The Muster Full Show: 08/09/26

Andy Muir talks to Grant McMaster, Laurie Margrain, Chris Dillon, Daryl Moyles, Tim Baker and Sam Riley.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Good afternoon and welcome to the Muster on Hakanui. Andy
Muir here until 2 o'clock and of course the show
is brought to you by Peters Genetics. Welcome along to
a Tuesday where we look outside and a little bit
of blue sky on the horizon.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's cloudy.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
We've seen little pockets of sunshine as well this morning
so it's been a thing of beauty. Currently the temperature
is 11 degrees which after the last couple of weeks
almost feels tropical right? Straight into it, a bit to
get through for the hour. The music today is the
Pointer Sisters' This Song Here Jump. Massive tune from 1984,
part of a Love Actually soundtrack with that Hugh Grant dance.

(00:41):
And it was redone by Girls Aloud, one of the
pop star groups out of the UK in the mid-2000s.
And that remake wasn't a bar on the original.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
But anyway, we'll get on with the weather.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
This afternoon, sunshine become variable winds and a high of 13. Wednesday,
cloudy with breezy north westerlies 3 and 14. Thursday, showers
of westerlies forming 4 and 8. Friday, light rain with
breezy westerlies, 4 and 10. And Saturday, very similar, light
rain with westerlies, 7 and 10. So temperatures for a Tuesday,
Clinton 7.4, Harrier 6.4, Northern South 7.5, Riverton 9.3, Te

(01:25):
Arau 6.6, Winton 6.8, and Woodlands at a solid 7.4.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Grant, Disaster McMaster, Closeburn Station gets us underway today.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
This afternoon, from a soggy close-burn station at that as well,
we catch up with Grant to see how the week's been.
Laurie Margrain is Chairman of Open Country and has a
chat talking the current situation. within a dairy industry from
an open country perspective.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Chris Dillon of South and Federated Farmers.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
There's changes to recycling that have been proposed by the government.
Chris touches on these, but he thinks, yeah, it's not bad,
but is it really enough? Daryl Moyles of Sajan Dan
Stock Foods. Stop Spy for our regular chinwag. And then
Tim Baker of Clinton Young Farmers. Hearing really good things
about numbers for Clinton meetings. So Tim just goes into

(02:21):
a little bit more detail about what those numbers are exactly.
Sam Riley of PDG writes in, gives a stock sale
report from Mighty Lawn Bull. Then we're into it with disaster.
This is the muster. And it's brought to you by
Peter's Genetics. Coming up, seven after one. Grant, Disaster McMaster

(02:45):
Farms on the edge of Lake Wakatipu and joins us,
thanks to Batman and the team.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
At Arby Rural. Of course, Closeburn Station is where he's residing.
Good afternoon, Grant.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
Good afternoon, Andy. Good afternoon, everybody. On the edge of
Lake Wakatipu, well, the lake, with all the rain we've had,
sort of getting closer to the road. So, getting closer
to the edge of the road, getting closer to the edge.

Speaker 4 (03:06):
So.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
But it's a lovely day today, Andy. It's sitting at
9 degrees, so no rain today. We had no rain yesterday,
but in the previous five days from when we spoke
on Tuesday, we had another 68 mils of rain. So, yeah,
getting a bit sick of it.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
Your rainfall will be well above average?

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Yeah, well, it will be.

Speaker 5 (03:24):
Well, it'll be.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
It's travelling similar to this time last year, so if
it carries on, yeah, we'll be above average, all right.
But over at Hogan Gutty Road there, the flats we have,
and those... They're the paddocks that over the years have
put the turnips and kale into the young grass, and
they grow pretty well. But two paddocks, and they're about,

(03:46):
these paddocks on the spring are about three hectares each,
and they're on the corner of Hogan Gully Road and
Lake Hayes Road. And they're about three hectares each, and
out of each of those paddocks, there's probably a hectare
underwater in a big pond. So that happened last year,
and they put it down the county, you know, it

(04:07):
wasn't draining away anywhere, and they sort of thought it
was to do with air burn across the road, with
the road being built up and drainage sort of not
going where it's meant to, and it cleared, but it's
back this year, and there's more geese and seagulls and
ducks on an estuary by a hole are going past,

(04:28):
I reckon.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
It must be a pain in the butt, though, with
these drains getting changed all the time with all this remedials,
R & M work going on with the roads.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
Et cetera.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
Yeah, well, that is part of it. And, you know,
there's a bit of a hill around the hills. The
water comes down onto the flats. And over the years,
you know, it's drained away somewhere. But last year and
this year, it hasn't. And it goes to sort of
a flatness. And then sort of Mill Creek would be,
you know, probably a K away. and I don't know

(05:00):
over the years if everything drained sort of down that
way but something's happened and it's not draining anywhere and
it's uh yeah it's not good really because we're just
sort of tight enough with grass as it is and
those paddocks are ones that really grow quite well but
from last year a lot of that died and I
was going to stitch in a bit of a bit
of uh bit of grass seed but I didn't I

(05:20):
thought because you know this may happen again and unfortunately
it has so uh That puts a bit of pressure
on things, and, you know, the heifers that calved early,
they're just being fed baleage at the moment, a couple
of bales of baleage every second day, and they're looking good.
They're on a block over, I can go over with
a bit of scope, but, you know, it would have

(05:41):
been quite nice to get them down on those slats. Now,
there's just not quite enough grass here at the moment,
but holding them on that baleage seems to be working fine.
The calves, you know, they're good, and the cows are,
so I'm pleased I've got that hill block to sort
of feed them on. The hoggarts have still got probably
three weeks on the kale, so that's going to work

(06:01):
out pretty good. But in the meantime, we just need
those flats to drain away. And you've heard me say
before that up here when it rains, it actually drains
away pretty quickly. And out at Moat Lake, the mixed-age ewes,
twin hog, are still on the hills, and we haven't
brought them down yet. uh but hopefully with this with

(06:26):
the weather forecast staying the way it is um the
next couple of days i'll get them down and feed
them barley and baitage so they won't get as much
but it'll be better than nothing so.

