September 9, 2026 • 9 mins
Geordie Eade looks at a damp start to the lambing season plus why hogget lambing has become an integral part of his operation.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome back to the muster, Geordie Ede Farms at the
Riviera of the South, which is Riverton. Probably a little
bit more water than they're used to around there at
the moment.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Geordie, good afternoon, how's things?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Yeah, g'day Andy, how you getting on? Yeah, she's a
bit sort of deja vu, same old story, third year
in a row really, but it might be a wee
bit earlier this year.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Is that how you'd summarise conditions to date compared to
the last two springs?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, well, the last two springs we've got well over
250 mils pretty much for September, October, but this year
we've got 200 for August, so I'm hoping it's coming
a bit earlier and we're going to get a better
run out at the end, really, to be fair, I hope, anyway.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
You've normally got a healthy rainfall there anyway, Geordie. Whereabouts
would you be now in comparison?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Oh, we're bang on average, really. We're bang on average,
whereas this time last year we were behind average, so
we always probably knew that something was coming. So hopefully,
you know, we've been on average where, you know, that
should help some... Some degree, hopefully. You know, we've already
had sort of 80, over 80 mils for September. You
normally average around that 200 for September. So, you know,
hopefully we're over halfway there.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
That'd be good.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I'll take that.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
What are you like for feed there? Because your soil
temperature is over there, notoriously high compared to the rest
of the province. I think today it's around nine degrees.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yeah, well, it's been a bit of a challenge. Funny
you say that, because we've probably mowed through more. I
know I've put a bit of nitrogen on for the
sheep farm here this year, in the last week or so.
I haven't got as probably much as I have in
the past, and that's the first time I've had to
do that since we've taken over the dairy farm. We
haven't put any nitrogen on the dairy farm yet, just
probably from trying to, you know, when nitrogen's $ 1, 300 a tonne,
(01:38):
you sort of try to utilise its worth, really. And
so maybe in the next couple of weeks, we may
look at putting some on down there. But, you know,
we've had to speed up the round down there, just
the fact of not making pasture damage. We're still leaving
a bit of covers behind, and it's recovering pretty well. So,
you know, we're just, you know, the south and spring,
it just keeps giving, and, you know, it could be
a long road. So you sort of, you don't want
(01:59):
to be mashing it up now.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
How's calving gone on the dairy farm?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Yeah, gone really well. You know, we're into the last
sort of probably 15%, 20% now. So, yeah, so the AI,
I think, as of last night, there was only about
three AI cows left to calve. So we're into the... well,
AI replacement cows to calve. So we're then on to
Charolais for a couple of weeks, which is a first
try for me. And then we're into short-shear stations to
(02:25):
finish it off.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Charolais, tell us more about that. Sounds interesting.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Yeah, well, it's sort of something that Beef and Lamb
New Zealand Deer and Deer have been working together to
put the Charolais over the dairy to get that dairy beef.
And the calf comes out all the same colour. So
it certainly creates a good market for those cows, Kiwi
Cross cows, that don't chuck out that Hereford Cross that's
(02:50):
all mottled. They chuck out a more beef calf that,
on dairy and beef and lamb stats, can keep up
with the pure beef, really. So, you know, I think
it's certainly something to look to for the future. I'm
having a bit of a dab. This is only 30-odd,
so we'll see how it goes. Yeah, go on to
make it a bit bigger.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, given the way the beef market is, it's a no-brainer,
I suppose.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Yeah, it is, it is. Yeah, I know a few,
I've got a mate in Canterbury that's been doing it
for a while, and he's actually got contracts for those
four-day-old Charolais calves to go on to. And, you know,
that's certainly something that I think around here that would
be quite lucrative for a rearer to take these Charolais
calves because there certainly could be a good market at
the other end for them.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I see.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
There's all markets out there for them. There's yearlings in
that there now, and it's sort of specifying Charolais, Friesian Cross,
or Dairy Cross.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
So officially lambing, when is it due to get underway?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Yeah, we spread out a couple of days ago, so
we're just winding into it. There's not much this morning,
which is quite good, because that was fairly fresh, and
winch will come through there last night. But yeah, we
sort of probably will be in the peak of it
probably early next week, I would say. And then the
hoggets kick off after that, and then we won't have
much left by the end of September, really.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, when are the hoggets due?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
They normally kick in about the 22nd of September. I
vaccinated them yesterday and split the twins up out of them,
so the twins are now separate. So they're just sort
of fed ad-lib now. The singles are still on break,
and they'll stay on a break pretty much until they're right,
until they lamb. Try and keep the size of that
lamb down a bit.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
I asked Don Moore just previously about this time of year,
and he says he actually enjoys it because you can
just see the big plan coming together on the farm.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
How do you find it?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yeah, no, it's a whole year's work. And I mean,
nobody really realises that, you know, your whole plan for
a sheep farm really comes together in these last two,
these next two, three weeks. And, you know, a bit
of weather and pear shape can chuck out. But, yeah,
particularly with the hoggarts, you know, we're sort of finding
out with our hoggart group that it's all very well
scanning them. there's a lot more management goes into getting
(04:59):
that lamb survived to the tailing pen and really it's
all down to getting the survival of the twins really
and that comes from good feeding and maybe a certain
ram you put over them but particularly the great feeding
and management really leads to it to make it much easier.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Hoggarts are interesting for me, given the way that everybody's
embracing them, the way they have. I think Pete Gardine
said all his dry hoggarts, he chops their head off, he's.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Getting great money too into the 300s.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
And I've talked about this a bit and probably continue
to do so as well. It's just fascinating that the
change of practice towards hoggarts, especially around breeding.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, well, I mean, I always had it when I
come back home to the farm 23, 24 years ago
that I wanted to get my wages out of the hoggarts.
