May 11, 2026 • 22 mins
The repercussions of military action in Iran continues to be felt globally. From the cost-of-living pressures, to rising petrol and diesel prices and stock shortages, everyone is feeling the pinch. But for rural communities, the impacts are more than just stress on the wallet.
Joining the conversation is farmer and Rural Women New Zealand member, Emma Burke, who has tips on watching the wallet and keeping connected.
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(00:13):
Welcome to Blue Sheep Diary, a podcast about for farmers
growers in the rural communities.
My name is Milton Monroe, I'm your host and Peter G writes and
technical team manager. Repercussions of military action
in Iran continue to be felt globally.
From the cost of living pressures, rising petrol and
diesel prices to stock shortages, everyone is feeling
(00:35):
the pinch. But for rural communities, the
impacts are more than just the stress on the wall.
Joining me in the conversation today is Emma Burke, farmer and
member of Rural Women New Zealand.
Welcome to the show, Emma. Good morning.
How you be? I am superb on this a somewhat
chilly southern morning. Tell me a little bit about
(00:56):
yourself, Emma. Where are you farming?
Okay, so we're up and in Canterbury underneath the
tallest mountain range. So yeah, looking at my office
window at the moment to some mountains with a bit of snow on
them. Ohh.
It's like, jeez, what's what's what's a bit early, but they say
it's. A little bit early, but yeah,
there's definitely. Been some snow and May never
(01:18):
stays in June too soon but I'm not quite sure what it says
about April. But any hose?
We are relatively new to Canterbury, just clocked over 2
years down here. Originally from Guisborough from
the hills of Gisborne and yeah more recently Hawkes Bay and
proud of it. Southland so moved around a
little bit and yeah, rural was who we are.
(01:44):
People may even be farmers and our businesses that we contract
our labour out to other farmers so.
Ohh, there we. Go yeah.
So hubby at the moment is working on a predominant what
does sheep and beef, but it's a stud.
It'll stud near Colgate in Yeah,here's some going all over out
(02:08):
to the peninsula, to the farm out there and out to the owner's
farm out the year. And yeah, that's who we are.
But moving down here, not knowing hardly anyone, I chose
to get involved with the rural community and give back as a way
of meeting people, hence my rural woman involvement.
Ohh, very good, very good indeed.
(02:28):
Oh, well then you'll certainly well positioned and well
situated to give us a little bitof a view from the coalface if
it were about what's happening out there.
So what are the changes that you're seeing out for the, you
know, that are happening for thepeople in your community?
Looking around and having the conversations, there's a lot of
fear is a lot of uncertainty. Um, habits are changing
(02:53):
everything. Everyone is security of supply,
I think seems to be the biggest concern.
You know, you're you're already hearing and seeing, you know,
the tanks on farm fuel tanks aredry.
You know, we've only got what's left not for us personally, but
you know, only what's left in the tractor tank and it's, and
(03:16):
you don't know when the trucks due to roll in and you know
you're going 2 weeks, 3 weeks, you know the trucks hasn't been
and you know, so you're basically missing an entire
month delivery. So that seems to be the the, the
big concern cause everything we touch has got a diesel component
to it. MMM, absolutely.
And whether that be for you is aindividual, whether there is a
(03:41):
business everything here's something to do with diesel.
Even if you were to love at home, we completely, you know,
self sustained, even your house has come to your property with
diesel or with fuel and stuff. So that's the big thing and one
(04:01):
of the concerns heading into thewinter has been having fuel for
the tractors to feed out to the stock.
You know, you can't bring, you can't bring the stock to the
fade. You've gotta take the fade to
think, OK, somehow I country farms and and the steeper hill
countries, they can't feed out because of their topography.
But everyone else went to feeding is essential.
(04:26):
And if you're feeding on crop, you know, you need the tractor
to be able to take lower qualityhay or something out to be able
to buffer the pH and stuff like that.
So the year animals stay alive, that's that's the essential part
of it. And no one wants to see the
stock die or go without. So you're sort of swallowing the
(04:50):
bitter pill of the price of of fuel to ensure that your
livestock, you know, are looked after.
In there, even before we've hit the crunch period of the spring
months where, you know, we've got sewing, we've got, you know,
a lot of crop planting being done, certainly in Canterbury.
