July 16, 2026 • 8 mins
Nigel Woodhead looks at scanning results which have left him pleasantly surprised.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Well Gregory Ebbitts the artist. The song there is Shaky Down.
The theme today is, of course, shake after the Mother,
after Mother Nature last night, letting us know that she
is all around us. This is the muster. We're catching
up next with Nigel wood Head farming in South Otago
between Boucluther and Milton. Good afternoon, nighte house Siggs.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
The afternoon and anything's pretty good today. The sun is
quite high, cloud down, the summer shining earlier on and
yeah we.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Took a long good Now you didn't feel the quake
last night you were in transit.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, we were driving, so I didn't feel it. But yeah,
it sounds like a bit of a bit of a
shakedown around the place.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, but of just to wake up cool mother Nature.
Like I say, letting snow. She's about the weather this
week though, it's been pretty good all things considered. It's
just winter being winter and a few wolmer afternoons.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, we had a handful. We've been a rain five
or six miles the other night, but apart from that
it's been really good. Days like today, it slowly drives
the place out and we got every thing apart from
a wee more of auss on crop now and grand
conditions are really good, and it's yeah every days really
(01:20):
we'll take winter if this what it's like. But yeah,
ten days ago shows a different story.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Man, it was wet and just getting little signs of
not spring like conditions. Let's be honest about it. Today's
are starting the length and so you know you just
kind of grasp with those wee straws at the moment,
but they are there.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yeah, well we're what are we now? We're halfway through July. Yeah,
halfway through July, and usually in August that starts to
starts to warm up of it. And there's usually a
period of time there in August where it's beautiful and
warm and all the brakes dry out and get rid
of the wet. We're the gear for a few days.
So yeah, look it's yeah, that's winter time. Got to
(01:59):
expect what we've been having. So it's lock. Say, it
hasn't been too bad.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Really, it's al much a circuit break. You're leaving the
leaguings off for a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Well, every year in August you get a warm block
I say warm pitch, and you put the legands away
and get the boots out and think, here we go
springs here and then it only last about two days
and it and it shuts the bead again and you're
gonna go put the way to get back off. So
it's yeah, just it's just something I got to expect.
But say it's winter time where we're handling it pretty good,
(02:32):
and if it carries on like this, will be will
be happy enough.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Scanning results as you as you expect.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
No, it wasn't quite what I expected. It was up
and up a bit. Actually I was not expecting that. Yeah,
we ended up sort of mid one nineties, which was
it will be the best with laying laying off skinned
and yeah, up such tracks seemed on last year. So yeah,
incredible result. We definitely were not expecting that. And the
(03:05):
probably the biggest, the most pleasing thing was that the
tudo skin one hundred and ninety odd as well, which
I didn't expect that out of them. Like they they
are reasonable tudoos, but if you looked at them, you
wouldn't think they've got the one hundred and ninety in them.
So we obviously got something right in the autumn. And yeah,
hapy days. Now just got to try and keep them
all alive.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
So how's the crops going as far as eating wise.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Not too bad yet. We've got two mobs of kettle
on foo beat, one of them eating about as much
as they should and the other mob of hawking through
their fo meat. You're either eating more than they should be,
or the croppers where I yielded the crop I overestimated it,
or the combination of the two. But just sort of
(03:52):
trying not to overfeed them but at the same time
keep them fully feed and just poking as much bailerge
into them as we can without making a mess with
the tractor. It's all right at the moment, but last
week it was a hard work getting round getting baila
and defeeders for kettle on crop and to use mixtage
the mixed age multiples twins and singles have got so
(04:14):
they're done two days on five. I've eating two days
on kale and yeah, they're getting pretty well transitioned now,
so they're enjoying that. And what else we've got habits
are on carl and plantain and two are on suite,
so everything's taken along pretty well. Actually, But like I
say that, one more of the balls on beat they
might come off of it earlier than I was anticipating.