Speaker 1 (06:36):
All these tourists will be enjoying these lovely vistas farmers
not so much no not.

Speaker 3 (06:41):
So much but um as you say as i said
before you know a couple of days out the rain
you feel a lot better and the stocks certainly enjoy
no rain as well so uh roads are in a
bit of a mess. The truck, the lorry came in
yesterday to pick up our wool, and the grade had
gone around, the slip had come down, and the grade
had gone around past Lake Kirkpatrick, which is probably a

(07:06):
K around it, but the road is slipping away into
the lake, which makes it pretty dangerous, so we've turned
to the county for quite a few years. Why don't
you just try and take some off the hillside and
with the grader dropping a wheel in and the engineer
came past so I gave him a bit of therapy
and he agreed with me so they've had the trucks

(07:27):
out there yesterday and today widening that road into the
bank you know a lot of rock so you're getting
away from the road edge which makes a bit of
common sense as being used for a change which is
quite good So.

Speaker 2 (07:39):
A farmer got common sense through to a council?

Speaker 3 (07:41):
A farmer with not much sense did but it just
showed you how less sense the council had You.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Had some cattle coming south as well, Grant?

Speaker 3 (07:50):
Well, I went actually morning, so just this morning I
went over to, on my way over to Home Gully Road,
my contractor, he's got parcels of land over there, and
he had heifers on graze and yearling heifers, so a
truck came up from Scott's Gap this morning, and we
loaded 100 of those away, which is, and to be

(08:12):
fair up here, you don't normally have much mud in
cattle yards, especially over Ayrtown Way, but Had the gumboots
on this morning and the driver reckoned it was probably
wetter in the yards at Arrowtown than it was down
at Scott's Gap. They can get a bit of rain
down there, but he was telling me they've had that
rain last week. It's dried up well through their calving

(08:33):
and they've got a bit of grass ahead of them.
So good old self and just doing what it normally does,
just looking after you when you need it.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
If anybody can encapsulate the mood of the rural sector,
whether it be the weather or ground conditions, it's got.

Speaker 2 (08:46):
To be the truckie.

Speaker 3 (08:48):
Oh, yeah, the truckies know the ins and outs of
a duck's bum, don't they? Yeah. And, you know, this guy,
he's one of the owners of the farm. But, you know,
the wool guy told me when we loaded the wool yesterday,
you know, what's happening in Te Ana, what's happening in Mossburn.
You know, they're guys that are about, and you always
know somebody that they know, and, you know, what so-and-so

(09:09):
are doing. But, you know, they're about the place, especially
those stock drivers. They know what's going on and where
the grass is and where it isn't and what's doing
well and what isn't. So, yeah, a vital part of
our industry, aren't they, the truckies? And we've spoken about
them before, so big shout-out to all those guys and
girls that are doing a pretty good job moving their

(09:31):
stock for us and in some unpleasant conditions at times, too.
But one thing about them, you notice that you could
probably eat your dinner off of those truck cabs now.
They spend more time... Getting their Crocs off and their
bloody dirty boots on and then off before they get
in the truck. And one of the drivers said to me,
he said, well, we spent a lot of time there.

(09:52):
I said, I wouldn't walk into your lounge on my boots.
And I said, fair point. But I said, I bet your.

Speaker 5 (09:57):
Car's a mess.

Speaker 3 (09:57):
And he said, yeah, it is.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
Hey, we'll leave it there, Grant.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
Relevant points as always. All the best for some dry
weather over the next week.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah, well, it's good at the moment, Andy, so let's
hope it keeps going and look forward to catching.

Speaker 5 (10:08):
Up next week.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
Grant McMaster, thanks to Arby Rural every Tuesday here on
the muster. A massive shout-out to all the truckies on
the roads going about their business. It's greatly appreciated. Laurie
Margrain is up next from Open Country. Welcome back to

(10:35):
the muster. Laurie Margrain is chairman of Open Country. Joins
us this afternoon as we get through the calving season.

Speaker 2 (10:43):
Truth be known, down here in the south. Laurie, good afternoon.
Always good to catch up.

Speaker 5 (10:47):
Nice to talk to you, Andy. Always very keen to
have a chat.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
It's been an interesting spring down here in the south.
You guys will know all about that. I suppose around
the country, though, how's the feeling at the moment?

Speaker 5 (10:59):
Well, are you talking on the rugby front or are
you talking as far as the dairy industry is concerned?

Speaker 1 (11:03):
We'll talk on rugby at the end of the interview
because you've got some interesting stats of harbour for this
year I want to touch on, but I think just
in a rural sense.

Speaker 5 (11:12):
Yeah, no, look, the milk flows for the period, the
first period, the weakest period of the year or lowest
period of the year for milk production, that's in June
to September. They are up, but I hesitate to put
too much store by that. These are the lower milk
flow months, and being up or down a few percent

(11:33):
is neither here nor there. Clearly, there's some climatic issues
or weather issues affecting the South. You'd expect those to
manifest themselves in some milk production negativity down there, but
it's not currently doing so, but I'd expect they would.
Around the country, conditions are pretty good. We've had enough

(11:53):
rain when we want it. We've had enough sunshine when
we want it. Taranaki, Manawatu, Waikato, King Country, Bay of Plenty,
all pretty good. I guess now the main focus is
on the supply-demand matrix and ensuring that whatever the variabilities
the world's providing, the volatility around the world is not

(12:16):
interfering too much in the supply-demand, which currently is pretty
well in balance.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
Carving will be well through up north now, I'd imagine.

