June 26, 2025 • 38 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Todd McClay, Wayne Langford, Hamish Marr, Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, and Chris Russell.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Catch all the latest from the land.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
It's the Country Podcast with Jamie McGue Thanks to Brent,
You're specialist in John Deere machinery.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
I've been in love New York City time all too.
I have some sea coffee, so Chicago win, Kansas sweet Fields.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I love to.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
See Gamp the bar Blast play where the cattives grow.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
In them Southern girls.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
They talk nice and.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
So give their fee.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Then to b get a New Zealand and welcome to
the Country. Back at Duneda HQ after two days in
christ Church, I'm Jamie McKay, by the way for the
primary industry in New Zealand, Summits and Awards. We're going
to kick off the show with the Minister of Agriculture
and Trade, Todd McClay. Also on the show today, Wayne Langford,
(01:03):
president of Federated Farmers. At least I still think he
is farmer. Politics is a brutal business. I can tell
you that Toby Williams, who I thought was doing an
excellent job as chair of Meat and woolf for Federated Farmers,
he's gone. We'll tell you all about that. And what
about the chief executive. What happened to Terry Copeland. Hamishmah
(01:23):
is New Zealand's Special Agricultural Trade endvoy. Caught up with
him at PINS, didn't get a chance to talk to him,
so I've found him on the farm today. Doctor Jaquelin
Rowath on why we should be applauding the price of
butter and Chris Russell, an Australian comment correspondent, Should I
say anyone for a bit of wooly mammoth meat? One
(01:46):
of the subjects we're going to address today, But let's
kick it off with the Minister of Agriculture and Trade
who was one of the keynotes speakers at the PINS summit,
Todd McLay, to have you on the show. Todd couldn't
catch up with you at the awards dinner because you
had to go back to Wellington because on Tuesday evening
(02:08):
the Farm to Forest Band passed its first reading unanimously,
I think, and this is off the back of excuse me, sorry,
And this was off the back of every party in
the House voting to support it. Did I get my
evening's right? Was it Tuesday or Wednesday evening?
Speaker 5 (02:28):
It was, Hey, Jamie, good evening, Yes, it was Tuesday evening.
You're right, and that's right. So the first step towards
stopping wholesale farm the forest conversion, planting of plying trees
on our best foods producing land going to ets has happened.
It started. We're going to get this in law by
October this year. But it's backdated to when the Prime
(02:48):
Minister and I made the announcement down in Central Otago
or Southland on the fourth of December last year. And
it is very very well put together. It's very very strict.
And as I hear a few people around the place
wondering if somebody's gone out and bought trees thinking they
can plant, you know, after that date, they've got to
be very careful. They're going to lose.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Okay, God, well, why am I hearing anecdotally that there's
still a lot of blanket farm to forestry conversions happening.
People are rauting the rules.
Speaker 6 (03:19):
No.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Well, so, in essence, the announcements made from the fourth
of December, that's when it will take effect. Any planting
you're seeing at the moment is a decision that was
made more than a year ago. So if you think Jamie,
you went out the end the last year for that
and brought some land. It normally takes about a season
to two seasons before you're able to plant, so there's
still going to be some purchases or conversions that are
(03:42):
in the system going all the way through. We're put
in transitional means. As they say, if somebody was in
the process before that date. You know, we're a center
right government. We're not taking value off them based upon
their decision at the time. But anybody out there that
thinks from the fourth of December onwards they're smarter than
the law is going to lose some because we have
put this together to achieve what we need to stop
(04:04):
wholesale conversion of our best food producing land and going
into trees.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
And when will this finally get into legislation. It's obviously
past its first reading this week.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
Yeah, so we're putting it through very quickly. I sent
it off to the Environment Committee. It will be out
for consultation and they've got seven weeks to work through
it and turn it around. We're given the ability to
virtually work every hour of the day between now and then.
I do expect there'll be a lot of submissions on
both sides around the law. They'll get it back to
us and I think it's by the thirteenth of August,
(04:38):
and then we will put it through the raining stages
during the month of August, so we can get some
of the rules and the regulations in place in September
and it will take effect during October. And so we
moved very very quickly. The point of this is it's
very well signaled. I campaigned on this policy, it came
through the Codition Agreement, and then we've taken a lot
of time to get the detail. Rights aren't any you know,
(05:01):
any consequences that are not foreseen. There is a lot
of detail in there. But fundamentally it is as simple
as us. New Zealand makes money exporting around the world,
and we do so by producing food and we're wholesale
conversion of farms takes place with these rural schools. We
lose rural communities with these rural families and rural businesses.
(05:22):
There's a role for pharacy to play, a very important
one in New Zealand, but not at the expense or
particularly sheep and beef lanned. And so I'm pretty pleased, surprised,
but very pleased that there was unanimous support in Parliament
for this. I think some of the Opposition party sort
of have pre qualifications and we'll find ways to wriggle out.
But I say to the Labor Party, if you actually
(05:43):
pack farmers, vote for this bill and then get on
board with some other stuff I'm doing, because it's good
for all of New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
I've got a text just arrived and todd says B. S.
Todd A rampant forestry conversions still going on in Hawks Bay.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
Yeah, but largely that's nothing to do with something that
happened from the fourth of December onwards. And just as
you know, there'll be farmers that want to make changes
they decided last year.
Speaker 7 (06:08):
They get to continue to do that.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
But anybody that has bought land but after the fourth
of December or found trees had them before and didn't
have the land after the fourth of December, it will
not be able to plant trees to enter the missions
trading scale. But farmers will be able to make choices themselves.
They'll be able to plant up the twenty five percent
of their own land if they want to. And on
luck sixth land, we're going to have a small quota
to allow some choice for farmers and other landowners. But
(06:32):
the wholesale conversions will stop because the law will say
it's not possible. But much of the planting you see
this season is based on decisions we're making a couple
of years.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Yeah, okay, And it's the blanket planting that irks people,
Like if a farmer wants to plant twenty five percent
of his farm and trees, good luck to them, will hurt.
Speaker 7 (06:50):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
So what you were seeing is people speculating on you know,
the carbon price of the future and that it would
go up, not on whether you can get money out
us you know, how to meet or dairy And my
biggest concern was the effect that was having upon communities
but also our explorts. If you think about it right,
land prices don't go down in New Zealand. You can
see a situation where our best dairy land was purchasing
trees put on it because somebody thinks the carbon price
(07:14):
will be a lot more worth a lot more than
milk in the future and that would just be absolute madness.
And so this is a big deal for our national
government to put restrictions like this on private property rights,
except if you want to plant trees all over your
farm you can do. So, you just can't put into
the emissions trading scheme so that carbon price won't drive
(07:34):
land decisions. What will drive land due decisions is what's
best for that land, all.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Right, Just just to finish on it rigs to me,
this whole thing of the Emperor's new clothes Todd McLay
and I worry and I wonder. It may not be
a problem for me twenty years down the track, but
the future generations we're just setting ourselves up to fail
with the carbon forestry we already have. And I'm not
talking about production forstry here. I'm talking about spray and
(08:02):
walk away because anecdotally, once again I'm hearing there's lots
of that.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Yeah, look, I agree, I'm not responsible for these years,
but there's a forestry minister. I think it's mad. We
can plant trees and leave them forever and we don't
even get commercial value out of them by putting them
for a sawmill or sending them on a ship overseas.
So I'm not a big fan of that. However, there
is a role for that to play in some situations
with our farmers and others around the country that want
(08:27):
to plant nators and other sorts of trees and leave them.
We're doing quite a bit of work to recognize those
and make it easier. But look, I can't disagree with you, Jamie.
The idea that we're going to plant a pine try
somewhere and leave it forever of the name of climate
change because it's a bit more convenient or easier for
a government and we don't even create jobs for it
is madness and that's a really big part of why
(08:47):
we're putting this band on changing farms into forests in
place over the next two months.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Todd McLay, Minister of Agriculture and Trade, thanks for your time.
Speaker 7 (08:56):
You're welcome.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
So there you go, Todd McLay, tell me what you
think on the text line. Some of you are already.
There's another one I call bs on tree conversions being
set yet a year ago as Todd realized the audience
he's talking to aren't dumb, and he just sounds like
a fool. And they've been way too slow in acting.
(09:18):
I think they have been a bit slow in acting.
