The Country 07/04/25: Amy Renelle talks to Jamie Mackay

The author of the wonderfully risqué children’s book for grown-up farmers - If you’ve got Livestock, then you’ve got Dead Stock - a delightful look at sheep from a complete townie with a PhD in Statistics.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I do really get some wonderful emails here on this
radio show. My email addresses Jamie at the country. Feel
free to send me an email unless you want to
abuse me like Bill did last week. Here's one I
also got last week from a guy by the name
of Rob Burke from Gisbone. He said, Hi, Jamie, I'm
a sheep and beef farmer from Gisbon and my son's

(00:21):
partner who was a doctor of statistics and a complete Towney.
After writing with me for six months in my canam
has written a small, lighthearted book about how great sheep
are at dying. I take the piss if you will,
and she would love to send you a copy, and
so she was hoping to get an address to send
it to you. Mate, Thanks for putting on your wonderful

(00:44):
radio show. We all love it. Of course, Rob had
me with that flattery, so I thought I'll follow this
one up. And here she goes Amy Renell, a doctor
of statistics, a PhD, no less and a complete Towney.
This book is hilarious. It's written like a kid's book,
but it's really while it's adults only. Let's face it, Amy,
it certainly is.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
They've got a few swear words in there, but I
figured my target audience of farmers that would appreciate the
swear words.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
It's absolutely brilliant. I think it's very clear. And anyone
who's been a sheep farmer as I have on a
past life knows that you're exactly right. So your observations
as a complete townye coming to the farm and Gisbone
are bang on.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yes, I was chucking around, as Rob said in the
can am with him, and I couldn't quite understand why
these sheep seemed to like dying quite so frequently, and
then the most hilarious of ways. So yeah, I jotted
them down as I was going around with them, and
one thing led to another, and I wrote them all

(01:44):
down in a other joke really for rober Marie, who
I'm staying with on their farm, made it out of
a beer box and they showed everybody. So one thing
led to another and now it's now it's at a
flat book.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Oh, it's wonderful. It's got those yeah as you say,
those little flaps that you can lift when you're reading
to little kids, and it's done in that style. But
you've got sheep dying of let me have a lot worms, bearings,
fly blow, drowning in the creek, stuck in the fence,
head and the fence. Finally you find a perfectly healthy sheet.

(02:24):
And then on the final page, I won't say what
the words are because this is a PG rated show,
but it's very clever. So I mean, kids couldn't read
this book because of the language. Do you think it'll
have a home with grown up sheep farmers.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
I think it. I think it will. It's been suggested
to me as as a coffee table book for farmers. Yes,
by for partner has asked for coffee table books where
they get left on the coffee table for your people
to come round to have a brow. Yeah. I think

(03:02):
it's lighthearted and relatable and a bit of a giggle.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Really well, it's an absolute giggle. The title of the book,
by the way, is called if you've got live stock,
You've got dead stock, And that's a well known phrase
in farming.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yes, I heard that quite often as I was going
around Rock pointing out all his dad cheap He would go, well, yeah,
I know we've got live stock. Then you've got dead stock,
so stop pointing them out.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
So how does a doctor with a PhD in statistics
end up on a Gisbone sheep and beef farm.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Oh I love. I finished my PhD and decided I
didn't really like living in the city despite being a
complete towny as Rob calls me. And yeah, Matt, my partner,
said well, let's go down to Gibbon and hang out

(03:57):
for a little while. And I just loves the work
life balance that that Gisbone offers. It's a beautiful place
I get to. I've got a pat cow who loves
my book. He thinks it's brilliant, and yeah, it's just
a wonderful environment to be in. So it's yeah, definitely home.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
I detect a little bit of an accent there. Where
were you before Auckland.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
I'm from the UK originally, Yeah, I'm from Cambridge in
the UK. Moved over in two thousand and seven, was
in christ Church after the earthquakes, moved up to Auckland,
did university up in Auckland, and yeah, then came across,
came across Matt who was doing bio stuff up there,

(04:48):
and I was doing that stuff at UNI, and yeah,
we headed down to Gisbon once we both sort of
finished up and have been working from home as much
as we can helping out on the farm.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
So do you ever think you'll go back to the
city life or has Gisbane gotcha?

Speaker 2 (05:04):
Oh? I think it would have to be to be
pretty pretty convincing to get me back to the city life.
I'm having alter learned at the moment for work, but
I'm looking forward to getting back getting back to the
country side.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
This is a brilliant coffee table book for grown up farmers.
It's called if You've got Live Stock, then You've got
Dead Stock, and on the back it says not recommended
for children or vegans, Amy Renell, I think this is
really really clever. If people want to get a hold
of it, where do they find it.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
It's currently in new book Skill in Gibbon, which I'm
so so pleased that they had accepted to stock it.
It's also on trade me and I've got an email
adjass as well. It's what the farming ends at so
short down to WTF so what the farming ended at

(06:04):
gmail dot com.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
Well, Amy, it's been a real pleasure catching up with you.
Good luck on the sheep and beef farm and Gisbane
and thank you to your father in law Rob Burke
from Ormond and Gisbone for making us aware of us.
You really really made my day brilliant.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Thanks