February 27, 2026 • 47 mins
Andy Muir talks to Dean Rabbidge, David Stevens, Graham Butcher, David Stevens and Kylie Fisken.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Last night a Harvey stream A very good morning and
welcome along to the best of the muster, a collaboration
of interviews and took our attention during.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
A hectic week here at Hockey e e HQ. I
mean I you are thanks to your company.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Was starting off the hour by catching out at Dean
Rabbage Farming at Glenham, a previous winner of the Xander
MacDonald Award. And Dean tells us what wonning the award
meant for him. It was back maybe ten years ago
now and just he says it was certainly one that
opened opportunities for him and why he thinks it's opportunities like.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
This in the rural sector that we need to grasp.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
David Stevens, our dear Farming correspondent from Netherdale and Balfer,
looks at the industry, talks about the positivity regarding the
venison schedule. Okay, there's a bit of issues there still
going on regarding velvet over to South Korea and China,
but David thinks in general the dear industry is in
very good health. Butcher farm consultant talked about opportunity costs
(01:04):
at this time of year, we'll be leaving Lambs on
a sacrificing body score on your use which is pretty
relevant coming up to topping season. Fiona Hancocks is on
the program. She's worn many hats over the years, including
being on the board of Silver far and Farms, but
she talks about giving back to the local community now
and rolls that takes on and just for how she
(01:25):
thinks the sector is placed as we see prices in
the positive and Kylie Fuskin talking about positivity of Mallet
Maclain plus more says why we need to look at
the current season and enjoy the w's while we get
them in the rural sector so that further ado will start.
The Beasts of the Muster with Dean Ravage.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
The muster on the farm with Southland District Council working
together for a beta.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Southland Rabbage is based at Glenham and joins us.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
On this beautiful afternoon down here in the Deep South.
Do you know how are you good?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Thanks Andy? It's stunner down here today, so you're just
sucking linen and enjoying it well, or you.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Can pretty much say we had a small frost and
gore this morning, or on the verge of it, but
you reckon out there.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
It was pretty good.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yeah, it's perfect. Just a bit of low load cloud
or fall or flog or whatever you want to call it,
that's all burnt off. So yeah, suns out, the sheep
of grown lamb grass is growing kettle happy. So yeah,
we're just enjoying it.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So how's your feed situation looking, Bearing in mind, we
haven't had the summer that we'd like to have.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Like, you've got plenty of feed around. I think it's
the general consensus with a lot of people in this area.
You can't get the us around fast enough to try
and control a bit of quality. But on the flip
side of it is that everything's pumping along really nicely.
A lot of lambs are really starting to hum now
and year there's going to be plenty of feed around
to out flashing the use up for the RAM which
(03:02):
is just over a month away. So yeah, we're sitting
in a pretty reasonable position really.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Andy, So you're getting through the lambs pretty good.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Yeah, I'm just waiting on a truck to arrive shortly
to taken inload away. Yeah, we'll sort of getting to
that point now, sort of get a intload away every
ten days so they'll soon put a pretty big hole
in them. We do try and run to the poor
so that we only have ten percent of the lambs
left on when the maternal ramp goes out, So that's
around the fifteenth of April. So yeah, that date's coming
(03:32):
around pretty quick too. So yeah, I'm pretty sure we
won't be far away.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
What did the schedule do at the weekend? Do you know?
Speaker 4 (03:40):
From what I've seen, some stayed, some dropped teen cents,
But it's that time of year when funny things are
happening with they'll take ten cents off and put ten
cents share on premium and stuff like that on. So
n figures, I'd say it's say pretty much the saint
really a.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Lot of people saying the store price, especially last week
going by the saale. Yeah, it's very close to well
you get at the works anyway, so the LP procurement
will gets spending around, bended around again.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Yeah, I think there's been a mess under restoration of
how many lambs aren't out there by the meat companies.
I think it's going to be a bit of a
fright when the season washed up, Which is all right
for those who are still still in the sector. But yeah,
like I've heard some people years storing a lot and
still probably getting twenty thirty dollars ahead of what the
(04:26):
budger's are on for a season without the costs. So
g a cold weinch to today comes, it will be
a pretty tempting option to take. Fine.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Now, now, last time we spoke to you, you had
all that wall on hand. Did you manage to get
rid of it for a handsome price?
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Look, it's all in the store, it's all been tested
up and I'm just waiting to hear back from Insidno,
it's who were used to market their wall to see
what the best option is for that. So fingers crossed.
But looking at all the market reports and that, I
think it's definitely going to more than cover sharing cost
(05:03):
to see, which is for the first time probably three
or four years that's happened. So that's a really exciting
position to be and also.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Absolutely and long mate continue. Now, the big story in
the news over the past couple of weeks is regarding
the mower points sewage the failure that the curred there
with the infrastructure. Now all this raw surriage slurry as
you call it, just going into Wellington harbor fingers are
being pointed, but what action is going to happen is
going to be another matter. And you can relate this
(05:30):
back to a farmer who's doing his due due diligence,
sorry about the farm and what they have to do
regarding their consents and adhering to them.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
It's a bit of a contradiction.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I think the hypocrisy smells more than the surage on
this one. And you got the Green Party jumping up
and down when it was the ONPS that voted to
put money towards cycle ways instead of upgrading infrastructure. Green
pieces absent on this, or the anti agriculture warriors that
(06:00):
are out there complaining about waterways in winter time and
night shates and all that sort of stuff which we
all know is pretty much non existence. There is not
a bigger deal as what a lot of people make
it out to be. Their science is definitely over this
whole situation. So I think it's a pretty disgraceful what's
happening up there in the in the lack of coverage
(06:24):
from certain areas of society is pretty appalling. Really.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Yeah, A lot of people have noted that this needs
to be accountability over this do you think we need
to press harder in the rural sector so we can
get a decent outcome.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Look, I don't that's a hard one. I think the
royal sector and advocates have made a good job of
pointing out the hypocrisy that's going on. We'll just bank
it and I'm sure that it'll come in handy one
day in the future. But I think these people that
are living in Willington need to get their own fears
in order before they start getting out from behind their
(06:58):
desks wearing the scene or stocks coming to having us
how to run their farms.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, that's the thing cycle wise want to get you
so far at the moment, do you know? But look,
the Zenna McDonald Awards are coming up soon. You're passed
alone night you won the award, but you can't remember
which year it was, around twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen or
twenty fourteen years one of them.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
But it's but poor from my behalf really years eleven,
twelve years ago. So yeah, I've got the awards again
this year up and christ Church in the fortnight's time.
So we'll shoot up for a couple of days and
catch up with with some of the crefect people that
you made along being associated with their awards, so it's
always good to catch up. And yeah, you sort of
(07:39):
don't see them for a year and you're walking to
the ram and it's you just carry on where you
left off. So I'm really looking forward to that.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
What was the big thing for your perspective winning that award?
Did it open that channels as such?
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Yeah? Look, just probably seek before is the mentoring stuff.
I focused on farm succession, which was obviously a bit
of a big fish and they except for a lot
of people at the moment and always will be, always
has been. But you're just going around New Zealand Australia
talking to people about the succession process and probably learning
(08:13):
not what today rather than what today certainly helped us
get their farm succession.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Across the line, fam succession is as a major topic
and always will be.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Yeah, there's and that's unique to your culture for some reason,
like you don't seem to say the same the same
discussions and issues associated with a family or business and
gore and the cargo or anything like that. It's the
one I suppose it's a unique position where with farming
you're dealing with a hotly valued sept generally multimillion dollar
(08:50):
sept but are only getting a small return and it's
really hard to to make things ecoals. I suppose being
fear at the end of the day is the biggest thing,
and my making sure that nobody's heavy for like of
a bitter term generally means it's not far away from
getting it right. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Absolutely, it's a massive topic and continues to be so right.
Out of these three teams in rugby, who had the
worst weekend England, the Crusaders or Wales.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Ah Crusaders probably turn over for the for the start
of the season. Was I wasn't too disappointed to seeing them. Yeah,
there's good rugg around to watch the moment, but it
was wasn't it disappointed to wake up to the Island
put one over England as we are especially tooking them.
(09:38):
So ye, it's been quite entertaining. Were now able to
see a bit of been to a few English mates
that were at the game, So yeah, enjoy the weekend
rugby to watch. Apart from some unfortunate calls or some
unfortunate events in the Hollanders chess game on Friday nights.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
They were unfortunate and unfortunately it all comes down to
the officials. Now the reft of that game anger is
maybe used to be your boss here at me. But
it wasn't so much angers but the touch judges as
whatever you call them these days.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
A lot of calls got missed.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Yeah, there the couple that probably could have been picked up.
There's a pretty dubious drop one drop out what do
you calling these days? But that led to a great
trial option to try from the case. But the trial,
the try of the route for me was seeing those
the locks make a fantastic breakdown rugby. Sure, rugby that's best.
(10:32):
So yeah, it's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
As Harvy Norman putting the boots on again this year.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Yeah, yeah, he's going to be a mainstay for the
Windom Senior Sees this year so and we're looking forward
to having him, so it'll be all good.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Has he gone down to the seas well?
Speaker 2 (10:50):
He doesn't know that yet.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
He doesn't know that yet.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Hey, good on your dam, we'll let you carry on
that track must be.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Yeah, look it's actually just driving past me there, so
I'll keep me.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
David Stevens is a dear farmer based a Belfer and
joins us this afternoon on the muster once again.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Good afternoon, David. How are you good?
Speaker 5 (11:16):
Andy? And good afternoon?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Yes, yeah, thanks, Yeah, we haven't spoken for a week
while you've been busy.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
Oh yeah, no no no, it's sort of been doing
a few things. Been away so no, no back again
back home.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Yes, So how's everything looking here?
