Best Of The Muster: 07/03/26

Andy Muir talks to Ben Dooley, Bruce Ford, Peter Gardyne, James Edgar and Steve Henderson.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Last night. A very good morning and welcome along to
the best of the muster, a collaboration of interviews that
took our attention during a busy week here at Hocknu
e HQ. My name's Andy Muer. Thanks to your company.
We're starting off the hour by catching out Ben Dooley,
sheep beef and YouTube farmer based just out of Wyndham
and telling us about positives regarding Kiwisaver and the rural

(00:25):
sector as well. An announcement was made earlier on in
the week and deals are saying this is just good
news going forward. Bruce Ford, our Stuart Island correspondent, talks
about more good news as well, but this time down
at the bottom island of New Zealand and why things
are going so well in Stuart Island for the economy,
just the mood of the people living there and who
also talks about what's health services always something that's relevant

(00:48):
wherever you go. Stuart Island is in the same boat.
Peter Guardine farms at Napdale, but talks about why Kaka
Gold the gold mine that's been given the go ahead
at way Kaka, which just Oo's positivity. Look, there's a
lot of good news going on at the moment. We
can't deny that. And Pete just reiterates what the story,
why the story is so good for the region. Steve

(01:09):
Henderson Farms at Alua that joins us this week from
the West Coast where he's got a few things on
the go at the moment. It just explains as well
why the season has been a good one, looking at prices,
looking at production, and just getting organized for the next
cycle of the farming system of the farming year. And
James Egga of MAHA Flatt talks about positivity in the

(01:32):
sector and still lands are proving pretty elusive price wise
to get anyways, so James talks about what could happen
with these spring schedules. So, without further ado, we'll start
the yell with Ben Dooley. You're listening to the best
of the muster. Ben Dooley Farms just out of Windham,

(01:55):
Sheep Beef and YouTube farmer and joins us once again.
It was good afternoon, welcome to Autum.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Yeah she's here, isn't it here?

Speaker 1 (02:06):
In a vengeance? Jeez? It was nippy yesterday.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, yesterday, I wasn't much fun, especially in the afternoon.
And the old forecast was saying that there wasn't supposed
to be rain after about seven pm, so I went
and dropped nineteen hit days of Baylage last night. But
it'll be right because yeah, it's only had about two
and a half mills of rain on it, and yeah,
the forecast for the rest of the week is dry,
so we'll get her hopefully Wednesday. The goal was Tuesday

(02:29):
because it's a bit on this week. But yeah, no,
other than that, things are chipping away pretty buddy. Well.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
I went out to White Kerry Kelley for Club Day
of Cricket on Saturday. Beautiful afternoon as well, and really
good occasion. Quinci Daily welt under the club for organizing
a great event. But then you wake up Sunday morning
you just hear the rain drops and just gets rather cool.
And when I got the groceries and had to put
the jacket on and like what the hell?

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yeah, yeah, when you see things like twelve degrees in
the forecast for a high for the day, you go, oh,
it's just a bit early for that kind of carry on,
isn't it.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Yeah, that's what Phil Duncan was talking about the other day.
It was four degrees this morning at six thirty and Gore.
But that's just a tale of a season. Look, you
talk about the bailage, you've got that down on the ground.
As we get into March, getting closer to the rams
going out on the cycle starting again.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yep, that's the one. Yep. We put the US over
the Prettley the other day and condition scored them, prought
a few out the bottom. Or there's probably eleven hundred,
twelve to twelve hundred, and the fat morven about six
fifty odd. And the light them they're not all that light.
There's a few of them that are, but just trying
to get them as even as possible, because yeah, that
day is getting very close early. I think I haven't

(03:38):
decided whether we're going to do that again or not
this year, but when we do normally the RAM days
to twenty ninth March, So yeah, rolling around very fast.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Jeez, there's only three and a half weeks away more
or less.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, I know, and that's for twenty third. I think
of those of August lambing, that's just like I said,
just the early girls, just like two hundred two fifty
of them, maybe three hundred, just all those old girls
that we want, well they don't all go to the works,
but fear way, I can go to the works in November.
But yeah, there's a cost involved with that practice. Obviously
you've got to have more feet available early on to

(04:12):
lamb on. And I'm just not convinced that we're not
going to be able to get ready use through that
December January period moving forward, which was the only reason
really weave it did that early mob. So few decisions
to make there whether we take the risk or whether
we carry on or just do the old girls instead
of doing the light ones as well and sort of
have the risk there a wee bit. But yeah, we've

(04:34):
got a month and we've got three weeks to decide,
so we'll make a decision before the day.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
Well a space from a producer's viewpoint, there's been no
pressure on to get them to the works at least.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
No, that's and also there's been availability, Like we've had
no trouble getting rid of the remainder of as we
just under half of their works using a normal year
would be in that mob. The other half get shorn
late December and then go to the works early mid January,
and it hasn't been an issue the last few years.
We've been told it could be, but it hasn't been.
And like I say, there's a rather large feed cost

(05:09):
associated even with a small mob and having enough feed
to actually lamb those girls properly that early. So yeah,
it's just yeah, trying to work out whether we think
we'll get that space or not.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
Now you talk about lambs and the weekly lamb schedule
that used to be published, it seems as though this
is a thing of the past.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
Well, certainly seems to be for one company. Anyway. Look,
there's lots of different aspects to look at here. Years ago,
you would definitely say that the other companies just just
waited for that company to print a schedule, and they
would ben just beated by a wee bit if they
could most of the time they could. In more recent
years would say that's probably not quite been the case,

(05:48):
but I can see a desire for the big company
not to print a schedule. I do think it'll go
one way or the other. It will either wind up
in a situation where no one prints a schedule, and
that I know. I mean, we're dealing with private companies now, right,
there's no no true co ops left or big ones anyway,
they have the ability to do that.

