The Muster Full Show: 23/09/25

Andy Muir talks to Jason Herrick, Nigel Woodhead, Grant McMaster, Julian Tohiariki, Nick Robinson and Sam Riley.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Good afternoon, and welcome to the muster on Hakanui Andy
muy here until two o'clock thanks to Peter's to Nenax,
thanks to your company with sunshine on Main Street. It
is a cloudy sky, but the weather is a lot
warmer than what it was last night in particular. Nonetheless,
we carry on the exponents the tunes.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
And they did perform at the TG.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
About three years ago, infamous for Howie Morrison's extreme dancing
that night.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Five day forecasts brought to you by twin Farm, Tefron
and Sufftext.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
The proof is in the progeny Teffron dot co dot Nz.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Tuesday partly cloudy, we breezy sour westleys and twelve Wednesday cloudy,
we're breezing r westerleyes five and fourteen.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Thursday morning showers of sour westerly is.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Later on three and twelve Friday scattered thunderstorms with breezey
sell easterlies three and nine and Saturday shellers of breeze
nor westerlies five and twelve. So temperatures Clinton eight point
eight Northern South and eight point eight Riverton ten who
have in South from nine point one to the row
at nine point eight Winton nine in Woodlands nine point eight,
Jason Herricks, president of South and Federated Farmers, gets us

(01:21):
underway Nigel wood Head Farms in South Otago. We catch
up with Nige and get engaged for the season as
far as the red meat price as well. From Nigel's perspective,
Grant disaster McMaster a close friends station calls by for
a chat.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Really wet him in the basin by the sounds of it.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Julian to Hiaariki, A fine emergency in New Zealand with
some tony reminders the head of the Springs Spring socle
On Farm and Nick Robertson from my tiny young farmers
and our young farmer's chat.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
He's back Samo Roley, Sam.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Riley from PGG Rights and giving us a rundown on
those Luiville prices. Then we start the Hour of Jason Herricks.
This is the muster until two o'clock. Things to beaters
genetics tell me what Jason Herrick, as President of South

(02:14):
and Federative Farmers. He's been in the news recently between
Federative Farmers and Environments Southland regarding these winter grazing costs,
which Jason claims is nothing more than revenue gathering.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
We haven't heard spoken to Jason for a couple of weeks.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
He's coming on to say what's happened in a couple
of weeks since Good afternoon, Jason.

Speaker 4 (02:36):
Good afternoon, Indian. What a caol song to come on.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
To a bit of exponents for a Tuesday afternoon. Nothing better.
Look the matter in hand regarding Federative Farmers and Environments Southland.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
What's the latest there?

Speaker 4 (02:51):
Hey, Look, I'm working through it day by day at
the moment and talking with farmers and helping farmers at
the table with them, talk with environments South and over
the cost of recovery and voices, and obviously in dialogue
with counselors and so on. And next step for me
is to organize a meeting with Environments South and head

(03:11):
Rob and Nicol Horror as well. But you know, there's
been a lot of too in and throwing in the media.
There's been a lot of accusations been thrown out there.
And one thing I really want to clear up today
is that I have been accused of being a one
man band in this and this is my own personal
offndetta where it's actually not. I want to make it

(03:34):
known that I represent a full executive that has my
back and they're right behind me on this. I don't
do anything unless I have there, okay from my executive,
which is seventeen representatives around the table, and obviously the
wider community as well, with all the phoncals that I'm
having with farmers and you know, and they're asking me
to do this on their behalf because they're afraid that

(03:56):
they will be targeted by Environment South and if they
put their head up and you know, and so there's
that element of fear coming through. And that's one of
the things I keep banging on about. So I would
like Environments South and to be honest with you, to
take ownership and actually, you know, admit that there's a
few issues going on in Environments South and they need
to sort it out, listen to the message instead of

(04:17):
coming and attacking the messenger.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
But do you think dialogue should have happened last week
based on what's gone on? If has got to this stage,
I mean, everyone's adults here. It's a matter of getting
around a table and just making it work.

Speaker 4 (04:29):
Surely, absolutely, And I've been a big fan of that,
have done a lot of that in the past, and
to be honest, a lot of it falls on deafares.
And I've said it before that I have engaged with
Environments South and Staff with particular cases with farmers, and
you get bound from person to person and division to
division and nothing ever gets resolved right. And a lot

(04:51):
of the time it's being being hidden behind the roma,
been hidden behind rules for this. There's absolutely no common
sense to a lot of it, and to me, it
just speaks that they are pushing it a particular narrative
and they're going to stick to it, and that narrative
creates the angst and fear that's out there in the
community towards Environment South. And so it's about building relationships

(05:12):
back the other way and Environment South and I've got
to install confidence out there and farmers that they can
be trusted so people.

Speaker 5 (05:19):
Can be working with it.

Speaker 4 (05:20):
But the way things are going at the moment, and
more and more farmers are coming forward now, especially around
the point that Environment South and Staff are entering farm
without notification or without the farmers on farm, which in
my opinion is extremely wrong.

Speaker 5 (05:36):
And yeah, it.

Speaker 4 (05:37):
Needs to be sorted, you know, sooner rather than later.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
But you'll have Nichols phone number. You say dialogue your
two way street. Surely you can just message them and
say we need to.

