September 3, 2026 • 47 mins
Andy Muir talks to Phil Duncan, Brenton Howden, Morgan Greene, Michelle Watt and Elliot Smith.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Nathan Abernethy of Regional 4 catches up once again as
we do every Friday. Good afternoon, Nathan.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yeah, good afternoon, Andy. A pretty ordinary Friday. It is
out there too, weather-wise, that's for sure. But look, in
the showroom here, it's all right. It's nice and warm.
Great place to be. So if anybody's around and they're
thinking vehicles, by all means, come in and see us.
We've got the team on deck. We've got plenty of
new options there for you. We've got plenty of used
options there as well. Just a great car that's just
actually came in this morning, Andy. A 2016 Ford Mondeo Titanium.
(00:29):
This is the top-of-the-line five-door hatch. It's travelled 89,000 k's.
Two-litre petrol engine. Automatic. Beautiful car. Leather seats. Heated seats.
They're quite a big car. They're actually a good replacement
even for Falcon or Commodore. Size-wise, very, very good. Huge
boot in them. And for $ 17, 990, it's all New Zealand new.
(00:50):
It's white. It's on the 19-inch alloy wheels. Really is
a smart car. So that's in here this afternoon. Plenty
of double-cab trucks and trucks coming through. Plenty of SUVs.
Just come in and see us. As always, doors will
be open at half past nine in the morning through
till 12. But we're on the other end of the phone.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
If you need us.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Good on you, mate. Enjoy the weekend.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
You do the same. Thanks, Andy.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
One more time. One more time.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Good afternoon and welcome to the muster on Hokonui. Andy
Muir here. And the show is brought to you, of course,
by Peters Genetics on a damp afternoon here in Gore
for your fry eight. A few dirty showers happening this morning.
Yesterday was a peachy day. Phil Duncan of Weather Watch
looks at the weather for the next seven days in
depth for the south as well. So hopefully we start
(01:50):
seeing a bit of big yellow down here in the
deep south as we get into the busy season on farm.
Tunes for today, though, we're keeping it a bit more
funkier and a bit more vibey. A few dance numbers
you might know. This one here, the French duo Daft Punk.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Oh, yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
One more time.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Hakanui's five-day forecast with Twin Farm, Tefrom and Softex. The
proof is in the progeny.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
This afternoon, thunderstorms, a breezy westerlies and 8 degrees. Saturday, showers,
a breezy nor'westerlies, 5 and 13. Sunday, rain with calm
variable winds, 4 and 9. Monday, cloudy with light easterlies,
3 and 10. And Tuesday morning, showers, a breezy westerlies
and I haven't wrote the temperature down, but no doubt,
logical suggest on Monday, look out the window and probably
(02:42):
be able to feel it when you stick your head
out there for a bit of a wander. Our soil
temperatures as we carry on. Clinton 7.3, Heria 8.3, Northern
Southland 8.8, Riverton 10, Te Arawa 9.1, Titaroa 8.7, Winter
9.1 and Woodlands at 8.8. Phil Duncan of Weatherwatch giving
a rundown on the southern forecast for the next seven
(03:03):
days gets us underway. Brendan Howden based over at Benmore.
The use of technology on farms in springtime and how
he goes into a bit of depth about drones. Morgan
Green of NSF, looking at the situation we're seeing at
the moment, busy in calving, busy in lambing, and just
the ground conditions has been trying. Morgan's got some words
(03:24):
of wisdom to share. Michelle Watt joins us in the
country crossover, and then Elliot Smith. Commentary available on Newstalk ZB,
of course. That's Elliot doing a fantastic job. following the
ABs over there in South Africa. It's all at Soccer
City in Soweto this Sunday morning. Elliot gives a rundown
and a preview of the game and what to expect.
(03:45):
So without further ado, we'll carry on. Oh, by the way,
as well, go onto the Mustard and Hokanui Facebook page.
The Meatbox is giving away a $ 100 voucher. You've got
to go on there and comment somebody that wants to
win a bit of a treat ahead of the weekend.
Start the hour next with Phil Duncan. This is the must-do.
(04:13):
It is time to catch up with Phil Duncan of Weatherwatch.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
And I'm here to remind you of the mess you
left when you went away. It's not fair to deny
me a request.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
G'day Phil. G'day, g'day.
Speaker 7 (04:38):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I'm going pretty good. The weather down here has not
been settled though. Yesterday was a beautiful day around 17 degrees.
The last day of August was arguably the worst day
of winter. What's happening in spring? What are you doing?
Speaker 8 (04:55):
Can I phone a friend? 50-50? I don't want to
answer it. Yeah, 50-50. Yeah, it's pretty messy at the moment.
We're in a what I would call a classic start
to spring, where it still feels a lot more like winter,
but you do get these brief moments where it warms
up and you think, oh, we're all coming to an
(05:17):
end with it. But because of El Nino, which is
still intensifying, that is warming up the sea well to
the northeast of New Zealand. So the more it warms up,
the warm air rises. And so as the air rises,
as the sea warms up, it changes things down in
our part.
Speaker 9 (05:33):
Of the world.
Speaker 8 (05:33):
And it sort of acts like a bit of a
vacuum with these southwesterly winds that keep blowing through, adds
a wee bit more oomph to them. And so we're
certainly getting there. And to be honest with you, there
is no immediate end in sight. But we do have
some big high-pressure zones that are moving south of Australia
next week. That's actually going to dredge up colder weather
(05:54):
for us, colder than what we've got at the moment, potentially.
In fact, quite likely, I think, later next week, there
is a significant winter outbreak there It's not locked in
just yet, but it is all about this huge high
south of Australia. So I'm optimistic that that high might
reach New Zealand. But because of the strong southwest flow
(06:15):
through the Tasman Sea, a high pressure system that's tracking
eastwards underneath Australia, south of Australia, moves to the Tasman
and then gets kind of pushed northeast. And it can
sometimes slide up to the north of New Zealand and
not cross over us. That's possible that we could still
be in a windy setup right through into the middle
to later part of the month.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Are we able to find a friend for an alternative answer?
Speaker 8 (06:40):
Yeah, who do you want to... I'll ring Mets first.
Put it on them. Make them shoulder it.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Vehicle.
Speaker 8 (06:51):
To be honest with you, it's normal for this time
of the year to be getting such wild weather, but
it's a little more... repetitive than may be usual. Normally
we get bursts of wind and then it calms down
and we get a period of three or four days
where it's quite lovely and then it turns rubbish again.
But at the moment, we're sort of only having a
very short one or two day window. And even then,
(07:12):
it's probably got a gale force westerly, even if it's
sunny and warm. So it is a bit of everything
at the moment, that is for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Wind chill is going to be the big one for
a lot of people then. Is that going to continue
to be a concern?
Speaker 8 (07:24):
Yeah, I think it will be. Maybe not quite so
much today and this weekend, even though it isn't, you know,
the flashes today. But the wind chill could be more
of a problem next week. So Thursday, Friday next week
is when we expect this next polar surge to come through. Now,
the wind chill, just looking now at ruralweather.co.nz for Gore,
(07:45):
wind chill's not too bad, but it is bad. You know,
like it's not good for a newborn animal when it's
down around zero or minus one, minus two at times.
So we will get some colder air. So just looking
at the actual air temperatures, though, maximum on Wednesday is
13 or 14. Thursday, it's only 7. That is the
maximum temperature. And then Friday, Saturday, Sunday, next weekend, it's
(08:09):
around sort of 8 or 9 degrees. Overnight lows of
around 3 or 4. So it's cold, winter-like. But it's
not necessarily like, you know, a midwinter polar event. So
it is slightly warmer than what we'd get in winter,
but it's slightly colder than what you'd probably like for spring.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Are we going to get a lot of rain?
Speaker 8 (08:29):
So you are getting a fair, not necessarily huge amounts
of rain, but sort of a number of days that
have wet weather, averaging sort of around.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
8, 10 degrees.
Speaker 8 (08:38):
8 to 10 millimetres each day. So we've got that,
you've got about 5 or 6 millimetres today, and that'll
be higher for western parts of the region. Could be
double that. 8 or 9 millimetres tomorrow, and this is
for Gore. Not too much Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, but then Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
(08:59):
across the end of next week and next weekend, you're
averaging around about 9 or so millimetres a day. So
it's not huge amounts, But it's kind of coming in
each day, and that adds up to being, you know, 60,
70 millimetres after a week or so has gone by.
And again, if you're on the western side, if you're
out over towards Lumsden and further to the west, those
(09:20):
rainfall numbers could be higher. We are expecting about 300
millimetres on the west coast over the next week. And
because we've got low pressure coming in on Sunday, that's
going to stretch out over to the eastern side of
the island. And when it does that, we get rainfall
in eastern areas. So Canterbury, for example, Not always the
case with a north-west centre, but when that low crosses
(09:41):
actually over the island, rain can be transferred quite easily
from west coast to east coast, and Southland being below
most of that could get brushed by a bit of
that as well. So it's a bit of a messy forecast,
to be honest.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Is there any chance of these winds next week drying
out the top of the ground?
Speaker 8 (09:59):
Probably not to. much. The strongest of the winds are
today and tomorrow, where you've got these gusts up to
gale force in exposed areas, on the hilltops in particular.
But the winds ease back on Sunday as that low
comes in, because the centre of the low will be
quite close to you, so it's usually fairly calm. Not
a lot of wind around Monday, Tuesday. And then as
we go into the later part of next week, when
(10:21):
we get that polar change, it could be another surge
of strong westerlies for northern Southland and perhaps a bit
more southwesterly for coastal Southland.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Yeah, interesting as always, Phil Duncan. You enjoy the weekend.
We always appreciate your time. And I'll be honest, I'd
like to use the phone a friend option, please.
Speaker 8 (10:39):
Yeah, we'll do that next week.
Speaker 10 (10:40):
We'll get someone sorted.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Phil Duncan of Weatherwatch every Friday here on the muster.
Go and follow him on his social channels. Does a
great job doing the forecast, especially for rural New Zealand.
Brenton Howden's up next, based out of Benmore. This is
the muster. This is the muster on Hakanui for a
(11:08):
Friday afternoon. The artist there is Avicii, the late great Avicii.
The song is Levels as we head over to Benmore
in central Southland and we catch up with Brenton Howden
farming over that way on the road between Benmore and Ditton.
Good afternoon Howdy, how's things in your neck of the woods?
Speaker 3 (11:27):
G'day Andy, things aren't too bad. It's certainly wet but
sun's trying to poke through so we'll take what we
can get.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
For the first week of September, like the last couple
of years, is this a continuation?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I think so, yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if it's
just as wet as the last two. I hope not, but, yeah,
I'd say it will be.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So what are your, like, ground condition-wise there? What's happening?
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Oh, she's fairly wet, yeah. Everywhere you drive, splat marks.
So not lambing just yet. I don't start till Monday,
but still got to get around and check things. Yeah.
