November 10, 2025 • 9 mins
Matt says that while grass has been slow it is a relief to see covers start to pick up.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
This is the muster. Well, we aren't on our road
to know. We were on the road all the way
down to Morton, Mainz where we're catching up with Matt Ward,
who's farming down that way. Matt, good afternoon once again.
How's everything in more to Mainz?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, good a Andy, Yeah, everything's just ticking away. Not
too bad down here at the moment. The sun's been out,
the grass is grind, lambs have started to finally do again.
So now we've got nothing to complain about down here
at the moment.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
So ground conditions, we'll talk about the obvious shortly with
the weather, but overall, you're not too bad for November.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Nah, we're not too bad now. Now if you asked
me that ten days ago we were jagued, we wouldn't
have even been treading what we were drowning. You're about
ten days ago. But we've had some good heat in
the last week or so and it's covers have started
to improve, and we ten meals of rain us today
didn't really help anything. But I still haven't got any
seed in the ground. But Trektor has been trying to
(01:02):
do a bit of work, and yeah, i'd say now
the teen days will be definitely over the hurdle. We'll
be looking pretty good.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
I'd say, well, that's the difference of a little bit
of sunshine that changes the mood, right.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, it does, hundred cent it does, and it's changed
the mood of everything, a like the even kettle starts
a round up and lambs are rounded up, and they've
got a good color about them. And you have definitely
needed We can't. We just needed to keep shining. I reckon.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
So how did you feel in those ones? A few
weeks back we.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Copped a bit of a hiding nothing like. Yeah, look
around and it's a bit of a mess, but you
don't need to drive too far. And lucky us we are,
and know there's a lot of people were us off
than us. We're pretty lucky where we are. We're all
pretty much predominantly dairy around us. So power was on
pretty quick. We must have been a couple of days
later we had power back on. Yeah, a future like
(01:56):
quite a few trees down and stuff, but all it's
all too big for me to worry about. I chipped
around a few week. Branches and stuff. They had to
wait for a contract during a couple of diggers to
come in because it's all above my pay grade. But
they're making good progress now and a few logs that
will be mild, and quite a lot of firewood, and
quite a few that are just getting burnt. Just to
(02:16):
tide it up and forget a bit of them move on.
But yeah, got an uncle next door to me here, Andy.
He copped a lot of the I reckon hit. The
wind actually slowed down after going through his place because
Jesus mess left a mess through him. So it's he's
probably borne quite a bit of the damage from me,
which lucky for me, not so lucky for him.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Now, you say there's a lot of dairy farmers around
where you are there as far as sheep farming, are
you like the odd one out where you're based?
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Ah, yeah we are. There's what are we on air
road here? There? We won two, three, four of us
sheep farmers and then everyone else around us is all
theory and we're just holding on, holding on to the
We've probably missed the jump. But it's good. It does
good productive land, like it's good dairy farm land, so
it's good productive sheep and beef land grows good grass
(03:07):
and so you just got to make it, make it produce.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
No, what you say is you've got different farming synergies
on your nic of the and your neck of the woods.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah. Yeah, and they're all like two uncles with side
us and a couple of neighbors. Like they're all good
local farming families that have been here for generations.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
So we're all just.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, all holding on. But it's all it does good land,
So it all works pretty pretty well.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Yeah, it's underasing you're talking. You talk for four about
knee jerk reactions about going and buying all this extra
gear when you're looking at the task as that that's
at hand. But it was just being so big and
just realistically how much you're going to achieve yourself, so
to take you much of an understanding of what was
ahead of you before you saw actually I just got
(03:52):
to take a step back.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yeah. It was definitely driving around that next day looking
at all the mesis didn't even like I wouldn't have
even known where to start. But what you're right, it's
taking that step back and just thinking like making it
piece by piece. I read on Facebook someone's saying about
how to eat an elephant, and you're not going to
go smack him over in the first bite.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
A you've got to just.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Chip away, chip away. So I just sort of started
on my lane, making sure my access ways were all clear,
trying to get power back going, and then a lot
of the big stuff like yeah, way way above my
pay grade. I looked a couple of mondays ago I
was waiting for a contract to the train enough. I
looked at buying a big saw for myself and I
was like, geez, I'll use it and then I'll just
(04:37):
sit in the shed. And I hate swinging off a
chain through anyway, so it's easier just to wait. And
now that he's here, he's got a couple of diggers going.
