeah,

(04:29):
I mean that's a mess of milestone for them as well.
So yeah, lots of great women doing lots of great things.
And I just think it's nice to kind of take
a moment maybe to think about the great women that
are in your life, whether it's your mum or your sister,
or your friends or the people in your community. Like
our school bus driver, she's an amazing rural woman who
would probably never be on the country, but she does

(04:51):
so much for me, and I would say she's kind
of part of the village, and you know, for our
school as well, And people like that don't necessarily get
their names up and lights that they contribute so much
to our communities, and so I think it's a day
for everyone.

Speaker 3 (05:07):
Well, I watch what you do, and I see my
own sister who's also like you, just amazing rural women
and who do incredible things on and off farm. Cured
on you, right, a couple of topics. I want to
ask you, what did you make of the fourteen to
twenty four percent methane reduction by twenty fifty? Is that
you know or I do have to apologize very quickly

(05:29):
to the President of Federated Farmers, mister Langford, because I
did say he said it was a no brainer to
go to zero percent. I actually made a mistake. He
was okay with where we're at progress, et cetera, et cetera.
So I probably embellished what he said while talking to
Heather Duplassy Allen recently. But your thoughts becks on this, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (05:47):
Look, I'd be honest. I haven't looked into it super closely,
but I did read through some reading when that announcement
came through, and also saw what beefon Lamb put out,
And yeah, obviously it's positive, it's progress, it's moving in
the right direction. It's it's good to see that the
agricultural emissions pricing has been taken off the table and
also that reduction, as you point out, So I think,

(06:09):
I mean, it's positive. Right, we have to be happy
that that things are moving in the right direction for farmers,
and it seems like a sensible and you know, I'm happy,
and it will hopefully make life a bit more, you know,
a bit easier. We still have to take responsibility, I
think for the emissions that we create, but I believe

(06:32):
that farmers do generally anyway, and are doing a lot
of good things to be more efficient and therefore reduce
emissions on the daily basis anyway. So I think we
just have to keep focusing on that stuff and keep
trying to do our best every day.

Speaker 3 (06:50):
Yeah, the great work is happening, and I don't think
anybody will see it as a sort of a green
light to throw in the tower and stop trying to
reduce emissions polariz Have you need some Do you need
some rain? Of a dry over there?

Speaker 4 (07:02):
Has it been Oh there's a little bit of moisture yesterday.
But yeah, like we get some rain, but then the
wind and it just sucks it out again. So I mean,
I said to someone the other day, I would normally
have a few months of the year where I wouldn't
be able to ride a horse on the farm because
we have a lot of clay tracks and it gets
very slippery. But I am still riding around all of

(07:22):
our tracks that are pretty bone dry. So yes, we
would like to have some rain. I think the other
side of the country's probably had enough, but I think
Hawk's Bay would need it more than we do. But certainly, yes,
it would be good to have some. I think last
time I was broke to you, we were putting the
foot on and we've noticed a mess of pack up

(07:44):
and grass growth with the nitrogen that we put on.
It rained just after, and Richard can't get over how
much feed we've grown since then. So I mean it
could bear an right spring in the end for us.
But yeah, obviously that was a strategic spind to do that,
knowing that we're about tight.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah, great stuff. Rebecca Greaves, journalist, farmer, farming thinker, leader
on International Rural Women's Day. Thanks for joining us back,
much appreciated.

Speaker 4 (08:15):
Thanks time.

Speaker 3 (08:22):
It is fifteen minutes after midday, Wednesday, the fifteenth of October,
in the year twenty twenty five. Hell hell did we
get to twenty twenty five. I've got a birthday coming up,
but there's a six in front of it. I just
don't believe that's happening. I'm way too young and chiseled
and wind sweat and interesting. Not Okay, enough digressing. Coming

(08:47):
up next, we'll go to Australia, Sydney Angus Gidley, bed
Senior analyst, protein, animal proteins out of Rubber Bank, RABO research, volatility, predictability,
all of the above. That is coming up next here
on the Country twelve sixteen, Well, she litle hormone side

(09:11):
up the country on your Wednesday. Well, of course we
know it is boom times in terms of farm gate
prices on this side of the Tasman and the other
side of the Tasman as well. And I think in
many respects we do to a certain degree go hand

(09:33):
in hand. So what does it all mean there's a
new report coming out from RABO Research around of volatility,
so we'll find out a bit more about this. We're
going to cross to Sydney to Angus Gidbybeard, who is
the senior Analyst animal protein for RABO Research. Hello there, Angus,
how are you very well?

