April 22, 2025 • 38 mins
Rowena Duncum talks to Todd McClay, Dan Steel, Stefan Vogel, and Rebecca Keoghan.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's The Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay. Thanks to Brent You're specialist in
John Deere machinery.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
See don at the sound your wheels scribe crazy.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
While you still can don't even try to understand des
find a place to make your stand.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Take any well, A very good afternoon everyone, and welcome
and to the Country, rowing a duncan and for Jamie
McKay and of course the Country is proudly brought to
you by Brant Big line up for you today. Todd McClay,
Trade and Agriculture Minister, waiting patiently on hold, she says
as she smashes her foot into something very loud under
(00:53):
the desk. There We're going to head to Blue Duck Station,
catch up with Dan Steele, find out what's happening around
an Ablup Peace of Paradise in the center of the
North Island. Stefan Vogel, who's the GM for RABO Research
Australia and New Zealand, who's going to update the trade
and tariff situation from his perspective. Also what's happening with
the Hooties and the Red Sea. And Rebecca Cogan, she
(01:16):
is the twenty sixteen Dairy Woman of the Year, fifth
generation we Sport dairy farmer and chair of the Future
Focused Animal Evaluation Governance Group. She will join me before
one plus of course the latest and rural news, sports
newsing your chance to win a double pass two field
days this year. Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd maclay joins me.
(01:37):
Good afternoon, Good afternoon. Look, appreciate you giving me up
some of your time. Are you on leave at the moment.
Speaker 5 (01:45):
Well, it's a little tiny but they still working. I'm
in the electorates and so I've been on the phone
and doing ministerial papers on morning on the south dinner.
But to go out to Ripparoa, which is a great
dairy farming area, and this catch up and chat to
a few few farmers half patients.
Speaker 6 (02:01):
That makes sense. But you and I we're working hard
with that.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Jamie, I know, I know right who is off visiting
the grandchildren. So you can consider us the backbones of
the country. Todd and Jamie McKay, the part time one. Hey,
look as you move around the electorate and as you say,
going to rip Aoa this afternoon, some parts of the
country still needing a wee bit of rain. Others have
(02:25):
been really desperate and finally got some at the weekend.
But as you say, the best way to kind of
break a drought is to schedule a drought shout or
on the government's case, announce some assistance.
Speaker 7 (02:37):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Well, we know that through the summer it was very
dry in many parts of the country. I took a
decision to declare drought early to give a certainty to
farmers and in partment in some of the areas that
were still very green, but there wasn't the grass needing.
A lot of farmers had cut into their winter feet
supply that they were storing up. So although we've had
(02:59):
an enormous amount of rain over the weekend for many
parts of the country, the grass won't grow.
Speaker 7 (03:06):
You know.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
For some of the farmers, they're going to have to
be buying in feedstocks and they may not have the
money for it. So what we've announced over the weekend
is just the last stage of that support for drought,
which is real support payments available to anybody in a
eural area on a farm who is finding it challenging,
and they should just jump on the Ministry of Social
Welfare website there's a lot of information here.
Speaker 6 (03:28):
We'll talk to you.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
We're all support trust, they know everything, and very clear
message of the governments here to support you and help you.
It's been a very long to summer may have rained,
but you don't have the grass you need rich having
some help if you need it, that's why we're here.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Well, the government consider maybe legal action against the US
in terms of these tariffs. There's been a core put
out there by Stephen Jacobe, who's one of our lead
former trade negotiators who really understands these things, to say
maybe it's just something the government might need to consider
women time comes.
Speaker 5 (03:59):
It's not something we're considering at this time. And ultimately
that's because we're waiting to see the lay of the land.
And you will have seen even today, you know, sort
of out of the US. The new trade and tariff
arrangements continue to change. New Zealand is captured by a
ten percent tariff across the boards a couple of exceptions,
(04:19):
but to say across the board, as with every other
country in the world, we didn't have a higher tarif
rate than that, but many, some forty countries did.
Speaker 6 (04:27):
Have up to fifty percent.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Additional that's been wound back for a ninety day period,
and we're engaging with the US administration. I'll be meeting
my counterpart, the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Grere next
month in Corea or have an opportunity to talk directly
about what this means.
Speaker 6 (04:46):
But as a government, we've decided to be calm.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
To get as much information as we can, listen to
and talk to exporters, to find ways to help them
get their products into that market, and of course open
up doors in them to be exporting elsewhere. So Stephen
Jacoby is a great guy. He knows a lot about this.
But as he said in that article, even if we
took a case, it would take a long time. It's
not clear what the outcome would be if it was
(05:09):
in our favor, whether America would honor the outcome, and
the wos stands of the moment, which can so we're.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
Country.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
You might just need what elsewhere?
Speaker 4 (05:23):
You might just need a step two paces to your
left there tied. It just been a little bit fels elier.
The White House is confirmed it has eighteen trade deal
proposals on paper as talking with thirty four countries this week.
As a China deal in the works is New Zealand
in that mix.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
Were having to approach the master for a trade deal
at the moment. And ultimately that's because at the moment
it is looking like the lowest they'll go is ten percent,
and that's what we already have, and so we said
at the bottom rate. We take Australia example, they have
a free trading group with Australia, yet them post ten
percent with them, So we're talking directly.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
What it means.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
There are some countries of the world were trades who
were facing forty fifty percent Sarah phrase European Union additional
twenty percent tariff on top of the ten percent, and
so ultimately that sort of engaging because the harm to
them would be significantly greater. But we're not rolling anything
out there. When I meet with my counterpart the next Toula.
Speaker 6 (06:20):
More.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Oh no, just well step back to you right now, Todd,
and we might get.
Speaker 6 (06:25):
Your cut out. It's rural connectivity. I know about it.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
You do you do? Hey? Question for you? You mentioned
the US trade representative Korea. How did you get on
with him? You wrote to him just to correct that
claim made during Trump's Liberation Day when he said US
exports face New Zealand tariffs of twenty percent, when in
reality it's closer to just under two. Did he give
(06:51):
you any response?
Speaker 6 (06:53):
Haven't the response?
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Well?
Speaker 5 (06:55):
If only just his way there. I had a very
long zoom call with him before President Trump's speech and announcement.
We were scheduled for about twenty minutes and a round
for forty and five minutes. Was constructive and it was
very positive. I knew him when I was trade most
the last time he worked for the USCR back then
Bob Lighthouse, and we're able to talk about that and
talk about other things. Ultimately, Look my senses, they haven't
(07:19):
singled out in New Zealand, and I have to they
do recognize we're the good guys. But they're going through
resetting trade and if they end up with a ten
percent towerff on, everybody in the world will do what
if we can to get that lower. But you know,
I've shared the ground changes daily at the moment, so
engaging and where where we're watching and monitoring. Any opportunity
to get more New Zealand product than they get the
tariff rats down, will that will be there quickly?
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Yeah? What are your plans? Fat and Zac Day, Todd,
are you heating to some services in your elector?
Speaker 5 (07:48):
I am, and I've always always do them. Here my
electorate dawn parade and wrote Aurora very early morning.
Speaker 6 (07:54):
We get a lot of people. Sometimes up to five
or six thousand people come along. It's really good to see.
I mean if families, kids get.
Speaker 5 (08:01):
Up early and come and just recognize. And then I
go over to Teapook at the other side of my electorate,
drive past. It's qv Street orchard and we do the
civic ceremony in the town hall there where every year
I get to choose a fitting reading. This year, I'm
going to find one and I'm through a few of
them farmers who went to war on four and on
behalf of New Zealand, and so you know, it's a
(08:23):
really good day one to come together remember those that served.
And then secondly, I hope the sun shining. It would
be great if I had to mow the launch, because
that would mean some of the farmers who got grass.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
Absolutely, it's always a good litmus test. Finally, forty nine
days out from field Days, Todd, you'll be heading along
or are you overseas on a trip at that time?
Speaker 5 (08:42):
No, I'm certainly going to be heading along. It's the
biggest week in the year in the annual Rural calendar
and we're working up a number of announcements that are
just going to continue delivering on what we campaigned on,
getting the rules in the right place, give you a
cost down for farmers and backing them and one find
ways to support them more. To know, we need a
lot more growth in the economy. Crystal Action's been really
(09:04):
really clear about that. The recovery has coming from rural
New Zealand, from dairy meat, from horticulture. We're going to
find a way to speed that up and support farmers
more because that's good for New Zealand and it means
that they can earn more as well. And so we'll
have some of the great announcements with my colleagues, my
associate ministers there and forty nine days.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
I can't wait.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Yeah, I bet Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McLay,
thanks so much for your timing. You go work on
that rural connectivity.
