June 8, 2025 • 38 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Nathan Guy, Mike Petersen, Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, and Phil Duncan.
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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 construction equipment.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Get a New Zealand Welcome to the Country. It's field
Day's week. The countdown continues. Two sleeps to go. Just
come back from Auckland. I'm heading back up there again,
really looking forward to it. Ozzie Osbourne Black Sabbath apparently
doing one last concert. Are they going to have to
wheel poor old Ozzie out in the chair to sing?
(00:55):
I do not know, but Michelle the Bellcluther Bogan decided
to load them music up today and it doesn't get
much better than aaronoyed by Black Sabbath, does it. Nathan
Guy is the chair of the Meat Industry Association former
Primary Industries or was he agg Minister? Which sector is
(01:16):
most vulnerable to Trump's tariffs? According to a report I read, meat, dairy,
and wine were seen as being the most vulnerable tariffs
within the food and fiber sector. I wonder if Nathan
Guy agrees with that. He's waiting patiently on hold Mike Peterson.
(01:37):
She's He's worn a few hats, hasn't he? Former president
of beef and lamb New Zealand's former Special Agricultural Trade Endvoy.
He says, don't blame the pine trees when it comes
to the loss of Can you believe this number? Forty
five percent of the total flock in Hawk's Bay sheep
I'm talking about it's been lost in the past thirty
two years. Doctor Jaqueline Rowath's the MC and adjudicator for
(02:02):
the big Primary Sect well not primary sector Rural Support
Trust debate sold out at field Days and Phil Duncan
on the weather will give you a field day's report
for the weather. Apparently you might have to bring your
gun boots for the car park, but as I'm fond
of saying, that's about the only place you need to
worry about them. So sad to hear the passing of
(02:24):
Stu Wilson as well. More about that later, but up
next it's Nathan Guy. He is the chair of the
Meat Industry Association. Former Minister of Agriculture, Hora Finowa Cowcocky.
Nathan Guy and Nathan no doubt will catch up at
(02:46):
field days. Our paths will cross. But I want to
start with this one from a report out today. Most
New Zealand businesses surveyed believe the United States tariff policies
will have a much greater impact on them COVID nineteen
or the global financial crisis. Meat, dairy, and wine were
seen as the most vulnerable from tariffs. What do you
(03:08):
make for that? What do you make of that? Should
I say?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Well, I'm not sure? It might be a bit like
these international scientists that were ganging up on New Zealand
that we weren't doing enough to solve the meat dane
issue last week, and I heard the PM just kick
that for touch. This could be another one. My contacts
in the red meat industry are saying prices are still good,
pushing pretty hard to get it back into the customers,
(03:36):
and consumers having to pay rather than themselves. If you
look at meat company returns over the last twelve months,
they buy and large being sort of cigarette paper thin,
so they can't afford it, and the presidents made the decisions,
which is basically going to drive up costs and inflation.
So meat companies are having a bit of an arm
wrestle in some cases with customers at the border. But
(03:59):
they want our and they'll end up paying for it.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, my information certainly would suggest that the Americans are
paying for it, and when it comes to the hamburger
beef that they so desperately need, they're almost happy to
pay it just to get it.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
That's right. I read an article when was a few
weeks back that the average US consumer has three burgers
a week. It's a shipload, isn't it. The other thing
is that our grinding beef is recession proof, so if
they do drop into recession as a result of these tariffs,
and who knows if they will, but it's going to
(04:34):
have some impact. You know, hamburger patties and burgers are
a bit like a staple for US, but like milk
and cheese and bread and eggs and things, so I
think we're in a bit of a sweet spot. The
other thing is we just don't know what's going to
happen with the tariff war between the US and China.
That may have some upside for us in due course.
(04:55):
We're just waiting to see how long will.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
These record meat prices last. For beef, it's looking like
they could be at least two or three years. Great news.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
That's a feeling in the US, and that's why the
ten percent tariff is really going to just impact consumers
as opposed to our companies and the n Z. The
demand is very strong. Their heard rebuild is going to
take a while to occur. Worse culling as a result
of successive droughts for I don't know, fifty to seventy
(05:25):
years a hell of a long time. I can't bring
those numbers back overnight. So once again, I think we're
looking pretty good in the US. If we look at
LAMB in the UK and Europe, there is talk that
they've got a lack of supply over there, so once
again that's quite an important sweet spot for US and
a high value market. So I think overall, not discounting
(05:50):
Asia as well for fifth quarter and other growing markets,
I think we're looking pretty strong right now.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
We have some real though capacity issues within the red
meat industry. We're seeing sheep numbers four. I'm going to
talk to Mike Peterson about this one, but Hawke's Bay
has lost more than two million sheep. They've gone from
five million to three million in the space of thirty years.
That's a huge drop in percentage terms.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yes, that's a real issue for meat companies across the board.
Too much capacity, real competitive pricing at the moment to
get stock through their plants to make sure that they
can be efficient. Farmers are benefiting as a result of that,
and of course Alliance we're all just waiting to see
what happens there in due course with their decisions. It
(06:39):
feels and sounds like suppliers aren't prepared to put their
hand in their pockets, so they're going to need to
look for summer sternal investment or indeed it could come
from other meat companies in NZ, but who knows.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Wait and see, So do you reckon silver firm farms
might have a crack at the Alliance group.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I don't know Jamie anymore than there's rumors flying around
all over the place, but I really don't listen to
them and take any notice. The Alliance board or make
the decision in due course and we'll wait and see.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
What do you make a federated farmer's campaign? And I
say good on the FEDS for getting the billboards up
in central Wellington right across the road from the Beehive
to Save our Sheep campaign.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Ah, yes, I'm following that with a bit of interest.
I think it's great politics at the grassroots level because
trees have had an impact on rural communities. When I
was in Parliament, I stood up on several occasions and
said this policy will hollow out rural communities. It's indeed
done that. I'm waiting for the government to make a decision.
(07:42):
I think it's imminent on what they're going to do
about the forestry settings and land use changes and things.
It does feel a little bit like the horse has
bolted over the last few years, and of course that
started under the durn government and this one have certainly
been very sympathetic to farmers and have made a lot
(08:04):
of changes in regulations and environmental stuff already, and this
is the next big one that we're waiting for. Should
we be.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Enter out of Paris. I know what you're going to say.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
What do you think I'm going to say?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
I think you're going to say, We've got to stay
in the Paris Agreement.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
That's exactly what I think in a personal level, and
also being a former Minister of Primary Industries and being
involved in the trade space, it's a no brainer. We've
got to stay in there because what are we One
hundred and ninety six other countries are in there, and
that would cause US a huge amount of angst and
(08:43):
legal consequences if we pulled out. I know, once again
the politics and this at the grassroots, everyone thinks, get
the hell out of it. But here's a number for
farmers to put in their back pocket. In the last year,
we exported one point seven billion dollars of red meat
to the EU and the UK, and they would be
(09:04):
the two markets that would have a real crack at
US if we pulled out. We spend a lot of
time talking about non tariff barriers when we travel around
the world, talking to countries that have these itches, and
once they're in place, they're hard to remove. So this
would be seen as a tariff barrier by New Zealand
and it doesn't make any economic sense. Ultimately, it would
(09:26):
cost a schedule on sheep meat and red meat into
the UK and the EU.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Nathan guy, thank you very much for your time. I'll
look forward to catching up with you for a coffee
or a bear or a burger. Who knows that field
days it better.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Be a bear, Jamie. Because I see that you've had
another award winning recognition. I hope your pullroom at home
is big enough for all of these gongs that you
keep getting congratulations on your long service acknowledgment at the
Radio Awards last week.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Well, well, it kind of has a farming connection. I
jokingly call it the about to be put out to
asked you award. If you hang around for long enough, Nathan,
you get the chocolates, see you later, see it cheers, right,
get on you, Nathan. Do you think I'm past it? Michelle,
be careful? This could be career defining for you. Well,
(10:17):
compared to Ozzy Osborne. I'm not past that, am I?