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Of course you're farming just out of belfer Nitherdeal farm there.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
How's the season been?
Speaker 5 (11:38):
Well, it's been I suppose we're not not weird. It's
just continuous off and on, little bits of rain all
the time, and it's been hard to well in our situation,
we've been trying to do a bit of hay and
it's almost impossible. So mostly everything's been wrapped up. So
(11:58):
but no, feed wise we're fine.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
It just turned down from central Otago yesterday and probably
the top end of northern south is actually looking a
bit a wee bit dryer.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
But so as far as the deer industry, what's been
happening over the past, well.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Well we've seen well, the velvet season's pretty much wrapped up.
It ended up probably slightly better than modest, well, it
is better than what it started. We probably are averaging
for velvet this year around about that sixty dollars a
k top end around eighty. What's probably effected more than
(12:36):
anything is actually not only the price, but also the
grading this year is a lot, a lot tougher than
it has been the past, so it's been a bit
harder to get velvet in that top end top price.
But it'll be interesting to see what happens. Has been
quite a kill of mixed age stags probably last spring autumn,
(13:00):
and I think the volume will be back at bt ANDY.
I think that it could be back considerably, and I
understand talking to some of the DSPs the plants there's
quite a number of mixed age days gone and after
velveting this last season, so next year, yeah, it'll be
(13:21):
back again, which fine do any harm because really, to
be honest, we were actually producing a little more than
what the market needed, so it needed to change. So
the other thing too is obviously now you can't see
in mixed aage staggs, and with the rut coming up,
the twenty first of February was a cut off date
for transport for those old fellows, so that's that's happened,
(13:46):
So it'll be interesting just to see where the volume goes.
I predict in two years time or a couple of
seasons away, we're going to be around about eight hundred ton,
which we'll probably have hopefully have an effect on the price,
lifting the price. It won't sort of put too much
into the market, so it'll reduce and hopefully that's that's
(14:08):
sort of the sweet spot as far as volume goes.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Are you optimistic regarding the price of velvet looking forward
or realistic?
Speaker 5 (14:18):
No? I think realistically there's a good market and things
are further processing and that is that's getting more and
more volume into that area to know that topy in
niche area. So no, i'd be I don't do any
evolving now, but it's sort of semi retired, but I think, yeah,
(14:40):
I'm pretty optimistic actually to be fair, I think that
it's a good market. I think evolving in the future.
I think that our quality will lift. It has had to.
That's where the grading has gone this past season. So
with that, I think that as a huge opportunity into
(15:02):
China for getting into that niche market. At the moment,
it's more commodity into there. I think that some of
the rigs that are changing that this end too will
have an effect also this end. So no, I'm pretty
optimistic with at the end. I think that it's a
good business to be in. We just got to be
(15:23):
aware of oversupply. It's had an effect that we sort
of the martial arts knew that at some stage that
was going to happen anyhow, probably didn't expect it to
be I have such an effect on one season, but
certainly what was going to happen.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Is it about oversupply at the moment? Is that just
one of the driving factors bringing down the price?
Speaker 5 (15:46):
Yes, yes, there's a number of factors. I think COVID
certainly in China had an effect too because obviously it
shut down retail, so that's probably had an effect as well.
So as of a hangover there, it's certainly, But no,
in total, I'd say oversupply has had an effect. I
(16:10):
think a lot of the number of deer farmers here
too have had you know, reduced their high numbers and
retain stags. And I think the young generation coming through
has got to be a weird fact that yes, you
can have oversupplies. No, certainly over supplies had a huge
(16:31):
effect on it.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Now the price of innocent about this time last year,
a bit earlier, you were talking about the metrical ten
dollar mark. Well, it's fair to say there's been some
person now regarding contracts.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
Yes, the contracts aren't yet the winter contracts or the
contracts for the new season, but the feeling is that
it will be sort of eleven dollars and above north
of eleven dollars, So you know, looking at that, you
know it's something that dear farmers have got to look at.
Those that have been heavily involved in the velvet sector
(17:06):
probably need to look at their farm operation and the
opportunity to actually be more focused on the venison side
of it. So, no, it's looking good. No contracts out yet,
but hopefully that's the figure that is been tossed around.
Hopefully that is the fact when they do come out.
(17:27):
But no, it's been good. The schedules stayed up all
the way through. Often it drops away after spring in
that venison heading away before Christmas, heading overseas. But no,
it's looking as though it's holding up right through. So
I know, you just looking at published schedules at the moment,
(17:48):
and you're looking at ten forty, which is a published
one from one of the processes that I've supplied right
through so in that mixtage stag schedule also has been
up there as well, so it's encouraged people to actually
get rid of those Next DAYE stays.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Yeah, it's crazy how it's come around of a season
of the embryo program once again.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
Yes, yep, that gets to the stage of this time
of the year where those that are getting involved in
an AI and embryo program will be looking at winning
and getting that pre rut, getting that sorted and getting
hind sorted out for AI programs and embryo programs. So yes,
(18:35):
they'll be involved in that surely if they haven't started
or it's usually about in the February early March, and
then I know when we were doing the AI and
embryo programs, we always did that early April. The hins
went through that process and normally you're wing sort of
(18:55):
early March some late February and get those hinds all
out and obviously into the program. So that'll be taking
place and people be sorting that out and getting organized
for that. But those that are post right, they will
probably just be not waning, I should say, they'll be
tagging and drenching and leaving them on the mums. So
(19:18):
they won't probably win until we probably may sometime late May.
For most of those that post rut Wiens say the
other thing too, and you'll be interesting this year is
once people when obviously Wieners got on the market, and
last year I think pretty much averaged around six dollars
(19:38):
for life weight for Winer stags and five dollars for
Winna hines. And there won't be many around. I know
it's very short as far as numbers go. Just talking
to agents and no doubt people have forward ordered with
their agent to sort out the what they what they
(19:59):
can get for the season. But with the schedule of
that that might they might even go higher than that.
I'm not sure, but it's got to be a bit
of it for everybody.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Just finally, David, what's the sale that'signed tonight? You want
people to have a look.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
At Brocks have got a sale tonight and it starts
at seven o'clock and it'll be online, So if anybody
wants to go on to that, I understand they've sold
a property and they will have a lot of I
would imagine pretty good hinds actually on the market. So
if anybody's interested in that, that'll be online with Bitter
(20:33):
and you know, it's an opportunity for people to pick
up some very good hinds, so i'd imagine, So it
will be interesting just to see what the outcome and
what sort of prices they achieve for those. I would
imagine there'll be a number of people that have dropped
mixed age velping stacks that may be interested in building
(20:56):
up the hind heard again, So it'll be interesting and
you just to see what that so goes, how it goes.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Good on your David. We always appreciate your time.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Thanks, Andy, No problem at all.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
This is the muster.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I'm joined in studio by farm consultant Graham Butcher Graham House.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Thanks, I'm very well. Indeed, you were telling me you
were at Southern field days.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
He had two half days, so you got to enjoy
the Southern summer that occurred on that one Thursday.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
Yes I did. I had Thursday morning there and the
Wednesday morning as well, so obviously couldn't see it at all,
but caught up with a few things.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Lambs versus us opportunity cost almost at this time of
year when it comes to production.
Speaker 6 (21:40):
Well, yes, it's an interesting time of the year people
who are mulling overd I look after my lambs this
year and probably more focused on that with the schedules
the way they are. But it's looking good for next year.
But we've got to look after next year's production as
well from a whole lot of points of view. So
I just I just nutted out a few figures here
this morning. If we're looking looking at condition score of US,
(22:02):
and this is a critical thing we've got to look
at right now, we know that a condition score is
not five kilos, it's somewhere between seven and nine. To
put a condition score on a U, it takes fifty
five mega dules of me to put on a kilogram
of live weight that's over and above maintenance. So there's
a few figures in here that you'll see where I'm
(22:23):
getting to. So if we want to put a condition
score on our light US, we've got to put seven
kilos on them over the next fifty days, which is
actually quite a big ask. If we want to put
a half a condition score undergo, say from two point
five to three point five, we got to put on
about three and a half kilos, right, So that's the
(22:45):
weight gain. We need to put those sorts of condition
scores on our ues. So you've got to look pretty
critically a use and say, okay, where's the balance this
year's production, next year's production. If we're looking at putting
a condition score or one condition score on a you
in the next fifty days, we've actually got to feed
(23:07):
them about one point seven kilograms a drive matter a day. Now,
I can go through all the figures, but it probably
wouldn't come across too well on radio.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
So you're saying a condition score on an average size you,
what's seven kilos?
Speaker 6 (23:20):
If you've got a sixty five what I'm assuming sixty
five ku. We want to put a condition score on her,
so she's a reasonable size you. Over the next fifty days,
she has got to do one point seven or got
to be fed one point seven kilograms a drive matter
a day, which is actually quite good. And I'll come
back to that in a minute. Now, if we look
at her putting on a half a condition score, we've
(23:42):
got to feed them one point four kilograms to drive
matter a day. Right, So that's that's what we need
to do to get our use up. So there's really
light condition us one point seven something. If you want
to lift the bottom end to use up half a
condition score, it's one point four. Now, if we compare
that to a thirty eight kg lamb growing at one
hundred and sixty grams a day, that's one point eight
kilograms a dry matter a day. So where we're getting
(24:05):
to is those light condition news, those two point five
ones that we really need to look after, and there's
a few of them about. There's areas that haven't had
rain and things are just getting a bit tough. We've
got to feed them basically as well as you're feeding
a good lamb over the next fifty days to get
them to where we want to be, and that's looking
after next year's production. And even the if we want
(24:26):
to put on half a condition score, we've still got
to feed them about seventy to eighty percent of the
way we're feeding a lamb. So that's quite an important
figure to keep in mind. So it's not an easy
task to put condition on a you over a relatively
short time, So that's an important point. If we've got
the finances of the whole thing, do we focus on
our lambs or do we focus on our ues? Thirty
(24:49):
eight cagy lamb doing one hundred and sixty grams a day.
