The Country Full Show: Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Jamie Mackay talks to Christopher Luxon, Mark de Lautour, Dan Boulton, and Tracy Brown.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The Country with Jamie McKay and Isuzu Utes. Get a
double cab D-Max from $ 55, 990. Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm still driving that Chevrolet. The daddy bought new back
in 88. And it's more rust than two-tone paint. But
turn the key and it'll crank. My first guitar was
an Epiphone.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Good afternoon, New Zealand. Welcome to the country. I'm Jamie Mackay.
The show's brought to you by Isuzu and Farmlands. Got
an interesting show lined up for you today. Waiting patiently
on Hold the Prime Minister to kick off proceedings. Haven't
chatted to him for ages on the country. He might

(00:55):
have had a better past few weeks than I have.
Mark Delatorre, Chief Executive of Open Country Dairy, declares himself
a man of the people. He's in New Plymouth. He's
on the road. So we're going to talk a wee
bit of dairy with the Chief Executive of the second
biggest dairy company in the land, Open Country Dairy. The
biggest meat company in the land is Silver Fern Farms.

(01:18):
Another man on the road is Silver Fern Farms Chief
Executive Dan Bolton. He's at Queenstown Airport. We're going to
go there very shortly to chat to him. And also
Tracy Brown is the chair of Dairy NZ. We'll see
what's happening there as we count down to a very
important couple of months in farming. Not only the spring season,

(01:41):
the most important season for farming, but farmers have to
decide which way they are going to use their vote
come November the 7th. So no time to waste. Michelle
will be in with rural news. We'll have sports news
for you as well. And we might even have a
wee celebrity guest to round out the show. Don't know
about that one yet. Prime Minister to kick off the

(02:02):
country next. Wednesday's on the country. The Prime Minister kicks
off the show. Christopher Luxon, do you realise I haven't

(02:23):
chatted to you for over a month? And a month ago,
you were on the ropes. There was talk of a coup.
You were going to be a gone burger. You've had
a better month than me, to be fair, the past month.
Good afternoon.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
Good afternoon. It's great to be with you.

Speaker 5 (02:36):
It's great to hear your dulcet tones on the country
yet again. And no, mate, you've been through the total mill,
haven't you? I mean, it's great that you've come through
the other side of the mill.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Well, I'm blaming Auckland. It's either the ZB100, the super
spreader event for Influenza A, or the open day at
the Karangahape City Rail Link. It was very interesting, by
the way, going down and having a look at it.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
Yeah, I love your conspiracy theories.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
We all blame Auckland for everything. Hey, talking about Auckland.

Speaker 5 (03:03):
I was just thinking of the CRL, though, because we're
opening that officially on Friday, which will be great, and
it's been a long time coming. It's probably cost more
than it should have, but at the end of the day,
it's here, and it's a great opportunity for that city
that gets bigger and denser to actually get a lot
of stuff happening above the ground, above the CRL as well.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
I was very impressed. It's very pristine. It's very well done.
I just wish I didn't put my hands on the...
The rail of the escalator. Anyhow, talking about Auckland, rural
New Zealand is going to be voting centre right, but
rural New Zealand won't sway the election. What will sway
the election is those people who are going to be
travelling on the city rail link. Auckland will win or

(03:42):
lose the election. What's your feeling on that?

Speaker 5 (03:46):
Oh, look, I think, well, I sort of have a
view of an MMP system, a party vote, and it's
important to get as many of them as you possibly can,
because that's actually what determines the shape of any government.
And that's why I keep saying we don't need any
strategic voting whatsoever. It just needs to be party vote national,
because that gives us the best cabinet that we can
possibly get to run things with. But look, I mean,

(04:07):
I think the choice is pretty clear now, and I
think people up and down the country, whether they're in
Auckland or elsewhere, kind of get it. Labour and their
mates want to introduce nine new taxes, we want no
new taxes and as a consequence that choice is really
clear and you're seeing They're going straight back to what
they did in that six-year period, spend more, borrow more,
tax more. And it's as simple as that. And we've
got growth coming in the economy. It's been really exciting, Jamie.

(04:28):
Probably while you've been away, actually, there's been a lot
of economists that are coming out saying, hey, listen, this
economy is growing quicker than we thought it would do
and better than we thought it would do. Not everyone's
still feeling it, but the really good signs are there.
So it's pretty encouraging.

Speaker 3 (04:42):
Hey, what do you make or what did you make
of Labour's emissions policy announcement around the ETS yesterday? You realise,
of course, there's a certain irony in this that you
now have more in common with Labour than you do
with your Coalition Partners Act and New Zealand First when
it comes to, for instance, the Paris Agreement. You and
Chippy are in agreement on that.

Speaker 4 (05:03):
What a load of rubbish. What a load of rubbish.

Speaker 5 (05:06):
Now, he was talking about an ETS piece of wanting
to actually drive the ETS price up And that just
is like another tax on hardworking Kiwis. So that was
about an ETS policy announcement yesterday. That means they want
to drive up the carbon price. I'm telling you, that's
just going to add cost to households. higher electricity bills,
more expensive petrol, higher cost to get your food.