They announced it obviously in December of last year, but
there's been a hell of a lot of farms that
I here are going through the back door. Maybe I'm wrong,
maybe my information is wrong. You tell me out there
in farmingland, what's happening at your place? The text line
is five double O nine. Okay. Now let's very quickly
(09:41):
take a break on the other side of at Wayne Langford,
who is the president of Federated Farmers but he's now
the acting CEO. What the hell happened there? And farmer
politics is a bit of a brutal business. Toby Williams
has gone. I thought he did a really good job
of advocating on behalf of the sheep and beef farmers
(10:02):
or the mitch he's meat and wool farmers against carbon farming,
because it's all happening in his backyard in the in
the Gisbane region. So we'll chat to him Hamishma and
New Zealand's Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, doctor jaquayln Rowth and
Chris Russell, our Australian correspondent as well, and we'll tell
you how you can vote for your favorite Young Farmer
(10:25):
region with the f MG Region Office. We head into
the grand final for the Young Farmer of the Year
next week in in Picago like.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
A serving girl.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
And you roll doll run the Cardinal Startlish Pete Dolfield Group.
Welcome back to the country. Wayne Langford is the President
of Federated Farmers. Him and his team have done an
excellent job over the past two days in christ Church
for the primary industry in New Zealand's summit, Wonderful Farming
(11:07):
Conference and of course the awards. You're a busy man,
Wayne Langford, because you're not only the President of Federated Farmers,
you're the acting CEO. Why did Terry Copeland, your existing
chief executive, resign so suddenly this.
Speaker 8 (11:21):
Week, Oh afternoon, Jamien, you must be a top tier
radio station, because I've just stepped out of our AGM
that's currently running. We're up to room at number six
to have a yarnt here. So but in terms of
your question there, Terry, he's put in a fantastic effort
at Federal Farmers seven years, he's been with us, he's
been inficating to us for it for a while. Now
(11:42):
that he's there's going to be heading off and so
it's just a few weeks ago we got the news
and and he's heading off. So we wish him, wish
him well where he's going. He's done a top job
lifting lifting our organization to what it is now, and
we're I'm really excited to see what the what the
next step brings.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
And I know that the summit and the awards were
his brain shold, So congratulations on that. But I just
can't leave it at that. You don't normally announce your
resignation on a Monday and go on a Friday.
Speaker 8 (12:12):
Hey, you don't normally do that, but feeds don't normally
do a lot of things in that and so that's
just what we're doing. Like I said, we're pretty aware
of it, and we've actually got a really great senior
management team that can can handle the load there in
between working out to market to see what's out there.
So no doubt you've got some listeners that will probably
be putting up their hands and sending me an email saying, Hey,
(12:32):
I want to be in control of the best and
largest organizationacy organization in the world.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah, okay, I'm not quite sure I buy that, but anyhow,
let's move on. And I must say, Federated Farmers and
I think you guys are doing a really good job
of advocacy and I think groundswell turned up at the
right sort of time and gave feeds a bit of
a punt up the backside. And I think you're doing
a good job, but it is a brutal business. I
(12:58):
see Toby William another one of your spokespeople or presidents.
What the chair should I say of meat and Well?
I thought he'd done an excellent job advocating for meat
and wool farmers, especially around carbon forestry. He's gone, He's
been replaced by and I met him yesterday. What's Richard
(13:20):
Dawkins from Marlborough as the meat and wheel chair? Why?
Speaker 8 (13:26):
Yeah, that's right. Democracy and action and then f fits
a part of that as well. So I set through
that process and the mean Will Council from across the
country voted for that. You're right, Toby has done an
absolutely amazing job advocacy. Do you think he's He took
over from William reathon coming out of the back end
(13:46):
of the walker can we gave that on the boot
and then also he led the way through the cyclone recovery,
so extremely extremely great advocate for met and will sector.
I think most farmers will acknowledge that he's he's really
lifted their advocacy and really put the pressure on the
government to get results for the government. So you know
(14:07):
it's the sexts men turned over to Richard and no
doubt Richard's going to do a great job as well,
so looking forward to working with him.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Well, it ages me. I'm talking about Richard Dawkins. He
introduced himself to me yesterday and said you won't know me,
but I'm standing against Toby. But you do know my father.
You used to interview him as a mon of the farmer.
Speaker 8 (14:25):
Well, that's right. I used to be the youngest one
on the board and now I think Richard Dawkans was
pipping me. So yeah, yeah, no, no, We've got two
new young guys, caled Deans also taken over from Richard
McIntyre as well in the dairy section. That was expected
as you know Richard's heading off to Darien's d So
now we've got two new board members and we're looking
forward to, like I say, what they can add to
(14:45):
the feed.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
As you look back on the summit and the awards,
what were the highlights for you?
Speaker 8 (14:51):
I'll start with number one, just just honoring Chris Allen
at the awards. That that was really special. You know,
Chris was messive part of the fed's family and and
to acknowledge him in that way was fantastic. So that's great.
So you know, it's one of our families there, emerging
leader a number of the scientists that got up and
were rewarded and ultimately really there as well. How fantastic
(15:14):
was that?
Speaker 7 (15:14):
So so that was good.
Speaker 8 (15:16):
But I think there was there was a couple of
sessions there and I don't know if you noticed, but
I was actually doing a coffee run for my wife
at one stage, and at one stage I couldn't walk
in because the crowd was literally just on the edge
of their seats listening to the speaker on the first
morning there, Michael wavery every name, sorry sorry.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Michael Avery from Raber Bank. I call him an alarmist,
but gee, he made people think, didn't he.
Speaker 8 (15:40):
Yeah, he had them on the edge of their seats
all right, And really he really got the conference off
to a great start. And you know, there was a
real high caliber as speakers this year, and everyone seemed
to be really engaged. So a solid conference and one
of certainly one of the better ones I've been to.
Speaker 7 (15:52):
For a while.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
I think it was great. He kicked it off In fact,
I think Todd McClay kicked it off and then him
was it and your and your keynote because it's the
seat doing the last speech on the last afternoon. But
Emma Paul and Tim Dangel did an excellent job.
Speaker 8 (16:09):
Yeah, that's right, that's right. We had clear Taylor two
on the first day. She she had to do the
last on that day and then she was fantastic. And
then you're right, Amer and Tim are fantastic again. Yeah,
there're such great advocates for rural New Zealand as well.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
Hey, your wife, Tyler, lovely woman. She's a great advocate
for you, although she didn't mind putting the boot and
she did say to me after the awards evening that
I failed to mention that I had beaten you and
I'm giving you twenty three years. I think in the
Toyota the pull off, if I can use those words,
are there Wayne at the Toyota site during field days
(16:42):
victory for the ages or the aged.
Speaker 8 (16:45):
Yeah, I've had a few embarrassing moments in my lifeline.
Was at the Art Museum and Grand Croshus there which
I have to share with you another day. And that
was another one.
Speaker 7 (16:53):
So I can't.
Speaker 8 (16:55):
I can't defend it. That's what happened. But no doubt
it's got me out on. I got myrunning shoes back out.
I'm running and training again because that was embarrassing. You know,
I need to pick game up.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Thank you, Thanks for thanks for the good work. Congratulations
for your team, to your team for putting on a
very good conference and awards.
Speaker 7 (17:15):
There we go.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
Wayne Langford, President of Federated Farmers and Acting Chief Executive.
Seems the timing around that is a bit strange. So
maybe I'm putting two and two together and getting five. Anyhow,
no doubt it'll all come out.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
In the wash up.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Next though, a guy who I did chat to a
couple of times actually over the past couple of days.
Didn't get time to get him on the show while
we were broadcasting live from Christchurch. But I'm going to
get him right now because I think he's out on
his farm in Methven. He's an arable farmer. He's also
New Zealand's Special Agricultural Trade endboy, Hamish Mahra up next
(17:52):
on the Country. So here's a bloke I caught up
with at the Primary Industry New Zealand conference over the
past couple of days in christ Church, New Zealand's Special
Agricultural Trade Endvoy Meth ben Arable Farmer, Hamish, Mah. Yesterday
(18:17):
you were standing in your suit, eating sausage rolls and
rubbing shoulders with the GLITTERATZI of New Zealand Agriculture Hamish.
You've come back down to earth. Today you're standing out
on the wind in the rain with your digger trying
to fix a burst water pipe.
