July 26, 2026 • 8 mins
Blair Drysdale says the rise of the sheep industry has been a good news story to celebrate.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Were drives our farms just out of Belfa. He's got
a mixed farming operation there and joins us in the
sagean Dan farming roundup. Thanks to sagean Dan Stock Foods
based here and Gore, we catch up with various farmers
around the southern region. They just chew the fat block.
A good afternoon, good afternoon, end of you will, can't
complain yourself the weekend? Did treat you well? Did you
(00:28):
stay warm?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, I've got to work on stay warm, run around,
kids are bit and stuff. So that was pretty pretty
packed weekend. Yeah, got a bit done. It was good.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
What's your focus at the moment in your operation when
it gets to the cooler months.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Dam Well, it's just really we've sort of pretty much
finnished all the permanent fencing for the winter. A few
gates left to swing, got undergate cable, sock up pair
water schemes going yet on that new block we bought
in the cattle yard, so still doing that part of that,
and it's just you know, still ship think would.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
You say you're any drier or weserve for the time
of year? Oh?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Should it's dry for the time?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, it's actually a little bit worrying that we haven't
had enough winter yet when winter should be coming. So
we'll see what happens in that water table. I'm guessing
it's probably still got a bit of work so to
build that up before we kick into late spring and summer.
So yeah, it is. It's in a very dry Winter's
no doubt about that. It's got a bit sticky on
top of times. But shit, that's been about it.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Snow flourries in northern South and on Saturday did you
experience it?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I didn't know. There must have been the skeptics bit
of frozen snow, but no, it didn't come to anything
at all, went north and south of us, like the
snow on the ground and Winton and yet looking out
the moments set up the dome and the coopler, they
are very white. So they all hang around up there
for another couple of weeks. Again, I suspect, so it'd
be nice to think the frost were going to disappear,
but I don't think they're going to with the snow
hanging around, so we might have another ten days there yet.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Would you say it's a concern how dry things are
given us late.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
July, No, I don't as concern at the moment by
any means. But you know, we don't want I hate
to even say this, we don't want a three piece
up the springs we've had, So that's the big one.
We probably need a little bit of more shit now
before we get into the depths of carving and then
lambing and all that sort of things. So yeah, let's
(02:15):
just hope the remainder of winter arise when it's meant
to a Are you.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Pretty positive about the next six months for the sector? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, you know, pretty lucky being the operational got you know,
you know, cheap beef, aarable, but a horticulture of the
tulips and lily so we're pretty well spread. I'm not
able to exposed to any one market. Look a bit
great if we're getting paid more for a wheat valley
and notas etcetera. There's no doubt about that. But like
everything else is holding out well, and you know, lamb's
going really good. I think there'll probably be a little
(02:45):
bit of a creation there beef. I know this some
pressure coming on overseas. We're in their export markets of
prime beef. But still the fundamental, fundamental, Sorry for long
term more short, you know, short medium term are very good.
So you know we're we're we're always at a bit
of bit on board, but we're doing much bigger numbers now.
They just stacks up a lot better than the arable
(03:05):
at the moment. So that's where we're heading. So yeah,
very very sort of mixed operation these days.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
So you're pretty happy with the center gees of what
you've running.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yep, got a nice mix. Probably going to spread the
workload out a little bit more. My probably the smallest
harvest we've had in fifteen years this one coming, so
it'll be nice in some respects. All the beef. Yeah,
once we get all the yards and water team done,
the whole for will go on all the beef. He
sort of some point in mid to late October, so
(03:34):
you know, there's a whole lot of workload disappears there
to a degree to you know, doing it intensively. So yeah,
I'm looking forward to the next twelve months ahead, that's
for sure. She's a bit of a little bit of
change again, but nothing too drastic.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
So smaller harvest compared to normal, Is that just because
the airbral industry hasn't played ball price wise?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yeah, I mean, we've taken on another one hundred and
seveny hectares in the last six months and really none
of that's going on too arable. It's all sheep and beefs.