It's a hell of a mess.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Have you had a few earlies?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I had 200 earlies back about the 3rd of August
that weren't supposed to, but luckily we got them out
at scanning and they were all done and dusted by
about the 15th.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Who was the culprit there? Bloody a rig on the
loose or something?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Yeah, something like that, yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Well, you know, get some early season premiums for them
if you've got some grass for them.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Yeah, it'll soften the workload a bit in the next
couple of weeks, but put a bit of pressure on feed,
but Yeah, we'll get there.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
So you've managed to get them through okay to this stage,
like death rate and everything? It hasn't been too bad?
Speaker 3 (12:40):
No, they've been pretty good, yeah. Once they all sort
of lamb down, I move them to some paddocks that
are not normally that nice to lamb in. So, yeah,
it's kind of handy in that regard. Yeah, it's worked
out all right.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
How are your covers looking?
Speaker 9 (12:56):
Gone.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Nah, that's still not too bad. I'm pretty happy with
sort of where they are, considering there's a couple of
paddocks that are a wee bit there, but just spread
a few issues out in those ones and a few
extras in the ones that solid them, make it work, yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
No, just to believe... Sorry, mate, the feed's been pretty
slow for the first week of September, but you're not
too concerned about things on a whole day, like the
feed will come?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
It should come. I've put plenty of nitrogen on just about...
probably 80% of the lambing paddocks have nitrogen, and it
should grow as we get a bit of heat, and, yeah,
it should come right. Yeah, it's definitely been a sandstorm
for the last 10 days since I spread the ewes out.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yeah. I suppose if there's one positive at the moment
is the fact that the temperatures are around the double-digit mark.
I mean, what we had the other day was about
four or whatever. Yesterday was one out of the box,
being 17, 18 degrees. But just staying in double digits
at least, it's a saving grace.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Yeah, definitely. If you can stay in double digits, we'll
get a bit of growth, and as long as you
don't drive over too much of it, it'll come away. Yeah,
that Monday, that was the coldest day of winter, I reckon.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
August the 31st, it'll go down in history as being
one of the worst days we've had for the last
day of winter for a very long time, and that's
just a southern persona, right? It's just going to bite
you in the butt every now and then.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Yeah, yeah, I just don't want to say it, but
that old saying, I won't let you down.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
You use technology for going around the yews at the moment.
You've got the drone out and about before you crank
into gear.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Yeah, I've bought a drone this year and I've been
using that. Instead of going around twice for the day
at the moment, I've just been going around once and
then using the drone the other time. If anything needs
tipped up or whatnot, shoot straight to those paddocks. Yeah,
just saves making as much marks on the paddock. It's
definitely been really handy actually.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
So how long does it take you to go around
the lambing beat doing a drone?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
About 35 minutes, 40 minutes, get around the whole lot,
as opposed to three hours.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Far out. And what did the drone cost you? Was
it a big outlay?
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Nah, it was about $ 2, 000. It wasn't too bad. Yeah,
I see it, yeah, a lot of uses for it
going forward, definitely.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You just don't want to crash it?
Speaker 3 (15:18):
No, but they've got all their own safety stuff on it.
You've actually got to try and crash them these days.
They've got sensors and whatnot.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Oh, wow. So how far can a drone go away
from the house as such? What's the range on it?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Oh, I think it'll go a fair way. It'll go
until it knows it's got enough battery to get back, basically.
And once it gets down to a certain battery level,
it makes its own way back, backlakes its course back
and comes straight back. You don't have to fly it back.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
So what are the dimensions? How big would it be?
How wide, say, 18 inches?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
It's probably just a little bit bigger than an A4
bit of paper. Sort of wide, and then it's, I
don't know, two inches tall, three inches tall.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
That's crazy.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Yeah, it's not very big, but yeah, very, very good
camera on it. Like, you can be quite high up
and zoom right in.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
And yeah, it's... When drones first got talked about and
the cynics said, well, what's the point of going out?
Why be a farmer if you're going to do it
from your doorstep? But I think with the way the
weather conditions have been and you made the observation, leaving
the black marks out of the paddock due to the
saturation point we're seeing, it's actually pretty wise thinking.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, I'm like, what's the point of driving around that
paddock if there's nothing going on in there? Yeah, like
yesterday I went around and I seen two cast ewes.
I just went straight to those paddocks, tipped them up
and then, yeah. Then we did went around them on
the bike in the afternoon, but, yeah, it was just
safe driving around for no reason.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
What do the animals make of the drone? They won't
even notice it, I suppose.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Oh, if you get close enough, they move. I did
muster a mile of a sheep with it a couple
of months ago on my rough bit. Yeah, they'd know
it's there if you get close enough.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Mustering by a drone, that must have felt quite a
hard case.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Yeah, I just thought I'd see how it'd go, and
I did the job.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
So you reckon it's the equivalent of half a labour unit,
almost a labour unit at the moment?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Oh, it can be at times, yeah. Like, they've definitely
got their place, but they do have their limitations too. Like,
they don't open gates and they don't cast us over,
but yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Well, you don't need to. You can just fly around
and not have to worry about that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
No, that's right. No, I think it's well worth the investment.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
So what, you just charge it up at night, just
minimal charge time, and whoosh, you're away.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Yeah, it comes with three batteries. You don't have to, yeah,
they all charge up pretty quick. So you get about
30 to 40 miles flight out of a battery just
depending on the wind and, yeah, how much moving around
you do.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Do you know of many other people who have started
doing this as well, Howdy, as far as early lambing stage?
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Yeah, I think there was a couple of guys on
the country team that had them or were talking about
getting them just to, Yeah, just try and minimise those
losses through past years, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense as well. If
you can work smarter, not harder, that's the thought that
comes to mind.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Yeah, definitely. Yep, yep, you've just got to find all these.
It's the same with any technology. It's all just a tool.
It's how you use them, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Did you buy it online or just go into Invis
and have a look in a couple of shops there?
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yeah, that's pretty much what I did. Yeah, I went
to one of the shops in there and, yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
Oh, interesting.
Speaker 7 (18:23):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Oh, well, it just shows your technology certainly has its place.
But just to wrap up, though, we'll talk a bit
of footy. You talked about Southland Country before. You guys
had a really good win on the weekend for your
last game betting at Tiger Country. That's the big grudge
match for you guys.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
It is, yes. That's the best match. That's the one
we should aim for. The Southland Town game's a big one, too,
but I always think the Tiger Country ones were the
one you want to make sure you win. We hadn't
won it since 2021, so it was good to get
the win over them Over the game, we drew with
them last year, but we got the win this year,
so we took home the Donaghy Shield for the first time.
It's been played between us for the last three or
(19:02):
four years now, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Jeez, you won a few Shields this year, haven't you?
Speaker 3 (19:06):
A couple, yeah. That one's sitting in my lounge at
the moment. I just need the Galbraiths parked upside it,
and we're looking pretty good.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
So who's got the Galbraiths? Do you have turns about
like a month each or a couple of weeks at
someone's house or wall shed or whatever, or what's the go?
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yeah, we're just sort of sharing it around. I think
Tom Simmers got it at the moment. Yeah, going to
get it next for a while and, yeah, share it
around and, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Share the love.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
For a wedding or a birthday, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Oh, too good. Hey, good on you, mate. We'll let
you carry on. Go and get that drone going and, yeah,
and all the best for lambing. We'll catch up again.
Always appreciate the chat.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
No, cheers, Andy, Good luck to everyone out there.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Brenton Howden of Benmore, the hub of technology by the
sounds of it. Morgan Green's up next out of NS Fest.
Let's just talk about the situation we're seeing at the moment.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
The musters animal health segment with NS Vets. Adding value
through practical advice and service. No gimmicks, no potions, total
vet care.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
One of the greatest songs of the greatest soundtracks of
the great movies of all time. It is Underworld with
Born Slippy from Trainspotting back in 1995, just for Morgan
Green of NS Vets. Good afternoon, Morgie.
Speaker 9 (20:36):
Thank you, Andy.
Speaker 10 (20:37):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Good afternoon, Andy. That chain just takes you back. It's cool.
Speaker 10 (20:43):
Oh, look, it certainly does. It was a heck of
a movie, and it was while I was at university,
and actually we had– there was– vet colleges in Edinburgh
and in Glasgow. So, you know, it resonated a wee bit,
the whole thing.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Jeez, mate, we're sounding old.
Speaker 10 (21:05):
We can probably leave it at that.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Now, out there in the fields, paddocks and the likes
at the moment, the milking parlours, you guys will be
on the ground. It's the middle of getting through calving now.
Labbing's about to kick into gear. It's all go.
Speaker 10 (21:18):
Oh, look, it is. And in many different respects. calving
for a lot of people is well through there's lots
of cows in milk Sam in particular has been doing
lots of colostrum visits so just seeing what's happening in
(21:40):
the colostrum period just making sure that everybody is dotting
their I's and crossing T's from the point of view
of their processes and procedures because that then sets those
cows up um, for the milking herd. And it's, you know,
it's really important. So, you know, that's been one thing
that's been really busy and then tied in with that,
doing a lot of blood testing of calves to see
(22:02):
have they actually received enough colostrum so we can test, um,
total protein in the serum, in the blood serum of
the calves. And that gives us an idea, look, actually,
have they received enough colostrum? Because that then allows us
to have a bit of a retrospective look at what's
been happening from the point of view of calves getting colostrum.
(22:24):
Are they getting it quickly enough? Are they getting enough
of it? Is the quality of it good enough? So
there's all of those aspects. Is the colostrum being stored adequately?
All of those things kind of tie in together. Just recently,
just in the past week or so, we started into
a fair bit of metro check-in and metric hearing. So,
(22:45):
you know, that's been going in full swing and to
be fair, the results so far have been disappointing is
probably the wrong word, but you know, we've, we've been
treating more than we probably normally would. So I think
a bit of a reflection of the tough start to
Calvin and the tough start to August. So that's, you know,
(23:07):
that's been another sort of wee challenge out there. And then, Yeah,
we're dealing with a little bit of disease. So there's
been some salmonella in some dairy herds. So we're dealing
only with one, fortunately, but the calves have been hit
pretty hard. So we have had it confirmed as bovis morbificans,
which is probably the nastiest form of salmonella. And to
(23:29):
be fair, how nasty it is is probably in the
title when it's bovis morbificans, so dead to bovines. And
that's effectively what it is doing. So we're seeing about
a 30% death rate in the calves that have been affected,
which is pretty high. And that seems to be the
kind of the standard for that particular form of salmonella.