Speaker 5 (09:53):
Thanks famish yourself?

Speaker 3 (09:55):
Yeah great, thank you great. So this new report about
to come out give us the details on managing increased
volatility in the Australian livestock markets, which are no doubt
have a lot of great information for both sides of
the Tasman.

Speaker 5 (10:08):
Yeah, definitely, and I mean we share a lot of
commonalities obviously, big beef exporters and big lamb exporters in
the US being a key market for both of us
in China as well, so there's a lot of similarities
with it. But the real thing that sort of prompted
me was looking predominantly we're looking at the Australian market
as a starting point and just seeing how much prices

(10:30):
have moved over the last twenty years, even going back
further than that, looking at the last fifty years, but
you can see that the nominal price movements are getting bigger.
So our highs are higher and our lows well are low.
We're seeing a bigger contraction, even though they're not going
to the lowest of lows, but you know, we're seeing
a much bigger drop in prices. And in Australia, for example,

(10:53):
we saw our feetust year price back in the two
thousand to two thousand and four period there was about
a three dollars sixty nine variation between the high and
the low. That's about a thirty one percent difference. In
twenty twenty to twenty twenty four, we actually saw that
oh sorry, it was forty seven percent change back in

(11:13):
twenty two thousand to two thousand and four, and it
changed to a three dollars seventy change in twenty twenty
to twenty twenty four.

Speaker 6 (11:19):
So it was a.

Speaker 5 (11:20):
Thirty percent difference back in two thousand and one hundred
and eighty percent difference in twenty twenty to twenty twenty four.
So an increasing movement between the highs and the lows.
And I see something similar in New Zealand as well,
probably not as evident in your landmarkets. He did have
a big jump back in twenty ten twenty eleven where
we saw lamb prices jump for about four dollars to
up to eight dollars. That's probably a similar sort of

(11:43):
jump to what you've seen more recently with the lamb price.
I think it's gone from about six dollars to must
be about eleven dollars close to eleven dollars now in
New Zealand. But the cattle market's done something similar. It's
sort of increased in terms of the peaks and the lows.
So I just wanted to try and find out is
is there something driving that. If there is, you know,
does that give us a better ability to forecast if

(12:04):
it's going to see higher highs and big drops again,
or is it just something that we're going to have
to learn to live with and it becomes part of
our business.

Speaker 3 (12:13):
So as volatility something we've got to learn to live with,
or can we sort of move and shake and make
some futuristic decisions. Yeah, well that was it.

Speaker 5 (12:21):
I mean I was hoping when I set out on
this whole process was to find a couple of key
things that you could sort of really clearly pinpoint as
being a key influence. Seasonal conditions are obviously one producer
sentiment is another, and that they definitely have an impact
on price direction, but they don't necessarily give you an
idea of quantum of movement. So in Australia, for example,

(12:44):
we've seen greater variation in seasonal fluxshore variability over the
last twenty five years than what we've seen in the
last sort of five years, So it doesn't necessarily dictate
how much the price is going to move up or down.
So there's a whole lot of other things that go
in when talking to people and doing the research for
the whole for the for the report, you know, we

(13:05):
found a couple of things that seem to be fairly common.
Our markets are getting bigger from an Australian point of view.
Now we've got a lot of online trading. We've got
cattle trading between all the different states all over the place,
so it's not just your local sale yards anymore. We've
got a lot more information available to us, much wider
information sources, and potentially some of those are possibly a

(13:29):
little bit more sensationalist than some of the commentary. We've
got all the things going on in the global macro
space with politics and deglobalization, etc. That's having a big
impact at the moment and depending on political persuasions, that's
possibly something that might be a little bit more shorter term.
But a number of other things are sort of structural

(13:50):
as well. So we think, or I think anyway that yeah,
we should probably prepare for the fact that volatility is
going to be with it.

Speaker 7 (13:58):
Now.

Speaker 5 (13:58):
Volatility is not always bad thing. There are opportunities in volatility, definitely,
but it's just being able to plan for those that
becomes the challenge.

Speaker 3 (14:07):
Yeah. Absolutely, I guess it's all about strategy. It's all
about strategy and resilience and being able to what It
became the big word, didn't it during COVID have been
able to pivot? Yes?