You know, a lot of arable crops,a lot of process crops are all
going to have to go in the ground and they're that runs on
(05:12):
diesel. It does unfortunately, and we we
doubt it sort of, you know, it'ssort of a diesel burning season
as what sort of what we sort of dub it is.
But it basically yeah, like the minute the winter crops are
finished, you are you know, you're back into putting the the
lane back into thing and we've got the long term forecast.
If you believe Keen Ring or not,he's talking about next time.
(05:36):
I've been, you know, we actuallygoing to get a summer next year
and actually go dry, you know, fuel to run for those bombs
that, you know, they're water pumps for the family to
reticulate the water out to the troughs and stuff.
And I run on fuel. But yeah, a lot of it can get
you very concerned. It can get you very much down a
(05:59):
rabbit hole very, very quickly and I think what best for those
of us that are community minded is what can we be doing to flip
this narrative? So that's exactly where I kind
of want to steer the conversation now is, is around
what we can be doing as a rural community.
(06:21):
And I think that's probably break it into two halves.
Let's let's look at it first, You know, what are the what are
the actions we could be doing toto actually save some fuel, fuel
to cut back air, air, air usage.And then maybe I'm going to turn
it around and we'll talk a little bit around the mindset
and around part of the mental piece, because this is going to
take a toll and farming stressful and this is 1 huge
(06:43):
stress that's just been added into it.
So, so let's talk about, you know, where are people cutting
back at the moment? Where is it practical?
And even if it's just some of the things you guys are doing
around? The farm, Yep.
So from a home point of view to start off with, certainly the
veggie gardens been hauled out of I've been, you know, the
(07:04):
veggie garden go a little bit, but that's certainly been hauled
out and weeded and, you know, planted, you know, the herb
garden back. And again looking at, you know,
what can I grow from home? What have we got in the
cupboards? What have we got in the freezer?
Um, yes, I want to make that recipe.
It calls for this ingredient. That means a trip in the car to
(07:26):
go and go next, you know, to go to in town actually know what
can I swap it out with? So using technology now to go
right, I've got these ingredients in the cupboard and
what can I make out of it? So that's one thing you know,
I'm blessed. I guess I I learned to shop with
having something open and it's unopened mate in the store
(07:48):
cupboard. Growing up two hours from town,
that sort of was how I learned to shop and still shop.
So I'm, you know, still teased about being the local
Foursquare. So, so, but there is something
that, you know, I'm sort of looking at the cupboards going
actually. How long can I delay that trip
to town, which is very not like me.
I'm normally in and out quite frequently.
(08:12):
But now it's like yours in town yesterday for physio.
How many jobs can I do in town while I'm here?
And it was, you know, but I didn't stop and go out for lunch
like I normally would or I didn't even get a coffee, which
is so not like me. But you know, that was that one
thing of, you know, message my son, yo, should we meet up for
(08:34):
lunch and you went actually knowmum where I said where are you
knows that I was on the other side of Christchurch.
She said no, don't because he said you gotta come right on the
other side of town to see me andwe'll catch up on the weekend,
which you never would do that. You normally just, you know,
flick across town and not even think twice about it.
So, so that's one of the some ofthe little things that we're
doing. Certainly looking at, you know,
(08:57):
if we're gonna start the tractor, OK, while the tractor
started booked, you know, it's group all our jobs together.
Might not be convenient to do all those jobs altogether at
once. But to save diesel, you are,
instead of just jumping on the bike to go and do something, you
know, as an opportunity to combine exercise and take
Shanks's pony for a walk and andstuff, or the DRC at the bloody
(09:19):
push bike. I've dragged my E bike out of
the sheet and yeah, biking around.
Luckily it's got mountain bike tyres on it and I've actually
taken the ebike to go and shift stock and bits and pieces just
to make things that honour out beyond my our farm gates.
(09:41):
The farmers are still trying to get what they can done, but
there's carrying on but wearing the cost.
Um, and community groups. We're starting to see a bit of
reluctance to come to events andbut we're encouraging carpooling
or if someone's going to town, um, you're seeing it happening
(10:04):
on the local Facebook pages of hey, I'm going to town.
Can I do a click and collect foranyone while I'm in town?
So shopping for shopping from home and you know like 1 vehicle
going to town but bringing back,you know, 5 or 6 people's worth
of grocery shopping or somethinglike that.
But we've all got to look for ways that we can, we can just
(10:24):
just tighten the belts a little just to help manage this
uncertainty, whether it's from the, the cost of inputs or
whether it's even from the supplier.
