April 6, 2025 • 38 mins
Jamie Mackay talks to Phil Duncan, Andrew Hoggard, Grant McCallum, Amy Renelle, and Te Radar.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Catch all the latest from the land. It's The Country
Podcast with Jamie McGue Thanks to Brent you're specialist in
John Dee Machinery.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Good afternoon, New Zealand. Welcome to the Country. I'm Jamie McKay.
It's brought to you by Branton eighties banger from Heart.
I've been in the business for fifty years. My goodness right, okay,
we're going to kick off the show today with the
weather is the drought over? Phil Duncan Also on the
show today our Farmer Politician panel, Grant McCullum, Andrew Hoggard,
(00:57):
Amy Renell. This is a great story. She's written a
wonderfully risky children's book, what's basically for grown up farmers.
It's called If You've Got Live Stock, You've Got Dead Stock.
A delightful look at sheep farming from a complete towny
with the PhD in Statistics. Toadar Andrew Lumsden will review
(01:18):
or review the final regional final Otago Southland over the weekend.
Cam Smith getting through there. We're going to preview those
seven grand finalists heading back to Southland to and for
cargo in early July and if I can catch him
or more correctly if he answers his phone. He's my
next door neighbor down on Riversdale by m dout Mark
(01:40):
Dylon over the weekend won the plowing Champs. He's off
to Estonia to represent New Zealand and that plus we'll
do rural news and sports news with you for you, Michelle,
and with the rural news, apparently the timber industries got
away from Trump's tariffs. How does that work? We'll try
and get to the bottom of that one. And bought
(02:00):
as well. I see him a Twigs featuring She's going
to be the keynote speaker tomorrow morning at the South
Island Dairy event. And see Maru where I'm heading as
soon as I get off air. Phil Duncan joins me
now from weather Watch. Hey Phil, just before we talk
about the weather, have you looked at your key? We
save her account this morning.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, i' you're taking a bit of a beating. No,
I haven't.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Why would you?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
No, best you don't look. The nz X, by the way,
Folks is down two point eight eight percent, nearly three
percent this morning as we follow suit after the blood
bath on Wall Street. And the worst thing is the
futures markets for what they're worth. Are predicting more downturns
this week? What the hell's he up to? We might
(02:44):
ask a political panel about that one as well. But
I want to talk to you, Phil Duncan about the weather.
Is the drought over in the North Island?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Well, I wouldn't necessarily say it's over. About the rain
that came through last week was fantastic in many of
the driest parts of the country, and we've got some
more rain coming tomorrow, so you kind of need repeat
events to get yourself out of a technical drought. But yeah,
absolutely last week put a real big dent into it.
We've got this cold front coming in tomorrow though that's
(03:13):
probably the biggest feature this week. We've got a Colt snap,
so it's going to feel more wintry in the South
Island and this comes through snow on the mountains because
they got snow in Tasmania over the weekend. It's the
same system coming our way and then yes followed by
high pressure. So the high pressure system coming in behind.
It's still really big, could take another week to really
move through, and so apart from a few showers, once
(03:37):
we get that high pressure system, there's no big rain
event just yet, but on a buff we are looking
at the speed wobbles on these high pressure systems, and
what I mean by that is, rather than it perfectly
moving over us in a straight lane, we're starting to
see it wabble around a bit. And when it does that,
you can get either a tropical low or an antarctic blast,
(03:57):
but either way you can get rain again. So I'm
optimistic of something coming through.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
Now.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I'm looking at your mates from Newa mine my goodness,
Neiwa and the met Service have been in the news recently,
haven't they fill Your mates at Newa the drought index map,
but they only up it's always a few days behind.
This is as of the fourth of April, so that's Friday,
still showing numerous dry regions in the North Island. But
I know, I know from some of the rainfall figures
(04:24):
we got sent and on Friday's show, the likes of
Northland Auckland getting a meaningful rain. Obviously the top of
the South Island did as well. Maybe King Country, Taranaki
Manor or two not faring so well.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, I think we'll have a clearer idea tomorrow when
those maps update. It's a little frustrating that takes so
many days, But yeah, there's a delayed effect, so we'll
have to wait probably till tomorrow to really see how
much of that rain last week put a big gigs.
A lot of it fell over April or fourth and
going into the fifth when it cleared off. But yeah,
I think I still think there'll be some pretty good
(05:01):
rainfall coming through again tomorrow. Not necessarily big totals for
those driest of the areas, but enough to really keep
the ground wet for a bit longer. So that's good
for a pasture growth. As far as like the rainfall
deficits concerned, we need an April surprise, and so whether
that's a tropical low that suddenly forms or a storm
out of the Tasman, they're possible. We're seeing low pressure
(05:24):
popping up in the long range baps when you go
out two weeks. They're not overly reliable to placement at
that long range point, but seeing them up here that's
a very good thing.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
The other thing you need if you're in a drought
region is you need you need a mild April and
a mild May. If you do get a bit of
rain to grow like a grass bank or a feedbank
before you head into winter. Obviously it's less important at
the top of the country than the bottom. But you
still want a mild autumn. Are we going to get one?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, we're going to risk of frosts on Wednesday, but
most of that is inland, in the high country of
the South Island or tops of the mountains and ranges.
There might be some lower frosts that come down to
lower levels below one hundred meters. It's possible, but yeah,
we're not seeing a lot of frosty weather at the moment,
and the high pressure system that's coming through coming out
of Australia not likely to bring with it a lot
(06:14):
of cold weather other than tomorrow Wednesday morning. Beyond that
we are seeing warmer than average conditions continuing on into
New Zealand. But you know, like I say, middle of
the month, fifteen days from now, it does look a
lot more turbulent the weather pattern around us, and that
could either inject us with an Antarctic blast with air
air it gets really cold, or it could be a
(06:35):
more tropical one where it's a lot more human. So
we're in that sort of speed wabbles I guess of
going through autumn.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Phil Duncan, thanks as always for your time. We'll catch
you again, same time, same place. Next Monday.
Speaker 6 (06:48):
Sounds good, Batman's that's if I.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Turn up to work, because next Monday's Master's Monday, and
I may be, I may I may be glued to
the television. Anyhow, I try my best to turn up
next Monday. Thanks Phil, Cheers, Nancy and Anne Wilson Heart fifty.
I can't believe fifty years. Surely they're not that old.
(07:10):
Thank you to my old dairy farming mate in south
and Jeff Heaps for alerting me. Hello, Jeff, I know
Southland's enjoying a very good season now that it's sort
of rained down there. We hope we can hope we
can get an end to that drought on the North Island.
So we've got a couple of North Island farmers up next.
One of them's based in one or two, the other
(07:30):
one in Northland. They're both politicians as well, Grant McCullum,
the MP for Northland, Andrew Hoggard of course one or
two dairy Farmer act List MP, Associate Minister of Agriculture,
Minister of Biosecurity. You might have seen on one of
the TV networks last night. I can't remember which one
they were talking about, the ge bill. We'll have a
(07:52):
look at that one. The drought now apparently I'm hearing
whispers also that Federated Farmers, God bless, Federated Farmers are
having a crack at Greenpeace and their charitable status. Good work.
Politicians being accosted at airports. That's not on the Prince
of the Province's wife, Shane Jones getting assaulted if that's
(08:14):
the word at the airport. There are some low life around,
aren't they. And of course Trump's tariffs. It's just going
from bad to worse. So those guys are up next.
Amy Renell, you're gonna love this one. A book called
If You've Got Livestock, You've Got Dead Stock and radar
on the Young Farmer Grand Final Mark Dylon. If you're listening,
answer your phone, Jesus. Today's Farmer Politician Panel lots to
(08:59):
chatterbou Andrew Hoggart, of course, act MP, former President of
Federated Farmers, Grant McCullum or Grant mcnational as we like
to call them here on the show MP for Northlam. Okay, guys,
before we get into the ge Bill, I want to
start with the drought, and I'm going to start with
you at the top of the country. Grant. I know
Northland and no Arckland got meaningful rain. Is the drought
(09:21):
over now.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
I'd like to think. So everyone put it this way.
The farmer's up here got a much bigger smile on
their face. Now I'll give you a few figures. I'm
up here at kite Ti today at the one hundred
and fifty ath Anniversities of primary school, and they had
one hundred and ninety millimeters up here. Down at Coyo
they got two fifty, which is probably a wee bit much.