Speaker 5 (12:24):
Yeah, pretty well done, I would have thought. Well, in fact,
not pretty well done, totally done. Carving up here is
probably mid-July, mid-July on at the peak. Well done. Into insemination,
I guess, very shortly, October. Well, soon. Yeah, I mean,
the season's well advanced, and I don't think there's a

(12:45):
lot of negativity other than ongoing concerns for on-farm costs, Andy.
So that doesn't go away. But otherwise, the mood's pretty positive.

Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, you're talking about a break-even point.

Speaker 1 (12:57):
Well, a lot of farmers, depending on who you talk
to and what structure their base and their payout are on, Laurie,
possibly around the.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
Mid $ 8. 40 was the.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
Mark I've heard quite a bit, although that was last season,
perhaps this year. A lot of volatility going on, like
you say, on farm inflation. This perhaps rises.

Speaker 5 (13:15):
Yeah, I mean, we've consistently had a view that, and
this is easy to say and more difficult to achieve,
we know that, But nevertheless, you have to understand what
you need to achieve in the current environment. We think
mid to low eights in terms of fully absorbed cost
of production is where it should not be exceeded. And

(13:37):
then we take the view as a company that above nine,
you'll be profitable. Around 10, you'll be strongly profitable, $ 10
that is. Below eight, you will struggle to, as we say,
wash your face, but you won't lose your shirt. And
that's the way... Managing a business, including farming, Andy, is
a lot about managing risk. And to manage risk, you've

(13:59):
got to have very, very tight cost controls when much
of the world in terms of cost is against you.
But you do have to control cost, efficiency, and productivity.
We're very, very hot on that in our own business,
and we work hard with our farmers to encourage them
to take the same view.

Speaker 1 (14:16):
Supply chain volatility, Laurie, are you guys experiencing anything?

Speaker 4 (14:21):
Um.

Speaker 5 (14:22):
Well, there are stress points, Andy, but not points that
are causing us undue concern. I mean, the things we
worry about, can we get the imports that we need?
Can we get the boxes, the container boxes, both reefers
and dry boxes? Can we get those that we need? Yes,
there are cost issues, but availability of them and keeping

(14:45):
the product moving is the first requirement. The costing is
more difficult to do something about, but we manage it.
So we're doing all right. We haven't come across any
critical choke points in the supply chain that are causing
us anything other than what we've expected in terms of irritation.

Speaker 2 (15:05):
Well, the question's there, not the question, I suppose.

Speaker 1 (15:08):
The answer being, for the New Zealand economy, is that
rural is driving anything and everything.

Speaker 5 (15:14):
Oh, well, no question. I mean, anybody who thinks otherwise...
clearly probably belong to the Flat Earth Society, to be frank.
I mean, you can't have imports. You can't import anything.
I spoke to somebody the other day who votes, shall
we dare I say it, significantly centre-left and are very,

(15:36):
very antagonistic towards farming. I asked that person, I said,
do you have anything in your house of note that
was made in New Zealand? The answer, as we all know,
is probably not. Therefore, do you understand that to have imports,
you must have exports? You must export in order to
create currency to import. That seemed to come as a

(15:58):
bit of a shock to him, which worries me enormously.
But we're doing all right, and New Zealand is marching now,
maybe not so much on the sheep's back, although sheep
meat prices are very good and wool's better. Not great,
but better. but we are marching on the farmers' backs.
Of that, there is absolutely no argument.

Speaker 1 (16:20):
Well, you can tell your lefty friend, farmers are asset-rich
yet cash-poor.

Speaker 5 (16:25):
Well, that's right. Well, of course, that, in a strange respect,
is not that unusual in business. I mean, Andy, you
and I would both know a lot of people in
small to medium-sized enterprises. As your business grows and succeeds,
you need to fund more working capital. It puts more
pressure on your balance sheets So being asset rich or

(16:48):
your business growing in terms of a balance sheet does
not necessarily create surplus cash. So, yeah, I mean, the
city people in many respects would think that the farmers
are rolling in it. As we all know, most of
what the farmers earn goes back into improving and growing
their balance sheet on their farm.

Speaker 2 (17:10):
Open days, Laurie. MVM's coming up in a few weeks' time.

Speaker 5 (17:14):
Yes, I think from memory, Thursday the 1st of October,
that'll be a big day. We've had one in Whanganui recently.
We do them on a regular basis. Farmers love them.
We feed them. They get to have a beer if
they want or a wine if they want or a
soft drink if they want. And it gives them an opportunity.
They're not shareholders, but they are stakeholders. So it gives

(17:36):
them an opportunity to see what they are inherently and
essentially involved in. These plants are theirs.

Speaker 6 (17:42):
As much as they are ours.

Speaker 5 (17:44):
Our futures are entwined. They love it. We love doing them.

Speaker 1 (17:47):
Well, the open day, you were telling me briefly off-air
about the one held recently at Whanganui. You just say
the reception of these events is fantastic.

Speaker 5 (17:56):
Well, it is. I mean, it just helps farmers understand
how they belong, their place in our business, if you like.
They are really at the centre of what we do.
No milk, no plant. No plant, no jobs. No jobs,
no exports. So the farmers are the key, key, key component.
Everything is about them being able to witness and see

(18:19):
why they're doing things and how we pay them effectively.

Speaker 2 (18:25):
Supplier meetings, how often do you hold these?

Speaker 5 (18:30):
With the exception of midwinter, when we put a lot
of focus into Mystery Creek field days, we hold them
every three months. The next round of meetings in Taranaki, Manawatu,
South Bend and all through the Waikato. They are from
mid-September through to the beginning of October. And then we'll
do a big round of Christmas functions through November and

(18:51):
early December. And then we'll go back to farmer briefings
again in March, April next year. So they are critical
to us. We put ourselves, our senior management, myself, we
put ourselves in front of our farmers on a regular basis.
And we expect them to tell us what they think.
We love it. It's an opportunity for us to learn,

(19:12):
to hear, to learn, to give them feedback. And we
don't tell them necessarily what it is they want to hear.
We tell them what it is we see. And that
seems to work really, really well.