But let's talk a little bit morenow around that, that the mental
piece around the stress game. And that's where, you know, I, I
do think the rural, the rural community, it can bring out the
(10:47):
best of us. It can also bring out the worst
in us. I think is, you know, farmers,
we can sometimes be a little bitisolationist.
We don't like to talk about our feelings.
We tend to bottle things up. But I also find this is where
the best, where communities comes out.
We look after each other really well.
So what are you seeing around there, around that community
support and around providing that little bit of mean to
(11:08):
assistance to to farmers and growers who are going through
some tough times at the moment? Yeah.
So the first person that comes to mind is Craig Wiggins.
So what Craig is doing with his lean on a gate, he is, you know,
going to social media, putting out the hints and tips.
Dianne packs is doing the same thing.
(11:30):
So yeah, we've got people that are trying to do with Vince, but
saying let's car pool like the likes of Dean.
I'm going down to do who call Sandesh Burton.
Okay, it's an hour and a bit from me, but I'm hoping what I
learned from Dean I can then bring back to my local
communities and infiltrate that out getting people round for
dinner rather than going out fordinner.
How can you create community without having it's a bit like
(11:51):
the COVID times again, isn't it?And you know, it's it.
Don't have a little bit of that feel to it, doesn't it?
Yeah, starting to have a talk about those that have been
there, done this before us and, you know, our parents era or
even our grandparents here, you know, what do they do to get
through the Roger Nomics, you know, like that, you know, the
(12:11):
the late 80s when, you know, romance and the horrendous strut
that we had and the late 80s that was quite pivotal.
You know, what did people do then?
OK, you know, what were the tipsand tricks that they had then to
get through? Doesn't have social media back
in those days, so they were a lot more isolated.
(12:31):
But yeah. How many virtual coffees can you
have? Or virtual gens, even if you
know, so if you're, you know, you are a couple of hours away
from each other or you know, you're not going into town to an
event, you know, how can you still have that social
connection? Because I think connection is
what people need and COVID showed us that.
(12:55):
So how can you continue to get that connection without it
hurting your wallet? No, it's it's great and it must
have met you. You picked up my years by the
thought of a virtual join. You gotta couple they haven't
seen in a while. Actually over the weekend.
That might be a fantastic idea. Yeah.
Breakout the old FaceTime and have a virtual gym with them.
(13:18):
Yeah, we're woman New Zealand. Let's talk about that for a
brief moment. It's often a group that we turn
to for help. Help.
They responded to to what's going on.
Here what scheme? Promoting it, connection,
encouraging us. So we're still celebrating our
hundred years. So an organisation that has been
there, done that, built on grit and resilience, we've got a new
(13:44):
chief executive, a new presidentas well, but an amazing new
national office team that are doing what they can to get
people connected once again. Is that connection word again
information sharing. So, but it's it's now also once
again looking to our older members of What are your tips
(14:05):
and tricks? Um, you know what, what did you
do? You know they, they talked about
the Carla stays. I'm too young to remember the
Carla stays, but you know, talked about it and those you
know the Carla stays and it didn't actually was a policy
that didn't actually work. But some of them have got that
feeling of you know, we've been through this before, we'll get
through it again that type. So yes, we have seen a few
(14:30):
events cancelled, but yeah, so here locally, our next dinner
group, rather than going out to a restaurant or charging a $35
sort of set feel like for a grazing type dinner that we
normally do, we get into a potluck dinner, so.
Yeah, perfect. You know, I'm going to get to
(14:50):
local women that are coming on that makes sheep milk cheese,
and they're going to show us howyou can have a couple of sheep
milking sheep on your property, milk them, and you can dilute
the milk down and that can meet your family's needs.
We have to make soft cheeses with them.
Or yeah, as I said, how can you cut the cloth a different way?
(15:11):
But certainly we're trying to doeverything we can to stop the
rural isolation creeping back in.
So car pooling, check on your neighbors.
Do you actually even know your neighbor?
Gypsy days coming up for the dairy farmers.
And, you know, what are you going to do to welcome the new
people into your community? You know, the, the days have got
(15:32):
long gone by of, you know, someone was coming down the
driveway with, you know, a meal before you'd even got the ramp
of the truck down. And doing do we need to bring
that sort of type of community back?
And like, rather than relying onour friends and family further
afield, you know, do you know your neighbor?