Speaker 4 (05:26):
From farm to home.

Speaker 5 (05:27):
And if you think about it, like I think I
looked at it quickly, like a $ 50 increase to the
ETS price or the carbon price would add about $ 400
extra a year on every Kiwi household. So, you know,
that was just another blatant tax grab is what that was.

Speaker 3 (05:41):
Yeah, but he does agree with you. He does agree
with you, Prime Minister, around the Paris Agreement. He's not
getting out of it.

Speaker 4 (05:46):
The coalition government agrees with that, right?

Speaker 3 (05:48):
Well, not really. The other two don't agree. Are you
going to get them to come to the altar?

Speaker 4 (05:54):
Pretty simple.

Speaker 5 (05:54):
It's an economic issue, right? It's an economic issue. I'm
telling you, New Zealand farmers and New Zealanders would be
poorer if we came out of Paris because the first
thing that happens, as I've said to you before, is
that competitor countries, think Denmark and Netherlands, are very close
on our heels as good agricultural countries. Think about the big,
large multinationals that buy our dairy products. The first thing
they do is kick us all off shelf and nothing

(06:16):
more to do that. So we're not giving them an
excuse to do that and we're not going to make
every New just remember paris is you know yeah we're
going to do we'll try and meet our targets but
as you've seen our government we haven't introduced agricultural pricing
we haven't put agriculture into the ets i think agriculture
can increase productivity and also lower emissions at the same

(06:37):
time through the adoption of technology and we're seeing that
this economy in the last quarter had a record level
low level of emissions that we've had on record since
2010 We've run with 96.4% electricity, renewable electricity in the
last quarter as well. So, you know, it's sort of
happening anyway. And that's my point is like, if you
look out to net zero 2050, you know, it's happening.

Speaker 4 (06:58):
We're on track for it. We might even do it
a bit earlier.

Speaker 5 (07:01):
There's heaps of technology coming into the market that's actually
changing and meaning that people are getting more productive and
able to manage emissions well.

Speaker 4 (07:08):
So, you know, it's not.

Speaker 5 (07:09):
Really something I'm sort of, you know, super, super optimistic
angst about. But I'm just telling you, it would be
a massive, it would be against our economic interest to
come out. And that's why the coalition government said, no,
we're staying in Paris. I appreciate parties have different views.
But the other thing I'd say to you very clearly,
and I've been very strong about that, is we ain't
sending a dollar overseas. We are going to have every
dollar invested in this country. So, you know, it's important.

Speaker 3 (07:31):
Talking about influenza, I am hearing that Chippy's been a
bit crook with the flu. Does that explain his performance?

Speaker 4 (07:39):
Oh, look, I don't know. You'd have to talk to him.
All I'm doing is focused on what I've got to be.

Speaker 5 (07:43):
Focused on now, which in the campaign is to make
the case for why National's the right party to take
New Zealand forward.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
Is the heat now on him?

Speaker 4 (07:50):
Well, we're focused on what we need to do for
the New Zealand people.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
No, but I'm talking about from a month ago when
we last chatted, the heat was on you. Now it
seems to be on the other Chris.

Speaker 5 (07:59):
Well, that's all for you and the commentary to make
your own pronouncements about Tata. But I'm just saying I'm
very focused about what I'm here to do. We've got
an election November the 7th. It's going to be very consequential.
I just need everybody to understand Party Vote National and
explain to them why and up to other parties to
do their thing as well.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
Has the Opportunity Party bubble burst? Because, I mean, this
is very crude back-of-the-envelope mathematics here, but it would kind
of appear to me that if they get past the 5% threshold,
it's game on. change a government is possible. If they don't,
I think the status quo remains.

Speaker 5 (08:35):
Well, I mean, you heard us rule them out because,
you know, we don't want a 1.5% land tax or
whatever it is being levelled against, you know, everyone across
the country. We think that's a, you know, it's really interesting.
I met a young woman the other day and she
talked to me and just said, oh, look, Chris, I
want to say thank you. I've managed with interest rates
and inflation, managed to buy my first house, been a
dream for eight years, managed to do it, really excited

(08:56):
about it, moving in in a.

Speaker 4 (08:57):
Couple of weeks.

Speaker 5 (08:58):
And as I was driving home, I was thinking, man,
all of that money that she has saved and worked
so incredibly hard for to get that deposit for that
first home is gone bigger because essentially she's got to
pay a land tax, right?

Speaker 4 (09:09):
And it just wipes out the equity of people.

Speaker 5 (09:11):
So, you know, just a land tax, an inheritance slash
debt tax, a gift tax, a capital gains tax, you know,
a wealth tax, you know, all the proposals that the
Labour and their mates have got planned. It's just not
the way forward. Our economy's, you know, growing strongly. It's
picking up pace. that would be the single biggest thing
that would put an absolute stop to it all. So,
you know, we've got to grow the economy, make life

(09:33):
more affordable, set the country up for the future for
our kids and our grandkids. And I think there's a
very different set of policies.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
Will life be more affordable if Chloe gets her pack
in Soviet supermarket up and running?