Speaker 7 (18:32):
Yeah. I had a phone call last night Jamie. You
say there's water running down the road and we need
to fix it. And I'm the guy that has to
fix it. So that's today's job.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Now.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
You were on a panel discussion with Richard Allen, who's
the kind of almost i'd call him the two I
see at Fonterra. He's the president of Global Markets Ingredients,
Tim Mackle, acting Chief Operating Officer for ZESPRI. Of course
Tim was formerly Dairy en Z. Thomas McDonald from the
Sheep Spring Sheep Milk Company and Susannah Jessip from Asia
(19:03):
New Zealand Foundation. And your topic was New Zealand Trade
and exports in a volatile world. And I know you
probably don't want to go there. But did you write
your speech before Trump bombed Iron?
Speaker 7 (19:14):
No, not at all, No, not at all, because my
message generally is how farmers should respond to what's going
on around the world and things in my response, generally, Jamie,
is always the same messages, and it's just to keep
focusing on what we do well, which is efficient, efficient farming,
and always looking for the efficiency and what we do.
(19:35):
So generally there has been my message regardless.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Well, you can only control the controllables in farming, and
that's what makes such a tough gig.
Speaker 7 (19:44):
Really.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
You can't do anything about the weather, as you found
out today, you can't do anything about international geopolitical blow
ups like we've got at the moment. You can't do
anything about commodity prices, and you can't do anything about
exchange rates or even magistrates. So you know, there's so
many uncontrollables in a farming operation.
Speaker 7 (20:06):
That's one hundred percent, right, Jamie, And we just have
to focus on being the regular and reliable partner to
all of the people that we're exporting to. And one
thing I constantly think about in this role in farming
is the realization a few years back that we export
ninety five percent of what we produce, so we are
(20:29):
reliant on our markets for our well being. Most other
countries that we deal with it is reversed. They export
their surplus whereas we export everything else. We export everything
and keep the surplus. So we have to keep fund
and center of just being or delivering sorry, what the
(20:49):
rest of the world wants, which is good, wholesome, reliable product.
And we have a very very good name in doing
so over many many years.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Do we get value for money with you sending you
all around the world as their special agricultural trade in
voy Hamish Because your predecessor Mel Pulton, no disrespect, but
she was she was hamstrung by COVID during her tenure.
She couldn't go anywhere. But I think of the like
Sir Mike Peterson was very active, Malcolm Bailey, the late
Alistair Poulsen, what a great bloke he was. So what
(21:19):
do you guys actually do?
Speaker 7 (21:21):
Look, I think I think there's definitely value in this
because we have a very very unique farming system in
this country, our rotational grazing systems, our animals are outside
all year. The rest of the world doesn't operate the
way we do, and so a lot of my role,
(21:42):
as well as working alongside our market access teams, is
actually just to explain New Zealand farming and to explain that,
you know, we can't threaten markets because we're a small country,
we have a finite amount of animals and output. Don't
think of New Zealand as a threat. Think of New
Zealand as adding barely to your operations, and that the
(22:05):
way we do things on farm may look, excuse me,
may look very different from what everyone else does, but
the outcomes are all the same. So at a lot
of my job, Jamie is to explain New Zealand farming
in an authentic way.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Okay, I take it you're not heeding the call from
the likes of Groundswell and Winston to get out of
the Paris Agreement.
Speaker 7 (22:27):
I think, Jamie, that's a pretty dangerous game for us
to be playing. And I come back to the point
I said right at the start that we export a
huge amount of our product and we're renowned. We're renowned
to being team players, but we're also renowned to being
efficient players. But I think but part of part of
(22:47):
us being on the team, as it were, is the
way we have got ourselves into markets. So for us
to say we're going to withdraw from the Paris Accord,
to me means that we're sending a signal to our
markets that we don't take the requirements seriously. So I
personally think we just shouldn't be going there.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Hamish ma New Zealand's special agricultural trade in boys standing
out and rather and Clement Day and Canterbury batten down
the hatches. I know you're in for someone. Thanks for
some of your time and good luck. I know you'll
be attending the far conference next week for arable Farmers.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
Yep. I well might look forward to seeing you there, Jamie,
is he coming?
Speaker 9 (23:29):
No?
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I just need I need to lick my wounds. I'm
going down to Riversdale, Nick, just down the road from
your father in law's place, for a rugby reunion. I
don't want to go anywhere next week.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
See you later, see you, Jamie's nice to check.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Thanks Amish, well, unfortunately or fortunately and I do have
to go somewhere. I think I'm going to Ashburton next week,
but it's the Riversdale rugby reunion first. Looking forward to
that one. Here's some text feedback. Oh no, Toby was
doing a fabulous job talking about Toby Williams meet and
wall chair for fed Rated Farmers. Are this farmer or
text the right? So I just renewed my membership. I
(24:04):
hope we aren't going back to having yes men in there.
I've been impressed with the feeds this past year. I'm
with your text. I think he did a great job.
But anyhow, we'll see how the new bloke goes up next.
Rural News and sports news.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Stunt off Jee.
Speaker 8 (24:23):
Love you.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Today's FMG Young Farmer Region Representative is Georgia Young for
Waikatobay have plenty. Okay, Georgia, you've got sixty seconds to
sell your region to the rest of the country.
Speaker 7 (24:35):
Off your go, hey Jamie.
Speaker 9 (24:38):
This year way Kato basenj is supporting the Rural Waikato
Rural Support Truck. That is Hugh's chosen charity. They've done
a lot around supporting us as a region, getting farmers
off farm towards our local annual boars. Our members have
been out there helping the community, supporting local farmers, doing
sharing jobs and crutching jobs, getting points toward our region
(25:01):
off challenges. I originally changed regions from another one into
Wybot because I get Wybot's just better overall.
Speaker 8 (25:11):
And to top it off, we've got him a.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Call signs up.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Thanks Georgia. Well you've just heard Georgie Young's pitch for
Wakatobay have plenty. It's now over to you to vote
in the FMG Region off. Go to FMG dot co
dot nz Ford slash Region off and vote for for
July five, what.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
The Country's world news with coup Cadet New Zealand's leading
right on lawn Bower brand.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Visit steel Ford dot co dot inz for your local.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Stockist twenty away from one. You're with the country. Michelle
Watts wandered and here Michelle just updating that region off.
So we've got seven regions. They're all competing against each other.
You've got to when July the fifth is it to
vote to vote yep, So it's what's the website.
Speaker 10 (25:56):
The website is FMG dot co dot nz Ford slash
Region of Vote for your favorite region now. Now, of
course money goes to their chosen charity. Are the senior
contestant and split amongst the journey contestants as well, and
some against the aggregates because they're all joined together in
one team from each region voters. Voters can also go
on the drawer to win a five hundred dollars bonfire
(26:16):
gift cards. It's definitely worth getting in there and voting now.
The current point standings at the moment as it stands
are Taranaki Minouitur in the lead with sixteen hundred and
thirty five points. Of course, their region of representative was
Jack Burk. Targo Southland is in second place with Cameron
Smith as their representative on fifteen hundred and sixty six points.
Tasman has thirteen hundred and fifty six and third, and
(26:38):
you've got the other four regions in the bottom half
of that. So if you want to get your region
into that top three, make sure you go and vote
or keep them in the top three and head to
that website.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
Yeah FMG dot co dot m Z ford slash region off.
That's just off the top of my head. How did
I go so easy?
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Sport were an AFCO Kiwi to the bone. Since nineteen
oh four.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
AH, the Mina Pacifica Super Rugby franchise faces questions over
disclosure and transparency at ownership level regarding the receipt of
taxpayer money indirectly through Fara farn Our Aura Farna Aura contracts.
Whole thing's but dodgy if you asked me. They gassed
a whole lot of players, fifteen of them. Ard he
(27:23):
suddenly decides he's off on another sabbatical. Yeah, it's a
bit like the old Federated Farmer's Chief Executive thing. I
think I smell a rat. Maybe I don't. Maybe I'm
just a conspiracy theorist. And here's a good stat for
you stat gurus out there. The Guardian, that is, the
newspaper and the website estimates the chance of hitting six
(27:43):
sixes in an over during a cricket test, right, not
in a one day or a T twenty in a
cricket test is at is an unprecedented feat. It's apparently
never been done. But the odds are like one in
three point seven trillion. And I think of some of
these T twenty players and one day players who are
(28:03):
playing across all three formats, and I'm thinking, I reckon,
I reckon it could happen. But anyhow, maybe Fanella and
our guy who knows. But anyhow, there you go, maybe
go and chuck some money on that one at the
tab you could get a very healthy return. Up next,
we missed her at Pins because she wasn't there, Doctor
Jaqueline Roweth serving fortnightly on our website The Country dot
(28:29):
co dot Nz Doctor Jacqueline Roweth. It's one of our
leading primary sector academics. Although she wasn't at PINS. So
I come back to that one writes a wonderful column, Jacqueline.