It's a really valid point actually, and I think it starts
(15:55):
with all of us actually reachingout and building those
connections. Pick up on a weird you've used a
bit there and just ensuring thatand neighbors and their
community are are safe. Problem talked about as a
problem sheet, and even if it's,you know, no solution, it's
like, ohh, shit, you're in the same boat.
You know that's you know, I'm not, not in my cave alone.
(16:17):
There's a lot of power knowing that, that it, that everyone
around you is going through the exact same thing.
We realised that, ohh, I'm not alone here.
Everyone's doing it. Okay, right.
Well, maybe now it's okay to talk about how they're getting
through it and maybe we can shear some ideas and it all has
a has a part to play there. And there are still many and New
(16:38):
Zealand recovering from adverse events and you know, the hitting
into a winter, you know, some ofthem are back in their own homes
yet and stuff. So, you know, we have I I'd like
to thank myself, you know, like we have by number means got life
easy. But you know, we are privileged
compared to so many, you know, and you know, we're safe in New
(17:00):
Zealand and we're not, you know,that's the other big thing.
And, and the other big thing that we're encouraging people to
do is yes, you need to stay informed, but do you need to hit
the news going 24/7 and your, and your brain or, you know, on
your phone or, you know, sorry, social media and, and the media
(17:23):
outfits, but you know, bad news creates more bad news.
Isn't it sort of like it just leads you down the rabbit hole.
So sometimes ignorance is bliss.Spheres of influence What's?
The. Grounds of control.
What can we influence? And then what?
Do we just go? You know what?
Yeah, as long as I'm aware of it, that's the main.
(17:43):
Thing, Yeah, yeah. And, and I think this is, it's
a, a really a big thing cause, yeah, the what's out of our
control can be very, very consuming and very, very
destructive. One question I'm really keen to
ask you, Emma, is, is around on farm security and I've certainly
been, you know, opened up a few news reports over the last few
(18:05):
weeks and it is kind of scary hearing about some of the, the,
the burglaries that are happening in rural areas, the,
the, the theft of fuel and of livestock.
What are you guys doing to try and and and and keep yourselves
in your in your property and your farm safe?
A real worry because you know you're too far away for a
(18:28):
burglar alarm to make any difference apart from you might,
might alert your neighbors. So we've certainly got cameras
up everywhere and you know, and advertised cameras as well.
Everything's locked down and you're making it as difficult as
you can. Um, but as someone said the
(18:48):
other day, I cordless tolls are the worst things ever.
The fact that they make people more important.
So we had copper which will havetaken from our transformer at
the front of our gate the other day.
I think the person who was doingthat I think is no longer with
(19:10):
us and stuff. But certainly, you know, you
just have to try and be as secure as you can.
You leave nothing to chance but as yeah certainly the thefts of
fuel like we hear reports and one came out of my here from the
local cop Mahia. The shotguns have been used and
(19:36):
tractors having and diggers and stuff having their diesel tanks
rather than just being syphoned.Either the guns being used to
shoot the cap off or otherwise awhole has just been drilled into
the tank to drain out. Drain the bottom of the tank out
and then you know what? What they're not taking, they're
(19:56):
leaving to drain to the ground. And so at such a precious
commodity, but but yeah, certainly people become I'm not
quite sure why they're targetingthing.
I suppose it's desperate times, um, and you know a thing, but
yeah, certainly everything needsto be locked down.
(20:17):
You often seeing in the community pages at the moment
drones flying over heat are causing suspicion and I'm way
even put a drone up at our localdog trials just to get some
aerial footage before the trial started.
And the amount of people that got suspicious straight away
from seeing a drone in the ear of was it someone scoping the
(20:37):
place? So yes, I think there might be a
few drones that you know aren't welcome over certain properties.
Look, it is extremely tough times at the moment and and
there's only so much I guess youcan do, but good to see you're
being proactive. Get the cameras up and and make
sure you've got that really good, that safety mindset.
(21:00):
Get everything locked up and take away as much of that
temptation as you can. Tough times.
Tough times, yes and yeah. I really feel for those that are
struggling to make ends meet because that's, that's, you
know, it's hard when you've got,you know, a reliable income, let
alone for those that don't have a reliable income or are on a
(21:21):
very low income. That's just, yeah, feel for
them. Hmm, no, it's uh yeah.