Speaker 1 (06:09):
It would be good though, But it would be good though.
Deals of a cooperative by nature Fontier for example, open
Country Okay, not a cooperative, but they're open and transparently
gain in the milk price. Where can it be like
that with red meat?

Speaker 2 (06:24):
Oh, I'd love it to be. I'd absolutely love it
to be. And that's that's what I was coming to.
Is we'll either one that we know in Prince's schedule,
or will the big company will get forced back to
the point where they have to because of that one reason,
as you know, you all of a sudden don't have
a printed schedule. You can't find what they're paying anywhere.
They are now essentially a private company. We can talk
about that thirty five percent co op amount, but sixty

(06:46):
five percent of it's a private company. They now can
if they want to quite comfortably pay people different rates.
I'm not happy about it. I don't like it. We
know it's always happened, and we know all the other
companies do it too, But yeah, it's the downside to
me now is that they've got a bit more of
a covert to hide behind there, which like I say,
they're completely entitled to but word, we'll get out, and yeah,

(07:09):
if those margins are too big, then that will cost them.
But the problem is there where do you go? Because,
like I say, everyone else does it as well. So, yeah,
have an unusual decision.

Speaker 1 (07:18):
But depending on which company are you worth? You can
ring up your agent and get engaged.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
Then one hundred percent. But what's to say that they're
giving you the same schedule price that they're giving another person. Well,
people talk, Yeah, one hundred percent, and that's what I'm saying.
It will get out, so they'll have to be careful
in that space.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
But yeah, Kiwi Saver being made available for farmers fan
workers to get in and get them to your new
a new farm and use your ki Saver money and
the likes what do you make of it? Are your fan?

Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah? Look, I'm a big fan of that idea. The
whole reason that I enjoy I started when I was young.
I opted out of Key Saver was because I knew
the only way I was even going to get that
money out was when I was sixty five. And let's
be honest, there's a chance we don't make it. I
don't think that money disappears and think, we'll go to
someone else and you know who if you leave it to.
But that to me didn't seem like a logical thing

(08:08):
to do. And the reason for that is because you know,
I was always coming back here to the farm, so
we knew what was happening there. I had no reason
to buy a house that I was going to be
living in. I was always working on other farms. How
accommodation provided. One of the big rules that really frustrated
people was that if you bought a house with your
Q saving money, which let's be honest, buying a house

(08:29):
can be quite a good investment, you had to live
in it for the first six months. Now, I don't
know how they would go about policing that, but that
was one of the rules, and I believe that's the
big one that's now gone and they got it through
are they're working on. You can use it to buy
your farm or you heard if you're sheer farming as well.
So yeah, you know, young people can now go into

(08:50):
Q save and knowing that they can pull that money
out to buy a rental property if they want, or
to put it towards the farm, or to put it
towards a hurricanes to go share, a share milking, or
you know, buy some news to go list a bit
of land somewhere. I think it's great, and had that
been the case when I was younger, I probably would
have got stuck right into it too.

Speaker 1 (09:08):
Do you know of a lot of people who haven't
taken up the option of Keiwi saver. Let's remember it's
not that many years ago. Contracts were in a big
thing through farm employment.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah. I know plenty of people that haven't. I know
plenty of people that have an all fairness up until
this point. I don't really think there's been a big
benefit or downsided way. It just depends on what you
want to do. Yeah, but like I say, now, moving forward, yeah,
it certainly gives you more options with it. I didn't
have employment contracts at a lot of places that I

(09:38):
used to work at before it was a requirement. But
we still seem to be opting into keysaver automatically. So
I'm not sure how that'll work.

Speaker 1 (09:44):
Good on you, Ben, We'll let you carry on. You'll
get that bay ladge in the next day, so I
wouldn't sweat about it. Catch up next time.

Speaker 3 (09:49):
That cheers any a way to understood on the Muster
this afternoon, catching up with our correspondent down that way,
Bruce Ford.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Bruce, we haven't spoken for a couple of months. Firstly,
good afternoon and we oupen to twenty twenty six on
the muster. Everything else Stuart Island, it's been busy.

Speaker 4 (10:13):
Yeah, you're gonna happen in any Yes, we've been busying here.
Lots of visitors and whilst everybody's been complaining about some
of the yeah we're it's still been all right. You
just haven't had to have some much suntown lotion.

Speaker 1 (10:27):
How's the mood been down to Stuart Island over the
past wee while?

Speaker 4 (10:30):
I think things are sort of chirping up a bit,
you know, everybody got a bit run down or mucked
about with COVID and all the complaints about lack of
visitors and so forth. But it appears in the region
and US as well that we're catching up because all
the accommodation bookings are quite steady. And we went the

(10:51):
quiz night last night at the pub and they could
well have been thirty teams of six each and it
was pretty big. Makes a lovely night and all is
pretty much.

Speaker 1 (11:03):
It's almost a bucket list for anybody who's traveling to
Stuart Island, especially if you're a tourist to the area,
to go down there and experience quiz Night at the
Stuart Island pub. Yes, and certainly got a big show
when we had Prince Harry came along to quiz Knight
and that was a massive boost to the publicity on
that occasion. So everybody's out there trying it, and it's

(11:25):
not a it's not a bought quiz nightly in some
of the pubs with the screen and so forth. These
questions are all made up locally and quiz Master does
that marks them all by hand, so it's all very unique.
Tell me the winner gets a quila blue cod.

Speaker 4 (11:42):
I shouldn't tell you what it is and might.