Speaker 1 (19:24):
Just to wrap up, Laurie, your beloved North Harbour, as
Northland rugby deemed you on social media, South Northland. I'm
sure that would go down like a cup of cold sick,
but I'll give you guys kudos. 16 people away last
game against Northland with the flu, vomiting, diarrhoea and the likes.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
You turned around and you beat them.

Speaker 1 (19:42):
And this time last year we had a conversation and
you were saying that Harbour were losing all these games
because they were taking a homegrown approach. Has that been
the case this year?

Speaker 5 (19:52):
Largely, yes, largely. Well, a homegrown approach, which I know
many other unions are doing these days, including, I.

Speaker 6 (19:59):
Guess, Southland.

Speaker 2 (20:00):
Kind of.

Speaker 5 (20:01):
But the homegrown approach, Andy, it's the only approach. There
is not the money in provincial rugby, NPC rugby, There
is not the money to throw it around on imports.
So if you aren't committed to a largely homegrown, and
every union will augment their resources, but if you're not
committed to a largely homegrown strategy, you are destined to

(20:25):
fall over.

Speaker 1 (20:27):
What are your words of wisdom for any Stags fan
at the moment who are craving success?

Speaker 5 (20:31):
I'll convert to North Harbour.

Speaker 2 (20:34):
You mean South Northland?

Speaker 5 (20:36):
No, kibbutz. I mean, normal.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
Got you there.

Speaker 7 (20:42):
Very good.

Speaker 5 (20:42):
Well done.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
Hey, Laurie Margrave, Chairman of Open Country, thanks as always
for coming on, having you out on the muster.

Speaker 2 (20:49):
Great to catch up with the team.

Speaker 5 (20:50):
Always a pleasure, Andy. You take care.

Speaker 1 (20:55):
Laurie Margrave, Chairman of Open Country, and a good sport
as well to boot.

Speaker 2 (21:00):
Chris Dillon's up next of South Confederated Farmers. He'll listen
to the muster.

Speaker 1 (21:13):
Chris Dillard is President of South Confederated Farmers and joins
us once again as we see a little bit of
drying out occurring around the province.

Speaker 2 (21:21):
Chris, good afternoon.

Speaker 4 (21:23):
Good afternoon.

Speaker 2 (21:25):
Certainly, since we spoke to you last, spring has been spring.

Speaker 8 (21:30):
It certainly has been. The sand's been going a fair bit.
We're starting to get sick of that, but it's good
to have a couple of calm days and you can
certainly see things growing now.

Speaker 1 (21:41):
The feed situation, though, like people in the middle of calving,
a lot of folk with lambing just talking about the
lack of covers.

Speaker 2 (21:48):
From a feds angle, are you seeing a concern?

Speaker 8 (21:51):
Not any concern. It was starting to get a bit
wet there, but hopefully a couple of fine days will fry.

Speaker 5 (21:58):
It up a bit.

Speaker 1 (21:59):
You think Mother Nature might have given us a bit
of respite after the past couple of springs?

Speaker 8 (22:04):
The spring's only just started. It's a problem.

Speaker 7 (22:08):
We'll see.

Speaker 2 (22:09):
Exactly.

Speaker 1 (22:09):
We're getting longer days and the likes, and we talk
about the positivity within the sector, but something that's been introduced,
a government introducing a rural recycling scheme getting underway on
the 1st of March next year. Free nationwide recycling for
farm plastics and agrichemicals. Recycling of plastics has been a
big bugbear for a lot of people.

Speaker 2 (22:30):
What do you make of it?

Speaker 8 (22:31):
Yeah, there's still a bit of work to do on
the scheme. I do think it's good that they're getting
that underway, but... The problem taking your plastic into town
for recycling is something that's not going to happen.

Speaker 4 (22:45):
If they come out on.

Speaker 8 (22:46):
Farm and collect it, it will happen. So we're still
doing a bit of work in the background to ensure
a better way going forward there.

Speaker 1 (22:54):
So this involves you having to physically move stuff off
your farm.

Speaker 2 (22:57):
It's not a collection as such. You've got to go
to a depot.

Speaker 8 (23:01):
That is what they're based towards, having these depots. And
as you know, you're not going to take empty cans
into town. But if they come and pick it up
on farm, totally different story. And the same goes for
your bale wrap. There's been a good collection of operator
that comes out on farm and it's been working well.
But if you have to take it to town, it
ain't going to happen.

Speaker 1 (23:22):
Yeah, a lot of these operations like Plasback, for example,
would that more or less make these industries a bit
more null and void?

Speaker 8 (23:29):
No, hopefully it includes them, and that's the key to
its success. And as I said, there's still a bit
of work to do before the scheme gets underway.

Speaker 1 (23:40):
Have you heard anything else from the Minister regarding what's
going on around this, or is it just what you're
hearing in the press?

Speaker 8 (23:47):
Well, I know we're doing work in the background, but
I was quite surprised by the announcement. It seems to
happen when there's an election coming up, though, that things
get announced as policy like that. Yeah, it's just the
way it is, unfortunately.

Speaker 1 (24:01):
This seems to be the election about tax. I mean,
when you look at it, though, what's being proposed by
parties on the left, taxing away into prosperity, and the
Opportunity Party, I've talked about it before quite happily as well,
declaring they want to make us a welfare state, and
then you've got the Greens as well, well, they want

(24:21):
the government to control the supermarkets, for goodness sake.

Speaker 8 (24:25):
Yeah, it's a bit untidy, and as one of the
ministers said the other day, you can't stand in a
bucket and expect yourself to lift up. People that understand
things understand that agriculture is 83% of our exports in
this country, and get that going well, that's where you
get your tax take from.

Speaker 1 (24:43):
Is there a genuine concern, though, with a change of government,
what the future looks like for the farming sector, if that.

Speaker 2 (24:48):
Was the case?