Speaker 4 (05:45):
Talk one hundred percent. And I talked to Nickel plenty
of times and other counselors as well, right, And it
depends on who you talk to and whether you get
support or whether you don't. And everyone has a difference
of opinion. Right, So you agree to disagree on a
lot of things, and I'm all for that, but we
need results out of this as well. Right, And instead

(06:06):
of hiding behind the likes of the roma and the
rules and so on, when common sense can prevail with
just a like you say, a good chat at the
table and and sort these issues out where a lot
of these issues are caused because compliance staff are only
doing as they're told Andy and from from the heads
up the top, to do the particular job in a

(06:28):
particular way. And to be honest, it's confronting and very
very off putting for farmers, you know. I mean, you
take into accounter compliance officer turning up with a body
camera on, and I understand why they're wearing body cameras
for their own protection, but that's confronting for a farmer.
Straight up absolutely confronting. But then the way they deliver

(06:48):
themselves in certain dialogue only exacerbates the situation and it
gets it gets people off side straight away.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
Jason, you talk about getting results out of this, what
exactly is a result? Give the nature of the seat, the.

Speaker 4 (07:02):
Result is for farmers to be taken seriously and that
they nott all but behaving.

Speaker 5 (07:08):
In a bad way.

Speaker 4 (07:09):
You know that they all want to do the right thing.
It's how you present yourself or how you deal with
the situation, you know, first up, So is that particular
training that needs to happen with staff or is that
particular training that needs to happen at a management level?
Is you know, because you're dealing with multiple personalities, different
people talking and and and you know, engaging with one another,

(07:33):
and quite often those personalities can clash. It's given the
training in the right right space to make sure you
get the best outcoming. And in this situation, the way
environments South and has gone about it I think is wrong.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
So why is the whole winter grazing situation blowing up
compared to other years?

Speaker 4 (07:53):
Again, it comes down to the way environments South and
the conducting things. And I understand that they've got a
role to do, and they've got a job to do,
and they're trying.

Speaker 6 (08:01):
To stick by the rules.

Speaker 4 (08:05):
You know, at the moment we see the compliance officers
in particular and environments south and seem to have more
power than the police do. You know, police when they
come on to your property have to provide a warrant
to be able to come onto your property, where these
environments South and officers don't seem to have to have
a warrant at all. They've just got to have an
opinion or just cause to think that you are breaking

(08:27):
the rules or breaking the law without having a conversation
with farmers. So it's all in the way you approach things, Andy,
if you approach the farmer in the right manner, you
will get things done. And like I'll give you, I'll
give you a real prime example. You know they did
the flyovers at the beginning of May and the beginning
of June. It took two to three weeks before those
compliance officers ended up on farm and in a lot

(08:49):
of instances, the farmers were getting wroung five minutes before
they show up. You know, they've had two weeks to
contact the farmer. And then I hear excuses that the
contact details aren't always on fire.

Speaker 6 (09:00):
Well, we'll hang on.

Speaker 4 (09:01):
Where do they send the rates to? They can certainly
send out accounts to the right right people, so why
can't they get in contact with the right people? So
you know that, to me, that's just excuses and they've
got to get their processes right and make sure that
you get the trust of farmers back on board.

Speaker 1 (09:15):
I suppose it's a case of getting malepractice out of
the winter grazing system too, though, and it's going to
take time, one.

Speaker 4 (09:22):
Hundred percent of course, it's going to take time and education.
And we've had a wee bit of a lapse in
the in the colms out of Environment South and started
this year. And we did point that out before winter
grazing started on the ten meter buffer that the coms
weren't there. When that changed all of a sudden accord,
everyone might by surprise, right, and that should have been
you know first and for Front of Environment South and

(09:44):
stance and get out there and do a.

Speaker 5 (09:46):
Bit of education.

Speaker 4 (09:47):
But there's also instances out there where there's conflicting advice
been given by one compliance officer compared to another. Again,
I reiterate, it's the perception of the rule from one
compliance officer to another or sustainable ability team member to another, right,
So it's all around different people looking at different things.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
So that's one of the concerns compliance officers in your opinion,
they're not on the same hymn him seat hym sheet
as such.

Speaker 4 (10:13):
It doesn't seem like, you know, wider sector of the
whole staff in environments out they're on the same hymn sheet, right.
It seems like the divisions and they're a divided they're
operating in their own silos and so on.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
You know, good on you, Jason, will leave it there.
Always appreciate your time on the muster.

Speaker 4 (10:31):
You're welcome, Andy, And like I said, I want to
continue this dialogue and it's about having those conversations at
the table, doing the right thing and and and making
sure we get the best outcome for everybody involved, and
you know, to make sure that it's not going to
continue to hurt the economic powerhouse of South.

Speaker 1 (10:52):
Jason here because South and Federated farmers doubling down regarding
his thoughts around environment Southland, South Attalia next nigera wad
Head joins us Niger Wadhead Farms in South Otago between

(11:15):
Bell Cluther and Milton joins us once again from the
Lambing Beat.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
Good afternoon, Nige. How's it going.

Speaker 6 (11:21):
Afternoon, Eddie. Oh, well, it's not raining, so I'll take that.
But it's pretty nippy.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
Hell's it been over the last couple of weeks.

Speaker 1 (11:29):
In general, we're hearing likes of Riverton horrific rainfall figures
of nine inches a week ago for only for the
middle of September.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
How are you coping?

