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The Muster- Dean Rabbidge: Get The Tailing Gates Together · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Dean Ravage is based.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: At Glenham, not far out of Wyndham. He's a sheep
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: and beef farmer and joins us this afternoon as we
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: head into October with a better week of weather for
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: the South, Dean. Good afternoon.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Good afternoon, Andy.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: A better week in store?
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's looking a bit like it, isn't it? Very...
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: much needed for everybody. So it looks like we'll hopefully
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: get some tails off towards the end of the week,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: which is exciting, and hopefully start to move on to
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: a few more historical summer, well not summer jobs, tractor
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: jobs this time of year, try and get some crop
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: ground back ready for grass and all those fun jobs
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: and a few gateways repaired after the events we've had.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: So yeah, it's just that time of year where things
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: are just starting to, still going to be busy, but
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: just the task of changing a wee bit, which is nice.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: You say you're excited about tailing. Is that based on
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: the season we've had and you can see light at
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: the end of the tunnel?
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, pretty much. It means it's finally good enough to
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: do it. Andy will hook into the terminals. We'll just
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: do one day at them and be used. Yeah, normally
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: they're done about a week ago. So, yeah, the fact
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: that we're even thinking about it is a good sign really,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: isn't it?
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: Rainfall figures at your farm, Dean. What do you reckon
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: you've had for September compared to normal? Any ideas?
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Look, I just take about 20 mils off what Matt
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: McRae has in my career, to be honest. It's only
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: about right. So we'll be getting close to that 300
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: mils as well. So, yeah, I know the rain gauges
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: hit between 10 and 15 mils in the most mornings
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: you've been past it, so... But then again, it's pretty
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: hard to measure it when it's coming in sideways, too. So, yeah,
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: we'll be getting up there at 300 mils, which is
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: quite high for us.
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: That's 300 mils for September alone?
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Yep.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: Yep. Oh, well, that tells you the Mokorita must be
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: a bit of a yardstick for the region.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, it'd be the higher end of the region,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: I'd suspect, but it's not far away from us, so
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: it's reasonably comparable.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: We've had a couple of days of warmer weather. Thank
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: God for that. I was going to say something else
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: then because it's the first thing that comes to mind
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: when you think of the weather lately, Dino. Are you
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: starting to see a tinge of growth here? Is the
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: ground absorbing all this moisture? What's happening?
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's amazing what 48 hours does, eh?
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: For everybody, animals and stuff, it's definitely turning a deeper
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: shade of green at home at the moment. So, yeah. Yeah,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: another few days on this, another 10 days, and then
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: we'll give everybody a good kick along, really. So it's
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: just what we needed because, yeah, all those lambs, we
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: started nipping away at covers now too, so, yeah.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: How's the lamb drop been, all things considered, at your place?
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Look, it's going to be back. There's no denying that. But, yeah,
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: it's definitely had worse years. People keep going back to
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: that 2010 year. It's still better than that, and without
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: the capital year losses, I think that was the real
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: kicker in 2010, and we haven't seen them this year
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: with the metabolic issues that were associated that year. So, no,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: as frustrating as it's going to be, the land numbers
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: may be down in the years, but then on the
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: flip side, the hogs are in full swing now, and
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: they're going to get a good sort of two-week window
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: or 10 days to get most of their work done. So,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: So maybe extra lamps in August this year may make
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: up for a small decrease in the May news. So
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: all in all, it might average out to be another year.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: But we won't know until we tail. But then getting
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: a tail is one thing. It's getting them on the
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: truck of the 18.5 kilo carcass is the next battle.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: So that's where you get paid for it at the
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: end of the day. So we start to transition that
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: focus from there on to get them growing as fast
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: as we.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Can, I guess. Are you as intense with the Hoggett
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: lambing as, say, the main flock?