But anyway over Dargable Way, which was the worst affected
area in the north, had seventy odd and the rest
(09:44):
of that Medanalow and north is about one hundred and fifteen.
So yes, I think we can safely say at this point,
particularly with the dropping temperatures, that we only get some
good growth, particularly.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
The kak Okay. Let's head down country, Andrew Hoggard. When
you're not at Parliament, you drive up the road. Not
as fast is that, guy Lundy, but you drive up
the road and you milk. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that.
And you milk and you milk the cows on your
man or Doo dairy farm. I don't know where that
came from. It's live radio. I can't take it back. Andrew.
Speaker 7 (10:13):
Sorry, that's all right, that's right, he'd be loving the
transmission gallery if he was out about these days anyway.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
Sorry on track.
Speaker 7 (10:21):
Look, in terms of where I'm at, we got a
good man of rain, not not the sort of numbers
Grant talked about, but we've been getting a little few
little skiffs before that, so it's screened up. It's growing.
Some of the coastal they may still need some more,
but from what I hear, Taranaki got next and nothing
(10:42):
seven odd mill and some of the more affected places
still need a lot more in Taranaki to get things
moving there.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, and I think ditto from what I understand for
likes of the King Country south Way Ato as well.
So it's going to be tough times because if a
drought can break before the end of March, you can
grow a meaningful feedbank before winter, I suppose, unless you're
in the winterless north like Grant. But there is going
to be some issues for those farmers Andrew Hoggard.
Speaker 7 (11:11):
Yeah, yeah, definitely, so it's good to get their grass
growing again back in sort of early April. We usually
get reasonably warm temperatures through April and usually second half
of May for the lower North Island that start dropping
away temperature wise in most years, and then it can
be quite challenging. So small window. We really need them
(11:33):
to get some moisture so they can get that grass pumping.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Andrew Hoggard, former president of Federated Farmers, and Grant McCullum
with us. Andrew, I'm going to stay with you to
give a first shot on this one. I was watching
with interest. One of the network news channels did a
story yesterday on this ge bill, which is a bit
of a double edged sword. How's this going to play out?
Speaker 7 (11:56):
Well, I guess we're waiting for the Obviously, submissions are
happening to Sleep Committee. We've certainly got interested parties coming
to meet and discuss with politicians. I'm assuming it's happening
all around the house, and I guess once that Sleek
Committee come back with their feedback on it, then that
(12:17):
will form the basis of the discussions that have been
going forward.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
For me.
Speaker 7 (12:23):
I think it's more some technology that we should be
open to use, and we can't go back to what
we had, which was basically a circular discussion where you
could do some tests in the laboratory, but there was
absolutely no way of moving out of the laboratory.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
We need a.
Speaker 7 (12:38):
Pathway through that where we can prove safety that these
products can make it and be used, and that we
need to have a system in New Zealand where those
that want it can use it and those that don't
want to use it can have assurance that it's not
going to affect their ability to market their products as
(12:59):
GMO free and can be done. It happens in the
rest of the world. We're just going to make sure
we get the settings right here in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
H Grant McCullum. What about our clean green image around
the world.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Yeah, well, I think people are going to put this
all in perspective. Around the world, this technology is getting
used more and more. You know, the Europeans are freeing up,
the Aussies are freed up. Of course it's used wide
in America. I just think we used to be going
to proceed cautiously. We've to, but we need to embrace
the opportunities where it's appropriate, and that's why it's important
to have an oversight board that approves these projects and
(13:33):
takes it forward carefully. The submissions have been really interesting
and certainly I've been listening with a great deal of interest,
and I'm confident we can get the right balance so
everyone can get on and do their thing. It's not
compulsory to take up the technology for those that don't
want it. For those that do, particularly in the space
of it's base, its enhances the breeding capacity. Instead of
(13:54):
taking ten years to get a new say, for example,
a new apple, you might do it in two. That
sort of stuff is act. We make a mess of
difference because you're leading a bandage in the market.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
As well, and effectively we're only trying to do what
the Aussies have already done. Okay, let's move on. I'm
hearing that Greenpeace are protesting today at the Port of
Taronga regarding the importation. I think of palm keronel. I
think that that's what they're protesting against. Interestingly, and trewe Hoggard,
your old organization, Federated Farmers, who I must say are
on their game at the moment, are going after Greenpeace's
(14:26):
charitable status.
Speaker 7 (14:28):
Yeah, well, I actually didn't think they had a charitable
status anymore. So I'm surprised that they've got one, because
you cannot say that they are a charity in any
sense of the word. You know, they are purely an
advocacy organization, no different to FEDS. And you know, we've
(14:49):
never tried to claim charity status at FEDS when I
was there, anyway, and I don't believe they intend to
any anytime in the future. So to me, it seems
a ridiculous place where they're claiming that there are a
charity and thus able to send more of the money
they raise offshore to green PCE HQ wherever that is,
(15:10):
to fund more of their little stunts.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Grant McCallum, you're one of the more woke members of
the National Caucus that I know of. Where do you
sit on this.
Speaker 7 (15:20):
Now?
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Easy?
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Easy? Some of us a bit more sensible than others. Actually, no, Look,
I just think it's ridiculous the situation grief piece. They
have been taken all the way through the courts and
proved their general status as far as aware. So we're
reviewing those rules, but not to affect the smaller little
charities that are all running around doing great things to
the community and all that sort of thing. It's more
than the really big ones like the green pieces that
(15:44):
actually are they a charity or they are really a business?
And should they be being taxed like the rest of
account like the rest of the business.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Now, all right, a couple to tidy up on granny flats, Grant,
you're quite happy that we're allowed to build a granny flat.
Where are we building out the back seventy square meters
without a building and resource consent? It seems common sense
to me.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Absolutely. This has been very popular amongst the wider population people.
It's a great idea with its in the urban environment
or out on the farm. You don't have to go
through that concending process. You do have to notify your
counsel and you have to use a professional, registered professional
to build it, and then bingo, you've actually got yourself
an affordable and useful, a useful building that has you
(16:28):
bypassed all that red tape which drives people manned.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Grant McCallum, you are my second favorite MP from Northland
behind Shane Sorry, but behind the Prince of the province
is Shane Jones and I'll stay with you. What's gone
wrong with this country when some yobo's having a crack
at Missus Jones at the airport.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
Yeah, I had a correct chat with the Shane this
morning about it. He said it was not very pleasent
at all. I mean he had to restrain himself because
otherwise you can see what the story would have been
and so and he was abusing and it was really
appalling what was going on. And as a society we
need to actually think about this, I think really hard.
And if we want to have access to our politicians,
(17:10):
then we have to respect their ability to go about
their daily job without being threatened.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I think it's really good that you can meet a
politician or talk to a politician at an airport or
anything like that, or in my case, spill a drink
over a green MP on a plane. And I think
we and I think we don't want to lose that privilege. Now,
just to finish on the pair of you Andrew Hogard, first, Trump,
this is not good.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
Well look, I mean that's tariffson. Never, in my view,
having done any economics degree, tariffs are not the answer.
Free trade is always the answer to improve the economic
well beeen across the world for any country, and so
you know, but you know, personally, I think it's a
mistake what they're doing. I would just like to see
(18:00):
you move back more to the rules based order, trying
to get to less tariffs quite frankly in the world.
And you know, I think the Americans have been hard
done by by a few countries that have pretty high
tariffs on them, but New Zealand ain't one of those.
So you know, I think I'd like to see a
bit of re reprosicity I think is the word in
(18:22):
terms of you know, we have very low tariffs, if any,
on most American goods, and I think that's how we
should be treated in return. But yeah, I just hope
that everyone comes to their senses and pulls back on this.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Don't worry, I can't say that word either. Andrew. Hey,
we've lost Grant mcnashal. I think that was that noise.
He's got to go to another meeting. Andrew Hoggard on
behalf of Grant McCallum, thanks very much for your time
today on the Farmer Politician Panel.
Speaker 7 (18:50):
No thanks, Jamy.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Twenty eight after twelve, make that twenty nine after twelve.
Thanks Andrew. We lost Grant there. I think he had
to go to a meeting at twelve thirty, so he's gone.
Now very shortly, we're going to tell you how you
can win five hundred dollars daily cash from PGG Writes
and on a Yes No or Sitting on the fence promo.