Speaker 5 (09:45):
Well, again, you know, Hipkins and Chloe Swarbrick would have
to go find $ 3 billion. How are they going to
find that? And I just don't think government officials running
around with clipboards assessing the price of oranges is actually
the way.

Speaker 4 (09:57):
You deal with that. What you've got to do is
deal with the.

Speaker 5 (10:00):
inhibitors for why people, how do we get more competition
to the market? A lot of it is it's been
really difficult to actually get something done. If you want
to come from overseas and set up a supermarket chain
in New Zealand, you've got to deal with 82 different
building consent authorities at the moment. So you build a
supermarket in Christchurch and you build one in Dunedin, And
it's completely different rules or interpretations of the building codes.

(10:22):
You just want to land your supermarket, get it done,
get it built, get it erected very quickly. But resource consenting,
building consenting, all of that stuff's been an absolute nightmare.
And that's why we've thrown into the fast track. We've
said if anyone wants to come, come to use the
Christchurch standard or the building code interpretation. And yet, you know,
the Greens oppose fast track. If you seriously think of government,

(10:42):
you know, just think KiwiBuild, right, when the government tried
to get in to do, you know, homes and they
didn't deliver.

Speaker 4 (10:47):
Think about this KiwiMux. Sounds very Soviet to me.

Speaker 3 (10:51):
You enjoy your weekend, Prime Minister. I know you'll be
a keen viewer like the rest of the nation for
the WAS. And when you're going to travel there on
that city rail link, remember to take your hand sanitiser
with you. You don't want influenza, eh? Take it from me.

Speaker 4 (11:04):
Hey, look, it's great to have you back on the air.

Speaker 5 (11:08):
So really great to be talking to you again, Jamie.

Speaker 4 (11:10):
You take care, please.

Speaker 3 (11:11):
I will indeed. Thank you, Prime Minister. 17 after 12,
you are with the country. Right, you're getting stuck in.
Let's have a look at some of your feedback. Why
does that man talk so much crap? I guess that's
in reference to the Prime Minister. Here's another one. You're
doing a good job, Chris. It will be two ticks
national from me, says Laura. Hi, Jamie. I can't agree

(11:37):
with Luxon about the Paris Agreement. The USA, China and
India aren't in it. And even woke Bill Gates thinks
food production is more important than climate wokeness. That's from John. Look,
I'm not quite sure you're right there, John. I know
the US is out of the Paris Agreement. China and India,

(11:59):
to the best of my knowledge, someone can correct me
if I'm wrong, are still in on it, whether they're
doing anything about it. I mean, that's the great irony
of this whole thing.

Speaker 4 (12:09):
I mean.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
Here we are, especially under Jacinda, trying to save the planet.
We were not at the leading edge. We were literally
at the bleeding edge when it came to agricultural emissions.
And here's the biggest polluting nations in the world, the US, China,
India and Russia, doing bugger all about their emissions despite
their protestations otherwise. So keep your feedback coming in on 5009.

(12:34):
Really appreciate it. Up next, he's in New Plymouth declaring
himself a man of the people. I don't know where
he got that from, but I'm looking forward to catching
up with the Chief Executive of Open Country Dairy, Mark Dallator,
as we wash up one season and look forward to
the prospects for a new one. We're also going to

(12:56):
have a good look at red meat with Dan Bolton,
both of them on the road today. Mark, as I said,
is in New Plymouth. Dan's in Queenstown. Before the end
of the hour, Tracey Brown, Chair of Dairy NZ. She's
in Matamata. right beside Hobbiton, so we'll catch up with
her as well. Michelle will have rural news, we'll have
sports news for you as well, eagerly awaiting the naming

(13:16):
of that All Black side, and we might have a
celebrity guest just to finish the show out, if we
can track him or her down.

Speaker 6 (13:25):
MUSIC With old Hank singing some song about trains.

Speaker 3 (13:44):
He is a man of the people. He is sitting
amongst the people in a car in the main street
of New Plymouth. His name is Mark Delatorre, Chief Executive
of Open Country Dairy, our second biggest dairy company, obviously
behind Fonterra. We're going to come back to the Daira
subject because it's near and Daira to his heart. Did
you like that, Mark? Hey, but firstly, it was terrible.

(14:07):
It was a dad joke. You're all fired up about
Damien O'Connor and what he had to say about us
being shut out of markets in potentially Europe if we
don't stick with the Paris Agreement.

Speaker 7 (14:21):
Well, I guess that's the key. Good to have you
back too, Jamie. I'm glad you're over your man flu.
It gets the best of us. But I'm getting just
a little bit tired of people saying we're going to
get shut out of markets. And it's like the sword
of Damocles, isn't it, hanging over New Zealand farmers when
people say that. And I would ask you, which markets

(14:44):
and which customers? Because if customers are starting to limit
demand access for New Zealand products based on emissions, there's
a lot of countries that need to be worried about
it before New Zealand are, because New Zealand are the
best in the world at either scope one, scope two,
scope three emissions.