Speaker 5 (14:18):
Yeah, yeah, that was I don't think that was in
almost every report. Wasn't it being able to do so? Yeah? Yeah,
being adaptable that was the big thing with COVID, wasn't
it being able to adapt and change markets? That's a
key thing. But resilience as well. Resilience, I think more
in the case of New Zealand produces be exactly the
same too. You know, there's already a degree of resilience

(14:38):
in prime re production anyway, but it's probably just understanding that,
you know, if we're going to have these higher highs
and possibly bigger drops than that resilience. You just need
to dial that resilience in a bit more. Might mean
that you need to have maybe you know, better fodder reserves.
Maybe it's that you've got you know, your own own
farm or personal mental position in terms of resilience as

(14:59):
well being able to handle some of those extremes in
either direction. The other one also is just sort of
looking at predictability. It's a bit sort of strange talking
about predictability in a report that talks about volatility, but
probably more so around your business and how you can
create some predictability in your business. How's your business going

(15:20):
to respond if the market does this? What are your
key decision making points? What are the key decisions that
you're going to do so that you can you can
get some certainty in that and plan how you respond
to things rather than being I suppose that the whim
of the market and trying to make the on the
rhyme decisions trying to pick highs and pick lows and
those sorts of things, because yeah, that's probably going to

(15:42):
be a lot harder as volatility continues to be present.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
When's this research. The report going to be out Angus.

Speaker 5 (15:47):
Is that far away or no, it's not far away.
It's just in the process of being finalized at the moment.
I probably stay safe and it'll be out next week.
So yeah, that'll be available through the Ravo Research website.

Speaker 3 (15:57):
Fantastic, much appreciateds We'll talk again soon. That is Angus
could be bad out of Sydney's senior analyst Animal protein
for Ravo Research Rabobank here on the country. Naturally it
is twenty six minutes after midday here on the country

(16:20):
and get that excellent looking report out of Rabo Research
from Angus Gouldby bad Get in touch with your rubber
Bank rep. That'll be available as early as next week.
Can'tfully a really interesting read, no doubt. The around volatility, predictability,
Can we ever have any of those? We'll get plenty
of the first and never know the second. Deoy in
the world of farming coming up here on the country.

(16:43):
News and Sport is next.

Speaker 1 (17:08):
The Country's World News with cop Cadet, New Zealand's leading
right on lawn Bower brand. Visit steel for dot cot
On for your local stockist.

Speaker 8 (17:17):
And farmers around Southland's while Tuna Lagoon are bitterly disappointed
by restrictions being imposed on opening the lagoon to relieve flooding.
Independent Commissioners have granted consent to manage opening the lagoon
to the sea. The area southeast of and Vericargo has
been troubled with high water levels and algae outbreaks. Federated
Farmers Southland executive member Martin Van Rossum sees the applicants

(17:40):
have been granted nearly all they asked for, in the
local community ignored, He says, people are angry they're forced
to continue to suffer from more severe flooding and compromised
hatchment drainage. Some more news to come on that we
might catch up with the Federated Farmers in Southland at
some point over the next few days around that one.
And now we've got Hamish with Sport.

Speaker 1 (18:00):
Sports with FCO. Visit them online at FCO dot co
dot nz.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
And this first news, I'm absolutely gutted by this. The
outstanding Irish loose ford Kaylin Doris is unlikely to be
playing in the game against the All Blacks coming up
at Soldier Field in Chicago, the first of that Grand
Slam Tour and fullback Hugo Keenan is also out of
their side. Both of them are world class players, so

(18:26):
that does dilute the Irish team slightly, but we are
well where their debth has grown so much in recent years.
The All Whites come away with a one all draw
with Norway. Darren Baizley's men there in sermon with the goal.
That's pretty solid result. And the big race, Hey, the
big race happening this weekend. It's a twenty million dollar

(18:50):
Everest in Sydney, richest race in the world Australian dollars
that is. And one of the key we bred is
car Ying Rising. Yeah, started as tris one of trial
here and was sold off. Sure is the one dollar
sixty favorite with the tab after drawing Barrier seven in
Sydney last night. Of course, Kaying Ryzen is trained by

(19:14):
David Hayes, who can go pretty well when it comes
to training the old blue buds, bloods, the thoroughbreeds, and
that is our sport.

Speaker 9 (19:25):
In the Governess God in trenchtone and then charge it
won't make the fire life.

