October 29, 2025 • 7 mins
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We've got Tom Fraser from Beef and Lamb, New Zealand
to talk about pasture management and the whole song maybe
Don't Cry Tom could be quite relevant to what happened
in the last week or so with the weather and well, soils, trees,
all sorts of things. How you get nine anyway.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I'm getting on fine. So I'm based in Canterbury. I'm
actually just signed contract to Beef Lamb. I used to
work for at Research in forests and later on in
my life I became involved very much and well flam
storms science. So yep, that takes all the different components.
And yeah, while I'm based in Candabury, I was a
(00:36):
south and the born and bread from the Tiana Basin.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, well that takes a lot of goals down here obviously.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah, so that was back in the nineteen seventies. So
that obviously tells people that are listening that I've been
around for a while and been through all sorts of
floods and earthquakes and excuse me on fires and wings,
et cetera. So I've had a wee bit of unfortunately,
(01:03):
had a webit of experience and the aftermath of these events.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
You know what they're all about though, and obviously you
look at it with milk payouts and tough times. It's
not your first rodeo. There is light at the end
of the tunnel, always, isn't there.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yes, Well, luckily at the moment, just the way farm
prices are product prices are looking is that things are good.
I mean we could before we were a couple three
years ago where milk payer wasn't great, Lamb was pretty
bloody ordinary and Wall was a disaster. But at least
(01:40):
looking forward for the next twelve months hopefully a bit longer,
product prices are looking pretty good.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yes, And it's a little bit too of you know,
one eye on the future, but also taking it for
what it's worth right now and eccex and knowing that
it's good and enjoying it because I think some times
you're that busy thinking forward, aren't further ahead, that you
lose sight of what's actually happening right now.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yes, and it's a very difficult times. It's only a
week since the big event. Both in south and Incluther
and also in North Canterbury. The farms up there suffering,
not that's the same widespread extent, but individual farms are
protectively with their center pivot irrigators, which.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Is a major for Canary. If they don't get the
water on that, that's really causes a big effect, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yes. And also unfortunately at the moment, we're looking potentially
going into quite an early drought, right, and some southern
farmers will be struggling to understand that at the moment.
There saw conditions that are present. But our rainfall, we
had a good rainfall early in winter and we've had
birthdate virtually no rainfall since. So I saw moisture levels
(02:56):
are low and people have been irrigating now for the
last three.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Weeks, I guess, yeah, right, so it's just business as
usual really already. Yeah, yeah, which, well three weeks ago
you started October. It seems quite early, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yes, it is, it is. It's probably at least three
weeks early for most irrigators.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
And so obviously there's a challenge with the irrigators that
have been damaged. There's only so many of those technicians
to repair them that can go around. What's a general
scenario like some of them could be quite a number
of months, is it right?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, there's two parts of one of the technical staff
and there recently sitting on the ground. Obviously, don't just
sit around waited for an event like this. No. And
the second thing is just the sheer volume of parts. Yes,
it's not like just putting them up in Boulder, and
it's bringing in parts from overseas. There is only a
(03:52):
limited amount of speed parts of the companies keeping in
the countries, so everybody be played out. Trying to bring
in ventry.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
In three months be a just you can't the.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Wee but like the South and farmers waiting to see
when they can get their trees cleaned up. We'd love
it to happen next week, but it could be three months,
and in some cases in South and it could be
six months. I think the thing that we need to
concentrate on as farmers is concentrating on the things that
(04:26):
we can have an effect on and not on those
that are out of our control. So it's easy for
me to sit back here and say, you know, things
have not been good, but they will get better. Now
there's a lot of farmers sitting around saying yes, or
for him to say that, but they will get better.
(04:46):
And if you can actually put your energies into the
events and the management systems on your farm that you
can have an effect on That is important. And also
to concentrate on the things that you're good at. And
farmers are good at farming. Yes, they're not necessarily good
(05:08):
at driving a digger yep. So leave that cleaning up
the trees to the diggers. And you know, it may
take three months, it may take six months, and it
may not be nice to look at, but that's it,
provided you've got your boundary fences and a bit of
control of your stock, and you've got good stock water.