Speaker 3 (15:02):
Yeah, but Damien would tell us, and the Prime Minister
would tell us, because they are in agreement on this,
that it's written into these free trade agreements with the
EU and the UK that we have to do this.

Speaker 7 (15:14):
Yeah, okay, so let's look at where most of our
protein products go and for the best returns in New Zealand.
You know, you are talking North Africa, Middle East, China,
Southeast Asia. That's where the bulk of our earnings are
and that's where the bulk of the growth is in
the world. And again, I would ask you when... If
New Zealand products are banned from those markets and food

(15:38):
inflation hits those markets, how quickly those governments will change
their tune. You just also had Jacqueline Roweth on your
show yesterday, and she was talking food security. Let's not forget...
that the biggest challenge for people in the world right
now is food access and food prices. And quite frankly,
I don't think any government in their right mind is

(16:00):
going to ban New Zealand products from markets if it
challenges their population and food prices. I think it's insanity.

Speaker 3 (16:08):
Well, I'm glad you've been listening to the show, Mark.
Thank you very much. Now, are you still bitching about DERA,
the Dairy Industry Review Act? Is that what it's called, DERA?

Speaker 7 (16:18):
Yeah, great intro there. Thanks for the support. It's not really.
I guess in a nutshell, and I won't go on
about legislation too much because you'll be able to hear
your listeners turn off. But I guess our position on them,
this is quite a serious piece of legislation, the DERA review,
you know, four years or so it gets reviewed. And
we were just concerned that, the way the terms of

(16:41):
reference were being framed for this review and sort of saying,
you know, we want double export earnings and legislation like
DERA is just red tape. And the answer is it's not.
It's a fundamental document for the dairy industry and it
protects farmers. It ensures that competition is going forward. When

(17:01):
the DERA Act created Fonterra and created a monopoly, and
it is a government construct. It allowed for the fact
that competition needed to happen to make all parties better,
and I think Fonterra would admit they're better because of
Open Country, and Open Country are better because of Fonterra.
So competition is good.

Speaker 3 (17:21):
But don't you reckon we've got it about right in
the dairy industry? We've got a big player, 80% of
the market or whatever, but Open Country, as the second
biggest player, you're big enough to keep them honest.

Speaker 7 (17:33):
Yeah, I guess that's the key, right? So we are.
We're saying, OK, what we don't want to see is
the continuation of dilution that's happened in the last review.
So make sure farmers have open entry and exit. That is,
they can willingly switch from processor to processor without any fear.
That's important. And that's written to DERA. And we've just

(17:53):
seen it progressively get diluted. So again, it can look
on the face of it quite boring and boring. is
using your words like open country or bitching. We're not, Jamie.
We're just saying we need to make sure it's about
right now that we don't see this legislation get diluted.

Speaker 3 (18:09):
Talking about Fonterra, this later this month, Fonterra will come
out with their final number for the 25-26 season. When
does open country produce your number?

Speaker 7 (18:20):
Well, we've already done money. Our farmers are fully paid
up for last season, and so they've got the money
in the bank. So I guess it's interesting. We just
wait and see now where it all washes out and
where it compares.

Speaker 3 (18:33):
So, Mark Delatorre, what was your number for 2526?

Speaker 7 (18:37):
Yeah, well, we don't actually come out with a public
season number. As you know, we've got four payment periods
through the year, and it does depend on where your
grass curve fits and what the market does, depending on
your volumes. But I guess on a weighted average point
of view, our season will be around the $ 9. 74 for
the season.

Speaker 3 (18:58):
What is your forecast, or do you have a forecast
for $ 26, $ 27? Because I was a wee bit worried
at the beginning of this new season. We started with
two or three bad or falling GDT auctions, but we
seem to have picked up a wee bit. And this
talk of a super El Nino and heat waves in
the northern hemisphere and global supply perhaps reducing a wee bit.

(19:20):
How do you see the coming season?

Speaker 7 (19:22):
Yeah, we're in the mid-nines. So we're sort of probably
a little bit ahead, I guess, at this early stage
of the season. There's a lot of water to go
under the bridge, obviously. So we're around that 950, 960
mark through the four periods again. But look, we see
it really positively. I think these GLP-1 drugs, the Ozempex,
are meaning protein is really, really valuable now. A couple

(19:44):
of years ago, it was fat driving the milk price,
and now we see it's protein. So, you know, and
now will go up and down as the years go through,
but we're positive, and the season started really well from
a production point of view.

Speaker 3 (19:56):
Mark Delatorre, a man of the people, sitting in the
main street of New Plymouth. What's the name of the
main street of New Plymouth, by the way?

Speaker 7 (20:03):
I'm actually on Devon Street, to be honest.

Speaker 3 (20:05):
Devon Street's the main, well, that is the main street
of New Plymouth. I remember it from my rugby commentary days. Well,
you are a man of the people, sitting amongst the people.
Thanks for some of your time today on The Country,
and sorry for saying that you were bitching about Dera.
You know I still love you, Mark.