Speaker 1 (11:44):
Break some rolls, I cove, I'll carvey that's secret of Yeah,
it's about But that's the thing about Stuart Island. Down
here you might get a feed of mutt and or
the likes, or a bit of milk dropped off. But
down there, I suppose local Marthia Payments is dropping off
blue cord or cray on the back door.

Speaker 4 (12:00):
Of course they do. Yeah, well, that's right. We must
have some authority somewhere.

Speaker 1 (12:04):
And speaking of authority, a new policeman started down at
the island.

Speaker 4 (12:09):
Yeah, in the last three or four weeks we've got
a new policeman turned up and our previous man, Stuve Newton,
has been moved on to tau Tara. There must be
some need for lauren order there. And he'd been very
good to us. We'd had him for six or seven
years and whilst he was being a policeman like they
all do, he was always happy to help people to

(12:32):
odd jobs and he gave me a hand to recover
my tunnel house recently and good community men.

Speaker 1 (12:39):
Well that's what being a policeman on Stuart Island. Majority
of the time, it's probably about public relations more than
going along there and just doing the obvious, I suppose.

Speaker 4 (12:49):
Yeah, yeah, I think the essence of the whole thing
and the time that I've been hanging around here, if
you have a policeman, people will toe the line. And
if you don't have a policeman, and there had been
some years ago about removing him or having a five
day week pieceman, people will take advantage of that and
we get a few guns or just play on it.
So just a very presence is very important.

Speaker 1 (13:12):
Absolutely. What's the name of the new policeman.

Speaker 4 (13:15):
Justin somebody?

Speaker 1 (13:18):
Well, Justin is new to Stuart Island Police Force. Congratulations,
and I'm sure the community is going to be very
welcoming down there. So Justin can get used to the
roads as well, all fifteen kilometers of them with the
eight hundred vehicles. If I'm right, Bruce, they're getting resealed.

Speaker 4 (13:34):
Yeah, yeah, that's right. He'll be go around the lawn
s here. We up to date with our warrants and
Reggio's as well. But certainly the resealing team is supposed
to be here this week onwards, so no doubt. A
lot of materials and machinery has to be transported, so
they'll be somewhere on the water to day, I expect,

(13:56):
because the day is not bad, so we calm enough
to put some heavy machinery on a barge and turns
up here.

Speaker 1 (14:03):
What's the actual state of the roads over there, because
last time we caught up you were saying how it's
once every blue moon that you get them resealed. But
are they pretty bad?

Speaker 4 (14:12):
No, No, they're about fifteen years since they were done
last and you know that's been a recurring method over
well seventy five of the roads were all reshaped and
tar sealed total. At that point when the airstrip was built,
they made a job of the roads as well. So
we're been getting sort of fifteen year reseals and they'll

(14:33):
get a new road markings and then they'll.

Speaker 2 (14:35):
Be back on reading the rule book for a little.

Speaker 4 (14:38):
While for compulsory stops, and people get a little bit
I don't know, they tend not to observe things sometimes
on road signs and road rules, and I resent that
because they'll go to Chicago and do the same thing
and they'll get cleaned up.

Speaker 1 (14:56):
Well, the thing is, in beautiful Stuart Islands, you may
get blas because of a sea that's around you, but
you've still got to have your wits about you.

Speaker 4 (15:03):
Exactly, Especially like I say, you've got lots of visitors,
and visits of course are not so familiar with the sign.
Who's like we're supposed to be. You know, you don't
want to clean up American terrorist because that would be
very frightfully financially expensive.

Speaker 1 (15:18):
We don't want to clean up any tourists.

Speaker 4 (15:20):
No, of course that's right now. As first we're still
getting a few cruise ships, so that's on chip days.
We have lots of people out walking, so it's busy.

Speaker 1 (15:31):
One thing that's really important, especially somewhere down there Bruce
as health Services, air Ambulance and the likes. It's pretty
vital regarding connections to the mainland.

Speaker 4 (15:43):
Yes, yes, well I believe, and I think community believes
we have a very good service. And some of the
bureaucracy further north sometimes debate whether in fact we're being spoiled,
and we probably are. But if we have a major
medical event or a medicare, the chopper will come from Toneden.
The black Chopper turns up within an hour or so

(16:04):
and takes you off to a queue all back to Dunedin.
Now that's still very well, but it's expensive and there
are occasions when people are lesser condition where they just
need to be going to queue and the fact wing
can do that, and you know it's a whole lot cheap,
and you know you might be comparing and I'm guessing
fifteen thousand dollars against a couple of thousand, so you know,

(16:27):
cost wise, we're conscious of health system and their financial constraints,
but it's pretty hard to tell bureaucracy and Wellington or
christ Church. Well, there's a medivact that which degree you.

Speaker 1 (16:39):
Need certainly, So as far as health services on the
island as such, what is there? Just like a medical center.

Speaker 4 (16:47):
Yep, we've got a medical center and that has twenty
four to seven service and we have three rotating nursing
staff that will take shifts on that and may have
other experienced some of them if you work in eating
at queue, so they do their shifts at que and

(17:07):
then they'll come here and do three or four days
and then they'll go back into their circuit. So there
is a lot of pressure on them, but of course
they've become very experienced at that and the workaround here.
You know, they might be taken of a shock out
of someone's hand or put a stitch in or taking blood.
That's very very comprehensive.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
And just finally, Bruce and the energy project we've been
talking about down there, how's it been going.

Speaker 4 (17:32):
Yeah, that's ticking away. They're busy securing contractors because the
usual government agencies and so forth, they take a whole
lot of paperwork to get things together. That's supposed in
some finality we have a new energy operator for New
Zealand Energy have started early January to run the community
and the power NEET have stepped down from that mission

(17:54):
to which they'd had fifteen years of So we have
new operators, new scheme, hopefully new solar panels and possibly
some reduction in their power price.

