November 25, 2025 • 9 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
With us on the show. Now we've got James Edgar
mora flat sheep and deer farmer. James here you get on.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Not too bad, Chris not. We're up in the sun
today which is quite nice and I think it's twenty
five degrees so yeah, the last month has been of
a distant memory. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
That heat just it sneaks up on you when you're
used to cold weather for so long and then it
gets hot. It's just about too bloody. I shouldn't be complaining, but.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, I had a bit careful on the sun block
early on. I know most of the toning was done
in the hurricane force windboard line because you had to
just keep going. But it's still windy here. But you know,
you certainly had to watch out for the sun because
we didn't really see it for a few months early on,
did we.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
No, there was more a case of windburn there for
a while than sunburn, wasn't it.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah, we would have snow burn. I don't know what
the weather's come right, we're growing grass, need to keep
looking out for web to rain. But we have managed
to catch up and all the jobs to be fair,
which is really good. We've got all the cross and
everywhere and bits up with a few weeds and one
(01:04):
of the chail panics at reast. Everything else looks reasonably
good at the moment, so yeah, yeah it.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Is, so you have all the track works done.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, basically, yeah, we're just humming and hiring at the moment.
We're not going to put in the wee one more
we pedica kale just in case it does get dry,
just to carry some feed forward to be fear. With
feed situations looking really good, we don't have any boilers
locked up, but that's probably normal. To be fair, We're
try and put it all into an animal at this
time of year because we usually end up with a
(01:35):
bit of a feed surplus when we wan, because the
lambs will going to leaf and turnips. Yes, still get
a wee bit of wind, yeah, usually as a surplus
then that we try and carry cord and a lot.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Of cheap guys. You know, once you get weaning out
of the way and you know, I know, you box
up a few pairs to try and let them come
away for lambs as well if you haven't got other
crops in. But you know, give it three or four
weeks and you're genuinely out doing hay then aren't you
and stuff too?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it's been interesting the spring. I think
the lambs were behind, but with the warmer weather now
they're definitely starting to round up. And I actually found
I think because it was a bit cooler, probably a
bit wetter early on the spring, but we did actually
have designated kettle peddicks, and I think the kettle the
bulls have done really well. Just looks like they're probably
(02:21):
the best balls have had because they caught often put
well on that yep, pulled the climbate, I guess, yeah,
And did.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
They I guess it wasn't probably as wet and they
would have made much damage.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
No, not too bad up here, yep. We usually were
rotationally graze them. So we'll have them in slightly bigger mobs.
We'll say three peedicks and go round and round, and
we with weather conditions and then the graph covers maybe
not being quite where we wanted them, but still not
too bad. But we ended up set stocking them all
oh nice free to the heat. Their nets work really well.
It'll be interesting when we sort of have a d
(02:54):
brik on the season what we decided going forward. I
think the well, the bulls usually find them when you
shift them into a new peddick. They sort of take
them a while. They will have the wet spot where
they go and rub something. They you know, have a
spot where they're going to eat, and then they've got
the spot where they're all meeting great around the water trough,
whereas we're films with them just being set stopped instead
(03:15):
of having to find every week given to find their
new hierarchy and spots. I've just said it right down.
So yeah, that's certainly been something we've changed this year,
and it'll be interesting to know going forward. We might
might carry on with that.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Once that's good, do you I was assuming you'll have
more than you know, just a few panics of them
spread out, so a bit of fighting when they get
back together or they're not bad.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
We don't we won't put them back together. So they
come off the winter crops, so we try and have mobs.
We've had them bigger before, we've had them over eighties,
but we just find they're quite hardened each other. So
we try and wint to them the mobs of fifty
and then then we'll be spread them out at three
to the heat. There on the grass pedics.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Yeah, and they're just with their animals.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Then, yeah, they're just with their friends and they go
all the way through and we'll just keep you just
keep weighing the mobs and taking them out so we
won't box them up. Sometimes I usually work, I'm losing.