Speaker 4 (10:19):
No, No, you're You're just your prime. Compared to Ozzie.
I mean if he can still perform his agent and
his condition now, and he's got a performance coming up
in July, their last one ever in Birmingham where he's from,
of course, famous brummy. I think you can keep going
for a few more years.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Yet, someone who's not continuing on as Stuart's and Claire
Wilson passed away sadly, I think yesterday and how wrong
I'm mount MONGANII yeah, he's born in Gore, same hospital
as me and Jenny Shipley and Barry Sober and had
a bit to do with old stew over the years.
(10:54):
He's quite a character great rack on tour, but he
was I think more important when I was at like
high school or secondary school. When we were playing rugby,
guys like Stu Wilson, Bruce Roberts and Bill Osborne were
our real heroes because they were flamboyant and Stu Wilson.
Stu Wilson was a great wing three quarter. He would
(11:17):
be sensational in the modern game because he had everything power, pace, size.
It's one of the first backs I think that actually
all blacks backs that used weight training. I got into
weight training to build himself up. Gone but not forgotten.
I miss. I'm at the Mount Monganuy Golf Club. I
know he was a keen member there. Rest in peace,
Stu up Next, Mike Pedison, don't blame the pine trees,
(11:41):
says Mike, the former president of Beef and Lamb New
Zealand Hawks. Bay's lost forty five percent of its total
sheep block in the past thirty two years. We'll talk
about that one. Doctor Jack Willon Rowath and Phil Duncan
with the field day's forecast. Where before the end of
the hour, well as promised and we always deliver here
(12:11):
on the country. We've found our man Mike Petterson, former
chair of Beef and Lamb New Zealand, former special New
Zealand Trade agg Envoid. Did I get that around the
right way? Mike? And of course these days our share
of Scales one of our biggest horticulture companies. Interesting story
in Hawk's Bay today your local paper, Mike, about the
loss of sheep numbers and Hawk's Bay you've gone from
(12:34):
five million to three million? Can we blame the pine trees?
Speaker 5 (12:38):
Well?
Speaker 6 (12:39):
Can I?
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Jamie? And always good to catch up with you again.
Look look in part. You could look at it in
recent times and say that certainly pine trees are having
an impact, there's no doubt about that. But we've got
to remember that this is a region where the gimblet
gravels used to farm sheep because of the subsidies that
are being paid to farmers at the time, back in
(13:00):
the eighties. So there have been a range of reasons
why sheep numbers have declined in Hawks Bay. The growing
wine industry, there's been many other horticulture and cropping opportunities,
and of course there's been urbanization as well, with people
building lifestyle blocks because it's a great place to live.
So pine trees are not the sole reason at all.
(13:22):
And in fact, even though they're the most recent visual
thing that we can see, lend us, change has been
happening for a long time.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
So you reckon or was it that business desk story
you sent to me quoting the forest station If you want,
of regions like hawkspay no worse than it was twenty
years ago, Why does it seem much worse? It seems
much worse to me.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
Oh, look, we're seeing properties that would not normally have
been in pine trees being planted in pine trees, and
it's very visual and it's quite confronting for people. I
fully understand that, and certainly places out the way like
Wallingford Station that was always seen as an iconic sheep
and beef farming property was planted in pine trees. That's
(14:07):
one example. But the issue for me still, Jamie, is
it actually, when you look at the numbers, and Business
Desks quotes them very well, there are no more hectores
planted than pine trees today than there were in the
two thousand and two. So in the last twenty to
twenty five years, the amount of land and forestry in
(14:27):
New Zealand has not changed. And so yes, it's particularly
graphic in some regions, but on a nationwide basis it
actually has.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah, but Mike, we're planting it in places we wouldn't
have planted it in two thousand and two, and we're
talking and this is the I think this is the
criminal part of it. The blanket planting of some of
these farms. Fair enough to do some of the back country,
maybe some of the south facing country, I don't know,
but when you've got good flat land that should be
(14:57):
producing food, growing pine trees, I think it's a crime.
And the other thing is and you'll probably disagree with
me on this one as well. Isn't there an element
of spray and walk away to this?
Speaker 5 (15:08):
Oh? No, Well, firstly, just to be clear, I don't
supplant I don't support planning productive farmland and pine trees.
And in fact, on our property here, you know, we
planted twenty percent of the farm, but it was all
a natives, so you know, I mean, you know, I'm
pretty happy with what we're doing here. There's no doubt
about that. Look, I think, though there's a question mark
about the spray walk away. And I'm not here to
(15:30):
defend the carbon foresters, even though I'm involved in advising
some of these firms, but you know, we are a company,
and the firms i'm involved with that don't plant productive
land and pine trees, and so you know that to
me is the right approach and we should have a
mosaic approach. I'm one hundred percent on board with that, Jamie,
(15:50):
and that would be a preferred approach from my point
of view.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Do you think the government legislation which is due to
come into place a bit later this year will effectively
level out the playing field there?
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Well?
Speaker 5 (16:03):
The change is that the government made about the amount
of land that can be registered in the eats took
place from December last year, so it is going to
have an impact, There's no doubt about that, Jamie. But
one thing I think you won't stop is you won't
stop demand from some people wanting to change land use
and plant pine trees for whatever the reason. And it
(16:24):
may be that a combination of forestry and carbon is
the most profitable use of that land. And I firmly
in the camp where I don't want the government telling
me what I can and can't do with my own land,
and I don't think landowners should be stopped from doing that.
Speaker 7 (16:39):
So once you.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
Start putting restrictions in place, once you start looking to
the government to decide where and what to do with
your farm land, then we're on a really slippery slope.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
One more question on this before I move on to
horticulture and water in Hawks Bay. Do you think there's
a danger? Yes, forestry for production, excellent logs, export them.
But is there a danger in twenty or thirty years
time that these carbon credits won't even exist?
Speaker 5 (17:04):
Well, at some stage, Jamie, the price of carbons can
to be zero, you know, That's what that's like. That's
all likelihood of that happening. I don't know if that'll
be in ten years or thirty years or fifty years.
But carbon credits are a transition to a lower mission's economy,
and we could all question about whether the pace of
(17:25):
that change has slowed down in recent times or not.
But I think the general trend is clear and that
we will be trying to produce things more efficiently with
technologies and energy sources are going to be more carbon efficient.
So yes, the price of carbon will be zero one day,
and so some people may hold assets that are actually
worth zero, but that's not my call. To make it this.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Time probably won't be your problem in twenty or thirty
years time either. Mic I shouldn't say that Tokichoki water
project we saw Ruatana for fallover, is this one going
to go in Hawks Bay and lower sent Hawks Bay
where you're based, because this would transform the landscape.
Speaker 7 (18:04):
Well, it certainly would.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
I mean the region Hawk's Bay is a region unfortunately
is running dry, and so we need to face up
to the reality that of all the rivers that flow
to the sea, there's about seven point two billiont cubes
of water flows to the sea out of the rivers
of Hawk's Bay each year, and we kept a pretty
much zero amount of that. We're looking to hold up
(18:26):
one point four percent in this Twoktiki Water Security project
storage dan one point four percent of that total water
that runs through the sea and let it go when
people are short. We think it makes perfect sense. Frankly,
water storage is not the silver bullet. It's not the
only answer, Jamie, But I tell you what, water storage
has to be part of the solution.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
For this part of the world.
Speaker 5 (18:48):
If you want to see more jobs, high value food
production and processing and actually bit environmental occoumps oh it's.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
A damn fine solution if you ask me, no pun intended.
Will that land or go to horticulture, by the way.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
More than likely, Jamie, because when you look at the
opportunities for permanent horticulture, we've got wattes and mccains in
this part of the world, so vegetable and fruit production
or high value seed production, which we're also trying to
do here in Hawks Bay. The reality is that no
one here can do that stuff now with any degree
(19:25):
of certainty because they can't get access to any water.