Speaker 6 (09:31):
Hey, I'm going to go stand on a ladder.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Yeah, thanks so much for your time though. Yeah, there
we go. It is sixteen after twelve. You are with
the country. Always one of the choice of live radio
is connectivity, and as we know, there are some real
pockets of it that prove challenging around the country. So
mentioning Field Days there as we did forty nine sleeps
yesterday it was fifty. We have got a double pass
(09:56):
to give away. Tickets aren't on sale yet, they will
be soon. Make sure you get in quick to get yours.
Field Days, of course, is the biggest agricultural event in
the Southern Hemispherit's on at Mystery Creek in the Winecuttle
June eleventh to fourteen the country and again said meet
once again the official media partner of Field Days. We're
very proud of that. So all this week we've got
double passes up for grabs. Congratulations to yesterday's winner, Mary
(10:20):
Anne Bennett from Balls. The double pass heading your way.
If you'd like to be in the drawer today, all
you have to do text Field Days, just Field Days,
nothing in front of it. Field Days to five double
O nine and you are at the drawer right up. Next,
we're heading to a beautiful part of the country. Blue
Dark Station up there up the Wanganoe River with a
Wanganoei in the rhetoric. River's meet. Dan Steel is our
(10:44):
guy on the ground. He's up next. Right, We're off
to a very special part of the country now, Blue
dunk Station in the center of the North Island. Joining
me is owner Dan Steel. Good afternoon, good Row.
Speaker 7 (11:07):
Here are you getting on very well?
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Thank you? How the things at Blue Ducks Station? Obviously,
just recap what your property is all about and where.
Speaker 7 (11:16):
You are, Yeah, itch is Look, Look, we're just simply
trying to live a meaningful life out in the bush
here with the family, grow a sustainable winter generational business
that connects us all with the land over time, and
have some fun along the way. So yeah, we're tourism
and farming and honey and conservation and growing a few
trees and a hunting business and everything you can do
on the land and the great outdoors. We're having a
(11:39):
crack at it. Yeah, and yeah, trying to make it
meaningful and have some fun.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
See, most people I would just say, you know, he's
a sheep and beef farmer from tomat Deniue or something
like that, or she's a dairy farmer from North And
that's why I got you to explain what you do,
because there's so many facets to it, Dan, And at
the beginning of April, I noticed you added a riverboat
to your operation. A bit of an April Fools joke there,
(12:06):
but knowing you as I do, I kind of think
maybe that we'll have still got the colds of your
brain ticking.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (12:12):
Funnily enough, I did put it up to take the
falls and it went a bit viral with people getting
in touch from around the world, and it was just
meant to be April Falls that got taken. Seriously, I'm
not going to float the big Lakeland Queen from Road
down the river on the next flood. But we are
actually just we have got a quite looking at designing
a boat for us. He thinks it will be a
great concept to have the old floating hotel going again.
(12:33):
But it is a far off concept and we'll we'll
see where, you know, where that ends up in the future.
We've got a lot more irons in the fire to
think about before now and then.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
Yeah. Absolutely, And of course the boat we're referring to
as the old river boat that was used back in
Alexander hat Trick's day on the Wonganawe River as the
floating hotel what was it at Paperrikee.
Speaker 7 (12:57):
It was actually here at Fokaharto at Blue Ducks. It
was moored on the retro Rookie River when it finished
its life for its last seven or years or so
on the retro Rookie River where it was used as
a stopover for the riverboats. And it was a five
star floating hotel with a flash restaurant on it and things.
And it burnt down in the nineteen thirties here, but
yet there's a lot of photos of it around gracing
(13:19):
the covers of old history books and things, and it's
pretty spectacular, that's right.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
It was the stop off on the way to Pipadecki.
And of course when the boat burnt down there was
something interesting in the artwork that was somehow not lost
with the boat.
Speaker 7 (13:35):
Well, so the stories go. You know, some of the
artworks and fine antiques found their way to other parts
of New Zealand before the boat burnt down, but who
would know.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Absolutely, Hey, what's the focus for Blue Dunk over the
next week? While are you having a lot of interest
with your hunting at the moment with the stags roaring?
Speaker 7 (13:54):
Yeah? Look yeah, look, look the drought's broken wool prices double.
That's gone from to not much. Lamb and lamb and
beefs looking pretty well. You know, we're just scanned the
heifers you help put the balls out. Actually row we've
got down nine out of seventy nine out of eighty
two and cars first first carvers, which is pretty good.
The stags are still roaring. We've just had a pretty
(14:14):
good roar. I've been a bit stop start in the
warm autumn, but we've got some good stags out. It's
because you got some plenty of happy hunters coming through
a few misty mornings now in the autumn.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Yet.
Speaker 7 (14:27):
Yeah, so duck shootings coming up. We're not big on
duck shooting. We're more big on looking after the blue
ducks and sort of observing what they're doing and doing
a whole lot of conservation work. But we do get
out now and again and go and visit some friends
who do some duck shooting on their properties and enjoy
the social side of that a little bit.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Absolutely. And of course, for the uninitiated when we talk
about duck shooting, there are some ducks so we can
only hunt in minimal numbers, and also some that we
can't hunt at all, and your beloved blue duck is
definitely one of them. Do you get a bit nerve
coming into the season that some might accidentally find themselves
in the line of fire.
Speaker 7 (15:05):
Look the blue duck as a torrent duck, and it's
on those fast flying sort of more freshwater streams and
really in a different habitat. They don't inhabit still water dams,
and so they're pretty well, pretty well so safe from
duck shooting. And as long as people are shooting on
rivers and streams where they've got good habitats, and as
(15:27):
long as they really know what they're doing, blue ducks
are generally pretty safe. We've had the odd hunter shoot
them in New Zealand with five power rifles and things
as target practice, but that's a real mistake and identity
and a silly thing to do. But generally in duck shooting,
the blue ducks and a different habitat.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Yeah, brilliant. Hey, obviously you've got the amazing chef's table,
that ten course digastation meal that you host up in
the hills of Blue Duck Station. You have a wee
bit of a shutdown, is it maybe July August? But
how's bookings for that because it's quite a unique proposition
and as someone who's sampled it, it's stemmed delicious.
Speaker 7 (16:06):
Yeah. Yeah, the restaurant's been. It's having a good, strong
finished for the season. We're real busy this weekend coming up.
It's coming up towards the end of the season. We'll
shut down in June for a couple of months here.
Bookings next year are about to open and we're anticipating
they'll be pretty strong. We're see we're building up there
again at the moment and building Tom Cruis's new cabin
(16:28):
up there at the top the top of the world.
So we should be finished that hopefully in May, and
that's going to add a bit more to our offering
for next season, which is pretty cool. Yeah, that pretty
big push for the next month. They've got the boys
at reposting the boardwalks and stairs and doing all the
finishing touches and we should be good to go on
that cabin. Yeah, very shortly, so looking forward to next season.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Yeah absolutely. Then just before we go, you have a
massive conservation, if it not just for the Blue Ducks
on Blue Ducks Station, you've got a lot of traps
round the spirits, the rats stoats, weasels and the lake.
How's the trapping line going?
Speaker 7 (17:06):
Yeah, the trappings, it's going really well. We've got more
conservation work happening now than we've ever had before. We've
got a really good crew of volunteers who's been with
us for a few years and they really are committed
to making New Zealand a better place and we're sort
of one of their main vehicles for doing it where
they come in here regular basis store. Our trap lines
(17:26):
run hundreds of traps, put a new trapping technologies with
the likes of at two twenties from n ZT Auto Traps.
You know, we're putting more of those out, having a
good run with them, a twenty fours out and some
inaccessible areas. And yeah, we're getting better blue duck counts
than we've had over the years, and we've got more
(17:47):
Kiwi sightings happening than we've ever had. So it's pretty
exciting the conservation space heading towards some new technologies coming out,
and yeah, we're really excited and pleased to be in that,
you know, for predator free New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
Just finally, your wife is quite a conservationist as well.
The wild Comunoa muster's coming up. How many do you
reckon she's going to try and sneak onto your property.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
You wouldn't know, so I she'll probably tell me she's
going shopping and she'll turn up back with three more horses.
It has happened before. She's I know, she's looking at
the climunals again, but she's she's breaking into or three
kimuners at the moment, and she's got one or two
for sale. But and she just got three wild horses
out of the Far North, the Spirits to bay horses.
So Sandy turned up with them when she popping trips
(18:36):
you do, he's breaking those and at the moment for
the trekking team and or completed the trick for life.
