The Muster-Richard Kyte: Thriving Southland

Richard Kyte looks back at the Everything To Gain event.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Can you kill this? Welcome back to the Muster on
Hakanui Seline Dion power ballad Central. It's all coming back
to me now. I think that song was around nineteen
ninety six. Off the top of my head. Richard Kite,
project lead of Thriving South and catches up once again Richard,

(00:26):
Good afternoon, Welcome to June on the Muster.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Good afternoon, Andy. Yeah, he's rolling around, isn't it journe
already exactly?

Speaker 1 (00:37):
And I made it's a couple of weeks since everything
to gain event has been and gone. But I'm just
hearing a lot of positives around this. When we spoke
to Tania regarding this event, I was only expecting to
hear good things and certainly it delivered.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Oh yeah, well, I won't say I surprised, but actually
the level of turnout and farmer turnout was weird, really good. Uh.
And to be to be fair, we had some really
good speakers, so it's great and I think they were
the you know, they see the important of the South
and in what we do. So it was a great

(01:13):
event and really some really great messages, you know, for
for real positive stuff. When we looked at look at
going forward, I know it's always change is always challenging,
but actually I think there's a lot of opportunities.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Here and ye yeah, see talk about those opportunities. What
what do you thinks proceeding itself at the moment.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
I suppose my takeaways were basically, you know, we had
a range of speakers here. We had Hamish Maho, who
was the Agricultural Trade Envoice, so he just finished his
time there. He I mean his message was, you know,
we're in a we're in a good, good position. We've
seen we're seeing well, but we're also one of many.

(01:59):
And then we had the Gariless, the Talis, so he's
working he works on the trade negotiation side, and I
suppose he was pointing it that the world's changed a bit,
so it's changed from a rules based trade perspective to
power based and and that's why it's really important that
we're we're you know, we're picking up these bilateral agreements.

(02:21):
So and he talked about India. That's I mean, that's
a big opportunity there. You know, they've got one point
I think it's one point four seven billion population. So
sometimes we look at those agreements and go, you know,
are we getting enough out of it. But because of
the scale, and that was his point, because of the scale,
not not a lot needs to change. It makes a

(02:41):
massive difference to us and under need to be in
there and to be on board as other nations are
in there as well.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
Yeah, okay, so we look at India in a free
trade sense, Richard just being a humble farmer in Southland.
There's a lot of this to be positive about. Well
excited that almost.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Oh well, without a doubt. I mean one of the
points made was in the shape shape meet space. You
know Australia they got we had eighty five percent of
the market and Australia got their free trade agreement dropped
about nine percent. Uh uh so you know, actually getting
back in the and moving that will ship the doll again,

(03:23):
even even in the dairy space. You know, he's sort
of I mean Bengalis was saying the you know they
even dropping thirty three percent on the infant formula and
looking at you know that they've got a they've got
a few winds here were I wasn't aware of it,
Like nobody's got into India like they were expecting the

(03:46):
Americans would get in there with deary nobody's got in
with Deary and we we're picking up little winds in Dewy,
but we call them little. But you look at the
scale and actually they start adding up. So not might
not be what everybody was wanting, But across the board,
Apples hought key we thruit might not be that relevant

(04:07):
being here at the moment feat food though you know
there's very you knows a lot of opportunity there. And
the other key messages that really came through what were
the Indians They look at our market were really really
small compared to them, but they actually know we deliver
and we know we support what we do there. So

(04:28):
that's I mean that that's a really positive messaging that
I was I picked up.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, now the panel presentation and discussion, one of the
discussions based on trading on New Zealand's reputation, the change
in global climate at the moment we've seen them in
the Middle East. Spent a couple of weeks, but I'd
say it's pretty relevant and on point what would have
gone through.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yeah, I think from that panel perspective, it is it
is that we're in a place of change and that's
why you know, our market diversification is really important. But
also what came out from the panel is the need,
you know, we've got to get in behind syndication of
of our product and what we've got, and that begins

(05:11):
on fan and that message came from both the farmers
and the other panel members and it's and it's not
kind of from a compliance perspective, it's from a we've
got to tell our story and when when the likes
of Begarlas is selling us into a free trade agreement
and selling what we've got, he can he can back
that up and that's something we really good at. So yeah,

(05:34):
I think that was the key message from the panel.
You know, we sometimes we don't like all the compliance
and farm plans, et cetera, but they're starting to become
I think it's changing from compliance to really just relevant
to getting access into the markets. So they're a real
positive space.

Speaker 1 (05:53):
Yeah, So farmer feedback regarding the event was pretty much
in the was pretty much in the positive.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
Oh look, the feedback was excellently and I think it
was actually you know, talking talking to the people who
have to have to make the change and they're looking
for the information, so talking from you know, from from
the Water's mouth that it were like the likes of
men galas talking to farmers with those messages, and yeah,

(06:23):
just they're available to everybody. Andy. We put them up
on the website and I think, you know that really
positive feedback from farmers who were there, So I think
well worth getting on the website and actually having a
look at some of those videos.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah, good on your Richard. Congratulations once again on an
event that seemed to capture the farmer's interest given that
there were so many people attending. You enjoy the afternoon.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Okay, cheers, Andy, appreciate, Thank.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
You, Richard Kite, projects lead of Thriving Southland. We're a
way at Kennedy next to wrap up. Greg Erickson, a
Canadian correspondent formerly a y Moment. We have a chat
so I

Speaker 2 (07:05):
Can tell recput its home coming to me.