You lose almost a month of growth if you box
them up or something goes on, because they end up well,
bit ten days they lose you know, they lose weight
for ten days and take some yeah, teen days at
(04:18):
least to put it back on again. Then the big
square one and then they're going to start growing again from.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yeah, just a bit too big a cheek, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yes, so certainly bull farmings. Nobody locks it until you
get paid, but yeah, certainly for an animal. But no,
we've also well we waned yesterday were some of the
freezer yous. So yeah, the price is looking really strong
in the sheep and beef stick there, which is quite
a nice change.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
I guess the works.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Then, yeah, we got a weave you a couple of hundred,
but me the first time we've had eleven dollars for
the start of the season anyway, pretty yeah, to be
a sheep farmer.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, it's it's not amazing. Well, it is amazing, how
quit the way it turns with the results were so
poor twelve eighteen months ago, weren't they to where it
is now, it's just sort of come a little bit
left field.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, it has no I think we're in for probably
the best couple of years since since the Korean wall boom.
Is where I reckon, it's just with these levels. Yeah,
it certainly was interesting like eighteen months ago coming into
last season. To be fair, you know, the problem was
there was really no light at the end of the tunnel,
and then it just sort of got stronger last year.
(05:30):
And you know, I'm not silly. I think this is
probably a peak, sort of the peak of the lamb
and it won't maybe come off a wee bit from now.
But yeah, certainly exciting to at least get it. Yeah,
eleven eleven dollars. Seriously, change of sheep farming. It's it's great,
which is which is important when you see how many
trees and you know, the forestry and everything else. I
(05:50):
think it's really important for New Zealand to have a
strong sheep sector because you know, some of our country
up here just doesn't suit the eiry cows and doesn't
suit the horticulture, and it doesn't suit croppings. You know,
it's sort of ussel or pine trees, and yeah, I
think it's personally I think right tree, right place. But yeah,
it's pretty sad seeing some of these whole farmers get
planned the entree.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Yeah, there's some good countries gone under and it doesn't
do much for the community as a whole, I think
for keeping them going districts.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
You know, no, absolutely no. If the carb and forestry,
of course, it's only the money only stays and cycles
around the Zealand it's not earning export dollars either, is it.
So which is really important for everybody is to make
sure when his zel's earning export receipts. So it's actually
really positive. It's nice to see most things sort of
up and yeah, I guess the only thing that's down
(06:40):
at the moment is the velvet and it's it's really
quite bad. But it does go to show you how
commodities have a cycle. Yes, everyone has their way turn
in the sun, don't.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yeah, that's it's acceptable for the odd one to not
be pulling their way if everything else is gone along
really good.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Definitely. Yeah, Well an air business, we've sort of diversified
and yeah, so I suppose it's the catch twenty two
when you're all one product. When it's high, you have
a really strong business, and when it's low, the problem
is you've yeah, you've got a really weak business. So yeah,
we've made a bit of a conscious effort to diversify.
So you bring a lot of kettlin and bring the
(07:18):
deer and and then you have still sixty five percent
sheep income, I suppose, so, but it does give you
a nice diversification, you know what.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
The it's also really nice just to have people that
aren't kicking the stones and feeling beaten up. It's gone
from that to just a good amount of positivity. Everyone's
now back to where they like. People found because they
love it and and the tough years you're just it's
just unsurvivable. So it's actually really good to see people happy.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Oh absolutely. And I think for me personally, when you
go around, it's there's nothing better than driving past, you know,
a really good looking farm's you can tell, you know
it's loved and there's investment beck in it, and you
know the graphs looks good. When you see those farms,
you know they you drive past the farm and always
judge other farmers, don't you Just part of you do.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Not that you're mean to, but you're well if it's
judging or just observing.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, but that's I think that's the most exciting thing. Yeah.
I had a discussion group lorm Laura Valley yesterday and
I think that was the biggest take up from the
mood of the room that I got was people were
just really excited to be able to you know, vest
back into the farm that they've you know, you don't
mind catt and corners for a little bit, but it's
(08:35):
just not a long term solution. Like it's pretty hard
when you're driving past things that are annoying you and
you feel like you don't have any money.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
To fix it.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
You know, I completely agree frustration and it's nice to
see even I think you're starting to see the rural
communities like there's sort of a real buzz around you know,
there's some property sales and people are spending more in
the towns and no, it's it's really nice.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Actually, look, we've gone over time. I'm sorry, but you
very much for your time, and it's great to not
that I've met you in person, but over the phone
at least, so all the best for the upcoming couple
of months and hopefully have a bump a season.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I think that you can check your here next time
we're at the same place.