Up next Michelle with Rural News. We'll have a look
(19:13):
at Sports News talk about m at twig before the
end of the hour. Amy Renell, this is a great story,
this one about the sheep, about sheep, the book about
sheep farming and radar. As we count down to the
FMG Young Farmer Grand Final and then the cargo in
early July, what a great song from Heart twenty nine
(19:51):
away from one Here on the Country. We've got five
hundred dollars cash all this week daily from PGG Rights
and it's our new promo, Yes No or sit on
the fence? Michelle, what good afternoon? How does it work?
Speaker 8 (20:06):
Basically we have a different question each day on the website,
so you enter via a website the Country dot co
dot nz and today's question is dogs in the cab?
Did you ever have your dogs in the cabin?
Speaker 2 (20:16):
No? Not always sat on the back deck. And I
don't believe in dogs in the cab, so I'm assuming
this is for the ute, the tractor, all your car
for that matter. So is it is it a yes
or no? Or a sit on the fence? So you
go to our website to answer that, the Country dot
co dot Nz.
Speaker 8 (20:31):
You get head to the website the Country dot co
dot Nz, find the little which is at the top
of the screen and click on it and you can
be taken through.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
To ent and five one hundred dollars worth of cash
from PGG Rights And it's all part of their sitting
on the fence promo. It's a good way to promote
their fencing deals. Tell you more about that later. Here
is the latest in rural.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
News, Good Country's World News with Cob Cadet, New Zealand's
leading right on lawnlower brand is it steel for dot
co dot z for your local stockist and.
Speaker 8 (21:02):
A rather interesting story around Tariff's Jamie So the New
Zealand at timber export industry has been able to breathe
a sigh of relief after being exempted from the United
States new tariff regime.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Maying on no one's exempt are they, Well.
Speaker 8 (21:14):
Apparently timber is so New Zealand does actually export quite
a bit to the United States as far as timber goes.
But the main reason behind this exemption is due to
lobbying in the United States by the American Building Materials
Alliance and National Association of home Builders. They feel like
the tariff is going to stop. Obviously that industrialization the
building of homes for people make it too expensive. So
(21:36):
it could be interesting, but yeah, it's the story is
for now, so we'll.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
See maybe the first of many black backflips on tariff
slit's hope. So it's a blood bath today on the
nz X fifty. Rightio, there's rural news for you. Here's
sport sport with a FCO.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Visit them online at a FCO dot co dot nz.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
And Brian Harmon, apparently one of the most un popular
golfers on the PGA Tour, has won his first golf
tournament since lifting the Claret jug at the twenty twenty
three British Open, The American Triumph and the PGA's Tours
Texas opened by three shots and gusty winds, finishing nine
under overall. It's the last big tournament before the Masters
(22:18):
next weekend. And Emma Twig, who will be on the
show tomorrow because she's the keynote speaker tomorrow morning at
the South Island Dairy event in Timaru, has bagged a
national title and unfamiliar circumstances at Auckland's are Were Beach.
I was watching it yesterday. Twig's taken out the women's
Coastal Rowing beach sprint, needing to ignite the after burners
(22:41):
on foot to hold off Jenner Lee Mark Grave in
the final. The discipline forms part of the Los Angeles
Olympics program. So Emma Twig, believe it or not, and
we'll talk to her about it tomorrow, could be heading
to her sixth Olympic Games in Los Angeles in twenty
twenty eight. Up next, another dynamic woman. She's a doctor
(23:01):
of statistics, but she found love and she's on a
Gisbane sheep and beef farm and she's written a wonderfully
humorous book about sheep. I do really get some wonderful
emails here on this radio show. My email addresses Jamie
at the Country. Feel free to send me an email,
(23:24):
unless you want to abuse me like Bill did last week.
Here's one I also got last week from a guy
by the name of Rob Burke from Gisbone. He said, Hi, Jamie,
I'm a sheep and beef farmer from Gisbon and my
son's partner who was a doctor of statistics and a
complete towneye. After writing with me for six months in
my Canam has written a small, lighthearted book about how
(23:47):
great sheep are at dying. I take the piss if
you will, and she would love to send you a copy,
And so she was hoping to get an address to
send it to you. Mate, thanks for putting on your
wonderful radio show. All love it. Of course Rob hadn't
he with that flattery, So I thought I'll follow this
one up. And here she goes Amy Ronell, a doctor
of statistics, a PhD, no less and a complete towney.
(24:10):
This book is hilarious. It's written like a kid's book,
but it's really well, it's adults only. Let's face it, Amy,
it certainly is.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
I've got a few swear words in there, but I
figured my target audience as farmers that would appreciate the
swear words.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
It's absolutely brilliant. I think it's very clever and anyone
who's been a sheep farmer as I have in a
past life knows that you're exactly right. So your observations
as a complete townye coming to the farm and gisbon
a bang on.
Speaker 6 (24:39):
Yes, I was chucking around, as Rob said in the
can am with him and I couldn't quite understand why
these sheep seemed to like dying quite so frequently. And
then the most hilarious of ways. So yeah, I jotted
them down as I was going around with him, and
one thing led to another, and I wrote them all
down and other joke really for rober Marie, who am
(25:05):
staying with on their farm. Made it out of a
beer box. They showed everybody. So one thing led to another.
And now now it's actually a flat book.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Oh it's wonderful. It's got those yeah, as you say,
those little flaps that you can lift when you're reading
to little kids, and it's done in that style. But
you've got sheep dying of let me have a lock worms, bearings,
fly blow, drowning in the creek, stuck in the fence
head and the fence. Finally you find a perfectly healthy sheep.
(25:39):
And then on the final page, I won't say what
the words are because this is a PG rated show,
but it's very clever. So, I mean, kids couldn't read
this book because of the language. Do you think it'll
have a home with grown up sheep farmers.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
I think I think it will. It's been suggested to
me as as as a coffee table book for farmers.
It's yes, wife for a partner has asked for coffee
table books where they get left on the coffee table
for your people who come around to have a brow that. Yeah.
(26:16):
I think it's lighthearted and relatable and a bit of
a giggle.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Really well, it's an absolute giggle. The title of the book,
by the way, is called if you've got live stock,
You've got dead stock, And that's a well known phrase
in farming.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
Yes, I heard that quite often as I was going
around rock pointing out all his dead sheep. He would go, oh, yeah,
I know we've got live stock. Then you've got dead stock,
so stop pointing them out.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
So how does a doctor with a PhD in statistics
end up on a gisbone sheep and beef farm.
Speaker 6 (26:51):
Oh I love. I finished my pH d and decided
I I didn't really like living in the city, despite
being a complete towny as calls me, and yeah, Matt,
my partner, said well, let's go down to Gibbon and
(27:12):
hang out for a little while. And I just loved
the work life balance that that Gisbon offers. It's a
beautiful place I get to. I've got a pat cow
who loves my book. He thinks it's brilliant, and yeah,
it's just a wonderful environment to be in. So it's yeah,
(27:32):
definitely home.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
I detected a little bit of an accent there. Where
were you before Auckland.
Speaker 6 (27:38):
I'm from the UK originally. Yeah, I'm from Cambridge in
the UK. Moved over in two thousand and seven within
christ Church after the earthquakes, moved up to Auckland, the
university up in Auckland. And yeah, then came across, came
across Matt who was doing bio stuff up there, and
(28:03):
I was doing that stuff at UNI, and yeah, we
headed down to Gisbon once. We're both sort of finished up.
Have been working from home as much as we can
and helping out on the farm.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
So do you ever think you'll go back to the
city life or has Gisbone gotcha?
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (28:21):
I think it would have to be to be pretty
pretty convincing to get me back to the city life.
I'm upen ausluned at the moment for work, but I'm
looking forward to getting back getting back to the country side.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
This is a brilliant coffee table book for grown up farmers.
It's called if You've got Live Stock, then You've got
Dead stock, and on the back it says not recommended
for children or vegans, Amy Renell, I think this is
really really clever. If people want to get a hold
of it, where do they find it.
Speaker 6 (28:55):
It's currently in new Bookskill in Gisbon, which I'm so
so pleased that they had accepted to stock it. It's
also on trade me and I've got an email address
as well. It's what the Farming end z so shortens
(29:15):
down to WTF so what the Farming endzed at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Well, Amy, it's been a real pleasure catching up with you.
Good luck on the sheep and beef farm and Gisbon.
And thank you to your father in law Rob Burke
from Ormond and Gisbon for making us aware of us.
You really really made my day brilliant. Thank you, Thank you, Amy.