Ohh, just gotta keep just gotta keep moving forward at this
stage and and do our absolute best to try and get through.
This and keep talking. And keep talking.
Thank you for listening to Blue Shift Diary.
(21:43):
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You'll be glad you did. Jackie Arnold.
Welcome to Blue Sheep Diary, a podcast about for farmers
growers in the rural communities.
My name is Milton Monroe, I'm your host and Peter G writes and
technical team manager. Repercussions of military action
in Iran continue to be felt globally.
From the cost of living pressures, rising petrol and
diesel prices to stock shortages, everyone is feeling
(00:35):
the pinch. But for rural communities, the
impacts are more than just the stress on the wall.
Joining me in the conversation today is Emma Burke, farmer and
member of Rural Women New Zealand.
Welcome to the show, Emma. Good morning.
How you be? I am superb on this a somewhat
chilly southern morning. Tell me a little bit about
(00:56):
yourself, Emma. Where are you farming?
Okay, so we're up and in Canterbury underneath the
tallest mountain range. So yeah, looking at my office
window at the moment to some mountains with a bit of snow on
them. Ohh.
It's like, jeez, what's what's what's a bit early, but they say
it's. A little bit early, but yeah,
there's definitely. Been some snow and May never
(01:18):
stays in June too soon but I'm not quite sure what it says
about April. But any hose?
We are relatively new to Canterbury, just clocked over 2
years down here. Originally from Guisborough from
the hills of Gisborne and yeah more recently Hawkes Bay and
proud of it. Southland so moved around a
little bit and yeah, rural was who we are.
(01:44):
People may even be farmers and our businesses that we contract
our labour out to other farmers so.
Ohh, there we. Go yeah.
So hubby at the moment is working on a predominant what
does sheep and beef, but it's a stud.
It'll stud near Colgate in Yeah,here's some going all over out
(02:08):
to the peninsula, to the farm out there and out to the owner's
farm out the year. And yeah, that's who we are.
But moving down here, not knowing hardly anyone, I chose
to get involved with the rural community and give back as a way
of meeting people, hence my rural woman involvement.
Ohh, very good, very good indeed.
(02:28):
Oh, well then you'll certainly well positioned and well
situated to give us a little bitof a view from the coalface if
it were about what's happening out there.
So what are the changes that you're seeing out for the, you
know, that are happening for thepeople in your community?
Looking around and having the conversations, there's a lot of
fear is a lot of uncertainty. Um, habits are changing
(02:53):
everything. Everyone is security of supply,
I think seems to be the biggest concern.
You know, you're you're already hearing and seeing, you know,
the tanks on farm fuel tanks aredry.
You know, we've only got what's left not for us personally, but
you know, only what's left in the tractor tank and it's, and
(03:16):
you don't know when the trucks due to roll in and you know
you're going 2 weeks, 3 weeks, you know the trucks hasn't been
and you know, so you're basically missing an entire
month delivery. So that seems to be the the, the
big concern cause everything we touch has got a diesel component
to it. MMM, absolutely.
And whether that be for you is aindividual, whether there is a
(03:41):
business everything here's something to do with diesel.
Even if you were to love at home, we completely, you know,
self sustained, even your house has come to your property with
diesel or with fuel and stuff. So that's the big thing and one
(04:01):
of the concerns heading into thewinter has been having fuel for
the tractors to feed out to the stock.
You know, you can't bring, you can't bring the stock to the
fade. You've gotta take the fade to
think, OK, somehow I country farms and and the steeper hill
countries, they can't feed out because of their topography.
But everyone else went to feeding is essential.
(04:26):
And if you're feeding on crop, you know, you need the tractor
to be able to take lower qualityhay or something out to be able
to buffer the pH and stuff like that.
So the year animals stay alive, that's that's the essential part
of it. And no one wants to see the
stock die or go without. So you're sort of swallowing the
(04:50):
bitter pill of the price of of fuel to ensure that your
livestock, you know, are looked after.
In there, even before we've hit the crunch period of the spring
months where, you know, we've got sewing, we've got, you know,
a lot of crop planting being done, certainly in Canterbury.
You know, a lot of arable crops,a lot of process crops are all
going to have to go in the ground and they're that runs on
(05:12):
diesel. It does unfortunately, and we we
doubt it sort of, you know, it'ssort of a diesel burning season
as what sort of what we sort of dub it is.