Then it might cost me a weave it, but it's
a lot safer them doing it than me doing it.
And it leaves like I've still got track to work
to do and mobs to be shifting around tailing to do.
So it's yeah, taking just chip away, and it's it's
(04:57):
their job, it's their profession. So it's, yeah, one last
thing I need to worry about.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
And besides, the guy with your stature were size there, Matt,
You're probably quite handy on an X as well. If
I've got a real.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Poor week four arm Endy. The ax is no good
for me either, But you're gonna leave a few logs
for me and get a wood splitter in and just
chip away on it, so we should be should be
not too bad.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I love that analogy there, and it's one I've talked
about before. You don't need an elephant and big bites.
It's all about just going through and doing it in
little and little bites and eventually, piece by piece you
make your way through it. But it's a marathon, not
a sprint. And yeah, it's probably a great way to
look at the situation.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think it's the same
same goes for a lot of things. Hey get a
big snow dump and people go rush out and they're
feeding stock flat out and running track this up and down.
Then the snow is going to mount like it's not
a lot of people go and Russian or a big
fan of just taking this step back and just waiting
for waiting to see what's actually going to happen, and
(06:04):
not rushing into rushing into a lot of things, giving
it a bit of time to think about it and
work out a proper plan.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So as far as winning dates, when does that occur?
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Around the tenth of December. It should be about a
ninety day old lamb roughly is what I work on.
So that'll be. Yeah, that's the plan there. Whether I
normally last year I didn't, but normally try get a
cut out of my singles about that ten days two
weeks beforehand and that year. Whether I do that again
(06:36):
this year, time will tell. But they like they're there.
They'd just be interesting whether they're waiting enough or not.
But I'd say the way the schedules sitting in the
way the schedule hopefully'll be sitting by winning times. Yeah,
be able to dip in like dip into lambs quite
a bit deeper and try to get as many off
mum as possible. It's the plan.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
So drenching is that coming up?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah, that's coming up on going to start fixed mobs
are using lambs in the next teen days or so,
and if they need a drench, i'ld drinch for them.
If they don't, then hopefully I can push them right
through the weaning without without a drench. But yeah, time
will doubt normally have to give them a pre ween drinch,
just a couple of weeks before winning.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
They just finally mate. We talk about the ull Blacks one,
Damian McKenzie, you were telling me last time, oh fair
about quite a cool wee story. Actually you keeped them
out of a team once upon a time. Going to
a bit more detail, this was a good yarn. You've
exposed yourself.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I told you I knew, and I told you this
the other day, that it would come back up to
bite me.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
It's a great yarn.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
We were good cobbers back at eden Dale Primary, me
and Damien and used to play rep footy together. And
I've always had in my mind that I was first
five and he was second five, which for some reason.
You look at the size of me now, you'd wonder
how that ever happened. And then a few years ago
I caught up with Marty McKenzie's older brother and he
(08:00):
was telling me the same yarn, and I was like, shit,
I haven't gone through high school just dreaming of it.
It must have must have happened. But you look at
him now and you see how he's gone, and I'm
just a broken down lock from Edendale. So one's kept
on and one's.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Are Yeah, I'd hardly say, broken down.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
My rugby boots aren't even allowed inside at the moment, Andy,
that I've been sitting out in the rain, not even
allowed near the house. So yeah, it's good to see
him going well. He's bloody good fowler and good footballer
and I think he cemented a spot there on the
bench as an impact player, Like he's a definition of
an impact player. Coming on to change a game the
way he did in the weekend is bloody impressive.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That is what you call a twenty five minute pocket rocket. Yeah, yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It'll be interesting those better talk about whether they start
him this weekend. But my opinion, he's made for the bench,
like there's no such thing as a reserve player anymore.
Like they've got to come on and make an impact.
And the way the bench has been working, I wouldn't
really go change it too much, the.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Fools me And if anybody knows we d Max should
be in the back line, it's you met war because
you kept him out of a number ten position. Mate. Hey,
always appreciate your time, enjoy the other you do.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Good man, Andy, Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Matt Ward of more Tomine Scooby yarn At about d
mac as well. Laurie Margrain of Open Country is up next.