Speaker 1 (18:06):
Wind farms are their possibility.

Speaker 4 (18:09):
I don't think so at this stage. They've been cbcsar
by solar because the price of solar has become dramatically
cheaper than wind farms, and of course there worth proposal
for wind farms previously and they were too close to
this trip. You can well imagine what the aeroplane will
do with a windmill.

Speaker 1 (18:30):
Yeah, it wouldn't be flash. I will leave it there, Bruce.
Always appreciate your time, and if you if you ever
feel the need to get rid of some of that
excess blue card and you want to swap it for
some beef, give us Ayodle more than happy to help out.

Speaker 4 (18:41):
You'll have to come and check it out yourself. That's
my my suggestion.

Speaker 1 (18:45):
Best Pieter Guardine Farms at Napdale then joins us on
this cool crisp asfternoon in the South. It was calling
christ this morning, Pete, good afternoon. There was frosts. There

(19:06):
were frosts recorded in various parts of the region.

Speaker 5 (19:08):
How did you fear, Yes, we had a good week
frost here at Nepdeal and we've got a cracking good
day now. It's nice and warm, and yeah, I think
the frosts are great. They just keep the northerners away.

Speaker 1 (19:18):
A that's one way to look at it, I suppose.
But when you're out nice and early, you just got
to put a beanie on and even a set of
gloves if you're on the bike.

Speaker 5 (19:27):
Yeah, and at least at least we're getting a good
day afterwards. And sounds like March may get back to
sort of more wheat and dry with a pattern rather
than this sort of bit of this, bit of that
with a pattern. I'm hoping.

Speaker 1 (19:38):
Look straight off the cuff though, this is a good
this is a real good news story. Well Keck a
gold w kck a gold mine getting the green light.

Speaker 5 (19:47):
Yeah, that's quite exciting. That's it's not too far away
from where we farm, and we do know a few
of the locals over there quite well, and that that
that area has been mined plenty of times before, and
that outfit that were co seem to do a pretty
good job up there, so I think it's I think
it's good that it's going ahead and brings jobs to
the community. And yeah, they rehab that land really well

(20:09):
at Freshford, so I can't imagine that they'll do any
different at wait Korus Sorries. So I think it's really positive.

Speaker 1 (20:15):
Like you said before, all they've done is ditch the
all they've done and the name is ditched the eye
and put in Mackay. Effectively, this what's happened.

Speaker 5 (20:22):
Yeah, it won't take a lot of a big signwriting bill,
will it to change the gear over.

Speaker 1 (20:27):
That's that's one of the positives I suppose when you
think of the bigger context of what this means for
the region, when you get activities that are occurring, I
don't know, just see you just see positives.

Speaker 5 (20:38):
Yeah, I know this probably sounds really dumb and real simple.
But if there's more money flowing into the community through
you know the entry points, which farming is one of
them and and mining is obviously another one, I think
it's great because then it recycles in the community. Those
stuff spend money in town. Stuff spend money in town.
They'll use mechanics, and you different contractors for different things,

(21:01):
and it all filters through the economy and I think,
you know, it's that whole thing of everybody's got to
grow the whole pie. You can't just keep dividing up
what's there. You want to make the whole pile bigger.

Speaker 1 (21:11):
Well, you go through Gore about twenty past six, like
I did this morning, going for a walk, and you
couldn't believe the amount of traffic that was going through town.
The bakery had a line up about four or five people,
and anywhere that was open at that time the day
had customers. So that gives you a bit of an
understanding of what's happening.

Speaker 5 (21:28):
And that's really exciting. That's it's what Gore needs, it's
what every other small town around US needs. And those
town people they did it pretty tough couple of years
ago when the farmers are doing tough, and it's just
how an economy works, and it's exciting if it's going
and people are investing and you know the money what
the same money's made round to go round or something like.

Speaker 1 (21:48):
That back street here in Gore case on point for
that piece, I mean, it's needed a bit of love
after the last couple of years, and slowly but surely
businesses have re established them there. And like said Craigs
and the team from Benamin Crutshing Pride going a opposite
new world as well. That's a fantastic new building and
it just lights up the landscape a bit as well.

Speaker 5 (22:08):
Oh definitely, And that's probably a bit of a bug
beer of miners. I'm pretty keen on progress, and I
don't know. Some people love old stuff a lot more
than I love old stuff, unless it's an old car.
DI actually like an old car, but old buildings in
that bowl them down start again. You know, we don't
have any real heritage in New Zealand. If you want
to see that, go to Europe. And you know people

(22:29):
want nice, modern, new, fresh buildings that are warm and
use a friendly So I just think, get in and
that provides more jobs. And yeah, fluffing around with old
stuff's not really my cup of tea.

Speaker 1 (22:41):
Now, I know what you classify as an old farmer,
So what do you classify as an old building?

Speaker 5 (22:47):
An old building to be for you when it's houses,
I'd spend money on anything that's the nineteen fifties, sixties
and newer, you know, brick and ralph cast a newer,
but anything older than that that's sort of everage. I
don't know weather boards and that don't excite me at all.
And you know, if anything's old and dingy and cold,
just bother down start again.

Speaker 1 (23:06):
That's a pretty ruthless philosophy.

Speaker 5 (23:09):
Well, I think it's a sheep farming. You've got to
be that way, andy. I don't think it'd last for
too long in this game if you weren't.

Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, they're fair cool. Hey, how's the harvest coming out? There?
Getting mixed messaging about how it's been around the province,
But at the same time, slowly but surely people are
getting through panics.