But it basically yeah, like the minute the winter crops are
finished, you are you know, you're back into putting the the
lane back into thing and we've got the long term forecast.
If you believe Keen Ring or not,he's talking about next time.
(05:36):
I've been, you know, we actuallygoing to get a summer next year
and actually go dry, you know, fuel to run for those bombs
that, you know, they're water pumps for the family to
reticulate the water out to the troughs and stuff.
And I run on fuel. But yeah, a lot of it can get
you very concerned. It can get you very much down a
(05:59):
rabbit hole very, very quickly and I think what best for those
of us that are community minded is what can we be doing to flip
this narrative? So that's exactly where I kind
of want to steer the conversation now is, is around
what we can be doing as a rural community.
(06:21):
And I think that's probably break it into two halves.
Let's let's look at it first, You know, what are the what are
the actions we could be doing toto actually save some fuel, fuel
to cut back air, air, air usage.And then maybe I'm going to turn
it around and we'll talk a little bit around the mindset
and around part of the mental piece, because this is going to
take a toll and farming stressful and this is 1 huge
(06:43):
stress that's just been added into it.
So, so let's talk about, you know, where are people cutting
back at the moment? Where is it practical?
And even if it's just some of the things you guys are doing
around? The farm, Yep.
So from a home point of view to start off with, certainly the
veggie gardens been hauled out of I've been, you know, the
(07:04):
veggie garden go a little bit, but that's certainly been hauled
out and weeded and, you know, planted, you know, the herb
garden back. And again looking at, you know,
what can I grow from home? What have we got in the
cupboards? What have we got in the freezer?
Um, yes, I want to make that recipe.
It calls for this ingredient. That means a trip in the car to
(07:26):
go and go next, you know, to go to in town actually know what
can I swap it out with? So using technology now to go
right, I've got these ingredients in the cupboard and
what can I make out of it? So that's one thing you know,
I'm blessed. I guess I I learned to shop with
having something open and it's unopened mate in the store
(07:48):
cupboard. Growing up two hours from town,
that sort of was how I learned to shop and still shop.
So I'm, you know, still teased about being the local
Foursquare. So, so, but there is something
that, you know, I'm sort of looking at the cupboards going
actually. How long can I delay that trip
to town, which is very not like me.
I'm normally in and out quite frequently.
(08:12):
But now it's like yours in town yesterday for physio.
How many jobs can I do in town while I'm here?
And it was, you know, but I didn't stop and go out for lunch
like I normally would or I didn't even get a coffee, which
is so not like me. But you know, that was that one
thing of, you know, message my son, yo, should we meet up for
(08:34):
lunch and you went actually knowmum where I said where are you
knows that I was on the other side of Christchurch.
She said no, don't because he said you gotta come right on the
other side of town to see me andwe'll catch up on the weekend,
which you never would do that. You normally just, you know,
flick across town and not even think twice about it.
So, so that's one of the some ofthe little things that we're
doing. Certainly looking at, you know,
(08:57):
if we're gonna start the tractor, OK, while the tractor
started booked, you know, it's group all our jobs together.
Might not be convenient to do all those jobs altogether at
once. But to save diesel, you are,
instead of just jumping on the bike to go and do something, you
know, as an opportunity to combine exercise and take
Shanks's pony for a walk and andstuff, or the DRC at the bloody
(09:19):
push bike. I've dragged my E bike out of
the sheet and yeah, biking around.
Luckily it's got mountain bike tyres on it and I've actually
taken the ebike to go and shift stock and bits and pieces just
to make things that honour out beyond my our farm gates.
(09:41):
The farmers are still trying to get what they can done, but
there's carrying on but wearing the cost.
Um, and community groups. We're starting to see a bit of
reluctance to come to events andbut we're encouraging carpooling
or if someone's going to town, um, you're seeing it happening
(10:04):
on the local Facebook pages of hey, I'm going to town.
Can I do a click and collect foranyone while I'm in town?
So shopping for shopping from home and you know like 1 vehicle
going to town but bringing back,you know, 5 or 6 people's worth
of grocery shopping or somethinglike that.
But we've all got to look for ways that we can, we can just
(10:24):
just tighten the belts a little just to help manage this
uncertainty, whether it's from the, the cost of inputs or
whether it's even from the supplier.
