The Country 16/02/26: Ian Strahan talks to Jamie Mackay

Federated Farmers’ Manawatū President updates on the storm battering his region.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're with the country, going to stick with the

(00:02):
weather theme. It has been an awful weekend for a
lot of people, especially in the North Island. The weather's
moving south. Will update that with Phil Duncan before the
end of the hour. But En Strawns federated Farmer's Man
or two President and just before we do, I want
to talk a wee bit of footy because your father
Sam locked the scrum with pine Tree Meads. He went

(00:23):
on a couple of my Rugby World Cup tours and
he was wonderful, especially in the UK where he toured
in nineteen sixty seven and everywhere we went in we
wheeled out your dad Sam as our resident all black
in the bus. He was the only one we had
and what a great ambassador he was for New Zealand.
I'm so sad he's no longer with us.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah, Jamie here thinks you. Sam used to us to
love traveling and he really enjoyed that, enjoyed the trip.
So yeah, and they had a great time over there.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
You're not farming not a mile away from Andrew Hoggart,
who we chatted to it the top of the hour
and he said, yeah, it's bad, it's messy, but not
as bad as Gabrielle or two thousand and four, And
we mentioned another former president of Federated Farmers and Alistair Paulsen.
But two thousand and four was pretty horrific for you guys.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, it was a shocker. And yeah, the meat service
came out yesterday afternoon when they knew what was coming
and there was talk about rainfall, like two thousand and four.
Here we go. So here we got our networks going
and got some warnings out. But thank goodness, we had
about half the rain that was forecast when we had

(01:37):
sixty sixty five mill actually here. But one thing we
did get was a terrible wind that just roared all
night until about nine o'clock this morning. So there's a
lot of damage is trees down everywhere over power lines.
You know, there's a lot of chainsaw work for farmers
in the mint or two ring a ticket for the
rest of the week. I'd say there's a bit of carnage.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Yeah, well, like Southland and late October, and trees really
love falling over, don't they, in when they've got wet feet.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, well that's probably a good thing. We weren't
quite well enough for the trees. It's mainly just branches
that have come over. There's there's been whole trees down
here and there in the main highway at Forten and
animal has been closed because of trees and effected the
power lines. But yeah, if we had another couple of inches,
we might have had some real cannate with trees copping

(02:30):
over with roots and wet saw.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
We are getting better, and pad Ol Phil Duncan and
his mates on the back here at weather forecasting's more
precise science, even though it's still imprecise than it used
to be. So with these heavy rain warnings and they
are quick to get them out, I would expect there's
been a little or no livestock lost.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
No, so that was good. We had the network's got
going that, the councils and the Rural Coordination Group and
so all defense and everything. So yeah, there were lots
of lots of warnings that I think everyone's a lot
better at that nowadays. So yeah, we've we've we've got
a we've got a man in the Rural Coordination Group
and yeah, everyone's everyone looks slightly in reasonable shape that

(03:15):
they're not that that that group, the real cordnation groups
not meeting because it doesn't have got there's enough enough
of a problem. It's just yeah, it's just it's just
nigli And yeah, really needed watching. So everyone everyone took
the right precautions by the look of it.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, and a whole lot of slog to tidy out.
But I guess every cloud has its silver lining. Drought
will be off the menu and the Lower North Island
i'd imagine for the rest of the summer.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
Oh well, and well, and truly one one downer it's
always there's always good and bad. One down is the
arable arable guys around around the region. They've been flogged again,
so I think a lot of a lot of the
cereal crops have lodged, they've got wet and fallen over
the wind. So I've even heard mays there's some damage
in maze crops. So yeah, even though we're going to

(04:02):
get some big pasture growth everywhere, Yeah, some people trying
to get crops off are are going to be frustrated.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, and that weather is creeping down into the South
Island into Canterbury as well. And I've had a hell
of a time the arable farmers. Thank you for reminding
me we shouldn't forget about them because they've been getting
hammered by the weather and by prices.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah they have. Yeah, well it's it's hardlining the planets
of prices and weather up and when you get both
going in the wrong reps and she's pretty ugly. So yeah,
when when one sector is going all right, yeah, you've
got to think of the others, because yeah, we need
we need a strong arable sector in this country.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Ay and Strawn Federated Farmers Men or two President? Were
you any chop as a rugby player?

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Was it?

Speaker 1 (04:45):
Was it tough being son of Sam? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well it was yeah, No, it wasn't much chop, but yeah,
I didn't get the height and yeah I just make
around with a bit of club rugby sit no no, yeah, yeah.
My mother wasn't quite as is there and I think
I've got here.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Hight so no, oh, well gone, But I never forgotten
the great Sam strang Ed Strawn. Thank you so much
for your time today. And if people need a bit
of a helping hand, Feds, I've got an O eight
hundred number. Can you remember it off the top of
your head?

Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah, are eight hundreds of feeds and actually another good
context that are all Support Trust. They did great work,
so you're given contact with them as well.

Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yeah, Rural Support Trust's been absolutely outstanding in Strawn.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
There