Speaker 6 (11:39):
We're gone? We're gone? Not too bad? Yeah, not too bad. Like, yeah,
last week was a bit rough, some rough days and
it was it was a bit average, but yeah, like
at the moment we took along nicely. It's it's cold today,
but at least it's not raining.

Speaker 2 (11:56):
So the Lambing's going to plan.

Speaker 6 (11:59):
No, it seems to be a right even last week
at the rough weather. You know, like if lambs were
born up on top of the hell out of the shelter,
it was a bit hard on them, but there was
you know, there was nasty shellers would come through and
then we'd get a break, so you know, like those
newborn lambs would get a chance to stand up and
have a feed and and then you know if another

(12:22):
nasty shower would come through either and would sit down
and hunker down. So we lost a handful, but it
wasn't you know, it wasn't real bad. It wasn't catastrophe
by any means. And yeah, so we're looking looking pretty good. Actually,
I think covers are all right. Jup Peddick's Yeah. I
mean you would love fifteen degrees of sunshine every day,

(12:44):
but they ain't going to happen, so we'll just take
what comes.

Speaker 2 (12:47):
How far through would you be.

Speaker 6 (12:50):
Halfway? Yeah? Yeah, easy, halfway? I think we would do
to start on the eleventh, so what's that twelve days ago?
So you will be easy halfway? Easy halfway now, Like
you know, some of those first ten days paddicks are
either done or only got one or two using them left,

(13:10):
and there's not many You're not many sheep for the
next second half the first cycle seat stocks. So yeah,
well we probably could be two thirds away through.

Speaker 1 (13:20):
Actually yeah, now straight HWI won between Bell Clother and
Milton is notorious for some pretty narly wins. Now where
you're farming there, what's the win situation being? Like, are
you reasonably shouted?

Speaker 7 (13:32):
Oh?

Speaker 6 (13:33):
Are we here as well, So those those sort of spots,
but just just north of Beller clother here the wind
whistles up those galleyes and across State Hallway one will
wear sort of you know, if you carry on follow
the wind direction. We're on the other side of the
lake over there. So yeah, we cop it a bit
here too, but their peddicks with good shelter either from

(13:57):
hedges or pine tree blocks handle it not too bad.
But we've got some exposed ridges out of the fact
that that can that can pop up. But around like
you know, mom, Mum and dad talk about when we
were little kids walking across our yard and getting blown
over in the wind guft, so they planted some trees,

(14:17):
you know, on the on the windward side of the
yard and like, so we've never had anything like that
with our kids. So you shelter and in forestry made
a big difference to help, wouldn't it is around the
farm yet.

Speaker 2 (14:33):
So when your appearance did the landing beat?

Speaker 1 (14:35):
Was it a case of the old freggie trector or
something putting around the farm or perhaps are two wheeler
with the trailer in toe with kids as well as
everything else.

Speaker 6 (14:44):
Uh No, No, I when we came here dead. I
think we had a trick when we came here, and
that soon got traded in for a for a big
beer Yamaha big beer four wheeler, two wheel drive.

Speaker 1 (14:59):
You had the b Frog, didn't you.

Speaker 2 (15:02):
You had the bullfrog, the three wheel bull frog, the.

Speaker 6 (15:04):
Yellow yea, the death trick, and yeah with it because
Mum and Dad came here from from the try planes
where it was pretty much flat, so the truck was fine,
but coming here that wasn't much good. So yeah, I
always had a full or pretty much always had a
full wheeler. But yeah, like she was, she was pretty

(15:27):
full on. Back then they talked about I think mom
talks about mothering on one hundred and eighty YUS one
year just as the US were rubbish moms. And yeah,
they had to do everything you could, keep every lamb
alive to play the bills when they weren't worth so much.
So yeah, things are a wee bit different these days.

Speaker 2 (15:43):
Well, you'd like to think the nets has come a.

Speaker 6 (15:45):
Long way massively. Yeah, Like I don't even take a
trailer with me on the lemming beak there I had
I had actually had two us of the limbs on
my first couple of paddocks this morning, one had two
limbs coming at once, so that was just but unfortunate.
So we'll I think we'll find a lambed mother onto
one of them anyway. But I think there'll be the

(16:07):
third year we've mothered on this season, so we might
we'll probably get through with only lemon on half mothering
on half a dozen. So yeah, it's you sheeper, Yeah,
being bred for that mothering ability. You know, we've got
a bit of shelter. Fences are in the right place
so sheep can get over over the hill out of
the out of the weather, and the user in pretty

(16:31):
good nick this year, which makes a mess of difference.
Then we've got not big covers, but we've got antiquate
feed covers pretty much over the whole farm. So all
of those things all work together to help that mothering ability.
That's all pretty important.

Speaker 1 (16:45):
Red meat prices, what are your thoughts around the season?
At the moment, they're up above ten dollars, but they
always corrects itself. Nonetheless, it's looking pretty rosy as you'd expect.

Speaker 6 (16:54):
Yeah, that was good. We I think I spoke to
the other while ago. I made a call in August
I killed half my ulms and bought a hand for
yous to replace them, and yeah, like I just we
killed the last of them last week, and yeah, I
think it's gonna I wanted, I really wanted to turn
a dollar check. Yeah, we're not going to quite get that.