The catchments are fully allocated, and in fact in the
Heretongua you've actually got the amount of water that has
allocated been cut back by about thirty to forty percent
in some cases, which makes it impossible.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Hey. A final word on scales. As a very small
scale investor, myself and the company and mate of your
chief executive Andrew Borland, is he working hard enough on
my behalf?
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Hi, He's working outstandingly and well, Jamie. So you can
be rest assured that your reinvestment in Scale I was
being well looked after we've got in your shareholders meeting
tomorrow in Krosshitch and so it's a time when generally
people come along and enjoy a bit of conversation and
also we have plenty of our fine apples and produce
(20:14):
on display for people to take home and enjoy as well.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Good on you, Mike Petterson, thanks for your time. I'll
see you at field Days.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Thanks Jamie, look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Bang on twelve thirty here on the Country. Up next
to the latest and rural news and sports news. Those
Ahoo Fenoa are Farming Awards up and over the weekend
Doctor jaquilen Roe with Phil Duncan to come and some more.
Stu Wilson Trivia for you.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
And.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
My name is.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Welcome back to the Country. The show is brought to
you by Brant looking forward to catching up with the
team at field Days. Someone else I'm looking forward to
catching up with at field Days as the team from
PGG Rights and Right for farmers and growers, Every season counts.
That's why PGG Rights and works alongside you on farm
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(21:09):
From agronomy and animal health to horticulture and farming supplies.
They have the knowledge and products to help keep you
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best to you at Mystery Creek. Visit the PGG Rights
in site at E seventy five to discover field Day
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(21:31):
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Make sure to ask about their sky count technology and
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While you're there, enter their sight wide competition for your
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(21:55):
So market on your calendar. Make sure you visit PGG
Rights and at the E seventy five site at field Days.
They're helping you grow the country. I'll be there to
support PGG Rights and I'll tell you why because they
support the ise carf and Rural scheme. Looking forward to it.
Here's Michelle with the latest and rural news and I like.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
A woman at the country's world news with cod Cadet,
new Zealand's leading right on lawn bower brand. Visit steel
Ford dot cot On insip for your local Stockist.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
And Northland Bays fung Naya Tonga Trust was awarded the
two twenty five I'm stumbling over this, sorry, twenty twenty
five are who Fenawa Trophy for excellence in Maori sheep
and Beef farming, while Te Tai Tokuro Farm manager Kobe
Warmington took out the twenty twenty five Young Maori Farmer
Award at apaxiremony and Palms North on Friday. Now this
(22:48):
trophy fun fact for you here, Jamie. It dates back
to nineteen thirty three. Where as she makes it, I
think the oldest farming.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Award in And there's a rugby connection, isn't.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
That there is? Indeed, our Lord Charles Blederslowe was part
of forming that competition.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Yeah, wonderful celebrating excellence of Maori farming.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
That is a lever on news.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
He got sports news there talking about Ozzie's.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Sports with AFCO. Visit them online at AFCO dot co
dot enzed.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
How good was it? And I only saw bits of it.
I was floating in and out of some pre records.
The decisive moment, though, came when Ryan Fox let me
just get to the top of the story. Of course,
Fox eg Ryan Fox outlasted Sam Burns and the four
hole playoff to win the Canadian Open. The decisive moment
came when Fox launched a two hundred and fifty nine
(23:37):
yard approach with the three wood to within seven feet
of the pin. The victory marks his second PGA Tour
one with a maiden career breakthrough in May. Fox earns
entry into the field this week for this week's US
Open in Pennsylvania. So looking forward to that one when
I get home from Field Days and shock horror talking
(23:59):
about the OZ. He's not Rugby and the Bledderslow Cup,
but Rugby League captain Daily Cherry Evans has been acted
from the Queensland side for game two of the league's
State of Origin. Where's my screen Gone? State of Origin
game in Perth next Wednesday, always synonymous with field Days
game one of the of the State of Origin. They've
(24:21):
got out of Sinkerwee. But these days so no State
of Origin to watch at field Days. So that is
rural news and sports news. This is you'll have never heard,
you know, how you played? I had to play some
black Sabbath I'd never heard of.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Yeah, which I'm really shocked by. But I'm so glad
I never had to hear this song, although.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
It's an appalling song. It's called float On by the Floaters.
But for some reason, back in nineteen seventy seven, when
Stu Wilson made his All Black Tests debut, he had
gone to Argentina the year before with Jack Gleason's team,
but that didn't count for a Test match. Unfortunately it
should have. They are a great But when Stue made
(25:02):
his Test debut on the eleventh of the eleventh nineteen
seventy seven, that's historically significant as well, eleven month of
the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Anyhow so he
played on the wing, debut on the wing for the
All Blacks in France, scored a brilliant try in the
second Test. Brian mckeckney, if you're listening, that was a
(25:25):
great game, the cult great drop goal from the sideline.
Those were the days. Those were absolutely the days. Anyhow,
So this was number one for six weeks on Radio.
No wonder Stu went over to play rugby in France.
If he had to listen to this drivel at home,
I cannot believe it anyhow. Up next to doctor Jaqueline Roweth,
(25:55):
here's someone who I always look forward to catching up
with in person at Field, doctor Jaquelin Rowe with one
of our leading primary sector academics and Jacquelin, I'm not
quite sure what I'm doing on the Wednesday night of
Field Days, Wednesday evening, I'm double parked. I've got the
option of a Findeck's dinner or going along to the
(26:15):
sold out Rural Support Trust evening and debate which you're
cheering and m seeing. What do you reckon?
Speaker 6 (26:23):
Oh gosh, Well, it's so wonderful to be as famous
as you, Jamie. And well done on your Outstanding Contribution
to Radio award because it has been and you've plugged
the rules sector really supported it all those years with
good talking, good writing. Very well done and in terms
of the debate, there will certainly be talking. I'm hoping
(26:45):
it's going to be good. And I'm just doing that part,
just the debate part with Row doing the whole of
the event and toss a coin whether you should be
at the debate. It'll be fun. The Fintech dinner. I'm
sure you'll learn a lot. You might even learn something
the debate it's for they are all support Trust and
there are some amazing things that are being auctioned live
(27:07):
and there's quite a lot on the silent auction as well.
We all know that they're a great organization.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Well that's a great fundraisers sold out. I'm hearing five
hundred and fifty people packed out. Now, what is the
moot for the debate?
Speaker 6 (27:21):
The grass is greener in the South Island. So we
have a North Island team led by Julia Jones, supported
by Sue's Redmain run A Bay politicians from the Manuitu
Rangeticki area and Jenna Smith who has had some profile
recently because of various reports like Hanna Nuffield. Then the
(27:42):
South Island, James Meager is the lead. He's the new
MP for the South Island, with Katie Milne whom we
remember well fom Federated Farmers and George Dodson who won
the Young Farmer of the Year last year. So it's
going to be gloves off, but you know, during the day,
boots on and actually the forecast is not as great
(28:05):
as it could be for field days, so you might
keep your gloves on there as well. But this particular
event will be heated at least the debate side.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, okay, let's have a look at field Days. You're right,
the forecasters and that flesh. Maybe bring your gun boots
Wednesday and Friday. But it's as I said to Richard Lindrus,
the new chief executive, it's to be honest, it's really
only the car parks that you need the gun boots
for these days. Check one.
Speaker 6 (28:32):
Yes, that is absolutely true. And the warmth of everybody
at the field days, the enthusiasm for the talking, a
bit of kicking of tires and general discussion about the outlook,
which is looking pretty good at the moment. That is
the hot That is the major thing we go for,
the innovation to technologies that might be useful on farm.
(28:52):
But it's the whole spirit, the warmth of the spirit
of field days that is well, it's addictive. We've discussed before.
