April 27, 2025 • 6 mins
On today's inter-island farmer panel, Adam talks about the community aspect of the North Island drought, including a kiwi project launching on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Craig looks at dairy conversions and the ever-increasing cost of running his dairy business.
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Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh the eighties banana Rama and shy boy, which wouldn't
be a very apt description for either of these two.
The Farmer panel today Adam Thompson from Restore Native out
of the Whitecaddow region and Craig Dairyman Hickman social media
star out of Mid Canterby. I'll start with you, dairyman.
Are you being bombarded in your area with new dairy conversions?
(00:23):
Is there another wave happening.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I'll be certainly another wave coming. The biggest I've heard
have been about thirty five nation wide and thirteen to
fifteen in the Ekend catchment. But it'll be nothing by
the early two thousands. I'm assuming that there'll be environmental
controls this time. And if people aren't allowed to increase
their nutrient loading from their existing land, you'se been, it
should all be hunky LORI. We'll just wait and see
(00:48):
what the exact regulations are.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Yeah, if it doesn't harm the environment, let's go for it.
But yeah, we don't want sort of unadulterated expansion like
we had in the early two thousands. Have got out
of control there.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
And of course a big I mean the all of
the factories want all the processes want the eggs for milk.
But back in the early two thousands from Terra was
forced to take the milk. You could build a dairy
farm anywhere you liked in the country, as inaccessible as
you like, and Fonterra had to.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Take your milk.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Both rules have changed, so I think any conversion will
be a lot more considered than they were in the
early two thousands.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yep, the cowboy era has gone. Hey you in the
North Island. Adam Thompson former Xander MacDonald finalist finalist Adam No, Look,
I didn't mention it. I didn't mention your lost Teresa Roberts. Look,
someone's got to be second. What I think happens to
me golf on Saturdays, I always finished second.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I won't say too much about that, but.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Radio anyhow, talk to me about the drought. Is it over?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Actually, it's funny. I was just pouring with rain. Now
just in the last few minutes. It's just picked up,
but it's greened up. We got a little bit of
rain earlier for all most of the white out on
the quite a bit throughout easter period, so everyone's pretty happy.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
We had a really strong spring last year, so I
don't think production will be overall too affected, but I
think everyone's certainly happy to see bit of green grass. They
were all the maze off will it was dry for
most people. And yeah, where she's setting up pretty well
for winter.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
I warm there's probably nowhere else in the Waycatto region
where you can put a dairy farmer.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Is that.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Well, it's pretty interesting. You know, there's horticulture you're talking
about that earlier, putting a bit of pressure on land
use obviously lost Doyle blocks and stuff as well. And
you know Craig mentioned the suppliers that of strapping from
the milk. Well, you know you've got the likes of
Ofi pop up down and took it all and they've
got over one hundred suppliers now open country collecting sin
Lay's milk and they're keen to secure that. So there's
(02:44):
probably more a competition around actually getting supply up here.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Today, you want to talk about the community aspect of
the North Island rought, including the recovery and how that
ties in with a key Wee project you're launching when
on Wednesday, and this is a Protect Kiwi project.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Yeah, so there's probably a bit of a slightly tenuous link,
but it has been awesome the way you know, we
come in adverse times and as rural communities we will
stick together, which is awesome. And it hasn't been a
terrible drought this year, just dry is it probably expecting
the wykido but but yeah, we're doing this cool project
in our local area and tomorrow just out of Cambridge
there and we've got about four and a half thousand
(03:23):
hectares that we're looking to put pro to control across
and eventually get kiwi back into our backyard. So yeah,
pretty cool seeing the community come together. It's a number
of farms you have traps across them, and yeah, just
a great bunch of people. And it's just that these
rural communities pulling together that you know, just makes many
farmers and that just realize how much they do just
aside from producing meat and milk.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
But how do you protect the kiwi's from the predators
when some of those predators are domesticated animals like dogs
and cats.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, it's a bit of a journey and we're sort
of on a five year journey to make this a reality,
and it's going to come down to the buy and
of everyone in the community. You know, they've done a
great job in welling with the capital Kiwi. And you know,
once people get into that heaven Kiwi in their backyard,
the little bits and pieces of keeping your dog tied
up or looking after your cat a bit better become
pretty simple. So it's pretty amazing what they've achieved. And
(04:12):
I think a community can knock it out of the
park too.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Okay, and Craig Dairyman Hickman out of mid Canterbury. I
don't know how much you're making out of your YouTube
videos on social media. I'm probably enough to retire, i'd imagine,
But you're farming. What are you going to do with
all your money this year? With your ten dollars plus?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
You asked me that last taland I'm sorry, I can't
think pretty quickly, didn't I.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, but you're steering down the barrel of ten dollars
and as long as Trump calls his jets or wee
but on tariffs, it could easily be ten dollars plus
in the coming season.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Cos are still riving. What I've got to add another
ten percent on my budget for my electricity bill this year.