And for the life of me, and you've addressed this issue,
I can't see why people don't get that while butter
is very expensive at the moment, it's a good thing
(28:50):
for New Zealand.
Speaker 6 (28:51):
I'm absolutely with you. And the reason they can't get
it is because they just look at how expensive it
isn't think we produce so much it should be cheaper,
and that is not just not logical. So I'm trying
to explain to them that when you sell something, you
might to your friend sell cheaper or your family, but
actually if you can sell for double the price and
(29:13):
still cover the cost of production. If we're talking butter,
if you can sell for double the price, then everybody
is better off. So I do encourage people to go
and look at this. Do you sell your house to
your child for one million, or to somebody who wants
to come and live in beautiful New Zealand for two million.
Isn't the child better off?
Speaker 4 (29:32):
Well, you've done the numbers on the dairy butter I thing,
what twenty seven billion dollars as we've been hearing repeatedly
over the past couple of Yeah, that's for the dairy
well nearly sixty Yeah, just dairies at the Mondu. It's
nearly half of their exports which are just under sixty billion.
So that's five and these are your numbers, not mine.
Four hundred dollars for every New Zealander, which when multiplied
(29:56):
by seven, which is the churn rate if you want,
there's almost forty thousand dollars. That's how much it's worth
for every man, woman and child. When it comes to
the economy, we should be saluting butter and just having
our marmite sandwich with just marmite and a bit of apple.
As the Prime Minister would.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Say, well, yes, marmite is sandwiches are great, but put
some cheese in there and anchor taste is still just
twenty dollars a kilo, and you've actually got your nutritional requirements.
I think it's something like six sandwiches cheese. Sandwiches would
give you a day, would give you all your nutritional requirement.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
Mind you to be there. Cheese is not for the
faint hearted either these days in the supermarkets.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
Jaqueline twenty dollars a kilo, and that's anchor brands, you know,
heartfelt anker banks. But that it's certainly gone up. But
then although we're saying that this is good and it
brings more money into the country, we will of course
say that costs of production have also gone up and
farmers this year have got a bit of margin, a
(31:02):
bit of headroom. And the banks are saying, yes, they're
paying off debt. We one day we need to talk
about why that debt is there, and it comes back
to succession and primageniture. You know, the eldest son used
to inherit everything and now they have to buy the
rest of the siblings up. So moving on from there,
the debt is being paid down and so the banks
(31:22):
are well with lower interest rates.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
Hooray.
Speaker 6 (31:25):
That's how come the farmers are feeling a bit more buoyant.
The same with land prices going up ten dollars a kilo.
As long as we're covering cost of production with a
bit of margin to do some repairs and maintenance, then
that is really good for the country because repairs and
maintenance and purchases of new items which might be environmentally
technologically you know, the next step forward. Then the whole
(31:49):
economy benefits. The the ripples from the rural sector spread out,
and the analysts have been trying to point this out
for some.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
Time and failing miserably. You've laid into this to discussion
on your column by talking about Fontira selling its consumer
brains right.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
And this is a really interesting debate because you think
immediately their legacy brands and your heart contracts. These are
legacy brands, and so anybody who's grown up with them
thinks this is a bad thing to do. But all
analysts and people who actually understand the dollars are pointing
out that the returns to the country are very much
(32:28):
greater from the new things that Fonterra is doing than
these legacy brands. And so if we're thinking about benefits
to the country, they go, and they if we're just
going having an emotive reaction, they would stay. But that
is not beneficial to the country. And the really interesting
thing that I heard from one of the Fonterra explainers
(32:51):
is that although we grew up with these anchor brand
type things, and I grew up with them in the
UK and then follow them out here, actually in anywhere
that's not the UK or New Zealand, they're tiny. They're
just not there. They're not a trigger point for the
rest of the world as they are for you and me.
Speaker 4 (33:12):
Okay and Jacqueline yep. And as clever as you and
I are, and we're both very clever, I said facetiously
in a self deprecating manner. I don't know if we're
as smart as Miles Hurrell and Peter McBride. Maybe you
might be. I'm certainly not.
Speaker 7 (33:26):
I think they're doing it.
Speaker 4 (33:27):
They're doing They're doing a great job at Fontira and
who are we to question them.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
They're doing a great job for New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Aright, well, John Key said, where Fontira goes, New Zealand goes,
we'll leave it at that. Always good to catch up.
You can read all about it on our website, The
Country dot co dot NZ.
Speaker 6 (33:42):
Thank you, DeBie.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
Love. He's our guy across the Tasman, our long standing
agg correspondent Chris Russell. Chris, I want to start with
some good news I think for Australian beef producers, which
may not in fact it won't necessarily be good news
for New Zealand grass fed beef producers. When it comes
to emissions profiles.
Speaker 7 (34:09):
Well that could well be.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
I mean, for years I've argued that it's ridiculous how
we calculate our methane emissions because they're based on formulas
which took no account of the fact that a huge
percentage of our cattle in Australia are actually being fed
on grain, the ones that are being slaughtered anyway each year,
and they're still using a fifty year old calculation based
(34:32):
in the United States dairy cows known as the mow
and turill equation, which has this methodology that's based on
basically grass fed animals. Now the new methodology, based on
research and the University of New England, takes into account
the feed intake of the animals and adjusts the methane
emissions the amount of ruppage and fiber and fat and
(34:53):
so on that they consume, and that's actually reduced our
missions calculation for those animalimals off for all animals by
fifty six percent. For those animals, that's down by eighty
five percent now in Australia, and of cattle at goat
of slaughter forty percent of grain fed, which is you know,
if you look at the emissions of that, it's one
(35:15):
point four million tons of CO two equivalent, so you know,
it's a massive reduction. It'll certainly take some of the
pressure off. And while of course you still got to account,
as you mentioned to me off air, you've still got
to account for how you get the grain, and how
you transport it and how you.
Speaker 7 (35:32):
Fertilize it and so on. You have to do that
with grass as well.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
So over all the governments decide to revise these emissions
and I think that's going to be good news in
terms of the overhead cost of the farmers.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
Well, maybe good news for feed lotters, as I said
and Will suggested, not such good news for us here
in New Zealand where most of our beef as grass feed.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
Well. Absolutely, but from our market point of view, a
lot of our markets one are not interested in grass
fed cattle. Japanese for example, don't like meat that's had
any grass anywhere near the meat that they've eaten for
one hundred days prior to slaughter. So if we want
to sell into that market, then we need to produce
grain fed. But that grain fed market's expanding.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
All the time.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
China is massive, And of course, just a little side
note about that, if you actually look at the future
demand for food security, I was doing a talk on
that the other day to a group of interested people.
Speaker 7 (36:27):
If you look at the reason why we've got.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Food insecurity coming up and the extra demand for food
over the next fifty years, a lot of is not
due to the population. It's due to the fact that
the increased prosperity these countries who can now afford grain
fed cattle. And of course grain fooding is a lot
less efficient in terms of how you actually get those
animals to the market. So there's a lot of things
(36:50):
to weigh up here, but at least this is some
good news for those grain fed producers.
Speaker 4 (36:57):
Anyone for wooly mammoth months as you being taking poetic
license here, Chris Russell, or you ruling on lab grown meat.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Yeah, well, if they have actually looked at producing using
the DNA of wooly mause that they've got from under
the ice up in the Arctica and they can reproduce
that DNA. They can't actually make a wooly mammoth, but
they can certainly grow some meat based on that DNA.
And what's just been approved in Australia is a lab
(37:28):
grown meat based on the DNA and from the DNA
signature of particular parts of the animal. For example, the
one that's first of all going to the market is
a thing called Japanese quail, and they actually make a
liver from that and they get a foi grass. So
(37:48):
these restaurants can now buy a foi grass based on
a Japanese quail, which we don't really see very often,
but we're able to grow it in a lab. Now,
this meat you can't decide from ordinary meet and the
regulator in Australia has said, really it's completely safe, there's
no extra risks, so go ahead and start producing it.
So who knows next thing we might be getting, you know,
(38:11):
Tasmanian tiger steaks or wooly mammoth. MIT's just taking off
phones out of the museum bit of DNA and you
can grow.
Speaker 7 (38:19):
The meat yourself. Jamie, the world really is amazing.