It is sixteen away from one. That book is funny
it's very very funny for grown ups, of course, right
(29:42):
what's not so funny is when we make cockups here
on the country mainly I do my make them, but
I blame it's the food chain, Michelle. I blame my underlings,
of which you were one of them. So it's really
your fault. You should have told me that the PGG
writes and promo yes no or sit on the fence
wasn't five hundred dollar the PGG rights and cash. It's
(30:02):
five hundred dollars to spend PGG rights and which is
effectively the equivalent of cash semantics.
Speaker 8 (30:09):
I mean, I'll take that, Jamie. I'm barely a chrysalis,
as engineer would say. On the scheme of life here
at the Country Way.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
You got to start at the bottom of the tennis
ladder and work your way up, Michelle. So that's five
hundred dollars to spend online with PGG rights and it's
yes no or maybe to the question dogs and the
cab yes no, or maybe of your truck, you your
track there or whatever. So you can spend that money
(30:36):
on all the hot fencing deals they've got right now,
as we head into the fencing season at PGG rights
and up next to Radar and the Young Farmer Grand Final.
We've figured out our seven grand finalists. He is the
(30:58):
voice behind the FMG A Young Farmer Contest. That Grand
Final is coming up in Invercargo July three to five.
We now know who are seven regional final winners are.
And a guy by the name of cam Smith, not
the golfer, not the rugby league player Radar. Andrew Lumsdon
(31:18):
won the Otago Southland Regional Final the Winton Racecourse. I
think on Saturday, what a great day.
Speaker 6 (31:24):
It was a great day.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
And I tell you why home ground advantage because we're
back on the Winton Racecourse. I think for practical day
it's Grand Final and if they can do it on
a day like the head on Saturday, it's going to
be a cracker.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Now we have three second timers turning up. Hugh Jackson
representing Bay a plenty y Cuto, even though he last
got into a final representing Otago Southland, he's a second timer.
George Leatham from Tasman's a second timer. He finished runner
up to George Dodson and last year's Grand Final. And
Gareth Mckirchheer from Arangi. He's the second time grand finalist
(31:59):
as well. He finished third last year. And I'm going
to enjoy Gareth's company tomorrow night, Radar, I don't know
if you'll enjoy mine, but it's a free feed for
them at the South Island Airy Event at the spates
Alee House and tomorrow. How good is that?
Speaker 5 (32:13):
Oh, that's all very good indeed. And that's the thing
you get these I say to you don't need to
win the competition to win to be a winner.
Speaker 7 (32:22):
You know, you want to do the.
Speaker 5 (32:23):
Best that you possibly can. But it's those people that
get in and take the advantage of all of these
things that are offered to them all along the way,
and you'll see no.
Speaker 7 (32:30):
Shortage of those folks pop up.
Speaker 5 (32:31):
But look, I tell you what, it's going to be
interesting because not only do we have three second timers,
we've also got two people who for whom at the
competition was their first time as well, Justin Rygrop from
up North and James Robbie. I'm not sure about Jock Burke,
whether he's competed a couple of times before, but look,
it's going to be a cracker of a competition and
you can see that experience in the field as well,
(32:52):
particularly those people that have been to a Grand final.
And I always say to other competitors, what not watch
those grand final guys when they're back at at a
region final, because it's you know, it's the time management,
it's the presence of mind. It's that ability to forget
about the last thing that they were doing and focus
solely on the next thing that's going on. And you'll
often see them as well taking advantage if they get
(33:13):
red flagged for something in one of the egg Resports events.
They'll take that thirty seconds, compose themselves, they'll think about
what they're going next, and they're crack straight back into it.
So it is going to be a fantastic spectacle.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Yeah, well, as you say, it has an advantage to
be a second time. That Jock Burke that you were
talking about representing Taranaki manor two. He's in his third
and final year at Massi University, but he's only nineteen
years of age. He must have gone when he was
about fifteen.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
Radars actually one of those child geniuses, those young savants
that they breed up there in that part of the world. Look,
we do have a wide spectrum of ages. Age is
not an issue offer in this what James Robertson I
think was twenty two when he won it, and I
think I think George Latham was because I think we
had a question this time around who was the youngest
winner and someone said Latham, but actually not George Latham.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Sorry, George Doodson, George.
Speaker 5 (34:06):
Johnson, Sorry, yes, George. I think George was only a
week older than James when he run it, so he
must have been just twenty two or twenty three. So
you know, then you've got your more experienced competitors as well,
but you know, don't forget all the little kids, the
AGRI kids and the FMG juniors. We had a former
Agrikids champion's coming this year as an FMG junior competitor,
(34:27):
very competitive young fellow. So again you can you can
be third, fourth of six, seventh form in that competition
and with the Agri kids as well that I remember it.
A couple of years ago, a tiny little team from
Sedden called the Awex must have been the physically the
smallest team I ever saw, and they got into the
into the final there in Tasman and I thought, oh hell,
these a little bothers going to go and they absolutely
(34:48):
smashed it went all the way to Grand Final. Said
in this year three of their four Agrikids teams, so
all three of the Aggri Kids teams from from Tasman
are from Sedden, so it's going to be a great competition.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
Well, I've got a tip my hat to Blue Mountain
College which is in Tapanui and West Otago. I went
down last year to the West Otago Amp Show. What
a great day out it was in rural New Zealand
as well, but I couldn't get over because they had
an Agrikids competition at the amp show. How these young
kids from Blue Mountain College knew so much about agriculture.
(35:24):
They knew more about it than I did. Radar, Look
they do.
Speaker 5 (35:27):
I've seen some of the some of the challenges that
these kids, the Agri Kids and the FMG juniors are
set and I don't know the answers to them, but
you know it's not only the mental thing as well
around the knowledge, their ability to do the physical stuff,
to put things back together, to work with tools through
his other you know, they're going to have a little
farm challenge in front of you for the FMG juniors,
So you know, they so smart kids that pick a
(35:51):
lot of this stuff up by osmosis just working with
their parents. Having said that, we've seen some very very
good Grand finalists who never put it on farm until
they were eighteen or nine, ten years old. So you know,
it's the people who want it. They're going to pick
up that knowledge. Whenever it is that they start, they're
going to take it out.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
We're running a promo on the show this week called
Yes Now, I'll sit on the fence. I suspect you'll
have a picket right up your backside. As I asked
you to Rader Andrew Lumston, who's the favorite? Who do
you think might take it out?
Speaker 5 (36:21):
You know what I'm going to say, Having seen how
long have I done this, seven or seven sevens, I've
seen probably more than fifty regionals, and I've seen certainly
seven or eight Grand finals. You cannot you cannot know
until we read those names out, because there's a lot
of it that you don't see. You've got protectives of
the Grand Final, you've got your HR challenges and your
business challenges and various other various other bits and pieces. Yeah,
(36:43):
it's impossible. To tell. I've seen people who are pretty
confident that they knew who were going to take it
out that the post someone else comes in.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Andrew Lumsdon Trader, Hey, I've been to I think two
Grand Final, Young Farmer Grand Finals and the Picargo. I'm
going to get the hat trick. I'm going to head
down to him for in early July for the third one.
I will see you there.
Speaker 5 (37:03):
Let's do that, see then.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Looking forward to it. Radar right, I've made a cock
up with the PGG rights and promo. You've got a
five hundred dollars voucher to spend online. Michelle has made
an incredibly bad mistake when listing the young farm well
not really young farmer. A Grand finalist will talk about
that one and one of the great golf chokes of
all time with some Englewood farmers after the break, okay,
(37:35):
wrapping the country. Apologies and I'm blaming Michelle for this
one fairly and squeally. George Leatham hasn't been to a
Grand finally, was second at the regionals last year. And
I was playing golf at my favorite golf course yesterday, Roxburgh,
and I was close to the Holy Grail for all
golfers shooting par Michelle, I know you won't believe this
square at the turn, just two over with four to
(37:56):
play four easy hot? What four holes to play? Ones
in front of me? I'm thinking, could this be my day?
Speaker 5 (38:03):
No?
Speaker 2 (38:04):
I collapsed like a deck of cards in the last
two holes. I wanted to get into the fetal position
like Steve Wan Harris on the eighteenth green at Roxburgh,
but I couldn't because there was a clubhouse full of
Englewood farmers there on the golfing trip. Mike, I should try.
I think I'm going to have to take up bowls.
I'll see you tomorrow from the South Island Airy event
(38:26):
in tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Catch you're the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McGue. Thanks to Brent, You're specialist in
John Deere construction equipment.