Speaker 5 (23:28):
Yeah, that sort of February we were dry, but we
were getting a little bit of moisture, like one or
two miles every second or third day, so it wasn't
great for harvesting. But we I think we'll be up
to date again by the end of this week, so
I'm pretty happy. But it has meant that the dryer
has done a bit more work, so that that does
add to the cost to weave it. But no, I

(23:49):
think it's all. I think it's all not too bad
and and and way better off than the boys and
Canterbury are doing. But we don't want to tell them
that too much. You just tell them that it's nice
and cold and frosty, and then they can stay in Canterbury.

Speaker 1 (24:00):
Yeah, well that's pretty much what's the situation they're facing,
those poor buggers up there. But at least we can
get stuff off the paddic, I suppose. And let you say,
util's the dryer.

Speaker 5 (24:09):
Yeah, and I think you know this next week's looking
pretty good and we'll rip in And what will happen
is if anybody is behind, just give your neighbors a yell.
And the grain industry is pretty good at helping each
other out and giving each other a hand and getting
the job done.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
I talked to Ben Deeley on the program yesterday about
meat company's schedules. You've got an interesting take on this, though,
saying that Sarah parties all of a sudden become a
lot more relevant when selling stock.

Speaker 5 (24:36):
Yeah. I mean, full disclaimer, I don't run a meat company,
and I'm not putting my hand up to run on
in a hurry because they look pretty complicated beasts. But
I don't know. They seem to be just handing it
to meet companies on the plate. When one in particular
announced these flexi payments, we bring up and moan to
your drafter and get a different price, I think they
lost the room of it on that. And from what

(24:58):
I understand, one of the companies is not a schedule
anymore and you've got to ring up your drafter. And
I don't know that sounds harsh, but if you're going
to ring up a draft your mails, I'll ring up
a third party go and get the best quote from
all the places, would be my opinion. And sort of
feels like we're heading back to what they did in
the eighties and the nineties where everything went through your
stocking station agent. And I think it's I don't know.

(25:21):
It seems to be the way it is. It seems
to be the rules of the game. But from a
meat eating quality point of view and all that, I
think it is a wee bit said because you're not
getting all that data and those right incentives going forward.

Speaker 2 (25:32):
So I don't know, but.

Speaker 5 (25:34):
I'm probably in the boat at the moment, at my
stage of my career where I need to worry more
about my own business and making sure that we're viable
before I tell everyone else how to run their businesses.

Speaker 1 (25:44):
I think though, when you look at the industry on
a whole of the way, prices have rebounded, especially this
season two, and lambs are just hard to get a
hold of, especially stores if you're looking at winter contracts.
So everything just rebounds.

Speaker 5 (25:59):
Yeah, And I guess that gets us back to my
favorite topic, Andy, which is bigger lambs. If people take
the lambs bigger, there's plenty of lambs out there. We
just need to stop killing them at tiny little weights
when they're small and don't have any intra muscular effect
and just take their lambs bigger and it solves all
those problems. But that's only my take on life.

Speaker 1 (26:21):
Yeah, but in iscing as well. Regarding the wool price,
you reckon the pieces for the lamb lamb pieces and
you pieces and the likes as all the same.

Speaker 2 (26:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (26:31):
Well, the wall industry is once again understanding the wool
industry as well. Above my pay grade. Andy, But I mean,
we've just sent some and it's awesome. The price is up,
but Leu fleece and Lamb fleece is the same price,
and the lamb pieces are only fifty cents behind it
sort of mystifies me what they're actually wanting, or yeah,

(26:51):
it just seems to be you put it in there
and you see what happens. But there's no it'd be
nice for some direction, but I mean, I'll just take
them money and invest it back in their businesses and
keep taking away.

Speaker 1 (27:03):
Do you think it's a case we just need to
celebrate the wins we're getting in the sheep industry at
the moment, Pete, I mean, we can dwell on things
too much. We just need to look forward.

Speaker 5 (27:12):
One hundred percent correct. And I listened to Corlie Fiskin's
thing on the podcast or the other morning and now
it was a good interview, and she seems not as
she's not all about boats anymore. It sounds like she's
keen to reinvest back in businesses and all that, which
is cool, and I think she's right on the money.
You just got to keep worrying about your own business

(27:33):
and keep reinvesting and making sensible decisions. And instead of
trying to understand all these things that we probably can't understand,
just look at what we can understand. And I don't
know it's such a cliche, but control what you can control.
I man, I hate saying that, but it just seems
to be so true.

Speaker 1 (27:50):
It's so relevant. Pete. Better leave it there, mate. Yeah, look,
great news regarding the gold mines, and we see a
few Lamborghini's going around Netdale's, there will be signs that
some people have done pretty well. Right well, I.

Speaker 5 (28:00):
Think those Lamborghinis would be more on the Wakaka district
or the North Chesting area than new But he's for hoping.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
James Edgar joins us this afternoon farming at moa Flat. James,
good afternoon, rock Sette. That's a pretty cool song. Dangerous
They were massive back in the day.

Speaker 6 (28:26):
Yeah, No, I do actually like Ross gets you going
for the day, and there's been happening, So yeah, one
of your better choices, I suppose over her different musical.

Speaker 1 (28:36):
I was just about to say that you've been pretty
cynical about some of my song selections for you, which
is fair enough. Music is open to interpretation. But you're
pretty scathing.

Speaker 6 (28:46):
I have been in the past any But that's that's
the way things go.

Speaker 1 (28:51):
James. Let's talk about the situation we're seeing at the moment.
There's a whole lot to decipher. If we're honest about
the situation. Firstly, though the price of lamb. These rumors
about spring contracts for lamb, Yeah.

