September 18, 2025 • 7 mins
Our Young Farmer and Federated Farmer Panel is quite literally on fire today. A dairy farmer and a sheep/beef/cropping farmer, respectively, sum up their seasons and talk on their pet subjects.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The farmer panel with the Isuzu Dmax the Kiwi ute
built off with truck DNA. We've got a good farmer
panel for you today. Emma Paul of course twenty twenty
three FMG Young Farmer of the Year and Sandra Faulkner,
a Federated Farmer's National Board member. Sandra is a sheep, beef,
arable and horticulture farmer and Gisbon poverty Bay. Emma is
(00:23):
of course at kal Koki in the Waikato. You're both
literally on fire. That's a very weak intro into the
fact that I didn't realize the pair of you until
I was chatting in the break have both suffered from
house or woolshared fires. I want to start with you,
Emma Paul. What's your story around your fire?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
You get a Jamien, thanks for being here. Yeah, we
had a house fire in one of our staff houses
a couple of years back, can it I remember at
the time. Shortly before that, we had a conversation with
my father in law and Chris and I being younger
and dumber and a bit foolish with us if we
needed to have so many things on our insurance list,
(01:03):
and if we could cut some costs, and he's pretty
firm on us and said, you need to cut back
on insurance because you don't know when you'll need it.
And sure enough, shortly after one of the houses bent
down to the ground on the farm and the bean
for the team at e FMG, we would have found
ourselves in a pretty precarious situation there, Jamie. But we're
lucky it was fully insured and we're able to rebuild
(01:24):
and move on and hopefully get one of our team
members into it, into a new home because the old
ones no longer. Have you rebuilt the home, No, we
haven't yet, but we're working on it.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
I thought you said the fire. I thought you said
the fire was two years ago.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yeah. Things take time to sort out, though, Jami. You've
got to give me a little bit of leeway.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What are you doing housing your staff, because I know
it's a major issue on dairy farms.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Oh, it's an absolute najos And we're really fortunate. We've
got two brothers that are both employed with us that
are happy enough to live together for the interim period.
But yet it's certainly something that we've got to sort
out in the long term. And I know that lots
of farms throughout New Zealand. Housing is a struggle and
you want to provide really good accommodation for your team
so that you can retain good team members. It's just
(02:08):
got to be part of the package, really, doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So Undra Faulkner gisbe area. Tell me about your fire.
It was on a wallsheed.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, so back in November we lost our woolshed, covered
yards and basically all of our central livestock handling facilities,
which is it's extraordinary how often you go to reach
for something across a year that you go, oh, it's
in this and then you go, hang, I know, we
don't have a natual fact, we don't have that thing
(02:36):
anymore either. So it's been a real rollercoaster because at
the time it was heartbreaking at the time because my
father in law who we've lost just recently built it
himself out of timber on the farm. He was a
craftsman even back then it was only forty seven odd
(02:58):
years old. I think we built it along with a
couple of mates, along with the covered yards and everything else.
And yeah, it was heartbreaking watching him and my husband
Rob just you know, amongst the ashes. Basically it was
it was tough, so so that was that was the
initial shock. And then after that, of course since then
we've been through a summer and now a winter of
(03:20):
trying to handle stock and the heat and the dust
and now in the mud. Gosh, we miss it and
we are like Emma zed in the process hopefully hopefully
fingers crossed stades in the ground December January. So yeah,
it takes a while, and it's and it's tough going.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Well, and your in your case, this is compounded by
the fencing issues and the transporter is shoes you had
around the damage done by cyclone, Gabrielle. Lights are not easy.
But the good news isra and I'll stick with you
and I'll come back to Emma. The good news is
you are a sheet and beef farmer. You've got arable
as well as water culture. But returns for sheep and beef.
(04:03):
The red meters as good as they've ever been.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
They and isn't it the year to be making hay
while the sunshines?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Right?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
It's it is so heartening to see farmers out there,
you know, just you know, standing up a wee bit
taller this year. It's wonderful. It's interesting a lot of
the commentaries around the fact that red meat's doing so
well along with deiry and that we should be turning
the economy around. But I think what people forget is
(04:33):
that for probably several years now, most farmers that I
know in the she beef industry at least have probably
only been paying interest. And now we might actually get
to pay down some debt. So that doesn't mean going
out and buying the newest ut or a new tractor
or anything else for that matter. It's actually just consolidate
(04:53):
where you're at. So it's exciting though. It is lovely
to see and it's just for me, it's just so
heartwarming to see as so our families on the land
standing there.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
The taller Emma, I just want to move back to you, Emma.