(17:18):
There'll be one hundred and ninety something dollars. But I
was just yelling to a mate this morning, who I
think he was talking ten dollars fifty, So it's there's
there's big money, big money. But yeah, it's good. We'll
take it while it's there. Be interesting to see what
we'd s it was out mid season. I think I

(17:38):
put eight dollars in my budget or eight been eight
dollars for decem vir Jinuary and seven for later on,
just trying to be reasonably conservative because you know, one
of these days it will fall, and when it gets
as high as it is, you know, prices ten to
four like a stone. So hopefully it's better than that,
but you know, the budget still stecks up at that,
so we'll.

Speaker 5 (17:58):
We'll we'll work on that for now.

Speaker 6 (17:59):
I think more than it's a bonus.

Speaker 1 (18:01):
It'll probably fall at some stage, but nonetheless, the demand
for re meeat protein around the world. It's got to
work in New Zealand's favor, doesn't it.

Speaker 6 (18:08):
Odd percent in Yard's on us as business meant to
make the most an opportunity while it's there, because we've
all seen high prices before and plenty of people have
been burnt by thinking the high prices is going to
carry on longer than they do. So yeah, I don't know,
I reckon. Yeah, We've probably got another year or so
in it, and then we'll see what happens after that.

(18:32):
But like I said, I always trying to take the
take a conservative approach and then anything above that's a
bonus and seems to work.

Speaker 7 (18:39):
All right.

Speaker 2 (18:40):
Good on your Nige.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
We'll let you get back to the trenches. Appreciate your
time as always.

Speaker 6 (18:44):
Good as thanks any.

Speaker 2 (18:48):
Nigel.

Speaker 1 (18:48):
One head farming in the south of Tago. This is
the master from one part of a targo to another part.
Granted is as McMaster at closer In Station.

Speaker 2 (18:56):
We catch up next.

Speaker 1 (19:13):
Grab McMaster joins us once again on the edges of
the lake wacket Tip a close bar in station. Thanks
to Aby Rural, we catch up with disaster. Good afternoon, Grant,
how are you.

Speaker 7 (19:23):
Good up theon Andy got up and everybody, no, very
well this afternoon, thank you.

Speaker 2 (19:27):
Just a little bit damp, I believe, yes, he's.

Speaker 7 (19:30):
Damp one hundred and twenty six miles since Thursday. So yeah,
sort of getting forties forties forty six's and one again
it hasn't been to the chill factor hasn't been around,
and you know we're stalkingen days away from landing. But
see it's wet and again, springs just roaring out of

(19:51):
everywhere that your lock, and water falls coming down and
the sides of the roads and a bit of a
mess and what have you. But yes to Artember of
the day is seven or one with seven and one
was seven and a half. So you know it's good
nine degrees at the moment. And the steam sort of
steam coming off the road and which is great, but

(20:11):
we don't grow them, we don't graze the road. They're ten.
A bit of steam coming off the paddles and that
grass going. But you know she's pretty tight. But you know,
I was just I was looking back on a diary
from last year and well a couple of weeks earlier.
You know, we were September, end of August and September
was really wet last year, and I'd see we had

(20:32):
that we had a seventy we had a seventy mil
and one dollop and then forty in the next so
similar to what we had this week. But that was
all in two days. So yeah, grounds pretty saturated and
we could do with you know, do with some good,
fine hot days. But the long range forecast of here

(20:52):
is not just looking at good. It's still well, the
tempers are up nineteen degrees, still quite a bit of
rain to come. So I know it certainly changed from
what it was, you know, twenty odd years ago when
we came here. And I know climate climate is changing
for various reasons, and you know it's always changed and
it always will do. But you know, always August and

(21:15):
in September were always quite good months and what have you.
But yeah, it's just sense of the last few years
it's been that when we're getting the getting the rain,
nothing through the winter and then sort of sort of
dry in the autumn. So yeah, we have to look
at what we're doing at.

Speaker 1 (21:32):
Least late what is it what I filled off, it's
not that long ago you were talking about it being
too low.

Speaker 7 (21:36):
It was low. Yeah, it's really it's really high. And
actually last week, I think it was last week. It
was last Wednesday. I was over the Home and Gully
block and I got a call from sharing that works
for me to say that she was in town. Couldn't
get back out of the station because at the one
mile which is at the Fern Hill there, the big

(21:57):
slip had come down a lot of water, and she
was she was correct on that, and in fact, I
couldn't get home at night till about seven o'clock so
I because of the rain and it had just come down,
blown out colvits and blocked the road. So a lot
of traffic caught, you know, backed up from Genorky, the
people that work up there coming back to Queenstown, the

(22:18):
people that live in Queenstown work in Queenstown, trying to
get back to Gonawky. So yeah, it was about four
or five hours and people were queued up. So it
was all right for some of them. They just went
back to the pub and had a few would imagine,
but it's all clear, and you know, you go through
there now and you wouldn't know what had happened. But yeah,
these rain events, there's certainly events.

Speaker 1 (22:38):
Grant you want to come in today around a rancher
from the States, and he's talking about a disturbing number
regarding sheep figures over there.