You know, there's the old wee bits of arable amongst it,
but nothing much, that's for sure. It's not very exciting
to go and do all that area in arable and
have to spend that capital money on silos and then
we'd have to do dryer and that's not exciting at all.
(04:14):
So it stayed away from that when your money and
waly aphids and cattle at the moment, so that's where
we're hit.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
The wily Affords. Have yourself proclaimed been calling them for
the last five or ten years or so, do you
are you a bit more positive about the industry then,
oh hell yes.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
While we've got contract lambs on here at the moment,
that's from just cutting brakes and they've doing well. We're
being first kill of them ten days ago. We'll have
another one in ten days, have another three hundred old ghosts.
They've gone through the winter pretty well, and we've got
the last fungus twenty five. Our own ones will go
next week and you know, by the end of August,
we should be well through these contract lambs we've got
(04:52):
on so and then your lambing starts in four or
five days. The old girls out too, the terminal rams,
so there's only a handful of them's only sixty odd
of them, and then the main one start on twenty
first of August, and Hooget's behind that. So we'll be
landing for three months. If that's the right spreads the risk.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Now you will shed you're buried it. So what do
you do when it comes to hand piece where it
can bit of ply in the corner of the shed
and some pret at least to keep the stock in
How do you work it?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, it's a terminal rams. Your dad, you're going to
have to see your ram mate. I was like, should
I hadn't thought of that. So she'll be to be
a sheet of plywood in the yards. And now the
electric hand piece it'll do the job easy. So but
other than that, we don't have anything to share. We
made it, you know, we made a decision. We stick
to it and go forward.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
No, well, that's good to see you showing positivity for
the industry. I mean the will price has taken a
bit of a check, but it's better than a dollar
fifty akilough right, Oh, how will you?
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I mean, hopefully a bit of stability in that market
and an upward trend and hopefully this isn't just a
loan spike. Would be good for the guys, you know,
the sheep, guys that have got to share the sheep,
and you know they want a good posits of profit
out of that, not a bill that they've had for
probably the last three years, maybe longer. I've lost touch
with that. So yeah, hopefully it stays up for them.
(06:11):
So but all in all, everything's going pretty well on
agriculture really.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
But I'll touch on this with you because I know
you'll have an opinion regarding the Green Party and they
proposed nitrogen phase out. What would this mean for you
as an arable grower? How detrimental would it be to.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
The industry for arable industry would be for cereals and
asiabraskas and yes, and to the numerous crops. I won't
lift them more. It'd be the end of it. You
would no longer grow an economic crops that some crops
and grows that npieces it's one of them. But as
an industry as a whole, it'll be the end of us.
(06:48):
Even your grass seed production requires you know, a level
of artificial input inputs. So if we don't have end
to grow the required yields to make that profitble no
one grows it, then there's it's going to snowball effect
for sheep, beef, dairy, and deer with his no grass
in producing, he's on anymore to the flow and effects
are huge. But the greens, they're not a bunch of idiots.
(07:11):
They you know, they just want everything for nothing. They
you know, they want what's theirs and what they is
as well. So hopefully hopefully they don't have any say
any future governments in their turn, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Well, say there was you know, a scenariod to go
out the labor goes with the grains and a coor
listen to the on the left. It'll be interesting, though,
what Chiffy sorts thought processes around us?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Does Chivvy have thought processes every now and then? Every
now you don't even want to think about the consequences
of that sort of government evolving again, you really don't,
you know, we were there only three years ago coming
out of that and labor largely with the Greens. It
just hate policies against farming. You look what Parker was
trying to do to us, So we don't want to
(07:55):
go there again. Yeah, that's short and Probley's there.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
In the resting time is always blocking. We'll let you
carry on. You've got a bed. Are always good to catch.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Up a good ex lady.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Weird riisal farming out of belf and the Sagean Day
and farming ground up thanks to Sagindy and Stop Foods
based here in Gore. Jiff Grants up next, Talking politics
on a Monday
Were drives our farms just out of Belfa. He's got
a mixed farming operation there and joins us in the
sagean Dan farming roundup. Thanks to sagean Dan Stock Foods
based here and Gore, we catch up with various farmers
around the southern region. They just chew the fat block.