With us on the show. Now we've got James Edgar
mora flat sheep and deer farmer. James here you get on.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Not too bad, Chris not. We're up in the sun
today which is quite nice and I think it's twenty
five degrees so yeah, the last month has been of
a distant memory. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
That heat just it sneaks up on you when you're
used to cold weather for so long and then it
gets hot. It's just about too bloody. I shouldn't be complaining, but.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, I had a bit careful on the sun block
early on. I know most of the toning was done
in the hurricane force windboard line because you had to
just keep going. But it's still windy here. But you know,
you certainly had to watch out for the sun because
we didn't really see it for a few months early on,
did we.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
No, there was more a case of windburn there for
a while than sunburn, wasn't it.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah, we would have snow burn. I don't know what
the weather's come right, we're growing grass, need to keep
looking out for web to rain. But we have managed
to catch up and all the jobs to be fair,
which is really good. We've got all the cross and
everywhere and bits up with a few weeds and one
(01:04):
of the chail panics at reast. Everything else looks reasonably
good at the moment, so yeah, yeah it.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Is, so you have all the track works done.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, basically, yeah, we're just humming and hiring at the moment.
We're not going to put in the wee one more
we pedica kale just in case it does get dry,
just to carry some feed forward to be fear. With
feed situations looking really good, we don't have any boilers
locked up, but that's probably normal. To be fair, We're
try and put it all into an animal at this
time of year because we usually end up with a
(01:35):
bit of a feed surplus when we wan, because the
lambs will going to leaf and turnips. Yes, still get
a wee bit of wind, yeah, usually as a surplus
then that we try and carry cord and a lot.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Of cheap guys. You know, once you get weaning out
of the way and you know, I know, you box
up a few pairs to try and let them come
away for lambs as well if you haven't got other
crops in. But you know, give it three or four
weeks and you're genuinely out doing hay then aren't you
and stuff too?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it's been interesting the spring. I think
the lambs were behind, but with the warmer weather now
they're definitely starting to round up. And I actually found
I think because it was a bit cooler, probably a
bit wetter early on the spring, but we did actually
have designated kettle peddicks, and I think the kettle the
bulls have done really well. Just looks like they're probably
(02:21):
the best balls have had because they caught often put
well on that yep, pulled the climbate, I guess, yeah,
And did.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
They I guess it wasn't probably as wet and they
would have made much damage.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
No, not too bad up here, yep. We usually were
rotationally graze them. So we'll have them in slightly bigger mobs.
We'll say three peedicks and go round and round, and
we with weather conditions and then the graph covers maybe
not being quite where we wanted them, but still not
too bad. But we ended up set stocking them all
oh nice free to the heat. Their nets work really well.
It'll be interesting when we sort of have a d
(02:54):
brik on the season what we decided going forward. I
think the well, the bulls usually find them when you
shift them into a new peddick. They sort of take
them a while. They will have the wet spot where
they go and rub something. They you know, have a
spot where they're going to eat, and then they've got
the spot where they're all meeting great around the water trough,
whereas we're films with them just being set stopped instead
(03:15):
of having to find every week given to find their
new hierarchy and spots. I've just said it right down.
So yeah, that's certainly been something we've changed this year,
and it'll be interesting to know going forward. We might
might carry on with that.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Once that's good, do you I was assuming you'll have
more than you know, just a few panics of them
spread out, so a bit of fighting when they get
back together or they're not bad.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
We don't we won't put them back together. So they
come off the winter crops, so we try and have mobs.
We've had them bigger before, we've had them over eighties,
but we just find they're quite hardened each other. So
we try and wint to them the mobs of fifty
and then then we'll be spread them out at three
to the heat. There on the grass pedics.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Yeah, and they're just with their animals.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Then, yeah, they're just with their friends and they go
all the way through and we'll just keep you just
keep weighing the mobs and taking them out so we
won't box them up. Sometimes I usually work, I'm losing.