Speaker 6 (29:05):
No, I've heard probably rumors like you have, and it'll
be interesting. I mean, what can we take out We
can take out them. Once again, this is my opinion.
I think we'll set it about ten dollars fifty somewhere
around there for the mid season price. As we're already
a long way through. I have always suspicion that there
might not be as many lambs round as what may

(29:26):
be forecast as well, But once again, that's it's just
my suspicion. I guess if we look at Mile Flat
like a next door dabor, big two seven hundred years
has just been planted into pine trees, and we have
other land use changes around the place, and just for
the difficult season too, I certainly see more cattle around

(29:46):
the place as we've sort of changed through, you know,
probably a product of the last two years ago when
the lamb price was so low. There's sort of there's
certainly been a lot of land use change. So I
just wonder if not the beef and land forecasts have
really heed into just how many farms have gone to forestry.
I mean, you only get drafted to the needing, don't you.
So No, I think if it said it was there,

(30:07):
and then you possibly think that maybe there's two dollars
on plus to the winter contract. But I mean time
will tell, won't it.

Speaker 1 (30:15):
These forecasts that come out in November, I'd question it.
I wonder how they get the accuracy around them.

Speaker 6 (30:23):
I know they've got Montor farmers and then they wring
them up and then they forecast. I think possibly they
were right that there has been a higher lemming, But
I think what maybe they haven't forecast or really got
there was probably some of the land use change. I mean, yeah,
maybe per head per year, the performance was up because
we did have two dollars diabolical springs in a row.

(30:43):
But yeah, I just wonder maybe though haven't quite accounted
for the fallen sheer numbers of breeding use will be
one one thought of mine.

Speaker 1 (30:52):
Well, that just doesn't the lambs around that just seems
to stick out of the proverbial.

Speaker 6 (30:57):
No, And they haven't done that well this year. It's
been a bit of a battle some of the crop lambs.
They haven't been quite as bad. It's been the first year.
So we usually share a lot of lambs at the
start of February, and there's certainly, you know, sixty or
seventy percent of the years they really fly. You get
that warm weather in February and quite often you're getting

(31:18):
a bit dry and the lambs just really round up.
And I personally think this year we show them and
I think they set. I don't think they went as
well as even the lambs that stayed wooly. So yeah,
it's just sort of been a little bit of a
battle lamb finishing in general this year. But even driving
around for how far behind the kill we are, like,

(31:38):
you just don't see massive volumes of lambs.

Speaker 1 (31:42):
Well, especially for store lambs, hearing likes of five dollars
up to five dollars fifty and some instances I do believe.

Speaker 6 (31:50):
Yeah, and that's fantastic, isn't it. Well, I hope there's
an industry like one thing that's sticking out. We're talking
off the year there about Iran. But one thing I
can see is I personally don't see the land price
changing all that much for the next couple of years.
But I mean, it's really looking like we're going to
get some more cost inflation so which is yeah, when
they say inflation doesn't nobody wins. But you know there's

(32:13):
been been emails sent out from the fertilizer co ops
already and they and then we're going to see some
oil price pressure and no doubt the rates and various
things the other councils will have to put in there
five cents too, So you can see that sticking away
from mile Away. There's just the cost pressure on which
will impact their margin for the high prices. You know

(32:34):
that's sticking out of mile Away.

Speaker 1 (32:36):
Well, if Trump be doing what he's doing in Iran
is short and shut, do you think perhaps there'll only
be a short term correction.

Speaker 6 (32:43):
No, I don't. No, No, I think when they say
fifty percent of the whole world's food is directly accounted
for from nitrogen fertilizer, and most of the nitrogen fertilizer
has come from the gas in terms of like oil
and gas production basically, So no, I think even a

(33:03):
short term shot there and places like China and you're
trying to shore up your own food supply by using
more notched and fertiliser, I really see that going up
to a new level.

Speaker 1 (33:15):
If I'm honest, so farm gain inflation comes into the
equation once again.

Speaker 6 (33:21):
Yes, I think it's slipping out. It's definitely something I'm
thinking about already, and we'll probably start pricing into my
business going forward for the next couple of years. I
just don't see anyway. It's not going to be quite
a substantial amount of it. As I say, the good
news is the product prices have been higher. But yeah,
it's pretty hard to see that going anywhere.

Speaker 1 (33:42):
So how are you going to work out a budget
for your stop for next season.

Speaker 6 (33:46):
I'll be using the same numbers as this season, Andy,
That's what I'm going to be using.

Speaker 2 (33:50):
Yep.

Speaker 6 (33:51):
I think that's going to be a reflection. There's nothing
there I can see that's fundamentally going to change. One
of the things I actually look at. So when you're
looking at the kettel prices, I know the old saying
was always keeping eye on the American kettle herd. So
when they're in rebuilding face phases, basically the kettle price
was always strong, and when they're selling down, you know

(34:11):
their herd the kettle price dropped, and from what I've seen,
I just watched the Australian sheep herd for the sheep.
When they're heading up towards one hundred million sheep, at
some stage they liquidate their flock and their and their
lamb price goes substantially backwards. And when they end up
back down towards sixty million sheep in Australia, they start

(34:31):
accumulating them again and you usually find the price is strong.
So that's a thing that I can see. And yeah,
I think the kettle herds just starting to rebuilding America,
but that won't change for next year, I don't believe in.
And the sheep liquidations probably stopped in Australia, but they're
still a few years away from getting back up towards
one hundred million sheep.

Speaker 1 (34:51):
Yeah, certainly fascinating times when you look around the world
is what's going to happen regarding food security. The EU,
the UK for example, very parochial around buying locally and
the likes. But yeah, I mean these are different times.

Speaker 6 (35:07):
Yeah, absolutely they are. I think that it still doesn't
phaze me so much. Like the fundamentals of just being
a good farmer and a good business owner, they really
haven't changed whether or not the price is up or down.
You know, you do argue it's lightly easy when the
price is up and clear you've got to capitalize when
the price is up to try and set the business
up for the next time that the prices are poor

(35:30):
is a yeah. So then that it still comes back
to the basics and fundamentals and and that won't change
very much.

