January 27, 2026 • 9 mins
Disaster looks at what the proposed changes to postal services will mean for the south.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Grand Disaster.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
McMaster joins us once again thanks to the team at
Abby Rural. Of course, he farms a close friend station
on the edges of lake Walker Tippoo Disaster. Good afternoon,
sounds as are you doing a bit of freighting between
farms and animals today?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Yeah, good and and everybody. Yes, I've got my former
top contractor in Hutton with me and we're taking a
few lambs from smaller lamps from Kloseburn over to the
Hills block. So we saw them. Obviously, we've got to
go back a bit. We got weaned up on Friday
and yeah, good day for that. It was a bit overcast,
(00:42):
a little bit of rain, so that added a bit
of weight to the little lamps. No, it didn't really,
but so we got we got fifteen hundred away off
off off Mum and they were thirty kges lively this year,
so very pleased with that. That's that's three k's up
on the previous year. So you know, while it was
a tough sort of spring, the clover was there. We've
(01:04):
spoken about it. It's still there. So you know, there's
a old boys you to say there's two things with farming.
It's feeding and breeding. And that's that's that stays true,
doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And that would have been good money as well.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Those lambs, Yeah they were, so that was at four
dollars eighty k and so that was you know, they
were one hundred and forty two dollars or one hundred
and forty three or something like that, which is you know,
I think last year those same lambs twenty seven CASI
they were something like eighty dollars. So that, you know,
(01:38):
beef is looking really good. Lambs looking good and has
been a lamb is good, Beef is good.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
There's been a bit of a lift.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
In the wall.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And you know, I very rarely you get all three
up together. And I remember twenty odd years ago and
I came here, I said, you know, we've got to
get in and get things going for when when prices
come right. So I sneaking in by the skin of
the piece, really, so not too many more years to
go here. And it's looking good this year. So better
late than ever, I guess.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
And that's the adage of everybody's saying grant because the
wool industry has been so down on his haunches for
an extended period of period of time and a lot
of people have Borrey has given up on the fiber
they have.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
But I was reading the other day that you know
that the Chinese are back into buying the wall, and
and it's you know, they're doing a lot of they're
doing a lot more that than you know, as far
as infrastructure with you know, cosmetics and medicines and what
have you. There's a lot going there. And it's quite interesting,
(02:41):
you know because over the years, you know, everybody said
that twice wall sort of determines what's happening in the
Chinese market, and everything started farming, the Chinese got playing
through everything like that. But I mean, it's got a
lot deeper than that. And I think at the end
of the day, what I was reading, it's a short.
It's it's the real shorts of all around the world.
Same in the UK and America here, and people need
(03:05):
it for the you know, not just for the for
garments and carpets and socks.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
India is a growing market as well.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I may have told this story another time, but my
wife and I went over there once, in the city
of Varanassi of all places, and he's talking about the
gentleman about how we're giving jost All. The locals had
a list of all these wall buyers in New Zealand
that he brought from and lo and behold. I was
a sheep cocky at the time, so I wanted to
ask to spoke about how he did the process of
procuring his wall, but he didn't want to talk to me,
(03:34):
and my wife got really grumpy.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
She called me ignorant.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Well, yes, the first time someone said that to you
Andie and I mean, I've been guilly of that myself,
but you know, you never let that, you never let
that put you back, put you down. You just got
to keep you going. But you know, so that the
stuff that goes into India, and it's this free trade
agreement that apparently you know we're close to signing is
you know, it's good, and the spared a lot of
(04:00):
our wall that goes into India is then the Indians
then they then export that themselves in various things into
into the United States. So it's sometimes in some ways
it's just a stepping time for us, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Absolutely? Hey Grant said new He's coming out yesterday as well.
The closing by New Zealand Post of a lot of
these postal agencies. It's another cack in the guts, but
understandably you can the rest now behind it does add up.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Yeah, well it does. And and you know, I just
turned on the on the wireles this morning. They said
that there's going to be that there's going to be
in the in the urban areas, nobody is going to
be any further than four kilometers away from the post office.