Speaker 3 (19:43):
It is twelve thirty three on the country on your Wednesday.
I'm so looking forward to this. Just reading The bio
for this book that is about to has been released
by Ti Radar and his wife Ruth Spencer. Kiwi Country,
Rural New Zealand in one hundred Objects. I've had a
bit of a shite past twenty four hours. I'm going
to admit it. But when I started some sand sources

(20:09):
into the local amp show, you know, just some beautiful
the forty four gallon drums, you know, our number eight
wire mentality, the box thorn hedgecutter out of the naki.
This is brilliant. The book is Kiwi Country Rural New
Zealand in one hundred Objects. It's a charming tour of
rural life in New Zealand, and of course a man

(20:31):
who is very much ensconced thanks to his fantastic worker,
especially around the young farmers competition to raider joins us. Now,
young man, how are you sir?

Speaker 7 (20:41):
Look the sun is shining out in the rain, shadow
of the white carketis and we're stook and so I'm
very good.

Speaker 3 (20:49):
Oh that is magnificent. Hey, where are the idea for this?
Is a ripper? Kiwi Country, Rural New Zealand and one
hundred objects. Like I say, I'm you know meat safe
and mangles done. I really, I'm laughing my you know
what offered this?

Speaker 6 (21:05):
I do?

Speaker 7 (21:05):
Hey, look at that came. We had to st the
publishers at the Cane Puss and we wanted to do
something around rural innovation. And we had to look at
it and said, look, it's been done really, really well,
and there's nothing we can add to that. You know,
David Downs in the Namber eight wide website and things
like that, they give it up to day. So we said,
what about something a little bit broader? So they accepted
this kind of sense of of rural New Zealand, which

(21:26):
we take a pretty broad broad look at. It's not
the kind of history of farming. It's a history of
what is really most of the country. And I old
to find Ruth is a rural kind of woman. Even
though she grew up in Blenham off over the road.
There were serials ins that she worked in garlic fields,
the vineyards, all of those various things. So we just
did what we've done for twenty years or so and

(21:48):
tried to find those stories that we hadn't seen before
that we really liked and summed up all of these
little objects.

Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah, so how do you take an object like, you know,
when you think of a trig station, for instance, it's
just sat there. It feels like since Noah was a boy,
and you know they and I think if you steer
at them long enough, they almost steer back at you.
I mean, there's just all these interesting things that have
led to stories.

Speaker 7 (22:15):
Look, and I grew up looking at a trig station
across the across the valley in the Northway Katto, and
it had never occurred to me. You know, we do
take these things for granted. I didn't know that dudes
had to go and basically live up there for periods
of time alone, you know, painting white little white lines
and things on the rocks so they don't fall off
in the middle of the night time. They could shine

(22:36):
lights at the various trig stations to help map the country.
It's one of those those sort of items. And there's
a lot of other ones where you you know they exist,
but you never really think about them. They're part of
the landscape. Letter Boxes was a great one. Ruth said, Hey,
we're going to put in one of the Wilson's plastic
letter boxes. And the funny thing is, look, I see

(22:56):
letter boxes become I drive down the road and suddenly
now I'm seeing hundreds of them, and you see this
of the various colors and things. So we just wanted
to find those little touchstones.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
Really, yeah, a sand saucer, well, I think we ordered
sand sources, did we. Weren't they magnificent?

Speaker 7 (23:13):
They look they really are, and you know, particularly, you know,
I have memories of going and raiding my grandmother's garden
for the right kind of flowers for a sand saucer
and injuring them. And I've seen and I've judged, you know,
dozens of them. I've judged the vegetable animals. All these
are the things that are part of that kind of
sense of the A and P Show. And I think
the nice thing about that sand saucer sex it is

(23:34):
I think we've moved on to veastiline sources now. But
if there was one lesson that comes out of that,
there was a young woman who just kept winning things.
The young you know, the under fourteen buttonholes and various
I think because what she did was she looked for
things that nobody else intoed. And if you enter a
category that nobody else is in it, chances are you're
going to win it. It's a great lesson for life.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yeah. Absolutely, I think I quite like the sand saucer
because or was that degree of having to protect your
hard work, you know, because it could all go horribly.