But let's talk a little bit morenow around that, that the mental
piece around the stress game. And that's where, you know, I, I
do think the rural, the rural community, it can bring out the
(10:47):
best of us. It can also bring out the worst
in us. I think is, you know, farmers,
we can sometimes be a little bitisolationist.
We don't like to talk about our feelings.
We tend to bottle things up. But I also find this is where
the best, where communities comes out.
We look after each other really well.
So what are you seeing around there, around that community
support and around providing that little bit of mean to
(11:08):
assistance to to farmers and growers who are going through
some tough times at the moment? Yeah.
So the first person that comes to mind is Craig Wiggins.
So what Craig is doing with his lean on a gate, he is, you know,
going to social media, putting out the hints and tips.
Dianne packs is doing the same thing.
(11:30):
So yeah, we've got people that are trying to do with Vince, but
saying let's car pool like the likes of Dean.
I'm going down to do who call Sandesh Burton.
Okay, it's an hour and a bit from me, but I'm hoping what I
learned from Dean I can then bring back to my local
communities and infiltrate that out getting people round for
dinner rather than going out fordinner.
How can you create community without having it's a bit like
(11:51):
the COVID times again, isn't it?And you know, it's it.
Don't have a little bit of that feel to it, doesn't it?
Yeah, starting to have a talk about those that have been
there, done this before us and, you know, our parents era or
even our grandparents here, you know, what do they do to get
through the Roger Nomics, you know, like that, you know, the
(12:11):
the late 80s when, you know, romance and the horrendous strut
that we had and the late 80s that was quite pivotal.
You know, what did people do then?
OK, you know, what were the tipsand tricks that they had then to
get through? Doesn't have social media back
in those days, so they were a lot more isolated.
(12:31):
But yeah. How many virtual coffees can you
have? Or virtual gens, even if you
know, so if you're, you know, you are a couple of hours away
from each other or you know, you're not going into town to an
event, you know, how can you still have that social
connection? Because I think connection is
what people need and COVID showed us that.
(12:55):
So how can you continue to get that connection without it
hurting your wallet? No, it's it's great and it must
have met you. You picked up my years by the
thought of a virtual join. You gotta couple they haven't
seen in a while. Actually over the weekend.
That might be a fantastic idea. Yeah.
Breakout the old FaceTime and have a virtual gym with them.
(13:18):
Yeah, we're woman New Zealand. Let's talk about that for a
brief moment. It's often a group that we turn
to for help. Help.
They responded to to what's going on.
Here what scheme? Promoting it, connection,
encouraging us. So we're still celebrating our
hundred years. So an organisation that has been
there, done that, built on grit and resilience, we've got a new
(13:44):
chief executive, a new presidentas well, but an amazing new
national office team that are doing what they can to get
people connected once again. Is that connection word again
information sharing. So, but it's it's now also once
again looking to our older members of What are your tips
(14:05):
and tricks? Um, you know what, what did you
do? You know they, they talked about
the Carla stays. I'm too young to remember the
Carla stays, but you know, talked about it and those you
know the Carla stays and it didn't actually was a policy
that didn't actually work. But some of them have got that
feeling of you know, we've been through this before, we'll get
through it again that type. So yes, we have seen a few
(14:30):
events cancelled, but yeah, so here locally, our next dinner
group, rather than going out to a restaurant or charging a $35
sort of set feel like for a grazing type dinner that we
normally do, we get into a potluck dinner, so.
Yeah, perfect. You know, I'm going to get to
(14:50):
local women that are coming on that makes sheep milk cheese,
and they're going to show us howyou can have a couple of sheep
milking sheep on your property, milk them, and you can dilute
the milk down and that can meet your family's needs.
We have to make soft cheeses with them.
Or yeah, as I said, how can you cut the cloth a different way?
(15:11):
But certainly we're trying to doeverything we can to stop the
rural isolation creeping back in.
So car pooling, check on your neighbors.
Do you actually even know your neighbor?
Gypsy days coming up for the dairy farmers.
And, you know, what are you going to do to welcome the new
people into your community? You know, the, the days have got
(15:32):
long gone by of, you know, someone was coming down the
driveway with, you know, a meal before you'd even got the ramp
of the truck down. And doing do we need to bring
that sort of type of community back?
And like, rather than relying onour friends and family further
afield, you know, do you know your neighbor?