Speaker 8 (24:49):
I'd say there's a large concern, yes.

Speaker 1 (24:53):
So you're keeping in contact with politicians on the left
as such? Joe Luxton, for example, I think I've talked
about this with you before, but perhaps you might have
been a bit more, I wouldn't say transparent, well, yeah,
transparent is the word, because we've had no policy. I've
yet to hear those magic three words, red meat sector.

Speaker 8 (25:09):
Yeah, no, we do correspond with them a lot. We
have a special thing at Feds called Red Bands where
we meet the Labour Party regularly, and we try to
meet all parties as regularly as often as we can,
especially taking the opportunity if you're in Wellington to catch.

Speaker 4 (25:27):
Up with them.

Speaker 1 (25:28):
How would you describe the relationship between Feds and the
current government?

Speaker 2 (25:31):
Has it gone as well as what you'd anticipated?

Speaker 8 (25:34):
It's gone pretty good. It is a coalition, so you
are dealing with a lot of different parties and you
just have to be careful at this time of the cycle.
What they're saying may not be true because once the
election's decided, they go and negotiate again. So that's when

(25:56):
it really comes down to it.

Speaker 2 (25:58):
Yeah, hey, we'll leave it there, Chris. We know you've
got things to do this afternoon. Thanks for your time
as always.

Speaker 8 (26:02):
Yeah, not a problem.

Speaker 3 (26:03):
Cheers.

Speaker 1 (26:05):
Chris Dillon, President of Southland Federated Farmers. Interested to see
what happens with his rural recycling scheme.

Speaker 5 (26:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (26:12):
Daryl Moyles is up next of Sgt Dan's Stock Food.
Look what you're doing to me. I'm a jelly at
your whim.

Speaker 1 (26:22):
All of my defense is down. Welcome back to the muster,
Daryl Moyles of Sgt Dan's Stock Foods joins us this afternoon.
He's in the skyscraper on the Gore skyline with a
resplendent thistle on the side and in there. Busy beavers,
they're starting like 5.30 in the morning to get the production.

Speaker 2 (26:41):
Up and running.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
And if you're lucky, every now and then you'll get
that magnificent waft of molasses or muesli drifting through the
main street of Gore.

Speaker 2 (26:49):
G'day Daryl.

Speaker 5 (26:51):
G'day, Andy.

Speaker 6 (26:51):
Another good introduction there. Well done. I can assure you
that I'm not there at 5.30, though, to start up,
just in case you're wondering.

Speaker 2 (26:58):
No, I'm not doubting if you were there or not.

Speaker 1 (27:00):
I mean, every now and then, you've just got to
put the hours in to get the job done, right?

Speaker 6 (27:04):
Oh, absolutely. You know, Blue and the boys are pretty
keen to start off and get the place running, which
is good. So, you know, they do a very good job.

Speaker 2 (27:12):
How have things been over the past month anyway, Darrell?

Speaker 6 (27:15):
Well, this is obviously a busy time, so things are
flat out. Obviously, flat out making car feed, dairy feed,
Still putting out a lot of sheep nuts, which we've
sort of been under the pump a wee bit, keeping
those up to the public. But, yeah, calf and lamb
feed now flat out with the dairy guys. Most of
them have got quite a few in, if not most.
So the dairy feed silos are being filled up regularly.

(27:39):
It's all go. This is what we do and enjoying
it flat out.

Speaker 1 (27:43):
Sheep nuts at the moment, given the situation, the feed's
been a little bit slower. Have you seen an uptake,
a bigger uptake than normal?

Speaker 6 (27:50):
Oh, yeah, August was the biggest month we've ever sold
sheep nuts in the 21 years I've been here. So
very big numbers, and we were flat out keeping them up,
as I said. We knew there was going to be
a bit of demand. Obviously, they're worth good money, and
there isn't a surplus of feed in some places. So
we thought we would sell a wee few, but we

(28:11):
really did get caught out a bit. But I don't
think we've turned anyone away. So, no, it's a huge
month for sheep nuts here.

Speaker 1 (28:18):
Well, given the way the weather's been, I suppose it's
a bit of a no-brainer, but you get afternoons like
this and there is some sunshine around, the weather's still
a little bit unsettled, but the fact it's not raining
is a good thing and get that ground dried out
and growing.

Speaker 6 (28:32):
Oh, absolutely. I mean, I think last night I went
home from work from here and it felt quite spring.
There was quite a nice evening and I thought, gee,
bring it on. We just need a few good days
to dry the place out and get some grass growing,
that's for sure.

Speaker 1 (28:45):
Now, as far as calf feed requirements, of course, you guys,
their supplement is the name of your game.

Speaker 2 (28:51):
What are we seeing?

Speaker 6 (28:51):
Yeah, well, calf feed's obviously one of our biggest lines,
and it's our Rolls-Royce. We think we know a bit
about calf feed. So the new amino calf pellets are
just going out great guns at the moment. So we
bought them out this time last year, and the results
have been absolutely fantastic growth rates just with the extra
amino acids. Really high-quality feed at a good price, and

(29:15):
they're selling very, very well. Still plenty of stock at
this stage. We think we're keeping up at this stage. So, yep,
that's going well. And we also reformulated the lamb pellets
and meal, which are, again, also selling very well. So,
pelletability is the issue. We've just changed a few things
for the uptake on those. So, no, it's all going

(29:36):
very well at this stage.

Speaker 2 (29:38):
So, you're just tinkering all the time there. with formulas?

Speaker 6 (29:41):
Oh, Natalie tinkers every year when we look at the
cost of raw materials. And the basis of the product
is always the same with starch and energy, protein and
so on. But sometimes there's a different way of getting there.
And we have put some product in for... to assist
in palatability just for uptake. So, yeah, we have changed.
And we review the formulations every year. Sometimes they change,

(30:04):
sometimes they don't. It depends on what's available and not available.
But that's what the girl does. She's got the brains
to do that. So, we discuss that and I leave
it to her to sort out.