Paul twenty twenty three Young Farmer of the Year. You've
got a couple of pet topics to finish on. Your
one is Bobby Calves. We're seeing more and more of
them being read, the ones with the beef genetics. Obviously,
you and I talked in the ad break about social license.
(05:26):
Will it be okay in years to come to drink
milk that basically, a three day old calf has had
to pay for with its life. I know that sounds
rather drastic, but I'm talking about social license perception.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, and we've probably got to work really hard to
change that perception, don't we, Jamie, and bring an understanding
to our urban folk about what actually happens to those
animals and how they're treated on farm, and that we
are treating them with respecting care and doing the best
we can to make or create a value chained product
outher than when they do go off to the meatworks,
(06:01):
and whether it's at four days old or four years old.
It's pretty difficult to do that to an animal, but
that's part of eating and creating good protein for people
to live off. And I know on our farm we're
certainly giving it a crack. We're down to about five
percent Bobby calves across fourteen hundred fairy cows. But it's
not for the faint hearted, Jamie. I'd tell you it
(06:21):
takes a lot of resource and time, and as a
vet in the district, I can tell you I've seen
some car wearing disasters out there with numbers less than
one hundred calves. So it's not something that I'd be
advocating for other people in the industry to just jump
out there and start rearing all of their calves because
it does just take so much resource to do it.
And on top of that, this year we've seen a
(06:41):
bit of a milk powder shortage which has added a
bit of pressure to the system as well. So yeah,
it's something that you need to be very thoughtful of
if you are going to rare excess calves on farm.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Well, let's just finish with soundra Faulkner. Your pet topic
today is the one hundred and fiftieth Poverty by A
and P Association Show next month October. I'm coming up
for that one, looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Yeah, it's going to be a fantastic event, and we
all in region are looking forward to it, especially those
that are probably a bit close to it. It's one
astounding achievement for an association such as us to be
in such good heart. I would argue that the Gismond
show is probably one of the best in the country.
(07:26):
And for the likes of yourself, Jamie, you know that
you're going to come up here, You're going to get
the best of hospitality, You're going to have a heap
of fart and what a fantastic way to bring our
community together. It's really heads off to the committee and
I know how hard that's working to make this a
real standout event. So come along.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Soundra Faulkner, Amma Paul, thanks for being today's Farmer panel.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Here's Jamie.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Jomy
The farmer panel with the Isuzu Dmax the Kiwi ute
built off with truck DNA. We've got a good farmer
panel for you today. Emma Paul of course twenty twenty
three FMG Young Farmer of the Year and Sandra Faulkner,
a Federated Farmer's National Board member. Sandra is a sheep, beef,
arable and horticulture farmer and Gisbon poverty Bay. Emma is
(00:23):
of course at kal Koki in the Waikato. You're both
literally on fire. That's a very weak intro into the
fact that I didn't realize the pair of you until
I was chatting in the break have both suffered from
house or woolshared fires. I want to start with you,
Emma Paul. What's your story around your fire?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
You get a Jamien, thanks for being here. Yeah, we
had a house fire in one of our staff houses
a couple of years back, can it I remember at
the time. Shortly before that, we had a conversation with
my father in law and Chris and I being younger
and dumber and a bit foolish with us if we
needed to have so many things on our insurance list,
(01:03):
and if we could cut some costs, and he's pretty
firm on us and said, you need to cut back
on insurance because you don't know when you'll need it.
And sure enough, shortly after one of the houses bent
down to the ground on the farm and the bean
for the team at e FMG, we would have found
ourselves in a pretty precarious situation there, Jamie. But we're
lucky it was fully insured and we're able to rebuild
(01:24):
and move on and hopefully get one of our team
members into it, into a new home because the old
ones no longer. Have you rebuilt the home, No, we
haven't yet, but we're working on it.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
I thought you said the fire. I thought you said
the fire was two years ago.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yeah. Things take time to sort out, though, Jami. You've
got to give me a little bit of leeway.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What are you doing housing your staff, because I know
it's a major issue on dairy farms.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Oh, it's an absolute najos And we're really fortunate. We've
got two brothers that are both employed with us that
are happy enough to live together for the interim period.
But yet it's certainly something that we've got to sort
out in the long term. And I know that lots
of farms throughout New Zealand. Housing is a struggle and
you want to provide really good accommodation for your team
so that you can retain good team members. It's just
(02:08):
got to be part of the package, really, doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
So Undra Faulkner gisbe area. Tell me about your fire.