Speaker 1 (35:38):
You talk about the dairy being look of gold at
the moment, well way kaka gold mines limited. This what's
happening over there. This is a good news story.

Speaker 6 (35:47):
Oh absolutely, it's stall Pugnans on the and the more
gold mines and the more farms and the more excellence
I would call it that the South and the Otago
districts can do down here is just absolutely key in
my opinion. I think New Zealand's got really strong laws
about how they have to leave it after they've finished
gold mining or coal or whatever it is or farming.

(36:11):
So like there's some really strong rules there that you
can't just pillage the land. But I'd argue in some
circumstances that the land actually gets left in a more
useful way than when it started. Plus we've had this
great economic boost for the district down here, so absolutely,
the more we can do, the better, and you know,

(36:32):
and I actually take my hat off for the people
that have invested in it and put everything on the line,
I guess and got over and yeah, I just hope,
you know, the next thing with the gold miner farming
as you're in there for twenty or thirty years, so
I hope if there's change of governments or there's yeah,
different councils come in that maybe there's less flip flopping

(36:55):
and changing like you'd like to think that I've now
got signed off and they got to go for the
length of their resource consent.

Speaker 1 (37:02):
Just finally, how are things looking on the farm at
Mars Flat.

Speaker 6 (37:07):
We're the tails with two farms and ten kilometers apart,
and their higher farm that's more towards the east. It's
having probably the best season we've had for a long
long time. And the one that's more towards the west
getting towards Waikaias were now really quite dry, lost most
of their pastry cover, yes, and really a towe of

(37:29):
two tapes. But equally we changed their farming system for
the last couple of years. So now we've just started
exiting bulls. We're well through the lambs. Ironically, the lambs
have done a lot better on the dry farm. We'll
probably had the best lambs and all three from the
drier farm with less feed, but it's probably just been
a bit warmer there maybe, So anyway, we're exiting those

(37:52):
and yeah, so we'll be right down to the least
amount of numbers we can probably in two weeks. And yeah,
hopefully we get a on autumn because it's going to
be quite a long winter on that block, especially if
we don't get a bit of coinness, because we had
a big frost the other day and it was boardline
trying to snow all about two days before that. So yeah,

(38:13):
she's a long winter if.

Speaker 7 (38:14):
We start from February and James chat again, thank you,
Welcome back to the master.

Speaker 1 (38:28):
Steve Henderson farms down at our Ua. Here's the chair
of the Southern Field days and he's been around on
maneuverus today. By the sounds of it, Steve good afternoon,
hal and a year.

Speaker 8 (38:37):
Our joy ride song. Yeah yesterday or Dave beforetually went
for a joy ride from cross Shirts to Caremea of
all places. So yeah, we hell of a joy ride
for five hours and the car I'll talk you out
there doingstra awards at this time of the year, so
for the regional around of judging, they take outside of
the region people. So here's myself, then Garrian, Jed and

(39:00):
a banker cruising around and we've got here three well
actually all contract markers to judge over here on the coast.
So yep, that is me for the next couple of days.

Speaker 1 (39:09):
So where do we find you today?

Speaker 8 (39:11):
Right now, I'm back in Reefton, so oh wow, here
with Caramea and then we've just judged too in and
around reeft and so yeah, cool part of the country
and we're looking at like twenty twenty two, twenty three
degrees today, so yeah, it has been plenty of good.

Speaker 1 (39:25):
Actually has Reefed. And he'll describe Reefton.

Speaker 8 (39:31):
If you were around fifty years ago and still reefed,
it still looks like that today. It's it's just a
it's just a wicked, cool mining town and and that's
the beauty of the coast. They've all got so much
history and you probably spend more time rubber nicking all
the buildings and the mines that are still going and
the rail network and everything else that happens over here,

(39:51):
and then actually keeping the eyes on the road. So yeah,
it's a it's a pretty wicked town. And during the summertime,
like right now, the kemp of ben Parks and the
amount of kemp of ends we see on the road.
Your tourists just keep the snake of the woods alive?
Is it?

Speaker 1 (40:05):
Hell's it looking over their feed wise in the obviously
rain's never an issue over that way.

Speaker 2 (40:11):
Funny you say that.

Speaker 8 (40:12):
So we've just got off just literally five minutes ago,
and yeah, they've got two sing to pivots, so they
do get dry being in recent But on the coast
we're up at Kramere and they've got irrigation up there.

Speaker 2 (40:24):
Too, so.

Speaker 8 (40:26):
There's a what is it a longer true? They're the
true the one that goes sideways. So Carem is the
same as a Kapiti coast in Wellington. So you are
quite high and you don't get all that rainfall likes
of hast and Fox does. So yeah, top top of
the South is quite different, and they had a rough spring.
There's plenty of flooding and plenty of pagging. Probably similar
lots south in the head and they're humming now there's

(40:48):
good covers and they're looking like the talons of the
season is going to be pretty good.

Speaker 1 (40:52):
So well when you're back down south here, because you've
had quite a quite a bit of leave over the
last month or two.

Speaker 8 (41:00):
I mean you'll leave might be endeb it for a
few years now. So yeah, I'll get back tomorrow and
then yeah, there's a good time on the farm, though
nothing's like what do you call it? Time critical? So
we're protesting Friday morning when I'm back, and it got
a couple of panics to get back and grass out
of turnips, and the autumn's going pretty down good for
us too, like grass covers, you know, we'll be twenty

(41:22):
two fifty sort of covers and their cows are just
making cheat milk. Just yeah, grass into the vet, which
is good at this time of the year, and we're
pushing grass in front of us. So yeah, it has
been a good time to get away and do these things.
And yeah, it's always good to put back to the
community what you've got out of it too, So I
think they're sort of a stage of life for it
where you're trying and put back as much as we

(41:43):
got out of it. You nice five teen years.

