December 15, 2025 • 9 mins
Matt Ward says his season has been a good one as he looks at an easing of the workload ahead of Christmas.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
The muster on the farm with Southland District Council working
together for a Beta Southland.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Matt Ward farms down at Morton Mainz and joins us
once again this afternoon on the muster while he's on
their hand piece of all things. Good afternoon, Matt, Good afternoon, Andy.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, pretty good? You sound like the You are the
opposite of Ben Dooley talking about these numbers yesterday, what
seventeen hundred dag before lunchtime. But you're there just doing
the honest toil today.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yeah, yeah, no, we are. We're just chipping away doing
themselves this year. I sort of thought about getting the
crutch and trailer and Andy, but Jesus, it nearly takes
them longer to get here and get up the driveway
and get set up than it does for them to
actually do the sheet. So are we just chipping away?
Chipping away? It's good. I think it's a good, good
way to get a good look at all the us.
And they're actually not bad dagging. She has a bit
(00:55):
of shit on them, but they're not bad, not bad guarden,
really is there a leg?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Eggs were just pretty much around the crutch, Na just.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Around the cratch. Just around the cratch, I sort of
leave all the legs and and you just give them
a good good run. Cratch just tided them up and
then I'll get them dipped. First second week of January
they all go through and then get shorn and the
start of March. So you normally they stay pretty clean
as long as you give them a good crutch. Now
they stay pretty clean right up to shearing. Won't really
(01:23):
need to touch them the game touch wood.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, you made the observation just before that you'd rather
be on a hand piece than an attractor percent.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, recent I I go crazy sitting there playing circles
and a tractor. Yeah, it's not my It's not my
cup of tea at all, and then I end up
breaking stuff and I'd rather stand there on a hand
piece for the day, any day of the week.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Have you always found like that when it comes to
their hand piece.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, I've always enjoyed it. I do enjoy it. Yeah,
there was a bit of me one day that sort
of thought I could go out and do a bit
of sharing and mack around. But that's probably a bit
as far as that thought got.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So you haven't been enjoy it. You haven't been teamed
to shear your own hoggots or anything silly like that.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
No, Na, no, I'll do I do a few like
I like, we used to share all their rams up
at Me and Aspiring and do like stragglers and stuff.
So got pretty handy on the well good. I wouldn't
say I'm handy on the empties, but I sort of
know how to get the feathers off one way or another.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
I show the rams at home once here, and my
advice to the young fellow working for me was make
sure I don't get killed.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, well that's good way to do them
through lockdown when I was up at Aspiring, and then
actually last year I was up at Waning for Aspiring,
and Reynald thought it would be a good joke after
a good day on the hill to bring the rams in,
and we chipped aways here in the Emma afternoon as well.
So yeah, no, it's good. I don't yeah, I don't
mind it, don't mind it at all.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yes, So if you've got the set up to do it, well,
it makes a lot of sense as well. And seez
I've lost count of how many years of dad, like
we had a we had a hect in at one stage,
but a lot of the time I'd just be doing
them up the race as well, and you just got
to be careful about if there's one running back at jen,
have your wits about you. But these new hand pieces,
you know, battery charge just as a breeze.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah, yeah, Henderson, I've got a good I've got a
good race wall here, so they climb up. They're sort
of standing at hip pipes, so there's no bending over
all day. And I got a young fellow from down
the road. He's keeping them all up to me. So
now we're chipping well, chipping through probably about one hundred
in air, so we're making pretty good going. Yeah. Sure,
I've only got twelve thirteen hundred jews to do, so
(03:31):
we'll find it, tidy them up tomorrow morning and then
we're all done. On to the next job.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah. So what does the next job before the fat
man comes down the chimney?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Umm? Yeah, I'm pretty well. What was it? To be fair?
Hopefully get my swedes drilled this afternoon and then year.
To be fair, I don't really have weaned up the
start of last week, got on my ewes condition scored
and got a like more about Yeah, you get these
swedes and probably go back defensing, start carry on pitch
(03:58):
and holes up and uh year macare is quite nice,
quite nice, normally pretty well organized. It last week before
Christmas is normally pretty cruisy for me.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So as far as lambs do the works or getting
lambs off, man, that went well.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, yeah, I went all right on a well too
well shake farm. I don't think you're even really.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
No, you're not. No, it's all about context, right, Yeah, yeah, we.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Killed twenty five percent of their lambs off mammot eighteen
point seven kilos, so happy enough with it. Everage waning
weight was up four kilos on last year, so I
saw it. I think that sort of reflects on how
much growth we've had in that lasts sort of six weeks.