Speaker 1 (30:15):
Now, if lamb feeds your Rolls-Royce product, what would be
the Toyota there?

Speaker 2 (30:20):
Runs on the smell of an oily rag.

Speaker 6 (30:22):
Good question. Well, probably the high-energy nuts or the are
the general-purpose feed. They do sheep, deer, goats, cattle, bulls,
you name it. They're selling for everything. So they're the
backbone of.

Speaker 5 (30:36):
The place, really.

Speaker 2 (30:37):
Anyway, though, look, it's just been an interesting season.

Speaker 1 (30:39):
When the clients are coming in, what are they saying
to you about the mood of the sector at the moment, Darrell? Yes,
it's been wet, but at springtime, you're looking forward to
warmer days, longer days, growing days.

Speaker 2 (30:52):
It's been a bit trying, but generally, the mood?

Speaker 6 (30:55):
Oh, the mood's good. I mean, like, things aren't really,
you know, I'll start again. Things are going really well.
We can't control the weather, and most guys know that.
If you're farming in the south and you need to
have a sense of humour, otherwise you need to be
doing something else. You can't control the weather, so most
people are, like, just getting on with the job. And
there's a wee bit of mud around, but that'll change.
We'll get some good weather shortly, and September's always a

(31:18):
bit interesting. So, as I said, you've got to have
a sense of humour and just get on with the job.

Speaker 2 (31:22):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (31:23):
One thing you've got there at Sgt. Ant too is
the drive-through facility. People can go through there and just
pick stuff up on the fly as well.

Speaker 6 (31:30):
Yep, they're very successful. There's people coming through all the
time and we've got all classes of stock catered, sheep, deer, goats, chicken, pig,
you name it. We've got a feed there for most classes.

Speaker 2 (31:41):
And snails?

Speaker 6 (31:43):
Snails we don't actually keep in stock. It's not a stock.

Speaker 2 (31:45):
Oh, right, it's a niche product.

Speaker 6 (31:47):
Made specifically to order, sorry.

Speaker 2 (31:49):
But you'll do it if required?

Speaker 6 (31:51):
Oh, if you order it, we'll make it, absolutely. That's
what we're here for.

Speaker 2 (31:53):
Talk about a code, because we can.

Speaker 1 (31:56):
The Stags not going too flesh at the moment, but
the All Blacks, what have you made of this series
and what do you make of this 12 months out
from the World Cup?

Speaker 6 (32:04):
I think we're going pretty good, really. As one of
the commentators said the other day, these boys have only
been with Mr Rennie for a couple of months. I
think they're going pretty good. They've had a couple of losses,
but pretty good side, the Springboks, and it's been pretty
good rugby. If you look at how many tries we
scored and the closeness of the scores, I'm enjoying the season.

(32:25):
And I think this game, although it's a bit random
being in the US, will be another good game because
there's a few changes obviously happening with a few injuries.
So I think it's great. I'm enjoying it. And I
think in 12 months' time, they'll be a pretty good side.
I think the rest of the world will be looking
back thinking, oh shit, these guys are going to.

Speaker 8 (32:42):
Be pretty good.

Speaker 1 (32:43):
A few issues with the scrum, but the arguments there,
the box, they've been together for such a long time.
And we've probably seen this around 2017, the All Blacks
starting to fall from their Mount Everest as such. I mean,
you think back, what was it, Albany, 57-0, we beat
the box. Two years later, they were world champions in Tokyo.

Speaker 6 (33:03):
Yeah, and I think their run might come to an end.
I mean, we've had really experienced guys in the All
Blacks before, and then all of a sudden you come
to the end of their run, and really, OK, they've
got a really good scrum, but they haven't got that
much else. They rely on that forward pair, really take
that away from them. They're average in a lot of areas,
in my opinion.

Speaker 2 (33:22):
Yeah, so the Baltimore game, you'll still watch it.

Speaker 1 (33:24):
I mean, it's a money-making exercise, but it'll be interesting
to see the synergies of what the ABs do, especially
with the Lucys.

Speaker 2 (33:30):
I'd like to see Ty Lowe.

Speaker 5 (33:31):
Get a run.

Speaker 6 (33:33):
Yeah, I mean, I've seen a team on my phone
earlier this morning. I don't know whether it's actually the
official team or not, but, yeah, it'll be interesting. You know,
it looks like Satiti and Lakai, I mean, I think
they're going really good. So, no, I'm looking forward to
the game. I'll definitely watch it, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (33:47):
Yeah, good on you, Daryl. All right, Sergeant Dan Stockfoods,
if people want to get in touch, what do they do?

Speaker 6 (33:51):
0800 SGT DAM.

Speaker 2 (33:55):
Daryl Moyles, always appreciate your time on the muster.

Speaker 6 (33:58):
Thanks, Andy.

Speaker 5 (33:59):
Good to talk to you.

Speaker 1 (34:02):
Daryl Moyles of Sgt Dan's Stock Food, based right here
in Gore. You'll see them on the main street beside
the railway line at the roundabout. If you don't know
where streets are in Gore, you certainly know landmarks and
the big Scottish thistle on the side as well. To
wrap up next, Tim Baker from Clinton Young Farmers. This

(34:33):
is the muster on Hokanui. Tim Baker of Clinton Young
Farmers catches up on a Tuesday afternoon.

Speaker 2 (34:40):
Tim, good afternoon. How are you, mate?

Speaker 4 (34:42):
Good, Andy, and yourself?

Speaker 1 (34:44):
Can't really complain. Now, you're farming on the old coach road.
How are ground conditions there, dare I ask?

Speaker 4 (34:50):
Still quite soggy.

Speaker 6 (34:52):
Very waterlogged.

Speaker 4 (34:54):
The wave of the sun and the wave of the
wind start drawing things out pretty quick.