So we're riding the length of New Zealand over a
few over you over a few years and raising a
bit of money. So we've just done that and we're
looking forward to doing that again next year on a
couple of horses of Sandy's breaking in at the moment.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Yeah, yeah, honestly, it will never end on that front.
Dan Steele out of Blue Duck Station, pass on my
regards to Sandy and thanks so much for your time today.
Speaker 7 (19:04):
Hey good ron, lovely talking to you all of your day.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Thanks mate. It is twenty nine after twelve. Yeah, I
my money's on Sandy on that one. She's going to
sneak a few in there, I reckon. Great text and
from my mum, Thanks Mum to say my nana actually
stayed on that river boat as a teenager, the one
up the Ritoroki River. How good and seventy nine out
of eighty Heiperson Calf absolutely take that. It was great
(19:27):
fun actually being on Blue Decks station over the Christmas
holidays and putting those bulls out, just doing some stock
work around the place and getting to see a whole
new perspective. If you get a chance, go and have
a look at it. It is amazing. Michelle joining me
for the latest and rural news and sports news next
before the end of the hour, Stephen I was going
to stay. Stephen Jacoby no, Stephan Vogel out of Rabobank
(19:50):
and Rebecca Cogan the Weekend for the Come.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
The country's world news with cub Cadet New Zealand's leading
right on lawnlower brand. Visit steel Ford dot Co dot
NZM for your local stockist.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
Good afternoon, Michelle Watt, Executive producer.
Speaker 8 (20:12):
Wow, that was a real welcome.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
That was a Welson real welcome. And I played some
chapel rowing for you as well. Pink Pony Club, what's happening?
Speaker 8 (20:20):
And real News okay, so rar on News just updating.
Those are drought affected farmers. So of course you were
talking to Todd about that earlier. We had a flyer
come in this morning from the Rapid Relief Team. Now
they're having a support draut effective farmers and Taranaki with
donations of stock feed. Now this is happening between seven
am and one pm on Friday, the second of May
(20:41):
at the Egmont Showgrounds in Harwaa. Now you need to
register for the so you can go to their website
to register. I'll put up a link on our Facebook
page later so you can go and register for that.
But great cause they've also got like a barbecue lunch
and stock feed coffee, all sorts of stuff. So great
to get together with mates and chat when things are hard.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Absolutely, and as Todd's it's not just about hey, the
droughts over things are grain, it's what you do for
feed going into winter.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
His sports sport with Avco Kiwi to the Bone since
nineteen oh four and.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
In Sport and New Zealander has become the fifth sharer
to set world records in three countries by establishing a
U two stand mark on Marino lambs over nine hours
in South Africa overnight, Aidan cropp adjoined South African sharer
and contractor ten Duplasic and setting the tully of nine
hundred and seventy crop. Of course, grew up in West
(21:31):
Meltain near christ Church, but is based in New South Wales.
He's also set records in New Zealand and Australia and
he shaw to five hundred and twenty three and du
plus each for four hundred and forty seven, So congratulations
to that peer. Up next Stefan Vogel from Rabobank. We're
after Sydney. Now on the country there we find Stefan
(21:54):
Vogel GM for Rabo Research Australia and New Zealand. Good afternoon, Stefano.
But you're a warmer in Sydney there than I am
in Donedan.
Speaker 8 (22:03):
Oh.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
It's a beautiful sunny day.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
ROWNA wish I could send you a little bit warmer
weather to your frosty nights.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
Yes, honestly, last night I think it was the coldest
night I've had of the year. Just a little bit
of what to look forward to later in the year.
But now you enjoy the sunshine for me over there, Hey,
an interesting time for you to be involved with RABI research.
As I say, is the GM. Obviously you've got one
eye on what's happening in Australia and New Zealand and
(22:29):
one eye what's happening in the US and China with
Trump in the trade war. What's the latest from your perspective.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Well, first of all, it's a little bit like reading
the weather. You think it's going to rain tomorrow and
then suddenly the sunshine and we had it all wrong.
And it's a bit like this was mister Trump as well.
We see him threatening big tariffs coming in and then
last minute, oops, nothing happens. He changes his mind, he
puts a path on and that's actually good news for us.
So I think I've said it in the past already.
(23:00):
We expect that he uses the tariffs largely also to
get much bigger things done in terms of geopolitics, so
as threat of tariffs is actually much more powerful than
implementing those tariffs and somebody having to bear the burden off. Oh, suddenly,
if Canada would face the tariff, maybe there's no vegetables
(23:21):
and meat coming across the border, and my consumers feel it.
So with that, the American President, in our view for now,
is actually in that deal making what he calls so
he always wants to put the pressure up and then
the other side comes in, and this time he said, well,
we actually had seventy to eighty countries calling us asking us, Hey,
mister Trump, what can we do for the United States,
how can we talk and what kind of a deal
(23:42):
can we make? That's his at least explanation why he
put a pause on those terrifts that he had threatened.
But if you look at the list of tariffs, I mean,
there's pretty much every country in the world and some
penguin islands for those who read the fine print, that
are facing terryf for that products. But then he said, well,
(24:03):
the scale of it is only half of what they
calculated in the United States products facing that the US
is shipping over into those countries. So for us in
Australia New Zealand, the good news, first of all, is
well far away were not the key focus of the
kind of changes that Trump is pursuing right now. The
key focus has been first of all, on Canada and
(24:24):
Mexico to get them somehow aligned with what he wants,
because clearly, if you're implementing tariffs, the last thing you
want is that Canada imports the product and then it
moves across the Green border into the United States and
bypasses all those those tariffs, so that he had to
shake them up a little bit, and that's what he's
done in the first step and the second step. Clearly
he's working against the Chinese, and there's a heavy trade
(24:48):
war obviously brewing. I mean, the tariffs are somewhere in
the ballpark of one hundred and forty percent, which probably
bids most of the trade. But then also once again
he had to figure out, well, if consumers in the
unis United States walk in and buy a cell phone,
it's going to cost them suddenly the equivalent of three
thousand TV dollars rather than the equivalent.
Speaker 6 (25:08):
Of one thousand TV dollars.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
So with that he suddenly also excluded a few products.
So for us right now, we're shipping from New Zealand
especially meat over there, which is beef, which is sheep meat.
The good news is there is no tariffs on them.
But even if you would in less than ninety days
when those this pause that he has implemented, if you
really would impose tariffs as planned, he would likely impose
(25:33):
them on many countries. So the Australians where arm sitting,
would face it, and we're a heavy competitor in that
meat space for both beef and sheep. The Brazilians would
face it the heavy competitor. So with that we're sitting
kind of in the same boat as everybody else. And
with that, if you think about it, the ten percent
that are threatened, while it isn't pretty, while it isn't beautiful,
(25:53):
it isn't the end of the trade, and it isn't
the end of the world. So with that, we still
expect that the trade would more or less continue as is,
and the ten percent will be somehow commingled into the margin.
So maybe the US consumer will feel slighter piece of it,
maybe the importers margin will dhrink a little bit, and
maybe the consumer price, oh sorry, the producer price here
(26:14):
would feel it a little bit. But overall, I think
ten percent would hopefully be still manageable for most of
the products that we're shipping over into that US market.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Yeah. Absolutely, and I must say the likes of Herd Island,
McDonald Islands, the other ones with the penguins, also Norfolk Island,
which somehow attracted twenty nine I think it was percent
tariffs instead of just the standard team of Australia and
New Zealand. You've got to wonder what they've done to
Trump to attract such aia those naughty penguins. So yeah,
(26:44):
that for me pretty much summed up the whole tariff experience.
Thought gone onto some and just others no thought at all.
Stefan Vogel GM for Rabi Research Australia and New Zealand.
Just right on the line there, I'm going to take
a quick break, but when we come back, I just
want to ask you about the lightest and what's happening
in the red scene. Welcome back into the country. Well,
(27:07):
if you've just joined us, Stefan Vogel GM for Rabi
Research Australia and New Zealand out of their Sydney office
is with me. We've discussed Trump and the tariffs in
China and the US and those naughty penguins. Stefan, I
just want to look at what's happening a bit further
afield the Red Sea issue there with the Hooties and
Trump and the container ships. What's the lightest if.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
You're looking at container forred you remember the big issue
actually over the last couple of months, not only but
actually a year and a half or so, has been
that the attacks in the Red Sea from the Hooti
pirates on those container vessels had actually disrupted the trade
quite heavily. And remember it's a shortcut from Asia going
through the Red Sea in the Suez Canal to Europe
(27:53):
to the east coast of the US, so a third
of the world's container was going.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
Through that area.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
With the attacks, actually most of the ships had diverted,
and that has escalated the container freight rate quite a
bit higher. They've come down quite a bit in the
last couple of months, especially since mister Trump has ramped
up the pressure in the region and said, look, we're
going to attack those and we declare the who DES
a terrorist organization. So for now the freight rates for
(28:23):
containers globally are still higher than they traditionally were, but
we were about three or four times as high last
year around July when the situation in that redsy area escalated.
