The Country 21/03/25: Kevin Smiley Barrett talks to Jamie Mackay

As the lingering drought continues to bite in the Taranaki region, we ask one of its most famous dairy farming and footy sons if this is the worst one he can remember. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We've been talking about the big dry in the North Island,
but one of the worst affected areas is the Taranaki region.
Air man there is Kevin Smiley Barrett. He's been a
dairy farmer since he was sixteen years of age, started
out in the early eighties. Smiley, have you known a
worse drought?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Oh good afternoon, Jamie. And this is make me see
anld journey four four years here. But yeah, it was
I left school eighty one and I think I remember
dad talking back then seventy seven was pretty bad and
you hit the old farmers were talking about, you know,
going back that long. I think that is when tomorrows

(00:38):
that was a Nelson fishing boat that ran a ground
that year and on the coast there, and I remember
that was about this time of the year. It might
have been a bit later April. Then then when that
run aground, really it didn't stop running yet, it just
just kept coming down because we were were we had
a lot of terrorists there and sites he's coming down
to the beach and you're getting your car stuck and
we're pulling them out and ended up taking down on

(00:59):
the transport trail. The treat that you'd have rid of
the wreck here, so okay.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
So if you've been a dairy farmer since nineteen eighty
one and coastal Taranaki got a beautiful dairy farm by
the way, right on the coast there. Have you personally
known a dryer summer or autumn.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Well, it's it's not over Jerney, that's the thing I
can recall. Just probably seventeen eighteen nineteen, we had sort
of two bad autumns in a row. And that's that's
the worst thing is when it compounds because you're sort
of you go into winter a bit lighter body condition,

(01:37):
your car covers of love and settlement, you see. And
then I think one of those years too, I think
we had a very bad spring. We're not much something
was made. So that's the worst thing when it compounds.
When you're a lot of past you damage, you see,
you just don't recover. Yeah, been in the next year
and year the same old. So hopefully you know, we yeah,
just going forward, we get get some good rains and

(01:58):
we can it's all behind us.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
It's really important that this straight drought should I say,
breaks say before the end of this month, because if
you get meaningful rains and April, still plenty of warm temperatures.
You can still grow a good bank of feed heading
into the winter. What you don't want, obviously, and I'm
preaching to the converted talking to you, would be if
this link is into April or early May, and then

(02:21):
you start running out of moves on the chessboard, how
how are you getting on? Have you had to dry
off any cows?

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Which cold many most of the colors have gone ninety
five gone, Jermie, like we're really eating into suttlament reserves.
But yeah, but I mean it's still mark so you've
still got a watering down the bridge. Once you get
into April, you neieve you've got to make some hard decissors.
Do I dry CAUs off? You know? And but et cetera,

(02:49):
or were once a day you just got to look
after cal condition. I mean you start thinking for next year,
you know. But the eras well get good rain. We
can definitely grass and grass in April and and May June,
you know, all through the winter is you know sort
was a stalk right up there, you know, forteen to
fifteen degrees and that's on that there was a bit
of snart and me up there last night out there'll

(03:12):
be short lived there to be gone. But yeah it's
we get boister, it'll grow, yeah, no doubt.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Okay, good luck with that one, Smiley, Barrett. Well, let's
look at the good news part of the equation, Smiley.
Is the announcement yesterday from Fonterra. Looks like that ten
dollars milk price is locked and loaded your organic and
a too, so you're going to get premiums on top
of that. But you're dividend. You're going to get a
record dividend from Fonterra. So as a farmer shareholder, you

(03:39):
must be pretty pleased with the way your co op
has turned the good ship Fonterra around.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Here. Long mate, last here the make some good decisions,
you Jamie. A good spa and a good space here.
So in the forecast is great for next year, which
is which is great, you know, so it's good reassured
for farmers, you know, in restricts come in you quid
milk price. So yeah, we just need a good production

(04:05):
here to back it up. But that's that's it's looking
good going forward. But you don't usually get you know,
two good production years, sorry, milk pat years in a row.
You know, so yeah, look forward to.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
And just before I let you go and are you
flat out on the farm there it's Blues versus Crusaders
this weekend. No Bowden, Barrett, he's injured, Scott. Scott, I
assume as playing for the Crusaders. So you were cheering
for the Crusaders this time round?

Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, I left her. Yeah, yeah, so it's rather wan
to be pleased. Was the boys might be playing against you?
She doesn't, she doesn't like that, but yeah, no Boden,
he'll be in a couple of weeks, but yeah, it'll be.
Games are pretty tight, Jamie. You know this. It is
just a matter of who most destintant team takes the
chances here. So it's it's a good competition this year
in it.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yeah, Chiefs are looking pretty good though, smiling.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah, yeah they are. Yeah, it's it's just the injuries.
If you've just got to keep the kettle on the field.
There's a little player b part as we know, you know,
so just coming forward, got a team that got plows
yet you know, I don't need to come back in
and but yeah, so you're waiting soon.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Good on you mate. Hey, thanks for some of your
time and I do hope you get some rain anytime
soon in the Taranaki region.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
Thanks for your time, Jamie, Jermy, we probably always wondering that, Sammy.
We probably need to bring Jim Heckey Bick. He's a
great weather forecaster. He always delivers.

Speaker 1 (05:22):
Well, he's a Taranaki layer, doesn't he he is he
is here? He runs the cafe at the airport, doesn't he. Heyah,
well we might have to bring Jim back. Yeah, he
might be better than some of the forecasters they've got
there at the moment. Please stop me before I get
in trouble. I'll see you later, mate. Thanks for your time.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Cheers Jamie Kech have a good day, come away.