This is the muster
This is the muster. Well, we aren't on our road
to know. We were on the road all the way
down to Morton, Mainz where we're catching up with Matt Ward,
who's farming down that way. Matt, good afternoon once again.
How's everything in more to Mainz?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, good a Andy, Yeah, everything's just ticking away. Not
too bad down here at the moment. The sun's been out,
the grass is grind, lambs have started to finally do again.
So now we've got nothing to complain about down here
at the moment.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
So ground conditions, we'll talk about the obvious shortly with
the weather, but overall, you're not too bad for November.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Nah, we're not too bad now. Now if you asked
me that ten days ago we were jagued, we wouldn't
have even been treading what we were drowning. You're about
ten days ago. But we've had some good heat in
the last week or so and it's covers have started
to improve, and we ten meals of rain us today
didn't really help anything. But I still haven't got any
seed in the ground. But Trektor has been trying to
(01:02):
do a bit of work, and yeah, i'd say now
the teen days will be definitely over the hurdle. We'll
be looking pretty good.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
I'd say, well, that's the difference of a little bit
of sunshine that changes the mood, right.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, it does, hundred cent it does, and it's changed
the mood of everything, a like the even kettle starts
a round up and lambs are rounded up, and they've
got a good color about them. And you have definitely
needed We can't. We just needed to keep shining. I reckon.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
So how did you feel in those ones? A few
weeks back we.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Copped a bit of a hiding nothing like. Yeah, look
around and it's a bit of a mess, but you
don't need to drive too far. And lucky us we are,
and know there's a lot of people were us off
than us. We're pretty lucky where we are. We're all
pretty much predominantly dairy around us. So power was on
pretty quick. We must have been a couple of days
later we had power back on. Yeah, a future like
(01:56):
quite a few trees down and stuff, but all it's
all too big for me to worry about. I chipped
around a few week. Branches and stuff. They had to
wait for a contract during a couple of diggers to
come in because it's all above my pay grade. But
they're making good progress now and a few logs that
will be mild, and quite a lot of firewood, and
quite a few that are just getting burnt. Just to
(02:16):
tide it up and forget a bit of them move on.
But yeah, got an uncle next door to me here, Andy.
He copped a lot of the I reckon hit. The
wind actually slowed down after going through his place because
Jesus mess left a mess through him. So it's he's
probably borne quite a bit of the damage from me,
which lucky for me, not so lucky for him.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Now, you say there's a lot of dairy farmers around
where you are there as far as sheep farming, are
you like the odd one out where you're based?
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Ah, yeah we are. There's what are we on air
road here? There? We won two, three, four of us
sheep farmers and then everyone else around us is all
theory and we're just holding on, holding on to the
We've probably missed the jump. But it's good. It does
good productive land, like it's good dairy farm land, so
it's good productive sheep and beef land grows good grass
(03:07):
and so you just got to make it, make it produce.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
No, what you say is you've got different farming synergies
on your nic of the and your neck of the woods.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah. Yeah, and they're all like two uncles with side
us and a couple of neighbors. Like they're all good
local farming families that have been here for generations.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
So we're all just.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, all holding on. But it's all it does good land,
So it all works pretty pretty well.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Yeah, it's underasing you're talking. You talk for four about
knee jerk reactions about going and buying all this extra
gear when you're looking at the task as that that's
at hand. But it was just being so big and
just realistically how much you're going to achieve yourself, so
to take you much of an understanding of what was
ahead of you before you saw actually I just got
(03:52):
to take a step back.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yeah. It was definitely driving around that next day looking
at all the mesis didn't even like I wouldn't have
even known where to start. But what you're right, it's
taking that step back and just thinking like making it
piece by piece. I read on Facebook someone's saying about
how to eat an elephant, and you're not going to
go smack him over in the first bite.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
A you've got to just.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Chip away, chip away. So I just sort of started
on my lane, making sure my access ways were all clear,
trying to get power back going, and then a lot
of the big stuff like yeah, way way above my
pay grade. I looked a couple of mondays ago I
was waiting for a contract to the train enough. I
looked at buying a big saw for myself and I
was like, geez, I'll use it and then I'll just
(04:37):
sit in the shed. And I hate swinging off a
chain through anyway, so it's easier just to wait. And
now that he's here, he's got a couple of diggers going.