Speaker 4 (38:22):
Play and dated as Chris Russell tomorrow Shane Jones see
you then.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Catch all the latest from the land.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
It's the Country Podcast with Jamie mckuy Thanks to Fred,
you're specialist in John Deer construction equipment
Catch all the latest from the land.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
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You're specialist in John Deere machinery.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
I've been in love New York City time all too.
I have some sea coffee, so Chicago win, Kansas sweet Fields.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I love to.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
See Gamp the bar Blast play where the cattives grow.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
In them Southern girls.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
They talk nice and.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
So give their fee.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Then to b get a New Zealand and welcome to
the Country. Back at Duneda HQ after two days in
christ Church, I'm Jamie McKay, by the way for the
primary industry in New Zealand, Summits and Awards. We're going
to kick off the show with the Minister of Agriculture
and Trade, Todd McClay. Also on the show today, Wayne Langford,
(01:03):
president of Federated Farmers. At least I still think he
is farmer. Politics is a brutal business. I can tell
you that Toby Williams, who I thought was doing an
excellent job as chair of Meat and woolf for Federated Farmers,
he's gone. We'll tell you all about that. And what
about the chief executive. What happened to Terry Copeland. Hamishmah
(01:23):
is New Zealand's Special Agricultural Trade endvoy. Caught up with
him at PINS, didn't get a chance to talk to him,
so I've found him on the farm today. Doctor Jaquelin
Rowath on why we should be applauding the price of
butter and Chris Russell, an Australian comment correspondent, Should I
say anyone for a bit of wooly mammoth meat? One
(01:46):
of the subjects we're going to address today, But let's
kick it off with the Minister of Agriculture and Trade
who was one of the keynotes speakers at the PINS summit,
Todd McLay, to have you on the show. Todd couldn't
catch up with you at the awards dinner because you
had to go back to Wellington because on Tuesday evening
(02:08):
the Farm to Forest Band passed its first reading unanimously,
I think, and this is off the back of excuse me, sorry,
And this was off the back of every party in
the House voting to support it. Did I get my
evening's right? Was it Tuesday or Wednesday evening?
Speaker 5 (02:28):
It was, Hey, Jamie, good evening, Yes, it was Tuesday evening.
You're right, and that's right. So the first step towards
stopping wholesale farm the forest conversion, planting of plying trees
on our best foods producing land going to ets has happened.
It started. We're going to get this in law by
October this year. But it's backdated to when the Prime
(02:48):
Minister and I made the announcement down in Central Otago
or Southland on the fourth of December last year. And
it is very very well put together. It's very very strict.
And as I hear a few people around the place
wondering if somebody's gone out and bought trees thinking they
can plant, you know, after that date, they've got to
be very careful. They're going to lose.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Okay, God, well, why am I hearing anecdotally that there's
still a lot of blanket farm to forestry conversions happening.
People are rauting the rules.
Speaker 6 (03:19):
No.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Well, so, in essence, the announcements made from the fourth
of December, that's when it will take effect. Any planting
you're seeing at the moment is a decision that was
made more than a year ago. So if you think Jamie,
you went out the end the last year for that
and brought some land. It normally takes about a season
to two seasons before you're able to plant, so there's
still going to be some purchases or conversions that are
(03:42):
in the system going all the way through. We're put
in transitional means. As they say, if somebody was in
the process before that date. You know, we're a center
right government. We're not taking value off them based upon
their decision at the time. But anybody out there that
thinks from the fourth of December onwards they're smarter than
the law is going to lose some because we have
put this together to achieve what we need to stop
(04:04):
wholesale conversion of our best food producing land and going
into trees.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
And when will this finally get into legislation. It's obviously
past its first reading this week.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
Yeah, so we're putting it through very quickly. I sent
it off to the Environment Committee. It will be out
for consultation and they've got seven weeks to work through
it and turn it around. We're given the ability to
virtually work every hour of the day between now and then.
I do expect there'll be a lot of submissions on
both sides around the law. They'll get it back to
us and I think it's by the thirteenth of August,
(04:38):
and then we will put it through the raining stages
during the month of August, so we can get some
of the rules and the regulations in place in September
and it will take effect during October. And so we
moved very very quickly. The point of this is it's
very well signaled. I campaigned on this policy, it came
through the Codition Agreement, and then we've taken a lot
of time to get the detail. Rights aren't any you know,
(05:01):
any consequences that are not foreseen. There is a lot
of detail in there. But fundamentally it is as simple
as us. New Zealand makes money exporting around the world,
and we do so by producing food and we're wholesale
conversion of farms takes place with these rural schools. We
lose rural communities with these rural families and rural businesses.
(05:22):
There's a role for pharacy to play, a very important
one in New Zealand, but not at the expense or
particularly sheep and beef lanned. And so I'm pretty pleased, surprised,
but very pleased that there was unanimous support in Parliament
for this. I think some of the Opposition party sort
of have pre qualifications and we'll find ways to wriggle out.
But I say to the Labor Party, if you actually
(05:43):
pack farmers, vote for this bill and then get on
board with some other stuff I'm doing, because it's good
for all of New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
I've got a text just arrived and todd says B. S.
Todd A rampant forestry conversions still going on in Hawks Bay.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
Yeah, but largely that's nothing to do with something that
happened from the fourth of December onwards. And just as
you know, there'll be farmers that want to make changes
they decided last year.
Speaker 7 (06:08):
They get to continue to do that.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
But anybody that has bought land but after the fourth
of December or found trees had them before and didn't
have the land after the fourth of December, it will
not be able to plant trees to enter the missions
trading scale. But farmers will be able to make choices themselves.
They'll be able to plant up the twenty five percent
of their own land if they want to. And on
luck sixth land, we're going to have a small quota
to allow some choice for farmers and other landowners. But
(06:32):
the wholesale conversions will stop because the law will say
it's not possible. But much of the planting you see
this season is based on decisions we're making a couple
of years.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Yeah, okay, And it's the blanket planting that irks people,
Like if a farmer wants to plant twenty five percent
of his farm and trees, good luck to them, will hurt.
Speaker 7 (06:50):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
So what you were seeing is people speculating on you know,
the carbon price of the future and that it would
go up, not on whether you can get money out
us you know, how to meet or dairy And my
biggest concern was the effect that was having upon communities
but also our explorts. If you think about it right,
land prices don't go down in New Zealand. You can
see a situation where our best dairy land was purchasing
trees put on it because somebody thinks the carbon price
(07:14):
will be a lot more worth a lot more than
milk in the future and that would just be absolute madness.
And so this is a big deal for our national
government to put restrictions like this on private property rights,
except if you want to plant trees all over your
farm you can do. So, you just can't put into
the emissions trading scheme so that carbon price won't drive
(07:34):
land decisions. What will drive land due decisions is what's
best for that land, all.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Right, Just just to finish on it rigs to me,
this whole thing of the Emperor's new clothes Todd McLay
and I worry and I wonder. It may not be
a problem for me twenty years down the track, but
the future generations we're just setting ourselves up to fail
with the carbon forestry we already have. And I'm not
talking about production forstry here. I'm talking about spray and
(08:02):
walk away because anecdotally, once again I'm hearing there's lots
of that.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Yeah, look, I agree, I'm not responsible for these years,
but there's a forestry minister. I think it's mad. We
can plant trees and leave them forever and we don't
even get commercial value out of them by putting them
for a sawmill or sending them on a ship overseas.
So I'm not a big fan of that. However, there
is a role for that to play in some situations
with our farmers and others around the country that want
(08:27):
to plant nators and other sorts of trees and leave them.
We're doing quite a bit of work to recognize those
and make it easier. But look, I can't disagree with you, Jamie.
The idea that we're going to plant a pine try
somewhere and leave it forever of the name of climate
change because it's a bit more convenient or easier for
a government and we don't even create jobs for it
is madness and that's a really big part of why
(08:47):
we're putting this band on changing farms into forests in
place over the next two months.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Todd McLay, Minister of Agriculture and Trade, thanks for your time.
Speaker 7 (08:56):
You're welcome.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
So there you go, Todd McLay, tell me what you
think on the text line. Some of you are already.
There's another one I call bs on tree conversions being
set yet a year ago as Todd realized the audience
he's talking to aren't dumb, and he just sounds like
a fool. And they've been way too slow in acting.
(09:18):
I think they have been a bit slow in acting.