Catch all the latest from the land. It's The Country
Podcast with Jamie McGue Thanks to Brent you're specialist in
John Dee Machinery.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Good afternoon, New Zealand. Welcome to the Country. I'm Jamie McKay.
It's brought to you by Branton eighties banger from Heart.
I've been in the business for fifty years. My goodness right, okay,
we're going to kick off the show today with the
weather is the drought over? Phil Duncan Also on the
show today our Farmer Politician panel, Grant McCullum, Andrew Hoggard,
(00:57):
Amy Renell. This is a great story. She's written a
wonderfully risky children's book, what's basically for grown up farmers.
It's called If You've Got Live Stock, You've Got Dead Stock.
A delightful look at sheep farming from a complete towny
with the PhD in Statistics. Toadar Andrew Lumsden will review
(01:18):
or review the final regional final Otago Southland over the weekend.
Cam Smith getting through there. We're going to preview those
seven grand finalists heading back to Southland to and for
cargo in early July and if I can catch him
or more correctly if he answers his phone. He's my
next door neighbor down on Riversdale by m dout Mark
(01:40):
Dylon over the weekend won the plowing Champs. He's off
to Estonia to represent New Zealand and that plus we'll
do rural news and sports news with you for you, Michelle,
and with the rural news, apparently the timber industries got
away from Trump's tariffs. How does that work? We'll try
and get to the bottom of that one. And bought
(02:00):
as well. I see him a Twigs featuring She's going
to be the keynote speaker tomorrow morning at the South
Island Dairy event. And see Maru where I'm heading as
soon as I get off air. Phil Duncan joins me
now from weather Watch. Hey Phil, just before we talk
about the weather, have you looked at your key? We
save her account this morning.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, i' you're taking a bit of a beating. No,
I haven't.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Why would you?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
No, best you don't look. The nz X, by the way,
Folks is down two point eight eight percent, nearly three
percent this morning as we follow suit after the blood
bath on Wall Street. And the worst thing is the
futures markets for what they're worth. Are predicting more downturns
this week? What the hell's he up to? We might
(02:44):
ask a political panel about that one as well. But
I want to talk to you, Phil Duncan about the weather.
Is the drought over in the North Island?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Well, I wouldn't necessarily say it's over. About the rain
that came through last week was fantastic in many of
the driest parts of the country, and we've got some
more rain coming tomorrow, so you kind of need repeat
events to get yourself out of a technical drought. But yeah,
absolutely last week put a real big dent into it.
We've got this cold front coming in tomorrow though that's
(03:13):
probably the biggest feature this week. We've got a Colt snap,
so it's going to feel more wintry in the South
Island and this comes through snow on the mountains because
they got snow in Tasmania over the weekend. It's the
same system coming our way and then yes followed by
high pressure. So the high pressure system coming in behind.
It's still really big, could take another week to really
move through, and so apart from a few showers, once
(03:37):
we get that high pressure system, there's no big rain
event just yet, but on a buff we are looking
at the speed wobbles on these high pressure systems, and
what I mean by that is, rather than it perfectly
moving over us in a straight lane, we're starting to
see it wabble around a bit. And when it does that,
you can get either a tropical low or an antarctic blast,
(03:57):
but either way you can get rain again. So I'm
optimistic of something coming through.
Speaker 5 (04:03):
Now.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I'm looking at your mates from Newa mine my goodness,
Neiwa and the met Service have been in the news recently,
haven't they fill Your mates at Newa the drought index map,
but they only up it's always a few days behind.
This is as of the fourth of April, so that's Friday,
still showing numerous dry regions in the North Island. But
I know, I know from some of the rainfall figures
(04:24):
we got sent and on Friday's show, the likes of
Northland Auckland getting a meaningful rain. Obviously the top of
the South Island did as well. Maybe King Country, Taranaki
Manor or two not faring so well.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, I think we'll have a clearer idea tomorrow when
those maps update. It's a little frustrating that takes so
many days, But yeah, there's a delayed effect, so we'll
have to wait probably till tomorrow to really see how
much of that rain last week put a big gigs.
A lot of it fell over April or fourth and
going into the fifth when it cleared off. But yeah,
I think I still think there'll be some pretty good
(05:01):
rainfall coming through again tomorrow. Not necessarily big totals for
those driest of the areas, but enough to really keep
the ground wet for a bit longer. So that's good
for a pasture growth. As far as like the rainfall
deficits concerned, we need an April surprise, and so whether
that's a tropical low that suddenly forms or a storm
out of the Tasman, they're possible. We're seeing low pressure
(05:24):
popping up in the long range baps when you go
out two weeks. They're not overly reliable to placement at
that long range point, but seeing them up here that's
a very good thing.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
The other thing you need if you're in a drought
region is you need you need a mild April and
a mild May. If you do get a bit of
rain to grow like a grass bank or a feedbank
before you head into winter. Obviously it's less important at
the top of the country than the bottom. But you
still want a mild autumn. Are we going to get one?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, we're going to risk of frosts on Wednesday, but
most of that is inland, in the high country of
the South Island or tops of the mountains and ranges.
There might be some lower frosts that come down to
lower levels below one hundred meters. It's possible, but yeah,
we're not seeing a lot of frosty weather at the moment,
and the high pressure system that's coming through coming out
of Australia not likely to bring with it a lot
(06:14):
of cold weather other than tomorrow Wednesday morning. Beyond that
we are seeing warmer than average conditions continuing on into
New Zealand. But you know, like I say, middle of
the month, fifteen days from now, it does look a
lot more turbulent the weather pattern around us, and that
could either inject us with an Antarctic blast with air
air it gets really cold, or it could be a
(06:35):
more tropical one where it's a lot more human. So
we're in that sort of speed wabbles I guess of
going through autumn.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Phil Duncan, thanks as always for your time. We'll catch
you again, same time, same place. Next Monday.
Speaker 6 (06:48):
Sounds good, Batman's that's if I.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Turn up to work, because next Monday's Master's Monday, and
I may be, I may I may be glued to
the television. Anyhow, I try my best to turn up
next Monday. Thanks Phil, Cheers, Nancy and Anne Wilson Heart fifty.
I can't believe fifty years. Surely they're not that old.
(07:10):
Thank you to my old dairy farming mate in south
and Jeff Heaps for alerting me. Hello, Jeff, I know
Southland's enjoying a very good season now that it's sort
of rained down there. We hope we can hope we
can get an end to that drought on the North Island.
So we've got a couple of North Island farmers up next.
One of them's based in one or two, the other
(07:30):
one in Northland. They're both politicians as well, Grant McCullum,
the MP for Northland, Andrew Hoggard of course one or
two dairy Farmer act List MP, Associate Minister of Agriculture,
Minister of Biosecurity. You might have seen on one of
the TV networks last night. I can't remember which one
they were talking about, the ge bill. We'll have a
(07:52):
look at that one. The drought now apparently I'm hearing
whispers also that Federated Farmers, God bless, Federated Farmers are
having a crack at Greenpeace and their charitable status. Good work.
Politicians being accosted at airports. That's not on the Prince
of the Province's wife, Shane Jones getting assaulted if that's
(08:14):
the word at the airport. There are some low life around,
aren't they. And of course Trump's tariffs. It's just going
from bad to worse. So those guys are up next.
Amy Renell, you're gonna love this one. A book called
If You've Got Livestock, You've Got Dead Stock and radar
on the Young Farmer Grand Final Mark Dylon. If you're listening,
answer your phone, Jesus. Today's Farmer Politician Panel lots to
(08:59):
chatterbou Andrew Hoggart, of course, act MP, former President of
Federated Farmers, Grant McCullum or Grant mcnational as we like
to call them here on the show MP for Northlam. Okay, guys,
before we get into the ge Bill, I want to
start with the drought, and I'm going to start with
you at the top of the country. Grant. I know
Northland and no Arckland got meaningful rain. Is the drought
(09:21):
over now.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
I'd like to think. So everyone put it this way.
The farmer's up here got a much bigger smile on
their face. Now I'll give you a few figures. I'm
up here at kite Ti today at the one hundred
and fifty ath Anniversities of primary school, and they had
one hundred and ninety millimeters up here. Down at Coyo
they got two fifty, which is probably a wee bit much.
But anyway over Dargable Way, which was the worst affected
area in the north, had seventy odd and the rest
(09:44):
of that Medanalow and north is about one hundred and fifteen.