A good afternoon, good afternoon, end of you will, can't
complain yourself the weekend? Did treat you well? Did you
(00:28):
stay warm?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, I've got to work on stay warm, run around,
kids are bit and stuff. So that was pretty pretty
packed weekend. Yeah, got a bit done. It was good.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
What's your focus at the moment in your operation when
it gets to the cooler months.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Dam Well, it's just really we've sort of pretty much
finnished all the permanent fencing for the winter. A few
gates left to swing, got undergate cable, sock up pair
water schemes going yet on that new block we bought
in the cattle yard, so still doing that part of that,
and it's just you know, still ship think would.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
You say you're any drier or weserve for the time
of year? Oh?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Should it's dry for the time?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, it's actually a little bit worrying that we haven't
had enough winter yet when winter should be coming. So
we'll see what happens in that water table. I'm guessing
it's probably still got a bit of work so to
build that up before we kick into late spring and summer.
So yeah, it is. It's in a very dry Winter's
no doubt about that. It's got a bit sticky on
top of times. But shit, that's been about it.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Snow flourries in northern South and on Saturday did you
experience it?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I didn't know. There must have been the skeptics bit
of frozen snow, but no, it didn't come to anything
at all, went north and south of us, like the
snow on the ground and Winton and yet looking out
the moments set up the dome and the coopler, they
are very white. So they all hang around up there
for another couple of weeks. Again, I suspect, so it'd
be nice to think the frost were going to disappear,
but I don't think they're going to with the snow
hanging around, so we might have another ten days there yet.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Would you say it's a concern how dry things are
given us late.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
July, No, I don't as concern at the moment by
any means. But you know, we don't want I hate
to even say this, we don't want a three piece
up the springs we've had, So that's the big one.
We probably need a little bit of more shit now
before we get into the depths of carving and then
lambing and all that sort of things. So yeah, let's
(02:15):
just hope the remainder of winter arise when it's meant
to a Are you.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Pretty positive about the next six months for the sector? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, you know, pretty lucky being the operational got you know,
you know, cheap beef, aarable, but a horticulture of the
tulips and lily so we're pretty well spread. I'm not
able to exposed to any one market. Look a bit
great if we're getting paid more for a wheat valley
and notas etcetera. There's no doubt about that. But like
everything else is holding out well, and you know, lamb's
going really good. I think there'll probably be a little
(02:45):
bit of a creation there beef. I know this some
pressure coming on overseas. We're in their export markets of
prime beef. But still the fundamental, fundamental, Sorry for long
term more short, you know, short medium term are very good.
So you know we're we're we're always at a bit
of bit on board, but we're doing much bigger numbers now.
They just stacks up a lot better than the arable
(03:05):
at the moment. So that's where we're heading. So yeah,
very very sort of mixed operation these days.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
So you're pretty happy with the center gees of what
you've running.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yep, got a nice mix. Probably going to spread the
workload out a little bit more. My probably the smallest
harvest we've had in fifteen years this one coming, so
it'll be nice in some respects. All the beef. Yeah,
once we get all the yards and water team done,
the whole for will go on all the beef. He
sort of some point in mid to late October, so
(03:34):
you know, there's a whole lot of workload disappears there
to a degree to you know, doing it intensively. So yeah,
I'm looking forward to the next twelve months ahead, that's
for sure. She's a bit of a little bit of
change again, but nothing too drastic.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
So smaller harvest compared to normal, Is that just because
the airbral industry hasn't played ball price wise?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yeah, I mean, we've taken on another one hundred and
seveny hectares in the last six months and really none
of that's going on too arable. It's all sheep and beefs.