Since then, they have come down quite a bit and
we're probably somewhere around one and a half times higher
than usual, so it is substantially lower those freight rates
(28:46):
for containers. But the situation obviously is still ongoing, so
there are a lot more military actions happening in the regions.
There seems to be an attempt als about the US
to assemble more troops to really not only US troops
but also troops from the region in other countries, to
get the situation more under control. But it's just one
(29:09):
side part of a bigger issue.
Speaker 6 (29:11):
In the region.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I mean, the reason why the Houtis are active is
actually they say, well, we are supporting the Hamas. And
remember there is the more ongoing between the Hamas and
the Israelis. The Iranis are supporting the weapons that the
UTIs are using to attack the vessels, and clearly there's
a lot of discussion these days around should Israel attack
(29:35):
Iran's nuclear facilities. The US seem to have stopped that,
so there's a wider, wider, bigger kind of military action
grewing in the region, and it is one of the
regions I'm looking at actually very very concerned. If you
think about the war in Ukraine and Russia, as bad
as it is, my fear about a potential conflict in
(29:59):
Iran is much bigger. And that is a situation that
I think, as long as mister Trump will be in place,
we have to monitor that very very carefully, because clearly
the Iranis so far have not back down, have not
given any positive signs to the US, but seem to
continue to try and build nuclear weapons, which is something
that the US but also the Israelis and others want
(30:21):
to avoid. So with that, for now, while the situation
for container frate is rather calm, we can look at
this region and maybe also expect that if the escalation
is happening, maybe some of the ships will not go
through the areas anymore, and that would once again escalate
container freight rates a little bit. And if they go
up again, it makes things more expensive for everything that
(30:44):
we're bringing here into the country, because pretty much everything
we bring into New Zealand comes into in a container box.
Over But for now, I said, let's enjoy those lower rates.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
Absolutely A very geographical location. We love our containers, we
name them and yeah if they can stay down, that
would be amazing. Stefan Vogel GM for Rabo Research Australia
and New Zealand. Thank you so much for your time.
I believe I will see you in face to face
in a couple of months for the Primary Industry Summit
here in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Absolutely looking forward to coming over and we'll speak to
you then.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Thanks so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
It is eleven away from one. You are with the country,
proudly brought to you by Brand Up. Next we're off
to the West Coast Rebecca Cogan, who's a pretty accomplished
person in the world of dairy as an update for us. Next, well,
we're off to the West Coast. Now there we find
(31:42):
Rebecca Cogan who is chair of the Future Focused Animal
Evaluation Governance Group. That is a mouthful. We will pick
that at a second. But as if a generation dairy farmer, Rebeccah,
maybe I just asked the question and then duck for cover.
How's your season going?
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Oh no, not the best question to ask at the moment.
So no, the weather spring I can remember in forever
and then surprisingly the dry summer and I know people
will go to the West coast dry. Not well, actually
it was. It was brown and it's taken a long
time for the season to come back to semi normal
and it still isn't. There's a lot lear behind in
milk and probably will stay that way for the rest
(32:20):
of the season.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
Oh my goodness. At least you're going to get good
money for what milk you do. Manage to produce small
SIVI line.
Speaker 6 (32:26):
This is true, This is true.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
Yeah, hey, now just to set the scene here. A
while ago, we looked at genetic improvement within the New
Zealand dairy system. Obviously well known is a key driver
for our success. An industry working group was put together
and they produced a report that basically said, our current
system is not fit for purpose. Our genetic progress here
(32:49):
in New Zealand has actually lagged relative to other advanced
dairy industries. They put together a governance group. You're the
chair of that. How is the work going, Rebecca, What
are you focusing on?
Speaker 5 (33:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Absolutely so. It is the future focused Animal Evaluation Group.
We did have another name you might have heard it of,
the AEGG, which is not sexiest name, and just makes
sense for a lot of people, so we're trying to
make it sensible for all of our farmers and for
the industry. So look, the work's going great. We've got
a very focused technical team that are working on a
couple of technical work streams and particularly in the genetics area,
(33:26):
trying to look at how we can establish one BW,
one source of truth for all farmers and a national
breeding objective that's fits a purpose and fit for the future,
which we have had some challenges and in the past.
So at the moment, we've just we've set up a
governance group. We've got all three parties sitting around the
table together and working hard to make sure that this
(33:47):
can be fit for purpose, for the industry, and very
shortly heading out to get some feedback from stakeholders.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
So those three parties darien z La c C. Are
they playing nice with each other?
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Rebecca and being in the room together is fantastic And
I think that was one of the things I was
interested in when I put my name board, is are
we going to have all three players in the room
together and working hard, And they absolutely are.
Speaker 6 (34:10):
They're incredibly committed.
Speaker 4 (34:12):
Yeah, Now, as I've worked for one of those companies
in the past, and it did annoy me how there
could be different interpretations of things like, as you say, BW,
how amazing is it going to be to have everything
on one page and have it a standardized system.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (34:30):
Absolutely, You know yourself. To sit down at the kitchen
table and you've got four pieces of paper with four
different numbers on it, through challenging to look across those
and try and get some sort of comparable data to
be able to make the right decisions for your herd.
So we're really excited that this gift us an opportunity
to be able to help our farmers out so that
they can make the right decisions for the best genetic
gain for their own herds.
Speaker 4 (34:51):
What are some of the time frames you're working with, Rebecca.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
So we've set ourselves up with a two year time frame,
which means by this in betweenty twenty six hope to
have and we will have all of this in place
and working, but also tested throughout the industry. But the
focus for this here in particular is to make sure
that the national breeding objective is forward looking, make sure
that we are breeding animals now that will meet the
(35:14):
needs of farmers and industry in the future and engaging
with people across the industry who can help us determine
what is needed for the NBO. We're also looking forward
again so that one BW it's got to be reliable,
so that takes a bit of time for us to
be able to test make sure it is reliable. It
also involves looking globally to make sure that we've got
a fit for purpose solution for New Zealand, which is
(35:36):
what we're working in this first sort of twelve months
before we test. In the last twelve months, we're also
looking to at innovations to improve our senatypic data. So
whatever model we select with respect to one BW where
for the future, we want to make sure that the
data going into that is clear and it's accurate, and
there are some gaps in that space at the moment,
(35:58):
so we're working really hard there too, and I think
for the first year too. The most important thing is
we're trying to engage with as many stakeholders as possible
and farmers to get their views because it only works
if it's usable for us at the other.
Speaker 4 (36:11):
End, Yeah, absolutely, And looking you mentioned looking globally, what
countries are you kind of keeping an eye on and
looking at their systems to maybe take a few ideas
and blend them into our own.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Well, we're not limited at the moment, but obviously during
the Industry working Group did a lot of work looking
globally as well, both in Australia and Island, England everywhere
around it and the Dutch models as well. It's what
works best for us. We're a unique little place packed away,
but we've got to take and make use of the
technology that's been used outside of us and make it
(36:44):
better for New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (36:45):
In twenty sixteen, Rebecca, you were announced as New Zealand's
Dairy Woman of the Year. We will have a new
one crowned next Thursday night. How exciting is it for
you seeing the new ones come through the finalists and
knowing what they're going through in that world leading into
the Garla dinner.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
I remember that anticipation and that being so scared and
so we're so hyped up and so worried about what
might happen that night. So love look, I wish them
all the best, So I wish I could be there.
It just clashes with the board meeting unfortunately, but I
certainly will be able to watch and see who it is.
Good luck to them all and it brings so much
opportunity once you are crowned, so to speak, the dairy
(37:23):
woman of the year, So take every opportunity that it
gives you.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
Absolutely. Rebecca Cogan's chair of the Future Focused Animal Evaluation
Governance Group, really appreciate the update. Apologies for your season
and entering that conversation at the beginning of our chat.