Lambs are really kicked on, kicked on really well. And
even these Jews, like, there's only ten percent of my
(04:44):
mob in the lightmob, so everything's everything set up pretty well.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Really, eighteen point seven off man, that's a pretty good number.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Yeah, yeah, I was happy. I I did think about
dipping into them a wee bit harder and like I
try get as my goals to get as many off
mum as I can, but I don't really see the schedule. Well,
they're not going to pull the pants out of the schedule,
I don't think so. And the rest of the lambs, like,
there's a good pat of lambs there between, like thirty
six and thirty eight kilos, So we have a draft
(05:16):
in mid January and get them gone. Got quite a bit.
I've got about forteen fifteen Ni there's a red clover
in this year as well, So I sort of want
to keep a few lambs about me. To chuckle Matt,
So I sort of aim for about a twenty twenty
one kilo lambs for the rest of the season. So yes,
sort of need a few lambs about me to kick
them on a bit.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
So you're doing split sharing there. Do you have an
issue with fly strikers such?
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Ah, not too bad to be fair anything that any
of you that does get fly, I'll put a black
tag in her ear. She goes straight into my terminal mob.
But sometimes get a wee bit of that green fly
a wee bit later on. It can be a bit
of an issue. But nah, yeah, touch well, I don't
really like talking about it in case it chinks myself.
(06:01):
But normally the lambs they stay pretty tidy.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
And the reason you say that your black tag anything
that gets fly. Are you talking greenfly up the back
or just DAGs meggets around the DAGs are both both.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I sort of think anything well there should be Well
don't Yeah, I thought I thought of the opinion that
anything that gets touched up by fly just goes straight
to the terminal mob. I don't really give it too
much thought. Really, there's a reason why, like ninety eight
percent of the rest of the mob hasn't been touched
up by them. So yeah, and then god, if they
(06:35):
get it again, it's not less, she's less. They're not
breeding from her.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
So she's a one year U. She has one more lamb,
she's off to the works more or less.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Ah, yeah, my terminal mob is probably fifty or sixty
percent of my flock is a terminal mob. I just
keep them, keep them in. But then if they come
through the shed at lambing time or there's any other issues,
if they go to get a second black tag, then
that second black pegs down the driveway.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So your fake cavers down there, they're looking pretty good
or things considered.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Yeah, well, I think we're sitting not too bad. Actually,
good share of rain last night, and I think everything's
reacted pretty well. There's a lot of seed head around,
like just adding to thinking what I need to get
the top of a guard, but I've just mobbed on
my kettle up and slowly getting around, tiding a few
pastures up. But everything's got a good base to it.
So yeah, I think we're sitting pretty well. I've got
(07:26):
a few petics of Baylor shut up now and yeah,
so I think we're sitting not too bad. I sort
of think if it's yeah, not much of a complaint
about at the moment.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Geez, you sund like you're ready for a holiday because
you can't.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yeah, oh, there's the plan. There's the plan. I normally
have the house to myself between Christmas and New Year Andy,
so that sort of consists of a bit of golf,
watching the ashes, chicking a few mobs and it's pretty
much me that's my holiday all the week. It's quite
quite cruisy, really.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
More of a staycation.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, yeah, recep. So it's now try to get a
way later on in January when everyone else that's going
back to school and work and stuff. But yeah, no,
we're pretty tidy really.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Just before we wrap up, Matt, I talked to you
a couple of months ago, and you were a real
cynical about New Zealand Will. Given the number of you
he's breeding. News Over in China, we've seen a lift,
a couple of lifts regarding Will. Are you starting to
see a bit of a bit of a change in
that from your perspective?
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Yeah, it's interesting now because I sort of got that
viewpoint from someone else's opinion and I sort of run
with it. But now to see the lift and the
wall prices, like Jesus satisfying. Isn't it like to see
people well breaking, even if not getting a wee bit
of money extra on top of the sharing as the
(08:43):
way it should be. And hopefully it holds. I'm hoping
it's not just a blip on the radar and then
we'll go back to normal again. It'll be nice if
it does hold, if not a wee bit more and
we start getting good prices for wealth. I don't think
we're ever gonna go back to the way it used
to be, but it'd be quite ti oh if we're
getting decent mall checks and changes people's opinions on actually
(09:04):
wanting to see a sheep again for the animal health,
not just doing it because they have to. Yeah, would
be quite tidy. I reckon.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Hey, good on you, Matt. Thanks for your time on
the muster today and throughout the year. You enjoy your
staycation and we'll catch up again in January. Always appreciated
your time. Have a good break.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, thank you, and and you two until you listens
as well. Have a good Christmas the new year and
hopefully everyone can have a bit of a bit of
downtime and catch up on themselves.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Matt Ward there farming at Morton Mains, remembering texts eider
Down e I D E R down two five double
o nine. Today's price an adjustable will pillow. Thanks the
team at eider Down text five double o nine. This
is the muster up. Next disaster McMaster
The muster on the farm with Southland District Council working
together for a Beta Southland.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Matt Ward farms down at Morton Mainz and joins us
once again this afternoon on the muster while he's on
their hand piece of all things. Good afternoon, Matt, Good afternoon, Andy.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, pretty good? You sound like the You are the
opposite of Ben Dooley talking about these numbers yesterday, what
seventeen hundred dag before lunchtime. But you're there just doing
the honest toil today.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yeah, yeah, no, we are. We're just chipping away doing
themselves this year. I sort of thought about getting the
crutch and trailer and Andy, but Jesus, it nearly takes
them longer to get here and get up the driveway
and get set up than it does for them to
actually do the sheet. So are we just chipping away?