It was on a wallsheed.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, so back in November we lost our woolshed, covered
yards and basically all of our central livestock handling facilities,
which is it's extraordinary how often you go to reach
for something across a year that you go, oh, it's
in this and then you go, hang, I know, we
don't have a natual fact, we don't have that thing
(02:36):
anymore either. So it's been a real rollercoaster because at
the time it was heartbreaking at the time because my
father in law who we've lost just recently built it
himself out of timber on the farm. He was a
craftsman even back then it was only forty seven odd
(02:58):
years old. I think we built it along with a
couple of mates, along with the covered yards and everything else.
And yeah, it was heartbreaking watching him and my husband
Rob just you know, amongst the ashes. Basically it was
it was tough, so so that was that was the
initial shock. And then after that, of course since then
we've been through a summer and now a winter of
(03:20):
trying to handle stock and the heat and the dust
and now in the mud. Gosh, we miss it and
we are like Emma zed in the process hopefully hopefully
fingers crossed stades in the ground December January. So yeah,
it takes a while, and it's and it's tough going.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Well, and your in your case, this is compounded by
the fencing issues and the transporter is shoes you had
around the damage done by cyclone, Gabrielle. Lights are not easy.
But the good news isra and I'll stick with you
and I'll come back to Emma. The good news is
you are a sheet and beef farmer. You've got arable
as well as water culture. But returns for sheep and beef.
(04:03):
The red meters as good as they've ever been.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
They and isn't it the year to be making hay
while the sunshines?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Right?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
It's it is so heartening to see farmers out there,
you know, just you know, standing up a wee bit
taller this year. It's wonderful. It's interesting a lot of
the commentaries around the fact that red meat's doing so
well along with deiry and that we should be turning
the economy around. But I think what people forget is
(04:33):
that for probably several years now, most farmers that I
know in the she beef industry at least have probably
only been paying interest. And now we might actually get
to pay down some debt. So that doesn't mean going
out and buying the newest ut or a new tractor
or anything else for that matter. It's actually just consolidate
(04:53):
where you're at. So it's exciting though. It is lovely
to see and it's just for me, it's just so
heartwarming to see as so our families on the land
standing there.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
The taller Emma, I just want to move back to you, Emma.
Paul twenty twenty three Young Farmer of the Year. You've
got a couple of pet topics to finish on. Your
one is Bobby Calves. We're seeing more and more of
them being read, the ones with the beef genetics. Obviously,
you and I talked in the ad break about social license.
(05:26):
Will it be okay in years to come to drink
milk that basically, a three day old calf has had
to pay for with its life. I know that sounds
rather drastic, but I'm talking about social license perception.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, and we've probably got to work really hard to
change that perception, don't we, Jamie, and bring an understanding
to our urban folk about what actually happens to those
animals and how they're treated on farm, and that we
are treating them with respecting care and doing the best
we can to make or create a value chained product
outher than when they do go off to the meatworks,
(06:01):
and whether it's at four days old or four years old.
It's pretty difficult to do that to an animal, but
that's part of eating and creating good protein for people
to live off. And I know on our farm we're
certainly giving it a crack. We're down to about five
percent Bobby calves across fourteen hundred fairy cows. But it's
not for the faint hearted, Jamie. I'd tell you it
(06:21):
takes a lot of resource and time, and as a
vet in the district, I can tell you I've seen
some car wearing disasters out there with numbers less than
one hundred calves. So it's not something that I'd be
advocating for other people in the industry to just jump
out there and start rearing all of their calves because
it does just take so much resource to do it.
And on top of that, this year we've seen a
(06:41):
bit of a milk powder shortage which has added a
bit of pressure to the system as well. So yeah,
it's something that you need to be very thoughtful of
if you are going to rare excess calves on farm.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Well, let's just finish with soundra Faulkner. Your pet topic
today is the one hundred and fiftieth Poverty by A
and P Association Show next month October. I'm coming up
for that one, looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Yeah, it's going to be a fantastic event, and we
all in region are looking forward to it, especially those
that are probably a bit close to it. It's one
astounding achievement for an association such as us to be
in such good heart. I would argue that the Gismond
show is probably one of the best in the country.
(07:26):
And for the likes of yourself, Jamie, you know that
you're going to come up here, You're going to get
the best of hospitality, You're going to have a heap
of fart and what a fantastic way to bring our
community together. It's really heads off to the committee and
I know how hard that's working to make this a
real standout event. So come along.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Soundra Faulkner, Amma Paul, thanks for being today's Farmer panel.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Here's Jamie.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Jomy
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.