So that's that's one positive thing. I mean, you don't
factor in the in the rural areas now because you know,
(04:49):
we're lucky to get a paper and you know post
a couple of days a week and I and I
guess I can. While it's sad, it's an end of
an era, it's it's inevitable ready with everything that's done
on line and and you know, the old days of
your bills coming and people writing letters and cards and
well gone. So I guess I've got to look after
(05:10):
their their core business. And it just makes it harder
for people like me that aren't really that savvy and
they you know, as far as doing everything online. But
for the older generation, we you know, that's like en
Hudden beside me, Sam and I bloody useless, But it's
you know, there's a lot of people that you know,
glow our generations that have that it's nothing new and
(05:31):
new for them. They brought up with what's happening. And
I guess we've we've got to just get on with
it and and be part of that. But you know,
you think of the rural post and back to the
early days when you know, the shopkeeper delivered the bloom
and grow, you know, the real post had groceries on it,
and or go back to when the actual grocers had
their own had their own delivery and drop the post off.
(05:53):
So you know that's all sing of the past now,
but it's sort of it's progressed. And you know, I
love at the vehicles going up the road to Minorkee
and there's the Fresh Choice truck or whatever it's delivers
groceries to keeopleand Gonorkee and all over the place. So
there's you know, there's I think there's a lot of
there's there's pros and cons, but you know there's there's
(06:16):
a good side to it too.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, hark back to the days. I think Wrong Waiver
was the postman when I was a young fellow.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
They bring the bread.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I think the breed possibly the milk came as well,
and you had your mail seven to six, five and
a half days a week. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Same in the wind and valley get all that. The
late Eddy Idio kind of the pear shaped kewboy hedwards
to the Hens. He got more male macked up macked
up in that valley than anyone could. But he's always
good to have a arm turn. But he always just
to say, the arts said, the mail always get through.
I said, that's right, any but just not necessarily the
right bloody mail boxes. But so you know those know,
(06:53):
those days have certainly change, and you know you go
back to the all the men going around and then
all those things to five gone years. But uh, you
know the other thing now is with with curriers and
a lot of people just get stuff online. And you
spoke to me some of those places how they just
delivered carriers. But an interesting point, there's some couriers within
(07:17):
the Queenstown area won't bring won't bring post out out
to clean out to close Burn or further up the
valley to Milnwkee does it's too far out of the way.
So yeah, it's not it's not a perfect system, but
you know it could be worse.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I was going to say, I wasn't you to your
reputation in the basin.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
No, No, well we don't don't get the We don't
get the papers delivered now either, because that stopped at COVID,
because the vehicles that used to go up to Minorkee
was with people on board. Would you know, like with
the terrorists or the going to the jet boats, would
they would chuck the papers out? And I think the
only thing that was good about that was Alis tilis
(07:59):
every time it came up on my own, it would
make sure and line my paper up and run it over.
So it's stopped him doing that, but it's also stopped
me reading the paper. But you know, we and that
and that that service has moved up again. They said
there's there's not that it doesn't warrant it.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So yeah, he just finally made the sounds as though
you've had a couple of days of fine weather, which
is certainly not what the rest of the southern province
has had.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
No, it's been really good. It's twenty one of degrees
here at the moment and not very much win. The
last three days have been quite hot and a little
bit of rain over last weekend. So no, it's been
it's been the best. It's been the best we've had.
And unfortunately it's a bit darker in the mornings at
the moment, so you know, February is upon us. But no,
(08:45):
it's you know, we really couldn't have wished for a
bit of summer. Well, you know, growth wise, grass wise,
and say those lambs three k's heavy the last year.