Speaker 7 (22:47):
Yeah. So I just reading in the country wide that
I get and it's the headings called leave the terrace
to the farmer. The guy Hank Volga, and he started
evolgure sorry, and he started farming and ranching as they
call it in nineteen seventy one up in sort of
the boundaries in Nevada and Arizona. And as the outbre

(23:10):
he runs is called need More Sheep. It's the Need
More Sheep Company, and he runs seven thousand Marina US.
And then the article he goes to say that, you know,
they can't get the globe there to share them, so
basically it's the Kiwi boys and girls go over there
and do that. But and he just has article he's
an advocate for the for the free trade and he

(23:30):
said that, you know, and basically that he's saying that,
especially in the agricultural sector, the farmers there just need
to get their ducks in the line and get a
bit more support within the country probably, But he said
that in the US there were sixty million sheep, and
that's now down to three million three million books, so

(23:52):
sixteen million to three million. And they have very little infrastructure.
So so whether it's be sharing transportation and process and facilities,
he said it, you know, such a good country and
it's very vast in bust area that they that they
can get these things done. And you said that the
he said, it's gotten the stage that in his opinion,

(24:15):
he said without the invitation, without importing meat land, he
said their markets that they that they without the imported land,
their markets are limited to basically sort of religious holidays
and selling the farmer's market. So he's saying that there's

(24:35):
more and more with more and more foreign people coming
into the country. That is basically what's what's keeping their
their their red meat up. And I was just sort
of thinking between the lines with the what what was
the Trump's doing it that might be good for for
the me But he basically said that and if they

(24:56):
didn't if they didn't have those big religious events, they
he said they certainly and they continue said they desperately
need air Land to meet the quota that they were
to try and meet what they've got and he said
it's he said they we sort of covered this. He said,
there there's sheep, there's sheeper, all run on what they

(25:16):
call federal land, and that you know they've got the
greenies over there that I think the hard one range
is right, as you know, has not applicable now, so
they obviously over the years, you know, they are able
to get the land. And now that the fraction comes
in a bit like around the world, that the green

(25:38):
element don't want them there and they're more keen on
re introduced from the large credators.

Speaker 1 (25:46):
When you say Rancher, I straight away the fault to
the blazing settles bean seen.

Speaker 7 (25:52):
Well that's yeah, well that is that's a great film
and everybody should probably have a look at that. But
I don't think you're allowed to now. I don't think
it's politically correct to what's said.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Is that right, of course it does.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
Is nothing wrong if it is all about the Western
lifestyle ground nothing wrong with that.

Speaker 7 (26:08):
No indeed. And so you know it's it's it's sort
of the theme that we're hearing more and more, you know,
we've got people are you know, he's saying that people
are still wanting wanting protein. And he said because he
went to finish out, and he said, the good news
is red meat consumption is up substantially in America. Recent

(26:28):
recent cultures moving to America eat lamb and the carnival
diet is in vogue. And they say over there, he
reckons that walls making it come back as a natural fiber,
which we talk about here a bit and can't believe
why it's not even more popular. And he said, he
reckons the American farmers and the sheep farmers should sit down,
knock back a few knocked back a few beers, he said,
straighten the mes up. And he said, we shaid pick

(26:50):
a cold day so the politicians will have their hands
in their own pockets. So I thought that was quite
a good quote to finish with.

Speaker 2 (26:56):
Yeah, really interest the ground as well.

Speaker 1 (26:58):
God bless the US, say, and God bless grant disastervic
Master brought to us by Abby Ruralill. Always appreciate your time.

Speaker 7 (27:04):
Yeah, good talking. We'll talk next week.

Speaker 1 (27:08):
Grab vic Master on the edges of Lake wakat Tapoo.
This is the muster up. Next Julian to Hierarchi from
Feign Emergency, New Zealand, arguably the biggest song for the

(27:29):
exponents from nineteen ninety one. Why does love do this
to me? You're listening to the muster on Hakanui. Julian
to Hierarchi of fire an emergency in New Zealand. He
is the Southern Southern District Manager. Joins us next, Julian,
how are you good to catch up?

Speaker 3 (27:44):
It's a great thanks, Andy, good to be back on
the show.

Speaker 1 (27:47):
Now from a foreign emergency New Zealand perspective, there's quite
a bit that you need to really think about at
the moment.

Speaker 2 (27:54):
You're coming into springtime. You've got through the winter.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
But it's a good chance just for a few subtle reminders,
because every day is different on the farm, and so
is the changing of the seasons, which brings different challenges.

Speaker 3 (28:07):
Of course it does too. And look as the days
are starting the linked and out now, which is fantastic,
and weather's a changing, seasons are changing, particularly at the
moment too. It's just I mean, you will know and
the farmers will know that it gets to be quite
a windy time at the moment, right, so we get
a lot of winds coming in now for the next
couple of months, and you know it's about being really
you know, at the moment with no pyramits around it
and most of the areas, not all of the areas,

(28:28):
but to making sure that those fires are out during
at the nighttime when those winds might pop up and
causing some issues through those as well. So it's about
and also two Indy is that even though we've had
quite a bit of rain across the district, it doesn't
always mean that things are wet as well as it
takes very little for these winds and some warm weathers
to dry out the paddocks, therefore making the fuel more

(28:49):
available to burn.

Speaker 1 (28:52):
Jillian, what does it take for fire pyramids to come
into play?