But I hope the end of the season is kind
to you and sets you up well for next year.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
We do too, and thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (37:45):
Oh my absolute pleasure. Look, don't forget Field Days is
coming up June eleven to fourteen. If you want to
win a double pass, just text Field Days to five
double O nine or we will announce another winner tomorrow
Field Days to five double O nine and I will
catch you tomorrow and enjoy your afternoon.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
Catch all the latest from the land, It's the Country
podcast with Jamie McKay thanks to Brent Starkest of the
leading agriculture brands
Catch all the latest from the land. It's The Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay. Thanks to Brent You're specialist in
John Deere machinery.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
See don at the sound your wheels scribe crazy.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
While you still can don't even try to understand des
find a place to make your stand.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Take any well, A very good afternoon everyone, and welcome
and to the Country, rowing a duncan and for Jamie
McKay and of course the Country is proudly brought to
you by Brant Big line up for you today. Todd McClay,
Trade and Agriculture Minister, waiting patiently on hold, she says
as she smashes her foot into something very loud under
(00:53):
the desk. There We're going to head to Blue Duck Station,
catch up with Dan Steele, find out what's happening around
an Ablup Peace of Paradise in the center of the
North Island. Stefan Vogel, who's the GM for RABO Research
Australia and New Zealand, who's going to update the trade
and tariff situation from his perspective. Also what's happening with
the Hooties and the Red Sea. And Rebecca Cogan, she
(01:16):
is the twenty sixteen Dairy Woman of the Year, fifth
generation we Sport dairy farmer and chair of the Future
Focused Animal Evaluation Governance Group. She will join me before
one plus of course the latest and rural news, sports
newsing your chance to win a double pass two field
days this year. Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd maclay joins me.
(01:37):
Good afternoon, Good afternoon. Look, appreciate you giving me up
some of your time. Are you on leave at the moment.
Speaker 5 (01:45):
Well, it's a little tiny but they still working. I'm
in the electorates and so I've been on the phone
and doing ministerial papers on morning on the south dinner.
But to go out to Ripparoa, which is a great
dairy farming area, and this catch up and chat to
a few few farmers half patients.
Speaker 6 (02:01):
That makes sense. But you and I we're working hard
with that.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Jamie, I know, I know right who is off visiting
the grandchildren. So you can consider us the backbones of
the country. Todd and Jamie McKay, the part time one. Hey,
look as you move around the electorate and as you say,
going to rip Aoa this afternoon, some parts of the
country still needing a wee bit of rain. Others have
(02:25):
been really desperate and finally got some at the weekend.
But as you say, the best way to kind of
break a drought is to schedule a drought shout or
on the government's case, announce some assistance.
Speaker 7 (02:37):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Well, we know that through the summer it was very
dry in many parts of the country. I took a
decision to declare drought early to give a certainty to
farmers and in partment in some of the areas that
were still very green, but there wasn't the grass needing.
A lot of farmers had cut into their winter feet
supply that they were storing up. So although we've had
(02:59):
an enormous amount of rain over the weekend for many
parts of the country, the grass won't grow.
Speaker 7 (03:06):
You know.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
For some of the farmers, they're going to have to
be buying in feedstocks and they may not have the
money for it. So what we've announced over the weekend
is just the last stage of that support for drought,
which is real support payments available to anybody in a
eural area on a farm who is finding it challenging,
and they should just jump on the Ministry of Social
Welfare website there's a lot of information here.
Speaker 6 (03:28):
We'll talk to you.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
We're all support trust, they know everything, and very clear
message of the governments here to support you and help you.
It's been a very long to summer may have rained,
but you don't have the grass you need rich having
some help if you need it, that's why we're here.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Well, the government consider maybe legal action against the US
in terms of these tariffs. There's been a core put
out there by Stephen Jacobe, who's one of our lead
former trade negotiators who really understands these things, to say
maybe it's just something the government might need to consider
women time comes.
Speaker 5 (03:59):
It's not something we're considering at this time. And ultimately
that's because we're waiting to see the lay of the land.
And you will have seen even today, you know, sort
of out of the US. The new trade and tariff
arrangements continue to change. New Zealand is captured by a
ten percent tariff across the boards a couple of exceptions,
(04:19):
but to say across the board, as with every other
country in the world, we didn't have a higher tarif
rate than that, but many, some forty countries did.
Speaker 6 (04:27):
Have up to fifty percent.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Additional that's been wound back for a ninety day period,
and we're engaging with the US administration. I'll be meeting
my counterpart, the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Grere next
month in Corea or have an opportunity to talk directly
about what this means.
Speaker 6 (04:46):
But as a government, we've decided to be calm.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
To get as much information as we can, listen to
and talk to exporters, to find ways to help them
get their products into that market, and of course open
up doors in them to be exporting elsewhere. So Stephen
Jacoby is a great guy. He knows a lot about this.
But as he said in that article, even if we
took a case, it would take a long time. It's
not clear what the outcome would be if it was
(05:09):
in our favor, whether America would honor the outcome, and
the wos stands of the moment, which can so we're.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
Country.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
You might just need what elsewhere?
Speaker 4 (05:23):
You might just need a step two paces to your
left there tied. It just been a little bit fels elier.
The White House is confirmed it has eighteen trade deal
proposals on paper as talking with thirty four countries this week.
As a China deal in the works is New Zealand
in that mix.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
Were having to approach the master for a trade deal
at the moment. And ultimately that's because at the moment
it is looking like the lowest they'll go is ten percent,
and that's what we already have, and so we said
at the bottom rate. We take Australia example, they have
a free trading group with Australia, yet them post ten
percent with them, So we're talking directly.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
What it means.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
There are some countries of the world were trades who
were facing forty fifty percent Sarah phrase European Union additional
twenty percent tariff on top of the ten percent, and
so ultimately that sort of engaging because the harm to
them would be significantly greater. But we're not rolling anything
out there. When I meet with my counterpart the next Toula.
Speaker 6 (06:20):
More.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Oh no, just well step back to you right now, Todd,
and we might get.
Speaker 6 (06:25):
Your cut out. It's rural connectivity. I know about it.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
You do you do? Hey? Question for you? You mentioned
the US trade representative Korea. How did you get on
with him? You wrote to him just to correct that
claim made during Trump's Liberation Day when he said US
exports face New Zealand tariffs of twenty percent, when in
reality it's closer to just under two. Did he give
(06:51):
you any response?
Speaker 6 (06:53):
Haven't the response?
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Well?
Speaker 5 (06:55):
If only just his way there. I had a very
long zoom call with him before President Trump's speech and announcement.
We were scheduled for about twenty minutes and a round
for forty and five minutes. Was constructive and it was
very positive. I knew him when I was trade most
the last time he worked for the USCR back then
Bob Lighthouse, and we're able to talk about that and
talk about other things. Ultimately, Look my senses, they haven't
(07:19):
singled out in New Zealand, and I have to they
do recognize we're the good guys. But they're going through
resetting trade and if they end up with a ten
percent towerff on, everybody in the world will do what
if we can to get that lower. But you know,
I've shared the ground changes daily at the moment, so
engaging and where where we're watching and monitoring. Any opportunity
to get more New Zealand product than they get the
tariff rats down, will that will be there quickly?
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Yeah? What are your plans? Fat and Zac Day, Todd,
are you heating to some services in your elector?
Speaker 5 (07:48):
I am, and I've always always do them. Here my
electorate dawn parade and wrote Aurora very early morning.
Speaker 6 (07:54):
We get a lot of people. Sometimes up to five
or six thousand people come along. It's really good to see.
I mean if families, kids get.
Speaker 5 (08:01):
Up early and come and just recognize. And then I
go over to Teapook at the other side of my electorate,
drive past. It's qv Street orchard and we do the
civic ceremony in the town hall there where every year
I get to choose a fitting reading. This year, I'm
going to find one and I'm through a few of
them farmers who went to war on four and on
behalf of New Zealand, and so you know, it's a
(08:23):
really good day one to come together remember those that served.
And then secondly, I hope the sun shining. It would
be great if I had to mow the launch, because
that would mean some of the farmers who got grass.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
Absolutely, it's always a good litmus test. Finally, forty nine
days out from field Days, Todd, you'll be heading along
or are you overseas on a trip at that time?
Speaker 5 (08:42):
No, I'm certainly going to be heading along. It's the
biggest week in the year in the annual Rural calendar
and we're working up a number of announcements that are
just going to continue delivering on what we campaigned on,
getting the rules in the right place, give you a
cost down for farmers and backing them and one find
ways to support them more. To know, we need a
lot more growth in the economy. Crystal Action's been really
(09:04):
really clear about that. The recovery has coming from rural
New Zealand, from dairy meat, from horticulture. We're going to
find a way to speed that up and support farmers
more because that's good for New Zealand and it means
that they can earn more as well. And so we'll
have some of the great announcements with my colleagues, my
associate ministers there and forty nine days.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
I can't wait.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Yeah, I bet Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McLay,
thanks so much for your timing. You go work on
that rural connectivity.