So yes, I think we can safely say at this point,
particularly with the dropping temperatures, that we only get some
good growth, particularly.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
The kak Okay. Let's head down country, Andrew Hoggard. When
you're not at Parliament, you drive up the road. Not
as fast is that, guy Lundy, but you drive up
the road and you milk. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that.
And you milk and you milk the cows on your
man or Doo dairy farm. I don't know where that
came from. It's live radio. I can't take it back. Andrew.
Speaker 7 (10:13):
Sorry, that's all right, that's right, he'd be loving the
transmission gallery if he was out about these days anyway.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
Sorry on track.
Speaker 7 (10:21):
Look, in terms of where I'm at, we got a
good man of rain, not not the sort of numbers
Grant talked about, but we've been getting a little few
little skiffs before that, so it's screened up. It's growing.
Some of the coastal they may still need some more,
but from what I hear, Taranaki got next and nothing
(10:42):
seven odd mill and some of the more affected places
still need a lot more in Taranaki to get things
moving there.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, and I think ditto from what I understand for
likes of the King Country south Way Ato as well.
So it's going to be tough times because if a
drought can break before the end of March, you can
grow a meaningful feedbank before winter, I suppose, unless you're
in the winterless north like Grant. But there is going
to be some issues for those farmers Andrew Hoggard.
Speaker 7 (11:11):
Yeah, yeah, definitely, so it's good to get their grass
growing again back in sort of early April. We usually
get reasonably warm temperatures through April and usually second half
of May for the lower North Island that start dropping
away temperature wise in most years, and then it can
be quite challenging. So small window. We really need them
(11:33):
to get some moisture so they can get that grass pumping.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Andrew Hoggard, former president of Federated Farmers, and Grant McCullum
with us. Andrew, I'm going to stay with you to
give a first shot on this one. I was watching
with interest. One of the network news channels did a
story yesterday on this ge bill, which is a bit
of a double edged sword. How's this going to play out?
Speaker 7 (11:56):
Well, I guess we're waiting for the Obviously, submissions are
happening to Sleep Committee. We've certainly got interested parties coming
to meet and discuss with politicians. I'm assuming it's happening
all around the house, and I guess once that Sleek
Committee come back with their feedback on it, then that
(12:17):
will form the basis of the discussions that have been
going forward.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
For me.
Speaker 7 (12:23):
I think it's more some technology that we should be
open to use, and we can't go back to what
we had, which was basically a circular discussion where you
could do some tests in the laboratory, but there was
absolutely no way of moving out of the laboratory.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
We need a.
Speaker 7 (12:38):
Pathway through that where we can prove safety that these
products can make it and be used, and that we
need to have a system in New Zealand where those
that want it can use it and those that don't
want to use it can have assurance that it's not
going to affect their ability to market their products as
(12:59):
GMO free and can be done. It happens in the
rest of the world. We're just going to make sure
we get the settings right here in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
H Grant McCullum. What about our clean green image around
the world.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Yeah, well, I think people are going to put this
all in perspective. Around the world, this technology is getting
used more and more. You know, the Europeans are freeing up,
the Aussies are freed up. Of course it's used wide
in America. I just think we used to be going
to proceed cautiously. We've to, but we need to embrace
the opportunities where it's appropriate, and that's why it's important
to have an oversight board that approves these projects and
(13:33):
takes it forward carefully. The submissions have been really interesting
and certainly I've been listening with a great deal of interest,
and I'm confident we can get the right balance so
everyone can get on and do their thing. It's not
compulsory to take up the technology for those that don't
want it. For those that do, particularly in the space
of it's base, its enhances the breeding capacity. Instead of
(13:54):
taking ten years to get a new say, for example,
a new apple, you might do it in two. That
sort of stuff is act. We make a mess of
difference because you're leading a bandage in the market.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
As well, and effectively we're only trying to do what
the Aussies have already done. Okay, let's move on. I'm
hearing that Greenpeace are protesting today at the Port of
Taronga regarding the importation. I think of palm keronel. I
think that that's what they're protesting against. Interestingly, and trewe Hoggard,
your old organization, Federated Farmers, who I must say are
on their game at the moment, are going after Greenpeace's
(14:26):
charitable status.
Speaker 7 (14:28):
Yeah, well, I actually didn't think they had a charitable
status anymore. So I'm surprised that they've got one, because
you cannot say that they are a charity in any
sense of the word. You know, they are purely an
advocacy organization, no different to FEDS. And you know, we've
(14:49):
never tried to claim charity status at FEDS when I
was there, anyway, and I don't believe they intend to
any anytime in the future. So to me, it seems
a ridiculous place where they're claiming that there are a
charity and thus able to send more of the money
they raise offshore to green PCE HQ wherever that is,
(15:10):
to fund more of their little stunts.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Grant McCallum, you're one of the more woke members of
the National Caucus that I know of. Where do you
sit on this.
Speaker 7 (15:20):
Now?
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Easy?
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Easy? Some of us a bit more sensible than others. Actually, no, Look,
I just think it's ridiculous the situation grief piece. They
have been taken all the way through the courts and
proved their general status as far as aware. So we're
reviewing those rules, but not to affect the smaller little
charities that are all running around doing great things to
the community and all that sort of thing. It's more
than the really big ones like the green pieces that
(15:44):
actually are they a charity or they are really a business?
And should they be being taxed like the rest of
account like the rest of the business.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Now, all right, a couple to tidy up on granny flats, Grant,
you're quite happy that we're allowed to build a granny flat.
Where are we building out the back seventy square meters
without a building and resource consent? It seems common sense
to me.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Absolutely. This has been very popular amongst the wider population people.
It's a great idea with its in the urban environment
or out on the farm. You don't have to go
through that concending process. You do have to notify your
counsel and you have to use a professional, registered professional
to build it, and then bingo, you've actually got yourself
an affordable and useful, a useful building that has you
(16:28):
bypassed all that red tape which drives people manned.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Grant McCallum, you are my second favorite MP from Northland
behind Shane Sorry, but behind the Prince of the province
is Shane Jones and I'll stay with you. What's gone
wrong with this country when some yobo's having a crack
at Missus Jones at the airport.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
Yeah, I had a correct chat with the Shane this
morning about it. He said it was not very pleasent
at all. I mean he had to restrain himself because
otherwise you can see what the story would have been
and so and he was abusing and it was really
appalling what was going on. And as a society we
need to actually think about this, I think really hard.
And if we want to have access to our politicians,
(17:10):
then we have to respect their ability to go about
their daily job without being threatened.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I think it's really good that you can meet a
politician or talk to a politician at an airport or
anything like that, or in my case, spill a drink
over a green MP on a plane. And I think
we and I think we don't want to lose that privilege. Now,
just to finish on the pair of you Andrew Hogard, first, Trump,
this is not good.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
Well look, I mean that's tariffson. Never, in my view,
having done any economics degree, tariffs are not the answer.
Free trade is always the answer to improve the economic
well beeen across the world for any country, and so
you know, but you know, personally, I think it's a
mistake what they're doing. I would just like to see
(18:00):
you move back more to the rules based order, trying
to get to less tariffs quite frankly in the world.
And you know, I think the Americans have been hard
done by by a few countries that have pretty high
tariffs on them, but New Zealand ain't one of those.
So you know, I think I'd like to see a
bit of re reprosicity I think is the word in
(18:22):
terms of you know, we have very low tariffs, if any,
on most American goods, and I think that's how we
should be treated in return. But yeah, I just hope
that everyone comes to their senses and pulls back on this.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Don't worry, I can't say that word either. Andrew. Hey,
we've lost Grant mcnashal. I think that was that noise.
He's got to go to another meeting. Andrew Hoggard on
behalf of Grant McCallum, thanks very much for your time
today on the Farmer Politician Panel.
Speaker 7 (18:50):
No thanks, Jamy.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Twenty eight after twelve, make that twenty nine after twelve.
Thanks Andrew. We lost Grant there. I think he had
to go to a meeting at twelve thirty, so he's gone.
Now very shortly, we're going to tell you how you
can win five hundred dollars daily cash from PGG Writes
and on a Yes No or Sitting on the fence promo.
Up next Michelle with Rural News. We'll have a look
(19:13):
at Sports News talk about m at twig before the
end of the hour. Amy Renell, this is a great story,
this one about the sheep, about sheep, the book about
sheep farming and radar. As we count down to the
FMG Young Farmer Grand Final and then the cargo in
early July, what a great song from Heart twenty nine
(19:51):
away from one Here on the Country. We've got five
hundred dollars cash all this week daily from PGG Rights
and it's our new promo, Yes No or sit on
the fence? Michelle, what good afternoon? How does it work?