And so that was, you know, the wages down the hoggarts,
but certainly the last three or four years have certainly
got a bit more than your wages if we've been
paid bloody well. So, yes, it's a big management thing, but,
I mean, they're quite a good money earner. And then
(05:55):
on the side, if you want to work the dry
hoggarts like we have done for about the last 15 years,
it's quite a good income coming in in August when
you need it.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I suppose it's something you're learning every year as well.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Learning is a horrible word, but truth be known, when
it comes to hoggart lambing, you're probably picking up different
little things every season.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Oh, yeah, no, it's good because we've been doing it
for 25 years and a part of the group, we're
still picking up something new every year. There's no doubt
since we've formed this group, it's got a hell of
a lot easier because a lot of people sort of
had a go at it a while ago. I think
a big key is don't lamb them the same time
as you use because they do take a bit more time.
I mean, you get well rewarded for it, but they
(06:35):
do take a bit more effort and I think it's
well rewarded in the end.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Right, there's a bit of code on this week here.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Which game has you more excited, the All Blacks playing
averted commas festival game against the Springboks in Baltimore or
the Stags looking to get their third win in just
over 365 days against Bayer Plenty on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Or do you have other things to worry about?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yeah, I don't know. I have only watched the All
Black games in bits and pieces. I don't fantasise getting
up in the middle of the night and watching them now.
The last Maybe in the middle of winter I might
have been a bit more keen, but sort of every
hour in the night is pretty precious now to get
a bit of sleep as you get into your mid-40s.
I'd like the Stags to be able to hope, but hell,
(07:20):
I always hoped that that year, but hell, yeah, they're
just sort of, I don't know. I think we need
to be still looking after more of our own homegrown players.
I mean, that's the year, I think, but I just, yeah,
I have hope, but... And, you know, being sort of
half-by involved in that set-up 20 years ago, I'd hoped
that things would have improved a bit. But no, you know,
the year of nibs and goof was a good run,
(07:41):
but we don't seem to be able to repeat it.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Woody Kirkwood starting on Sunday. He's a guy who's had
a hideous run with injuries, but this is a good
news story. He deserves a shot going in his lock.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Those are the sort of guys that are big around
there too. Jake Boglin was another one that probably had
a bit of a dab two or three years ago.
I mean, you know, there is the talent out there.
You know, the other one was probably Mark Wells. He
used to float along there. He was a good one
there to fit in along the way. But, yeah, there's
a few coming through that academy. You know, we've got a,
what are we, third or fourth year of the Southam
(08:15):
boys doing really well in the first 15. But we
just don't seem to be able to flow it on
to the Stags. Hopefully, you know, it might be still
in the future. We'll see.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, it's interesting. I'll just finish with this thought.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
I mean, when they started this competition, there was 14
debutantes in that squad, and we're getting told that, yeah,
they need to click. It's not going to happen overnight.
But on the other hand, we're being told the NPC
is a sprint, not a marathon. It happened so quickly,
and it's finished again.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
So we can only live in hope, Geordie. That's all
we can.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Do, right?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, they live in hope too. It just probably disappoints
me that some of those players come and you can
tell by the look of them that they're not fit. And,
I mean, you've got to hit that ground running and
you need to be fit. You know, there's no use
doing fitness this time of the year. You need to
be fit when they arrive. And I think that's the
challenge to this modern game is being fit.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Go and get them on the lambing beat for a
couple of days and give them a dose of Southern
Life Geordie.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Always good to catch up.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Colin Meads Fitness.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Cheers, Andy. G'day.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
One, four, three.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Geordie Yead, farming over at the self-proclaimed Riviera of the South,
which is Riverton. You're listening to The Master. Donna Hamilton
is up next from Beef and Lab New Zealand.