Speaker 3 (28:56):
So what we do is, if you're thinking having a
burn of any sort, do we get onto the website
kick It's all white to light and gives you this
five seasons and it towns you you know we're who
to contact and for those small complex fires or bigger
fires that we will have someone one of the teams
from here from Ambercago will come out and have a
sight visit to make sure everything's in place. Now, the

(29:18):
key thing around the permitting is making sure that you
know we've got conditions in a permit. What we found
over the last few year is getting way better. But
you must read the conditions of your permits and follow
those to the instructions because quite often if we don't
come out for side visit, we're relying on acurate information
from from the burners and you know we're there to
help we we can, so yeah, check it's all white

(29:42):
to light.

Speaker 2 (29:43):
Irrelevant point.

Speaker 1 (29:45):
Irrelevant point Jillian you bring up regarding the wind and
the likes and we had that situation on Saturday ten
or eleven days ago where it was horrific to say
the least. It just brings in a whole new set
of challenges as well.

Speaker 3 (30:00):
Absolutely too, So we've just got to be recognized the
change of the seasons and the change of the weather
bands from our nice, calm, beautiful August into now into
the change in the seasons, the winds, the rain and
then the warm weathers. It's just really unpredictable.

Speaker 7 (30:15):
So what I would suggest.

Speaker 3 (30:16):
To just during this time as the farmers are getting back,
is checking the tractors and implement or that, you know,
for bird's nests and things before starting them up if
they've had them locked up over the winter time, because
that causes us a lot of fires. There's bird nests
stuck into the tractors and things, so there will be
another good one to do as well.

Speaker 2 (30:34):
I seen a photo of this the other day.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
Actually, you think it's too rarely and too cold for
this to occur, but those sparrows don't give a rats
about anything. They just hop in there regardless of the
time of year, right.

Speaker 3 (30:44):
And they can be hereditary too, so the you know,
the families come back to the same places where they nested,
and so if you've got to they'll come back every
year to the same spot and they don't care.

Speaker 7 (30:53):
Let us want a nice one.

Speaker 3 (30:53):
But honestly, it's a real cause of and you know
some of these tractors that we're talking about these days
are they're so expensive and you know, just keep an
eye on them, just have a quick look around under
the bonnet and those key areas where it could start
a fire. Was an easy insurance policy, to be honest.
Any and I guess you know we talked about daylight
saving this weekend. It's just for the general general people

(31:16):
out there, is about checking your smoke alarms worse to
try to push cheeck your smoke alarms. A daylight saving
and that you know that is just making sure it's clean,
it's got the you know, wipe it down test that
we push the way button, make sure it's still working.

Speaker 5 (31:27):
There's prints.

Speaker 3 (31:28):
Pretty much all you need with these new ten year
life batteries though, but cheap none less.

Speaker 1 (31:34):
Daylight saving this week in has crept up as well,
so reminder when you put the clocks forward on Saturday evening,
it's a good time to change those alarmed, to change
the batteries and the alarm and the same old story again.
We talk about fire extinguishers certainly something to happen vehicles.

Speaker 3 (31:50):
Absolutely and looking you know, anything that we can get
our people to do with check like checking your tractors,
you know, flewing out your permits and following the criteria.
It all makes the life a lot easier for a
lot of our volunteer brigades that they're still out there
working as well and saving those unwanted calls or you know,
farmers putting their fires out at nights that the winds
are coming up, and you know, it just stops the

(32:13):
burden on our volunteers by turning out to things where
they shouldn't be turned up to or unnecessary just because
we haven't done our due diligence along those sorts of
things as well. So and quite often through any just
the lastings around permits is that quite often we can
cancel the permits. So we think there's a whole lot
of you know, like a spike day or really hot
weather coming in or windy weathers and you've got a

(32:34):
permit doesn't mean we're going necessary we contact those people
and say, please don't burn over this time. The weathers
are not are looking good for that burn, can you
please hold off? So it's not a car blanche to burn.
So just we need people have common sense. Fountains out.

Speaker 1 (32:47):
You talk about common sense, you talk about fat fires.
One thing that really intrigues me, Julian, is when you
guys bring that trailer around to the different shows and
the likes happening around the South and showing what happens
when you water on a fat fire, that saying just
still blows my mind.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
No pun intended, No, you did right.

Speaker 3 (33:06):
It's quite quite vigial, isn't it. And just that's just
putting the wrong thing on the wrong place. Now, who
wouldn't think about chucking water on a fire? You know,
that's our first reaction. But the reality is what you're
talking about, Andy, is it's absolutely the wrong thing to do.
So there's other ways of putting that fire, you know,
turning it off at the wall for a start, if
it's safe to do so, checking a fire blanket on
top of that, just to stop that, you know, but

(33:27):
certainly water splashes it all over the place, Isn't that interesting?
A lot of people are very blown away by that, Andy,
that how much damage that can do by checking a
pot of water on it.

Speaker 2 (33:36):
Just explain what a fire blanket does well.

Speaker 3 (33:39):
A fire blanket really, in this case, proved blanket is
something like it's just putting a couple of putting the
pot look back on and taking away the ability for
it to get that oxygen and keep burning. So yeah,
it's just another way of you know, shutting that fire
off and stopping that flame from spreading. But of course
we ain't talk about those things when it's safe to
do so. Quite often fires too big, and it's get

(34:01):
yourself out, get yourself out, wring one my money and
get us down there as soon as possible. Don't try
nothing crazy and trying to put the fire out of
the extense of getting burnt or getting smoke, an elation,
or risking anyone's life.

Speaker 7 (34:13):
Put it that way.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
Great words to finish on jury, and always appreciate your
time on the Master.