Speaker 6 (09:31):
Hey, I'm going to go stand on a ladder.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Yeah, thanks so much for your time though. Yeah, there
we go. It is sixteen after twelve. You are with
the country. Always one of the choice of live radio
is connectivity, and as we know, there are some real
pockets of it that prove challenging around the country. So
mentioning Field Days there as we did forty nine sleeps
yesterday it was fifty. We have got a double pass
(09:56):
to give away. Tickets aren't on sale yet, they will
be soon. Make sure you get in quick to get yours.
Field Days, of course, is the biggest agricultural event in
the Southern Hemispherit's on at Mystery Creek in the Winecuttle
June eleventh to fourteen the country and again said meet
once again the official media partner of Field Days. We're
very proud of that. So all this week we've got
double passes up for grabs. Congratulations to yesterday's winner, Mary
(10:20):
Anne Bennett from Balls. The double pass heading your way.
If you'd like to be in the drawer today, all
you have to do text Field Days, just Field Days,
nothing in front of it. Field Days to five double
O nine and you are at the drawer right up. Next,
we're heading to a beautiful part of the country. Blue
Dark Station up there up the Wanganoe River with a
Wanganoei in the rhetoric. River's meet. Dan Steel is our
(10:44):
guy on the ground. He's up next. Right, We're off
to a very special part of the country now, Blue
dunk Station in the center of the North Island. Joining
me is owner Dan Steel. Good afternoon, good Row.
Speaker 7 (11:07):
Here are you getting on very well?
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Thank you? How the things at Blue Ducks Station? Obviously,
just recap what your property is all about and where.
Speaker 7 (11:16):
You are, Yeah, itch is Look, Look, we're just simply
trying to live a meaningful life out in the bush
here with the family, grow a sustainable winter generational business
that connects us all with the land over time, and
have some fun along the way. So yeah, we're tourism
and farming and honey and conservation and growing a few
trees and a hunting business and everything you can do
on the land and the great outdoors. We're having a
(11:39):
crack at it. Yeah, and yeah, trying to make it
meaningful and have some fun.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
See, most people I would just say, you know, he's
a sheep and beef farmer from tomat Deniue or something
like that, or she's a dairy farmer from North And
that's why I got you to explain what you do,
because there's so many facets to it, Dan, And at
the beginning of April, I noticed you added a riverboat
to your operation. A bit of an April Fools joke there,
(12:06):
but knowing you as I do, I kind of think
maybe that we'll have still got the colds of your
brain ticking.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (12:12):
Funnily enough, I did put it up to take the
falls and it went a bit viral with people getting
in touch from around the world, and it was just
meant to be April Falls that got taken. Seriously, I'm
not going to float the big Lakeland Queen from Road
down the river on the next flood. But we are
actually just we have got a quite looking at designing
a boat for us. He thinks it will be a
great concept to have the old floating hotel going again.
(12:33):
But it is a far off concept and we'll we'll
see where, you know, where that ends up in the future.
We've got a lot more irons in the fire to
think about before now and then.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
Yeah. Absolutely, And of course the boat we're referring to
as the old river boat that was used back in
Alexander hat Trick's day on the Wonganawe River as the
floating hotel what was it at Paperrikee.
Speaker 7 (12:57):
It was actually here at Fokaharto at Blue Ducks. It
was moored on the retro Rookie River when it finished
its life for its last seven or years or so
on the retro Rookie River where it was used as
a stopover for the riverboats. And it was a five
star floating hotel with a flash restaurant on it and things.
And it burnt down in the nineteen thirties here, but
yet there's a lot of photos of it around gracing
(13:19):
the covers of old history books and things, and it's
pretty spectacular, that's right.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
It was the stop off on the way to Pipadecki.
And of course when the boat burnt down there was
something interesting in the artwork that was somehow not lost
with the boat.
Speaker 7 (13:35):
Well, so the stories go. You know, some of the
artworks and fine antiques found their way to other parts
of New Zealand before the boat burnt down, but who
would know.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Absolutely, Hey, what's the focus for Blue Dunk over the
next week? While are you having a lot of interest
with your hunting at the moment with the stags roaring?
Speaker 7 (13:54):
Yeah? Look yeah, look, look the drought's broken wool prices double.
That's gone from to not much. Lamb and lamb and
beefs looking pretty well. You know, we're just scanned the
heifers you help put the balls out. Actually row we've
got down nine out of seventy nine out of eighty
two and cars first first carvers, which is pretty good.
The stags are still roaring. We've just had a pretty
(14:14):
good roar. I've been a bit stop start in the
warm autumn, but we've got some good stags out. It's
because you got some plenty of happy hunters coming through
a few misty mornings now in the autumn.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Yet.
Speaker 7 (14:27):
Yeah, so duck shootings coming up. We're not big on
duck shooting. We're more big on looking after the blue
ducks and sort of observing what they're doing and doing
a whole lot of conservation work. But we do get
out now and again and go and visit some friends
who do some duck shooting on their properties and enjoy
the social side of that a little bit.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Absolutely. And of course, for the uninitiated when we talk
about duck shooting, there are some ducks so we can
only hunt in minimal numbers, and also some that we
can't hunt at all, and your beloved blue duck is
definitely one of them. Do you get a bit nerve
coming into the season that some might accidentally find themselves
in the line of fire.
Speaker 7 (15:05):
Look the blue duck as a torrent duck, and it's
on those fast flying sort of more freshwater streams and
really in a different habitat. They don't inhabit still water dams,
and so they're pretty well, pretty well so safe from
duck shooting. And as long as people are shooting on
rivers and streams where they've got good habitats, and as
(15:27):
long as they really know what they're doing, blue ducks
are generally pretty safe. We've had the odd hunter shoot
them in New Zealand with five power rifles and things
as target practice, but that's a real mistake and identity
and a silly thing to do. But generally in duck shooting,
the blue ducks and a different habitat.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Yeah, brilliant. Hey, obviously you've got the amazing chef's table,
that ten course digastation meal that you host up in
the hills of Blue Duck Station. You have a wee
bit of a shutdown, is it maybe July August? But
how's bookings for that because it's quite a unique proposition
and as someone who's sampled it, it's stemmed delicious.
Speaker 7 (16:06):
Yeah. Yeah, the restaurant's been. It's having a good, strong
finished for the season. We're real busy this weekend coming up.
It's coming up towards the end of the season. We'll
shut down in June for a couple of months here.
Bookings next year are about to open and we're anticipating
they'll be pretty strong. We're see we're building up there
again at the moment and building Tom Cruis's new cabin
(16:28):
up there at the top the top of the world.
So we should be finished that hopefully in May, and
that's going to add a bit more to our offering
for next season, which is pretty cool. Yeah, that pretty
big push for the next month. They've got the boys
at reposting the boardwalks and stairs and doing all the
finishing touches and we should be good to go on
that cabin. Yeah, very shortly, so looking forward to next season.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Yeah absolutely. Then just before we go, you have a
massive conservation, if it not just for the Blue Ducks
on Blue Ducks Station, you've got a lot of traps
round the spirits, the rats stoats, weasels and the lake.
How's the trapping line going?
Speaker 7 (17:06):
Yeah, the trappings, it's going really well. We've got more
conservation work happening now than we've ever had before. We've
got a really good crew of volunteers who's been with
us for a few years and they really are committed
to making New Zealand a better place and we're sort
of one of their main vehicles for doing it where
they come in here regular basis store. Our trap lines
(17:26):
run hundreds of traps, put a new trapping technologies with
the likes of at two twenties from n ZT Auto Traps.
You know, we're putting more of those out, having a
good run with them, a twenty fours out and some
inaccessible areas. And yeah, we're getting better blue duck counts
than we've had over the years, and we've got more
(17:47):
Kiwi sightings happening than we've ever had. So it's pretty
exciting the conservation space heading towards some new technologies coming out,
and yeah, we're really excited and pleased to be in that,
you know, for predator free New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
Just finally, your wife is quite a conservationist as well.
The wild Comunoa muster's coming up. How many do you
reckon she's going to try and sneak onto your property.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
You wouldn't know, so I she'll probably tell me she's
going shopping and she'll turn up back with three more horses.
It has happened before. She's I know, she's looking at
the climunals again, but she's she's breaking into or three
kimuners at the moment, and she's got one or two
for sale. But and she just got three wild horses
out of the Far North, the Spirits to bay horses.
So Sandy turned up with them when she popping trips
(18:36):
you do, he's breaking those and at the moment for
the trekking team and or completed the trick for life.