I've been. My first one was nineteen seventy six and
I arrived in the country only five months before the
field Days were on. That it was quite an experience
for me.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Geez, nineteen seventy six, check were on that aging even well, No,
I was. I was in the sixth form at Saint
Peter's College and Gore and I was rugby mad. I
was in the first fifteen and one of my real
heroes was a young guy by the name of Stu
Wilson who was just starting to make it in the
All Blacks, and poor old Stew's passed away. What a
(29:31):
brilliant rugby player he was. You do a brilliant column
for us on our website Thecountry dot co dot nz
and this week you write the land of the long
white cloud, Kiwi, sheep, gum boots and field days. New
Zealand has them all The clouds when they become fog
are a disruptive nuisance. The Kiwi flightless like aeroplanes, and
(29:55):
fog are increasing thanks to conservation efforts. Won't read the
whole column out, but you bang on about the fog
at Hamilton. That's why these days. See I'm an experienced campaigner, Jacqueline.
We always fly in and out of Auckland for that
very reason.
Speaker 6 (30:10):
Right well, very sensible. But this year maybe the fog
won't come because actually we've got some fun, we've got
some rain, and what we hope is for lots of
people to be there and not get stuck in the
car parks, which is a sort of nightmare. There are
plenty of students around to pull you out if it
did happen, but the embarrassment. So let's keep our feet
(30:32):
dry and our eyes looking at all the exciting things
that are there for us to delight in.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
I reckon it's going to be a really positive field
days because, as we know, farmers have been through some
challenging years and the COVID years. This year we've got
very good commodity prices, we've got falling interest rates, and
the government sweetened it a wee bit with the budget
announcement of the investment tax boost, and I reckon there's
a lot of pent up expenditure that needs to be
(31:00):
done on big ticket items tractors, trucks, utes, four wheelers,
and I reckon they're going to go gangbusters at field days.
Speaker 6 (31:08):
Well, good R and D. People forget about the maintenance
and the repairs and the replacement that needs to go
on on farm and they just say, well, if farmers
are spending out large and we must be paying them
too much. That is not the case. As you say,
there's been very little purchased for quite a while.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Let's just finish on field days. For me, the main
thing about field days is not buying tractors. My days
are buying tractors have passed a jaquelle for me. For me,
it's networking. I get to see people that I talk
to on a weekly basis face to face, sometimes only
once or twice a year. And field days is the
best place to network, whether you're in media, a farmer
(31:49):
or a scientist.
Speaker 6 (31:51):
Oh and rural professionals. It's everybody. And that's where the
great fomentation, the ideas perpolate, and then we can think
about how we're going to make them with with scientists,
how to make them come true or work out whether
it's right for lots of different farmers or just suits
that particular farmer. And I'm involved in the Innovation awards again,
(32:12):
so that takes Wednesday. When we're looking at all the
different entrance and the range of things that are being
developed is just so exciting. We think back to the
flutter valve that shows which way the water is flowing
or indeed if it slowed down. That was back at
the beginning of these Innovation awards, and now it's just
(32:33):
something you can get. It's part of farming now. The
ballcocks with their wobbly edge wobbly ns so that the
cows just don't break them in the way that they
used to. And this year, well go along and have
a look everybody. The innovation tent is bursting with new ideas.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
And you can easily lose three or four hours on there.
It's fantastic. I'll see you at field Goals.
Speaker 6 (32:56):
Thanks the ads looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Thanks yep. And up next on the Country, it's a
field day's forecast with Big Phil Duncan. He's our weather
man on the country on a Monday. I'm not interested
in Monday's Phil Duncan. I'm interested in Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
and to a lesser degree, Saturday, because I'll be home
(33:21):
by then for field days. Let's start with the biggest
egg event of the year and the forecast for the
sweet good afternoon today.
Speaker 7 (33:29):
Thanks for having me. There's some good news. The good
news is a week ago it looked as though the
Wednesday was going to be raining all day long. Now
it looks as though that's going to be a lot
more broken up, with some of it coming on Tuesday night,
so that's a positive thing. Overall, there's a very large
low in the Tasman Sea and it's going to be
producing milder than usual conditions for field days this year.
(33:51):
But the downside is it's going to come with a
few thunderstorms and a few big downpours, So don't worry
about frost this year. It's more about the downpours.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Yeah. The other good news is I looked at the
weather forecast for Hamilton for the rest of the week
and it's going to be sixteen seventeen eighteen degrees so
not cold.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
Not cold at all. Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 7 (34:11):
The cold air is very much stuck in the lower
quarter or the lower one third of the South Island
this week, where it barely barely shifts. But the top
of the country, yes, subtropical winds or northwesters and westerlies.
That's why we've see these thunderstorms today around the top
of the country, and they'll be off and on all
week coming off the Tasman Sea. As this low kind
of moves in and then kind of falls apart, it
(34:32):
doesn't really move very fast because there's actually a high pressure,
very narrow high pressure belt over the country tomorrow and
then that'll be east of New Zealand by Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
kind of slowing down this low out in the Tasman.
It's not going to get bigger and nastier. It's just
going to be sitting there and throwing us a few
big gampaurs as they move on through.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Now the network TV channels, as they're prone to do
breathlessly reporting on shock, horror, snow in June. But if
you're going to get snow weather or hot, cold, horrible
weather like we've had in Dunedin, June is the perfect
month for it, especially from a farming point of view.
Everything's locked down for the winter. And I'm talking about
the livestock farmers here. You want it now and in
(35:13):
early to mid July, rather than you know, mid July onwards,
basically when we're getting into carving and lambing.
Speaker 7 (35:21):
I was here, you're right. I was actually looking at
your stomping ground around Gore Riversdale area the other day
and talking to you Andy Muir, and we were looking
at the temperatures and they are very low. Like I mean,
the maximum temperature is not so much the overnight lows
which are sort of about normal, but the daytime highs
a number of days are only around five or six
degrees for ten days in a row. I haven't really
(35:44):
seen it that cold for a number of years from
a daytime point of view, over such a long stretch.
So will that be our coldest week of the year,
because sometimes it happens at the very start of winter.
I don't know, but certainly it's a cold bleak week
for the lower South Island. But the positive is you've
got the driest weather in the country. In fact, for
your National park Our Rainforest is going to be the
(36:05):
driest place in New Zealand this week, along with Southland
at Hawk's Bay. So it's a little bit of a
strange week this week as far as the weather is concerned,
and to some degree to me it feels a little
bit late late autumn still. I mean not so much
for you in Dunedin, but the general weather pattern overall
where we're getting thunderstorms and subtropical winds one day and
then a polar changed the decks. So yeah, it's a
(36:27):
typical variety that we get in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
Well well as you alerded to Osborn and bred and
Inland South and I'd like to think I'm reasonably hardy,
getting a bit soft in my old age, but I
can tell you this weekend. Just mean in Dunedin with
highs of I think four or something each day was
as cold as I've ever felt. And I can't believe
I'm saying that I went through the big freeze of
the mid nineteen nineties down in South it was freezing.
(36:51):
It was a damp, cold fill it is.
Speaker 7 (36:54):
That I said last week this will be. This is
one of the coldest wind directions you can get. From
coastal Otigo up to Banks Peninsula is a big southeasterly
because unlike inland areas like Alexander and Queenstown at Twazel
where it can be very cold, the air is also
very dry in there, whereas coastal Otago Sea that breese
off the sea. That's a perfect recipe for you to
(37:16):
feel really cold. It's one of the reasons why Auckland
has complained about it being cold. There's so much sea
around us that can be very very scamp and you're
not the sea obviously that's damp, but the airflow coming
in around.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Come on, Fell Auckland, as don't know what cold is
fell Duncan. Thanks as always for your time on the country.
On a Monday, I'm going to catch you at Field
Days on Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Yes you will.
Speaker 7 (37:37):
Wednsdalston and looking forward to coming down.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Okay, that wraps the country for today. One more day
and the Dunedin Studios HQ for the Country and it's
back on the Big Bird back to Auckland and down
to Hamilton for field Days. Make sure if you're going
to field Days it's cash for centry now you need
to you know, don't bring cash to pay at the door.
(38:07):
Buy your tickets online. It's far in a way the
easiest way to get into field Days. We'll see you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
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.