Speaker 8 (20:06):
Basically we have a different question each day on the website,
so you enter via a website the Country dot co
dot nz and today's question is dogs in the cab?
Did you ever have your dogs in the cabin?
Speaker 2 (20:16):
No? Not always sat on the back deck. And I
don't believe in dogs in the cab, so I'm assuming
this is for the ute, the tractor, all your car
for that matter. So is it is it a yes
or no? Or a sit on the fence? So you
go to our website to answer that, the Country dot
co dot Nz.
Speaker 8 (20:31):
You get head to the website the Country dot co
dot Nz, find the little which is at the top
of the screen and click on it and you can
be taken through.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
To ent and five one hundred dollars worth of cash
from PGG Rights And it's all part of their sitting
on the fence promo. It's a good way to promote
their fencing deals. Tell you more about that later. Here
is the latest in rural.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
News, Good Country's World News with Cob Cadet, New Zealand's
leading right on lawnlower brand is it steel for dot
co dot z for your local stockist and.
Speaker 8 (21:02):
A rather interesting story around Tariff's Jamie So the New
Zealand at timber export industry has been able to breathe
a sigh of relief after being exempted from the United
States new tariff regime.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Maying on no one's exempt are they, Well.
Speaker 8 (21:14):
Apparently timber is so New Zealand does actually export quite
a bit to the United States as far as timber goes.
But the main reason behind this exemption is due to
lobbying in the United States by the American Building Materials
Alliance and National Association of home Builders. They feel like
the tariff is going to stop. Obviously that industrialization the
building of homes for people make it too expensive. So
(21:36):
it could be interesting, but yeah, it's the story is
for now, so we'll.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
See maybe the first of many black backflips on tariff
slit's hope. So it's a blood bath today on the
nz X fifty. Rightio, there's rural news for you. Here's
sport sport with a FCO.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Visit them online at a FCO dot co dot nz.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
And Brian Harmon, apparently one of the most un popular
golfers on the PGA Tour, has won his first golf
tournament since lifting the Claret jug at the twenty twenty
three British Open, The American Triumph and the PGA's Tours
Texas opened by three shots and gusty winds, finishing nine
under overall. It's the last big tournament before the Masters
(22:18):
next weekend. And Emma Twig, who will be on the
show tomorrow because she's the keynote speaker tomorrow morning at
the South Island Dairy event in Timaru, has bagged a
national title and unfamiliar circumstances at Auckland's are Were Beach.
I was watching it yesterday. Twig's taken out the women's
Coastal Rowing beach sprint, needing to ignite the after burners
(22:41):
on foot to hold off Jenner Lee Mark Grave in
the final. The discipline forms part of the Los Angeles
Olympics program. So Emma Twig, believe it or not, and
we'll talk to her about it tomorrow, could be heading
to her sixth Olympic Games in Los Angeles in twenty
twenty eight. Up next, another dynamic woman. She's a doctor
(23:01):
of statistics, but she found love and she's on a
Gisbane sheep and beef farm and she's written a wonderfully
humorous book about sheep. I do really get some wonderful
emails here on this radio show. My email addresses Jamie
at the Country. Feel free to send me an email,
(23:24):
unless you want to abuse me like Bill did last week.
Here's one I also got last week from a guy
by the name of Rob Burke from Gisbone. He said, Hi, Jamie,
I'm a sheep and beef farmer from Gisbon and my
son's partner who was a doctor of statistics and a
complete towneye. After writing with me for six months in
my Canam has written a small, lighthearted book about how
(23:47):
great sheep are at dying. I take the piss if
you will, and she would love to send you a copy,
And so she was hoping to get an address to
send it to you. Mate, thanks for putting on your
wonderful radio show. All love it. Of course Rob hadn't
he with that flattery, So I thought I'll follow this
one up. And here she goes Amy Ronell, a doctor
of statistics, a PhD, no less and a complete towney.
(24:10):
This book is hilarious. It's written like a kid's book,
but it's really well, it's adults only. Let's face it, Amy,
it certainly is.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
I've got a few swear words in there, but I
figured my target audience as farmers that would appreciate the
swear words.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
It's absolutely brilliant. I think it's very clever and anyone
who's been a sheep farmer as I have in a
past life knows that you're exactly right. So your observations
as a complete townye coming to the farm and gisbon
a bang on.
Speaker 6 (24:39):
Yes, I was chucking around, as Rob said in the
can am with him and I couldn't quite understand why
these sheep seemed to like dying quite so frequently. And
then the most hilarious of ways. So yeah, I jotted
them down as I was going around with him, and
one thing led to another, and I wrote them all
down and other joke really for rober Marie, who am
(25:05):
staying with on their farm. Made it out of a
beer box. They showed everybody. So one thing led to another.
And now now it's actually a flat book.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Oh it's wonderful. It's got those yeah, as you say,
those little flaps that you can lift when you're reading
to little kids, and it's done in that style. But
you've got sheep dying of let me have a lock worms, bearings,
fly blow, drowning in the creek, stuck in the fence
head and the fence. Finally you find a perfectly healthy sheep.
(25:39):
And then on the final page, I won't say what
the words are because this is a PG rated show,
but it's very clever. So, I mean, kids couldn't read
this book because of the language. Do you think it'll
have a home with grown up sheep farmers.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
I think I think it will. It's been suggested to
me as as as a coffee table book for farmers.
It's yes, wife for a partner has asked for coffee
table books where they get left on the coffee table
for your people who come around to have a brow that. Yeah.
(26:16):
I think it's lighthearted and relatable and a bit of
a giggle.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Really well, it's an absolute giggle. The title of the book,
by the way, is called if you've got live stock,
You've got dead stock, And that's a well known phrase
in farming.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
Yes, I heard that quite often as I was going
around rock pointing out all his dead sheep. He would go, oh, yeah,
I know we've got live stock. Then you've got dead stock,
so stop pointing them out.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
So how does a doctor with a PhD in statistics
end up on a gisbone sheep and beef farm.
Speaker 6 (26:51):
Oh I love. I finished my pH d and decided
I I didn't really like living in the city, despite
being a complete towny as calls me, and yeah, Matt,
my partner, said well, let's go down to Gibbon and
(27:12):
hang out for a little while. And I just loved
the work life balance that that Gisbon offers. It's a
beautiful place I get to. I've got a pat cow
who loves my book. He thinks it's brilliant, and yeah,
it's just a wonderful environment to be in. So it's yeah,
(27:32):
definitely home.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
I detected a little bit of an accent there. Where
were you before Auckland.
Speaker 6 (27:38):
I'm from the UK originally. Yeah, I'm from Cambridge in
the UK. Moved over in two thousand and seven within
christ Church after the earthquakes, moved up to Auckland, the
university up in Auckland. And yeah, then came across, came
across Matt who was doing bio stuff up there, and
(28:03):
I was doing that stuff at UNI, and yeah, we
headed down to Gisbon once. We're both sort of finished up.
Have been working from home as much as we can
and helping out on the farm.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
So do you ever think you'll go back to the
city life or has Gisbone gotcha?
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (28:21):
I think it would have to be to be pretty
pretty convincing to get me back to the city life.
I'm upen ausluned at the moment for work, but I'm
looking forward to getting back getting back to the country side.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
This is a brilliant coffee table book for grown up farmers.
It's called if You've got Live Stock, then You've got
Dead stock, and on the back it says not recommended
for children or vegans, Amy Renell, I think this is
really really clever. If people want to get a hold
of it, where do they find it.
Speaker 6 (28:55):
It's currently in new Bookskill in Gisbon, which I'm so
so pleased that they had accepted to stock it. It's
also on trade me and I've got an email address
as well. It's what the Farming end z so shortens
(29:15):
down to WTF so what the Farming endzed at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Well, Amy, it's been a real pleasure catching up with you.
Good luck on the sheep and beef farm and Gisbon.
And thank you to your father in law Rob Burke
from Ormond and Gisbon for making us aware of us.
You really really made my day brilliant. Thank you, Thank you, Amy.