(23:50):
And I know from talking to some of the other
vets in the area that there's a bit of salmonella
happening further south too. So we've been fortunate here in
Northern Southland. We're only dealing with the one case. Haven't
had any Brandenburg in use aborting confirmed. So that's been good.
that's been a real positive. And now that we're at
(24:10):
the stage where sheep pretty much, the vast majority of
ewes are spread out, we shouldn't have any problems from there. So, look,
a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. It's
been busy. I think we've done more calvings this year
than at the same time last year. There's always a
few health challenges around. Town cows have been a bit
(24:33):
of a concern for some people and then for others
no challenges whatsoever so you know a bit of a
mixed bag um as it always is but you know
there's a lot of stuff that you can't control and
you can't really uh worry about that too much just
concentrate on the stuff that you can control and you
know we're in the same boat as well we can't
control what the weather is like we can't control a
whole load of things we can just you know try
(24:55):
and do the best job that we can do each
and every day and hopefully come from the other side
with a smile.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
On our face Based on that, what are your words
to people who are concerned about the lack of feed
at the moment?
Speaker 10 (25:06):
Look, it's a tough one because you have to really
go and try and source some feed from somewhere. And
to be fair, I think there is feed about. There
is baleage around, there is silage around, so there is
a source of feed. People obviously, if they have facilities
(25:26):
for in-shed feeding as well, well, yeah, great, you're going
to be able to ramp that up to a higher
level than what you might normally have done. So there
are certainly options out there. It may seem, certainly the
grass situation here in Northern Southland is tight, but with
a couple of better days of weather that we did have,
(25:48):
I know pretty awful stuff Sunday and Monday, but yesterday
and the day before were pretty good. So you can
actually see that We are looking like we're heading into spring.
The grass has just changed colour a wee bit, and
there's a bit more body to it as well. So, look,
I think things are just about to turn around the corner.
I know the forecast for next wee while is a
(26:12):
bit average again, but things can change, and it is
just a matter of trying to deal with the stuff
that's thrown in front of you and, as I say,
control what you can control and don't worry about the
stuff you can't.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
So this is no different to what we've had to
experience in previous springs?
Speaker 10 (26:29):
Oh, yeah, look, it's probably been a little bit different.
I think probably August this year is certainly worse than
August last year. August last year was pretty good and
then led into some really poor stuff after that. So,
you know, I guess we're not out of the woods
by any means just yet. But, you know, I guess
these things sort of come around and it's just a
(26:50):
case of dealing with it. Some days it's certainly harder
than others. There's no two ways about that. We had
snow on the ground here on Monday night, Tuesday morning.
So it's always tough, and the wind chill was not
particularly nice. But as I say, yesterday and the day before,
we were up at sort of 19 degrees.
Speaker 8 (27:12):
So it's springtime.
Speaker 10 (27:13):
It's changeable, and you just deal with it, enjoy the
sunny days, and just get on with the poor days weather-wise, unfortunately.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Likes of slips and yews, for example, nothing out of
the ordinary to date?
Speaker 10 (27:25):
No, no, it's been really good, actually. For us, certainly,
in Northern Southland, I haven't spoken to any of the
vets further south or over in the Clutha district to
know exactly what's going on over there. But, you know,
certainly from a yew point of view, it's been really good.
No major drama. There have been a few metabolic issues,
(27:48):
especially in some triplet-bearing vets. use but other than that
it's been pretty good yeah things have taken along not
too bad from that point of view.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
The team at NSVETS Morgie if people want to get
in touch what do they do?
Speaker 10 (28:03):
Oh look just pick up the phone give us a
call at Riversdale it's 2025636 or Te Anau it's 2497039
and yeah we're available 24-7.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Morgan Green always good to catch up here's some more
born slippy to see you out Oh thanks Andy Morgan
Green of NSVETS, official animal health advisors to the muster.
Where we're awaited to meet her next, we're catching up
with Michelle Watt in the Country Crossover.
Speaker 5 (28:40):
The Country Crossover, brought to you by Bioactive Soils.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Growing together with healthy soils.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
Become a proactive farmer with Bioactive Ag Fertiliser.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Thanks to Bioactive Soils, we catch up Michelle Watt and
the Country Crossover this afternoon. Good afternoon, Michelle. Return of
the Mac. J-Mac, all going to plan. He's back on
deck next week.
Speaker 7 (29:03):
I hope so, Andy. He's been missed here in the studio.
I don't have anyone to make cups of tea for,
so I'm a bit lost without J-Mac here in the studio,
I'll be honest with you. But we do wish him
all the best. For people out there that have been asking,
and there has been a lot asking, He did text
me and say to pass on. He's suffering from a
very bad case of influenza A. So he's actually been
(29:23):
very unwell for the last two and a bit weeks
and just staying away and recovering. So he is coming back.
He will be back on deck behind the mic at
some point. And no doubt he'll have lots of thoughts
in his brain and needs to get out. So make
sure you listen to that for a show.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
He doesn't do sitting around very well.
Speaker 7 (29:40):
No, I feel for him. He loves his golf, he
loves the studio, he loves talking, you know, researching and
doing stuff, and I think it'll be very hard for him.
It would have been hard for me. I'm a terrible patient,
I'll be honest. I'd be driving the poor person mad
that was at home with me if I was ill
for that long.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Yeah, all the best, Jamie. We know you're listening, so...
Sending our regards and see you back on the tools
next week. We'll go into plan. Hey, springtime's here and
the weather has been a continuation of what we've seen.
It's pretty schizo at the moment.
Speaker 7 (30:09):
Yeah, it's erratic, isn't it? It's all over the place.
But there's typical spring, I think, for New Zealand, especially
in the lower half of the South Island from growing up.
I remember it used to be a bit all over
the place. And it doesn't really settle until, from my memory,
it's usually around February we get more settled weather. It
sort of can be a bit all over the place
up to then.
Speaker 8 (30:27):
Of course... They're.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
Predicting the super El Nino at the moment to happen.
It's already happening or been happening over in Europe and
the U.S. And they're looking to those places to see
what might happen here. Of course, New Zealand is a
little bit different because we're a tiny island that's quite
close to Antarctica. So a little bit different compared to
the likes of Europe, which is a bigger landmass. I mean, yes,
the U.K. is quite close to Antarctica. the Arctic Circle
(30:50):
in some parts, but it's still not the same. It's
a bigger landmass connected to other bigger landmasses.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Interesting as well. A bakery in Hoon Hay, which is
an area you heard about during the earthquakes quite a lot.
But there's a bakery there. Horse pies. What do you
make of them?
Speaker 7 (31:08):
Horse meat pies. Now, as a previous horse girl or
pony club girl, Andy, I probably couldn't go and buy
one and eat one because it just makes me think
of poor old I had tuppence and I had Glen,
and I just don't think I could do it, I'll
be honest with you. I struggle to buy horse meat
as a pet food for my dog. I just can't
(31:29):
do it. I know that sounds very strange, but I
just can't do it. However, would you know the difference
if someone gave you a horse meat pie or a
steak pie?
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Well, possibly not because you never tried it. And I mean,
it's just overseas. You hear of a lot of people
using horse meat as a delicacy, dare I say it.
But the price of these pies alone, $ 9, $ 9.
Speaker 10 (31:46):
50.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
To be honest, you can get a couple of jimmies
for that price alone. Or dare I say it, back
in the old red stripe days, you could have got
three or four.
Speaker 7 (31:54):
What's the strangest thing you've eaten? Because I know you've
spent time overseas, Andy.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Oh, you keep it on straight and narrow. It might
have been like bugs or something sautéed or roasted or
something silly like that. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Speaker 7 (32:07):
I have to say, one day I'd love to get
over to the West Coast, the food festival. That looks
like a lot of fun. I haven't tried a lot
of different stuff. I've eaten things like, obviously, the... I've
eaten hoo-hoo grubs back in the old days when I
was a kid and stuff like that, but not anything else.
So it'd be interesting to go and just branch out
a bit.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
The weirdest thing I've seen, actually, was a couple of
guys who won't be named after rugby one time having
a moth-eating competition.
Speaker 7 (32:32):
Yeah, that sounds like something that goes on in Gore.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
No, that wasn't Balfour back in the day, actually.
Speaker 7 (32:36):
Oh, I wouldn't admit that. It doesn't sound like something
that would happen in Balfour at all.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
No, of course not. You're probably all out doing domes
or something in the valley. It's Madagascar ragwort. Tell us
all about it.
Speaker 7 (32:49):
Okay, so apparently it's a bit of an issue in
Wairarapa and Wellington. It's spreading down there. It's only been
known to be sort of up in the northern regions
of the North Island.
Speaker 8 (32:58):
It's a terrible week.
Speaker 7 (32:59):
Now, interestingly, the reason I know about it, Andy, is
because of Pony Club. So I studied up to my
C certificate. All Pony Club, ex-Pony Club girls out there
will know what I'm talking about. You had to learn
from this little manual and you had to do a
wee test. And one of the tests was actually learning.
Speaker 10 (33:13):
A lot of the weeds.
Speaker 7 (33:15):
And Ragwort was one of the weeds because a lot
of it's based on the UK from Pony Club. But
it's a terrible thing. You sometimes see a little bit
of it down south, but not very often. It looks
a bit like a yellow daisy, and it spreads like anything.
But it's very, very dangerous to livestock, really dangerous and very,
very highly toxic.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
A lot of things like that. I remember lupins at
the wrong time of year. You can lose use of
toxicity reasons, we found out once upon a time. But
just one of those things. If it's not one thing,
it's the other, I suppose. You've got issues of that
up here. We've got issues down here with other things,
like scabby mouth, for example.
Speaker 7 (33:52):
Yeah, exactly. There's always something going on, right, that's spreading
around you've got to keep an eye out for. But
luckily in New Zealand, I mean, our biosecurity systems are
actually pretty good, and we've been very lucky with keeping
a lot of really bad stuff out, like the likes
of blue tongue that's spread through Europe at the moment,
foot and mouth, things like that. I mean, we were
unlucky with some bovis, but they learned a lot from that.
(34:13):
I mean, even though it was absolutely devastating for anyone
that went through that on their farm, they learned a
lot from that situation as well. So We're pretty lucky
here in New Zealand. I mean, we're lucky we're a
tiny island and things can't, it's harder for stuff to
get here. But at the same time, we've got a
really good system in place.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
To wrap up, the New Zealand Waratahs, a.k.a. the New
Zealand Warriors, you're a big fan. You are really on
this bandwagon, eh?
Speaker 7 (34:35):
Oh, I totally am. I forgot how much I loved
league until we've ended up keeping Sky for a little
bit longer at home because of the Live Welter and
Tour de France being on. And I have to say,
the Warriors have been extremely impressive. Of course, they take
on the Sea Eagles tomorrow at 5 o'clock. So I
might have to tune in to that one. But the
Seagulls are quite far down the table, I think, by
(34:55):
the look of things. I think they're nice. So we should,
in theory, beat them. At the moment, we're equal on
points with the Panthers. So looking pretty good. It'd be
a great final for us if we end up making
that final. Because I think it was early 2000s, I think,
was the last time.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Yeah, about 2011 or roundabouts.