Catch all the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McKay. Thanks to Brent, You're specialist in
John Deere construction equipment.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Get a New Zealand Welcome to the Country. It's field
Day's week. The countdown continues. Two sleeps to go. Just
come back from Auckland. I'm heading back up there again,
really looking forward to it. Ozzie Osbourne Black Sabbath apparently
doing one last concert. Are they going to have to
wheel poor old Ozzie out in the chair to sing?
(00:55):
I do not know, but Michelle the Bellcluther Bogan decided
to load them music up today and it doesn't get
much better than aaronoyed by Black Sabbath, does it. Nathan
Guy is the chair of the Meat Industry Association former
Primary Industries or was he agg Minister? Which sector is
(01:16):
most vulnerable to Trump's tariffs? According to a report I read, meat, dairy,
and wine were seen as being the most vulnerable tariffs
within the food and fiber sector. I wonder if Nathan
Guy agrees with that. He's waiting patiently on hold Mike Peterson.
(01:37):
She's He's worn a few hats, hasn't he? Former president
of beef and lamb New Zealand's former Special Agricultural Trade Endvoy.
He says, don't blame the pine trees when it comes
to the loss of Can you believe this number? Forty
five percent of the total flock in Hawk's Bay sheep
I'm talking about it's been lost in the past thirty
two years. Doctor Jaqueline Rowath's the MC and adjudicator for
(02:02):
the big Primary Sect well not primary sector Rural Support
Trust debate sold out at field Days and Phil Duncan
on the weather will give you a field day's report
for the weather. Apparently you might have to bring your
gun boots for the car park, but as I'm fond
of saying, that's about the only place you need to
worry about them. So sad to hear the passing of
(02:24):
Stu Wilson as well. More about that later, but up
next it's Nathan Guy. He is the chair of the
Meat Industry Association. Former Minister of Agriculture, Hora Finowa Cowcocky.
Nathan Guy and Nathan no doubt will catch up at
(02:46):
field days. Our paths will cross. But I want to
start with this one from a report out today. Most
New Zealand businesses surveyed believe the United States tariff policies
will have a much greater impact on them COVID nineteen
or the global financial crisis. Meat, dairy, and wine were
seen as the most vulnerable from tariffs. What do you
(03:08):
make for that? What do you make of that? Should
I say?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Well, I'm not sure? It might be a bit like
these international scientists that were ganging up on New Zealand
that we weren't doing enough to solve the meat dane
issue last week, and I heard the PM just kick
that for touch. This could be another one. My contacts
in the red meat industry are saying prices are still good,
pushing pretty hard to get it back into the customers,
(03:36):
and consumers having to pay rather than themselves. If you
look at meat company returns over the last twelve months,
they buy and large being sort of cigarette paper thin,
so they can't afford it, and the presidents made the decisions,
which is basically going to drive up costs and inflation.
So meat companies are having a bit of an arm
wrestle in some cases with customers at the border. But
(03:59):
they want our and they'll end up paying for it.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, my information certainly would suggest that the Americans are
paying for it, and when it comes to the hamburger
beef that they so desperately need, they're almost happy to
pay it just to get it.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
That's right. I read an article when was a few
weeks back that the average US consumer has three burgers
a week. It's a shipload, isn't it. The other thing
is that our grinding beef is recession proof, so if
they do drop into recession as a result of these tariffs,
and who knows if they will, but it's going to
(04:34):
have some impact. You know, hamburger patties and burgers are
a bit like a staple for US, but like milk
and cheese and bread and eggs and things, so I
think we're in a bit of a sweet spot. The
other thing is we just don't know what's going to
happen with the tariff war between the US and China.
That may have some upside for us in due course.
(04:55):
We're just waiting to see how long will.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
These record meat prices last. For beef, it's looking like
they could be at least two or three years. Great news.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
That's a feeling in the US, and that's why the
ten percent tariff is really going to just impact consumers
as opposed to our companies and the n Z. The
demand is very strong. Their heard rebuild is going to
take a while to occur. Worse culling as a result
of successive droughts for I don't know, fifty to seventy
(05:25):
years a hell of a long time. I can't bring
those numbers back overnight. So once again, I think we're
looking pretty good in the US. If we look at
LAMB in the UK and Europe, there is talk that
they've got a lack of supply over there, so once
again that's quite an important sweet spot for US and
a high value market. So I think overall, not discounting
(05:50):
Asia as well for fifth quarter and other growing markets,
I think we're looking pretty strong right now.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
We have some real though capacity issues within the red
meat industry. We're seeing sheep numbers four. I'm going to
talk to Mike Peterson about this one, but Hawke's Bay
has lost more than two million sheep. They've gone from
five million to three million in the space of thirty years.
That's a huge drop in percentage terms.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yes, that's a real issue for meat companies across the board.
Too much capacity, real competitive pricing at the moment to
get stock through their plants to make sure that they
can be efficient. Farmers are benefiting as a result of that,
and of course Alliance we're all just waiting to see
what happens there in due course with their decisions. It
(06:39):
feels and sounds like suppliers aren't prepared to put their
hand in their pockets, so they're going to need to
look for summer sternal investment or indeed it could come
from other meat companies in NZ, but who knows.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Wait and see, So do you reckon silver firm farms
might have a crack at the Alliance group.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I don't know Jamie anymore than there's rumors flying around
all over the place, but I really don't listen to
them and take any notice. The Alliance board or make
the decision in due course and we'll wait and see.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
What do you make a federated farmer's campaign? And I
say good on the FEDS for getting the billboards up
in central Wellington right across the road from the Beehive
to Save our Sheep campaign.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Ah, yes, I'm following that with a bit of interest.
I think it's great politics at the grassroots level because
trees have had an impact on rural communities. When I
was in Parliament, I stood up on several occasions and
said this policy will hollow out rural communities. It's indeed
done that. I'm waiting for the government to make a decision.
(07:42):
I think it's imminent on what they're going to do
about the forestry settings and land use changes and things.
It does feel a little bit like the horse has
bolted over the last few years, and of course that
started under the durn government and this one have certainly
been very sympathetic to farmers and have made a lot
(08:04):
of changes in regulations and environmental stuff already, and this
is the next big one that we're waiting for. Should
we be.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Enter out of Paris. I know what you're going to say.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
What do you think I'm going to say?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
I think you're going to say, We've got to stay
in the Paris Agreement.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
That's exactly what I think in a personal level, and
also being a former Minister of Primary Industries and being
involved in the trade space, it's a no brainer. We've
got to stay in there because what are we One
hundred and ninety six other countries are in there, and
that would cause US a huge amount of angst and
(08:43):
legal consequences if we pulled out. I know, once again
the politics and this at the grassroots, everyone thinks, get
the hell out of it. But here's a number for
farmers to put in their back pocket. In the last year,
we exported one point seven billion dollars of red meat
to the EU and the UK, and they would be
(09:04):
the two markets that would have a real crack at
US if we pulled out. We spend a lot of
time talking about non tariff barriers when we travel around
the world, talking to countries that have these itches, and
once they're in place, they're hard to remove. So this
would be seen as a tariff barrier by New Zealand
and it doesn't make any economic sense. Ultimately, it would
(09:26):
cost a schedule on sheep meat and red meat into
the UK and the EU.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Nathan guy, thank you very much for your time. I'll
look forward to catching up with you for a coffee
or a bear or a burger. Who knows that field
days it better.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Be a bear, Jamie. Because I see that you've had
another award winning recognition. I hope your pullroom at home
is big enough for all of these gongs that you
keep getting congratulations on your long service acknowledgment at the
Radio Awards last week.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Well, well, it kind of has a farming connection. I
jokingly call it the about to be put out to
asked you award. If you hang around for long enough, Nathan,
you get the chocolates, see you later, see it cheers, right,
get on you, Nathan. Do you think I'm past it? Michelle,
be careful? This could be career defining for you. Well,
(10:17):
compared to Ozzy Osborne. I'm not past that, am I?
Speaker 4 (10:19):
No, No, you're You're just your prime. Compared to Ozzie.