(04:34):
And yeah, the hobbits are hooking through their carl and
plantain too, but I think we'll be able to We
might be able to grab a week of swedes or
something else with them at the end to get them
through before they got start their hold of rotation.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Now you were at count your cal u's pre lambing,
is that correct?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, so well, when we do our prelam in or health,
we'll mouth everything for all the old use and anything
with a shot mouth or anything that's cal frage or
it's going to go where you identified them. Then lamb
them separate around the yard here just kicking close to
the house, keep the freezer you separate right the way
(05:13):
through and usually we'll share them to the middle of
November and then kill them second week of December those
years and win the lambs a web earlier. But in
the past we've actually sold some or all of those
freezer us with lambs at foot in the end of
October if it starts getting a bit tight as well,
so that's quite a good lever. It lets us start
(05:34):
destocking if it's getting a bit tight, like say in October,
we can pull pen and sell them then or in
a normal year whatever that looks like. We'll kill them
in second week of December and it freeze up a
heap attacker before putting with the feeding and freezer bit
of feed up for weaning around Christmas time.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Here and the prices are looking pretty good. Last Jobby
spokes here as well. We're mentioning this forgetting Tom. So
you get in the accolades and the Young Farmer camp
now two weeks on Nige, but you would have been
pretty chaffed around that.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Oh Stoke, Yeah, Stoke, that's I mean, obviously to see
the trophy comeback the tag of Southlands awesome. But Thom's
Thom's worked really hard and you know, great men and
obviously there's a bit of family history of here as well,
so that yeah, it was really cool to see him
take it out. And he was the first timer in
that Grand final, coming up against a couple of more
(06:27):
seasoned campaigners, a couple of guys have been there before
and Minister took them up. So yeah, it was yeah,
I was, Yeah, I have the moan to see him
take it. Actually it's awesome and yeah he'll be he'll
be awesome investador for for young farmers and for agriculture
in New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Was that like that for you when you won NIGHTE
all of a sudden you felt like you had a
bit of a responsibility for the industry to be an ambassador.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just this sort of Yeah,
I think I spoke about it last all of a sudden,
you other person that people want to hear from, and
people want to know what's going on, and you know,
all of a sudden, it's like you're the young Farmer
of the year. You're sort of put up on this
pedestal and I don't know if Time's expecting you and not.
I haven't spoken to him, but I definitely wasn't expecting
(07:15):
all the all the attention and all the phone calls
and all the invite places here and there and all
that sort of stuff. So yeah, you're definitely, you know,
you're definitely held held up in lights as a representative
for agriculture and for young farmers in New Zealand. And
(07:35):
you know, the opportunities that come from just being the
Young farm of the year a huge you know, we
had all sorts of random opportunities to do stuff we
got invited to Wellington to official dinner with the President
of Ireland and all sorts of random stuff that just
comes out, but it was awesome. So you's got to
(07:57):
make the most of those opportunities because it's in twelve
months time after next years Grand Final, your old news
and someone else's someone else is going to be the
young Family the year, So you've got an obligation to
just get stuck unto it and make the most of
the opportunities.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Yeah, a great way to look at it. Nights, We'll
leave it there, enjoy the weekend and made this way
to continue.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, every days.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Thanks Andy, Noja wat Hen, South Otago. This is the muster.
Speaking of the weather, Phil Dagon of weather Watch gives
us the forecast for the South over the next seven days.
He's next
Well Gregory Ebbitts the artist. The song there is Shaky Down.
The theme today is, of course, shake after the Mother,
after Mother Nature last night, letting us know that she
is all around us. This is the muster. We're catching
up next with Nigel wood Head farming in South Otago
between Boucluther and Milton. Good afternoon, nighte house Siggs.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
The afternoon and anything's pretty good today. The sun is
quite high, cloud down, the summer shining earlier on and
yeah we.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Took a long good Now you didn't feel the quake
last night you were in transit.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, we were driving, so I didn't feel it. But yeah,
it sounds like a bit of a bit of a
shakedown around the place.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, but of just to wake up cool mother Nature.
Like I say, letting snow. She's about the weather this
week though, it's been pretty good all things considered. It's
just winter being winter and a few wolmer afternoons.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, we had a handful. We've been a rain five
or six miles the other night, but apart from that
it's been really good. Days like today, it slowly drives
the place out and we got every thing apart from
a wee more of auss on crop now and grand
conditions are really good, and it's yeah every days really
(01:20):
we'll take winter if this what it's like. But yeah,
ten days ago shows a different story.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Man, it was wet and just getting little signs of
not spring like conditions. Let's be honest about it. Today's
are starting the length and so you know you just
kind of grasp with those wee straws at the moment,
but they are there.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yeah, well we're what are we now? We're halfway through July. Yeah,
halfway through July, and usually in August that starts to
starts to warm up of it. And there's usually a
period of time there in August where it's beautiful and
warm and all the brakes dry out and get rid
of the wet. We're the gear for a few days.
So yeah, look it's yeah, that's winter time. Got to
(01:59):
expect what we've been having. So it's lock. Say, it
hasn't been too bad.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Really, it's al much a circuit break. You're leaving the
leaguings off for a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Well, every year in August you get a warm block
I say warm pitch, and you put the legands away
and get the boots out and think, here we go
springs here and then it only last about two days
and it and it shuts the bead again and you're
gonna go put the way to get back off. So
it's yeah, just it's just something I got to expect.