So we're riding the length of New Zealand over a
few over you over a few years and raising a
bit of money. So we've just done that and we're
looking forward to doing that again next year on a
couple of horses of Sandy's breaking in at the moment.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Yeah, yeah, honestly, it will never end on that front.
Dan Steele out of Blue Duck Station, pass on my
regards to Sandy and thanks so much for your time today.
Speaker 7 (19:04):
Hey good ron, lovely talking to you all of your day.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Thanks mate. It is twenty nine after twelve. Yeah, I
my money's on Sandy on that one. She's going to
sneak a few in there, I reckon. Great text and
from my mum, Thanks Mum to say my nana actually
stayed on that river boat as a teenager, the one
up the Ritoroki River. How good and seventy nine out
of eighty Heiperson Calf absolutely take that. It was great
(19:27):
fun actually being on Blue Decks station over the Christmas
holidays and putting those bulls out, just doing some stock
work around the place and getting to see a whole
new perspective. If you get a chance, go and have
a look at it. It is amazing. Michelle joining me
for the latest and rural news and sports news next
before the end of the hour, Stephen I was going
to stay. Stephen Jacoby no, Stephan Vogel out of Rabobank
(19:50):
and Rebecca Cogan the Weekend for the Come.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
The country's world news with cub Cadet New Zealand's leading
right on lawnlower brand. Visit steel Ford dot Co dot
NZM for your local stockist.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
Good afternoon, Michelle Watt, Executive producer.
Speaker 8 (20:12):
Wow, that was a real welcome.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
That was a Welson real welcome. And I played some
chapel rowing for you as well. Pink Pony Club, what's happening?
Speaker 8 (20:20):
And real News okay, so rar on News just updating.
Those are drought affected farmers. So of course you were
talking to Todd about that earlier. We had a flyer
come in this morning from the Rapid Relief Team. Now
they're having a support draut effective farmers and Taranaki with
donations of stock feed. Now this is happening between seven
am and one pm on Friday, the second of May
(20:41):
at the Egmont Showgrounds in Harwaa. Now you need to
register for the so you can go to their website
to register. I'll put up a link on our Facebook
page later so you can go and register for that.
But great cause they've also got like a barbecue lunch
and stock feed coffee, all sorts of stuff. So great
to get together with mates and chat when things are hard.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Absolutely, and as Todd's it's not just about hey, the
droughts over things are grain, it's what you do for
feed going into winter.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
His sports sport with Avco Kiwi to the Bone since
nineteen oh four and.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
In Sport and New Zealander has become the fifth sharer
to set world records in three countries by establishing a
U two stand mark on Marino lambs over nine hours
in South Africa overnight, Aidan cropp adjoined South African sharer
and contractor ten Duplasic and setting the tully of nine
hundred and seventy crop. Of course, grew up in West
(21:31):
Meltain near christ Church, but is based in New South Wales.
He's also set records in New Zealand and Australia and
he shaw to five hundred and twenty three and du
plus each for four hundred and forty seven, So congratulations
to that peer. Up next Stefan Vogel from Rabobank. We're
after Sydney. Now on the country there we find Stefan
(21:54):
Vogel GM for Rabo Research Australia and New Zealand. Good afternoon, Stefano.
But you're a warmer in Sydney there than I am
in Donedan.
Speaker 8 (22:03):
Oh.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
It's a beautiful sunny day.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
ROWNA wish I could send you a little bit warmer
weather to your frosty nights.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
Yes, honestly, last night I think it was the coldest
night I've had of the year. Just a little bit
of what to look forward to later in the year.
But now you enjoy the sunshine for me over there, Hey,
an interesting time for you to be involved with RABI research.
As I say, is the GM. Obviously you've got one
eye on what's happening in Australia and New Zealand and
(22:29):
one eye what's happening in the US and China with
Trump in the trade war. What's the latest from your perspective.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Well, first of all, it's a little bit like reading
the weather. You think it's going to rain tomorrow and
then suddenly the sunshine and we had it all wrong.
And it's a bit like this was mister Trump as well.
We see him threatening big tariffs coming in and then
last minute, oops, nothing happens. He changes his mind, he
puts a path on and that's actually good news for us.
So I think I've said it in the past already.
(23:00):
We expect that he uses the tariffs largely also to
get much bigger things done in terms of geopolitics, so
as threat of tariffs is actually much more powerful than
implementing those tariffs and somebody having to bear the burden off. Oh, suddenly,
if Canada would face the tariff, maybe there's no vegetables
(23:21):
and meat coming across the border, and my consumers feel it.
So with that, the American President, in our view for now,
is actually in that deal making what he calls so
he always wants to put the pressure up and then
the other side comes in, and this time he said, well,
we actually had seventy to eighty countries calling us asking us, Hey,
mister Trump, what can we do for the United States,
how can we talk and what kind of a deal
(23:42):
can we make? That's his at least explanation why he
put a pause on those terrifts that he had threatened.
But if you look at the list of tariffs, I mean,
there's pretty much every country in the world and some
penguin islands for those who read the fine print, that
are facing terryf for that products. But then he said, well,
(24:03):
the scale of it is only half of what they
calculated in the United States products facing that the US
is shipping over into those countries. So for us in
Australia New Zealand, the good news, first of all, is
well far away were not the key focus of the
kind of changes that Trump is pursuing right now. The
key focus has been first of all, on Canada and
(24:24):
Mexico to get them somehow aligned with what he wants,
because clearly, if you're implementing tariffs, the last thing you
want is that Canada imports the product and then it
moves across the Green border into the United States and
bypasses all those those tariffs, so that he had to
shake them up a little bit, and that's what he's
done in the first step and the second step. Clearly
he's working against the Chinese, and there's a heavy trade
(24:48):
war obviously brewing. I mean, the tariffs are somewhere in
the ballpark of one hundred and forty percent, which probably
bids most of the trade. But then also once again
he had to figure out, well, if consumers in the
unis United States walk in and buy a cell phone,
it's going to cost them suddenly the equivalent of three
thousand TV dollars rather than the equivalent.
Speaker 6 (25:08):
Of one thousand TV dollars.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
So with that he suddenly also excluded a few products.
So for us right now, we're shipping from New Zealand
especially meat over there, which is beef, which is sheep meat.
The good news is there is no tariffs on them.
But even if you would in less than ninety days
when those this pause that he has implemented, if you
really would impose tariffs as planned, he would likely impose
(25:33):
them on many countries. So the Australians where arm sitting,
would face it, and we're a heavy competitor in that
meat space for both beef and sheep. The Brazilians would
face it the heavy competitor. So with that we're sitting
kind of in the same boat as everybody else. And
with that, if you think about it, the ten percent
that are threatened, while it isn't pretty, while it isn't beautiful,
(25:53):
it isn't the end of the trade, and it isn't
the end of the world. So with that, we still
expect that the trade would more or less continue as is,
and the ten percent will be somehow commingled into the margin.
So maybe the US consumer will feel slighter piece of it,
maybe the importers margin will dhrink a little bit, and
maybe the consumer price, oh sorry, the producer price here
(26:14):
would feel it a little bit. But overall, I think
ten percent would hopefully be still manageable for most of
the products that we're shipping over into that US market.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Yeah. Absolutely, and I must say the likes of Herd Island,
McDonald Islands, the other ones with the penguins, also Norfolk Island,
which somehow attracted twenty nine I think it was percent
tariffs instead of just the standard team of Australia and
New Zealand. You've got to wonder what they've done to
Trump to attract such aia those naughty penguins. So yeah,
(26:44):
that for me pretty much summed up the whole tariff experience.
Thought gone onto some and just others no thought at all.
Stefan Vogel GM for Rabi Research Australia and New Zealand.
Just right on the line there, I'm going to take
a quick break, but when we come back, I just
want to ask you about the lightest and what's happening
in the red scene. Welcome back into the country. Well,
(27:07):
if you've just joined us, Stefan Vogel GM for Rabi
Research Australia and New Zealand out of their Sydney office
is with me. We've discussed Trump and the tariffs in
China and the US and those naughty penguins. Stefan, I
just want to look at what's happening a bit further
afield the Red Sea issue there with the Hooties and
Trump and the container ships. What's the lightest if.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
You're looking at container forred you remember the big issue
actually over the last couple of months, not only but
actually a year and a half or so, has been
that the attacks in the Red Sea from the Hooti
pirates on those container vessels had actually disrupted the trade
quite heavily. And remember it's a shortcut from Asia going
through the Red Sea in the Suez Canal to Europe
(27:53):
to the east coast of the US, so a third
of the world's container was going.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
Through that area.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
With the attacks, actually most of the ships had diverted,
and that has escalated the container freight rate quite a
bit higher. They've come down quite a bit in the
last couple of months, especially since mister Trump has ramped
up the pressure in the region and said, look, we're
going to attack those and we declare the who DES
a terrorist organization. So for now the freight rates for
(28:23):
containers globally are still higher than they traditionally were, but
we were about three or four times as high last
year around July when the situation in that redsy area escalated.