Speaker 7 (20:21):
One more thing, Jamie. I do want to do a
quick shout-out to our ice cream division, the Motuaga Creamery brand.
The Mount Arthur Snowfall Vanilla Ice Cream won the New
Zealand Supreme Champion Award at the Ice Cream Awards. So
not only is Open Country of the people, it makes
the best ice cream for the people.

Speaker 3 (20:42):
Oh, beautiful. Thanks for your time.

Speaker 7 (20:43):
No problem. Bye.

Speaker 3 (20:46):
Mark Dallatorre. Thank you, Mark. You are truly a man
of the people, or the text machine believes you are. Delatorre.
Mark Delatorre is awesome. Nothing like a man involved in
the industry calling out the Paris bullshit. Hi, Jamie. Here's
another one. Mark Delatorre's comments on the truly ridiculous Paris
Accord are absolutely spot on. The sooner we get out

(21:09):
of it, the wealthier we will be as a country.
We'll ask Dan Bolton about that from Silver Fern Farms shortly.
Another one here. Mark Delatorre. is exactly on the money
read the Paris Accord good to see someone high up
in the industry put their balls on the line and
say what farmers are thinking and here's one another one

(21:32):
Jamie you are turning woke pull your head in and
then he came back I'm assuming it's a he because
I don't think a woman would be that rude Jamie
I've just told you you're woke that's where you're heading
maybe get the flu again what a mean spirited sod
you are, Texter. Seriously, I wouldn't wish what I'd been

(21:54):
through on anyone. So I just think I might block you.
Go and listen to somebody else. Anyhow, up next, Michelle
with Rural News. We'll have a look at sports news
for you. I wouldn't be surprised if Dan Bolton from
Silver Fern Farms has a contrary view on the Paris
Agreement from what you've heard from Mark Delatorre. He's obviously

(22:17):
scratching his head. Quite a few itches out there in
rural New Zealand. Sports news, rural news, up next.

Speaker 2 (22:41):
Around here fast is how the grass grows.

Speaker 3 (22:44):
Lost is what you find. Yeah, going a bit country
on the country on a Wednesday because the Prime Minister
likes country music. This is Riley Green. Michelle chucked Riley
in there. Hey, just, Michelle, before we get to rural news,
and you must remind me to play the sting or
else I'll get in trouble with my old mate John McAvinny.
There are some mean and horrible sods out there in

(23:08):
radio land. Someone was wishing me to get the flu again.
Bugger off. And then I heard this morning on Kerry
Woodham's show, someone had texted in and called her fatty.

Speaker 8 (23:20):
That's horrible. Kerry is the nicest person.

Speaker 3 (23:23):
She's lovely. She's also run marathons and I wonder whether
the person who texted in and called her fatty has
ever got off their arse and run a marathon. But seriously,
there are so many media channels out there at the moment.
If you don't like what a host or a show
is doing, just bugger off. Change channels. Stop bitching. Seriously,

(23:46):
you wonder why you bother some days. Anyhow, good to
hear on a positive note from my old mate, referee Lawrence,
referee Bryce Lawrence, former head of the New Zealand Referees Association.
We're good mates. We may differ politically. That would be
the understatement of the year. But Bryce is forging a
new career for himself. in Tauranga with Barfoot and Thompson.

(24:09):
So for all your real estate needs, it's going to
cost you a beer next time I see you, referee Lawrence.
For all your real estate needs in Tauranga, give Bryce
a go. He's a pretty efficient sort of bloke. Rightio,
let's have a look at rural news.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
The country's rural news with Cub Cadet, New Zealand's leading
ride-on lawnmower brand. Visit steelfort.co.nz for your local stockist.

Speaker 8 (24:34):
And just so we've got a compliment sandwich going, Jamie,
with the text, just had a lovely one come in. Jamie,
you're a good bloke. You're not woke. You've always given
a very balanced and fair opinion.

Speaker 3 (24:43):
Honestly, there's lots of criticisms that can be laid at me. More.
A truckload can be laid at me, but being woke
is not one of them.

Speaker 8 (24:52):
No, definitely not. I have to say, I can vouch
for this.

Speaker 3 (24:54):
Can you go and block that texter so I never
have to hear from him again? A woman wouldn't be
that rude again. Can you do that?

Speaker 8 (25:01):
I will do that for you. But I can guarantee
listeners from the conversations I've had with Jamie, woke is
definitely not in his vocabulary. So there you go. OK,
so in rural news, a new Cromwell machinery event will
attempt a world record at Easter for 2027. The most
massive Ferguson tractors gathered in one place. More than a
thousand vintage tractors, trucks, earthmovers, steam engines and planes will

(25:21):
be on display in action at the Central Otago Tracks
and Wheels. which is running from March 26th to the
28th at the Cromwell Racecourse. And the current record, in
case you wanted to know, for Massey tractors was set
in County Kildare in Ireland, and it was 285.