Welcome back to the muster, Geordie Ede Farms at the
Riviera of the South, which is Riverton. Probably a little
bit more water than they're used to around there at
the moment.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Geordie, good afternoon, how's things?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Yeah, g'day Andy, how you getting on? Yeah, she's a
bit sort of deja vu, same old story, third year
in a row really, but it might be a wee
bit earlier this year.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Is that how you'd summarise conditions to date compared to
the last two springs?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, well, the last two springs we've got well over
250 mils pretty much for September, October, but this year
we've got 200 for August, so I'm hoping it's coming
a bit earlier and we're going to get a better
run out at the end, really, to be fair, I hope, anyway.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
You've normally got a healthy rainfall there anyway, Geordie. Whereabouts
would you be now in comparison?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Oh, we're bang on average, really. We're bang on average,
whereas this time last year we were behind average, so
we always probably knew that something was coming. So hopefully,
you know, we've been on average where, you know, that
should help some... Some degree, hopefully. You know, we've already
had sort of 80, over 80 mils for September. You
normally average around that 200 for September. So, you know,
hopefully we're over halfway there.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
That'd be good.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I'll take that.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
What are you like for feed there? Because your soil
temperature is over there, notoriously high compared to the rest
of the province. I think today it's around nine degrees.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yeah, well, it's been a bit of a challenge. Funny
you say that, because we've probably mowed through more. I
know I've put a bit of nitrogen on for the
sheep farm here this year, in the last week or so.
I haven't got as probably much as I have in
the past, and that's the first time I've had to
do that since we've taken over the dairy farm. We
haven't put any nitrogen on the dairy farm yet, just
probably from trying to, you know, when nitrogen's $ 1, 300 a tonne,
(01:38):
you sort of try to utilise its worth, really. And
so maybe in the next couple of weeks, we may
look at putting some on down there. But, you know,
we've had to speed up the round down there, just
the fact of not making pasture damage. We're still leaving
a bit of covers behind, and it's recovering pretty well. So,
you know, we're just, you know, the south and spring,
it just keeps giving, and, you know, it could be
a long road. So you sort of, you don't want
(01:59):
to be mashing it up now.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
How's calving gone on the dairy farm?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Yeah, gone really well. You know, we're into the last
sort of probably 15%, 20% now. So, yeah, so the AI,
I think, as of last night, there was only about
three AI cows left to calve. So we're into the... well,
AI replacement cows to calve. So we're then on to
Charolais for a couple of weeks, which is a first
try for me. And then we're into short-shear stations to
(02:25):
finish it off.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Charolais, tell us more about that. Sounds interesting.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Yeah, well, it's sort of something that Beef and Lamb
New Zealand Deer and Deer have been working together to
put the Charolais over the dairy to get that dairy beef.
And the calf comes out all the same colour. So
it certainly creates a good market for those cows, Kiwi
Cross cows, that don't chuck out that Hereford Cross that's
(02:50):
all mottled. They chuck out a more beef calf that,
on dairy and beef and lamb stats, can keep up
with the pure beef, really. So, you know, I think
it's certainly something to look to for the future. I'm
having a bit of a dab. This is only 30-odd,
so we'll see how it goes. Yeah, go on to
make it a bit bigger.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, given the way the beef market is, it's a no-brainer,
I suppose.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Yeah, it is, it is. Yeah, I know a few,
I've got a mate in Canterbury that's been doing it
for a while, and he's actually got contracts for those
four-day-old Charolais calves to go on to. And, you know,
that's certainly something that I think around here that would
be quite lucrative for a rearer to take these Charolais
calves because there certainly could be a good market at
the other end for them.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I see.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
There's all markets out there for them. There's yearlings in
that there now, and it's sort of specifying Charolais, Friesian Cross,
or Dairy Cross.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
So officially lambing, when is it due to get underway?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Yeah, we spread out a couple of days ago, so
we're just winding into it. There's not much this morning,
which is quite good, because that was fairly fresh, and
winch will come through there last night. But yeah, we
sort of probably will be in the peak of it
probably early next week, I would say. And then the
hoggets kick off after that, and then we won't have
much left by the end of September, really.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, when are the hoggets due?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
They normally kick in about the 22nd of September. I
vaccinated them yesterday and split the twins up out of them,
so the twins are now separate. So they're just sort
of fed ad-lib now. The singles are still on break,
and they'll stay on a break pretty much until they're right,
until they lamb. Try and keep the size of that
lamb down a bit.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
I asked Don Moore just previously about this time of year,
and he says he actually enjoys it because you can
just see the big plan coming together on the farm.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
How do you find it?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yeah, no, it's a whole year's work. And I mean,
nobody really realises that, you know, your whole plan for
a sheep farm really comes together in these last two,
these next two, three weeks. And, you know, a bit
of weather and pear shape can chuck out. But, yeah,
particularly with the hoggarts, you know, we're sort of finding
out with our hoggart group that it's all very well
scanning them. there's a lot more management goes into getting
(04:59):
that lamb survived to the tailing pen and really it's
all down to getting the survival of the twins really
and that comes from good feeding and maybe a certain
ram you put over them but particularly the great feeding
and management really leads to it to make it much easier.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Hoggarts are interesting for me, given the way that everybody's
embracing them, the way they have. I think Pete Gardine
said all his dry hoggarts, he chops their head off, he's.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Getting great money too into the 300s.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
And I've talked about this a bit and probably continue
to do so as well. It's just fascinating that the
change of practice towards hoggarts, especially around breeding.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, well, I mean, I always had it when I
come back home to the farm 23, 24 years ago
that I wanted to get my wages out of the hoggarts.