Speaker 7 (35:11):
Yeah, how awesome would that be?
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Would you go?
Speaker 7 (35:14):
Oh, I don't know if I'd go, but I'd like
to go.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
Shannon said to me, well, if they make the final,
would you go? But I'm like, um... I hadn't really
thought about that too much, actually. It's not that cheap
to get to Aussie. There'll be packages. They always do
these flights out of Auckland. Whether they occur out of Christchurch, perhaps,
would be another matter. But, look, the game tomorrow, Manly,
the Warriors have already rested a couple of players, a
few players coming in on rotation as well. Manly, they're
(35:39):
missing out on the eight. And if the Warriors win
this game and Penrith don't make up a points differential,
because the Warriors are up by one in the points
at the moment, as far as points differential, they win,
I think it's 200k and something. for being minor premiers.
But ultimately, you want to be there in about a
month's time and have the big trophy. It's all hearsay
at the moment.
Speaker 7 (35:58):
Oh, it's exciting stuff. Maybe we could have our own
southern warriors watching party or something, Andy.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Yeah, we've got to make it first, though. It's a marathon,
not a sprint, Michelle. We'll leave it there. Hey, thanks
for your time. Up the wars.
Speaker 7 (36:11):
Up the wars, mate.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Or the waratahs. Michelle Watt and the Country Crossover. Thanks
to Bioactive Soils. Elliot Smith of Newstalk ZB wraps up.
(36:34):
This is the muster on Hokanui. Before we wrap up
on a Friday, we're catching up with Elliot Smith out
of Newstalk ZB. You can hear his commentaries starting about 3.05,
3.10am on Sunday morning. Doing a fantastic job. And just
following the All Blacks around on this epic tour, the
greatest rivalry it's been called. Elliot, good afternoon slash good morning,
(36:54):
whatever it is where you are. It's been a pretty
full-on tour. And as far as the spectacle, I think
this week is going to be the biggest game yet.
I think so, too.
Speaker 9 (37:05):
Yep, 90-odd thousand in FNB Stadium in Soweto. The stage
is perfectly set, isn't it, for what should be a
magnificent game. We've won all in the series. There's a feeling,
perhaps not officially, from the NZR and South African channels,
but certainly there's a feeling that this is a quasi-series
decider in many ways, even if the losing team could...
(37:30):
you know, draw it next week in Baltimore. The fact
that this is the final test match being played on
South African soil adds plenty to it. And as I say,
the stage is set perfectly. You know, the All Blacks
have shown real signs of life over the last couple
of test matches, winning that first one, clawing their way
back to get within seven points of last week. So,
(37:51):
you know, I think there's plenty to look at and go,
we should have another humdinger between these two sides on
Sunday morning.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
What's the biggest improvement you've seen in this All Blacks
side compared to last year? What stuck out for you?
Speaker 9 (38:05):
Well, the main one I think is attacking structure. And,
you know, towards the end of last year, or even
most of Scott Robertson's reign, we sort of didn't really
know what the attacking structure was. They were still scoring points,
but it was hard to see the overall game plan.
What I think we've seen now from Dave Rennie is
a clear difference and decisive game plan that they want
(38:28):
to use their speed, they want to play at pace,
and they want to stretch the edges and use the
opposition's fitness and perhaps defensive frailties to score points there.
So having that in place and having buy-in from the players,
I think, is really, really important. So that's a positive
to see, and we can see where the All Blacks
(38:50):
want to go to, and they're playing in the way
of their DNA. Look, there have been plenty of other changes,
but I think overall having an attacking game plan in mind,
I think, really sets them apart.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Asafa Al-Mawabin picked at Hokkaido. I'm surprised by this. He's great,
he's dynamic, but his line-out throwing needs work. Would that
be the case?
Speaker 9 (39:11):
Yeah, I think it does need work and needs the
improvements there. But I think they also want to try
and get over the game line against the Springboks early.
And that's certainly what he's capable of. And they probably
could have... you know maybe moved Cody Taylor to the
(39:31):
bench but I think Samuelssoni gives them that impact off
the bench as well but one thing's clear the line
out has to be throwing has to be top notch
and you know that's a question for both of those
players and Look, Cody Taylor has had his issues from
time to time on the line-out throwing front as well.
But it's a key part. It's their core job. So
(39:53):
it's got to be right on Sunday morning. If they
can get it right, then they're both quality players. So
I want to see that first and foremost being the
main part of their game. And look, anything they can
do with ball in hand is a bonus for me.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
So it's a big call.
Speaker 9 (40:10):
And I also like what Amu has been doing off
the bench, apart from the line-out throwing, his carrying against
tired Springboks bodies has been really effective. So I think
you do lose a bit by moving him into the
starting side, but I think it's also a big opportunity
for both of those players. We haven't seen Sam Asoni
much at all this year. Look, if he can take
his opportunity, then it does present some really interesting questions
(40:33):
for the All Blacks selectors for the rest of the year.
The blood is low in the end of year tour.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
Peter Larkai going to blindside. He's going to need a
big physical presence.
Speaker 9 (40:43):
He is, absolutely. And look, this is another change at blindside.
Third straight blindside change the All Blacks have made in
this test series so far. We had Tupo Vai in
the first game. We had Simon Parker last week, obviously.
And now we've got Peter Lukai starting for.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
The All Blacks.
Speaker 9 (41:01):
And I guess there were other changes as well in July.
We saw Wallace Atisi get a chance there. We saw
other players have opportunities, but none have nailed down that juicy.
So a big opportunity for Peter Lakai. I think they'll
want him to try and run around the South African defence,
tire them out earlier. He's such a dynamic player. We've
(41:23):
seen that off the bench the last appearance he had, obviously,
at Cape Town. He was everywhere and into the thick
of it. But he's also got to bring that physicality,
which the South Africans do out of their flankers so well,
the Toi and Khaleesi. So it's a big challenge for
Peter Lakai, probably the biggest test of his career To date,
we know the quality that he possesses, but it's another
(41:45):
step up for him. So I do like the selection,
but he's got to repay the faith of the selectors now.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Razia Rasmus at that press conference after the test in
Cape Town, he seemed to be under pressure from what
I just read in the situation.
Speaker 9 (42:00):
Would you agree with that, with his behaviour? Well, I
think he was under pressure before the game. And I
think the comments he made afterwards were a reflection of that.
And probably, you know, the pressure valve being released a
little bit. I mean, this is a Springboks team that
hasn't lost back-to-back games in four years. And, you know, especially,
(42:22):
you know, protecting that world number one ranking, which they
lost the previous week. There was all sorts of things
going on in that. And he was obviously very annoyed
that the All Blacks had suggested that they walk around
in the scrums. And that's explosively spilled over in the
media conference and the likes of I've really seen in
(42:44):
a post-match media conference. Very, very frustrated.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
But I think you're right.
Speaker 9 (42:48):
It's all about the pressure that he'd been feeling the
week leading up to it because there'd been a lot
of questions around what happens if they go 2-0 down,
where's 2 from here? Well, they won, and it takes
a little bit of the pressure off, but clearly that's
still rankled a bit. His side's scrummaging had been questioned,
and he got his goat up a little bit. The
(43:10):
All Blacks, for their part, are adamant that they're right,
that Springboks are walking around in the scrums, so I
don't think that tale's over yet by any stretch of
the imagination.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
Now, the All Blacks, they're going to try and play
this game at pace while the Bucks slow it down.
Is that our best chance to beat them, to get
that ball wide at every opportunity?
Speaker 9 (43:30):
Look, I think it is, although I want to see
more pressure applied in the first spell and bringing fatigue
into it more. We're playing at altitude, the All Blacks,
on Sunday morning for the umpteenth time in the series.
And you think back to the first test and the
second test last week, which was back at sea level,
They haven't been able to run the Springboks around as
(43:53):
much as they would like in the first spell. And
that has meant that they haven't been able to get
on top until later in the game. They need to
do that better this week, and that means a faster start.
And making sure the Springboks don't score the first points
and get a roll on out to 5, 7, 10,
or whatever points. it might be so that's part one
(44:13):
and for me part two i would like to see
the all blacks build more pressure inside the spring box
22 not try to score off first or second phase
i get why they try to do that a lot
because they think it's their best way of striking but
i think if you build pressure it obviously there is
a risk that someone's going to knock it on at
some point but the more tackles you ask the Springboks
to make inside their own 22, the more chance of penalties,
(44:36):
the more tackles you build up over the course of
the game, and fatigue comes into it quicker. So I
just like the All Blacks to be a little bit
more patient at times, and as I say, build some pressure.
when they're on the attack inside the Springboks 22, if
they possibly can, because I think that's going to get
them a better chance of winning at Soweto.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
A lot of talk about this flyover last weekend. Actually,
it's gone around the world, as you would have gathered.
What did you make of it?
Speaker 9 (45:01):
I thought it was awesome. I think it's a real
shame that it's been cancelled for this third test this weekend.
I looked it in and I thought, um geez those
plans are quite low but of course that's an optical
illusion when you're looking from further away and you see
them come close and you go okay it's close but
it's not that close um i thought it was spectacular
it was amazing as you say it's been the talk
(45:23):
of everywhere around the world and unfortunately you know they're
probably i'm not sure they're contributed to or not but
the reaction in New Zealand going on about how unsafe
it was kind of showed why we can never do
anything like that in New Zealand because we just moaned
about it. It was a lot of people from sort
of 20,000 miles away putting their opinion across rather than
(45:45):
the ones that actually saw it in the stadium. As
I say, I thought it was spectacular. I was looking
forward to it again this weekend. I think it's a
great part of the build-up of the game and a
real shame that it won't be happening this week because, yeah,
it makes the... The hairs stand up on the back
of your neck in a good way and I think
has been a great part of the pre-match entertainment.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
Just finally, Elliot, what's going to happen? What's the prediction
for a score?
Speaker 3 (46:13):
Oh, I don't know.
Speaker 9 (46:14):
I thought the All Blacks would win by three in
the first game. I thought they'd win by four last week.
I think they'll win by two this week. I think
it's going to be close again, but I think the
All Blacks can do it. They have the game plan
to do it, but it's going to take an almighty
effort to knock these Springboks off once again.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
I've got them by two in our tennis sweepstake, Elliot.
I like your thinking. Have a great call on Saturday night,
of course. People can hear it on Newstalk ZB, and
go the ABs. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (46:44):
Cheers, Andy.
Speaker 5 (46:47):
Laugh out loud with Ag Proud, because life on the
land can be a laughing matter.
Speaker 1 (46:53):
Brought to us by Shearwell Data, working to help the
livestock farmer. Why did the boat dock with all of
the other boats? Hair pressure. That's us over in Dunmouth
for the week, remembering the best of the muster is
happening tomorrow morning at 5am. I'm Andy Muir. The muster,
of course, is brought to you by Peter's Genetics. Go
(47:16):
the Stags. Up the Waz. Go the ABs. See you Monday.