Speaker 3 (25:35):
I think they'll do that easily. There's lots of red
tractors around the country. Thank you, Michelle. That is rural news.
Let's have a look at sport.

Speaker 1 (25:43):
Sport on the country with AFCO. 100% Kiwi owned.

Speaker 2 (25:46):
That's rare.

Speaker 3 (25:49):
Now, this is an interesting story. Live Golf has filed
for bankruptcy protection in the United States while they reorganise operations.
Contracted golfers will likely be free to quit as a result,
but may have to chase any unpaid deals through the courts.

Speaker 4 (26:08):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (26:08):
It's the old story. If it sounds too good to
be true, maybe it is. Live golf. And it's dying,
dying phase, you would think. All Blacks hooker George Bell's
hoping to put a run of injuries behind him as
he prepares to return to Canterbury in NPC action at
home against Wellington on Saturday. I don't think Wellington's even
won a game in the NPC. And Captain Baba Azam

(26:32):
has revealed he wasn't consulted about the Pakistan Cricket Board's
decision tear up his squad ahead of this week's final
test against England. Admitting the drastic cull of seven players,
coach and assistant was, in inverted commas, news to him. Rightio,
you've heard Mark Delatorre, Chief Executive of Open Country Dairy,

(26:54):
what he thinks about us staying in the Paris Agreement.
Up next, we'll get the view of the bloke running
the biggest meat company in the country. It is Dan Bolton.

Speaker 2 (27:12):
I'm still driving that Chevrolet that Daddy Paul knew back
in 88.

Speaker 3 (27:18):
So you've heard from Mark Delatour as we talk to
dairy with the chief executive of Open Country Dairy, our
second biggest dairy company in the country. Well, here's the bloke,
and let's change tact and talk red meat. Here's the
bloke who's running the biggest red meat processor in the country,
Silver Fern Farms. His name is Dan Bolton, and like Mark,

(27:39):
who's sitting in the main street of New Plymouth. Dan,
today we find you on the road at Queenstown Airport,
waiting to jump on a plane. Thanks for some of
your time.

Speaker 4 (27:49):
Good afternoon, Jamie.

Speaker 9 (27:49):
Great to be on the show.

Speaker 3 (27:51):
Well, great to have you on the show. Yesterday, Beef
and Lamb New Zealand came out with their new season outlook,
and the take-home message was Farmgate red meat prices forecast
to remain strong, but margins will tighten. And we know
that on-farm costs are a real issue But we are
going to see a bit of a drop off, or

(28:12):
are we, in schedule prices this season.

Speaker 9 (28:16):
Yeah, I mean, great report that came out yesterday, and
I think fundamentally farmers should take away that global market
prices will remain favourable. I think structurally we've seen a
shift in global production, which works in our favour here,
but I think where we are right now with pricing,
we're going to see some easing, particularly in sheep meats,
between now and the new season, and I think the

(28:36):
report picked that up around a $ 10 opening price, which
aligns with our view as well.

Speaker 3 (28:41):
Mind you, $ 10 for a lamb, if you can kill
a lamb at 20kgs, $ 200 isn't bad.

Speaker 9 (28:48):
Yeah, I think that's the key point. This is not
a market collapse. This is about taking a little bit
of heat out of that schedule price because a lot
of that's been procurement-driven. I think lamb's schedule is around
$ 12 right now. So settling around $ 10, I think farmers
should be pretty happy if they're using that for their
budget going into the new season. But I think, Jamie,
there is some real risk in the market, but I
still think the global demand for protein, particularly what we

(29:11):
produce here in New Zealand, will still be able to
keep prices elevated over the long term. But we've got
quite a bit of softening in the UK and Europe
at the moment. There's quite a bit of inventory around.
We've got safeguard investigations on lamb imports into the US.
We've got currency, New Zealand dollar strengthening. So those are
things we're used to navigating. Farmers shouldn't panic, but it's

(29:34):
just a little bit of a challenge out there. But
I think overall demand is going to be strong.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
Hey, Mark Delatorre had a bit of a swipe, and
I know you haven't heard his interview, at Damien O'Connor
for suggesting we could, and the Prime Minister for that matter,
for suggesting we could be shut out of some of
those lucrative UK and European markets if we were to
pull out of the Paris Agreement. I take it that
you would concur? with Damien and the Prime Minister on

(30:00):
that one?

Speaker 9 (30:01):
Yeah, market access and customer access are slightly different things,
are really important, and we can't take that for granted.
And I think, you know, the Paris Accord and our
commitment to that is really important to our strategic customers there.
I mean, if you look at what's happening up in
the European market right now, they've just come out with
a European livestock policy. That could be actually a market

(30:22):
access barrier for us. or we can work hard with
them and make sure that we've got equivalency around what
they're wanting so we can continue to access those markets. So,
you know, the market access things continue to develop. But
I think when you fundamentally look at it, how we
farm here in New Zealand is actually really aligned with
what they are wanting. But there will have to be changes.