It's a really valid point actually, and I think it starts
(15:55):
with all of us actually reachingout and building those
connections. Pick up on a weird you've used a
bit there and just ensuring thatand neighbors and their
community are are safe. Problem talked about as a
problem sheet, and even if it's,you know, no solution, it's
like, ohh, shit, you're in the same boat.
You know that's you know, I'm not, not in my cave alone.
(16:17):
There's a lot of power knowing that, that it, that everyone
around you is going through the exact same thing.
We realised that, ohh, I'm not alone here.
Everyone's doing it. Okay, right.
Well, maybe now it's okay to talk about how they're getting
through it and maybe we can shear some ideas and it all has
a has a part to play there. And there are still many and New
(16:38):
Zealand recovering from adverse events and you know, the hitting
into a winter, you know, some ofthem are back in their own homes
yet and stuff. So, you know, we have I I'd like
to thank myself, you know, like we have by number means got life
easy. But you know, we are privileged
compared to so many, you know, and you know, we're safe in New
(17:00):
Zealand and we're not, you know,that's the other big thing.
And, and the other big thing that we're encouraging people to
do is yes, you need to stay informed, but do you need to hit
the news going 24/7 and your, and your brain or, you know, on
your phone or, you know, sorry, social media and, and the media
(17:23):
outfits, but you know, bad news creates more bad news.
Isn't it sort of like it just leads you down the rabbit hole.
So sometimes ignorance is bliss.Spheres of influence What's?
The. Grounds of control.
What can we influence? And then what?
Do we just go? You know what?
Yeah, as long as I'm aware of it, that's the main.
(17:43):
Thing, Yeah, yeah. And, and I think this is, it's
a, a really a big thing cause, yeah, the what's out of our
control can be very, very consuming and very, very
destructive. One question I'm really keen to
ask you, Emma, is, is around on farm security and I've certainly
been, you know, opened up a few news reports over the last few
(18:05):
weeks and it is kind of scary hearing about some of the, the,
the burglaries that are happening in rural areas, the,
the, the theft of fuel and of livestock.
What are you guys doing to try and and and and keep yourselves
in your in your property and your farm safe?
A real worry because you know you're too far away for a
(18:28):
burglar alarm to make any difference apart from you might,
might alert your neighbors. So we've certainly got cameras
up everywhere and you know, and advertised cameras as well.
Everything's locked down and you're making it as difficult as
you can. Um, but as someone said the
(18:48):
other day, I cordless tolls are the worst things ever.
The fact that they make people more important.
So we had copper which will havetaken from our transformer at
the front of our gate the other day.
I think the person who was doingthat I think is no longer with
(19:10):
us and stuff. But certainly, you know, you
just have to try and be as secure as you can.
You leave nothing to chance but as yeah certainly the thefts of
fuel like we hear reports and one came out of my here from the
local cop Mahia. The shotguns have been used and
(19:36):
tractors having and diggers and stuff having their diesel tanks
rather than just being syphoned.Either the guns being used to
shoot the cap off or otherwise awhole has just been drilled into
the tank to drain out. Drain the bottom of the tank out
and then you know what? What they're not taking, they're
(19:56):
leaving to drain to the ground. And so at such a precious
commodity, but but yeah, certainly people become I'm not
quite sure why they're targetingthing.
I suppose it's desperate times, um, and you know a thing, but
yeah, certainly everything needsto be locked down.
(20:17):
You often seeing in the community pages at the moment
drones flying over heat are causing suspicion and I'm way
even put a drone up at our localdog trials just to get some
aerial footage before the trial started.
And the amount of people that got suspicious straight away
from seeing a drone in the ear of was it someone scoping the
(20:37):
place? So yes, I think there might be a
few drones that you know aren't welcome over certain properties.
Look, it is extremely tough times at the moment and and
there's only so much I guess youcan do, but good to see you're
being proactive. Get the cameras up and and make
sure you've got that really good, that safety mindset.
(21:00):
Get everything locked up and take away as much of that
temptation as you can. Tough times.
Tough times, yes and yeah. I really feel for those that are
struggling to make ends meet because that's, that's, you
know, it's hard when you've got,you know, a reliable income, let
alone for those that don't have a reliable income or are on a
(21:21):
very low income. That's just, yeah, feel for
them. Hmm, no, it's uh yeah.
Ohh, just gotta keep just gotta keep moving forward at this
stage and and do our absolute best to try and get through.
This and keep talking. And keep talking.
Thank you for listening to Blue Shift Diary.
(21:43):
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