It is sixteen away from one. That book is funny
it's very very funny for grown ups, of course, right
(29:42):
what's not so funny is when we make cockups here
on the country mainly I do my make them, but
I blame it's the food chain, Michelle. I blame my underlings,
of which you were one of them. So it's really
your fault. You should have told me that the PGG
writes and promo yes no or sit on the fence
wasn't five hundred dollar the PGG rights and cash. It's
(30:02):
five hundred dollars to spend PGG rights and which is
effectively the equivalent of cash semantics.
Speaker 8 (30:09):
I mean, I'll take that, Jamie. I'm barely a chrysalis,
as engineer would say. On the scheme of life here
at the Country Way.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
You got to start at the bottom of the tennis
ladder and work your way up, Michelle. So that's five
hundred dollars to spend online with PGG rights and it's
yes no or maybe to the question dogs and the
cab yes no, or maybe of your truck, you your
track there or whatever. So you can spend that money
(30:36):
on all the hot fencing deals they've got right now,
as we head into the fencing season at PGG rights
and up next to Radar and the Young Farmer Grand Final.
We've figured out our seven grand finalists. He is the
(30:58):
voice behind the FMG A Young Farmer Contest. That Grand
Final is coming up in Invercargo July three to five.
We now know who are seven regional final winners are.
And a guy by the name of cam Smith, not
the golfer, not the rugby league player Radar. Andrew Lumsdon
(31:18):
won the Otago Southland Regional Final the Winton Racecourse. I
think on Saturday, what a great day.
Speaker 6 (31:24):
It was a great day.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
And I tell you why home ground advantage because we're
back on the Winton Racecourse. I think for practical day
it's Grand Final and if they can do it on
a day like the head on Saturday, it's going to
be a cracker.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Now we have three second timers turning up. Hugh Jackson
representing Bay a plenty y Cuto, even though he last
got into a final representing Otago Southland, he's a second timer.
George Leatham from Tasman's a second timer. He finished runner
up to George Dodson and last year's Grand Final. And
Gareth Mckirchheer from Arangi. He's the second time grand finalist
(31:59):
as well. He finished third last year. And I'm going
to enjoy Gareth's company tomorrow night, Radar, I don't know
if you'll enjoy mine, but it's a free feed for
them at the South Island Airy Event at the spates
Alee House and tomorrow. How good is that?
Speaker 5 (32:13):
Oh, that's all very good indeed. And that's the thing
you get these I say to you don't need to
win the competition to win to be a winner.
Speaker 7 (32:22):
You know, you want to do the.
Speaker 5 (32:23):
Best that you possibly can. But it's those people that
get in and take the advantage of all of these
things that are offered to them all along the way,
and you'll see no.
Speaker 7 (32:30):
Shortage of those folks pop up.
Speaker 5 (32:31):
But look, I tell you what, it's going to be
interesting because not only do we have three second timers,
we've also got two people who for whom at the
competition was their first time as well, Justin Rygrop from
up North and James Robbie. I'm not sure about Jock Burke,
whether he's competed a couple of times before, but look,
it's going to be a cracker of a competition and
you can see that experience in the field as well,
(32:52):
particularly those people that have been to a Grand final.
And I always say to other competitors, what not watch
those grand final guys when they're back at at a
region final, because it's you know, it's the time management,
it's the presence of mind. It's that ability to forget
about the last thing that they were doing and focus
solely on the next thing that's going on. And you'll
often see them as well taking advantage if they get
(33:13):
red flagged for something in one of the egg Resports events.
They'll take that thirty seconds, compose themselves, they'll think about
what they're going next, and they're crack straight back into it.
So it is going to be a fantastic spectacle.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Yeah, well, as you say, it has an advantage to
be a second time. That Jock Burke that you were
talking about representing Taranaki manor two. He's in his third
and final year at Massi University, but he's only nineteen
years of age. He must have gone when he was
about fifteen.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
Radars actually one of those child geniuses, those young savants
that they breed up there in that part of the world. Look,
we do have a wide spectrum of ages. Age is
not an issue offer in this what James Robertson I
think was twenty two when he won it, and I
think I think George Latham was because I think we
had a question this time around who was the youngest
winner and someone said Latham, but actually not George Latham.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Sorry, George Doodson, George.
Speaker 5 (34:06):
Johnson, Sorry, yes, George. I think George was only a
week older than James when he run it, so he
must have been just twenty two or twenty three. So
you know, then you've got your more experienced competitors as well,
but you know, don't forget all the little kids, the
AGRI kids and the FMG juniors. We had a former
Agrikids champion's coming this year as an FMG junior competitor,
(34:27):
very competitive young fellow. So again you can you can
be third, fourth of six, seventh form in that competition
and with the Agri kids as well that I remember it.
A couple of years ago, a tiny little team from
Sedden called the Awex must have been the physically the
smallest team I ever saw, and they got into the
into the final there in Tasman and I thought, oh hell,
these a little bothers going to go and they absolutely
(34:48):
smashed it went all the way to Grand Final. Said
in this year three of their four Agrikids teams, so
all three of the Aggri Kids teams from from Tasman
are from Sedden, so it's going to be a great competition.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
Well, I've got a tip my hat to Blue Mountain
College which is in Tapanui and West Otago. I went
down last year to the West Otago Amp Show. What
a great day out it was in rural New Zealand
as well, but I couldn't get over because they had
an Agrikids competition at the amp show. How these young
kids from Blue Mountain College knew so much about agriculture.
(35:24):
They knew more about it than I did. Radar, Look
they do.
Speaker 5 (35:27):
I've seen some of the some of the challenges that
these kids, the Agri Kids and the FMG juniors are
set and I don't know the answers to them, but
you know it's not only the mental thing as well
around the knowledge, their ability to do the physical stuff,
to put things back together, to work with tools through
his other you know, they're going to have a little
farm challenge in front of you for the FMG juniors,
So you know, they so smart kids that pick a
(35:51):
lot of this stuff up by osmosis just working with
their parents. Having said that, we've seen some very very
good Grand finalists who never put it on farm until
they were eighteen or nine, ten years old. So you know,
it's the people who want it. They're going to pick
up that knowledge. Whenever it is that they start, they're
going to take it out.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
We're running a promo on the show this week called
Yes Now, I'll sit on the fence. I suspect you'll
have a picket right up your backside. As I asked
you to Rader Andrew Lumston, who's the favorite? Who do
you think might take it out?
Speaker 5 (36:21):
You know what I'm going to say, Having seen how
long have I done this, seven or seven sevens, I've
seen probably more than fifty regionals, and I've seen certainly
seven or eight Grand finals. You cannot you cannot know
until we read those names out, because there's a lot
of it that you don't see. You've got protectives of
the Grand Final, you've got your HR challenges and your
business challenges and various other various other bits and pieces. Yeah,
(36:43):
it's impossible. To tell. I've seen people who are pretty
confident that they knew who were going to take it
out that the post someone else comes in.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Andrew Lumsdon Trader, Hey, I've been to I think two
Grand Final, Young Farmer Grand Finals and the Picargo. I'm
going to get the hat trick. I'm going to head
down to him for in early July for the third one.
I will see you there.
Speaker 5 (37:03):
Let's do that, see then.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Looking forward to it. Radar right, I've made a cock
up with the PGG rights and promo. You've got a
five hundred dollars voucher to spend online. Michelle has made
an incredibly bad mistake when listing the young farm well
not really young farmer. A Grand finalist will talk about
that one and one of the great golf chokes of
all time with some Englewood farmers after the break, okay,
(37:35):
wrapping the country. Apologies and I'm blaming Michelle for this
one fairly and squeally. George Leatham hasn't been to a
Grand finally, was second at the regionals last year. And
I was playing golf at my favorite golf course yesterday, Roxburgh,
and I was close to the Holy Grail for all
golfers shooting par Michelle, I know you won't believe this
square at the turn, just two over with four to
(37:56):
play four easy hot? What four holes to play? Ones
in front of me? I'm thinking, could this be my day?
Speaker 5 (38:03):
No?
Speaker 2 (38:04):
I collapsed like a deck of cards in the last
two holes. I wanted to get into the fetal position
like Steve Wan Harris on the eighteenth green at Roxburgh,
but I couldn't because there was a clubhouse full of
Englewood farmers there on the golfing trip. Mike, I should try.
I think I'm going to have to take up bowls.
I'll see you tomorrow from the South Island Airy event
(38:26):
in tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Catch you're the latest from the land. It's the Country
Podcast with Jamie McGue. Thanks to Brent, You're specialist in
John Deere construction equipment.
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