Nathan Abernethy of Regional 4 catches up once again as
we do every Friday. Good afternoon, Nathan.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yeah, good afternoon, Andy. A pretty ordinary Friday. It is
out there too, weather-wise, that's for sure. But look, in
the showroom here, it's all right. It's nice and warm.
Great place to be. So if anybody's around and they're
thinking vehicles, by all means, come in and see us.
We've got the team on deck. We've got plenty of
new options there for you. We've got plenty of used
options there as well. Just a great car that's just
actually came in this morning, Andy. A 2016 Ford Mondeo Titanium.
(00:29):
This is the top-of-the-line five-door hatch. It's travelled 89,000 k's.
Two-litre petrol engine. Automatic. Beautiful car. Leather seats. Heated seats.
They're quite a big car. They're actually a good replacement
even for Falcon or Commodore. Size-wise, very, very good. Huge
boot in them. And for $ 17, 990, it's all New Zealand new.
(00:50):
It's white. It's on the 19-inch alloy wheels. Really is
a smart car. So that's in here this afternoon. Plenty
of double-cab trucks and trucks coming through. Plenty of SUVs.
Just come in and see us. As always, doors will
be open at half past nine in the morning through
till 12. But we're on the other end of the phone.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
If you need us.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Good on you, mate. Enjoy the weekend.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
You do the same. Thanks, Andy.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
One more time. One more time.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Good afternoon and welcome to the muster on Hokonui. Andy
Muir here. And the show is brought to you, of course,
by Peters Genetics on a damp afternoon here in Gore
for your fry eight. A few dirty showers happening this morning.
Yesterday was a peachy day. Phil Duncan of Weather Watch
looks at the weather for the next seven days in
depth for the south as well. So hopefully we start
(01:50):
seeing a bit of big yellow down here in the
deep south as we get into the busy season on farm.
Tunes for today, though, we're keeping it a bit more
funkier and a bit more vibey. A few dance numbers
you might know. This one here, the French duo Daft Punk.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Oh, yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
One more time.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Hakanui's five-day forecast with Twin Farm, Tefrom and Softex. The
proof is in the progeny.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
This afternoon, thunderstorms, a breezy westerlies and 8 degrees. Saturday, showers,
a breezy nor'westerlies, 5 and 13. Sunday, rain with calm
variable winds, 4 and 9. Monday, cloudy with light easterlies,
3 and 10. And Tuesday morning, showers, a breezy westerlies
and I haven't wrote the temperature down, but no doubt,
logical suggest on Monday, look out the window and probably
(02:42):
be able to feel it when you stick your head
out there for a bit of a wander. Our soil
temperatures as we carry on. Clinton 7.3, Heria 8.3, Northern
Southland 8.8, Riverton 10, Te Arawa 9.1, Titaroa 8.7, Winter
9.1 and Woodlands at 8.8. Phil Duncan of Weatherwatch giving
a rundown on the southern forecast for the next seven
(03:03):
days gets us underway. Brendan Howden based over at Benmore.
The use of technology on farms in springtime and how
he goes into a bit of depth about drones. Morgan
Green of NSF, looking at the situation we're seeing at
the moment, busy in calving, busy in lambing, and just
the ground conditions has been trying. Morgan's got some words
(03:24):
of wisdom to share. Michelle Watt joins us in the
country crossover, and then Elliot Smith. Commentary available on Newstalk ZB,
of course. That's Elliot doing a fantastic job. following the
ABs over there in South Africa. It's all at Soccer
City in Soweto this Sunday morning. Elliot gives a rundown
and a preview of the game and what to expect.
(03:45):
So without further ado, we'll carry on. Oh, by the way,
as well, go onto the Mustard and Hokanui Facebook page.
The Meatbox is giving away a $ 100 voucher. You've got
to go on there and comment somebody that wants to
win a bit of a treat ahead of the weekend.
Start the hour next with Phil Duncan. This is the must-do.
(04:13):
It is time to catch up with Phil Duncan of Weatherwatch.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
And I'm here to remind you of the mess you
left when you went away. It's not fair to deny
me a request.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
G'day Phil. G'day, g'day.
Speaker 7 (04:38):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I'm going pretty good. The weather down here has not
been settled though. Yesterday was a beautiful day around 17 degrees.
The last day of August was arguably the worst day
of winter. What's happening in spring? What are you doing?
Speaker 8 (04:55):
Can I phone a friend? 50-50? I don't want to
answer it. Yeah, 50-50. Yeah, it's pretty messy at the moment.
We're in a what I would call a classic start
to spring, where it still feels a lot more like winter,
but you do get these brief moments where it warms
up and you think, oh, we're all coming to an
(05:17):
end with it. But because of El Nino, which is
still intensifying, that is warming up the sea well to
the northeast of New Zealand. So the more it warms up,
the warm air rises. And so as the air rises,
as the sea warms up, it changes things down in
our part.
Speaker 9 (05:33):
Of the world.
Speaker 8 (05:33):
And it sort of acts like a bit of a
vacuum with these southwesterly winds that keep blowing through, adds
a wee bit more oomph to them. And so we're
certainly getting there. And to be honest with you, there
is no immediate end in sight. But we do have
some big high-pressure zones that are moving south of Australia
next week. That's actually going to dredge up colder weather
(05:54):
for us, colder than what we've got at the moment, potentially.
In fact, quite likely, I think, later next week, there
is a significant winter outbreak there It's not locked in
just yet, but it is all about this huge high
south of Australia. So I'm optimistic that that high might
reach New Zealand. But because of the strong southwest flow
(06:15):
through the Tasman Sea, a high pressure system that's tracking
eastwards underneath Australia, south of Australia, moves to the Tasman
and then gets kind of pushed northeast. And it can
sometimes slide up to the north of New Zealand and
not cross over us. That's possible that we could still
be in a windy setup right through into the middle
to later part of the month.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Are we able to find a friend for an alternative answer?
Speaker 8 (06:40):
Yeah, who do you want to... I'll ring Mets first.
Put it on them. Make them shoulder it.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Vehicle.
Speaker 8 (06:51):
To be honest with you, it's normal for this time
of the year to be getting such wild weather, but
it's a little more... repetitive than may be usual. Normally
we get bursts of wind and then it calms down
and we get a period of three or four days
where it's quite lovely and then it turns rubbish again.
But at the moment, we're sort of only having a
very short one or two day window. And even then,
(07:12):
it's probably got a gale force westerly, even if it's
sunny and warm. So it is a bit of everything
at the moment, that is for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Wind chill is going to be the big one for
a lot of people then. Is that going to continue
to be a concern?
Speaker 8 (07:24):
Yeah, I think it will be. Maybe not quite so
much today and this weekend, even though it isn't, you know,
the flashes today. But the wind chill could be more
of a problem next week. So Thursday, Friday next week
is when we expect this next polar surge to come through. Now,
the wind chill, just looking now at ruralweather.co.nz for Gore,
(07:45):
wind chill's not too bad, but it is bad. You know,
like it's not good for a newborn animal when it's
down around zero or minus one, minus two at times.
So we will get some colder air. So just looking
at the actual air temperatures, though, maximum on Wednesday is
13 or 14. Thursday, it's only 7. That is the
maximum temperature. And then Friday, Saturday, Sunday, next weekend, it's
(08:09):
around sort of 8 or 9 degrees. Overnight lows of
around 3 or 4. So it's cold, winter-like. But it's
not necessarily like, you know, a midwinter polar event. So
it is slightly warmer than what we'd get in winter,
but it's slightly colder than what you'd probably like for spring.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Are we going to get a lot of rain?
Speaker 8 (08:29):
So you are getting a fair, not necessarily huge amounts
of rain, but sort of a number of days that
have wet weather, averaging sort of around.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
8, 10 degrees.
Speaker 8 (08:38):
8 to 10 millimetres each day. So we've got that,
you've got about 5 or 6 millimetres today, and that'll
be higher for western parts of the region. Could be
double that. 8 or 9 millimetres tomorrow, and this is
for Gore. Not too much Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, but then Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
(08:59):
across the end of next week and next weekend, you're
averaging around about 9 or so millimetres a day. So
it's not huge amounts, But it's kind of coming in
each day, and that adds up to being, you know, 60,
70 millimetres after a week or so has gone by.
And again, if you're on the western side, if you're
out over towards Lumsden and further to the west, those
(09:20):
rainfall numbers could be higher. We are expecting about 300
millimetres on the west coast over the next week. And
because we've got low pressure coming in on Sunday, that's
going to stretch out over to the eastern side of
the island. And when it does that, we get rainfall
in eastern areas. So Canterbury, for example, Not always the
case with a north-west centre, but when that low crosses
(09:41):
actually over the island, rain can be transferred quite easily
from west coast to east coast, and Southland being below
most of that could get brushed by a bit of
that as well. So it's a bit of a messy forecast,
to be honest.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Is there any chance of these winds next week drying
out the top of the ground?
Speaker 8 (09:59):
Probably not to. much. The strongest of the winds are
today and tomorrow, where you've got these gusts up to
gale force in exposed areas, on the hilltops in particular.
But the winds ease back on Sunday as that low
comes in, because the centre of the low will be
quite close to you, so it's usually fairly calm. Not
a lot of wind around Monday, Tuesday. And then as
we go into the later part of next week, when
(10:21):
we get that polar change, it could be another surge
of strong westerlies for northern Southland and perhaps a bit
more southwesterly for coastal Southland.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Yeah, interesting as always, Phil Duncan. You enjoy the weekend.
We always appreciate your time. And I'll be honest, I'd
like to use the phone a friend option, please.
Speaker 8 (10:39):
Yeah, we'll do that next week.
Speaker 10 (10:40):
We'll get someone sorted.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Phil Duncan of Weatherwatch every Friday here on the muster.
Go and follow him on his social channels. Does a
great job doing the forecast, especially for rural New Zealand.
Brenton Howden's up next, based out of Benmore. This is
the muster. This is the muster on Hakanui for a
(11:08):
Friday afternoon. The artist there is Avicii, the late great Avicii.
The song is Levels as we head over to Benmore
in central Southland and we catch up with Brenton Howden
farming over that way on the road between Benmore and Ditton.
Good afternoon Howdy, how's things in your neck of the woods?
Speaker 3 (11:27):
G'day Andy, things aren't too bad. It's certainly wet but
sun's trying to poke through so we'll take what we
can get.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
For the first week of September, like the last couple
of years, is this a continuation?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I think so, yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if it's
just as wet as the last two. I hope not, but, yeah,
I'd say it will be.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So what are your, like, ground condition-wise there? What's happening?
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Oh, she's fairly wet, yeah. Everywhere you drive, splat marks.
So not lambing just yet. I don't start till Monday,
but still got to get around and check things. Yeah.