Chipping away? It's good. I think it's a good, good
way to get a good look at all the us.
And they're actually not bad dagging. She has a bit
(00:55):
of shit on them, but they're not bad, not bad guarden,
really is there a leg?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Eggs were just pretty much around the crutch, Na just.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Around the cratch. Just around the cratch, I sort of
leave all the legs and and you just give them
a good good run. Cratch just tided them up and
then I'll get them dipped. First second week of January
they all go through and then get shorn and the
start of March. So you normally they stay pretty clean
as long as you give them a good crutch. Now
they stay pretty clean right up to shearing. Won't really
(01:23):
need to touch them the game touch wood.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, you made the observation just before that you'd rather
be on a hand piece than an attractor percent.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, recent I I go crazy sitting there playing circles
and a tractor. Yeah, it's not my It's not my
cup of tea at all, and then I end up
breaking stuff and I'd rather stand there on a hand
piece for the day, any day of the week.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Have you always found like that when it comes to
their hand piece.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, I've always enjoyed it. I do enjoy it. Yeah,
there was a bit of me one day that sort
of thought I could go out and do a bit
of sharing and mack around. But that's probably a bit
as far as that thought got.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So you haven't been enjoy it. You haven't been teamed
to shear your own hoggots or anything silly like that.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
No, Na, no, I'll do I do a few like
I like, we used to share all their rams up
at Me and Aspiring and do like stragglers and stuff.
So got pretty handy on the well good. I wouldn't
say I'm handy on the empties, but I sort of
know how to get the feathers off one way or another.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
I show the rams at home once here, and my
advice to the young fellow working for me was make
sure I don't get killed.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, well that's good way to do them
through lockdown when I was up at Aspiring, and then
actually last year I was up at Waning for Aspiring,
and Reynald thought it would be a good joke after
a good day on the hill to bring the rams in,
and we chipped aways here in the Emma afternoon as well.
So yeah, no, it's good. I don't yeah, I don't
mind it, don't mind it at all.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yes, So if you've got the set up to do it, well,
it makes a lot of sense as well. And seez
I've lost count of how many years of dad, like
we had a we had a hect in at one stage,
but a lot of the time I'd just be doing
them up the race as well, and you just got
to be careful about if there's one running back at jen,
have your wits about you. But these new hand pieces,
you know, battery charge just as a breeze.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah, yeah, Henderson, I've got a good I've got a
good race wall here, so they climb up. They're sort
of standing at hip pipes, so there's no bending over
all day. And I got a young fellow from down
the road. He's keeping them all up to me. So
now we're chipping well, chipping through probably about one hundred
in air, so we're making pretty good going. Yeah. Sure,
I've only got twelve thirteen hundred jews to do, so
(03:31):
we'll find it, tidy them up tomorrow morning and then
we're all done. On to the next job.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah. So what does the next job before the fat
man comes down the chimney?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Umm? Yeah, I'm pretty well. What was it? To be fair?
Hopefully get my swedes drilled this afternoon and then year.
To be fair, I don't really have weaned up the
start of last week, got on my ewes condition scored
and got a like more about Yeah, you get these
swedes and probably go back defensing, start carry on pitch
(03:58):
and holes up and uh year macare is quite nice,
quite nice, normally pretty well organized. It last week before
Christmas is normally pretty cruisy for me.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So as far as lambs do the works or getting
lambs off, man, that went well.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, yeah, I went all right on a well too
well shake farm. I don't think you're even really.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
No, you're not. No, it's all about context, right, Yeah, yeah, we.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Killed twenty five percent of their lambs off mammot eighteen
point seven kilos, so happy enough with it. Everage waning
weight was up four kilos on last year, so I
saw it. I think that sort of reflects on how
much growth we've had in that lasts sort of six weeks.
