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The Muster- Don Morrison: Getting Through A Challenging Season · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: And I'm never gonna tell you everything I gotta tell
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: you But I know I gotta give it a try
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to The Muster, making love out of nothing
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: at all by Air Supply. Our next guest loves a
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: good trivia fact regarding music. Don Morrison, based at Willowbank. Howie,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: good afternoon. Can you tell me the artist that originally
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: knocked back doing this song in the 80s?
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Oh, kia ora, Andy. No, that's a bit of a
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: testing one. That's really in the depths of your knowledge
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: to extract something like that. So tell me who it was.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Meatloaf.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Oh, Meatloaf. Yeah, I can imagine that being a bit
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: of an anthem.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Well, he had the perfect vocal range for this song
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: when you think about it.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no, well, he had many hits and fortunately
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Air Supply got it and they made that one of
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: their biggest, didn't they?
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, power of ballot on a Tuesday because we can.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: The situation out at Willowbank, how are we? Wet, I imagine?
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Andy, just like everybody else, very wet and very testing.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: I mean, testing on the animals and certainly testing of...
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: Your resilience, you know, it's when you just deal with
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: each wet day, one after the other, and you look
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: on the outcast and you've got 10 days of rain
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: ahead and, you know, a couple with less forecast and
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: then some big falls again. So I think, you know,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: I take my hat off to farmers when you go
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: through this because you've got to be pretty mentally resilient to...
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: to just put that gear on and get out there
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: each morning. But after saying that, we've had pretty amazingly
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: minimal losses. We are fortunate here. We've got a lot
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: of shelter, which we put in Andy. And I know
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: it's a bit of a cliche when you're a ram breeder, but,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: you know, we've been investing probably 20, 25 years in,
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: you know, very resilient sheep with good lamb survival. So,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: you know, I've got up a lot of mornings and
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: expected damage, and it hasn't. hasn't quite worked out that
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: way and I think the surprising thing was you know
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: we've really tested our animals this year and eat far
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: better than far worse than we would want to you
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: know body condition wasn't as good as we would normally
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: want them ground covers weren't as good the you know
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: the scannings were good so there's plenty of animals there
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: but plenty of lambs there but it's just been a
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: test of the sheep and so far they've performed pretty well.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: How are you looking there? Are you struggling to come
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: up for Plan B, C, D, E, etc.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Plan B, Andy, there's never a lambing, there's never a
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: season that you don't get through. So we've been through
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: seasons like this before and you know that you will
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: get there. A lot of the paddocks don't look great
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: and you see that. Brown time marks from your round
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: the day before and the day before that. But the
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: grass is growing. There's a couple of paddocks that there's
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: nothing on, and you can see that grass growing. Yeah, hey,
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: we've been there before, and we'll get through it, Andy.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: And look, we're probably, you know, getting there to well
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: over half through, maybe two-thirds through. So, you know, we're
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: ready for what's thrown at us the next week.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: As far as your farming career, Don, where does this
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: year rank? I mean, a lot of people refer to
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: 1987 and to our generation, I suppose, 2010 as being
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: the years.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, 87, I was living the high life in London,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: so I can't remember that one.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: It probably didn't worry you then.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: No, it didn't worry me. Probably Dad had to deal
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: with it. Certainly those other events. I think the difference is, Andy,
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: as I say, we're not getting the losses. So I
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: think some of the conditions are as testing, but just maybe, look,
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: sheep are more resilient generally. I don't think it's only
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: our sheep. I think a lot of breeders... putting that
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: emphasis into the survival, more body condition on the ewes.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: I mean, I look at old videos when we first
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: came back 30 years ago, and I'm a bit horrified
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: to see what the condition of our animals were at
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: lambing time. So, you know, we've had a whole step
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: forward here. And yes, the conditions aren't great, but certainly
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: this is not a bad lambing for us.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: I've seen a video in circulation a few months back
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: now regarding Hokanui Radio when Jamie was running it with
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Lee Piper and it was the home show of all
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: things that we hear. And here's a young buck-faced Don
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Morrison appearing in the background on his farm.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Oh, my goodness. Well, I can't recall that one, Andy,
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: but you'll have to unlock that one out of the
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: archives for me to have a look at.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: No, I'll have to find that out of Subware. But, yeah,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: like you say, you just think of the years and
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: what they present here. Genetics, it's a big thing. Well, OK,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: as far as milking of the ewes, how's that been?