That's one point eight kilograms a dry matter over the
next fifty days. If we feed them, that's ninety cagyus
a dry mat wh's going to consume. If we do that,
she's going to put on three point two kilograms of
carcassweight at forty percent dressing for dressing percent drops as
of season progresses ten to fifty shoes or that's thirty
(25:11):
three dollars. So if we've got five hundred lambs, we've
got the possibility of making another sixteen and a half thousand. Right,
that's first lot of figures, second lot of figures. If
we take that, If we quit those use now and
forull go our sixteen and a half thousand dollars gain
and put that feed into use, we could actually put
(25:34):
half a condition score on two thousand, four hundred and
sixty US over the next fifty days. Now, that's saying
we're feeding the US to maintenance. The feed that we
were putting into those lambs all goes into growth, so
that's why we get quite a significant effect. So we
lose sixteen and a half thousand if we go through
the figures to look at and accept. A kilogram live
(25:57):
weight gain at mating is one point three percent increase
in two that's a standard sort of figure. It's been
around for years. At a ten to fifty schedule. That
comes out to eighteen thy nine hundred, not a lot
more than the sixteen and a half, but it is
more right so to me. Right now, the balance is
shifting on to looking after next year's production, and that's
(26:17):
only looking at the gain we can make by having
more lambs next year by getting our new condition up.
There's also that dynamic effect too, but that may work,
it may not. It depends which scientific paper you read.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
So it's fair to say you're an advocate for storing
lambs at the moment.
Speaker 6 (26:34):
I'm an advocate for selling lambs at best. Whether that
store at the works is another matter.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
But if you're looking at preserving a bit of feed
for the use and the likes for if the money
is as good as what they're saying for lambs to
go on a track and go somewhere else, wouldn't.
Speaker 5 (26:47):
You do it?
Speaker 6 (26:47):
You've got to consider it.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
No, you'd have to do it the moment, absolutely.
Speaker 6 (26:51):
And there are the other things to consider term mean,
that's just looking at the gain we can make by
having more lambs next year. We've got to consider our
first to may covers. That's approaching sixty days away, you know,
it's not far away. And that cover you have going
into winter is going to have a direct effect on
what your lambing cover is next spring. And that's going
(27:11):
to have a major effect on the way they use
lack take, which has a major effect on the you
and the way the lambs grow and the number of
lambs you get away at weaning, and that's going to
have a major effect on how many lambs you got
next autumn, and effect on the US and all that
sort of stuff. So I think it's quite important to
consider your position. What's your new condition, like, what's your
(27:32):
winter crop looking like? Are you comfortable what your first
to make covers are going to be? And you've got
to make a call on aka do I quick lambs
or focus on feed covers a new condition.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Do you think there's enough emphasis placed on body scoring use?
Probably not.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
I mean a lot of people consider the average of
a flock three point five, but that's not good enough.
They've all got to be three point five. If we
want to make good money out of use, particularly at
the schedule prices they've got. Now every u's got to
pull its way. And you could say that if your
average condition score is three point five and that's where
you wanted to be, half some haven't met that target.
(28:07):
So it's a spread that counts really, not the average.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
How's the feed looking out there anyway?
Speaker 6 (28:15):
That's pretty good in some places and pretty short in others.
To talk to a client this morning though after why
mere plane? They were pretty sure to feed. They need
rain so very hugely.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
That's farming that if it was easy, Graham, everybody would
be doing it.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
What's good right only mate, Always appreciate your time, Thank you, you.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Can start, you can't start.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Fiona Hancocks, Well, let's be honest. So if we were
to look at Fiona's CV, you would need a highlights
three or Former director of silverfar and Farms, she was
a founding member of the Meat Industry Excellence Group, Various
farming accolades farming with her husband Nelson and west to
(28:56):
Targo and Fiona. Firstly, good enough known and yeah, really
impressive what you've achieved over the past ten to fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
You're luck. It is only twenty four hours in the day.
Speaker 7 (29:08):
Well, oh good afternoons. Andy. Look, I think I've been
quite privileged in what I've done and been able to
do over those years. But I think I'm in a
really lovely space in my life now as I'm watching
the next generation start stepping up and even in our communities, Andy,
I think it's been great. I can see it's not
(29:31):
just our age group that are doing the hard, hard
and heavy lifting. It's the next generation. So I think
it's quite exciting.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, if you only give people a brief background about
Nelson and yourselves your farming operation there.
Speaker 7 (29:44):
Well, we're just we're in Westicago, just about five minutes
out of Tapanui. We actually farm three blocks our home block,
and we've got two blocks that are side by side,
so around about four thousand kick daies And I don't know.
We're so lucky that our four grown up adult children
(30:06):
have embraced farming as well, so on those three blocks
where we've got our son's three sons out at two
blocks at Wildon and my daughter and her partner actually
managing this home farm. So yeah, we feel, yeah, it's great,
it's great. They're doing a really good job. So we
(30:26):
cannot be more proud, really.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Andy, And I suppose when you look at the industry
where prices are these days, like I said of the
intro being a founding member of the Meat Industry Excellence Group,
when you were trying to find a good outcome regarding
the price of red meat from all those years ago,
it's got to be pretty satisfying at the moment just
to see where the industry is.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (30:47):
Look, honestly, I think we are at a really really
it's a happy place with all There's no denying that
there is a little bit of an for me an
undercurrent thinking. This is a lot of I in demand use.
The world is hungry and they do require our lovely protein.
But I think I'm a little bit nervous to see
(31:10):
what's going to happen with our over capacity. And I
don't want to put a negative on such a really
a great time in our farming career. But you know
this will have to this correction will have to happen
at some stage. Ends that's my gut feeling. What I've
really thought has been really good is that our sons
(31:33):
and daughterren her partner, have seen those last five years
when the prices have been incredibly difficult, and they've looked
to farm with basically do not spend, you know, and
now it's sort of like a catch up, which has
been really really good. So they've seen both and I
(31:53):
think that's healthy as well.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Yeah, over capacity, certainly something's going to be addressed. But
we're looking at the prices at them over and store lambs.
Dare I say they're almost hard to get ahold of
because of the lack of protein if you want to
take animals through into the winter.
Speaker 7 (32:09):
Yeah, I know. We've had that conversation, and we are
having that conversation. You know, was it yesterday that ten
thousand lambs went up for sale and made an average
of one hundred and ninety nine dollars? So yeah, you cannot,
you know you can. You're not a rocket science to
(32:30):
see that. Actually, why aren't we all doing that? And
my one of my sons is wanting to do an
on farm. Cell I personally struggle with this because we're
really obviously loyal supplies of Silverfern farms, and you know
that behavior is I just find it really difficult, you
(32:50):
know that if those lambs don't go to silver Fern
farms and go into another processor. It puts lots of
risks on our processor anyway, that's me and I may
not win that battle and it Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
It's an underesting thought process as well for Yoda. But
I suppose from a farming perspective of the price as such,
and it is going to go elsewhere, and you're looking
at purely from an arrogant viewpoint, are your farming operation
as you should if the money's got, if the money's
in the bank and the animals are gone, then there's
a bit more feed perhaps.
Speaker 7 (33:20):
Yeah, Look, it's if you're pragmatic, you would do exactly that.
You would sell those You would sell those lands in
an on farm sale. You would do that, and we
could you know, it goes against the grain and my
loyalty and seeing of what well, we see what's happened
in the past, and we know what can happen when
(33:43):
the processing plants don't make money. You know, they do
need to be making money so that they can market
our lands. So it's a bigger picture than just making
money on the day. And it's really hard for the
young ones to see that because you know, their heads
(34:03):
are down, the bums are up they're working incredibly hard
and they just main leaps just make that money now.
So yeah, it's andy tough. It's really tough, and we
will have an ongoing that's some of the family discussions
we're having.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
So if you own a one of the hats you're
wearing at the moment as well as you're involved with
West Tago Health, so certainly given back to the community
in more ways than one.
Speaker 7 (34:27):
Yeah, Look, healths are really important in all rural areas
and I'm really lucky to be involved with wester Tago Health,
you know. And some of the issues we're facing is
you know, getting a full time, full time GP. We've
had a lovely family GP for eleven or twelve years
who've just finished at wester Tago House and it is difficult.
(34:51):
You know. We're trying this process over the last couple
of months to get another GP. It looks like hopefully
it will be we will be successful, but we have
to look overseas and that's an added cost and it's
a shame because those you know, it's better to get
(35:13):
as New Zealand trained GP obviously, but you know, little
situations like wester Targo, we will be happy to get
someone full time.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
I mean you look at likes of Lumsoon for example,
if Matthew Stokes has been there for a very long time,
but the closure a Lumso maternity occurred I think about
twenty seventeen, roughly around that time frame. But rural health
is certainly something that's just got to be forefront and
central government needs to be aware of it.
Speaker 7 (35:40):
Yeah, I think so. I think you're quite right, Andy.
You know, we do have to travel, and yes, we
choose to live here and that's we live in a
beautiful part of the world, so that's a given. But
I just think we need, you know, part of our
Wista Taga Health is as strategy is to look after
our community, to get the best outcomes for our community.
(36:03):
So we it's not for profit. We are trying to
create a business structure that is sustainable, but we certainly
want good outcomes for our people in this community. So
we are trying to put in, you know, strategy so
that we can look outer our people from from birth
(36:25):
right through like our new rest time that we've got,
Like we've got an amazing rest home that we've done
from fourteen beds to nineteen bits. Well that's an amazing.