Lambs are really kicked on, kicked on really well. And
even these Jews, like, there's only ten percent of my
(04:44):
mob in the lightmob, so everything's everything set up pretty well.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Really, eighteen point seven off man, that's a pretty good number.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Yeah, yeah, I was happy. I I did think about
dipping into them a wee bit harder and like I
try get as my goals to get as many off
mum as I can, but I don't really see the schedule. Well,
they're not going to pull the pants out of the schedule,
I don't think so. And the rest of the lambs, like,
there's a good pat of lambs there between, like thirty
six and thirty eight kilos, So we have a draft
(05:16):
in mid January and get them gone. Got quite a bit.
I've got about forteen fifteen Ni there's a red clover
in this year as well, So I sort of want
to keep a few lambs about me. To chuckle Matt,
So I sort of aim for about a twenty twenty
one kilo lambs for the rest of the season. So yes,
sort of need a few lambs about me to kick
them on a bit.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
So you're doing split sharing there. Do you have an
issue with fly strikers such?
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Ah, not too bad to be fair anything that any
of you that does get fly, I'll put a black
tag in her ear. She goes straight into my terminal mob.
But sometimes get a wee bit of that green fly
a wee bit later on. It can be a bit
of an issue. But nah, yeah, touch well, I don't
really like talking about it in case it chinks myself.
(06:01):
But normally the lambs they stay pretty tidy.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
And the reason you say that your black tag anything
that gets fly. Are you talking greenfly up the back
or just DAGs meggets around the DAGs are both both.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I sort of think anything well there should be Well
don't Yeah, I thought I thought of the opinion that
anything that gets touched up by fly just goes straight
to the terminal mob. I don't really give it too
much thought. Really, there's a reason why, like ninety eight
percent of the rest of the mob hasn't been touched
up by them. So yeah, and then god, if they
(06:35):
get it again, it's not less, she's less. They're not
breeding from her.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
So she's a one year U. She has one more lamb,
she's off to the works more or less.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Ah, yeah, my terminal mob is probably fifty or sixty
percent of my flock is a terminal mob. I just
keep them, keep them in. But then if they come
through the shed at lambing time or there's any other issues,
if they go to get a second black tag, then
that second black pegs down the driveway.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
So your fake cavers down there, they're looking pretty good
or things considered.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Yeah, well, I think we're sitting not too bad. Actually,
good share of rain last night, and I think everything's
reacted pretty well. There's a lot of seed head around,
like just adding to thinking what I need to get
the top of a guard, but I've just mobbed on
my kettle up and slowly getting around, tiding a few
pastures up. But everything's got a good base to it.
So yeah, I think we're sitting pretty well. I've got
(07:26):
a few petics of Baylor shut up now and yeah,
so I think we're sitting not too bad. I sort
of think if it's yeah, not much of a complaint
about at the moment.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Geez, you sund like you're ready for a holiday because
you can't.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yeah, oh, there's the plan. There's the plan. I normally
have the house to myself between Christmas and New Year Andy,
so that sort of consists of a bit of golf,
watching the ashes, chicking a few mobs and it's pretty
much me that's my holiday all the week. It's quite
quite cruisy, really.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
More of a staycation.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, yeah, recep. So it's now try to get a
way later on in January when everyone else that's going
back to school and work and stuff. But yeah, no,
we're pretty tidy really.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Just before we wrap up, Matt, I talked to you
a couple of months ago, and you were a real
cynical about New Zealand Will. Given the number of you
he's breeding. News Over in China, we've seen a lift,
a couple of lifts regarding Will. Are you starting to
see a bit of a bit of a change in
that from your perspective?
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Yeah, it's interesting now because I sort of got that
viewpoint from someone else's opinion and I sort of run
with it. But now to see the lift and the
wall prices, like Jesus satisfying. Isn't it like to see
people well breaking, even if not getting a wee bit
of money extra on top of the sharing as the
(08:43):
way it should be. And hopefully it holds. I'm hoping
it's not just a blip on the radar and then
we'll go back to normal again. It'll be nice if
it does hold, if not a wee bit more and
we start getting good prices for wealth. I don't think
we're ever gonna go back to the way it used
to be, but it'd be quite ti oh if we're
getting decent mall checks and changes people's opinions on actually
(09:04):
wanting to see a sheep again for the animal health,
not just doing it because they have to. Yeah, would
be quite tidy. I reckon.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Hey, good on you, Matt. Thanks for your time on
the muster today and throughout the year. You enjoy your
staycation and we'll catch up again in January. Always appreciated
your time. Have a good break.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, thank you, and and you two until you listens
as well. Have a good Christmas the new year and
hopefully everyone can have a bit of a bit of
downtime and catch up on themselves.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Matt Ward there farming at Morton Mains, remembering texts eider
Down e I D E R down two five double
o nine. Today's price an adjustable will pillow. Thanks the
team at eider Down text five double o nine. This
is the muster up. Next disaster McMaster
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