Speaker 1 (34:59):
How many seasons have you been there now, Tim, based
where you are?

Speaker 4 (35:03):
This is my second season here now, so I'll be
just coming up two years in November.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
Well, OK, you compare this back to last September, which
wasn't flash. We all know the state of play there,
but where you're based, I'm not far from quite aware of.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
How are you finding it?

Speaker 4 (35:19):
Well, I already worked about 80 hectares of ground in
August last year. Haven't done that this year.

Speaker 6 (35:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (35:26):
Bit more snow this year. Last two weeks we've had
a couple of good dumps of that and the wind
has just been something unreal over here. I'm sure a
lot of other people around the area have been getting
it too, especially the coastal blocks, but it's just been
hammering us here.

Speaker 2 (35:42):
How are you looking for grass covers?

Speaker 4 (35:44):
Good, really good. We do a fair bit of winter crop,
100 hectares of swedes and 100 hectares of chow as well,
so we're looking pretty good for cover at the moment.
News will be going on tonight Nice comfy pastures and
all in good order at the moment. So everything's looking good.
We just need some sun.

Speaker 2 (36:04):
It's good to see you've got some tucker.

Speaker 4 (36:06):
Oh, yeah. Yeah. We're good for that. To be honest,
it's been pretty mild over the winter, though. Like, grass
has still been growing.

Speaker 1 (36:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (36:14):
So everything's been pretty crazy, really.

Speaker 2 (36:17):
Everything was really good up until about mid-June. Then the
tap went on.

Speaker 6 (36:20):
Correct.

Speaker 5 (36:21):
Yep.

Speaker 4 (36:22):
Yeah, thoughts. Hey, you guys are having a wee bit
good here. I might change that up.

Speaker 1 (36:26):
That's just a state of play, unfortunately. But look, there's
a lot of things going on. This afternoon, it's not
going to be tropical by any means. Like you say,
we've got the rain away for a little bit, hopefully
for quite a while. But look, Clinton Young Farmers, Tim,
you're involved with the team there. How's it all been recently?

Speaker 4 (36:43):
Going really good at the moment. Actually hosted their biggest
meeting recently. bloody near ever last night we had about
58 members there 58? 58 people turned up we were
a bit crammed in they started running out.

Speaker 2 (36:56):
Of chairs where were you holding the meeting?

Speaker 4 (36:59):
We had the meeting down at the Crossroads pub but
usually speaking we usually get round that sort of 25
to 30 mark and they just kept pouring through the
door I thought this is this is great but I
was watching the tables dwindle it's unreal.

Speaker 2 (37:13):
The bar staff would have loved.

Speaker 4 (37:14):
It oh yeah yeah kitchen was a wee bit busy
but they pulled through I made it happen.

Speaker 2 (37:20):
So why the surge in numbers?

Speaker 4 (37:23):
We few internationals at the moment. Few come over from
the UK. They must be doing a wee bit of
a holiday or exchange or something over here. I didn't
quite get around all the tables last night, which was
a bit busy. But no, we must just be doing
some pretty good advertising. Everyone's keen to get involved.

Speaker 2 (37:39):
No, hell good.

Speaker 1 (37:40):
All from farming backgrounds or just non-farming backgrounds as well,
as you guys always encourage?

Speaker 4 (37:45):
I'd say probably about 90% from the rural sector, sort
of dairy, machine beef. There's only a few rural professionals
in there, a couple of ferret reps and bankers and whatnot,
but the majority of the club is in the farming sector,
which is cool. Usually our biggest meeting's the first one

(38:05):
of the year, sort of around February. You get a
lot of people, you know, it's a bit cruisier time
of the year on the farm, but everyone must have
just been keen to come and have a yak and
have a beer, because, I mean, it's been pretty miserable
on farm, so try to get off as much as
you can.

Speaker 1 (38:22):
Do you reckon that had a bit to do with
it last night, and do you think as a result
of that, will there be a flow-on effect for membership?

Speaker 4 (38:29):
Well, hopefully. The idea is to try and turn those
numbers into members, but I just think with how miserable
things have been on farm, everyone's just keen to get
out and just have a yak, catch up with their
fellow people, and, you know, you're not the only one
out there that's going through it, so... Just get to
talk to people, really. That's the main thing.

Speaker 1 (38:49):
Connor Miller said exactly the same thing last week. Tim,
of course, Balfour, they do their Thirsty Thursday, funny enough,
every Thursday. But you guys there at Clinton, are you
actively involved in social channels during lambing time just to
keep the chat going when the going's tough?

Speaker 4 (39:05):
We're starting to get that running. So we've been heading down,
having a catch-up on a Friday night. at the moment,
just sort of trying to encourage to get as many
people along to that as we can.

Speaker 1 (39:15):
Nice.

Speaker 4 (39:16):
But, yeah, we're trying to keep in contact as much
as we can because we know how tough.

Speaker 7 (39:19):
It can get.

Speaker 1 (39:21):
And it's the same old story, you know, problem shared
is a problem halved. And if you're having a bit
of a, well, let's be honest, it's a shit day
on the carving, on the lambing or whatever, and everything's...
just flat out, and the chance just to talk to
other people and realise, as you alluded to before, you're
not the only one on that boat.

Speaker 4 (39:37):
Yep, yep, it's easy to get the look down a bit, but,
you know, you just get out and have a yak
and catch up with your mates and everything, it makes
life a bit easier, doesn't it?

Speaker 2 (39:46):
No, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (39:46):
What about Telford? Any Telford ones coming along? I think
I've asked you guys this before. You in cahoots with them?

Speaker 4 (39:51):
Yep, yep, yep, yep. So we still get a wee handful.
They sort of come in waves. It must just be
as they sort of slow on from holidays and whatnot,
and if they're actually about. But no, Telford's still floating around.
We don't see as many of them now as we
used to, but they're still coming out every now and
then in good numbers.