They announced it obviously in December of last year, but
there's been a hell of a lot of farms that
I here are going through the back door. Maybe I'm wrong,
maybe my information is wrong. You tell me out there
in farmingland, what's happening at your place? The text line
is five double O nine. Okay. Now let's very quickly
(09:41):
take a break on the other side of at Wayne Langford,
who is the president of Federated Farmers but he's now
the acting CEO. What the hell happened there? And farmer
politics is a bit of a brutal business. Toby Williams
has gone. I thought he did a really good job
of advocating on behalf of the sheep and beef farmers
(10:02):
or the mitch he's meat and wool farmers against carbon farming,
because it's all happening in his backyard in the in
the Gisbane region. So we'll chat to him Hamishma and
New Zealand's Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, doctor jaquayln Rowth and
Chris Russell, our Australian correspondent as well, and we'll tell
you how you can vote for your favorite Young Farmer
(10:25):
region with the f MG Region Office. We head into
the grand final for the Young Farmer of the Year
next week in in Picago like.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
A serving girl.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
And you roll doll run the Cardinal Startlish Pete Dolfield Group.
Welcome back to the country. Wayne Langford is the President
of Federated Farmers. Him and his team have done an
excellent job over the past two days in christ Church
for the primary industry in New Zealand's summit, Wonderful Farming
(11:07):
Conference and of course the awards. You're a busy man,
Wayne Langford, because you're not only the President of Federated Farmers,
you're the acting CEO. Why did Terry Copeland, your existing
chief executive, resign so suddenly this.
Speaker 8 (11:21):
Week, Oh afternoon, Jamien, you must be a top tier
radio station, because I've just stepped out of our AGM
that's currently running. We're up to room at number six
to have a yarnt here. So but in terms of
your question there, Terry, he's put in a fantastic effort
at Federal Farmers seven years, he's been with us, he's
been inficating to us for it for a while. Now
(11:42):
that he's there's going to be heading off and so
it's just a few weeks ago we got the news
and and he's heading off. So we wish him, wish
him well where he's going. He's done a top job
lifting lifting our organization to what it is now, and
we're I'm really excited to see what the what the
next step brings.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
And I know that the summit and the awards were
his brain shold, So congratulations on that. But I just
can't leave it at that. You don't normally announce your
resignation on a Monday and go on a Friday.
Speaker 8 (12:12):
Hey, you don't normally do that, but feeds don't normally
do a lot of things in that and so that's
just what we're doing. Like I said, we're pretty aware
of it, and we've actually got a really great senior
management team that can can handle the load there in
between working out to market to see what's out there.
So no doubt you've got some listeners that will probably
be putting up their hands and sending me an email saying, Hey,
(12:32):
I want to be in control of the best and
largest organizationacy organization in the world.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah, okay, I'm not quite sure I buy that, but anyhow,
let's move on. And I must say, Federated Farmers and
I think you guys are doing a really good job
of advocacy and I think groundswell turned up at the
right sort of time and gave feeds a bit of
a punt up the backside. And I think you're doing
a good job, but it is a brutal business. I
(12:58):
see Toby William another one of your spokespeople or presidents.
What the chair should I say of meat and Well?
I thought he'd done an excellent job advocating for meat
and wool farmers, especially around carbon forestry. He's gone, He's
been replaced by and I met him yesterday. What's Richard
(13:20):
Dawkins from Marlborough as the meat and wheel chair? Why?
Speaker 8 (13:26):
Yeah, that's right. Democracy and action and then f fits
a part of that as well. So I set through
that process and the mean Will Council from across the
country voted for that. You're right, Toby has done an
absolutely amazing job advocacy. Do you think he's He took
over from William reathon coming out of the back end
(13:46):
of the walker can we gave that on the boot
and then also he led the way through the cyclone recovery,
so extremely extremely great advocate for met and will sector.
I think most farmers will acknowledge that he's he's really
lifted their advocacy and really put the pressure on the
government to get results for the government. So you know
(14:07):
it's the sexts men turned over to Richard and no
doubt Richard's going to do a great job as well,
so looking forward to working with him.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Well, it ages me. I'm talking about Richard Dawkins. He
introduced himself to me yesterday and said you won't know me,
but I'm standing against Toby. But you do know my father.
You used to interview him as a mon of the farmer.
Speaker 8 (14:25):
Well, that's right. I used to be the youngest one
on the board and now I think Richard Dawkans was
pipping me. So yeah, yeah, no, no, We've got two
new young guys, caled Deans also taken over from Richard
McIntyre as well in the dairy section. That was expected
as you know Richard's heading off to Darien's d So
now we've got two new board members and we're looking
forward to, like I say, what they can add to
(14:45):
the feed.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
As you look back on the summit and the awards,
what were the highlights for you?
Speaker 8 (14:51):
I'll start with number one, just just honoring Chris Allen
at the awards. That that was really special. You know,
Chris was messive part of the fed's family and and
to acknowledge him in that way was fantastic. So that's great.
So you know, it's one of our families there, emerging
leader a number of the scientists that got up and
were rewarded and ultimately really there as well. How fantastic
(15:14):
was that?
Speaker 7 (15:14):
So so that was good.
Speaker 8 (15:16):
But I think there was there was a couple of
sessions there and I don't know if you noticed, but
I was actually doing a coffee run for my wife
at one stage, and at one stage I couldn't walk
in because the crowd was literally just on the edge
of their seats listening to the speaker on the first
morning there, Michael wavery every name, sorry sorry.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Michael Avery from Raber Bank. I call him an alarmist,
but gee, he made people think, didn't he.
Speaker 8 (15:40):
Yeah, he had them on the edge of their seats
all right, And really he really got the conference off
to a great start. And you know, there was a
real high caliber as speakers this year, and everyone seemed
to be really engaged. So a solid conference and one
of certainly one of the better ones I've been to.
Speaker 7 (15:52):
For a while.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
I think it was great. He kicked it off In fact,
I think Todd McClay kicked it off and then him
was it and your and your keynote because it's the
seat doing the last speech on the last afternoon. But
Emma Paul and Tim Dangel did an excellent job.
Speaker 8 (16:09):
Yeah, that's right, that's right. We had clear Taylor two
on the first day. She she had to do the
last on that day and then she was fantastic. And
then you're right, Amer and Tim are fantastic again. Yeah,
there're such great advocates for rural New Zealand as well.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
Hey, your wife, Tyler, lovely woman. She's a great advocate
for you, although she didn't mind putting the boot and
she did say to me after the awards evening that
I failed to mention that I had beaten you and
I'm giving you twenty three years. I think in the
Toyota the pull off, if I can use those words,
are there Wayne at the Toyota site during field days
(16:42):
victory for the ages or the aged.
Speaker 8 (16:45):
Yeah, I've had a few embarrassing moments in my lifeline.
Was at the Art Museum and Grand Croshus there which
I have to share with you another day. And that
was another one.
Speaker 7 (16:53):
So I can't.
Speaker 8 (16:55):
I can't defend it. That's what happened. But no doubt
it's got me out on. I got myrunning shoes back out.
I'm running and training again because that was embarrassing. You know,
I need to pick game up.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Thank you, Thanks for thanks for the good work. Congratulations
for your team, to your team for putting on a
very good conference and awards.
Speaker 7 (17:15):
There we go.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
Wayne Langford, President of Federated Farmers and Acting Chief Executive.
Seems the timing around that is a bit strange. So
maybe I'm putting two and two together and getting five. Anyhow,
no doubt it'll all come out.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
In the wash up.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Next though, a guy who I did chat to a
couple of times actually over the past couple of days.
Didn't get time to get him on the show while
we were broadcasting live from Christchurch. But I'm going to
get him right now because I think he's out on
his farm in Methven. He's an arable farmer. He's also
New Zealand's Special Agricultural Trade endboy, Hamish Mahra up next
(17:52):
on the Country. So here's a bloke I caught up
with at the Primary Industry New Zealand conference over the
past couple of days in christ Church, New Zealand's Special
Agricultural Trade Endvoy Meth ben Arable Farmer, Hamish, Mah. Yesterday
(18:17):
you were standing in your suit, eating sausage rolls and
rubbing shoulders with the GLITTERATZI of New Zealand Agriculture Hamish.
You've come back down to earth. Today you're standing out
on the wind in the rain with your digger trying
to fix a burst water pipe.
Speaker 7 (18:32):
Yeah. I had a phone call last night Jamie. You
say there's water running down the road and we need
to fix it. And I'm the guy that has to
fix it. So that's today's job.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Now.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
You were on a panel discussion with Richard Allen, who's
the kind of almost i'd call him the two I
see at Fonterra. He's the president of Global Markets Ingredients,
Tim Mackle, acting Chief Operating Officer for ZESPRI. Of course
Tim was formerly Dairy en Z. Thomas McDonald from the
Sheep Spring Sheep Milk Company and Susannah Jessip from Asia
(19:03):
New Zealand Foundation. And your topic was New Zealand Trade
and exports in a volatile world. And I know you
probably don't want to go there. But did you write
your speech before Trump bombed Iron?