It's an eye or looking at those trees are lying
(05:30):
down on the ground, and it can be inconvenient, but
is it really having a major effect on your production?
On farm production?
Speaker 1 (05:40):
And that's right, you're right, it's an inconvenience. Doesn't look
very good, but that's it, yeah, once it's all said
and done. But also, I guess so it's a matter
for farmers is so much where they start. And the
first thing you've got to do is sometimes just start,
doesn't matter where. Just you know, it's like putting the
fence up where you how wide we're going to make
(06:01):
the track, where we're going to put the gates. Next year,
it's just put the first trainer post and we'll go
from there.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yes, And once you've started, then you can just build
on that. And it takes time and just be patient.
I guess that's the main thing.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
But I know that most of Southern has had a
pretty tough winter and a bloody awful spring, and pasture
covers are not good, so even prior to the when
things weren't looking great for this year's early But I
do know the Southern climbate pretty well, and I do
(06:36):
know the pastor growth rates in South and unfortunately or fortunately,
perhaps I can assure you that when pasture covers are
low in South and at the end of October of
which we're at now, you're going to have a very
good leg and growing season in decen Ganuary in February. Okay,
(06:59):
So that is a positive look forward to because I
know pasture covers are low. But as the temperatures increase,
and they will increase, yes, then the league games will
because they haven't got that competition from the grasses. It's
not the big pasture covers there. The league ins will
respond very very well. And for your young stop growing,
(07:22):
particularly post weening, then you are going to have good
leaguings in your pastures, and you're going to get good
animal performance.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Well, I'm sure that gives plenty of good stuff that
people look forward to. Look Tom, Honestly, I could sit
and talk to you all day, but we're pretty well
running out of time. I'm sorry, so we'll have to
wreck that there. Thank you very much for your time,
and we we'll see you another time and catch up.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Okay, that's great, Thanks very much. Yes,
We've got Tom Fraser from Beef and Lamb, New Zealand
to talk about pasture management and the whole song maybe
Don't Cry Tom could be quite relevant to what happened
in the last week or so with the weather and well, soils, trees,
all sorts of things. How you get nine anyway.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I'm getting on fine. So I'm based in Canterbury. I'm
actually just signed contract to Beef Lamb. I used to
work for at Research in forests and later on in
my life I became involved very much and well flam
storms science. So yep, that takes all the different components.
And yeah, while I'm based in Candabury, I was a
(00:36):
south and the born and bread from the Tiana Basin.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, well that takes a lot of goals down here obviously.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah, so that was back in the nineteen seventies. So
that obviously tells people that are listening that I've been
around for a while and been through all sorts of
floods and earthquakes and excuse me on fires and wings,
et cetera. So I've had a wee bit of unfortunately,
(01:03):
had a webit of experience and the aftermath of these events.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
You know what they're all about though, and obviously you
look at it with milk payouts and tough times. It's
not your first rodeo. There is light at the end
of the tunnel, always, isn't there.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yes, Well, luckily at the moment, just the way farm
prices are product prices are looking is that things are good.
I mean we could before we were a couple three
years ago where milk payer wasn't great, Lamb was pretty
bloody ordinary and Wall was a disaster. But at least
(01:40):
looking forward for the next twelve months hopefully a bit longer,
product prices are looking pretty good.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yes, And it's a little bit too of you know,
one eye on the future, but also taking it for
what it's worth right now and eccex and knowing that
it's good and enjoying it because I think some times
you're that busy thinking forward, aren't further ahead, that you
lose sight of what's actually happening right now.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yes, and it's a very difficult times. It's only a
week since the big event. Both in south and Incluther
and also in North Canterbury. The farms up there suffering,
not that's the same widespread extent, but individual farms are
protectively with their center pivot irrigators, which.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Is a major for Canary. If they don't get the
water on that, that's really causes a big effect, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yes. And also unfortunately at the moment, we're looking potentially
going into quite an early drought, right, and some southern
farmers will be struggling to understand that at the moment.