(30:43):
And I think stepping out of the Paris Accord would
be a big disadvantage to New Zealand's market access in
the long term, particularly in Europe, where our sales have
doubled into that market and will be strong in the
years to come. So we don't want to put barriers
up in.

Speaker 4 (30:55):
Front of us.

Speaker 3 (30:57):
Hey, Beef and Lamb New Zealand, we're talking about margins
tightening and we are coming off record highs. So we
need to put this into some form of perspective, obviously.
They mentioned a couple of things. The Super El Nino,
and I know some people are sick of hearing about
something that's not fully here yet. And the other one
is the exchange rate, because I know that Rabobank and

(31:17):
their agribusiness outlook for September talked about the dollar going
to 61 US cents. And I know that the dairy industry,
Dan Bolton from Silver Fern Farms, has a hedging policy.
Do you guys in the meat industry?

Speaker 9 (31:33):
Yeah, we do. We take a hedging policy, but it's
normally not that far in advance. So we might go
out a couple of months at a max. And if
we go out too far and the currency works against us,
we can be out of the money really quickly. So
we play a relatively short game. But you're right, currency
has a big impact on what we can end up
passing back to farmers. And we've been very fortunate with

(31:55):
the week. New Zealand dollar as an exporter. But if
it goes to 61 cents, that's still in a relatively
favourable position of where it's been previously. But it is
something we're watching and we're probably thinking it's around that
sort of 60, 61 as we look out the next
12 months as well, which I think is manageable in
our environment.

Speaker 3 (32:13):
You talked about average farm gate prices for lamb and
Beef in New Zealand have thrown a number around at
a decrease of 8%. beef cattle prices decreasing 4.5%. Once again,
referencing that Rabobank report, there's some question marks over how
strong that trim beef market is in the US. What

(32:34):
are you hearing? What are you seeing?

Speaker 9 (32:37):
Well, I look at the big beef producing areas such
as South America and the US. You know, South America
is in retraction at the moment, and the U.S. is
going to be a number of years before they recover.
And in the meantime, U.S. consumers particularly continue to consume burgers, right?
So I think fundamentally pricing is going to be good.
We're seeing a little bit of disruption now as Australian

(33:00):
and Brazil volume floods into the U.S. because they can't
access China. But give it another month, China is going
to be reopened to them, and I think we'll see
prices rise. stabilise and potentially even lift again back into
the US market. So I think what we're seeing in
the volatility in grinding prices is just as protein flows
are switching geographies because of some of the tariffs and

(33:21):
the trade barriers that are playing out at the moment.
But overall, I think grinding prices are going to be
favourable for some years to come.

Speaker 3 (33:28):
And on that positive note, we'll leave you. Dan Bolton,
Chief Executive of Silverfin Farms. Thanks for some of your
time from Queenstown Airport. Get through security and catch that plane.

Speaker 9 (33:37):
Yeah, thanks, Jamie. Great to talk.

Speaker 3 (33:39):
Thank you, Dan. It is 13 away from 1. You're
with the country right. Someone's just texted in. What is
the brand name of that open country dairy ice cream
manufactured in Mochoaca, please? Well, I looked up my notes
from Mark earlier on, and the name of the ice
cream is the Mochoaca Creamery Mount Arthur Snowfall Vanilla Ice Cream.

(34:03):
Bit of a mouthful, isn't it? But it sounds delicious.
A delicious mouthful. Up next, Tracey Brown. She is the
chair of Dairy NZ.

Speaker 2 (34:11):
I'm still driving that Chevrolet The daddy ball knew back
in 88.

Speaker 3 (34:23):
Tracey Brown is the chair of Dairy NZ. She's famous,
amongst other things, for farming beside Hobbiton. Hey, carving in
the Waikato region where you're based, Tracey, must be just
about done and dusted. How's the season treating you?

Speaker 10 (34:37):
Yeah, we're fairly well through now, Jamie. It's been a
bit cold, a few too many frosts for our liking
up here, but sun's shining today, so that's good. And
I think most people in the Waikato have had a
reasonable sort of carving, but you shout out to... Other
farmers in other regions where it's been a bit tougher
with flooding and some late snow and whatnot, so thinking

(34:58):
about them.

Speaker 3 (35:00):
How are the moisture levels ahead of this impending super
El Nino?

Speaker 10 (35:05):
Well, we've actually had quite a bit of rain over
the last week, so yeah, it's a bit of an
interesting one, isn't it? We're not quite sure how the
season's going to roll, but certainly people are thinking about
what they need to do in terms of feed and
any extra planning around that, thinking about it early, which
is good.

Speaker 3 (35:23):
The government says its RMA reforms will cut red tape
for farmers. Do you think it's got the balance right?
I was listening to Chloe the other day. She doesn't
certainly think they have. And Steve Abel?