Speaker 7 (24:05):
Wrong a gust of wind or tipping it over on
the way to school. And I preferred the sand salt
to the aquajar. Do you remember the aquajar class the
scene or something and you put the flowers in and
then you had to sort of tip it into some
kind of dive water upside down. But I think there's
a kind of an honesty about the sand saltce You've
got to cover all the stand there's a lot of rules,
you can't have any sands showing. And again it talks

(24:27):
that sense of those the beautiful gardens and things that
you know people would have, particularly at grandmother's. Now my
mother actually still has a beautiful flower garden. We're putting
a cup flower garden because we love to have flowers
and bring them into the house. But you know they're
still around, these little things.

Speaker 3 (24:43):
Yeah. Absolutely. Is there a sort of a favorite story
in there that really that really tackled your fancy to radar?

Speaker 7 (24:51):
Oh? Look, there is any number actually the one that
I like. And you know you mentioned Young Farmers and
I will often say the events. You know, New Zealand's
not a small country, it's a big village. A friend
of mine messaged me and said, hey, look there's a
taxa doomid lamb over at a secondhand shop in Milford
and I think you might like it. So I went over,
I got it, and it was the lamb that was

(25:11):
given to Robert Muldoon by the Young Farmers Club when
he hosted or he'd just done some hosting of the
young Father of the Year that tried for Prince Charles
couldn't get him because that's ther depity of New Zealand.
It we loved to stretch out. And then I so
I've had this in my collecting for a very long time.
It's got one ear missing, I think because Muldoon probably
shewed it off at some stage. And then I was

(25:31):
sitting at dinner next to the wonderful Eric Roy who's
just stepped out as a patron of Young Farmers and
you know I mentioned this, This says I was part
of the group that presented that to Robert Muldoon, And
so it just has this this huge connection through you know,
at through all these things that I wasn't hosting young
farmers at the time I bought it. But it's just
one of those things that just sits on my shelf

(25:53):
and I like to look at it.

Speaker 3 (25:55):
A taxi doomy. What breed is it?

Speaker 7 (25:58):
Oh? Look, I don't know, you can too deep into
I think it's startled. It's a startled lamp.

Speaker 3 (26:05):
It has meat and wool.

Speaker 7 (26:06):
Yeah, yes it does it well, it has. We've given
it a little shampoo, but yes it does. It does
speak to both meat and wool.

Speaker 3 (26:13):
Yeah, yeah, fantastic. So is the book out available now?

Speaker 7 (26:17):
Yes, it outs out all the good all good bookstores.
And you know, Ruth and I both did the audiobook
where we read a chapter each and it's on an
e book. And look, we we wanted to make what
we thought was the great toilet book. We all grew
up with them. You know, you'd go and it's been
too long when they thought it, because they had a
really good book. And you can dip in and out

(26:38):
of this as you like, and you're gonna you're going
to learn something, you're going to laugh, and you're going
to have a lot of really weird facts to bring
up at summertime barbecues and Christmas parties.

Speaker 3 (26:48):
The Taranaki box storm heatcutter, what's what's what's the fantastic
thing about that?

Speaker 7 (26:54):
Look? I have seen a lot of them working. You
had the Butler brothers, Bruce Alexander. You know, they took
old millity machines and various things and made these incredible
hedge cutters. And there's a couple of blades. There's one
up in Pokiadiki and there's one at the parpit the museum.
And I love just going and looking at them. I
love looking at that where on the steel you know
from the countless revolutions it's made whacking into box storn

(27:16):
hedges and things. I just think that's that sense that
New Zealand, you know that biblical reference you take the
sword and turn it into the plowshare, or we took
the We took the sword and turned it into hedgecutters
here in New Zealand, and it's it's just one of
those things that you look at it and it says innovasion.
It tooks around that broader thing of invasive weeds and

(27:37):
bits and pieces and what you do when you don't
have something to control these.

Speaker 3 (27:41):
Yeah, yeah, oh brilliant. And there's some there's some topics
in here that I guess you'll have a new angle
on too, like your berry crumps and the Toyota Highlaks
are quite well known, but I guess a colorful take
on that as well to reata yes, we fight.

Speaker 7 (27:57):
We've tried to find all those little again, those stories
that people didn't hear. Controversially, no, tractor didn't put a tractor,
and look, I would have put the David Brown and
that would have upset the Fords and people the Massy Fergusons.
We would have had to go in the New Hollands.
But the tractor has touched upon in quite a lot
of subjects.

Speaker 3 (28:16):
We do the.

Speaker 7 (28:18):
Why metty white horse up on the hill there, you know,
and they went from something like fifteen thousand forces of
the districts down to almost none as as machinery came
in and took over. But we do put in the
grade because to me, that's a that's a great object
when it comes to particularly driving around the rural countryside,
and that that skill of the of the greater drivers
to get those canvas exactly right going through.