I mean if he can still perform his agent and
his condition now, and he's got a performance coming up
in July, their last one ever in Birmingham where he's from,
of course, famous brummy. I think you can keep going
for a few more years.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Yet, someone who's not continuing on as Stuart's and Claire
Wilson passed away sadly, I think yesterday and how wrong
I'm mount MONGANII yeah, he's born in Gore, same hospital
as me and Jenny Shipley and Barry Sober and had
a bit to do with old stew over the years.
(10:54):
He's quite a character great rack on tour, but he
was I think more important when I was at like
high school or secondary school. When we were playing rugby,
guys like Stu Wilson, Bruce Roberts and Bill Osborne were
our real heroes because they were flamboyant and Stu Wilson.
Stu Wilson was a great wing three quarter. He would
(11:17):
be sensational in the modern game because he had everything power, pace, size.
It's one of the first backs I think that actually
all blacks backs that used weight training. I got into
weight training to build himself up. Gone but not forgotten.
I miss. I'm at the Mount Monganuy Golf Club. I
know he was a keen member there. Rest in peace,
Stu up Next, Mike Pedison, don't blame the pine trees,
(11:41):
says Mike, the former president of Beef and Lamb New
Zealand Hawks. Bay's lost forty five percent of its total
sheep block in the past thirty two years. We'll talk
about that one. Doctor Jack Willon Rowath and Phil Duncan
with the field day's forecast. Where before the end of
the hour, well as promised and we always deliver here
(12:11):
on the country. We've found our man Mike Petterson, former
chair of Beef and Lamb New Zealand, former special New
Zealand Trade agg Envoid. Did I get that around the
right way? Mike? And of course these days our share
of Scales one of our biggest horticulture companies. Interesting story
in Hawk's Bay today your local paper, Mike, about the
loss of sheep numbers and Hawk's Bay you've gone from
(12:34):
five million to three million? Can we blame the pine trees?
Speaker 5 (12:38):
Well?
Speaker 6 (12:39):
Can I?
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Jamie? And always good to catch up with you again.
Look look in part. You could look at it in
recent times and say that certainly pine trees are having
an impact, there's no doubt about that. But we've got
to remember that this is a region where the gimblet
gravels used to farm sheep because of the subsidies that
are being paid to farmers at the time, back in
(13:00):
the eighties. So there have been a range of reasons
why sheep numbers have declined in Hawks Bay. The growing
wine industry, there's been many other horticulture and cropping opportunities,
and of course there's been urbanization as well, with people
building lifestyle blocks because it's a great place to live.
So pine trees are not the sole reason at all.
(13:22):
And in fact, even though they're the most recent visual
thing that we can see, lend us, change has been
happening for a long time.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
So you reckon or was it that business desk story
you sent to me quoting the forest station If you want,
of regions like hawkspay no worse than it was twenty
years ago, Why does it seem much worse? It seems
much worse to me.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
Oh, look, we're seeing properties that would not normally have
been in pine trees being planted in pine trees, and
it's very visual and it's quite confronting for people. I
fully understand that, and certainly places out the way like
Wallingford Station that was always seen as an iconic sheep
and beef farming property was planted in pine trees. That's
(14:07):
one example. But the issue for me still, Jamie, is
it actually, when you look at the numbers, and Business
Desks quotes them very well, there are no more hectores
planted than pine trees today than there were in the
two thousand and two. So in the last twenty to
twenty five years, the amount of land and forestry in
(14:27):
New Zealand has not changed. And so yes, it's particularly
graphic in some regions, but on a nationwide basis it
actually has.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah, but Mike, we're planting it in places we wouldn't
have planted it in two thousand and two, and we're
talking and this is the I think this is the
criminal part of it. The blanket planting of some of
these farms. Fair enough to do some of the back country,
maybe some of the south facing country, I don't know,
but when you've got good flat land that should be
(14:57):
producing food, growing pine trees, I think it's a crime.
And the other thing is and you'll probably disagree with
me on this one as well. Isn't there an element
of spray and walk away to this?
Speaker 5 (15:08):
Oh? No, Well, firstly, just to be clear, I don't
supplant I don't support planning productive farmland and pine trees.
And in fact, on our property here, you know, we
planted twenty percent of the farm, but it was all
a natives, so you know, I mean, you know, I'm
pretty happy with what we're doing here. There's no doubt
about that. Look, I think, though there's a question mark
about the spray walk away. And I'm not here to
(15:30):
defend the carbon foresters, even though I'm involved in advising
some of these firms, but you know, we are a company,
and the firms i'm involved with that don't plant productive
land and pine trees, and so you know that to
me is the right approach and we should have a
mosaic approach. I'm one hundred percent on board with that, Jamie,
(15:50):
and that would be a preferred approach from my point
of view.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Do you think the government legislation which is due to
come into place a bit later this year will effectively
level out the playing field there?
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Well?
Speaker 5 (16:03):
The change is that the government made about the amount
of land that can be registered in the eats took
place from December last year, so it is going to
have an impact, There's no doubt about that, Jamie. But
one thing I think you won't stop is you won't
stop demand from some people wanting to change land use
and plant pine trees for whatever the reason. And it
(16:24):
may be that a combination of forestry and carbon is
the most profitable use of that land. And I firmly
in the camp where I don't want the government telling
me what I can and can't do with my own land,
and I don't think landowners should be stopped from doing that.
Speaker 7 (16:39):
So once you.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
Start putting restrictions in place, once you start looking to
the government to decide where and what to do with
your farm land, then we're on a really slippery slope.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
One more question on this before I move on to
horticulture and water in Hawks Bay. Do you think there's
a danger? Yes, forestry for production, excellent logs, export them.
But is there a danger in twenty or thirty years
time that these carbon credits won't even exist?
Speaker 5 (17:04):
Well, at some stage, Jamie, the price of carbons can
to be zero, you know, That's what that's like. That's
all likelihood of that happening. I don't know if that'll
be in ten years or thirty years or fifty years.
But carbon credits are a transition to a lower mission's economy,
and we could all question about whether the pace of
(17:25):
that change has slowed down in recent times or not.
But I think the general trend is clear and that
we will be trying to produce things more efficiently with
technologies and energy sources are going to be more carbon efficient.
So yes, the price of carbon will be zero one day,
and so some people may hold assets that are actually
worth zero, but that's not my call. To make it this.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Time probably won't be your problem in twenty or thirty
years time either. Mic I shouldn't say that Tokichoki water
project we saw Ruatana for fallover, is this one going
to go in Hawks Bay and lower sent Hawks Bay
where you're based, because this would transform the landscape.
Speaker 7 (18:04):
Well, it certainly would.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
I mean the region Hawk's Bay is a region unfortunately
is running dry, and so we need to face up
to the reality that of all the rivers that flow
to the sea, there's about seven point two billiont cubes
of water flows to the sea out of the rivers
of Hawk's Bay each year, and we kept a pretty
much zero amount of that. We're looking to hold up
(18:26):
one point four percent in this Twoktiki Water Security project
storage dan one point four percent of that total water
that runs through the sea and let it go when
people are short. We think it makes perfect sense. Frankly,
water storage is not the silver bullet. It's not the
only answer, Jamie, But I tell you what, water storage
has to be part of the solution.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
For this part of the world.
Speaker 5 (18:48):
If you want to see more jobs, high value food
production and processing and actually bit environmental occoumps oh it's.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
A damn fine solution if you ask me, no pun intended.
Will that land or go to horticulture, by the way.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
More than likely, Jamie, because when you look at the
opportunities for permanent horticulture, we've got wattes and mccains in
this part of the world, so vegetable and fruit production
or high value seed production, which we're also trying to
do here in Hawks Bay. The reality is that no
one here can do that stuff now with any degree
(19:25):
of certainty because they can't get access to any water.
The catchments are fully allocated, and in fact in the
Heretongua you've actually got the amount of water that has
allocated been cut back by about thirty to forty percent
in some cases, which makes it impossible.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Hey. A final word on scales. As a very small
scale investor, myself and the company and mate of your
chief executive Andrew Borland, is he working hard enough on
my behalf?