Speaker 7 (19:14):
No, not at all, No, not at all, because my
message generally is how farmers should respond to what's going
on around the world and things in my response, generally, Jamie,
is always the same messages, and it's just to keep
focusing on what we do well, which is efficient, efficient farming,
and always looking for the efficiency and what we do.
(19:35):
So generally there has been my message regardless.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Well, you can only control the controllables in farming, and
that's what makes such a tough gig.
Speaker 7 (19:44):
Really.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
You can't do anything about the weather, as you found
out today, you can't do anything about international geopolitical blow
ups like we've got at the moment. You can't do
anything about commodity prices, and you can't do anything about
exchange rates or even magistrates. So you know, there's so
many uncontrollables in a farming operation.
Speaker 7 (20:06):
That's one hundred percent, right, Jamie, And we just have
to focus on being the regular and reliable partner to
all of the people that we're exporting to. And one
thing I constantly think about in this role in farming
is the realization a few years back that we export
ninety five percent of what we produce, so we are
(20:29):
reliant on our markets for our well being. Most other
countries that we deal with it is reversed. They export
their surplus whereas we export everything else. We export everything
and keep the surplus. So we have to keep fund
and center of just being or delivering sorry, what the
(20:49):
rest of the world wants, which is good, wholesome, reliable product.
And we have a very very good name in doing
so over many many years.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Do we get value for money with you sending you
all around the world as their special agricultural trade in
voy Hamish Because your predecessor Mel Pulton, no disrespect, but
she was she was hamstrung by COVID during her tenure.
She couldn't go anywhere. But I think of the like
Sir Mike Peterson was very active, Malcolm Bailey, the late
Alistair Poulsen, what a great bloke he was. So what
(21:19):
do you guys actually do?
Speaker 7 (21:21):
Look, I think I think there's definitely value in this
because we have a very very unique farming system in
this country, our rotational grazing systems, our animals are outside
all year. The rest of the world doesn't operate the
way we do, and so a lot of my role,
(21:42):
as well as working alongside our market access teams, is
actually just to explain New Zealand farming and to explain that,
you know, we can't threaten markets because we're a small country,
we have a finite amount of animals and output. Don't
think of New Zealand as a threat. Think of New
Zealand as adding barely to your operations, and that the
(22:05):
way we do things on farm may look, excuse me,
may look very different from what everyone else does, but
the outcomes are all the same. So at a lot
of my job, Jamie is to explain New Zealand farming
in an authentic way.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Okay, I take it you're not heeding the call from
the likes of Groundswell and Winston to get out of
the Paris Agreement.
Speaker 7 (22:27):
I think, Jamie, that's a pretty dangerous game for us
to be playing. And I come back to the point
I said right at the start that we export a
huge amount of our product and we're renowned. We're renowned
to being team players, but we're also renowned to being
efficient players. But I think but part of part of
(22:47):
us being on the team, as it were, is the
way we have got ourselves into markets. So for us
to say we're going to withdraw from the Paris Accord,
to me means that we're sending a signal to our
markets that we don't take the requirements seriously. So I
personally think we just shouldn't be going there.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Hamish ma New Zealand's special agricultural trade in boys standing
out and rather and Clement Day and Canterbury batten down
the hatches. I know you're in for someone. Thanks for
some of your time and good luck. I know you'll
be attending the far conference next week for arable Farmers.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
Yep. I well might look forward to seeing you there, Jamie,
is he coming?
Speaker 9 (23:29):
No?
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I just need I need to lick my wounds. I'm
going down to Riversdale, Nick, just down the road from
your father in law's place, for a rugby reunion. I
don't want to go anywhere next week.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
See you later, see you, Jamie's nice to check.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Thanks Amish, well, unfortunately or fortunately and I do have
to go somewhere. I think I'm going to Ashburton next week,
but it's the Riversdale rugby reunion first. Looking forward to
that one. Here's some text feedback. Oh no, Toby was
doing a fabulous job talking about Toby Williams meet and
wall chair for fed Rated Farmers. Are this farmer or
text the right? So I just renewed my membership. I
(24:04):
hope we aren't going back to having yes men in there.
I've been impressed with the feeds this past year. I'm
with your text. I think he did a great job.
But anyhow, we'll see how the new bloke goes up next.
Rural News and sports news.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Stunt off Jee.
Speaker 8 (24:23):
Love you.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Today's FMG Young Farmer Region Representative is Georgia Young for
Waikatobay have plenty. Okay, Georgia, you've got sixty seconds to
sell your region to the rest of the country.
Speaker 7 (24:35):
Off your go, hey Jamie.
Speaker 9 (24:38):
This year way Kato basenj is supporting the Rural Waikato
Rural Support Truck. That is Hugh's chosen charity. They've done
a lot around supporting us as a region, getting farmers
off farm towards our local annual boars. Our members have
been out there helping the community, supporting local farmers, doing
sharing jobs and crutching jobs, getting points toward our region
(25:01):
off challenges. I originally changed regions from another one into
Wybot because I get Wybot's just better overall.
Speaker 8 (25:11):
And to top it off, we've got him a.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Call signs up.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Thanks Georgia. Well you've just heard Georgie Young's pitch for
Wakatobay have plenty. It's now over to you to vote
in the FMG Region off. Go to FMG dot co
dot nz Ford slash Region off and vote for for
July five, what.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
The Country's world news with coup Cadet New Zealand's leading
right on lawn Bower brand.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Visit steel Ford dot co dot inz for your local.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Stockist twenty away from one. You're with the country. Michelle
Watts wandered and here Michelle just updating that region off.
So we've got seven regions. They're all competing against each other.
You've got to when July the fifth is it to
vote to vote yep, So it's what's the website.
Speaker 10 (25:56):
The website is FMG dot co dot nz Ford slash
Region of Vote for your favorite region now. Now, of
course money goes to their chosen charity. Are the senior
contestant and split amongst the journey contestants as well, and
some against the aggregates because they're all joined together in
one team from each region voters. Voters can also go
on the drawer to win a five hundred dollars bonfire
(26:16):
gift cards. It's definitely worth getting in there and voting now.
The current point standings at the moment as it stands
are Taranaki Minouitur in the lead with sixteen hundred and
thirty five points. Of course, their region of representative was
Jack Burk. Targo Southland is in second place with Cameron
Smith as their representative on fifteen hundred and sixty six points.
Tasman has thirteen hundred and fifty six and third, and
(26:38):
you've got the other four regions in the bottom half
of that. So if you want to get your region
into that top three, make sure you go and vote
or keep them in the top three and head to
that website.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
Yeah FMG dot co dot m Z ford slash region off.
That's just off the top of my head. How did
I go so easy?
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Sport were an AFCO Kiwi to the bone. Since nineteen
oh four.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
AH, the Mina Pacifica Super Rugby franchise faces questions over
disclosure and transparency at ownership level regarding the receipt of
taxpayer money indirectly through Fara farn Our Aura Farna Aura contracts.
Whole thing's but dodgy if you asked me. They gassed
a whole lot of players, fifteen of them. Ard he
(27:23):
suddenly decides he's off on another sabbatical. Yeah, it's a
bit like the old Federated Farmer's Chief Executive thing. I
think I smell a rat. Maybe I don't. Maybe I'm
just a conspiracy theorist. And here's a good stat for
you stat gurus out there. The Guardian, that is, the
newspaper and the website estimates the chance of hitting six
(27:43):
sixes in an over during a cricket test, right, not
in a one day or a T twenty in a
cricket test is at is an unprecedented feat. It's apparently
never been done. But the odds are like one in
three point seven trillion. And I think of some of
these T twenty players and one day players who are
(28:03):
playing across all three formats, and I'm thinking, I reckon,
I reckon it could happen. But anyhow, maybe Fanella and
our guy who knows. But anyhow, there you go, maybe
go and chuck some money on that one at the
tab you could get a very healthy return. Up next,
we missed her at Pins because she wasn't there, Doctor
Jaqueline Roweth serving fortnightly on our website The Country dot
(28:29):
co dot Nz Doctor Jacqueline Roweth. It's one of our
leading primary sector academics. Although she wasn't at PINS. So
I come back to that one writes a wonderful column, Jacqueline.