It's a hell of a mess.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Have you had a few earlies?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I had 200 earlies back about the 3rd of August
that weren't supposed to, but luckily we got them out
at scanning and they were all done and dusted by
about the 15th.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Who was the culprit there? Bloody a rig on the
loose or something?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Yeah, something like that, yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Well, you know, get some early season premiums for them
if you've got some grass for them.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Yeah, it'll soften the workload a bit in the next
couple of weeks, but put a bit of pressure on feed,
but Yeah, we'll get there.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
So you've managed to get them through okay to this stage,
like death rate and everything? It hasn't been too bad?
Speaker 3 (12:40):
No, they've been pretty good, yeah. Once they all sort
of lamb down, I move them to some paddocks that
are not normally that nice to lamb in. So, yeah,
it's kind of handy in that regard. Yeah, it's worked
out all right.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
How are your covers looking?
Speaker 9 (12:56):
Gone.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Nah, that's still not too bad. I'm pretty happy with
sort of where they are, considering there's a couple of
paddocks that are a wee bit there, but just spread
a few issues out in those ones and a few
extras in the ones that solid them, make it work, yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
No, just to believe... Sorry, mate, the feed's been pretty
slow for the first week of September, but you're not
too concerned about things on a whole day, like the
feed will come?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
It should come. I've put plenty of nitrogen on just about...
probably 80% of the lambing paddocks have nitrogen, and it
should grow as we get a bit of heat, and, yeah,
it should come right. Yeah, it's definitely been a sandstorm
for the last 10 days since I spread the ewes out.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yeah. I suppose if there's one positive at the moment
is the fact that the temperatures are around the double-digit mark.
I mean, what we had the other day was about
four or whatever. Yesterday was one out of the box,
being 17, 18 degrees. But just staying in double digits
at least, it's a saving grace.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Yeah, definitely. If you can stay in double digits, we'll
get a bit of growth, and as long as you
don't drive over too much of it, it'll come away. Yeah,
that Monday, that was the coldest day of winter, I reckon.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
August the 31st, it'll go down in history as being
one of the worst days we've had for the last
day of winter for a very long time, and that's
just a southern persona, right? It's just going to bite
you in the butt every now and then.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Yeah, yeah, I just don't want to say it, but
that old saying, I won't let you down.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
You use technology for going around the yews at the moment.
You've got the drone out and about before you crank
into gear.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Yeah, I've bought a drone this year and I've been
using that. Instead of going around twice for the day
at the moment, I've just been going around once and
then using the drone the other time. If anything needs
tipped up or whatnot, shoot straight to those paddocks. Yeah,
just saves making as much marks on the paddock. It's
definitely been really handy actually.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
So how long does it take you to go around
the lambing beat doing a drone?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
About 35 minutes, 40 minutes, get around the whole lot,
as opposed to three hours.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Far out. And what did the drone cost you? Was
it a big outlay?
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Nah, it was about $ 2, 000. It wasn't too bad. Yeah,
I see it, yeah, a lot of uses for it
going forward, definitely.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You just don't want to crash it?
Speaker 3 (15:18):
No, but they've got all their own safety stuff on it.
You've actually got to try and crash them these days.
They've got sensors and whatnot.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Oh, wow. So how far can a drone go away
from the house as such? What's the range on it?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Oh, I think it'll go a fair way. It'll go
until it knows it's got enough battery to get back, basically.
And once it gets down to a certain battery level,
it makes its own way back, backlakes its course back
and comes straight back. You don't have to fly it back.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
So what are the dimensions? How big would it be?
How wide, say, 18 inches?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
It's probably just a little bit bigger than an A4
bit of paper. Sort of wide, and then it's, I
don't know, two inches tall, three inches tall.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
That's crazy.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Yeah, it's not very big, but yeah, very, very good
camera on it. Like, you can be quite high up
and zoom right in.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
And yeah, it's... When drones first got talked about and
the cynics said, well, what's the point of going out?
Why be a farmer if you're going to do it
from your doorstep? But I think with the way the
weather conditions have been and you made the observation, leaving
the black marks out of the paddock due to the
saturation point we're seeing, it's actually pretty wise thinking.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, I'm like, what's the point of driving around that
paddock if there's nothing going on in there? Yeah, like
yesterday I went around and I seen two cast ewes.
I just went straight to those paddocks, tipped them up
and then, yeah. Then we did went around them on
the bike in the afternoon, but, yeah, it was just
safe driving around for no reason.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
What do the animals make of the drone? They won't
even notice it, I suppose.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Oh, if you get close enough, they move. I did
muster a mile of a sheep with it a couple
of months ago on my rough bit. Yeah, they'd know
it's there if you get close enough.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Mustering by a drone, that must have felt quite a
hard case.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Yeah, I just thought I'd see how it'd go, and
I did the job.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
So you reckon it's the equivalent of half a labour unit,
almost a labour unit at the moment?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Oh, it can be at times, yeah. Like, they've definitely
got their place, but they do have their limitations too. Like,
they don't open gates and they don't cast us over,
but yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Well, you don't need to. You can just fly around
and not have to worry about that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
No, that's right. No, I think it's well worth the investment.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
So what, you just charge it up at night, just
minimal charge time, and whoosh, you're away.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Yeah, it comes with three batteries. You don't have to, yeah,
they all charge up pretty quick. So you get about
30 to 40 miles flight out of a battery just
depending on the wind and, yeah, how much moving around
you do.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Do you know of many other people who have started
doing this as well, Howdy, as far as early lambing stage?
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Yeah, I think there was a couple of guys on
the country team that had them or were talking about
getting them just to, Yeah, just try and minimise those
losses through past years, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense as well. If
you can work smarter, not harder, that's the thought that
comes to mind.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Yeah, definitely. Yep, yep, you've just got to find all these.
It's the same with any technology. It's all just a tool.
It's how you use them, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Did you buy it online or just go into Invis
and have a look in a couple of shops there?
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yeah, that's pretty much what I did. Yeah, I went
to one of the shops in there and, yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
Oh, interesting.
Speaker 7 (18:23):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Oh, well, it just shows your technology certainly has its place.
But just to wrap up, though, we'll talk a bit
of footy. You talked about Southland Country before. You guys
had a really good win on the weekend for your
last game betting at Tiger Country. That's the big grudge
match for you guys.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
It is, yes. That's the best match. That's the one
we should aim for. The Southland Town game's a big one, too,
but I always think the Tiger Country ones were the
one you want to make sure you win. We hadn't
won it since 2021, so it was good to get
the win over them Over the game, we drew with
them last year, but we got the win this year,
so we took home the Donaghy Shield for the first time.
It's been played between us for the last three or
(19:02):
four years now, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Jeez, you won a few Shields this year, haven't you?
Speaker 3 (19:06):
A couple, yeah. That one's sitting in my lounge at
the moment. I just need the Galbraiths parked upside it,
and we're looking pretty good.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
So who's got the Galbraiths? Do you have turns about
like a month each or a couple of weeks at
someone's house or wall shed or whatever, or what's the go?
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yeah, we're just sort of sharing it around. I think
Tom Simmers got it at the moment. Yeah, going to
get it next for a while and, yeah, share it
around and, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Share the love.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
For a wedding or a birthday, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Oh, too good. Hey, good on you, mate. We'll let
you carry on. Go and get that drone going and, yeah,
and all the best for lambing. We'll catch up again.
Always appreciate the chat.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
No, cheers, Andy, Good luck to everyone out there.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Brenton Howden of Benmore, the hub of technology by the
sounds of it. Morgan Green's up next out of NS Fest.
Let's just talk about the situation we're seeing at the moment.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
The musters animal health segment with NS Vets. Adding value
through practical advice and service. No gimmicks, no potions, total
vet care.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
One of the greatest songs of the greatest soundtracks of
the great movies of all time. It is Underworld with
Born Slippy from Trainspotting back in 1995, just for Morgan
Green of NS Vets. Good afternoon, Morgie.
Speaker 9 (20:36):
Thank you, Andy.
Speaker 10 (20:37):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Good afternoon, Andy. That chain just takes you back. It's cool.
Speaker 10 (20:43):
Oh, look, it certainly does. It was a heck of
a movie, and it was while I was at university,
and actually we had– there was– vet colleges in Edinburgh
and in Glasgow. So, you know, it resonated a wee bit,
the whole thing.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Jeez, mate, we're sounding old.
Speaker 10 (21:05):
We can probably leave it at that.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Now, out there in the fields, paddocks and the likes
at the moment, the milking parlours, you guys will be
on the ground. It's the middle of getting through calving now.
Labbing's about to kick into gear. It's all go.
Speaker 10 (21:18):
Oh, look, it is. And in many different respects. calving
for a lot of people is well through there's lots
of cows in milk Sam in particular has been doing
lots of colostrum visits so just seeing what's happening in
(21:40):
the colostrum period just making sure that everybody is dotting
their I's and crossing T's from the point of view
of their processes and procedures because that then sets those
cows up um, for the milking herd. And it's, you know,
it's really important. So, you know, that's been one thing
that's been really busy and then tied in with that,
doing a lot of blood testing of calves to see
(22:02):
have they actually received enough colostrum so we can test, um,
total protein in the serum, in the blood serum of
the calves. And that gives us an idea, look, actually,
have they received enough colostrum? Because that then allows us
to have a bit of a retrospective look at what's
been happening from the point of view of calves getting colostrum.
(22:24):
Are they getting it quickly enough? Are they getting enough
of it? Is the quality of it good enough? So
there's all of those aspects. Is the colostrum being stored adequately?
All of those things kind of tie in together. Just recently,
just in the past week or so, we started into
a fair bit of metro check-in and metric hearing. So,
(22:45):
you know, that's been going in full swing and to
be fair, the results so far have been disappointing is
probably the wrong word, but you know, we've, we've been
treating more than we probably normally would. So I think
a bit of a reflection of the tough start to
Calvin and the tough start to August. So that's, you know,
(23:07):
that's been another sort of wee challenge out there. And then, Yeah,
we're dealing with a little bit of disease. So there's
been some salmonella in some dairy herds. So we're dealing
only with one, fortunately, but the calves have been hit
pretty hard. So we have had it confirmed as bovis morbificans,
which is probably the nastiest form of salmonella. And to
(23:29):
be fair, how nasty it is is probably in the
title when it's bovis morbificans, so dead to bovines. And
that's effectively what it is doing. So we're seeing about
a 30% death rate in the calves that have been affected,
which is pretty high. And that seems to be the
kind of the standard for that particular form of salmonella.