I suppose success story from our community because the community
has raised the majority of that money and we've just
(36:45):
won a reward. We won a national award with the
best little rest home in the country, so like we're
really proud of those things. So you know, we're a
great area. But you know, it's about looking after every
raw area, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Absolutely?
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Hey, just finally to wrap up the owner as well.
You're multitasking. You've got the sharers there today, but you're
still cooking for the sharers open sharing.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Still.
Speaker 7 (37:11):
Yes, it's kind of an old fashioned thing, isn't it really,
And not many people do it. But I really value
the hard work they do and I've always done the
cooking here at home. So yes, so I've got their
favorite because I get orders, you know that when they
say can we have? So yes, their favorite for lunch today.
(37:33):
And if I don't get cracking and it won't happen.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
So yes, Hey, good on your Fiona appreciated your time
on the muster.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
You enjoy the afternoon.
Speaker 7 (37:45):
Thank you, cheers, Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
This is a muster on Hakanui.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
Kylie Fiskin of Mount mcclaim plus more joins us once
again good afternoon.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Good afternoon. Ind how are you.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
I'm pretty good. You're grinning for me to wear it.
You're just, oh, I don't know. You're just pegging off
the walls this afternoon, ain't you.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
I am a little bit, honestly, Andy, I'm that excited.
It's not even funny. I have just I'm just blown away.
I couldn't get a park outside the station today. I
had to go round twice. Town is that busy, and
it's everything's so positive. I'm so excited. This is awesome.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
But this is what you do and Gore, we'll explain
this to people listening up country. It is a towb wle.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
You get grumpy if you're thirty seconds out a roundabout
because you're thirty seconds from your destination. And if you
want to park outside your shop, damn it. You drive
around that block until you get that park absolutely straight
outside the business.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
If you don't get a park, you're not shopping there.
I was driving around the second time around the roundabout
and I'm like, it's not even a cave from the office.
I actually could have walked, But I'm that lazy that
It's just a good thing you park outside the shop
you want to go to and you can't, which is awesome.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
You talk about the mood of and we'll just continue
this chat regarding Southern Field Days a couple of weeks ago,
will you tell it, you explain it because gour's busy.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
Yeah it is, and what a buzz that was like
three days of real But I'm comparing the conversations that
I had two years ago to the conversations that I've
had over those three days earlier in the month, and
I'm just going to say the mood is positive, and
I'm going to I'll give a quick plug for investment boost.
I think that's at play. So just a reminder investment boost.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
It's not cash back.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
But if you've gone and bought a new treactor at
the Field Days and it's brand new, you're going to
get a twenty percent depreciation loading in the first year
of that purchase of the tractor. Remember, over the lifetime
of the air set, the appreciation is only ever going
to be one hundred percent of the tractor value. But
for a year like this, it's actually worth it.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
Right.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
So from the dairy sector, what do people need to
be aware of at the moment you were telling them
pre Christmas, go out and buy a boat, damn it.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
Yeah, yeah, I was absolutely And at the moment, we're
doing a refecasting, right so seeing where the season has been,
seeing what we said we were going to do versus
what we actually did, reviewing our intentions for the remaining season.
So that's kind of been my job over January February
is sitting down with all my dairy clients and making
sure that we know what spear money we've got. Fonterra
(40:25):
blew that out of the water last week and just
made everything I did wrong for the last two months,
but no big deal. It went up.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
So everybody would have been so happy at that announcement.
But you've just seen paperwork in front of you, right.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
I just saw a waste of work. Well it wasn't
a waste of work, not at all. I mean an
extra fifty cents. We're not going to scoff at that
in this season at all. But yeah, I mean the
spear money is there, and the reason for the refecasting
is to know how much spear money there is.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
People being cautious at the same time, though.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Probably up until a couple of weeks ago, I would
have said absolutely but I think the feeling now there's
money in their bank accounts, like we can actually physically
see it now. There is a lot of cash sloshing
around in their system doing pretty much nothing right now.
So it's options. We've got options.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
So you're saying, like the towns like Gore, Winton and
the Cargo as well like rural Heartland, New Zealand, they're
in a real boom.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
Type they should be, do you think, But will we
see it? We haven't seen it yet. I don't know,
Like I'm not sure where. It depends on how people
want to spend their money and what they need to
spend their money on.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
Yeah, because you can have short memories as well.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
If you remember back a couple of years ago, that's
what's in the back on people's minds.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
It's not even just a couple of years ago. I
mean for towns, it's six months ago, true, right, so
that it hasn't filtered through to the towns. Their retail
is still struggling. You look at Queen Street, it's struggling.
Not that we want to look at Queen Street.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
We're in Gore, so Queen Street's in Balfa. That's the
closest question.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
Let's stick with that, stick about this prosperity in that one.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
Absolutely right. So, like we say, very sector, what are
your words at the moment?
Speaker 3 (42:09):
Plan, plan, plan, plan, Yeah, so let's get them if
you haven't already, let's get in front of your cash
flow forecast and really see what's what's there if we can,
if the plan is to pay debt. Now, I'm only
talking about profitability here. I'm not talking about a capital
capital payment that's coming from Frontier two. That's more cash.
(42:30):
So we need to be planning as to what we're
going to do with that money. And seriously, it's the
same in air sheep and beef sector as well. The
reality is certainly expanding exceeding all expectations, and a tax
obligations are real for both.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
Okay, I was seeing stare lambs at the price that
they're at. Things are looking good. But speaking to a
few people involved in the red meat sector and they're
saying the same thing. It's not that long ago, look
back a couple of seasons. You take the good but
you can have a bit of a smile on your face,
but a lot of people are still just thinking, yeah,
or is the future looking all right?
Speaker 2 (43:06):
There too.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
I mean you can understand people just being a little
bit on the side as such.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
Yeah, this is an air for US radio and we've
been in cycles before. The key is we're making money
right now, let's do something smart with it to help
us through a future.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Smarter, better business, absolutely, and smarter better business means that
we're paying tax as well.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
So a few things to remember around that this year. Yeah,
there is.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
Look, we've got limited tools at our disposal these days
to defer a taxation, and each has a consequence on
immediate cash flow and future cash flows. I haven't got
a one size fits all strategy for a taxation from
this season, so we really need to plan for it.
It requires a conversation and it requires some future planning.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Okay, so what do you say to Cockies at the
moment regarding what you're seeing for these prices and you're
going above budget, You go, you're actually making money.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
Yeah, So the question comes around is how do we
get the best bang for our buck right now? And
one of the tools that we use is, you know,
there's a lot of care sitting in bank accounts doing
nothing in the egg sector, and there's still a lot
to come. I kind of want to talk about a
tool that we use. It's called the business one oh
(44:22):
one cycle. And it's going to be really hard to
do this on radio, but you're gonna have to use
your imagination, your imagining.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Of the mind.
Speaker 3 (44:30):
Yeah. Absolutely, you're going to imagine a whiteboard because that's
one of the tools of the trade that we use.
And I've got a pen. And at the top of
this business one oh one cycle is a pool of assets. Okay,
So land, buildings, machinery, capital, stock, humans, they're all assets
to our business and every day we use those assets
(44:53):
to generate income and doing so incur some expenses, you know,
income less expenses. There is older that is what and
this is accounting lesson chating your accounting equation.
Speaker 2 (45:04):
Carry on profit.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
Okay, so from air profit on either the fifteenth or
the month or the twentieth of the month or fourteen
days after those animals leave their farm, that profit turns
into cash flow. And I'm at the bottom of the
whiteboard now, okay, in your mind.
Speaker 1 (45:21):
Okay, so what are your plant what's the vision around
wol Then if they're talking these prices rising, well they ah, yes,
they're not the silver bullet, Yes, not where they need
to be, but at the same time a lot of
good things to take on board.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:32):
Absolutely, isn't that positive where people are actually getting a
check out of sharing their lambs or sharing their use
actually making money out of it instead of it becoming
an animal health cost y. Yeah, So long, Matt continue,
I'm not going to say that we're probably going to
go back to plucking dead sheep.
Speaker 1 (45:49):
That that is the key fact there I was talking about.
This is somebody the other day. If you want to
read the mood of how hell well the wall industry
is doing, you get young people go pluck sheep, makee
pocket money out of that.
Speaker 2 (46:00):
That tells you the walls on the rebound.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
It was never a job that we put off to
the next day.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Now, the ripe of the sheet, the better, though, the
greater war you just take it thirty seconds it's off.
Speaker 2 (46:09):
It's great.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
If I got off the school bus and there was
a note on the table at watch Paddock I had
to go to. I went that day.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
Tell the younger generation that don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
Oh, they stare at you extremely blankly and say you
did what. Anyway, we're back to the story we've got
to cashlow. We've got to the bottom of the whiteboard
and we've got cashlow. And this is where we have options.
And we have four places that money goes. Four places, right,
there's three leakages.
Speaker 2 (46:40):
One is tax.
Speaker 3 (46:41):
Don't have a whole lot of control about that. That's
why you pay me the big bucks. That's my job
to give you no surprises there. We pay debt, we
give some to the bank, or we pay ourselves. And
I'm thinking there now, because we're talking large amounts of money,
I'm thinking investment outside the business for the future.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
Our other money consideration is the reinvestment in more assets.
And in this I'm completing a circle on my workboard, right.
So reinvesting in more assets means it gives us higher
income or lower expenditure, which gives us more profit, which
gives us more cash flow and a more sustainable business
(47:21):
going forward.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
The Strangers Dream I sent away to China kie Fuskin,
sharing sentiments around positivity in the rural sector. Long may
it continue. Well, that's us over and done with for
the morning. You've been listening to the best of the muster.