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Because feed can be frustrating at the moment.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, feeders, and that's what I say, you know, lamb
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: survival is a combination of different things. I mean, as
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: far as the lamb goes, it's skin thickness and then
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: brown fat around your internal organs, and that brown fat's
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: available for instant energy release before they have a feed,
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: and so an element of that is probably related to
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: your body condition of your ewe, the brown fat realm
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: in the lambs. So it is one of the things
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: we have said as a feature of lamb survival, and because,
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: you know, it doesn't matter what prices are if you
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: don't have live lambs, so... Yeah, there's a whole lot
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: of things into it. And then, of course, there's the
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: good luck of what paddock you're in or the bad
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: luck on that particular stormy night. And on those really
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: wet conditions, it's amazing to think that anything can survive.
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: And also it's ground conditions. If you're born onto dry ground,
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: you've got a much better chance than those lambs that
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: are born onto absolutely saturated waterlogged ground. So, yeah, a
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: lot comes into it, Andy.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: You have staff on the ground there like travellers. They
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: come and stay on the farm for a few weeks.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: How are they fighting the situation?
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: We've had a young French girl with us for three months,
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: and she's been an absolute superstar. She's doing an internship
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: from a university in Toulouse. And with me being out
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: with my shoulders, I'm really only moral support this lambing.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: We've got a young English girl who's with us for
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: two months who's doing her fourth or fifth lambing, absolutely dedicated,
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: and the two of them just absolutely love what they're doing.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: They don't quite have the cynicism of age that some
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: of the rest of us have, Andy.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: So you're not going around on a bike with a
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: megaphone yelling at Lockie about what he needs to do?
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: No, I think everybody here knows what they need to
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: do and it's actually almost to be there to support
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: the others because all of us, you know, you have
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: a bad day and you just need to say, hey, look,
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: these things happen or, you know, everyone else is dealing
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: with the same thing. And we try and make it social.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: We had a big night all together, the whole team,
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: on Saturday night and pizza night, and, you know, just
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: to try and forget about those conditions outside.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: And based on that, Southland Rural Support Trust, they're branching
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: on us events, Howie. They're in your neck of the
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: woods tomorrow, actually. Willow Bank. at 11am to 1.30am. They're
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: doing these Brunch on Us events. Waikāia on Thursday, then
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: next week at Dipton finishing up. So you can go
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: and get some toasties on Katrina and the team tomorrow.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, Andy. We'll be over there to support that. It's
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: really important just to talk to other farmers and everyone understands, hey,
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: I'm not the only one dealing with this wet. We're
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: all dealing with it.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. Hey, just before we go as well, you
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: love your rugby, but you were on board the Waz bandwagon.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: It was a pretty good game of rugby the other night, though,
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: if not for the result, for the event itself. I mean,
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: it took you back to 2011 Rugby World Cup, that
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: grand final night to a degree.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: I note how quickly that stadium sold out and you
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: make a comparison with some of the crowds at the
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: Super Rugby games. The Warriors have had a great season.
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: They performed really well. It was actually a 50-50 game.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: Neither team actually deserved to win because it deserved more
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: than the other. That was the way it went. But
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: what the Waratahs have done, they have created that family
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: fan base which makes their supporters want to support them
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: every week. And that's I think it's very admirable what
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: they've done. And, yeah, a great event, a great crowd.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: You mean the Warriors, don't you, not the Waratahs?
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: No, I say the Waratahs, the Warriors.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: That's the Prime Minister doing that, not you.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: No, hey, trust me, I was watching the correct game too, Andy. Sorry,
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: the Warriors, yeah, they've put together a great formula for
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: looking after their fans.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: Good on you, Howie. All the best out there. We'll
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: leave you with some air supply.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: Cheers, Andy. Look forward to next time.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Don Morrison based out at Willow Bank. Like we said then,
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: the South and Rural Support Trust brunch on us events
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: happening tomorrow at Willow Bank from 1 o'clock at the
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: Waikaka Valley Hall and Waikāia at the Community Hall, the
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: rugby club. Same, same. On Thursday, we're away to Waimumi next.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: We're going to catch up with Warren Ross.