You lose almost a month of growth if you box
them up or something goes on, because they end up well,
bit ten days they lose you know, they lose weight
for ten days and take some yeah, teen days at
(04:18):
least to put it back on again. Then the big
square one and then they're going to start growing again from.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yeah, just a bit too big a cheek, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yes, so certainly bull farmings. Nobody locks it until you
get paid, but yeah, certainly for an animal. But no,
we've also well we waned yesterday were some of the
freezer yous. So yeah, the price is looking really strong
in the sheep and beef stick there, which is quite
a nice change.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
I guess the works.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Then, yeah, we got a weave you a couple of hundred,
but me the first time we've had eleven dollars for
the start of the season anyway, pretty yeah, to be
a sheep farmer.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, it's it's not amazing. Well, it is amazing, how
quit the way it turns with the results were so
poor twelve eighteen months ago, weren't they to where it
is now, it's just sort of come a little bit
left field.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, it has no I think we're in for probably
the best couple of years since since the Korean wall boom.
Is where I reckon, it's just with these levels. Yeah,
it certainly was interesting like eighteen months ago coming into
last season. To be fair, you know, the problem was
there was really no light at the end of the tunnel,
and then it just sort of got stronger last year.
(05:30):
And you know, I'm not silly. I think this is
probably a peak, sort of the peak of the lamb
and it won't maybe come off a wee bit from now.
But yeah, certainly exciting to at least get it. Yeah,
eleven eleven dollars. Seriously, change of sheep farming. It's it's great,
which is which is important when you see how many
trees and you know, the forestry and everything else. I
(05:50):
think it's really important for New Zealand to have a
strong sheep sector because you know, some of our country
up here just doesn't suit the eiry cows and doesn't
suit the horticulture, and it doesn't suit croppings. You know,
it's sort of ussel or pine trees, and yeah, I
think it's personally I think right tree, right place. But yeah,
it's pretty sad seeing some of these whole farmers get
planned the entree.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Yeah, there's some good countries gone under and it doesn't
do much for the community as a whole, I think
for keeping them going districts.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
You know, no, absolutely no. If the carb and forestry,
of course, it's only the money only stays and cycles
around the Zealand it's not earning export dollars either, is it.
So which is really important for everybody is to make
sure when his zel's earning export receipts. So it's actually
really positive. It's nice to see most things sort of
up and yeah, I guess the only thing that's down
(06:40):
at the moment is the velvet and it's it's really
quite bad. But it does go to show you how
commodities have a cycle. Yes, everyone has their way turn
in the sun, don't.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yeah, that's it's acceptable for the odd one to not
be pulling their way if everything else is gone along
really good.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Definitely. Yeah, Well an air business, we've sort of diversified
and yeah, so I suppose it's the catch twenty two
when you're all one product. When it's high, you have
a really strong business, and when it's low, the problem
is you've yeah, you've got a really weak business. So yeah,
we've made a bit of a conscious effort to diversify.
So you bring a lot of kettlin and bring the
(07:18):
deer and and then you have still sixty five percent
sheep income, I suppose, so, but it does give you
a nice diversification, you know what.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
The it's also really nice just to have people that
aren't kicking the stones and feeling beaten up. It's gone
from that to just a good amount of positivity. Everyone's
now back to where they like. People found because they
love it and and the tough years you're just it's
just unsurvivable. So it's actually really good to see people happy.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Oh absolutely. And I think for me personally, when you
go around, it's there's nothing better than driving past, you know,
a really good looking farm's you can tell, you know
it's loved and there's investment beck in it, and you
know the graphs looks good. When you see those farms,
you know they you drive past the farm and always
judge other farmers, don't you Just part of you do.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Not that you're mean to, but you're well if it's
judging or just observing.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, but that's I think that's the most exciting thing. Yeah.
I had a discussion group lorm Laura Valley yesterday and
I think that was the biggest take up from the
mood of the room that I got was people were
just really excited to be able to you know, vest
back into the farm that they've you know, you don't
mind catt and corners for a little bit, but it's
(08:35):
just not a long term solution. Like it's pretty hard
when you're driving past things that are annoying you and
you feel like you don't have any money.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
To fix it.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
You know, I completely agree frustration and it's nice to
see even I think you're starting to see the rural
communities like there's sort of a real buzz around you know,
there's some property sales and people are spending more in
the towns and no, it's it's really nice.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Actually, look, we've gone over time. I'm sorry, but you
very much for your time, and it's great to not
that I've met you in person, but over the phone
at least, so all the best for the upcoming couple
of months and hopefully have a bump a season.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I think that you can check your here next time
we're at the same place.
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