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Hi, He's working outstandingly and well, Jamie. So you can
be rest assured that your reinvestment in Scale I was
being well looked after we've got in your shareholders meeting
tomorrow in Krosshitch and so it's a time when generally
people come along and enjoy a bit of conversation and
also we have plenty of our fine apples and produce
(20:14):
on display for people to take home and enjoy as well.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Good on you, Mike Petterson, thanks for your time. I'll
see you at field Days.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Thanks Jamie, look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Bang on twelve thirty here on the Country. Up next
to the latest and rural news and sports news. Those
Ahoo Fenoa are Farming Awards up and over the weekend
Doctor jaquilen Roe with Phil Duncan to come and some more.
Stu Wilson Trivia for you.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
And.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
My name is.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Welcome back to the Country. The show is brought to
you by Brant looking forward to catching up with the
team at field Days. Someone else I'm looking forward to
catching up with at field Days as the team from
PGG Rights and Right for farmers and growers, Every season counts.
That's why PGG Rights and works alongside you on farm
on orchards in your community every season of the year.
(21:09):
From agronomy and animal health to horticulture and farming supplies.
They have the knowledge and products to help keep you
growing and thriving. And this Field Days they're bringing their
best to you at Mystery Creek. Visit the PGG Rights
in site at E seventy five to discover field Day
specials and a range of clothing brands to keep you
warm this winter. Explore their Future Farming Hub that highlights
(21:31):
how they're working to help shape tomorrow's farms and orchards.
Make sure to ask about their sky count technology and
their brand new podcast, Blue Shed Dairy It's very good.
While you're there, enter their sight wide competition for your
chance to win a premium wallpack that celebrates New Zealand's
quality wall producers and the PGG Rights and Wool Integrity Program,
(21:55):
So market on your calendar. Make sure you visit PGG
Rights and at the E seventy five site at field Days.
They're helping you grow the country. I'll be there to
support PGG Rights and I'll tell you why because they
support the ise carf and Rural scheme. Looking forward to it.
Here's Michelle with the latest and rural news and I like.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
A woman at the country's world news with cod Cadet,
new Zealand's leading right on lawn bower brand. Visit steel
Ford dot cot On insip for your local Stockist.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
And Northland Bays fung Naya Tonga Trust was awarded the
two twenty five I'm stumbling over this, sorry, twenty twenty
five are who Fenawa Trophy for excellence in Maori sheep
and Beef farming, while Te Tai Tokuro Farm manager Kobe
Warmington took out the twenty twenty five Young Maori Farmer
Award at apaxiremony and Palms North on Friday. Now this
(22:48):
trophy fun fact for you here, Jamie. It dates back
to nineteen thirty three. Where as she makes it, I
think the oldest farming.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Award in And there's a rugby connection, isn't.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
That there is? Indeed, our Lord Charles Blederslowe was part
of forming that competition.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Yeah, wonderful celebrating excellence of Maori farming.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
That is a lever on news.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
He got sports news there talking about Ozzie's.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Sports with AFCO. Visit them online at AFCO dot co
dot enzed.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
How good was it? And I only saw bits of it.
I was floating in and out of some pre records.
The decisive moment, though, came when Ryan Fox let me
just get to the top of the story. Of course,
Fox eg Ryan Fox outlasted Sam Burns and the four
hole playoff to win the Canadian Open. The decisive moment
came when Fox launched a two hundred and fifty nine
(23:37):
yard approach with the three wood to within seven feet
of the pin. The victory marks his second PGA Tour
one with a maiden career breakthrough in May. Fox earns
entry into the field this week for this week's US
Open in Pennsylvania. So looking forward to that one when
I get home from Field Days and shock horror talking
(23:59):
about the OZ. He's not Rugby and the Bledderslow Cup,
but Rugby League captain Daily Cherry Evans has been acted
from the Queensland side for game two of the league's
State of Origin. Where's my screen Gone? State of Origin
game in Perth next Wednesday, always synonymous with field Days
game one of the of the State of Origin. They've
(24:21):
got out of Sinkerwee. But these days so no State
of Origin to watch at field Days. So that is
rural news and sports news. This is you'll have never heard,
you know, how you played? I had to play some
black Sabbath I'd never heard of.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Yeah, which I'm really shocked by. But I'm so glad
I never had to hear this song, although.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
It's an appalling song. It's called float On by the Floaters.
But for some reason, back in nineteen seventy seven, when
Stu Wilson made his All Black Tests debut, he had
gone to Argentina the year before with Jack Gleason's team,
but that didn't count for a Test match. Unfortunately it
should have. They are a great But when Stue made
(25:02):
his Test debut on the eleventh of the eleventh nineteen
seventy seven, that's historically significant as well, eleven month of
the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Anyhow so he
played on the wing, debut on the wing for the
All Blacks in France, scored a brilliant try in the
second Test. Brian mckeckney, if you're listening, that was a
(25:25):
great game, the cult great drop goal from the sideline.
Those were the days. Those were absolutely the days. Anyhow,
So this was number one for six weeks on Radio.
No wonder Stu went over to play rugby in France.
If he had to listen to this drivel at home,
I cannot believe it anyhow. Up next to doctor Jaqueline Roweth,
(25:55):
here's someone who I always look forward to catching up
with in person at Field, doctor Jaquelin Rowe with one
of our leading primary sector academics and Jacquelin, I'm not
quite sure what I'm doing on the Wednesday night of
Field Days, Wednesday evening, I'm double parked. I've got the
option of a Findeck's dinner or going along to the
(26:15):
sold out Rural Support Trust evening and debate which you're
cheering and m seeing. What do you reckon?
Speaker 6 (26:23):
Oh gosh, Well, it's so wonderful to be as famous
as you, Jamie. And well done on your Outstanding Contribution
to Radio award because it has been and you've plugged
the rules sector really supported it all those years with
good talking, good writing. Very well done and in terms
of the debate, there will certainly be talking. I'm hoping
(26:45):
it's going to be good. And I'm just doing that part,
just the debate part with Row doing the whole of
the event and toss a coin whether you should be
at the debate. It'll be fun. The Fintech dinner. I'm
sure you'll learn a lot. You might even learn something
the debate it's for they are all support Trust and
there are some amazing things that are being auctioned live
(27:07):
and there's quite a lot on the silent auction as well.
We all know that they're a great organization.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Well that's a great fundraisers sold out. I'm hearing five
hundred and fifty people packed out. Now, what is the
moot for the debate?
Speaker 6 (27:21):
The grass is greener in the South Island. So we
have a North Island team led by Julia Jones, supported
by Sue's Redmain run A Bay politicians from the Manuitu
Rangeticki area and Jenna Smith who has had some profile
recently because of various reports like Hanna Nuffield. Then the
(27:42):
South Island, James Meager is the lead. He's the new
MP for the South Island, with Katie Milne whom we
remember well fom Federated Farmers and George Dodson who won
the Young Farmer of the Year last year. So it's
going to be gloves off, but you know, during the day,
boots on and actually the forecast is not as great
(28:05):
as it could be for field days, so you might
keep your gloves on there as well. But this particular
event will be heated at least the debate side.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, okay, let's have a look at field Days. You're right,
the forecasters and that flesh. Maybe bring your gun boots
Wednesday and Friday. But it's as I said to Richard Lindrus,
the new chief executive, it's to be honest, it's really
only the car parks that you need the gun boots
for these days. Check one.
Speaker 6 (28:32):
Yes, that is absolutely true. And the warmth of everybody
at the field days, the enthusiasm for the talking, a
bit of kicking of tires and general discussion about the outlook,
which is looking pretty good at the moment. That is
the hot That is the major thing we go for,
the innovation to technologies that might be useful on farm.
(28:52):
But it's the whole spirit, the warmth of the spirit
of field days that is well, it's addictive. We've discussed before.