(23:50):
And I know from talking to some of the other
vets in the area that there's a bit of salmonella
happening further south too. So we've been fortunate here in
Northern Southland. We're only dealing with the one case. Haven't
had any Brandenburg in use aborting confirmed. So that's been good.
that's been a real positive. And now that we're at
(24:10):
the stage where sheep pretty much, the vast majority of
ewes are spread out, we shouldn't have any problems from there. So, look,
a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. It's
been busy. I think we've done more calvings this year
than at the same time last year. There's always a
few health challenges around. Town cows have been a bit
(24:33):
of a concern for some people and then for others
no challenges whatsoever so you know a bit of a
mixed bag um as it always is but you know
there's a lot of stuff that you can't control and
you can't really uh worry about that too much just
concentrate on the stuff that you can control and you
know we're in the same boat as well we can't
control what the weather is like we can't control a
whole load of things we can just you know try
(24:55):
and do the best job that we can do each
and every day and hopefully come from the other side
with a smile.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
On our face Based on that, what are your words
to people who are concerned about the lack of feed
at the moment?
Speaker 10 (25:06):
Look, it's a tough one because you have to really
go and try and source some feed from somewhere. And
to be fair, I think there is feed about. There
is baleage around, there is silage around, so there is
a source of feed. People obviously, if they have facilities
(25:26):
for in-shed feeding as well, well, yeah, great, you're going
to be able to ramp that up to a higher
level than what you might normally have done. So there
are certainly options out there. It may seem, certainly the
grass situation here in Northern Southland is tight, but with
a couple of better days of weather that we did have,
(25:48):
I know pretty awful stuff Sunday and Monday, but yesterday
and the day before were pretty good. So you can
actually see that We are looking like we're heading into spring.
The grass has just changed colour a wee bit, and
there's a bit more body to it as well. So, look,
I think things are just about to turn around the corner.
I know the forecast for next wee while is a
(26:12):
bit average again, but things can change, and it is
just a matter of trying to deal with the stuff
that's thrown in front of you and, as I say,
control what you can control and don't worry about the
stuff you can't.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
So this is no different to what we've had to
experience in previous springs?
Speaker 10 (26:29):
Oh, yeah, look, it's probably been a little bit different.
I think probably August this year is certainly worse than
August last year. August last year was pretty good and
then led into some really poor stuff after that. So,
you know, I guess we're not out of the woods
by any means just yet. But, you know, I guess
these things sort of come around and it's just a
(26:50):
case of dealing with it. Some days it's certainly harder
than others. There's no two ways about that. We had
snow on the ground here on Monday night, Tuesday morning.
So it's always tough, and the wind chill was not
particularly nice. But as I say, yesterday and the day before,
we were up at sort of 19 degrees.
Speaker 8 (27:12):
So it's springtime.
Speaker 10 (27:13):
It's changeable, and you just deal with it, enjoy the
sunny days, and just get on with the poor days weather-wise, unfortunately.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Likes of slips and yews, for example, nothing out of
the ordinary to date?
Speaker 10 (27:25):
No, no, it's been really good, actually. For us, certainly,
in Northern Southland, I haven't spoken to any of the
vets further south or over in the Clutha district to
know exactly what's going on over there. But, you know,
certainly from a yew point of view, it's been really good.
No major drama. There have been a few metabolic issues,
(27:48):
especially in some triplet-bearing vets. use but other than that
it's been pretty good yeah things have taken along not
too bad from that point of view.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
The team at NSVETS Morgie if people want to get
in touch what do they do?
Speaker 10 (28:03):
Oh look just pick up the phone give us a
call at Riversdale it's 2025636 or Te Anau it's 2497039
and yeah we're available 24-7.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Morgan Green always good to catch up here's some more
born slippy to see you out Oh thanks Andy Morgan
Green of NSVETS, official animal health advisors to the muster.
Where we're awaited to meet her next, we're catching up
with Michelle Watt in the Country Crossover.
Speaker 5 (28:40):
The Country Crossover, brought to you by Bioactive Soils.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Growing together with healthy soils.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
Become a proactive farmer with Bioactive Ag Fertiliser.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Thanks to Bioactive Soils, we catch up Michelle Watt and
the Country Crossover this afternoon. Good afternoon, Michelle. Return of
the Mac. J-Mac, all going to plan. He's back on
deck next week.
Speaker 7 (29:03):
I hope so, Andy. He's been missed here in the studio.
I don't have anyone to make cups of tea for,
so I'm a bit lost without J-Mac here in the studio,
I'll be honest with you. But we do wish him
all the best. For people out there that have been asking,
and there has been a lot asking, He did text
me and say to pass on. He's suffering from a
very bad case of influenza A. So he's actually been
(29:23):
very unwell for the last two and a bit weeks
and just staying away and recovering. So he is coming back.
He will be back on deck behind the mic at
some point. And no doubt he'll have lots of thoughts
in his brain and needs to get out. So make
sure you listen to that for a show.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
He doesn't do sitting around very well.
Speaker 7 (29:40):
No, I feel for him. He loves his golf, he
loves the studio, he loves talking, you know, researching and
doing stuff, and I think it'll be very hard for him.
It would have been hard for me. I'm a terrible patient,
I'll be honest. I'd be driving the poor person mad
that was at home with me if I was ill
for that long.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Yeah, all the best, Jamie. We know you're listening, so...
Sending our regards and see you back on the tools
next week. We'll go into plan. Hey, springtime's here and
the weather has been a continuation of what we've seen.
It's pretty schizo at the moment.
Speaker 7 (30:09):
Yeah, it's erratic, isn't it? It's all over the place.
But there's typical spring, I think, for New Zealand, especially
in the lower half of the South Island from growing up.
I remember it used to be a bit all over
the place. And it doesn't really settle until, from my memory,
it's usually around February we get more settled weather. It
sort of can be a bit all over the place
up to then.
Speaker 8 (30:27):
Of course... They're.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
Predicting the super El Nino at the moment to happen.
It's already happening or been happening over in Europe and
the U.S. And they're looking to those places to see
what might happen here. Of course, New Zealand is a
little bit different because we're a tiny island that's quite
close to Antarctica. So a little bit different compared to
the likes of Europe, which is a bigger landmass. I mean, yes,
the U.K. is quite close to Antarctica. the Arctic Circle
(30:50):
in some parts, but it's still not the same. It's
a bigger landmass connected to other bigger landmasses.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Interesting as well. A bakery in Hoon Hay, which is
an area you heard about during the earthquakes quite a lot.
But there's a bakery there. Horse pies. What do you
make of them?
Speaker 7 (31:08):
Horse meat pies. Now, as a previous horse girl or
pony club girl, Andy, I probably couldn't go and buy
one and eat one because it just makes me think
of poor old I had tuppence and I had Glen,
and I just don't think I could do it, I'll
be honest with you. I struggle to buy horse meat
as a pet food for my dog. I just can't
(31:29):
do it. I know that sounds very strange, but I
just can't do it. However, would you know the difference
if someone gave you a horse meat pie or a
steak pie?
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Well, possibly not because you never tried it. And I mean,
it's just overseas. You hear of a lot of people
using horse meat as a delicacy, dare I say it.
But the price of these pies alone, $ 9, $ 9.
Speaker 10 (31:46):
50.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
To be honest, you can get a couple of jimmies
for that price alone. Or dare I say it, back
in the old red stripe days, you could have got
three or four.
Speaker 7 (31:54):
What's the strangest thing you've eaten? Because I know you've
spent time overseas, Andy.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Oh, you keep it on straight and narrow. It might
have been like bugs or something sautéed or roasted or
something silly like that. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Speaker 7 (32:07):
I have to say, one day I'd love to get
over to the West Coast, the food festival. That looks
like a lot of fun. I haven't tried a lot
of different stuff. I've eaten things like, obviously, the... I've
eaten hoo-hoo grubs back in the old days when I
was a kid and stuff like that, but not anything else.
So it'd be interesting to go and just branch out
a bit.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
The weirdest thing I've seen, actually, was a couple of
guys who won't be named after rugby one time having
a moth-eating competition.
Speaker 7 (32:32):
Yeah, that sounds like something that goes on in Gore.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
No, that wasn't Balfour back in the day, actually.
Speaker 7 (32:36):
Oh, I wouldn't admit that. It doesn't sound like something
that would happen in Balfour at all.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
No, of course not. You're probably all out doing domes
or something in the valley. It's Madagascar ragwort. Tell us
all about it.
Speaker 7 (32:49):
Okay, so apparently it's a bit of an issue in
Wairarapa and Wellington. It's spreading down there. It's only been
known to be sort of up in the northern regions
of the North Island.
Speaker 8 (32:58):
It's a terrible week.
Speaker 7 (32:59):
Now, interestingly, the reason I know about it, Andy, is
because of Pony Club. So I studied up to my
C certificate. All Pony Club, ex-Pony Club girls out there
will know what I'm talking about. You had to learn
from this little manual and you had to do a
wee test. And one of the tests was actually learning.
Speaker 10 (33:13):
A lot of the weeds.
Speaker 7 (33:15):
And Ragwort was one of the weeds because a lot
of it's based on the UK from Pony Club. But
it's a terrible thing. You sometimes see a little bit
of it down south, but not very often. It looks
a bit like a yellow daisy, and it spreads like anything.
But it's very, very dangerous to livestock, really dangerous and very,
very highly toxic.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
A lot of things like that. I remember lupins at
the wrong time of year. You can lose use of
toxicity reasons, we found out once upon a time. But
just one of those things. If it's not one thing,
it's the other, I suppose. You've got issues of that
up here. We've got issues down here with other things,
like scabby mouth, for example.
Speaker 7 (33:52):
Yeah, exactly. There's always something going on, right, that's spreading
around you've got to keep an eye out for. But
luckily in New Zealand, I mean, our biosecurity systems are
actually pretty good, and we've been very lucky with keeping
a lot of really bad stuff out, like the likes
of blue tongue that's spread through Europe at the moment,
foot and mouth, things like that. I mean, we were
unlucky with some bovis, but they learned a lot from that.
(34:13):
I mean, even though it was absolutely devastating for anyone
that went through that on their farm, they learned a
lot from that situation as well. So We're pretty lucky
here in New Zealand. I mean, we're lucky we're a
tiny island and things can't, it's harder for stuff to
get here. But at the same time, we've got a
really good system in place.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
To wrap up, the New Zealand Waratahs, a.k.a. the New
Zealand Warriors, you're a big fan. You are really on
this bandwagon, eh?
Speaker 7 (34:35):
Oh, I totally am. I forgot how much I loved
league until we've ended up keeping Sky for a little
bit longer at home because of the Live Welter and
Tour de France being on. And I have to say,
the Warriors have been extremely impressive. Of course, they take
on the Sea Eagles tomorrow at 5 o'clock. So I
might have to tune in to that one. But the
Seagulls are quite far down the table, I think, by
(34:55):
the look of things. I think they're nice. So we should,
in theory, beat them. At the moment, we're equal on
points with the Panthers. So looking pretty good. It'd be
a great final for us if we end up making
that final. Because I think it was early 2000s, I think,
was the last time.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Yeah, about 2011 or roundabouts.
Speaker 7 (35:11):
Yeah, how awesome would that be?
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Would you go?