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, probably more intensive, to be honest, Andy. We've got
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: a lambing ship from Wales over for the lambing this year,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: and he's going around the Hoggett three times a day,
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: just especially in these warmer days. He can sort of
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: lose his feet with lambing difficulties, or lands in it. So, yeah,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: it's a double-team long shoot round, and you've only got
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: to save a couple to make it last, so... It's
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: only for one half cycle, so two sharps that we're in,
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: three clubs a day.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: Now your shepherd came over from Wales like you talked
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: about then. I remember last time we spoke you were
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: going away to the airport to pick him up. Poor
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: guy must just think Southland's absolute pits.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I felt a bit sorry for him, to be honest.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: He's battled away quite well, so yeah, I don't know
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: if he'll be putting his head up and doing another
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: Southland landing, but... at least the last two weeks, the
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: stuff will be more enjoyable.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: So what's he made of the lambing in New Zealand
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: in general? Because I imagine back home it's all done
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: in sight.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: Look, you should probably get him on and have him
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: yard till Monday, Andy. But, yeah, no, I think it's
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: very similar. He's used to lambing outside. So, yeah, it's
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: reasonably similar by all accounts from what I've picked up, yeah.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: So get the tractor into the paddock, get the tailing done,
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: and this will be the next two or three weeks
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: of focus.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, first thing, first thing, yeah, actually got to repair
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: a few gateways, get some rocks in them so we
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: can either get ewes and lambs through to a paddock
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: where we can tail them or we can get the
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: tailing gear through to the ewes and lambs. So it's
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: just one of those things, just the prolonged wet over
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: the winter. Colds wash out in other places too, so...
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: That's priority. Then we'll get the tails off and then
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: we'll start thinking about burning some $ 3 diesel, getting the
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: ground ready to go, I guess, I suppose. Yeah, it'll
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: cover it well enough too.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: That phrase after the Christchurch earthquakes comes to mind, being munted.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: Are your gateways munted proper?
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, a few of the higher traffic ones are pretty munted,
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: especially on the flat of Pennix. The water's had nowhere
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: to go, whereas on the hills, fortunately, you can sort
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: of run off a bit. So there are a couple
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: of loads of rocks. Most of them sort things out,
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: so it won't take too long.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: How have the ewes come through the spring so far?
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: The beews are battling a wee bit, but they're always
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: the poorer ewes anyway, which is frustrating because they sort
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: of get allocated a lot more feet, and the ewes
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: are holding on really well. at the moment. Yeah, but
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: obviously we're going to have to keep a close eye
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: on them this year. So, yeah, we'll just see what happens.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: But we may have to throw a bit more urea
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: around later on to make sure we've got adequate covers. So, yeah,
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: that's all right. We'll get there.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: You've got through September now, Dean. Do you just carry
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: on with the mindset as to what you normally do?
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I'm not going to change too much. Not
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: a big fan of making radical changes just after one
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: or two bad events. Trying to make calculated changes and panic.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: Slowly, really. Well, Wednesday night, the Beef and Lamb Spring
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: Shouts coming to your neck of the woods anyway. Three
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: Rivers Hotel at Wyndham, 5pm start. And Thursday, Brunel Peaks
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: Cafe over at Blackmount. So knowing you Wyndham buggers, I'd
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: say you'll have a bit of a thirst built up
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: by Wednesday night.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, look, we might. find our way down there. I
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: guess we've also got the Rugby Cabaret Prize giving on
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: Friday night too, so there's plenty of good causes to
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: get off farm and socialise a bit this week, coming up,
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: which is good, and I think people are finally getting
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: to that space where they can breathe a little bit
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: and feel as though you can, or not feel too
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: guilty about getting off farm and, yeah, trying to de-stress
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: a bit, because I know, yeah, the stress levels are
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: have been, and if not are, still pretty high up there.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Good on you, Dean. Good to catch up, as always.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: Cheers, Andy.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Dean Ravage, based at Glenham. Bit of sunshine. It's a
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: good thing. You're listening to The Muster. Before the end
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: of the hour, Tom O'Brien, based up in Garston. But next,
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: out of the Southland Tribune, Logan Savory, reviewing the stag season.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: Not the kind of girl...