Speaker 2 (40:10):
That's a good thing, though.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
I mean, an organisation like that, are you actively working
with Telford to get them to come out? Because there's
no club as such without going, what, probably up to Milton,
I'd imagine.

Speaker 4 (40:20):
Yeah, well, the closest club to us, you know, you're
sort of heading towards Gore, and in the Otago region,
you're actually heading out to sort of Tapanui, Dunedin way,
and sort of the two closest clubs to us. But no,
Telford's a real good place to start because that's like
the grassroots of the young farmer sector. Yeah. So get
them involved.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (40:42):
So as far as activities, anything coming up while it's
busy over the next few weeks?

Speaker 2 (40:47):
Meals and the likes, what are you doing?

Speaker 4 (40:49):
We're reasonably quiet. We might try to head along to
a Stags game or an Otago game within the next
month if we can, but it's really just heads down
and get through the tail end of carving and all
the ones that are starting lambing now. Just groove through that,
but we'll definitely be trying to have some social events,
but nothing No bigger events on the calendar just for
this month. October we'll start hooking into it again.

Speaker 1 (41:12):
Okay, you had your meeting last night, but of those
58 people that turned up and listening, like, yeah, it
was good last night, I want to come back and
have another go and get involved with YFC.

Speaker 2 (41:21):
What are the dates?

Speaker 4 (41:22):
So we meet the first of every month at 7.30,
first Monday of every month, sorry, at 7.30 at Crossroads
in Clinton. We've got a group chat, so most of
those ones that turned up last night will be part
of that, so we're posting that regularly.

Speaker 2 (41:38):
Awesome.

Speaker 4 (41:40):
Facebook, all social medias and that, we're posting all that.
There's flyers up in the pubs and everything around the area,
and really just word of mouth. Everyone I catch up with,
I'm telling, and so forth, with a few other members
in the club, so drum up as much as we can.

Speaker 1 (41:58):
Hey, thanks for the chat. Congratulations on those numbers for
last night. That's staggering when you think about it. And
it's going to be, it's a marathon, not a sprint,
but there is a finish line in sight over the
next three or four weeks.

Speaker 2 (42:10):
Yeah, thanks for your time. Hope it goes well.

Speaker 4 (42:12):
Oh, that's good. Sun's out now, Andy, so smiles are
all going.

Speaker 1 (42:19):
Laugh out loud with Ag Proud, because life on the
land can be a laughing matter. Brought to us by
Shearwell Data, working to help the livestock farmer. I was
shopping for a tuxedo, but the salesman just wouldn't stop
hovering over me.

Speaker 2 (42:33):
I finally said, I'll look on my own. He shrugged
and said, suit yourself. Hey, shout out.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
Clinton Young Farmers. 58 members coming along last night to
your meeting.

Speaker 2 (42:44):
Well done, guys. Great to see. Right, that's us over
in Dunmouth. I'm Andy Muir. The show, of course, is
brought to you by Peter's Genetics. Party's going up shortly.
Enjoy the afternoon. See you tomorrow at 1 o'clock. Hey, well,
all right, sir.

Speaker 7 (42:57):
Here we go there and what are they going to
give for?

Speaker 1 (43:00):
Stock selling action occurs courtesy of PDG Rights. And Sam
Riley was on the ground at Longville Sail Yards with
prices for your Tuesday afternoon.

Speaker 2 (43:08):
Good afternoon, Sam. How did we fare?

Speaker 5 (43:10):
G'day, Andy. How are you getting on, mate?

Speaker 7 (43:12):
Probably didn't hit the $ 500 mark this week, but, yeah.
Still a reasonable yarding of prime lambs still coming in.
Just a handful of ewes in today. Still a reasonable
yarding of store lambs in. And the cattle store market
was just sticky enough with the way the weather's been
over the last 10 days. So we'll kick it off
with the prime sheep. Those heavy lambs, $ 300 to $ 392.

Speaker 5 (43:33):
The mediums, $ 220 to $ 280.

Speaker 7 (43:34):
And the lighter end climbs at $ 180 to $ 216. The ewes,
the best of those heavy ewes, $ 280 to $ 348. Medium's
$ 230 to $ 270, and the Lighterine U's at $ 170 to $ 196.
A handful of rams in today, the best.

Speaker 5 (43:50):
Of those, $ 138 to $ 150.

Speaker 7 (43:50):
Into the store sheet we go. The top of those
store lambs, $ 200 to $ 220. The Medium's $ 160 to $ 180,
and the Lighterine one's at $ 130 to $ 145. Just a
handful of prime cattle in. We've got their steers at
$ 610 kgs, $ 4. 80. Peppers at 465 kilos, $ 4. 70, and cows

(44:20):
at 530 kgs.

Speaker 2 (44:22):
$ 3.

Speaker 5 (44:22):
10.

Speaker 7 (44:23):
Into the store market, as I said, it was reasonably
sticky on the store market, that's the way the weather was,
but there's some here across stairs at 406 kgs, $ 18.

Speaker 4 (44:32):
20.

Speaker 7 (44:32):
Some here across heifers at 443 kilos, $ 15. 20. Some here
across stairs at 368 kilos, $ 17. 20. Moving into the yearlings,
some yearling Angus cross stairs at 265 kilos, $ 14.

Speaker 6 (44:49):
60.

Speaker 7 (44:50):
And some yearling Hereford cross heifers at $ 128.

Speaker 5 (44:53):
00.

Speaker 7 (44:54):
They were $ 1, 050. So that wraps up the store market.
A handful of bobby calves in today. Reasonable demand for
better quality stuff there for some charolais bulls at $ 240.
The tops of the Hereford bulls at $ 210. 00. the tops
of the hair of the heifers at $ 120, and there

(45:14):
was a lot of freezing balls there at $ 100. So, yeah,
there was actually demand there for a bit of quality
in bobby calves as well.

Speaker 5 (45:22):
That wraps it up, mate.