Still a lot of clover and that's all green. It
hasn't died off yet and you know feed everywhere. So
it's just, yeah, you didn't.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Good Only Grant, I'll let you carry on cutting those
lambs through the Mecca and Queenstown and make sure the
hitch doesn't come off.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Well wait, there we've got We've double checked that. So
we'd had as the outside.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
The grab the master thanks to Albi Rural.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Up next on the Muster, Sam Grant of Craig's Investment Partners,
Grand Disaster.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
McMaster joins us once again thanks to the team at
Abby Rural. Of course, he farms a close friend station
on the edges of lake Walker Tippoo Disaster. Good afternoon,
sounds as are you doing a bit of freighting between
farms and animals today?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Yeah, good and and everybody. Yes, I've got my former
top contractor in Hutton with me and we're taking a
few lambs from smaller lamps from Kloseburn over to the
Hills block. So we saw them. Obviously, we've got to
go back a bit. We got weaned up on Friday
and yeah, good day for that. It was a bit overcast,
(00:42):
a little bit of rain, so that added a bit
of weight to the little lamps. No, it didn't really,
but so we got we got fifteen hundred away off
off off Mum and they were thirty kges lively this year,
so very pleased with that. That's that's three k's up
on the previous year. So you know, while it was
a tough sort of spring, the clover was there. We've
(01:04):
spoken about it. It's still there. So you know, there's
a old boys you to say there's two things with farming.
It's feeding and breeding. And that's that's that stays true,
doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And that would have been good money as well.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Those lambs, Yeah they were, so that was at four
dollars eighty k and so that was you know, they
were one hundred and forty two dollars or one hundred
and forty three or something like that, which is you know,
I think last year those same lambs twenty seven CASI
they were something like eighty dollars. So that, you know,
(01:38):
beef is looking really good. Lambs looking good and has
been a lamb is good, Beef is good.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
There's been a bit of a lift.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
In the wall.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And you know, I very rarely you get all three
up together. And I remember twenty odd years ago and
I came here, I said, you know, we've got to
get in and get things going for when when prices
come right. So I sneaking in by the skin of
the piece, really, so not too many more years to
go here. And it's looking good this year. So better
late than ever, I guess.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
And that's the adage of everybody's saying grant because the
wool industry has been so down on his haunches for
an extended period of period of time and a lot
of people have Borrey has given up on the fiber
they have.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
But I was reading the other day that you know
that the Chinese are back into buying the wall, and
and it's you know, they're doing a lot of they're
doing a lot more that than you know, as far
as infrastructure with you know, cosmetics and medicines and what
have you. There's a lot going there. And it's quite interesting,
(02:41):
you know because over the years, you know, everybody said
that twice wall sort of determines what's happening in the
Chinese market, and everything started farming, the Chinese got playing
through everything like that. But I mean, it's got a
lot deeper than that. And I think at the end
of the day, what I was reading, it's a short.
It's it's the real shorts of all around the world.
Same in the UK and America here, and people need
(03:05):
it for the you know, not just for the for
garments and carpets and socks.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
India is a growing market as well.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I may have told this story another time, but my
wife and I went over there once, in the city
of Varanassi of all places, and he's talking about the
gentleman about how we're giving jost All. The locals had
a list of all these wall buyers in New Zealand
that he brought from and lo and behold. I was
a sheep cocky at the time, so I wanted to
ask to spoke about how he did the process of
procuring his wall, but he didn't want to talk to me,
(03:34):
and my wife got really grumpy.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
She called me ignorant.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Well, yes, the first time someone said that to you
Andie and I mean, I've been guilly of that myself,
but you know, you never let that, you never let
that put you back, put you down. You just got
to keep you going. But you know, so that the
stuff that goes into India, and it's this free trade
agreement that apparently you know we're close to signing is
you know, it's good, and the spared a lot of
(04:00):
our wall that goes into India is then the Indians
then they then export that themselves in various things into
into the United States. So it's sometimes in some ways
it's just a stepping time for us, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Absolutely? Hey Grant said new He's coming out yesterday as well.
The closing by New Zealand Post of a lot of
these postal agencies. It's another cack in the guts, but
understandably you can the rest now behind it does add up.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Yeah, well it does. And and you know, I just
turned on the on the wireles this morning. They said
that there's going to be that there's going to be
in the in the urban areas, nobody is going to
be any further than four kilometers away from the post office.