My name's Andy Muller. Enjoy the weekend see Monday
Last night a Harvey stream A very good morning and
welcome along to the best of the muster, a collaboration
of interviews and took our attention during.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
A hectic week here at Hockey e e HQ. I
mean I you are thanks to your company.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Was starting off the hour by catching out at Dean
Rabbage Farming at Glenham, a previous winner of the Xander
MacDonald Award. And Dean tells us what wonning the award
meant for him. It was back maybe ten years ago
now and just he says it was certainly one that
opened opportunities for him and why he thinks it's opportunities like.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
This in the rural sector that we need to grasp.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
David Stevens, our dear Farming correspondent from Netherdale and Balfer,
looks at the industry, talks about the positivity regarding the
venison schedule. Okay, there's a bit of issues there still
going on regarding velvet over to South Korea and China,
but David thinks in general the dear industry is in
very good health. Butcher farm consultant talked about opportunity costs
(01:04):
at this time of year, we'll be leaving Lambs on
a sacrificing body score on your use which is pretty
relevant coming up to topping season. Fiona Hancocks is on
the program. She's worn many hats over the years, including
being on the board of Silver far and Farms, but
she talks about giving back to the local community now
and rolls that takes on and just for how she
(01:25):
thinks the sector is placed as we see prices in
the positive and Kylie Fuskin talking about positivity of Mallet
Maclain plus more says why we need to look at
the current season and enjoy the w's while we get
them in the rural sector so that further ado will start.
The Beasts of the Muster with Dean Ravage.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
The muster on the farm with Southland District Council working
together for a beta.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Southland Rabbage is based at Glenham and joins us.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
On this beautiful afternoon down here in the Deep South.
Do you know how are you good?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Thanks Andy? It's stunner down here today, so you're just
sucking linen and enjoying it well, or you.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Can pretty much say we had a small frost and
gore this morning, or on the verge of it, but
you reckon out there.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
It was pretty good.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yeah, it's perfect. Just a bit of low load cloud
or fall or flog or whatever you want to call it,
that's all burnt off. So yeah, suns out, the sheep
of grown lamb grass is growing kettle happy. So yeah,
we're just enjoying it.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So how's your feed situation looking, Bearing in mind, we
haven't had the summer that we'd like to have.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Like, you've got plenty of feed around. I think it's
the general consensus with a lot of people in this area.
You can't get the us around fast enough to try
and control a bit of quality. But on the flip
side of it is that everything's pumping along really nicely.
A lot of lambs are really starting to hum now
and year there's going to be plenty of feed around
to out flashing the use up for the RAM which
(03:02):
is just over a month away. So yeah, we're sitting
in a pretty reasonable position really.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Andy, So you're getting through the lambs pretty good.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Yeah, I'm just waiting on a truck to arrive shortly
to taken inload away. Yeah, we'll sort of getting to
that point now, sort of get a intload away every
ten days so they'll soon put a pretty big hole
in them. We do try and run to the poor
so that we only have ten percent of the lambs
left on when the maternal ramp goes out, So that's
around the fifteenth of April. So yeah, that date's coming
(03:32):
around pretty quick too. So yeah, I'm pretty sure we
won't be far away.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
What did the schedule do at the weekend? Do you know?
Speaker 4 (03:40):
From what I've seen, some stayed, some dropped teen cents,
But it's that time of year when funny things are
happening with they'll take ten cents off and put ten
cents share on premium and stuff like that on. So
n figures, I'd say it's say pretty much the saint
really a.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Lot of people saying the store price, especially last week
going by the saale. Yeah, it's very close to well
you get at the works anyway, so the LP procurement
will gets spending around, bended around again.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Yeah, I think there's been a mess under restoration of
how many lambs aren't out there by the meat companies.
I think it's going to be a bit of a
fright when the season washed up, Which is all right
for those who are still still in the sector. But yeah,
like I've heard some people years storing a lot and
still probably getting twenty thirty dollars ahead of what the
(04:26):
budger's are on for a season without the costs. So
g a cold weinch to today comes, it will be
a pretty tempting option to take. Fine.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Now, now, last time we spoke to you, you had
all that wall on hand. Did you manage to get
rid of it for a handsome price?
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Look, it's all in the store, it's all been tested
up and I'm just waiting to hear back from Insidno,
it's who were used to market their wall to see
what the best option is for that. So fingers crossed.
But looking at all the market reports and that, I
think it's definitely going to more than cover sharing cost
(05:03):
to see, which is for the first time probably three
or four years that's happened. So that's a really exciting
position to be and also.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Absolutely and long mate continue. Now, the big story in
the news over the past couple of weeks is regarding
the mower points sewage the failure that the curred there
with the infrastructure. Now all this raw surriage slurry as
you call it, just going into Wellington harbor fingers are
being pointed, but what action is going to happen is
going to be another matter. And you can relate this
(05:30):
back to a farmer who's doing his due due diligence,
sorry about the farm and what they have to do
regarding their consents and adhering to them.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
It's a bit of a contradiction.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I think the hypocrisy smells more than the surage on
this one. And you got the Green Party jumping up
and down when it was the ONPS that voted to
put money towards cycle ways instead of upgrading infrastructure. Green
pieces absent on this, or the anti agriculture warriors that
(06:00):
are out there complaining about waterways in winter time and
night shates and all that sort of stuff which we
all know is pretty much non existence. There is not
a bigger deal as what a lot of people make
it out to be. Their science is definitely over this
whole situation. So I think it's a pretty disgraceful what's
happening up there in the in the lack of coverage
(06:24):
from certain areas of society is pretty appalling. Really.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Yeah, A lot of people have noted that this needs
to be accountability over this do you think we need
to press harder in the rural sector so we can
get a decent outcome.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Look, I don't that's a hard one. I think the
royal sector and advocates have made a good job of
pointing out the hypocrisy that's going on. We'll just bank
it and I'm sure that it'll come in handy one
day in the future. But I think these people that
are living in Willington need to get their own fears
in order before they start getting out from behind their
(06:58):
desks wearing the scene or stocks coming to having us
how to run their farms.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, that's the thing cycle wise want to get you
so far at the moment, do you know? But look,
the Zenna McDonald Awards are coming up soon. You're passed
alone night you won the award, but you can't remember
which year it was, around twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen or
twenty fourteen years one of them.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
But it's but poor from my behalf really years eleven,
twelve years ago. So yeah, I've got the awards again
this year up and christ Church in the fortnight's time.
So we'll shoot up for a couple of days and
catch up with with some of the crefect people that
you made along being associated with their awards, so it's
always good to catch up. And yeah, you sort of
(07:39):
don't see them for a year and you're walking to
the ram and it's you just carry on where you
left off. So I'm really looking forward to that.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
What was the big thing for your perspective winning that award?
Did it open that channels as such?
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Yeah? Look, just probably seek before is the mentoring stuff.
I focused on farm succession, which was obviously a bit
of a big fish and they except for a lot
of people at the moment and always will be, always
has been. But you're just going around New Zealand Australia
talking to people about the succession process and probably learning
(08:13):
not what today rather than what today certainly helped us
get their farm succession.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Across the line, fam succession is as a major topic
and always will be.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Yeah, there's and that's unique to your culture for some reason,
like you don't seem to say the same the same
discussions and issues associated with a family or business and
gore and the cargo or anything like that. It's the
one I suppose it's a unique position where with farming
you're dealing with a hotly valued sept generally multimillion dollar
(08:50):
sept but are only getting a small return and it's
really hard to to make things ecoals. I suppose being
fear at the end of the day is the biggest thing,
and my making sure that nobody's heavy for like of
a bitter term generally means it's not far away from
getting it right. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Absolutely, it's a massive topic and continues to be so right.
Out of these three teams in rugby, who had the
worst weekend England, the Crusaders or Wales.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Ah Crusaders probably turn over for the for the start
of the season. Was I wasn't too disappointed to seeing them. Yeah,
there's good rugg around to watch the moment, but it
was wasn't it disappointed to wake up to the Island
put one over England as we are especially tooking them.
(09:38):
So ye, it's been quite entertaining. Were now able to
see a bit of been to a few English mates
that were at the game, So yeah, enjoy the weekend
rugby to watch. Apart from some unfortunate calls or some
unfortunate events in the Hollanders chess game on Friday nights.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
They were unfortunate and unfortunately it all comes down to
the officials. Now the reft of that game anger is
maybe used to be your boss here at me. But
it wasn't so much angers but the touch judges as
whatever you call them these days.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
A lot of calls got missed.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Yeah, there the couple that probably could have been picked up.
There's a pretty dubious drop one drop out what do
you calling these days? But that led to a great
trial option to try from the case. But the trial,
the try of the route for me was seeing those
the locks make a fantastic breakdown rugby. Sure, rugby that's best.
(10:32):
So yeah, it's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
As Harvy Norman putting the boots on again this year.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Yeah, yeah, he's going to be a mainstay for the
Windom Senior Sees this year so and we're looking forward
to having him, so it'll be all good.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Has he gone down to the seas well?
Speaker 2 (10:50):
He doesn't know that yet.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
He doesn't know that yet.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Hey, good on your dam, we'll let you carry on
that track must be.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Yeah, look it's actually just driving past me there, so
I'll keep me.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
David Stevens is a dear farmer based a Belfer and
joins us this afternoon on the muster once again.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Good afternoon, David. How are you good?
Speaker 5 (11:16):
Andy? And good afternoon?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Yes, yeah, thanks, Yeah, we haven't spoken for a week
while you've been busy.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
Oh yeah, no no no, it's sort of been doing
a few things. Been away so no, no back again
back home.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Yes, So how's everything looking here?
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Of course you're farming just out of belfer Nitherdeal farm there.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
How's the season been?