I've been. My first one was nineteen seventy six and
I arrived in the country only five months before the
field Days were on. That it was quite an experience
for me.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Geez, nineteen seventy six, check were on that aging even well, No,
I was. I was in the sixth form at Saint
Peter's College and Gore and I was rugby mad. I
was in the first fifteen and one of my real
heroes was a young guy by the name of Stu
Wilson who was just starting to make it in the
All Blacks, and poor old Stew's passed away. What a
(29:31):
brilliant rugby player he was. You do a brilliant column
for us on our website Thecountry dot co dot nz
and this week you write the land of the long
white cloud, Kiwi, sheep, gum boots and field days. New
Zealand has them all The clouds when they become fog
are a disruptive nuisance. The Kiwi flightless like aeroplanes, and
(29:55):
fog are increasing thanks to conservation efforts. Won't read the
whole column out, but you bang on about the fog
at Hamilton. That's why these days. See I'm an experienced campaigner, Jacqueline.
We always fly in and out of Auckland for that
very reason.
Speaker 6 (30:10):
Right well, very sensible. But this year maybe the fog
won't come because actually we've got some fun, we've got
some rain, and what we hope is for lots of
people to be there and not get stuck in the
car parks, which is a sort of nightmare. There are
plenty of students around to pull you out if it
did happen, but the embarrassment. So let's keep our feet
(30:32):
dry and our eyes looking at all the exciting things
that are there for us to delight in.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
I reckon it's going to be a really positive field
days because, as we know, farmers have been through some
challenging years and the COVID years. This year we've got
very good commodity prices, we've got falling interest rates, and
the government sweetened it a wee bit with the budget
announcement of the investment tax boost, and I reckon there's
a lot of pent up expenditure that needs to be
(31:00):
done on big ticket items tractors, trucks, utes, four wheelers,
and I reckon they're going to go gangbusters at field days.
Speaker 6 (31:08):
Well, good R and D. People forget about the maintenance
and the repairs and the replacement that needs to go
on on farm and they just say, well, if farmers
are spending out large and we must be paying them
too much. That is not the case. As you say,
there's been very little purchased for quite a while.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Let's just finish on field days. For me, the main
thing about field days is not buying tractors. My days
are buying tractors have passed a jaquelle for me. For me,
it's networking. I get to see people that I talk
to on a weekly basis face to face, sometimes only
once or twice a year. And field days is the
best place to network, whether you're in media, a farmer
(31:49):
or a scientist.
Speaker 6 (31:51):
Oh and rural professionals. It's everybody. And that's where the
great fomentation, the ideas perpolate, and then we can think
about how we're going to make them with with scientists,
how to make them come true or work out whether
it's right for lots of different farmers or just suits
that particular farmer. And I'm involved in the Innovation awards again,
(32:12):
so that takes Wednesday. When we're looking at all the
different entrance and the range of things that are being
developed is just so exciting. We think back to the
flutter valve that shows which way the water is flowing
or indeed if it slowed down. That was back at
the beginning of these Innovation awards, and now it's just
(32:33):
something you can get. It's part of farming now. The
ballcocks with their wobbly edge wobbly ns so that the
cows just don't break them in the way that they
used to. And this year, well go along and have
a look everybody. The innovation tent is bursting with new ideas.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
And you can easily lose three or four hours on there.
It's fantastic. I'll see you at field Goals.
Speaker 6 (32:56):
Thanks the ads looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Thanks yep. And up next on the Country, it's a
field day's forecast with Big Phil Duncan. He's our weather
man on the country on a Monday. I'm not interested
in Monday's Phil Duncan. I'm interested in Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
and to a lesser degree, Saturday, because I'll be home
(33:21):
by then for field days. Let's start with the biggest
egg event of the year and the forecast for the
sweet good afternoon today.
Speaker 7 (33:29):
Thanks for having me. There's some good news. The good
news is a week ago it looked as though the
Wednesday was going to be raining all day long. Now
it looks as though that's going to be a lot
more broken up, with some of it coming on Tuesday night,
so that's a positive thing. Overall, there's a very large
low in the Tasman Sea and it's going to be
producing milder than usual conditions for field days this year.
(33:51):
But the downside is it's going to come with a
few thunderstorms and a few big downpours, So don't worry
about frost this year. It's more about the downpours.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Yeah. The other good news is I looked at the
weather forecast for Hamilton for the rest of the week
and it's going to be sixteen seventeen eighteen degrees so
not cold.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
Not cold at all. Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 7 (34:11):
The cold air is very much stuck in the lower
quarter or the lower one third of the South Island
this week, where it barely barely shifts. But the top
of the country, yes, subtropical winds or northwesters and westerlies.
That's why we've see these thunderstorms today around the top
of the country, and they'll be off and on all
week coming off the Tasman Sea. As this low kind
of moves in and then kind of falls apart, it
(34:32):
doesn't really move very fast because there's actually a high pressure,
very narrow high pressure belt over the country tomorrow and
then that'll be east of New Zealand by Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
kind of slowing down this low out in the Tasman.
It's not going to get bigger and nastier. It's just
going to be sitting there and throwing us a few
big gampaurs as they move on through.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Now the network TV channels, as they're prone to do
breathlessly reporting on shock, horror, snow in June. But if
you're going to get snow weather or hot, cold, horrible
weather like we've had in Dunedin, June is the perfect
month for it, especially from a farming point of view.
Everything's locked down for the winter. And I'm talking about
the livestock farmers here. You want it now and in
(35:13):
early to mid July, rather than you know, mid July onwards,
basically when we're getting into carving and lambing.
Speaker 7 (35:21):
I was here, you're right. I was actually looking at
your stomping ground around Gore Riversdale area the other day
and talking to you Andy Muir, and we were looking
at the temperatures and they are very low. Like I mean,
the maximum temperature is not so much the overnight lows
which are sort of about normal, but the daytime highs
a number of days are only around five or six
degrees for ten days in a row. I haven't really
(35:44):
seen it that cold for a number of years from
a daytime point of view, over such a long stretch.
So will that be our coldest week of the year,
because sometimes it happens at the very start of winter.
I don't know, but certainly it's a cold bleak week
for the lower South Island. But the positive is you've
got the driest weather in the country. In fact, for
your National park Our Rainforest is going to be the
(36:05):
driest place in New Zealand this week, along with Southland
at Hawk's Bay. So it's a little bit of a
strange week this week as far as the weather is concerned,
and to some degree to me it feels a little
bit late late autumn still. I mean not so much
for you in Dunedin, but the general weather pattern overall
where we're getting thunderstorms and subtropical winds one day and
then a polar changed the decks. So yeah, it's a
(36:27):
typical variety that we get in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
Well well as you alerded to Osborn and bred and
Inland South and I'd like to think I'm reasonably hardy,
getting a bit soft in my old age, but I
can tell you this weekend. Just mean in Dunedin with
highs of I think four or something each day was
as cold as I've ever felt. And I can't believe
I'm saying that I went through the big freeze of
the mid nineteen nineties down in South it was freezing.
(36:51):
It was a damp, cold fill it is.
Speaker 7 (36:54):
That I said last week this will be. This is
one of the coldest wind directions you can get. From
coastal Otigo up to Banks Peninsula is a big southeasterly
because unlike inland areas like Alexander and Queenstown at Twazel
where it can be very cold, the air is also
very dry in there, whereas coastal Otago Sea that breese
off the sea. That's a perfect recipe for you to
(37:16):
feel really cold. It's one of the reasons why Auckland
has complained about it being cold. There's so much sea
around us that can be very very scamp and you're
not the sea obviously that's damp, but the airflow coming
in around.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Come on, Fell Auckland, as don't know what cold is
fell Duncan. Thanks as always for your time on the country.
On a Monday, I'm going to catch you at Field
Days on Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Yes you will.
Speaker 7 (37:37):
Wednsdalston and looking forward to coming down.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Okay, that wraps the country for today. One more day
and the Dunedin Studios HQ for the Country and it's
back on the Big Bird back to Auckland and down
to Hamilton for field Days. Make sure if you're going
to field Days it's cash for centry now you need
to you know, don't bring cash to pay at the door.
(38:07):
Buy your tickets online. It's far in a way the
easiest way to get into field Days. We'll see you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
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.
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