Jamie Mackay: The Country host on the drought conditions impacting Taranaki farmers

There's relief among farmers as the Government recognises drought conditions in Taranaki.

Federated Farmers says the region's had a year-and-a-half of unusually low rainfall, particularly in Manaia, Hāwera and Kakaramea.

Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says it's forced some farmers to feed-out livestock or sell earlier.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jason Wall's out of Vietnam. Coming up after the news
right now, Jamie mckaye is hosted the Country and here
to wrap the real news for us, Jamie Gadain Giday. Ryan.
So we've got drought. We'll get to that soon, but
we'll start with the good news. The Golden Shares is on.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yeah, sixty third Golden Shares has started the day in
Masterton and the magnificent Masterton War Memorial Stadium. And I
can tell you on Saturday night, Ryan, when that big
open final design and I've been lucky enough to be
there a couple of times, the roof literally gets lifted.
So it's all on for Saturday Night. But I think

(00:34):
one of the really good things about the Golden Shares
this year is the number of entries in the Novice
and Junior Sharing and Wool Handling events. They make up
forty four percent of the nearly five hundred entries in
the nine Golden Shares Sharing and Wool Handling Championship titles
that will be decided by Saturday night. Now, just by

(00:55):
way of going back in time a wee bit, because
bearing in mind, we've lost a hell of a lot
of shit sheep in this country over the past forty years.
Sharing entries across all grades peaked in nineteen eighty at
five hundred and eighty six and that was when we
had the World Champs on at the same time, without
the World Champs five hundred and forty two years later

(01:18):
in nineteen eighty two. But just to put that into
some context for you, Ryan, we had seventy million sheep
in nineteen eighty two. We've now got less than twenty
four million. Now when it comes to that big final
on Saturday night, the tab I had to look at
the odds a wee bit earlier this afternoon. They won't
have changed. Leon Samuels out of Southland. He's the current

(01:39):
title holder. He's at four bucks, but watch out for
Roland Smith, eight times champion at four dollars. This is
a guy who could almost win it blindfolded. He doesn't
do much sharing these days. He farms and he loves
driving a tractor and a digger. He gets on the
handpiece a week or two before Golden Shares and watch
out for him. Incidentally, Sir David Fagan holds the most

(02:00):
titles sixteen one between eighty six and two thousand and nine.
The local farmer David Buick is a bit of a
favorite at four dollars fifty. Tower Henderson out of Northland
the hottest share of this year's at six fifty, and
Gavin Much, the Scotsman who won in twenty fifteen, is
paying six dollars fifty. Wall Handling Joel Hanari an absolute

(02:22):
hot favorite at a dollar eighty. But if you want
the kiss of death from me, Ryan, go and put
twenty bucks on Roland Smith to make it nine open titles.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Roland Smith, you reckon sounds like it sounds like a
great time in Marterton. Hey, I'm not such a great
time in Tartanuki though, And it's been about what a
year and a half of lower than average rainfall and
then it's gotten really bad in the last couple of months.
But the government is coming to the party here.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah, they've declared a medium scale adverse event across the province.
And I guess Taraniki is one of those provinces that,
yes they can get a bit summer dry, but they're
not a traditional sort of summer drought region like the
Wire Wrapper or Hawk's Bay or even the east coast
of the South Island. So look that've had way lower
than average rainfall. The locals are saying they haven't seen

(03:09):
it this dry so early in more than fifty years.
You've got to go back to the nineteen seventies to
have it so bad in Taranaki. They're having to not
only truck and feed, but they're also having to truck
in water. And that is the killer Ryan because if
you run out of water on your farm, you basically
run out of moves on the chessboard. So this adverse

(03:32):
event declaration means extra funding from rural supports, counseling and
advisory services, with flexibility around tax payments, particularly provisional tax payments.
And it's also it also opens up the potential for
the rural assistance payments from the Ministry of Social Development.
You know, where it's been applicable. Dairy herds have dried off.

(03:55):
You know, normally they wouldn't dry off until April or May.
They've dried those off early. Any exit stock that won't
be needed next year have taken an early trip to
the works. That's bad news for them, but we just
hope for the Taranaki. In fact, the wider North Island
especially it's the West and the North dry, as you'll
know in Auckland, Ryan, everywhere, we're really hoping for some rain.

(04:17):
But my guy at weather Watch, Phil Duncan, says don't
hold your breath for the next week. I hope he's wrong,
and weather man have been known to be wrong.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
They certainly have. It feels quite good, Jamie, Thank you
for that.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
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