Speaker 1 (41:44):
Ago, after the field days concluded, how long did it
take you to get back into a normal routine again.

Speaker 8 (41:51):
Yeah, it's a funny one on the Monday morning, obviously
worked up Sunday. You know, it's not really too motivated.
Monday morning you sort of woke up and walked around
not really knowing what to start again. But then only
took a couple layers and yep, you just get back
on the swing of things, catch up the stuff. And
we've got a pretty good team, so's nothing really went
out astray and you just to get back into it.

(42:12):
We've tried to make some hay, We've got some haydown
we're trying to get on Friday and hard bit of
drainage bits and pieces. But like I say, it's a
good time of year.

Speaker 2 (42:21):
To be away.

Speaker 8 (42:22):
There's nothing too critical, and yeah, thing if it goes
wrong when you're away, it was the day wrong when
you're there anyway, So now you just bet it sorted
to carry on.

Speaker 1 (42:31):
So you're all set up for autumn properly.

Speaker 8 (42:34):
Here we are, Yep, yep, there's really there's really nothing
to too crazy on the radar. A bit of fencing,
a bit of weak control and sort of just keep
an eye on cow's body conditions to gore. Really, so
we're gonna, like I said, skiing Friday, it'll tell us
in emptys. We won't need to get rid of them

(42:55):
in the short term with the covers we've got, but
you've got to be mindful that you don't use those cares.
We have a care over the empes and keep on
and then your covers drop down and then you're in
and a predicament. So well that'll be the first to move.
And the schedule still looking pretty good. So you know,
as a shed up, you might be better to get
rid of your cowls right now and bit all yours

(43:16):
rather than halfy milk. So yep, those decisions to make.
And as a whole it's looking pretty good.

Speaker 1 (43:22):
Well if the schedule looking the way that it is
at the moment, like you're talking about, Steve, though, if
you want to get rid of your curls, there's no
harm in it.

Speaker 8 (43:29):
No, no, you did right, And you see the oxen
went up again, and milk price is still going to
look pretty strong. But you you're looking at next season,
you're not trying to make milk that you haven't already
made this season. They're sort of done and dustard, So
protect next season. Yes, milk and the vet looks good
and good pub talk, but it can be detrimental the
next year. So yep, if you're if you're looking like

(43:50):
you're getting a bit blowing pasture cover and important feed
is going to be, you know, more than what you
think it should be. You get rid of, you get
rid of you read meat and kissing the bank, and
you don't go and sacrifice to start the next season
by trying to keep KOs of for too long.

Speaker 1 (44:05):
This season, Regarding the GDT result overnight you touched on
it a five point seven percent increase. It's looking pretty rosy.

Speaker 8 (44:13):
Yeah it is.

Speaker 7 (44:14):
And what are we now?

Speaker 8 (44:15):
We're now March, so it's probably looking a little bit
rosy for next season too. So historically a lot of
the milk product's being sold, you know, post Christmas, all
this products being sold and catered for anyway, so a
lot of us is pushing into next season. It gives
pretty good certainty. And you know, not just for the
for the guy putting the caps on, it's a certainty

(44:35):
around contractors and suppliers and all the other associated businesses
that run with the various farming and general so Yep,
it looks pretty rosy for the next day months and
he had just tried and take those opportunities to run
with it where you can.

Speaker 1 (44:48):
Is it as positive as positive as what you've seen
the sector during your farming career, I.

Speaker 8 (44:54):
Would say it probably is. We were pretty positive. Would
have been twelve years ago when it was eight thirty
and in comparison, I don't know what that would beat,
could be up around twelve bucks, and then it did
go to three nineties. So that risk is always there.
But as long as you sort of protect that risk
with you know, you've got milk futures out there, you
can opt in for that, so there's a lot more

(45:15):
risk protection out there now. But yeah, I think it
has been positive, and I'll be talking three years in
a row now it's been positive. So yes, it's so
out of that question. Need is we'll obviously scan draft
cows in the body condition score preference. You feed those
ones that are early carvers and need their condition score
brought up to you know, if we can drive off

(45:36):
at five gets the job done, and we just need
to maintain them over winter, and obviously if it gets
a bit wet, we need to look after passes too,
because I've taken a hiding on last two springs.

Speaker 2 (45:46):
So if we you.

Speaker 8 (45:48):
Know, pug up more than we should this autumn roll
through the spring too, So you know, you just got
to keep an eye the weather, keep an eye cow condition,
and yeah, winter comes around pretty quick and there's not
really too much more to it.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
You've got Sweden this year again, haven't you.

Speaker 8 (46:03):
Here we go. Yeah, all the ks are on breskas
and we've got grass and bailage for the about fourteen
days transition period before their carbs, so that's the plan. Yes,
we've got sixty days for them and then the grass
and bailage. So crops are looking really well. I've had
I've had a ripper of a season. We've just sprayed

(46:25):
twenty on heat ys for a bit of a six
and weed pressure. Other than that, I've been here up
the cheapest croptive of the ground and it's purely you know,
rainy the sky which is creating a lot of grass
now too. So given us looking good and baileage, we've
hit my head to buy weave it in. But that's
available this year, which is good, and it's on power
with last year. In the year before past wise too,

(46:47):
I sawed away to China.

Speaker 1 (46:49):
In a little thought, Steve Anderson, you're wrapping up the
best of the must Thanks for your company. My name
is Andy Muller. Enjoy the weekend. Hopefully the weather plays ball.
And was a Monday one o'clock right here in Hokano.

Speaker 4 (47:03):
Mm hmm