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Hamish McKay: The Country spokesperson on whether farmers need to keep staffing levels up · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks. The'd be
• 0:12
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• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Hamous mckaye the Rural Reports with farmlands get advice and
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: support growing. What really matters, Hamoush MacKaye isn't for Jamie mckaye.
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  Speaker 1: Hi, hamish Anvening hither I'm in my black crowsers with
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  Speaker 1: red piping and oh sorry, you're wrong topic.
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  Speaker 2: No, I know you know one hundred percent you were
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  Speaker 2: watching the met Gala thinking this is fantastic. This is
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  Speaker 2: what I'm wearing to the office next.
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  Speaker 1: Listen.
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  Speaker 2: Tell me why is it that you think that the
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  Speaker 2: buoyant times on the farm have a bit of a
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  Speaker 2: short term feel to them.
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  Speaker 1: Well, look, look sure they are boying times, and I
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  Speaker 1: don't think we can we can we can question that
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  Speaker 1: at all. And I know diesel fertilized animal health compliance
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  Speaker 1: cross through the roof, but as a rules, with the
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  Speaker 1: exception of arable farming, these are boom times. But I
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  Speaker 1: have a strong belief, this is my view, we have
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  Speaker 1: a bit of an imposter syndrome as farmers born of
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  Speaker 1: the very volatile nature of farming. And you know how
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  Speaker 1: much can you sort of bank on the future. Can
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  Speaker 1: we have some sort of security? So I've been a
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  Speaker 1: questions imposed to me to have a closer look at
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  Speaker 1: this and where do the boom times lead us, and
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  Speaker 1: what this farming and is here to look in five
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  Speaker 1: to ten years. So there's a bit of a blueprint
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  Speaker 1: there so that we can you know, how do we
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  Speaker 1: take advantage of technology without without and this is the
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  Speaker 1: kind of well the crunch thing here without seeing without
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  Speaker 1: the seemingly all conquering desire to reduce staffing costs. Let's
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  Speaker 1: face it, we're not good with. So what I'm looking into,
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  Speaker 1: what I'm getting some recess done on them, and I
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  Speaker 1: want to come through with the answers what do humans
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  Speaker 1: do better than the machine? You know, focusing on the
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  Speaker 1: people so that we're getting the best out of the
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  Speaker 1: land and our people. And you know, there are great
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  Speaker 1: dairy farms, great sheep and beef operations, but this whole
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  Speaker 1: thing of tucking back on people because they've got halter
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  Speaker 1: and lower mission breeding and auto milking machines in the light,
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  Speaker 1: you know, we just it's just it's got to be
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  Speaker 1: this on something called people that might just serve to
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  Speaker 1: underpin new Zealand farmers and the self belief which is
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  Speaker 1: sometimes not the greatest that they are the leaders of
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  Speaker 1: the world.
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  Speaker 2: Because I love where you're going with this, But what
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  Speaker 2: is the good in keeping your staff levels up if
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  Speaker 2: you can actually reduce your overhead costs and get a
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  Speaker 2: machine to.
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  Speaker 1: Do it, Because the machine is not going to serve
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  Speaker 1: what I would view as been the intrinsic value of
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  Speaker 1: being a good contributor to your to your country's economy, climate,
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  Speaker 1: society in general. What I want to find out in
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  Speaker 1: this when the ext fire to ten years, what are
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  Speaker 1: those things that those staff can do that has takes
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  Speaker 1: advantage of the time that the machine has created doing
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  Speaker 1: the basic things like putting caps on and off cows,
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  Speaker 1: et cetera, et cetera. So that's what I don't you know.
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  Speaker 1: I know that we're making progress with animal husbandry and
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  Speaker 1: green approch it's and blinding tree, But what I'm trying
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  Speaker 1: to find out is why do we always have to
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  Speaker 1: nail it down to cuttings. Now.
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  Speaker 2: I like what you're doing, right, because this is the
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  Speaker 2: This is the fundamental argument about AI, is that AI
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  Speaker 2: is going to make us more productive, but only if
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  Speaker 2: we take the time that Ai so Ai does all
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  Speaker 2: the boring stuff and the existing staff member does something
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  Speaker 2: more productive. But what is that?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well that's what the intention of my research here,
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  Speaker 1: and I'm talking to a lot of people here and
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  Speaker 1: that I want to find the artist. He So we've
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  Speaker 1: got that blueprint, so somebody can sit back and go, Actually,
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  Speaker 1: my shoulders are back. We're getting pretty good farm gate
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  Speaker 1: returns now, farming is all right, the future is bright.
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  Speaker 1: Something that is strong. I think just ad to the
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  Speaker 1: to the tool box in terms of the faith of belief.
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  Speaker 2: I am going to be really interested in that when
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  Speaker 2: you actually figure this one out. Hamish, come back to
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  Speaker 2: us with the findings. Really appreciate time as always. Mate.
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  Speaker 2: That's homes makaie. The country isn't that interesting?
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