Speaker 7 (35:14):
Oh, I don't know if I'd go, but I'd like
to go.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
Shannon said to me, well, if they make the final,
would you go? But I'm like, um... I hadn't really
thought about that too much, actually. It's not that cheap
to get to Aussie. There'll be packages. They always do
these flights out of Auckland. Whether they occur out of Christchurch, perhaps,
would be another matter. But, look, the game tomorrow, Manly,
the Warriors have already rested a couple of players, a
few players coming in on rotation as well. Manly, they're
(35:39):
missing out on the eight. And if the Warriors win
this game and Penrith don't make up a points differential,
because the Warriors are up by one in the points
at the moment, as far as points differential, they win,
I think it's 200k and something. for being minor premiers.
But ultimately, you want to be there in about a
month's time and have the big trophy. It's all hearsay
at the moment.
Speaker 7 (35:58):
Oh, it's exciting stuff. Maybe we could have our own
southern warriors watching party or something, Andy.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Yeah, we've got to make it first, though. It's a marathon,
not a sprint, Michelle. We'll leave it there. Hey, thanks
for your time. Up the wars.
Speaker 7 (36:11):
Up the wars, mate.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Or the waratahs. Michelle Watt and the Country Crossover. Thanks
to Bioactive Soils. Elliot Smith of Newstalk ZB wraps up.
(36:34):
This is the muster on Hokanui. Before we wrap up
on a Friday, we're catching up with Elliot Smith out
of Newstalk ZB. You can hear his commentaries starting about 3.05,
3.10am on Sunday morning. Doing a fantastic job. And just
following the All Blacks around on this epic tour, the
greatest rivalry it's been called. Elliot, good afternoon slash good morning,
(36:54):
whatever it is where you are. It's been a pretty
full-on tour. And as far as the spectacle, I think
this week is going to be the biggest game yet.
I think so, too.
Speaker 9 (37:05):
Yep, 90-odd thousand in FNB Stadium in Soweto. The stage
is perfectly set, isn't it, for what should be a
magnificent game. We've won all in the series. There's a feeling,
perhaps not officially, from the NZR and South African channels,
but certainly there's a feeling that this is a quasi-series
decider in many ways, even if the losing team could...
(37:30):
you know, draw it next week in Baltimore. The fact
that this is the final test match being played on
South African soil adds plenty to it. And as I say,
the stage is set perfectly. You know, the All Blacks
have shown real signs of life over the last couple
of test matches, winning that first one, clawing their way
back to get within seven points of last week. So,
(37:51):
you know, I think there's plenty to look at and go,
we should have another humdinger between these two sides on
Sunday morning.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
What's the biggest improvement you've seen in this All Blacks
side compared to last year? What stuck out for you?
Speaker 9 (38:05):
Well, the main one I think is attacking structure. And,
you know, towards the end of last year, or even
most of Scott Robertson's reign, we sort of didn't really
know what the attacking structure was. They were still scoring points,
but it was hard to see the overall game plan.
What I think we've seen now from Dave Rennie is
a clear difference and decisive game plan that they want
(38:28):
to use their speed, they want to play at pace,
and they want to stretch the edges and use the
opposition's fitness and perhaps defensive frailties to score points there.
So having that in place and having buy-in from the players,
I think, is really, really important. So that's a positive
to see, and we can see where the All Blacks
(38:50):
want to go to, and they're playing in the way
of their DNA. Look, there have been plenty of other changes,
but I think overall having an attacking game plan in mind,
I think, really sets them apart.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Asafa Al-Mawabin picked at Hokkaido. I'm surprised by this. He's great,
he's dynamic, but his line-out throwing needs work. Would that
be the case?
Speaker 9 (39:11):
Yeah, I think it does need work and needs the
improvements there. But I think they also want to try
and get over the game line against the Springboks early.
And that's certainly what he's capable of. And they probably
could have... you know maybe moved Cody Taylor to the
(39:31):
bench but I think Samuelssoni gives them that impact off
the bench as well but one thing's clear the line
out has to be throwing has to be top notch
and you know that's a question for both of those
players and Look, Cody Taylor has had his issues from
time to time on the line-out throwing front as well.
But it's a key part. It's their core job. So
(39:53):
it's got to be right on Sunday morning. If they
can get it right, then they're both quality players. So
I want to see that first and foremost being the
main part of their game. And look, anything they can
do with ball in hand is a bonus for me.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
So it's a big call.
Speaker 9 (40:10):
And I also like what Amu has been doing off
the bench, apart from the line-out throwing, his carrying against
tired Springboks bodies has been really effective. So I think
you do lose a bit by moving him into the
starting side, but I think it's also a big opportunity
for both of those players. We haven't seen Sam Asoni
much at all this year. Look, if he can take
his opportunity, then it does present some really interesting questions
(40:33):
for the All Blacks selectors for the rest of the year.
The blood is low in the end of year tour.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
Peter Larkai going to blindside. He's going to need a
big physical presence.
Speaker 9 (40:43):
He is, absolutely. And look, this is another change at blindside.
Third straight blindside change the All Blacks have made in
this test series so far. We had Tupo Vai in
the first game. We had Simon Parker last week, obviously.
And now we've got Peter Lukai starting for.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
The All Blacks.
Speaker 9 (41:01):
And I guess there were other changes as well in July.
We saw Wallace Atisi get a chance there. We saw
other players have opportunities, but none have nailed down that juicy.
So a big opportunity for Peter Lakai. I think they'll
want him to try and run around the South African defence,
tire them out earlier. He's such a dynamic player. We've
(41:23):
seen that off the bench the last appearance he had, obviously,
at Cape Town. He was everywhere and into the thick
of it. But he's also got to bring that physicality,
which the South Africans do out of their flankers so well,
the Toi and Khaleesi. So it's a big challenge for
Peter Lakai, probably the biggest test of his career To date,
we know the quality that he possesses, but it's another
(41:45):
step up for him. So I do like the selection,
but he's got to repay the faith of the selectors now.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Razia Rasmus at that press conference after the test in
Cape Town, he seemed to be under pressure from what
I just read in the situation.
Speaker 9 (42:00):
Would you agree with that, with his behaviour? Well, I
think he was under pressure before the game. And I
think the comments he made afterwards were a reflection of that.
And probably, you know, the pressure valve being released a
little bit. I mean, this is a Springboks team that
hasn't lost back-to-back games in four years. And, you know, especially,
(42:22):
you know, protecting that world number one ranking, which they
lost the previous week. There was all sorts of things
going on in that. And he was obviously very annoyed
that the All Blacks had suggested that they walk around
in the scrums. And that's explosively spilled over in the
media conference and the likes of I've really seen in
(42:44):
a post-match media conference. Very, very frustrated.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
But I think you're right.
Speaker 9 (42:48):
It's all about the pressure that he'd been feeling the
week leading up to it because there'd been a lot
of questions around what happens if they go 2-0 down,
where's 2 from here? Well, they won, and it takes
a little bit of the pressure off, but clearly that's
still rankled a bit. His side's scrummaging had been questioned,
and he got his goat up a little bit. The
(43:10):
All Blacks, for their part, are adamant that they're right,
that Springboks are walking around in the scrums, so I
don't think that tale's over yet by any stretch of
the imagination.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
Now, the All Blacks, they're going to try and play
this game at pace while the Bucks slow it down.
Is that our best chance to beat them, to get
that ball wide at every opportunity?
Speaker 9 (43:30):
Look, I think it is, although I want to see
more pressure applied in the first spell and bringing fatigue
into it more. We're playing at altitude, the All Blacks,
on Sunday morning for the umpteenth time in the series.
And you think back to the first test and the
second test last week, which was back at sea level,
They haven't been able to run the Springboks around as
(43:53):
much as they would like in the first spell. And
that has meant that they haven't been able to get
on top until later in the game. They need to
do that better this week, and that means a faster start.
And making sure the Springboks don't score the first points
and get a roll on out to 5, 7, 10,
or whatever points. it might be so that's part one
(44:13):
and for me part two i would like to see
the all blacks build more pressure inside the spring box
22 not try to score off first or second phase
i get why they try to do that a lot
because they think it's their best way of striking but
i think if you build pressure it obviously there is
a risk that someone's going to knock it on at
some point but the more tackles you ask the Springboks
to make inside their own 22, the more chance of penalties,
(44:36):
the more tackles you build up over the course of
the game, and fatigue comes into it quicker. So I
just like the All Blacks to be a little bit
more patient at times, and as I say, build some pressure.
when they're on the attack inside the Springboks 22, if
they possibly can, because I think that's going to get
them a better chance of winning at Soweto.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
A lot of talk about this flyover last weekend. Actually,
it's gone around the world, as you would have gathered.
What did you make of it?
Speaker 9 (45:01):
I thought it was awesome. I think it's a real
shame that it's been cancelled for this third test this weekend.
I looked it in and I thought, um geez those
plans are quite low but of course that's an optical
illusion when you're looking from further away and you see
them come close and you go okay it's close but
it's not that close um i thought it was spectacular
it was amazing as you say it's been the talk
(45:23):
of everywhere around the world and unfortunately you know they're
probably i'm not sure they're contributed to or not but
the reaction in New Zealand going on about how unsafe
it was kind of showed why we can never do
anything like that in New Zealand because we just moaned
about it. It was a lot of people from sort
of 20,000 miles away putting their opinion across rather than
(45:45):
the ones that actually saw it in the stadium. As
I say, I thought it was spectacular. I was looking
forward to it again this weekend. I think it's a
great part of the build-up of the game and a
real shame that it won't be happening this week because, yeah,
it makes the... The hairs stand up on the back
of your neck in a good way and I think
has been a great part of the pre-match entertainment.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
Just finally, Elliot, what's going to happen? What's the prediction
for a score?
Speaker 3 (46:13):
Oh, I don't know.
Speaker 9 (46:14):
I thought the All Blacks would win by three in
the first game. I thought they'd win by four last week.
I think they'll win by two this week. I think
it's going to be close again, but I think the
All Blacks can do it. They have the game plan
to do it, but it's going to take an almighty
effort to knock these Springboks off once again.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
I've got them by two in our tennis sweepstake, Elliot.
I like your thinking. Have a great call on Saturday night,
of course. People can hear it on Newstalk ZB, and
go the ABs. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (46:44):
Cheers, Andy.
Speaker 5 (46:47):
Laugh out loud with Ag Proud, because life on the
land can be a laughing matter.
Speaker 1 (46:53):
Brought to us by Shearwell Data, working to help the
livestock farmer. Why did the boat dock with all of
the other boats? Hair pressure. That's us over in Dunmouth
for the week, remembering the best of the muster is
happening tomorrow morning at 5am. I'm Andy Muir. The muster,
of course, is brought to you by Peter's Genetics. Go
(47:16):
the Stags. Up the Waz. Go the ABs. See you Monday.
Popular Podcasts
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.
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
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!