But say it's winter time where we're handling it pretty good,
(02:32):
and if it carries on like this, will be will
be happy enough.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Scanning results as you as you expect.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
No, it wasn't quite what I expected. It was up
and up a bit. Actually I was not expecting that. Yeah,
we ended up sort of mid one nineties, which was
it will be the best with laying laying off skinned
and yeah, up such tracks seemed on last year. So yeah,
incredible result. We definitely were not expecting that. And the
(03:05):
probably the biggest, the most pleasing thing was that the
tudo skin one hundred and ninety odd as well, which
I didn't expect that out of them. Like they they
are reasonable tudoos, but if you looked at them, you
wouldn't think they've got the one hundred and ninety in them.
So we obviously got something right in the autumn. And yeah,
hapy days. Now just got to try and keep them
all alive.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
So how's the crops going as far as eating wise.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Not too bad yet. We've got two mobs of kettle
on foo beat, one of them eating about as much
as they should and the other mob of hawking through
their fo meat. You're either eating more than they should be,
or the croppers where I yielded the crop I overestimated it,
or the combination of the two. But just sort of
(03:52):
trying not to overfeed them but at the same time
keep them fully feed and just poking as much bailerge
into them as we can without making a mess with
the tractor. It's all right at the moment, but last
week it was a hard work getting round getting baila
and defeeders for kettle on crop and to use mixtage
the mixed age multiples twins and singles have got so
(04:14):
they're done two days on five. I've eating two days
on kale and yeah, they're getting pretty well transitioned now,
so they're enjoying that. And what else we've got habits
are on carl and plantain and two are on suite,
so everything's taken along pretty well. Actually, But like I
say that, one more of the balls on beat they
might come off of it earlier than I was anticipating.
(04:34):
And yeah, the hobbits are hooking through their carl and
plantain too, but I think we'll be able to We
might be able to grab a week of swedes or
something else with them at the end to get them
through before they got start their hold of rotation.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Now you were at count your cal u's pre lambing,
is that correct?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, so well, when we do our prelam in or health,
we'll mouth everything for all the old use and anything
with a shot mouth or anything that's cal frage or
it's going to go where you identified them. Then lamb
them separate around the yard here just kicking close to
the house, keep the freezer you separate right the way
(05:13):
through and usually we'll share them to the middle of
November and then kill them second week of December those
years and win the lambs a web earlier. But in
the past we've actually sold some or all of those
freezer us with lambs at foot in the end of
October if it starts getting a bit tight as well,
so that's quite a good lever. It lets us start
(05:34):
destocking if it's getting a bit tight, like say in October,
we can pull pen and sell them then or in
a normal year whatever that looks like. We'll kill them
in second week of December and it freeze up a
heap attacker before putting with the feeding and freezer bit
of feed up for weaning around Christmas time.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Here and the prices are looking pretty good. Last Jobby
spokes here as well. We're mentioning this forgetting Tom. So
you get in the accolades and the Young Farmer camp
now two weeks on Nige, but you would have been
pretty chaffed around that.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Oh Stoke, Yeah, Stoke, that's I mean, obviously to see
the trophy comeback the tag of Southlands awesome. But Thom's
Thom's worked really hard and you know, great men and
obviously there's a bit of family history of here as well,
so that yeah, it was really cool to see him
take it out. And he was the first timer in
that Grand final, coming up against a couple of more
(06:27):
seasoned campaigners, a couple of guys have been there before
and Minister took them up. So yeah, it was yeah,
I was, Yeah, I have the moan to see him
take it. Actually it's awesome and yeah he'll be he'll
be awesome investador for for young farmers and for agriculture
in New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Was that like that for you when you won NIGHTE
all of a sudden you felt like you had a
bit of a responsibility for the industry to be an ambassador.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just this sort of Yeah,
I think I spoke about it last all of a sudden,
you other person that people want to hear from, and
people want to know what's going on, and you know,
all of a sudden, it's like you're the young Farmer
of the year. You're sort of put up on this
pedestal and I don't know if Time's expecting you and not.
I haven't spoken to him, but I definitely wasn't expecting
(07:15):
all the all the attention and all the phone calls
and all the invite places here and there and all
that sort of stuff. So yeah, you're definitely, you know,
you're definitely held held up in lights as a representative
for agriculture and for young farmers in New Zealand. And
(07:35):
you know, the opportunities that come from just being the
Young farm of the year a huge you know, we
had all sorts of random opportunities to do stuff we
got invited to Wellington to official dinner with the President
of Ireland and all sorts of random stuff that just
comes out, but it was awesome. So you's got to
(07:57):
make the most of those opportunities because it's in twelve
months time after next years Grand Final, your old news
and someone else's someone else is going to be the
young Family the year, So you've got an obligation to
just get stuck unto it and make the most of
the opportunities.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Yeah, a great way to look at it. Nights, We'll
leave it there, enjoy the weekend and made this way
to continue.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, every days.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Thanks Andy, Noja wat Hen, South Otago. This is the muster.
Speaking of the weather, Phil Dagon of weather Watch gives
us the forecast for the South over the next seven days.
He's next
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