And for the life of me, and you've addressed this issue,
I can't see why people don't get that while butter
is very expensive at the moment, it's a good thing
(28:50):
for New Zealand.
Speaker 6 (28:51):
I'm absolutely with you. And the reason they can't get
it is because they just look at how expensive it
isn't think we produce so much it should be cheaper,
and that is not just not logical. So I'm trying
to explain to them that when you sell something, you
might to your friend sell cheaper or your family, but
actually if you can sell for double the price and
(29:13):
still cover the cost of production. If we're talking butter,
if you can sell for double the price, then everybody
is better off. So I do encourage people to go
and look at this. Do you sell your house to
your child for one million, or to somebody who wants
to come and live in beautiful New Zealand for two million.
Isn't the child better off?
Speaker 4 (29:32):
Well, you've done the numbers on the dairy butter I thing,
what twenty seven billion dollars as we've been hearing repeatedly
over the past couple of Yeah, that's for the dairy
well nearly sixty Yeah, just dairies at the Mondu. It's
nearly half of their exports which are just under sixty billion.
So that's five and these are your numbers, not mine.
Four hundred dollars for every New Zealander, which when multiplied
(29:56):
by seven, which is the churn rate if you want,
there's almost forty thousand dollars. That's how much it's worth
for every man, woman and child. When it comes to
the economy, we should be saluting butter and just having
our marmite sandwich with just marmite and a bit of apple.
As the Prime Minister would.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Say, well, yes, marmite is sandwiches are great, but put
some cheese in there and anchor taste is still just
twenty dollars a kilo, and you've actually got your nutritional requirements.
I think it's something like six sandwiches cheese. Sandwiches would
give you a day, would give you all your nutritional requirement.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
Mind you to be there. Cheese is not for the
faint hearted either these days in the supermarkets.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
Jaqueline twenty dollars a kilo, and that's anchor brands, you know,
heartfelt anker banks. But that it's certainly gone up. But
then although we're saying that this is good and it
brings more money into the country, we will of course
say that costs of production have also gone up and
farmers this year have got a bit of margin, a
(31:02):
bit of headroom. And the banks are saying, yes, they're
paying off debt. We one day we need to talk
about why that debt is there, and it comes back
to succession and primageniture. You know, the eldest son used
to inherit everything and now they have to buy the
rest of the siblings up. So moving on from there,
the debt is being paid down and so the banks
(31:22):
are well with lower interest rates.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
Hooray.
Speaker 6 (31:25):
That's how come the farmers are feeling a bit more buoyant.
The same with land prices going up ten dollars a kilo.
As long as we're covering cost of production with a
bit of margin to do some repairs and maintenance, then
that is really good for the country because repairs and
maintenance and purchases of new items which might be environmentally
technologically you know, the next step forward. Then the whole
(31:49):
economy benefits. The the ripples from the rural sector spread out,
and the analysts have been trying to point this out
for some.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
Time and failing miserably. You've laid into this to discussion
on your column by talking about Fontira selling its consumer
brains right.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
And this is a really interesting debate because you think
immediately their legacy brands and your heart contracts. These are
legacy brands, and so anybody who's grown up with them
thinks this is a bad thing to do. But all
analysts and people who actually understand the dollars are pointing
out that the returns to the country are very much
(32:28):
greater from the new things that Fonterra is doing than
these legacy brands. And so if we're thinking about benefits
to the country, they go, and they if we're just
going having an emotive reaction, they would stay. But that
is not beneficial to the country. And the really interesting
thing that I heard from one of the Fonterra explainers
(32:51):
is that although we grew up with these anchor brand
type things, and I grew up with them in the
UK and then follow them out here, actually in anywhere
that's not the UK or New Zealand, they're tiny. They're
just not there. They're not a trigger point for the
rest of the world as they are for you and me.
Speaker 4 (33:12):
Okay and Jacqueline yep. And as clever as you and
I are, and we're both very clever, I said facetiously
in a self deprecating manner. I don't know if we're
as smart as Miles Hurrell and Peter McBride. Maybe you
might be. I'm certainly not.
Speaker 7 (33:26):
I think they're doing it.
Speaker 4 (33:27):
They're doing They're doing a great job at Fontira and
who are we to question them.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
They're doing a great job for New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Aright, well, John Key said, where Fontira goes, New Zealand goes,
we'll leave it at that. Always good to catch up.
You can read all about it on our website, The
Country dot co dot NZ.
Speaker 6 (33:42):
Thank you, DeBie.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
Love. He's our guy across the Tasman, our long standing
agg correspondent Chris Russell. Chris, I want to start with
some good news I think for Australian beef producers, which
may not in fact it won't necessarily be good news
for New Zealand grass fed beef producers. When it comes
to emissions profiles.
Speaker 7 (34:09):
Well that could well be.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
I mean, for years I've argued that it's ridiculous how
we calculate our methane emissions because they're based on formulas
which took no account of the fact that a huge
percentage of our cattle in Australia are actually being fed
on grain, the ones that are being slaughtered anyway each year,
and they're still using a fifty year old calculation based
(34:32):
in the United States dairy cows known as the mow
and turill equation, which has this methodology that's based on
basically grass fed animals. Now the new methodology, based on
research and the University of New England, takes into account
the feed intake of the animals and adjusts the methane
emissions the amount of ruppage and fiber and fat and
(34:53):
so on that they consume, and that's actually reduced our
missions calculation for those animalimals off for all animals by
fifty six percent. For those animals, that's down by eighty
five percent now in Australia, and of cattle at goat
of slaughter forty percent of grain fed, which is you know,
if you look at the emissions of that, it's one
(35:15):
point four million tons of CO two equivalent, so you know,
it's a massive reduction. It'll certainly take some of the
pressure off. And while of course you still got to account,
as you mentioned to me off air, you've still got
to account for how you get the grain, and how
you transport it and how you.
Speaker 7 (35:32):
Fertilize it and so on. You have to do that
with grass as well.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
So over all the governments decide to revise these emissions
and I think that's going to be good news in
terms of the overhead cost of the farmers.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
Well, maybe good news for feed lotters, as I said
and Will suggested, not such good news for us here
in New Zealand where most of our beef as grass feed.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
Well. Absolutely, but from our market point of view, a
lot of our markets one are not interested in grass
fed cattle. Japanese for example, don't like meat that's had
any grass anywhere near the meat that they've eaten for
one hundred days prior to slaughter. So if we want
to sell into that market, then we need to produce
grain fed. But that grain fed market's expanding.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
All the time.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
China is massive, And of course, just a little side
note about that, if you actually look at the future
demand for food security, I was doing a talk on
that the other day to a group of interested people.
Speaker 7 (36:27):
If you look at the reason why we've got.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Food insecurity coming up and the extra demand for food
over the next fifty years, a lot of is not
due to the population. It's due to the fact that
the increased prosperity these countries who can now afford grain
fed cattle. And of course grain fooding is a lot
less efficient in terms of how you actually get those
animals to the market. So there's a lot of things
(36:50):
to weigh up here, but at least this is some
good news for those grain fed producers.
Speaker 4 (36:57):
Anyone for wooly mammoth months as you being taking poetic
license here, Chris Russell, or you ruling on lab grown meat.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Yeah, well, if they have actually looked at producing using
the DNA of wooly mause that they've got from under
the ice up in the Arctica and they can reproduce
that DNA. They can't actually make a wooly mammoth, but
they can certainly grow some meat based on that DNA.
And what's just been approved in Australia is a lab
(37:28):
grown meat based on the DNA and from the DNA
signature of particular parts of the animal. For example, the
one that's first of all going to the market is
a thing called Japanese quail, and they actually make a
liver from that and they get a foi grass. So
(37:48):
these restaurants can now buy a foi grass based on
a Japanese quail, which we don't really see very often,
but we're able to grow it in a lab. Now,
this meat you can't decide from ordinary meet and the
regulator in Australia has said, really it's completely safe, there's
no extra risks, so go ahead and start producing it.
So who knows next thing we might be getting, you know,
(38:11):
Tasmanian tiger steaks or wooly mammoth. MIT's just taking off
phones out of the museum bit of DNA and you
can grow.
Speaker 7 (38:19):
The meat yourself. Jamie, the world really is amazing.
Speaker 4 (38:22):
Play and dated as Chris Russell tomorrow Shane Jones see
you then.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Catch all the latest from the land.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
It's the Country Podcast with Jamie mckuy Thanks to Fred,
you're specialist in John Deer construction equipment
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