You know, there's the old wee bits of arable amongst it,
but nothing much, that's for sure. It's not very exciting
to go and do all that area in arable and
have to spend that capital money on silos and then
we'd have to do dryer and that's not exciting at all.
(04:14):
So it stayed away from that when your money and
waly aphids and cattle at the moment, so that's where
we're hit.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
The wily Affords. Have yourself proclaimed been calling them for
the last five or ten years or so, do you
are you a bit more positive about the industry then,
oh hell yes.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
While we've got contract lambs on here at the moment,
that's from just cutting brakes and they've doing well. We're
being first kill of them ten days ago. We'll have
another one in ten days, have another three hundred old ghosts.
They've gone through the winter pretty well, and we've got
the last fungus twenty five. Our own ones will go
next week and you know, by the end of August,
we should be well through these contract lambs we've got
(04:52):
on so and then your lambing starts in four or
five days. The old girls out too, the terminal rams,
so there's only a handful of them's only sixty odd
of them, and then the main one start on twenty
first of August, and Hooget's behind that. So we'll be
landing for three months. If that's the right spreads the risk.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Now you will shed you're buried it. So what do
you do when it comes to hand piece where it
can bit of ply in the corner of the shed
and some pret at least to keep the stock in
How do you work it?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, it's a terminal rams. Your dad, you're going to
have to see your ram mate. I was like, should
I hadn't thought of that. So she'll be to be
a sheet of plywood in the yards. And now the
electric hand piece it'll do the job easy. So but
other than that, we don't have anything to share. We
made it, you know, we made a decision. We stick
to it and go forward.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
No, well, that's good to see you showing positivity for
the industry. I mean the will price has taken a
bit of a check, but it's better than a dollar
fifty akilough right, Oh, how will you?
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I mean, hopefully a bit of stability in that market
and an upward trend and hopefully this isn't just a
loan spike. Would be good for the guys, you know,
the sheep, guys that have got to share the sheep,
and you know they want a good posits of profit
out of that, not a bill that they've had for
probably the last three years, maybe longer. I've lost touch
with that. So yeah, hopefully it stays up for them.
(06:11):
So but all in all, everything's going pretty well on
agriculture really.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
But I'll touch on this with you because I know
you'll have an opinion regarding the Green Party and they
proposed nitrogen phase out. What would this mean for you
as an arable grower? How detrimental would it be to.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
The industry for arable industry would be for cereals and
asiabraskas and yes, and to the numerous crops. I won't
lift them more. It'd be the end of it. You
would no longer grow an economic crops that some crops
and grows that npieces it's one of them. But as
an industry as a whole, it'll be the end of us.
(06:48):
Even your grass seed production requires you know, a level
of artificial input inputs. So if we don't have end
to grow the required yields to make that profitble no
one grows it, then there's it's going to snowball effect
for sheep, beef, dairy, and deer with his no grass
in producing, he's on anymore to the flow and effects
are huge. But the greens, they're not a bunch of idiots.
(07:11):
They you know, they just want everything for nothing. They
you know, they want what's theirs and what they is
as well. So hopefully hopefully they don't have any say
any future governments in their turn, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Well, say there was you know, a scenariod to go
out the labor goes with the grains and a coor
listen to the on the left. It'll be interesting, though,
what Chiffy sorts thought processes around us?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Does Chivvy have thought processes every now and then? Every
now you don't even want to think about the consequences
of that sort of government evolving again, you really don't,
you know, we were there only three years ago coming
out of that and labor largely with the Greens. It
just hate policies against farming. You look what Parker was
trying to do to us, So we don't want to
(07:55):
go there again. Yeah, that's short and Probley's there.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
In the resting time is always blocking. We'll let you
carry on. You've got a bed. Are always good to catch.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Up a good ex lady.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Weird riisal farming out of belf and the Sagean Day
and farming ground up thanks to Sagindy and Stop Foods
based here in Gore. Jiff Grants up next, Talking politics
on a Monday
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