Then it might cost me a weave it, but it's
a lot safer them doing it than me doing it.
And it leaves like I've still got track to work
to do and mobs to be shifting around tailing to do.
So it's yeah, taking just chip away, and it's it's
(04:57):
their job, it's their profession. So it's, yeah, one last
thing I need to worry about.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
And besides, the guy with your stature were size there, Matt,
You're probably quite handy on an X as well. If
I've got a real.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Poor week four arm Endy. The ax is no good
for me either, But you're gonna leave a few logs
for me and get a wood splitter in and just
chip away on it, so we should be should be
not too bad.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I love that analogy there, and it's one I've talked
about before. You don't need an elephant and big bites.
It's all about just going through and doing it in
little and little bites and eventually, piece by piece you
make your way through it. But it's a marathon, not
a sprint. And yeah, it's probably a great way to
look at the situation.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think it's the same
same goes for a lot of things. Hey get a
big snow dump and people go rush out and they're
feeding stock flat out and running track this up and down.
Then the snow is going to mount like it's not
a lot of people go and Russian or a big
fan of just taking this step back and just waiting
for waiting to see what's actually going to happen, and
(06:04):
not rushing into rushing into a lot of things, giving
it a bit of time to think about it and
work out a proper plan.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So as far as winning dates, when does that occur?
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Around the tenth of December. It should be about a
ninety day old lamb roughly is what I work on.
So that'll be. Yeah, that's the plan there. Whether I
normally last year I didn't, but normally try get a
cut out of my singles about that ten days two
weeks beforehand and that year. Whether I do that again
(06:36):
this year, time will tell. But they like they're there.
They'd just be interesting whether they're waiting enough or not.
But I'd say the way the schedules sitting in the
way the schedule hopefully'll be sitting by winning times. Yeah,
be able to dip in like dip into lambs quite
a bit deeper and try to get as many off
mum as possible. It's the plan.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
So drenching is that coming up?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah, that's coming up on going to start fixed mobs
are using lambs in the next teen days or so,
and if they need a drench, i'ld drinch for them.
If they don't, then hopefully I can push them right
through the weaning without without a drench. But yeah, time
will doubt normally have to give them a pre ween drinch,
just a couple of weeks before winning.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
They just finally mate. We talk about the ull Blacks one,
Damian McKenzie, you were telling me last time, oh fair
about quite a cool wee story. Actually you keeped them
out of a team once upon a time. Going to
a bit more detail, this was a good yarn. You've
exposed yourself.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I told you I knew, and I told you this
the other day, that it would come back up to
bite me.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
It's a great yarn.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
We were good cobbers back at eden Dale Primary, me
and Damien and used to play rep footy together. And
I've always had in my mind that I was first
five and he was second five, which for some reason.
You look at the size of me now, you'd wonder
how that ever happened. And then a few years ago
I caught up with Marty McKenzie's older brother and he
(08:00):
was telling me the same yarn, and I was like, shit,
I haven't gone through high school just dreaming of it.
It must have must have happened. But you look at
him now and you see how he's gone, and I'm
just a broken down lock from Edendale. So one's kept
on and one's.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Are Yeah, I'd hardly say, broken down.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
My rugby boots aren't even allowed inside at the moment, Andy,
that I've been sitting out in the rain, not even
allowed near the house. So yeah, it's good to see
him going well. He's bloody good fowler and good footballer
and I think he cemented a spot there on the
bench as an impact player, Like he's a definition of
an impact player. Coming on to change a game the
way he did in the weekend is bloody impressive.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That is what you call a twenty five minute pocket rocket. Yeah, yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It'll be interesting those better talk about whether they start
him this weekend. But my opinion, he's made for the bench,
like there's no such thing as a reserve player anymore.
Like they've got to come on and make an impact.
And the way the bench has been working, I wouldn't
really go change it too much, the.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Fools me And if anybody knows we d Max should
be in the back line, it's you met war because
you kept him out of a number ten position. Mate. Hey,
always appreciate your time, enjoy the other you do.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Good man, Andy, Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Matt Ward of more Tomine Scooby yarn At about d
mac as well. Laurie Margrain of Open Country is up next.
This is the muster
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com