So that's that's one positive thing. I mean, you don't
factor in the in the rural areas now because you know,
(04:49):
we're lucky to get a paper and you know post
a couple of days a week and I and I
guess I can. While it's sad, it's an end of
an era, it's it's inevitable ready with everything that's done
on line and and you know, the old days of
your bills coming and people writing letters and cards and
well gone. So I guess I've got to look after
(05:10):
their their core business. And it just makes it harder
for people like me that aren't really that savvy and
they you know, as far as doing everything online. But
for the older generation, we you know, that's like en
Hudden beside me, Sam and I bloody useless, But it's
you know, there's a lot of people that you know,
glow our generations that have that it's nothing new and
(05:31):
new for them. They brought up with what's happening. And
I guess we've we've got to just get on with
it and and be part of that. But you know,
you think of the rural post and back to the
early days when you know, the shopkeeper delivered the bloom
and grow, you know, the real post had groceries on it,
and or go back to when the actual grocers had
their own had their own delivery and drop the post off.
(05:53):
So you know that's all sing of the past now,
but it's sort of it's progressed. And you know, I
love at the vehicles going up the road to Minorkee
and there's the Fresh Choice truck or whatever it's delivers
groceries to keeopleand Gonorkee and all over the place. So
there's you know, there's I think there's a lot of
there's there's pros and cons, but you know there's there's
(06:16):
a good side to it too.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, hark back to the days. I think Wrong Waiver
was the postman when I was a young fellow.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
They bring the bread.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I think the breed possibly the milk came as well,
and you had your mail seven to six, five and
a half days a week. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Same in the wind and valley get all that. The
late Eddy Idio kind of the pear shaped kewboy hedwards
to the Hens. He got more male macked up macked
up in that valley than anyone could. But he's always
good to have a arm turn. But he always just
to say, the arts said, the mail always get through.
I said, that's right, any but just not necessarily the
right bloody mail boxes. But so you know those know,
(06:53):
those days have certainly change, and you know you go
back to the all the men going around and then
all those things to five gone years. But uh, you
know the other thing now is with with curriers and
a lot of people just get stuff online. And you
spoke to me some of those places how they just
delivered carriers. But an interesting point, there's some couriers within
(07:17):
the Queenstown area won't bring won't bring post out out
to clean out to close Burn or further up the
valley to Milnwkee does it's too far out of the way.
So yeah, it's not it's not a perfect system, but
you know it could be worse.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I was going to say, I wasn't you to your
reputation in the basin.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
No, No, well we don't don't get the We don't
get the papers delivered now either, because that stopped at COVID,
because the vehicles that used to go up to Minorkee
was with people on board. Would you know, like with
the terrorists or the going to the jet boats, would
they would chuck the papers out? And I think the
only thing that was good about that was Alis tilis
(07:59):
every time it came up on my own, it would
make sure and line my paper up and run it over.
So it's stopped him doing that, but it's also stopped
me reading the paper. But you know, we and that
and that that service has moved up again. They said
there's there's not that it doesn't warrant it.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So yeah, he just finally made the sounds as though
you've had a couple of days of fine weather, which
is certainly not what the rest of the southern province
has had.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
No, it's been really good. It's twenty one of degrees
here at the moment and not very much win. The
last three days have been quite hot and a little
bit of rain over last weekend. So no, it's been
it's been the best. It's been the best we've had.
And unfortunately it's a bit darker in the mornings at
the moment, so you know, February is upon us. But no,
(08:45):
it's you know, we really couldn't have wished for a
bit of summer. Well, you know, growth wise, grass wise,
and say those lambs three k's heavy the last year.
Still a lot of clover and that's all green. It
hasn't died off yet and you know feed everywhere. So
it's just, yeah, you didn't.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Good Only Grant, I'll let you carry on cutting those
lambs through the Mecca and Queenstown and make sure the
hitch doesn't come off.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Well wait, there we've got We've double checked that. So
we'd had as the outside.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
The grab the master thanks to Albi Rural.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Up next on the Muster, Sam Grant of Craig's Investment Partners,
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