Speaker 3 (34:17):
No worries, mate, hate good to talk to you. And
be safe out there this spring time in the summer.
You know, I think everything's due for another drive summer apparently,
So let's just keep keep our people safe out there
by doing the right things.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
Julian to Hierarchi a final emergency, New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (34:35):
Some great pointers as well, especially around the iron horses,
check for those bird nests, kick under the bottom and
the likes. Just got to be safe, right. Nick Robinson
from my Towny Young Farmers is up next. This is
the Master. Welcome back to the Master. Before we wrap up,

(35:03):
we catch up with Nick Robinson. Here's vice chair of
Tiny Young Farmers. No, good afternoon.

Speaker 2 (35:09):
How are you good?

Speaker 1 (35:10):
Mate? You I can't really complain now you're based up
there around Clinton as such. Firstly, ground conditions this afternoon,
hell things.

Speaker 5 (35:19):
Oh grand conditions are pretty pretty weird. At the moment,
it was just starting to dry it nicely, but you know,
typical old South and weather, it's sort of just ruined
when you don't want it to.

Speaker 2 (35:32):
How's your feet covers and the likes looking there?

Speaker 3 (35:34):
Oh?

Speaker 5 (35:35):
Fea cover's actually pretty good. You know, we went we
had a pretty mild winter really, so just keep the
feed taken away nicely. And yet it's still taken away
nicely at the moment.

Speaker 2 (35:45):
Now what Tani young Farmers? You're involved there?

Speaker 1 (35:48):
Like I say, voice Chair, is this your first time
going into a position of responsibility I suppose for a
club like that.

Speaker 5 (35:55):
Yeah, yeah it is. Yeah, it's a bit of a
step up, but I should be able to handle it.

Speaker 2 (36:00):
And how long have you been involve young farmers for?

Speaker 5 (36:03):
I think this is my second year of young Farmers.

Speaker 1 (36:07):
Right, we'll get the obvious out of the room for
a starter. Have you still got have you still got
the phone's box for Belfer?

Speaker 5 (36:13):
Ah? No, I don't think we have. I think that's
gone back to Belfer. I think it ends up at
Tiana for a bit, and I don't really I don't
want to really go into that too much.

Speaker 1 (36:24):
Yeah, I know you don't, But the fact is, Helen Earth,
did it end up at Tian now?

Speaker 6 (36:28):
Ah, I'm not.

Speaker 5 (36:30):
I'm not entirely sure. I stayed away from the whole situation. Really,
it's just I don't want to get involved in that.

Speaker 2 (36:37):
So you guys, even though it's September, you've been keeping active.

Speaker 5 (36:41):
Oh, it's been pretty quiet at the moment obviously with
lemming and carbon going on. We've only really wheving, actually
really had much going on lately.

Speaker 1 (36:51):
Just said Tommy Yere, I suppose do you do you
meet up at all, like for a feed or a
beer or anything during September or are you just waiting
for October?

Speaker 6 (36:58):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (36:58):
Yeah, we were the lemming and carving dinner at the
start of this month. It's sort of just an opportunity
for everyone to get off the farm and that we
don't generally have a meeting this month. It's just just
to catch up and a beer with your mates. And yeah,
they're getting on with their lending.

Speaker 1 (37:15):
Do you have like a WhatsApp group running or the
however your young fellows do it these days and fella
asses Snapchat, just groups and group chats going at this
time of year.

Speaker 5 (37:24):
Yeah, we've got all sorts of group chats, Snapchat and
Messenger and all sorts of things. You can see all
the all the stuff ups everyone's head on the farm
or what's going on during.

Speaker 2 (37:34):
The day pretty much. So you're from the South originally, Nick.

Speaker 5 (37:39):
Yeah, yep, always always been down the South, grew up
on were sheep and beef farm up near Milton Waye.

Speaker 1 (37:45):
Nice so young farmers for you, What was the driving
force to get involved?

Speaker 5 (37:50):
Oh, it was just the fact that my mates were
a part of the club and they sort of pushed
me towards coming into Young Farmers and I was always
quite keen on the idea of getting them and something
and doing stuff in the community in it.

Speaker 1 (38:03):
And it always seems to be there, always seems to
be something different on the horizon too, I suppose.

Speaker 5 (38:08):
Yeah, there's always something different. You're always going to a
different event or it's always fun things going on on
the Young Farmers that you can get involved on.

Speaker 1 (38:17):
You look at you farmers and there was like anything.
You know, you need to get a few funds on
the go. What do you guys do there? Do you
have much on the horizon as far as that goes
for fundraise for fundraising?

Speaker 5 (38:29):
Yeah, well, obviously with the Aussie trip we did a
lot of fundraising towards towards us sort of cheering and
crouching and all sorts of things. But yeah, we just
look at doing fundraising. We've got a fundraiser coming up,
so we're doing a tailing fundraiser, should get the thing
account topped up.

Speaker 2 (38:46):
How many lambes or how many fans do you hope
to tail?

Speaker 5 (38:50):
I think they're only doing one or two at the moment.
I'm not. I'm sure.

Speaker 1 (38:54):
It's always a good fundraiser though, when at the end
of the day you get to connect. Now the district,
the district finals are happening at Batani this year, I believe.