Speaker 5 (11:38):
Well, it's been I suppose we're not not weird. It's
just continuous off and on, little bits of rain all
the time, and it's been hard to well in our situation,
we've been trying to do a bit of hay and
it's almost impossible. So mostly everything's been wrapped up. So
(11:58):
but no, feed wise we're fine.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
It just turned down from central Otago yesterday and probably
the top end of northern south is actually looking a
bit a wee bit dryer.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
But so as far as the deer industry, what's been
happening over the past, well.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Well we've seen well, the velvet season's pretty much wrapped up.
It ended up probably slightly better than modest, well, it
is better than what it started. We probably are averaging
for velvet this year around about that sixty dollars a
k top end around eighty. What's probably effected more than
(12:36):
anything is actually not only the price, but also the
grading this year is a lot, a lot tougher than
it has been the past, so it's been a bit
harder to get velvet in that top end top price.
But it'll be interesting to see what happens. Has been
quite a kill of mixed age stags probably last spring autumn,
(13:00):
and I think the volume will be back at bt ANDY.
I think that it could be back considerably, and I
understand talking to some of the DSPs the plants there's
quite a number of mixed age days gone and after
velveting this last season, so next year, yeah, it'll be
(13:21):
back again, which fine do any harm because really, to
be honest, we were actually producing a little more than
what the market needed, so it needed to change. So
the other thing too is obviously now you can't see
in mixed aage staggs, and with the rut coming up,
the twenty first of February was a cut off date
for transport for those old fellows, so that's that's happened,
(13:46):
So it'll be interesting just to see where the volume goes.
I predict in two years time or a couple of
seasons away, we're going to be around about eight hundred ton,
which we'll probably have hopefully have an effect on the price,
lifting the price. It won't sort of put too much
into the market, so it'll reduce and hopefully that's that's
(14:08):
sort of the sweet spot as far as volume goes.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Are you optimistic regarding the price of velvet looking forward
or realistic?
Speaker 5 (14:18):
No? I think realistically there's a good market and things
are further processing and that is that's getting more and
more volume into that area to know that topy in
niche area. So no, i'd be I don't do any
evolving now, but it's sort of semi retired, but I think, yeah,
(14:40):
I'm pretty optimistic actually to be fair, I think that
it's a good market. I think evolving in the future.
I think that our quality will lift. It has had to.
That's where the grading has gone this past season. So
with that, I think that as a huge opportunity into
(15:02):
China for getting into that niche market. At the moment,
it's more commodity into there. I think that some of
the rigs that are changing that this end too will
have an effect also this end. So no, I'm pretty
optimistic with at the end. I think that it's a
good business to be in. We just got to be
(15:23):
aware of oversupply. It's had an effect that we sort
of the martial arts knew that at some stage that
was going to happen anyhow, probably didn't expect it to
be I have such an effect on one season, but
certainly what was going to happen.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Is it about oversupply at the moment? Is that just
one of the driving factors bringing down the price?
Speaker 5 (15:46):
Yes, yes, there's a number of factors. I think COVID
certainly in China had an effect too because obviously it
shut down retail, so that's probably had an effect as well.
So as of a hangover there, it's certainly, But no,
in total, I'd say oversupply has had an effect. I
(16:10):
think a lot of the number of deer farmers here
too have had you know, reduced their high numbers and
retain stags. And I think the young generation coming through
has got to be a weird fact that yes, you
can have oversupplies. No, certainly over supplies had a huge
(16:31):
effect on it.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Now the price of innocent about this time last year,
a bit earlier, you were talking about the metrical ten
dollar mark. Well, it's fair to say there's been some
person now regarding contracts.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
Yes, the contracts aren't yet the winter contracts or the
contracts for the new season, but the feeling is that
it will be sort of eleven dollars and above north
of eleven dollars, So you know, looking at that, you
know it's something that dear farmers have got to look at.
Those that have been heavily involved in the velvet sector
(17:06):
probably need to look at their farm operation and the
opportunity to actually be more focused on the venison side
of it. So, no, it's looking good. No contracts out yet,
but hopefully that's the figure that is been tossed around.
Hopefully that is the fact when they do come out.
(17:27):
But no, it's been good. The schedules stayed up all
the way through. Often it drops away after spring in
that venison heading away before Christmas, heading overseas. But no,
it's looking as though it's holding up right through. So
I know, you just looking at published schedules at the moment,
(17:48):
and you're looking at ten forty, which is a published
one from one of the processes that I've supplied right
through so in that mixtage stag schedule also has been
up there as well, so it's encouraged people to actually
get rid of those Next DAYE stays.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Yeah, it's crazy how it's come around of a season
of the embryo program once again.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
Yes, yep, that gets to the stage of this time
of the year where those that are getting involved in
an AI and embryo program will be looking at winning
and getting that pre rut, getting that sorted and getting
hind sorted out for AI programs and embryo programs. So yes,
(18:35):
they'll be involved in that surely if they haven't started
or it's usually about in the February early March, and
then I know when we were doing the AI and
embryo programs, we always did that early April. The hins
went through that process and normally you're wing sort of
(18:55):
early March some late February and get those hinds all
out and obviously into the program. So that'll be taking
place and people be sorting that out and getting organized
for that. But those that are post right, they will
probably just be not waning, I should say, they'll be
tagging and drenching and leaving them on the mums. So
(19:18):
they won't probably win until we probably may sometime late May.
For most of those that post rut Wiens say the
other thing too, and you'll be interesting this year is
once people when obviously Wieners got on the market, and
last year I think pretty much averaged around six dollars
(19:38):
for life weight for Winer stags and five dollars for
Winna hines. And there won't be many around. I know
it's very short as far as numbers go. Just talking
to agents and no doubt people have forward ordered with
their agent to sort out the what they what they
(19:59):
can get for the season. But with the schedule of
that that might they might even go higher than that.
I'm not sure, but it's got to be a bit
of it for everybody.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Just finally, David, what's the sale that'signed tonight? You want
people to have a look.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
At Brocks have got a sale tonight and it starts
at seven o'clock and it'll be online, So if anybody
wants to go on to that, I understand they've sold
a property and they will have a lot of I
would imagine pretty good hinds actually on the market. So
if anybody's interested in that, that'll be online with Bitter
(20:33):
and you know, it's an opportunity for people to pick
up some very good hinds, so i'd imagine, So it
will be interesting just to see what the outcome and
what sort of prices they achieve for those. I would
imagine there'll be a number of people that have dropped
mixed age velping stacks that may be interested in building
(20:56):
up the hind heard again, So it'll be interesting and
you just to see what that so goes, how it goes.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Good on your David. We always appreciate your time.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Thanks, Andy, No problem at all.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
This is the muster.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I'm joined in studio by farm consultant Graham Butcher Graham House.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Thanks, I'm very well. Indeed, you were telling me you
were at Southern field days.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
He had two half days, so you got to enjoy
the Southern summer that occurred on that one Thursday.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
Yes I did. I had Thursday morning there and the
Wednesday morning as well, so obviously couldn't see it at all,
but caught up with a few things.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Lambs versus us opportunity cost almost at this time of
year when it comes to production.
Speaker 6 (21:40):
Well, yes, it's an interesting time of the year people
who are mulling overd I look after my lambs this
year and probably more focused on that with the schedules
the way they are. But it's looking good for next year.
But we've got to look after next year's production as
well from a whole lot of points of view. So
I just I just nutted out a few figures here
this morning. If we're looking looking at condition score of US,
(22:02):
and this is a critical thing we've got to look
at right now, we know that a condition score is
not five kilos, it's somewhere between seven and nine. To
put a condition score on a U, it takes fifty
five mega dules of me to put on a kilogram
of live weight that's over and above maintenance. So there's
a few figures in here that you'll see where I'm
(22:23):
getting to. So if we want to put a condition
score on our light US, we've got to put seven
kilos on them over the next fifty days, which is
actually quite a big ask. If we want to put
a half a condition score undergo, say from two point
five to three point five, we got to put on
about three and a half kilos, right, So that's the
(22:45):
weight gain. We need to put those sorts of condition
scores on our ues. So you've got to look pretty
critically a use and say, okay, where's the balance this
year's production, next year's production. If we're looking at putting
a condition score or one condition score on a you
in the next fifty days, we've actually got to feed
(23:07):
them about one point seven kilograms a drive matter a day. Now,
I can go through all the figures, but it probably
wouldn't come across too well on radio.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
So you're saying a condition score on an average size you,
what's seven kilos?
Speaker 6 (23:20):
If you've got a sixty five what I'm assuming sixty
five ku. We want to put a condition score on her,
so she's a reasonable size you. Over the next fifty days,
she has got to do one point seven or got
to be fed one point seven kilograms a drive matter
a day, which is actually quite good. And I'll come
back to that in a minute. Now, if we look
at her putting on a half a condition score, we've
(23:42):
got to feed them one point four kilograms to drive
matter a day. Right, So that's that's what we need
to do to get our use up. So there's really
light condition us one point seven something. If you want
to lift the bottom end to use up half a
condition score, it's one point four. Now, if we compare
that to a thirty eight kg lamb growing at one
hundred and sixty grams a day, that's one point eight
kilograms a dry matter a day. So where we're getting
(24:05):
to is those light condition news, those two point five
ones that we really need to look after, and there's
a few of them about. There's areas that haven't had
rain and things are just getting a bit tough. We've
got to feed them basically as well as you're feeding
a good lamb over the next fifty days to get
them to where we want to be, and that's looking
after next year's production. And even the if we want
(24:26):
to put on half a condition score, we've still got
to feed them about seventy to eighty percent of the
way we're feeding a lamb. So that's quite an important
figure to keep in mind. So it's not an easy
task to put condition on a you over a relatively
short time, So that's an important point. If we've got
the finances of the whole thing, do we focus on
our lambs or do we focus on our ues? Thirty
(24:49):
eight cagy lamb doing one hundred and sixty grams a day.