Speaker 10 (35:36):
Yeah, well, I think, you know, dairy and Z and
the primary sector, we've had the opportunity to have you know,
some input and give some feedback on behalf of farmers
into this whole process. And we think the direction on
where it's landing is pretty encouraging. Farmers have been telling
us they want less paperwork, less red tape, and they

(35:59):
want to get on with farming. So we've been, you know,
Dairy NZ's certainly been asking for more kind of practical
ways of dealing with some of these issues. But we
do acknowledge that we still want strong environmental outcomes, Jamie.
And We do think it's possible that we can have
good environmental and good economic outcomes that will benefit all

(36:20):
of New Zealand. So we do think these reforms are
on the right track to achieving both.

Speaker 3 (36:25):
Is it ditto for freshwater farm plans?

Speaker 10 (36:28):
Yeah, so I think farm plans have taken quite a
long time to land and it's been a bit controversial
and a lot of discussion. We've consistently said that they
should focus on the risks at an individual farm level,
and of course every farm is different. And we think
the changes that are being proposed will kind of allow

(36:50):
for that difference. It's important in the new regs that
food production is being recognised as being important. From dairy's perspective, Jamie,
most dairy farms will already have farm plans. So one
of the things we've pushed hard for is recognition of
those existing farms and, you know, through your milk processes

(37:15):
so that there's less duplication. We think that's going to
land pretty well. There should be a few bit less
consenting and, you know, farm plans will be used to
manage some of those risks. So, yeah, we think that's
pretty good where that's all kind of going to roll out, hopefully.

Speaker 3 (37:34):
OK, let's just finish quickly on the Ahu Whenua Awards.
Maori Farming, or Maori Incorporated Farming, is a huge business.
in this country and the ahu whenua awards reflect excellence
in maori farming this year it was horticulture entries are
open now for next year i think it's dairy and
then they rotate to sheep and beef in 2028 so

(37:56):
dairy nz supporting this you're obviously encouraging people to enter.

Speaker 10 (38:01):
Yeah, I'm delighted to be involved with it this year, Jamie.
It's a really great programme that really showcases best farming
practices across New Zealand. So it's not just sort of
components around production and profit, but it's also really highlights
strong leadership, good governance and really.

(38:21):
Guardians of land and fauna are taking a really long-term
view around that. And so there's valuable lessons for all
farmers in that awards programme, I think.

Speaker 3 (38:33):
Tracey Brown, chair of Dairy NZ, farming beside Hobbiton there
in Matamata. Did you go over the hill or across
the plains, whatever it is? I'm not that good on
my Waikato geography. To Morrinsville, to the footy club for
that Q & A rural leaders debate?

Speaker 10 (38:47):
No, I was out of town that night, so I couldn't, Jamie.
But we have got the Rural Issues debate coming up
on Wednesday the 30th. That's in Waikato as well, at
the Mystery Creek Centre. There'll be several hundred farmers and
industry stakeholders there that's being hosted by fed farmers, dairy
and seed and beef and lamb. So looking forward to
seeing a few farmers along at that and hearing the

(39:09):
candidates debate the key issues.

Speaker 3 (39:12):
Indeed. Rightio, Tracey. Thanks for your time. Good luck with
the end of carving.

Speaker 1 (39:16):
Thanks, Jamie.

Speaker 4 (39:17):
Nice to chat.

Speaker 3 (39:19):
Lovely to chat, Tracy. It is seven away from one up. Next,
we're going to wrap the country with some of your feedback,
and there's been lots of it today.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
My first gift.

Speaker 3 (39:34):
Just before I get to some of your feedback if
you're choosing a ute for a kiwi life then you
want something that's genuinely tough genuinely capable and genuinely reliable,
not just on paper but in practice day in, day out. Now,
that is where the Isuzu D-Max ticks all those boxes
and then some. This is a ute built with real

(39:57):
truck DNA, born from decades of commercial vehicle engineering. Three-litre
turbo diesel engine, three-and-a-half tonne towing capacity, the kind of
build quality that handles everything from the weekday workload to
to a big weekend away without breaking a sweat. Now
when it comes to the D-Max, the Isuzu D-Max, right

(40:17):
now there's a compelling reason to take a closer look.
You can get a double cab D-Max from just $ 55, 990.
That's under $ 56, 000. That's a lot of ute for not
much money. A limited time offer comes with an extended
six-year warranty for genuine peace of mind. Whether you're farming, contracting,
or just need a ute that works as hard as

(40:38):
you do, This is worth your attention. There are Isuzu
dealerships right across the country. Head in, take a look,
and get behind the wheel of the D-MAX and have
a go yourself. And don't forget, by the way, while
you're in there, if the D-MAX isn't your cup of tea,
have a look at the Isuzu MU-X 7-seater. Hey, just
one wee text here from Anthony. Hi, Jamie. If you're woke,

(41:02):
then I'm ugly. I don't even know what you look like, Anthony,
but I'm sure you're a fine-looking man. You're definitely not woke.
Great show for all us old builders. Thanks, Anthony. Really
appreciate the support. We'll be back tomorrow. Winston's on the show.

Speaker 1 (41:20):
The Country with Jamie Mackay and Isuzu Utes. Get a
double cab D-Max from $ 55, 990.

Speaker 4 (41:25):
Newstalk ZB.