Speaker 5 (39:04):
Yep, yep, that's happening this year. We're just in the
planning stages at the moment, at our first meeting the
other day, having a bit of a think about what
we could do in terms of modules and that type
of thing at the district. So what dates that, Oh,
we haven't exactly come up with a date at the moment,

(39:26):
but like I said, we're in the early stages are
planning it, so there'll be more to come in the future.

Speaker 1 (39:32):
Because that'll come around quicker than not as well, I
mean cheap as Where are we now just about the
end of September, for goodness sake, and it's not that
long ago. Since we're down in the picrgo for the
grand final.

Speaker 5 (39:42):
Yeah well yeah, yeah, sort of looking at probably being
at the start of start of next year, the first
couple of months the next year.

Speaker 2 (39:52):
See how many members would you have active there? Waitani
at the moment?

Speaker 5 (39:56):
Oh, a good wee crew of about about forty forty
at the moment.

Speaker 1 (40:02):
That's a really good, not outstanding number of foot for
thought for a start, you're going to say fourteen, but
forty that's pretty cool. So you're getting all the younger
people coming through the rigs.

Speaker 5 (40:12):
Yeah, yeah, quite often, especially this time the year, when
you get people coming from overseas, they quite often under
the young farmers over there and quite keen to join
a cob over here for a bit where they're over
overseeing New Zealand.

Speaker 2 (40:27):
Hey, going on your neck.

Speaker 1 (40:28):
And lastly, I suppose the obvious meeting dates for why Tiny,
When do they occur and where?

Speaker 5 (40:34):
Well, you can find them on our Facebook page, but
it's usually we're usually at the Materia Basstro on the
first Monday or the second Monday of every month.

Speaker 1 (40:46):
Hey, good on you and I can appreciated the chat this afternoon.
All the best with the busy season. And we'll chat again.
Always got to catch up with young farmers here on
the master Yep, no cheer for there, Nicky, good day,
loud with ag proud because life on the land can
be a laughing matter. Brought to us by sheer Well
data working to help the livestock farmer. Two boys were

(41:10):
a wedding when one of the masks the other one.
How many wives can a man have? And his friends
answered sixteen for better, for worse, for richer for poorer.
That's us for the afternoon. I'm Andy Mulla. This has
been the master on hock and he thanks to Peterson Nix,
enjoy the afternoon.

Speaker 2 (41:27):
We'll see you tomorrow. Sunday's up. Hey, well, i'll right too.
He'll go there. And what did he go on to
get for him?

Speaker 1 (41:34):
I'm a twenty five They stock selling action comes courtesy
of PGG, right said, and we've got him back, Sam Riley.
He's a bionic man ready to start a blind side
for the stags on Friday night slam A good afternoon,
welcome back.

Speaker 6 (41:45):
How are you right here?

Speaker 8 (41:47):
You get on not going going well? Actually, recovery's recovery
has been good, so it's all good.

Speaker 1 (41:53):
Talk about recovery. The price of these lambs just gone.
Whish girl, What did we get today?

Speaker 8 (41:58):
We got two eighty three forty on the top mates.
You know, she's still going pretty good. Two twenty to
two sixty on the mediums and the lighter end prime
lambs one seventy two ten into the years, the best
of the years, but of a lefty one sixty to
two hundred bucks on those, the mediums, one twenty to
one fifty in the lighter end years at one hundred

(42:19):
and hundred and fifteen a handful of rams, and today
eighty dollars from the tops of those, and sixty to
seventy for the mediums. There just a very small yarding
of store lamps, coming in one hundred and sixty to
one seventy on the tops, one forty to one fifty
on the bottom the mediums, and one hundred and fifteen
to one hundred and twenty five on the smaller store lambs.

(42:41):
Using lambs all counted a couple of lines of those
in selling very well, one twenty six to one thirty
seven for the using lambs, all counter so that covers
off the set side of a mate.

Speaker 7 (42:51):
Under the kettle.

Speaker 8 (42:52):
Small yardings of kettle and today.

Speaker 7 (42:54):
Just as line with the time of year, heipers at.

Speaker 8 (42:59):
Five hundred as four dollars forty heapers at four hundred
and sixty kilos four dollars thirty heaps at four forty
seven kgs. Dairy heifers there are four four oh five
a handful of cows, and today five hundred and sixty
five kilo cows three dollars ten to three dollars thirty
seven and four hundred and eighty klow cows at two
dollars eighty two dollars ninety two, so it's very strong

(43:20):
market on that. Into the store kettle, just a very
small yarding of store kettle made up mainly of yellings,
so some yelling here for here for cross mixed sex
two hundred ninety five k's twelve hundred and fifty dollars
yelling free and steers at two hundred and fifty kilos
thousand and ninety and some yelling free and balls at
two sixty three kg's one thousand and eighty. That wraps

(43:44):
up the store kettle into the bobby calves, a good
size yarding of bobby calves coming through pretty much all
beef crosster. The hair of a cross balls good good
type of hair for cross balls one hundred and fifty
one hundred and seventy five, the medium here for a
cross balls one hundred and ten, one hundred and twenty
into the here across heifers eighty to one hundred dollars

(44:06):
for the tops of those, and Charlot cross balls tops
of those one hundred and sixty, so everything's selling recently.

Speaker 7 (44:13):
Wearier on the beef.

Speaker 8 (44:14):
In the bobber caps as well, so it was good
to see it wraps up a sunny sunny laundrel, notte
another on the holder