There saw conditions that are present. But our rainfall, we
had a good rainfall early in winter and we've had
birthdate virtually no rainfall since. So I saw moisture levels
(02:56):
are low and people have been irrigating now for the
last three.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Weeks, I guess, yeah, right, so it's just business as
usual really already. Yeah, yeah, which, well three weeks ago
you started October. It seems quite early, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yes, it is, it is. It's probably at least three
weeks early for most irrigators.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
And so obviously there's a challenge with the irrigators that
have been damaged. There's only so many of those technicians
to repair them that can go around. What's a general
scenario like some of them could be quite a number
of months, is it right?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, there's two parts of one of the technical staff
and there recently sitting on the ground. Obviously, don't just
sit around waited for an event like this. No. And
the second thing is just the sheer volume of parts. Yes,
it's not like just putting them up in Boulder, and
it's bringing in parts from overseas. There is only a
(03:52):
limited amount of speed parts of the companies keeping in
the countries, so everybody be played out. Trying to bring
in ventry.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
In three months be a just you can't the.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Wee but like the South and farmers waiting to see
when they can get their trees cleaned up. We'd love
it to happen next week, but it could be three months,
and in some cases in South and it could be
six months. I think the thing that we need to
concentrate on as farmers is concentrating on the things that
(04:26):
we can have an effect on and not on those
that are out of our control. So it's easy for
me to sit back here and say, you know, things
have not been good, but they will get better. Now
there's a lot of farmers sitting around saying yes, or
for him to say that, but they will get better.
(04:46):
And if you can actually put your energies into the
events and the management systems on your farm that you
can have an effect on That is important. And also
to concentrate on the things that you're good at. And
farmers are good at farming. Yes, they're not necessarily good
(05:08):
at driving a digger yep. So leave that cleaning up
the trees to the diggers. And you know, it may
take three months, it may take six months, and it
may not be nice to look at, but that's it,
provided you've got your boundary fences and a bit of
control of your stock, and you've got good stock water.
It's an eye or looking at those trees are lying
(05:30):
down on the ground, and it can be inconvenient, but
is it really having a major effect on your production?
On farm production?
Speaker 1 (05:40):
And that's right, you're right, it's an inconvenience. Doesn't look
very good, but that's it, yeah, once it's all said
and done. But also, I guess so it's a matter
for farmers is so much where they start. And the
first thing you've got to do is sometimes just start,
doesn't matter where. Just you know, it's like putting the
fence up where you how wide we're going to make
(06:01):
the track, where we're going to put the gates. Next year,
it's just put the first trainer post and we'll go
from there.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yes, And once you've started, then you can just build
on that. And it takes time and just be patient.
I guess that's the main thing.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
But I know that most of Southern has had a
pretty tough winter and a bloody awful spring, and pasture
covers are not good, so even prior to the when
things weren't looking great for this year's early But I
do know the Southern climbate pretty well, and I do
(06:36):
know the pastor growth rates in South and unfortunately or fortunately,
perhaps I can assure you that when pasture covers are
low in South and at the end of October of
which we're at now, you're going to have a very
good leg and growing season in decen Ganuary in February. Okay,
(06:59):
So that is a positive look forward to because I
know pasture covers are low. But as the temperatures increase,
and they will increase, yes, then the league games will
because they haven't got that competition from the grasses. It's
not the big pasture covers there. The league ins will
respond very very well. And for your young stop growing,
(07:22):
particularly post weening, then you are going to have good
leaguings in your pastures, and you're going to get good
animal performance.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Well, I'm sure that gives plenty of good stuff that
people look forward to. Look Tom, Honestly, I could sit
and talk to you all day, but we're pretty well
running out of time. I'm sorry, so we'll have to
wreck that there. Thank you very much for your time,
and we we'll see you another time and catch up.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Okay, that's great, Thanks very much. Yes,
Popular Podcasts
Spooky Podcasts from iHeartRadio
Whether you’re a scaredy-cat or a brave bat, this collection of episodes from iHeartPodcasts will put you in the Halloween spirit. Binge stories, frights, and more that may keep you up at night!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.