I mean, I irrigate my power coft me twenty eight
cents a kilo. That's going to be over thirty cents
next year. So obviously got somebody coming out on Wednesday
whether permitting to give us a qui for solar panels,
and we'll see if we can invest some of that
money in mitigating further cost risers and just puzzureproof the farmer.
(05:08):
But so we've done collars, we've done auto drafting, We've
done and said feeding a solar as the next on
the agenda.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
So you'll get to the stage where your farm will
be that automated, you'll be about to sit on your
lazy boy in do YouTube videos. Everything will be run,
but everything will be run from your app on your phone.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Lord hope you were talking about Mike Cosking before. Don't
forget that no matter how successful people get, their man
still has to vacuum his own that mother ardi. So
I'm sure I'll find something I have to do.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yeah, well, he's worse than you dairy farmers are. I
think he gets out of bed at two point fifteen
to prep for a six o'clock show. I mean that's
a work ethic, absolutely, Yeah, Okay, just to finish on Adam,
what are you up to.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, we're just about to start putting trees in the ground,
which is awesome, but a moisture around. We've just finished
carving on the farm, so we ordered carve our little
beef food, so nice to have a little bit of
green grass put into But yeah, the next few months
are all going to be about planting trees.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Yeah, saving him, saving, saving the planet. And Craig, what
are you up to?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We've got eighty millimeters the rain poorgraft over the next
couple of days, so we will be practicing something we
don't do very often in mid canery, which is wet
with the farming. I mean we'll be drying the cave
off and sitting back in the lazy boy counting the
money I guess on you.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Hey, thanks for your time today, guys, and it's good
to hear that that North Island drought is almost coming
to an end. Craig Pickman and Adam Thompson Today's Farmer
Panel
Oh the eighties banana Rama and shy boy, which wouldn't
be a very apt description for either of these two.
The Farmer panel today Adam Thompson from Restore Native out
of the Whitecaddow region and Craig Dairyman Hickman social media
star out of Mid Canterby. I'll start with you, dairyman.
Are you being bombarded in your area with new dairy conversions?
(00:23):
Is there another wave happening.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I'll be certainly another wave coming. The biggest I've heard
have been about thirty five nation wide and thirteen to
fifteen in the Ekend catchment. But it'll be nothing by
the early two thousands. I'm assuming that there'll be environmental
controls this time. And if people aren't allowed to increase
their nutrient loading from their existing land, you'se been, it
should all be hunky LORI. We'll just wait and see
(00:48):
what the exact regulations are.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Yeah, if it doesn't harm the environment, let's go for it.
But yeah, we don't want sort of unadulterated expansion like
we had in the early two thousands. Have got out
of control there.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
And of course a big I mean the all of
the factories want all the processes want the eggs for milk.