And so that was, you know, the wages down the hoggarts,
but certainly the last three or four years have certainly
got a bit more than your wages if we've been
paid bloody well. So, yes, it's a big management thing, but,
I mean, they're quite a good money earner. And then
(05:55):
on the side, if you want to work the dry
hoggarts like we have done for about the last 15 years,
it's quite a good income coming in in August when
you need it.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I suppose it's something you're learning every year as well.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Learning is a horrible word, but truth be known, when
it comes to hoggart lambing, you're probably picking up different
little things every season.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Oh, yeah, no, it's good because we've been doing it
for 25 years and a part of the group, we're
still picking up something new every year. There's no doubt
since we've formed this group, it's got a hell of
a lot easier because a lot of people sort of
had a go at it a while ago. I think
a big key is don't lamb them the same time
as you use because they do take a bit more time.
I mean, you get well rewarded for it, but they
(06:35):
do take a bit more effort and I think it's
well rewarded in the end.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Right, there's a bit of code on this week here.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Which game has you more excited, the All Blacks playing
averted commas festival game against the Springboks in Baltimore or
the Stags looking to get their third win in just
over 365 days against Bayer Plenty on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Or do you have other things to worry about?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yeah, I don't know. I have only watched the All
Black games in bits and pieces. I don't fantasise getting
up in the middle of the night and watching them now.
The last Maybe in the middle of winter I might
have been a bit more keen, but sort of every
hour in the night is pretty precious now to get
a bit of sleep as you get into your mid-40s.
I'd like the Stags to be able to hope, but hell,
(07:20):
I always hoped that that year, but hell, yeah, they're
just sort of, I don't know. I think we need
to be still looking after more of our own homegrown players.
I mean, that's the year, I think, but I just, yeah,
I have hope, but... And, you know, being sort of
half-by involved in that set-up 20 years ago, I'd hoped
that things would have improved a bit. But no, you know,
the year of nibs and goof was a good run,
(07:41):
but we don't seem to be able to repeat it.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Woody Kirkwood starting on Sunday. He's a guy who's had
a hideous run with injuries, but this is a good
news story. He deserves a shot going in his lock.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Those are the sort of guys that are big around
there too. Jake Boglin was another one that probably had
a bit of a dab two or three years ago.
I mean, you know, there is the talent out there.
You know, the other one was probably Mark Wells. He
used to float along there. He was a good one
there to fit in along the way. But, yeah, there's
a few coming through that academy. You know, we've got a,
what are we, third or fourth year of the Southam
(08:15):
boys doing really well in the first 15. But we
just don't seem to be able to flow it on
to the Stags. Hopefully, you know, it might be still
in the future. We'll see.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, it's interesting. I'll just finish with this thought.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
I mean, when they started this competition, there was 14
debutantes in that squad, and we're getting told that, yeah,
they need to click. It's not going to happen overnight.
But on the other hand, we're being told the NPC
is a sprint, not a marathon. It happened so quickly,
and it's finished again.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
So we can only live in hope, Geordie. That's all
we can.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Do, right?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, they live in hope too. It just probably disappoints
me that some of those players come and you can
tell by the look of them that they're not fit. And,
I mean, you've got to hit that ground running and
you need to be fit. You know, there's no use
doing fitness this time of the year. You need to
be fit when they arrive. And I think that's the
challenge to this modern game is being fit.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Go and get them on the lambing beat for a
couple of days and give them a dose of Southern
Life Geordie.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Always good to catch up.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Colin Meads Fitness.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Cheers, Andy. G'day.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
One, four, three.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Geordie Yead, farming over at the self-proclaimed Riviera of the South,
which is Riverton. You're listening to The Master. Donna Hamilton
is up next from Beef and Lab New Zealand.
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