Speaker 3 (28:41):
So much Skore. This is absolutely brilliant to right, and
now you've got you're going to keep busy with the
young farmers again soon too, because we must say what
the sort of regional district competitions coming up.

Speaker 7 (28:50):
The districts have kicked off and I see them advertising.
I saw a Facebook post today that's say I think
they've got sixty percent of the agricand's places filled already
for next year. So if any of the skills out
there want to get into it and we kick off
with the regional end of January, I think.

Speaker 3 (29:07):
Great stuff to Kerry Country, Rural New Zealand and one
hundred objects. You've got to read this or have a listen.
Fantastic out now, fantastic. Hey, look, I just wanted to
Menia to twelve forty three speaking of things rural and rustic,
and you know, I think I have a little bit
of a license here. An object of charm and rural

(29:29):
rustic appeal was Iswaiteahnui Lodge. I just wanted to mention
this because the other day, not that long ago, I
was traveling down as I do between Auckland and the
Mantle or two quite regularly, and there's that huge amount
of road works as you go over the big hill
of the Hartepy Hill from the southern end, I don't
know what you call it, from the Taupo end and
just before that after five Mile Bay down there. This

(29:50):
place is just absolutely stunning if you just want to
chill completely out, enjoy sunset. I got these amazing recline
of chairs and rustic and charming wide Hanui Lodd. You
can't really miss it. It's not too far from with it.
There used to be a part called Loafers Paradise at Tapo. Yeah,
Brian and Anthony there, go and stay with him. Check

(30:10):
them out. Fantastic twelve forty four. We're going to be
talking Heartland rugby over the rest of the show today
because you know we've got the coming up. We've got
the Meads Trophy, that Meads Final Mid Canterbury Thames Valley
that'll be at Ashburton and the Lahore Final North Otago
versus Hotfenua Carpety that's Sunday at Marhina Rugby Club. Marhina

(30:35):
Rugby Club. Good stuff, right, Sam Ward, I want to
he's a coach and a commentator as well. I've got
a good commentary story about what he had to do
when somebody else didn't turn up to a match earlier
this season. That's coming up here twelve forty five on
the country.

Speaker 4 (30:53):
And up them down there on the floor, no one ever.

Speaker 3 (31:02):
Ah, hell and ready. Just what a beautiful song from
the seventies on International Rule Women's Day here on the country,
twelve minutes away from one o'clock. When you're out on
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(31:23):
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Buying new Isuzu and mentioned the country to your local dearly,
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mondoleros dollars bucks. What would you like to say, tough

(32:05):
UT's great finance options and a jacket to keep your warm.
It is a stuck coat ont in Sea or your
local Azuzu dealer. Righty, hey, let's let's go to a
bit of the old heartland Rugby. Bloody beautiful thing. We're
joined now by He's a coach, a commentator, not a
bad bloke either. Young fella Sam would get a Sam how.

Speaker 6 (32:28):
Are you, mister McCaw, mister how are you? Mate?

Speaker 3 (32:31):
I've missed you in the commentary box. I just quick story.
Sam was down to do co commentary of a match
recently in the NPC. The commentator just through a you know,
just through an era of communication, didn't turn up, so
co commentator switched down into the commentator. I get a
call to say, Russian homeless, can you go in and
join you? Sam? You know I listened to him on
the way, mate is peg and the proverbial you're loving it. Sam,

(32:54):
how's your week looking? Are you hitting south? You've got
the big game? Your team's Valley Boys, Mid Canterbury.

Speaker 6 (33:01):
Yep, absolutely, We'll be traveling with the boys this week.
We had training into the other last night and all
hands on deck and there's certainly plenty of excitement in camp. Mate.

Speaker 7 (33:12):
It's a big week.

Speaker 3 (33:14):
So how does it work? So there's the Meads and
the la Hall, which is the how does how does
that flop around? Just explain that to us. How that
we get to those two finals with the other game
being north Otago, Hotfen or a Carpody.

Speaker 6 (33:25):
Yeah, So there's twelve teams in the Heartland NBC. The
top four qualifiers go through to the Meads Cup semi
finals and finals. The next four so five through eight
going to the Lahore and then the nine through twelve
miths out. So that's how. That's how it's all shaken
out so far.

