The Muster- Grant McMaster: Wet Weather On A Par With Last Year

Disaster is hopeful of some drying weather turning up after a wet four weeks at Closeburn Station.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Thanks to Abby Rural, we catch up the grant disaster
MC master and we do so again this afternoon. Disaster.
Good afternoon. It sounds as though up in the basin
and looking tippoo you almost need to have your flippers on.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Yeah, it doesn't rain, it just paused. So good afternoon, Andy,
good after everybody.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Know.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
The weather's turned to shite and hasn't stopped raining since
about six o'clock yesterday morning. And that time we've had
was when I left this morning at eight o'clock seventy
five mils so. And it's still it's eased off a
little bit. It's the tenure six degrees. A lot of
snow went around yet well it was hard to see
because it was just cragged in, but there was snow

(00:47):
went around yesterday afternoon and it was gone this morning
with more rain. So yeah, I've been over our town
at the hill's clock there this morning. The flats along
Old and Gully Road are thorough washed with water. I
think that's more a drainage problem that the council have
with subdeveloped developments going in and we're nowhere for the

(01:08):
water people putting up burms and you know, water not
being able to get down into the over or gravel
and what have you. But you fit of water on
the flats there, but nine degrees in ourtown and the
rain at east and it was a little bit fen
a little bit warmer. But looking around over there, as
mentioned before the two d theories, is about one hundred
and forty of them lambing over there. Picked up a

(01:30):
dead you and one dead lamb this morning, So that
was all right. And I'm just out at the Moat
Lake now and it's you know, the road is coming
into Moat Lake and just by Lake Kirkpatrick, it's on
a bit of a fall. It's just absolutely gorged out,
so gouged out, I should say, and a lot of
surface water. And again the Bloody Hills is just waterfalls

(01:53):
from places I haven't seen andy. So that's today, and
I don't think the forecast is much better for Thursdays.
So yeah, they're trying times.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Compared to last year, grant what's alike is a very
similar similar, but.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
But we've had more rain then over a slightly longer
period and it doesn't look as it's going to ease,
you know, the end of this week. Either. So it's yeah,
it's it's very green at the moment, and if if
it does stop raining and we get a bit of heat,
I'm sure we're going to be in a good position
as long as all the lambs don't get pay washed
away in the meantime. But just coming through the road

(02:29):
this morning, and I haven't seen too many dead lambs,
and seen a couple up in the bushes, but there's
other lambs around them, so I just carry on. And
when it flies up tomorrow the next day and they're
lying in the sun, hopefully I'll pick them up. But yeah,
at this stage, I think that the lambing has been
a bit well, it's been a bit slower, which hasn't

(02:50):
been so bad. I guess it's an ill wind that
blows no good. But yeah, there's I'm reasonably happy the
way things are looking. I thought it might have been
a lot worse than it is, so quite pleased about that.
But I could stop raining any time at life.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Of course, you're right in the middle of lambing at
the moment too, so it's less than ideal.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
No, And you know, carving still full bore as well.
And but yesterday, while that rain was just constant, it
didn't have a there was no window. That wasn't such
a chill factor like you get with the wind. Mind
Do I say that because I was sitting inside in
front of the log burn in the afternoon. But it
was you know, it wasn't it wasn't windy, and it

(03:33):
wasn't a cold wind. So just just that continual rain,
which is sort of the less of the evils. A
bit of wind during the night. But then I thought,
I like it might have blown through, but then raining
again this morning. So and continue continuing to do it
now and as I say, it down to six degrees
here at the moment.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
Now, you've had a couple of instances around lambing with
members of the public or tourists. I don't know, you've
got a bit of a story to tell around this disaster.
I'm sure it'd be pretty much a doozy as well.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Well, you know, we can't be all doom and gloom.
You know, dogs are killing bloody sheep and the rains here.
But you know, there's always a silver lining, isn't there.
And that's what life's about. You just got to keep going.
But I got to call the other night to say
a bloke said that he was coming out of Moat
Lake and there was a you that was down by
a fence line next to the road, and it had

(04:22):
a couple of lambs that were a bit sickly, and
he tried to give one on my feet and so
I said, I'm right, I'll be around there in the
morning and i'll sort that out. Because it was dark.
So I come over in the morning and I just
was coming up towards the area and this guy stops
in the car saw you, the manager, and I said, yes,
I am, I said, you're the guy that's He said sorry,

(04:44):
he said, I'm the one that's been pestering about that sheep.
And I said, no, hope, good on. You know, thanks
very much, And anyway, he said, well, he said, I've
been there this morning. The lamb, he said, I gave it.
I tried to give it a drink last night and
come after you obviously, and he shaid, have any this morning.
I got there early and he said it was quite cold,
he said, so I've had it in my car for

(05:06):
the last hour with the heater on. I said, thanks
very much, sir. That there's much appreciated. Oh, I can
take over from here, which I did, so I thought,
you know, you know, the public. You can't sometimes think, gee,
I wish I just just sort of mind their own business.
But you know that most people are animal lovers and
they see the best and everything, and you know, I

(05:27):
said to this guy, well you've done really well and
thanks very much. So you know, people are you know,
for a lot of a lot of reasons. You know,
the people that come out, they are very you know,
they want to see the best and everything and nature
and you know, it does its own thing, and they're
there to help and they think that at a great job.
And sometimes they don't. But you can't knock them forward,

(05:48):
and you've got to thank them and be grateful.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
I guess facts in the rural urban divide one day
at a time. Hey, Grant, just finally, what are your
thoughts around this alliance, the alliance deal that is now
with doing meat.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
Well, I think it was a sort of a form
long conclusion really. I mean that there's all the facts
and the figures we've heard. There's there's nothing new that
we don't know about the about the meat industry. So
you know, their debt, their debt service and with the banks,
you know, it comes back to over capacity and the
meat works. You got to say poor management along the way,

(06:22):
you know, procurement, wars, marketing, all of that. You know,
there's you know, there's been recessions and what have you.
But at the end of the day, we need to
sell our meet. And I you know, I thought it
was a good effort from those that that group of
farmers that thought they could get something going. But I
guess you know, eighty eight percent people wanted wanted to.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
Sale to go.

Speaker 1 (06:45):
I think the fact is, you know that the debt
loading is is is incredible, and you know we need
to we need to be able to get on and
and supply the lambs and farmers not having to be
putting in their in their pockets, and you know, we
need good management to make sure this happens. And I
just I just hope the fact that you know, well
we've got you know, we've got uh, you know, the

(07:08):
Chinese and with silver fir and farms and Japanese Ensco.
So we've got the paddies and with us now and
I guess you know that, but I think that could
be a right of the fact that you know, if
we can kill here off season to the to the
northern hemisphere and perhaps that opens up markets for you know,

(07:28):
getting meat into the into the EU and eas into
the UK practs. But you know, the farmers have spoken
and it's not as it was a tight run thing.
I think people just had a you know that's full
of everything that's happening, and let's hope that the new
broom sweets.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
Clean, wise words is always grand, all the best of
the weather up there. Here's hoping you get some sunshine
and some whens to dry things outsider them later.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
Hey yeah, I just put the flippers and the goggles
on the snorker and I was just going to kick
the news Pagan Okay, ten.

Speaker 2 (08:00):
Grand disaster. Mcmassa, thanks for a team at RB Rural.
We do hope the weather sorts herself up, sorts herself
out up there in the basin anyway. Like Grant was
talking about, Simon Stakes us up next from Environment, Southland
never gets to grow