But back in the early two thousands from Terra was
forced to take the milk. You could build a dairy
farm anywhere you liked in the country, as inaccessible as
you like, and Fonterra had to.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Take your milk.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Both rules have changed, so I think any conversion will
be a lot more considered than they were in the
early two thousands.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yep, the cowboy era has gone. Hey you in the
North Island. Adam Thompson former Xander MacDonald finalist finalist Adam No, Look,
I didn't mention it. I didn't mention your lost Teresa Roberts. Look,
someone's got to be second. What I think happens to
me golf on Saturdays, I always finished second.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I won't say too much about that, but.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Radio anyhow, talk to me about the drought. Is it over?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Actually, it's funny. I was just pouring with rain. Now
just in the last few minutes. It's just picked up,
but it's greened up. We got a little bit of
rain earlier for all most of the white out on
the quite a bit throughout easter period, so everyone's pretty happy.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
We had a really strong spring last year, so I
don't think production will be overall too affected, but I
think everyone's certainly happy to see bit of green grass. They
were all the maze off will it was dry for
most people. And yeah, where she's setting up pretty well
for winter.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
I warm there's probably nowhere else in the Waycatto region
where you can put a dairy farmer.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Is that.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Well, it's pretty interesting. You know, there's horticulture you're talking
about that earlier, putting a bit of pressure on land
use obviously lost Doyle blocks and stuff as well. And
you know Craig mentioned the suppliers that of strapping from
the milk. Well, you know you've got the likes of
Ofi pop up down and took it all and they've
got over one hundred suppliers now open country collecting sin
Lay's milk and they're keen to secure that. So there's
(02:44):
probably more a competition around actually getting supply up here.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Today, you want to talk about the community aspect of
the North Island rought, including the recovery and how that
ties in with a key Wee project you're launching when
on Wednesday, and this is a Protect Kiwi project.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Yeah, so there's probably a bit of a slightly tenuous link,
but it has been awesome the way you know, we
come in adverse times and as rural communities we will
stick together, which is awesome. And it hasn't been a
terrible drought this year, just dry is it probably expecting
the wykido but but yeah, we're doing this cool project
in our local area and tomorrow just out of Cambridge
there and we've got about four and a half thousand
(03:23):
hectares that we're looking to put pro to control across
and eventually get kiwi back into our backyard. So yeah,
pretty cool seeing the community come together. It's a number
of farms you have traps across them, and yeah, just
a great bunch of people. And it's just that these
rural communities pulling together that you know, just makes many
farmers and that just realize how much they do just
aside from producing meat and milk.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
But how do you protect the kiwi's from the predators
when some of those predators are domesticated animals like dogs
and cats.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, it's a bit of a journey and we're sort
of on a five year journey to make this a reality,
and it's going to come down to the buy and
of everyone in the community. You know, they've done a
great job in welling with the capital Kiwi. And you know,
once people get into that heaven Kiwi in their backyard,
the little bits and pieces of keeping your dog tied
up or looking after your cat a bit better become
pretty simple. So it's pretty amazing what they've achieved. And
(04:12):
I think a community can knock it out of the
park too.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Okay, and Craig Dairyman Hickman out of mid Canterbury. I
don't know how much you're making out of your YouTube
videos on social media. I'm probably enough to retire, i'd imagine,
But you're farming. What are you going to do with
all your money this year? With your ten dollars plus?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
You asked me that last taland I'm sorry, I can't
think pretty quickly, didn't I.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, but you're steering down the barrel of ten dollars
and as long as Trump calls his jets or wee
but on tariffs, it could easily be ten dollars plus
in the coming season.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Cos are still riving. What I've got to add another
ten percent on my budget for my electricity bill this year.
I mean, I irrigate my power coft me twenty eight
cents a kilo. That's going to be over thirty cents
next year. So obviously got somebody coming out on Wednesday
whether permitting to give us a qui for solar panels,
and we'll see if we can invest some of that
money in mitigating further cost risers and just puzzureproof the farmer.
(05:08):
But so we've done collars, we've done auto drafting, We've
done and said feeding a solar as the next on
the agenda.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
So you'll get to the stage where your farm will
be that automated, you'll be about to sit on your
lazy boy in do YouTube videos. Everything will be run,
but everything will be run from your app on your phone.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Lord hope you were talking about Mike Cosking before. Don't
forget that no matter how successful people get, their man
still has to vacuum his own that mother ardi. So
I'm sure I'll find something I have to do.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yeah, well, he's worse than you dairy farmers are. I
think he gets out of bed at two point fifteen
to prep for a six o'clock show. I mean that's
a work ethic, absolutely, Yeah, Okay, just to finish on Adam,
what are you up to.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, we're just about to start putting trees in the ground,
which is awesome, but a moisture around. We've just finished
carving on the farm, so we ordered carve our little
beef food, so nice to have a little bit of
green grass put into But yeah, the next few months
are all going to be about planting trees.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Yeah, saving him, saving, saving the planet. And Craig, what
are you up to?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We've got eighty millimeters the rain poorgraft over the next
couple of days, so we will be practicing something we
don't do very often in mid canery, which is wet
with the farming. I mean we'll be drying the cave
off and sitting back in the lazy boy counting the
money I guess on you.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Hey, thanks for your time today, guys, and it's good
to hear that that North Island drought is almost coming
to an end. Craig Pickman and Adam Thompson Today's Farmer
Panel
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