Speaker 3 (33:44):
Oh, that's good. That's good. So the top dog, the
big gapp Mid Canterbury, Thames Valley, so Mid Canterbary top qualifiers,
that's at Ashburton. How's the team? How the swamp he's
going to go?

Speaker 6 (34:00):
We're under no illusions. We had the Hammers round one
and why he and I think the final score is
about thirty four to fifty. We know that they're a
hard working team. They've got some awesome players. McCormick seven
just an absolute workhoorse, mclaire McCloy get them around the park.
They've got plenty of pace and to be fair, mate,

(34:20):
they've been really consistent and really cohesive, which is why
they've gone eight from eight and obviously won their semi
final last week.

Speaker 3 (34:29):
So eight from eight, nine from nine, are you going
to make it nine from ten? Do you have the
artillery on that teams valley side to cause the upside upset?

Speaker 6 (34:40):
I believe so, mate. There's been obviously a tough start
to the year. I think we went one from four
and then we managed to I suppose to turn a
couple of corners, make a few tweaks. The boys have
really brought in. The effort's been fantastic and I think
the cohesion that we've managed to put together over the
last four or five weeks has been really impressive. There's
combinations that are really getting into their work now and

(35:03):
plenty of excitement, as I mentioned was in the camp.

Speaker 3 (35:07):
Yeah, it's been good to see teams that have started
across the board right through the Bunnings MPC as well
who started slightly Counties Monaco got example of that, who
who really found their rhythm and almost knocked over the
big hot shots in that quarter final category. So good
to see that.

Speaker 8 (35:21):
Well.

Speaker 3 (35:21):
I'm pleased to hear that about the Thames Valley Boys
because my recollection is that when we were talking all
last time we commentated together, it was sort of in
that one from one from four zones. So it's a
challenging Hey, just quickly crowd and crowds and the generals.
Has it been Have you noticed an upswing? Yeah?

Speaker 6 (35:41):
Absolutely, there's been messages coming around New Zealand overseas. I
think the beautiful thing about the Heartland footy is that
it catches hearts, especially at finals time. So yeah, I
think it's a pretty captured audience this weekend. In terms
of crowds, I mean every time you go to there's
always parochial locals, there's always awesome supporters that travel around

(36:04):
the country and no doubt they'll be close to the
old hoardings on Sunday down in Eshburton.

Speaker 3 (36:10):
Absolutely, there we go. Sam Ward commentator coach involved the
Thames Valley side playing mid Canterbary Ashburton and the Means
final and the Hall Final loth Hotager Hororin Carpany. Down
there at the Mahino Rugby Club. It is twelve fifty
four on the Country.

Speaker 7 (36:32):
I was up.

Speaker 3 (36:35):
Talk about to take me back to the nineteen seventies,
nineteen seventies Gema late Dad to give mesip around the
air for seventies, nineteen seventies homoiush Helen ready there great song.
Been a great few weeks. Michelle went out of today
and executive producer of the Country. Thank you very much
for everything you've done for me. Well, I've been filling
in for the big fella.

Speaker 8 (36:55):
Been my absolute pleasure.

Speaker 3 (36:56):
Oh, thank you. And he's back tomorrow and he's also
I think down I'm Gizzy and ty rafferty Up and
Gissy on Friday Tuesday or the A and P show.

Speaker 10 (37:04):
That's right.

Speaker 8 (37:05):
So if you're heading along to that gas been an
AMP show, go find us. I think we're at the
brand tent. We'll be doing live show from there between
twelve and one.

Speaker 5 (37:13):
Oh.

Speaker 3 (37:13):
The great team from Brandt supporting the country. Thank you
to our guest today Rebecca Greaves out of Poga on
what is International Rural Women's Day. Hence the fantastic music
selections from DJ Michelle. Thank you very much. Aman Angus
giddy Beard, the senior analyst for animal protein for RABO Research.

(37:35):
Looking forward to that report coming out to that is
so funny. The new book The Gadgets, the story of
the gadgets that you find and every shed, every Gara
Jerry sort of wallshed around the country. Just brilliant. Hey,
thanks so much for your company. I'll be back in
at some stage over to Jamie from tomorrow again here
on the Country.

Speaker 10 (37:56):
I'm Hamers, Mac, I am, I am.

Speaker 9 (38:10):
Watch you from ser standing to.

Speaker 1 (38:19):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's The Country
Podcast with Jamie mckue. Thanks to Brent, You're specialist in
John Deere construction equipment.