That's one point eight kilograms a dry matter over the
next fifty days. If we feed them, that's ninety cagyus
a dry mat wh's going to consume. If we do that,
she's going to put on three point two kilograms of
carcassweight at forty percent dressing for dressing percent drops as
of season progresses ten to fifty shoes or that's thirty
(25:11):
three dollars. So if we've got five hundred lambs, we've
got the possibility of making another sixteen and a half thousand. Right,
that's first lot of figures, second lot of figures. If
we take that, If we quit those use now and
forull go our sixteen and a half thousand dollars gain
and put that feed into use, we could actually put
(25:34):
half a condition score on two thousand, four hundred and
sixty US over the next fifty days. Now, that's saying
we're feeding the US to maintenance. The feed that we
were putting into those lambs all goes into growth, so
that's why we get quite a significant effect. So we
lose sixteen and a half thousand if we go through
the figures to look at and accept. A kilogram live
(25:57):
weight gain at mating is one point three percent increase
in two that's a standard sort of figure. It's been
around for years. At a ten to fifty schedule. That
comes out to eighteen thy nine hundred, not a lot
more than the sixteen and a half, but it is
more right so to me. Right now, the balance is
shifting on to looking after next year's production, and that's
(26:17):
only looking at the gain we can make by having
more lambs next year by getting our new condition up.
There's also that dynamic effect too, but that may work,
it may not. It depends which scientific paper you read.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
So it's fair to say you're an advocate for storing
lambs at the moment.
Speaker 6 (26:34):
I'm an advocate for selling lambs at best. Whether that
store at the works is another matter.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
But if you're looking at preserving a bit of feed
for the use and the likes for if the money
is as good as what they're saying for lambs to
go on a track and go somewhere else, wouldn't.
Speaker 5 (26:47):
You do it?
Speaker 6 (26:47):
You've got to consider it.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
No, you'd have to do it the moment, absolutely.
Speaker 6 (26:51):
And there are the other things to consider term mean,
that's just looking at the gain we can make by
having more lambs next year. We've got to consider our
first to may covers. That's approaching sixty days away, you know,
it's not far away. And that cover you have going
into winter is going to have a direct effect on
what your lambing cover is next spring. And that's going
(27:11):
to have a major effect on the way they use
lack take, which has a major effect on the you
and the way the lambs grow and the number of
lambs you get away at weaning, and that's going to
have a major effect on how many lambs you got
next autumn, and effect on the US and all that
sort of stuff. So I think it's quite important to
consider your position. What's your new condition, like, what's your
(27:32):
winter crop looking like? Are you comfortable what your first
to make covers are going to be? And you've got
to make a call on aka do I quick lambs
or focus on feed covers a new condition.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Do you think there's enough emphasis placed on body scoring use?
Probably not.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
I mean a lot of people consider the average of
a flock three point five, but that's not good enough.
They've all got to be three point five. If we
want to make good money out of use, particularly at
the schedule prices they've got. Now every u's got to
pull its way. And you could say that if your
average condition score is three point five and that's where
you wanted to be, half some haven't met that target.
(28:07):
So it's a spread that counts really, not the average.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
How's the feed looking out there anyway?
Speaker 6 (28:15):
That's pretty good in some places and pretty short in others.
To talk to a client this morning though after why
mere plane? They were pretty sure to feed. They need
rain so very hugely.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
That's farming that if it was easy, Graham, everybody would
be doing it.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
What's good right only mate, Always appreciate your time, Thank you, you.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Can start, you can't start.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Fiona Hancocks, Well, let's be honest. So if we were
to look at Fiona's CV, you would need a highlights
three or Former director of silverfar and Farms, she was
a founding member of the Meat Industry Excellence Group, Various
farming accolades farming with her husband Nelson and west to
(28:56):
Targo and Fiona. Firstly, good enough known and yeah, really
impressive what you've achieved over the past ten to fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
You're luck. It is only twenty four hours in the day.
Speaker 7 (29:08):
Well, oh good afternoons. Andy. Look, I think I've been
quite privileged in what I've done and been able to
do over those years. But I think I'm in a
really lovely space in my life now as I'm watching
the next generation start stepping up and even in our communities, Andy,
I think it's been great. I can see it's not
(29:31):
just our age group that are doing the hard, hard
and heavy lifting. It's the next generation. So I think
it's quite exciting.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, if you only give people a brief background about
Nelson and yourselves your farming operation there.
Speaker 7 (29:44):
Well, we're just we're in Westicago, just about five minutes
out of Tapanui. We actually farm three blocks our home block,
and we've got two blocks that are side by side,
so around about four thousand kick daies And I don't know.
We're so lucky that our four grown up adult children
(30:06):
have embraced farming as well, so on those three blocks
where we've got our son's three sons out at two
blocks at Wildon and my daughter and her partner actually
managing this home farm. So yeah, we feel, yeah, it's great,
it's great. They're doing a really good job. So we
(30:26):
cannot be more proud, really.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Andy, And I suppose when you look at the industry
where prices are these days, like I said of the
intro being a founding member of the Meat Industry Excellence Group,
when you were trying to find a good outcome regarding
the price of red meat from all those years ago,
it's got to be pretty satisfying at the moment just
to see where the industry is.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (30:47):
Look, honestly, I think we are at a really really
it's a happy place with all There's no denying that
there is a little bit of an for me an
undercurrent thinking. This is a lot of I in demand use.
The world is hungry and they do require our lovely protein.
But I think I'm a little bit nervous to see
(31:10):
what's going to happen with our over capacity. And I
don't want to put a negative on such a really
a great time in our farming career. But you know
this will have to this correction will have to happen
at some stage. Ends that's my gut feeling. What I've
really thought has been really good is that our sons
(31:33):
and daughterren her partner, have seen those last five years
when the prices have been incredibly difficult, and they've looked
to farm with basically do not spend, you know, and
now it's sort of like a catch up, which has
been really really good. So they've seen both and I
(31:53):
think that's healthy as well.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Yeah, over capacity, certainly something's going to be addressed. But
we're looking at the prices at them over and store lambs.
Dare I say they're almost hard to get ahold of
because of the lack of protein if you want to
take animals through into the winter.
Speaker 7 (32:09):
Yeah, I know. We've had that conversation, and we are
having that conversation. You know, was it yesterday that ten
thousand lambs went up for sale and made an average
of one hundred and ninety nine dollars? So yeah, you cannot,
you know you can. You're not a rocket science to
(32:30):
see that. Actually, why aren't we all doing that? And
my one of my sons is wanting to do an
on farm. Cell I personally struggle with this because we're
really obviously loyal supplies of Silverfern farms, and you know
that behavior is I just find it really difficult, you
(32:50):
know that if those lambs don't go to silver Fern
farms and go into another processor. It puts lots of
risks on our processor anyway, that's me and I may
not win that battle and it Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
It's an underesting thought process as well for Yoda. But
I suppose from a farming perspective of the price as such,
and it is going to go elsewhere, and you're looking
at purely from an arrogant viewpoint, are your farming operation
as you should if the money's got, if the money's
in the bank and the animals are gone, then there's
a bit more feed perhaps.
Speaker 7 (33:20):
Yeah, Look, it's if you're pragmatic, you would do exactly that.
You would sell those You would sell those lands in
an on farm sale. You would do that, and we
could you know, it goes against the grain and my
loyalty and seeing of what well, we see what's happened
in the past, and we know what can happen when
(33:43):
the processing plants don't make money. You know, they do
need to be making money so that they can market
our lands. So it's a bigger picture than just making
money on the day. And it's really hard for the
young ones to see that because you know, their heads
(34:03):
are down, the bums are up they're working incredibly hard
and they just main leaps just make that money now.
So yeah, it's andy tough. It's really tough, and we
will have an ongoing that's some of the family discussions
we're having.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
So if you own a one of the hats you're
wearing at the moment as well as you're involved with
West Tago Health, so certainly given back to the community
in more ways than one.
Speaker 7 (34:27):
Yeah, Look, healths are really important in all rural areas
and I'm really lucky to be involved with wester Tago Health,
you know. And some of the issues we're facing is
you know, getting a full time, full time GP. We've
had a lovely family GP for eleven or twelve years
who've just finished at wester Tago House and it is difficult.
(34:51):
You know. We're trying this process over the last couple
of months to get another GP. It looks like hopefully
it will be we will be successful, but we have
to look overseas and that's an added cost and it's
a shame because those you know, it's better to get
(35:13):
as New Zealand trained GP obviously, but you know, little
situations like wester Targo, we will be happy to get
someone full time.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
I mean you look at likes of Lumsoon for example,
if Matthew Stokes has been there for a very long time,
but the closure a Lumso maternity occurred I think about
twenty seventeen, roughly around that time frame. But rural health
is certainly something that's just got to be forefront and
central government needs to be aware of it.
Speaker 7 (35:40):
Yeah, I think so. I think you're quite right, Andy.
You know, we do have to travel, and yes, we
choose to live here and that's we live in a
beautiful part of the world, so that's a given. But
I just think we need, you know, part of our
Wista Taga Health is as strategy is to look after
our community, to get the best outcomes for our community.
(36:03):
So we it's not for profit. We are trying to
create a business structure that is sustainable, but we certainly
want good outcomes for our people in this community. So
we are trying to put in, you know, strategy so
that we can look outer our people from from birth
(36:25):
right through like our new rest time that we've got,
Like we've got an amazing rest home that we've done
from fourteen beds to nineteen bits. Well that's an amazing.
