The Country 02/09/25: Todd Clark talks to Jamie Mackay

Our Kentucky-based farming correspondent talks about summer drought, rumours of Trump's death, and the demise of the US economy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's our guy in Lexington, Kentucky, Bluegrass Country, a US
farm and correspondent Todd Clark. They're just ending their summer.
It's been very dry, Todd since we last chatted to
you late July. In fact, the Mississippi River, which ultimately
drains half or more of the USA, is dangerously low.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Good afternoon, Jamie. That's exactly right, and it's amazing how
much the weather has changed. And I guess as farmers
we all know that. But since the last time we talked,
we were we had hit our annual amount of rainfall
in six months. And then the tap is shut off.

(00:42):
And it's not just shut off for Kentucky, it's shut
off for a huge portion of the eastern portion of
the United States, including the corn Belt and all up
and down the delta of the Mississippi. And so because
of that, it's caused most of the crops corn, soybean,

(01:04):
sweet cotton to not finish. And so it was a
really tough year to begin with. Wet in the spring,
couldn't get the crops out, and now they can't finish
the crops off and get good yields, and then the
prices they're depressed. So it's not a good time in
US agriculture at the moment other than beef.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah, Well, I was going to say, Ultimately, one man's
misfortune is another man's good fortune. This is not going
to help the drought with rebuilding the US beef herd.
So there's probably a silver lining, as much as it
pains me to say this to you, Todd for New
Zealand beef.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Farmers, probably so other than the tariffs, and we've talked
a lot about that, but the outside of that, yes,
the demand still remains. Since the last time we've talked,
the beef prices continue to go up. They're you know,
it's not like the last year where they've doubled on themselves.

(02:01):
But it's weekly we get reports from across not only Kentucky,
but once again in the eastern portion of the United
States and even out into the plains states of record
prices for various sizes of cattle. And so it can't
go much higher than it is now, I wouldn't think,

(02:21):
but every week it does. And so it's good times
for beef, but not so much for corn and soybeans
and cotton, rice and all the other crops.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Mark Twain famously said, the reports of my death are
greatly exaggerated. And there was reports floating around over the
weekend that Trump had died because he was missing an action.
They hadn't seen him for two days, but he turned
up on a golf course, true to form. Now when
it comes to Trump and as tariffs. I also heard
a report about Las Vegas, Sin City being the bell

(02:57):
weather or the barometer for the US economy and how
it was really struggling. So is the US economy really
battling at the moment, because I note, for instance, your
equity markets are at an almost all time high.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, but the the that that is the truth about Vegas,
Vegas has taken a step back. My wife Kristen has
just returned a couple of weeks ago from being out
there and commented on that it's that it wasn't busy
like normal, but equity markets and things like that, while
it affects everyone, just your everyday American is really feeling

(03:35):
the pinch. Inflation has really come down, but the prices
are still high for food gas that sort of the
gas is backed up some. But housing just the cost
of rent and houses across the US. A starter home
in Lexington is now two hundred and sixty dollars, So

(03:58):
that's that's your cheapest entry level house and so just
everything costs so much in Yeah, there's a little bit
of treading water happening with the US economy at the moment. Todd.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
I know you're coming over to New Zealand early next year,
looking forward to hosting it. You'll be amazed at our
housing prices, even though they're stagnating at the moment. Two
hundred and sixty thousand US dollars, what's that Maybe just
less than five hundred thousand. New Zealand wouldn't buy you
that much here.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
Oh really, Yeah, it is interesting, but that's Yeah, it
makes you wonder about your the next generation. You know,
in my case, my kids, what they're going to be
able to afford. But I'm sure my parents worried about
the same thing, and their parents about them. So with
a good attitude, we'll get through this. But it's it

(04:47):
depends on where you are in this economy as to
how you're doing at the moment. In the low income
people are really struggling, and there's a huge number of
those people in the US and they're they're struggling at
the moment.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Hey, you got to go, Todd, thanks for some of
your time and I do hope you get some rain
in Lexington, Kentucky and the drought ends.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
Thanks Jammy, I appreciate it.