The Country 20/02/25: Cameron Henderson talks to Jamie Mackay

We catch up with the Deputy Chair of DairyNZ on a consultation roadshow in Southland.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Our next guest on the country is a North Canterbury
or Oxford dairy Farmer's name is Cameron Henderson. He's the
deputy chair of Dairy and Z but he's not in
Canterbury today. He's down in Southland in God's own farming province,
talking about levee consultation. Are the dairy farmers keen to
keep paying their levee or do you want to pay
some more? Cameron?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Well, I guess that's all we'll be hearing about today, Jamie. Yeah,
we've had some early feedback and look it is you know,
as you going to measure with farmers, they're not headed
in to hold back and tell us what they think,
which is great. So we'll find out today a little
bit more about what the good farmer's down south and
think about Darien Jeds Well, fill in.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Some missing pieces for me. What is the current levee?
What are dairy farmers pay to Dairy in Z at
the moment for their industry good activities?

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yeah, so for the last sixteen years they've been paying
three point six cents per cadjure milk solid the dairyen
Z and part of that point eight sense of that
goes directly to Osbury. So essentially dear gets about two
point four cent for that, and so we're looking at
options for increasing that rate ready to match inflation and

(01:10):
to sort of achieve a few other outcomes. It's well
pastime to review that and look at what the future
of duran's it is.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
Well, you're well off the pace if you haven't had
an increase for how many years?

Speaker 2 (01:20):
For sixteen years?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Sixteen years? Jeez, yeah, it's Cameron, Cameron. You'd go no
good as a local body. You'd go no good as
the Dunedin City Council.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Well they wouldn't live with those, right people always trying
to keep rates down and I thought sixteen years holding
it at the same rate is not too bad. Yeah,
Look we've had some things that have gone away in
that time. Obviously milk solids have increased over sixteen years,
but now the last ten years it has clat oed
and depreciation keeps marching on, as most of farmers understand.
And so this is where we're at the point where, look,

(01:52):
we've used up a lot of the reserves and it's
time for honest conversation around you cashlods and how.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Much that now is not a bad time to have
that conversation because on a ten dollar payout, gee, what
a three point six CeNSE is? What's that less than
that's less than half a percent?

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah it is, it is. But you know, every dollar
that of farmer spends has got to be a good
investment and so like, I don't want to link it
to anything to do with payout. It's never a great
time to go out and ask farmers for more money.
But yeah, that's part of our conversation is just trying
to understand and where do they want darings it to
be heading in the future and one of those those
key topics they want us to be focusing on. And look,

(02:33):
that's that's the feedback we've been getting. So yeah, really
really enjoy these conversations.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
So when do farmers get to vote on this.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, it's not actually voted as a consultation. The board
does have the final decision on the process and that's
all said.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
So you can just make a unilateral decision to raise
the levy, we.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Can, but of course the board is elected by farmers,
so we're very wary that. You know, we've got to
take farmers' views into account. That's what consultations all about
and we often criticize the government for not taking you know,
people's views into accounts. So we're absolutely listening to farmer's views.
But the process is the way that it's set out

(03:11):
in the Milk Silly Milk Solids Levy Act. Is that
that Yeah, it's the board that make that decision. And
then there's a Livy vote next year, which is the
vote on whether we continue with durien Z and having
the levy yes or no. And that's that. That is
a vote.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
How's how's candarby looking? You'll be as good as anywhere,
are you?

Speaker 2 (03:29):
It's pretty good like it is throwing out a weave
it now. But we've had a golden run, Jamie. It's
been been magic there, Raymond. We have needed it. A
little bit of humidity, probably a little bit hard for
those arable guys, you know, getting getting grain crops dried
out enough to the harvest. We've we're in the middle
of our harvest at the moment, and you know it's
one day, one day a week at the moment, waiting
for it to dry out. But look, all in all,

(03:50):
these plenty of grass around crops are looking great. Son,
Kenerby's head. It had a great year.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
And Southem's looking pretty good at the moment too.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yeah, certainly green flying in, but understand after a week
start they've actually started to dry out as well, so yeah,
a bit of them expect you here.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, while our South and drought stiff into a Canterbury
drought at Cameron Henderson, enjoy your day in South from
God's own farming province. Thanks for your time.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Thanks Ry