I suppose success story from our community because the community
has raised the majority of that money and we've just
(36:45):
won a reward. We won a national award with the
best little rest home in the country, so like we're
really proud of those things. So you know, we're a
great area. But you know, it's about looking after every
raw area, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Absolutely?
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Hey, just finally to wrap up the owner as well.
You're multitasking. You've got the sharers there today, but you're
still cooking for the sharers open sharing.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Still.
Speaker 7 (37:11):
Yes, it's kind of an old fashioned thing, isn't it really,
And not many people do it. But I really value
the hard work they do and I've always done the
cooking here at home. So yes, so I've got their
favorite because I get orders, you know that when they
say can we have? So yes, their favorite for lunch today.
(37:33):
And if I don't get cracking and it won't happen.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
So yes, Hey, good on your Fiona appreciated your time
on the muster.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
You enjoy the afternoon.
Speaker 7 (37:45):
Thank you, cheers, Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
This is a muster on Hakanui.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
Kylie Fiskin of Mount mcclaim plus more joins us once
again good afternoon.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Good afternoon. Ind how are you.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
I'm pretty good. You're grinning for me to wear it.
You're just, oh, I don't know. You're just pegging off
the walls this afternoon, ain't you.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
I am a little bit, honestly, Andy, I'm that excited.
It's not even funny. I have just I'm just blown away.
I couldn't get a park outside the station today. I
had to go round twice. Town is that busy, and
it's everything's so positive. I'm so excited. This is awesome.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
But this is what you do and Gore, we'll explain
this to people listening up country. It is a towb wle.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
You get grumpy if you're thirty seconds out a roundabout
because you're thirty seconds from your destination. And if you
want to park outside your shop, damn it. You drive
around that block until you get that park absolutely straight
outside the business.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
If you don't get a park, you're not shopping there.
I was driving around the second time around the roundabout
and I'm like, it's not even a cave from the office.
I actually could have walked, But I'm that lazy that
It's just a good thing you park outside the shop
you want to go to and you can't, which is awesome.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
You talk about the mood of and we'll just continue
this chat regarding Southern Field Days a couple of weeks ago,
will you tell it, you explain it because gour's busy.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
Yeah it is, and what a buzz that was like
three days of real But I'm comparing the conversations that
I had two years ago to the conversations that I've
had over those three days earlier in the month, and
I'm just going to say the mood is positive, and
I'm going to I'll give a quick plug for investment boost.
I think that's at play. So just a reminder investment boost.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
It's not cash back.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
But if you've gone and bought a new treactor at
the Field Days and it's brand new, you're going to
get a twenty percent depreciation loading in the first year
of that purchase of the tractor. Remember, over the lifetime
of the air set, the appreciation is only ever going
to be one hundred percent of the tractor value. But
for a year like this, it's actually worth it.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
Right.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
So from the dairy sector, what do people need to
be aware of at the moment you were telling them
pre Christmas, go out and buy a boat, damn it.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
Yeah, yeah, I was absolutely And at the moment, we're
doing a refecasting, right so seeing where the season has been,
seeing what we said we were going to do versus
what we actually did, reviewing our intentions for the remaining season.
So that's kind of been my job over January February
is sitting down with all my dairy clients and making
sure that we know what spear money we've got. Fonterra
(40:25):
blew that out of the water last week and just
made everything I did wrong for the last two months,
but no big deal. It went up.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
So everybody would have been so happy at that announcement.
But you've just seen paperwork in front of you, right.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
I just saw a waste of work. Well it wasn't
a waste of work, not at all. I mean an
extra fifty cents. We're not going to scoff at that
in this season at all. But yeah, I mean the
spear money is there, and the reason for the refecasting
is to know how much spear money there is.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
People being cautious at the same time, though.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Probably up until a couple of weeks ago, I would
have said absolutely but I think the feeling now there's
money in their bank accounts, like we can actually physically
see it now. There is a lot of cash sloshing
around in their system doing pretty much nothing right now.
So it's options. We've got options.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
So you're saying, like the towns like Gore, Winton and
the Cargo as well like rural Heartland, New Zealand, they're
in a real boom.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
Type they should be, do you think, But will we
see it? We haven't seen it yet. I don't know,
Like I'm not sure where. It depends on how people
want to spend their money and what they need to
spend their money on.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
Yeah, because you can have short memories as well.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
If you remember back a couple of years ago, that's
what's in the back on people's minds.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
It's not even just a couple of years ago. I
mean for towns, it's six months ago, true, right, so
that it hasn't filtered through to the towns. Their retail
is still struggling. You look at Queen Street, it's struggling.
Not that we want to look at Queen Street.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
We're in Gore, so Queen Street's in Balfa. That's the
closest question.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
Let's stick with that, stick about this prosperity in that one.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
Absolutely right. So, like we say, very sector, what are
your words at the moment?
Speaker 3 (42:09):
Plan, plan, plan, plan, Yeah, so let's get them if
you haven't already, let's get in front of your cash
flow forecast and really see what's what's there if we can,
if the plan is to pay debt. Now, I'm only
talking about profitability here. I'm not talking about a capital
capital payment that's coming from Frontier two. That's more cash.
(42:30):
So we need to be planning as to what we're
going to do with that money. And seriously, it's the
same in air sheep and beef sector as well. The
reality is certainly expanding exceeding all expectations, and a tax
obligations are real for both.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
Okay, I was seeing stare lambs at the price that
they're at. Things are looking good. But speaking to a
few people involved in the red meat sector and they're
saying the same thing. It's not that long ago, look
back a couple of seasons. You take the good but
you can have a bit of a smile on your face,
but a lot of people are still just thinking, yeah,
or is the future looking all right?
Speaker 2 (43:06):
There too.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
I mean you can understand people just being a little
bit on the side as such.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
Yeah, this is an air for US radio and we've
been in cycles before. The key is we're making money
right now, let's do something smart with it to help
us through a future.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Smarter, better business, absolutely, and smarter better business means that
we're paying tax as well.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
So a few things to remember around that this year. Yeah,
there is.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
Look, we've got limited tools at our disposal these days
to defer a taxation, and each has a consequence on
immediate cash flow and future cash flows. I haven't got
a one size fits all strategy for a taxation from
this season, so we really need to plan for it.
It requires a conversation and it requires some future planning.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Okay, so what do you say to Cockies at the
moment regarding what you're seeing for these prices and you're
going above budget, You go, you're actually making money.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
Yeah, So the question comes around is how do we
get the best bang for our buck right now? And
one of the tools that we use is, you know,
there's a lot of care sitting in bank accounts doing
nothing in the egg sector, and there's still a lot
to come. I kind of want to talk about a
tool that we use. It's called the business one oh
(44:22):
one cycle. And it's going to be really hard to
do this on radio, but you're gonna have to use
your imagination, your imagining.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Of the mind.
Speaker 3 (44:30):
Yeah. Absolutely, you're going to imagine a whiteboard because that's
one of the tools of the trade that we use.
And I've got a pen. And at the top of
this business one oh one cycle is a pool of assets. Okay,
So land, buildings, machinery, capital, stock, humans, they're all assets
to our business and every day we use those assets
(44:53):
to generate income and doing so incur some expenses, you know,
income less expenses. There is older that is what and
this is accounting lesson chating your accounting equation.
Speaker 2 (45:04):
Carry on profit.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
Okay, so from air profit on either the fifteenth or
the month or the twentieth of the month or fourteen
days after those animals leave their farm, that profit turns
into cash flow. And I'm at the bottom of the
whiteboard now, okay, in your mind.
Speaker 1 (45:21):
Okay, so what are your plant what's the vision around
wol Then if they're talking these prices rising, well they ah, yes,
they're not the silver bullet, Yes, not where they need
to be, but at the same time a lot of
good things to take on board.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (45:32):
Absolutely, isn't that positive where people are actually getting a
check out of sharing their lambs or sharing their use
actually making money out of it instead of it becoming
an animal health cost y. Yeah, So long, Matt continue,
I'm not going to say that we're probably going to
go back to plucking dead sheep.
Speaker 1 (45:49):
That that is the key fact there I was talking about.
This is somebody the other day. If you want to
read the mood of how hell well the wall industry
is doing, you get young people go pluck sheep, makee
pocket money out of that.
Speaker 2 (46:00):
That tells you the walls on the rebound.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
It was never a job that we put off to
the next day.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Now, the ripe of the sheet, the better, though, the
greater war you just take it thirty seconds it's off.
Speaker 2 (46:09):
It's great.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
If I got off the school bus and there was
a note on the table at watch Paddock I had
to go to. I went that day.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
Tell the younger generation that don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
Oh, they stare at you extremely blankly and say you
did what. Anyway, we're back to the story we've got
to cashlow. We've got to the bottom of the whiteboard
and we've got cashlow. And this is where we have options.
And we have four places that money goes. Four places, right,
there's three leakages.
Speaker 2 (46:40):
One is tax.
Speaker 3 (46:41):
Don't have a whole lot of control about that. That's
why you pay me the big bucks. That's my job
to give you no surprises there. We pay debt, we
give some to the bank, or we pay ourselves. And
I'm thinking there now, because we're talking large amounts of money,
I'm thinking investment outside the business for the future.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
Our other money consideration is the reinvestment in more assets.
And in this I'm completing a circle on my workboard, right.
So reinvesting in more assets means it gives us higher
income or lower expenditure, which gives us more profit, which
gives us more cash flow and a more sustainable business
(47:21):
going forward.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
The Strangers Dream I sent away to China kie Fuskin,
sharing sentiments around positivity in the rural sector. Long may
it continue. Well, that's us over and done with for
the morning. You've been listening to the best of the muster.
My name's Andy Muller. Enjoy the weekend see Monday
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