Since then, they have come down quite a bit and
we're probably somewhere around one and a half times higher
than usual, so it is substantially lower those freight rates
(28:46):
for containers. But the situation obviously is still ongoing, so
there are a lot more military actions happening in the regions.
There seems to be an attempt als about the US
to assemble more troops to really not only US troops
but also troops from the region in other countries, to
get the situation more under control. But it's just one
(29:09):
side part of a bigger issue.
Speaker 6 (29:11):
In the region.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I mean, the reason why the Houtis are active is
actually they say, well, we are supporting the Hamas. And
remember there is the more ongoing between the Hamas and
the Israelis. The Iranis are supporting the weapons that the
UTIs are using to attack the vessels, and clearly there's
a lot of discussion these days around should Israel attack
(29:35):
Iran's nuclear facilities. The US seem to have stopped that,
so there's a wider, wider, bigger kind of military action
grewing in the region, and it is one of the
regions I'm looking at actually very very concerned. If you
think about the war in Ukraine and Russia, as bad
as it is, my fear about a potential conflict in
(29:59):
Iran is much bigger. And that is a situation that
I think, as long as mister Trump will be in place,
we have to monitor that very very carefully, because clearly
the Iranis so far have not back down, have not
given any positive signs to the US, but seem to
continue to try and build nuclear weapons, which is something
that the US but also the Israelis and others want
(30:21):
to avoid. So with that, for now, while the situation
for container frate is rather calm, we can look at
this region and maybe also expect that if the escalation
is happening, maybe some of the ships will not go
through the areas anymore, and that would once again escalate
container freight rates a little bit. And if they go
up again, it makes things more expensive for everything that
(30:44):
we're bringing here into the country, because pretty much everything
we bring into New Zealand comes into in a container box.
Over But for now, I said, let's enjoy those lower rates.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
Absolutely A very geographical location. We love our containers, we
name them and yeah if they can stay down, that
would be amazing. Stefan Vogel GM for Rabo Research Australia
and New Zealand. Thank you so much for your time.
I believe I will see you in face to face
in a couple of months for the Primary Industry Summit
here in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Absolutely looking forward to coming over and we'll speak to
you then.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Thanks so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
It is eleven away from one. You are with the country,
proudly brought to you by Brand Up. Next we're off
to the West Coast Rebecca Cogan, who's a pretty accomplished
person in the world of dairy as an update for us. Next, well,
we're off to the West Coast. Now there we find
(31:42):
Rebecca Cogan who is chair of the Future Focused Animal
Evaluation Governance Group. That is a mouthful. We will pick
that at a second. But as if a generation dairy farmer, Rebeccah,
maybe I just asked the question and then duck for cover.
How's your season going?
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Oh no, not the best question to ask at the moment.
So no, the weather spring I can remember in forever
and then surprisingly the dry summer and I know people
will go to the West coast dry. Not well, actually
it was. It was brown and it's taken a long
time for the season to come back to semi normal
and it still isn't. There's a lot lear behind in
milk and probably will stay that way for the rest
(32:20):
of the season.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
Oh my goodness. At least you're going to get good
money for what milk you do. Manage to produce small
SIVI line.
Speaker 6 (32:26):
This is true, This is true.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
Yeah, hey, now just to set the scene here. A
while ago, we looked at genetic improvement within the New
Zealand dairy system. Obviously well known is a key driver
for our success. An industry working group was put together
and they produced a report that basically said, our current
system is not fit for purpose. Our genetic progress here
(32:49):
in New Zealand has actually lagged relative to other advanced
dairy industries. They put together a governance group. You're the
chair of that. How is the work going, Rebecca, What
are you focusing on?
Speaker 5 (33:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (33:02):
Absolutely so. It is the future focused Animal Evaluation Group.
We did have another name you might have heard it of,
the AEGG, which is not sexiest name, and just makes
sense for a lot of people, so we're trying to
make it sensible for all of our farmers and for
the industry. So look, the work's going great. We've got
a very focused technical team that are working on a
couple of technical work streams and particularly in the genetics area,
(33:26):
trying to look at how we can establish one BW,
one source of truth for all farmers and a national
breeding objective that's fits a purpose and fit for the future,
which we have had some challenges and in the past.
So at the moment, we've just we've set up a
governance group. We've got all three parties sitting around the
table together and working hard to make sure that this
(33:47):
can be fit for purpose, for the industry, and very
shortly heading out to get some feedback from stakeholders.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
So those three parties darien z La c C. Are
they playing nice with each other?
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Rebecca and being in the room together is fantastic And
I think that was one of the things I was
interested in when I put my name board, is are
we going to have all three players in the room
together and working hard, And they absolutely are.
Speaker 6 (34:10):
They're incredibly committed.
Speaker 4 (34:12):
Yeah, Now, as I've worked for one of those companies
in the past, and it did annoy me how there
could be different interpretations of things like, as you say, BW,
how amazing is it going to be to have everything
on one page and have it a standardized system.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (34:30):
Absolutely, You know yourself. To sit down at the kitchen
table and you've got four pieces of paper with four
different numbers on it, through challenging to look across those
and try and get some sort of comparable data to
be able to make the right decisions for your herd.
So we're really excited that this gift us an opportunity
to be able to help our farmers out so that
they can make the right decisions for the best genetic
gain for their own herds.
Speaker 4 (34:51):
What are some of the time frames you're working with, Rebecca.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
So we've set ourselves up with a two year time frame,
which means by this in betweenty twenty six hope to
have and we will have all of this in place
and working, but also tested throughout the industry. But the
focus for this here in particular is to make sure
that the national breeding objective is forward looking, make sure
that we are breeding animals now that will meet the
(35:14):
needs of farmers and industry in the future and engaging
with people across the industry who can help us determine
what is needed for the NBO. We're also looking forward
again so that one BW it's got to be reliable,
so that takes a bit of time for us to
be able to test make sure it is reliable. It
also involves looking globally to make sure that we've got
a fit for purpose solution for New Zealand, which is
(35:36):
what we're working in this first sort of twelve months
before we test. In the last twelve months, we're also
looking to at innovations to improve our senatypic data. So
whatever model we select with respect to one BW where
for the future, we want to make sure that the
data going into that is clear and it's accurate, and
there are some gaps in that space at the moment,
(35:58):
so we're working really hard there too, and I think
for the first year too. The most important thing is
we're trying to engage with as many stakeholders as possible
and farmers to get their views because it only works
if it's usable for us at the other.
Speaker 4 (36:11):
End, Yeah, absolutely, And looking you mentioned looking globally, what
countries are you kind of keeping an eye on and
looking at their systems to maybe take a few ideas
and blend them into our own.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Well, we're not limited at the moment, but obviously during
the Industry working Group did a lot of work looking
globally as well, both in Australia and Island, England everywhere
around it and the Dutch models as well. It's what
works best for us. We're a unique little place packed away,
but we've got to take and make use of the
technology that's been used outside of us and make it
(36:44):
better for New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (36:45):
In twenty sixteen, Rebecca, you were announced as New Zealand's
Dairy Woman of the Year. We will have a new
one crowned next Thursday night. How exciting is it for
you seeing the new ones come through the finalists and
knowing what they're going through in that world leading into
the Garla dinner.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
I remember that anticipation and that being so scared and
so we're so hyped up and so worried about what
might happen that night. So love look, I wish them
all the best, So I wish I could be there.
It just clashes with the board meeting unfortunately, but I
certainly will be able to watch and see who it is.
Good luck to them all and it brings so much
opportunity once you are crowned, so to speak, the dairy
(37:23):
woman of the year, So take every opportunity that it
gives you.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
Absolutely. Rebecca Cogan's chair of the Future Focused Animal Evaluation
Governance Group, really appreciate the update. Apologies for your season
and entering that conversation at the beginning of our chat.
But I hope the end of the season is kind
to you and sets you up well for next year.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
We do too, and thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (37:45):
Oh my absolute pleasure. Look, don't forget Field Days is
coming up June eleven to fourteen. If you want to
win a double pass, just text Field Days to five
double O nine or we will announce another winner tomorrow
Field Days to five double O nine and I will
catch you tomorrow and enjoy your afternoon.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
Catch all the latest from the land, It's the Country
podcast with Jamie McKay thanks to Brent Starkest of the
leading agriculture brands
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