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The Muster- Bruce Eade: Looking Ahead With Some Sun · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Bruce Ede Farms at Kelso and joins us this afternoon
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: in the Sargeant Dan Farming Roundup. Thanks to Sargeant Dan
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Stock Foods where we speak to different farmers from around
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: the southern region. And, of course, Sargeant Dan here on
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Main Street in Gore. Good afternoon, Bruce, but firstly, happy
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Bathurst Week.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, oh, yeah, that's right. Snuck up. It'll be good.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: It'll be good. No, it should be exciting. There's been
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: a lot of different winters and a few different scenarios
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: could play out. So, no, it'll be good afternoon viewing
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: on Sunday.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: And here are a few birds chirping in the background,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: so that's a good start for October.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, October's been far better so far than September,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: isn't it, if I state the obvious?
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: How's it been at your place, like, ground condition-wise? I mean, without,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: you know, we all know what the state of play's
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: been like. Has your rainfall figure been something for the ages?
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they probably have been. I haven't been keeping a record.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: I've really been relying on neighbours and things like that
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: that like to put that sort of thing out there. So, yeah,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: I'd it'd certainly be top five, all right, top three maybe.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Or didn't they say it was the wettest? Who knows?
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: But got to the point there where I gave up
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: looking in the gauge. Just, yeah, throw your boots on
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: and go back out to another day of battle was
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: really what it came down to. So, no, it's dried
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: up remarkably well in the last two or three days,
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: all right, that's for sure. So... Yeah, you could not
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: quite say it's a distant memory. There's still a bit
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: of recovery to do yet. But it's bloody good to
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: see the sunshine and a bit of heat.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: And the grass is growing. That's the thing.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: The grass is growing. Yeah, no, that's right. And it
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: always was going to. Just the issue was how much
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: damage you'd done between then and now. So it wasn't
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: hard to bloody plough a paddock with a mob of
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: cows on a wet, cold night. So... Yeah, it was
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: a tough one. It didn't take any prisoners. It didn't
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: matter who you were and what you were farming. It
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: was hard going all the way through. So, light at
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: the end of the tunnel, and, jeez, you're talking about
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: petrol heads, there'll be a lot of diesel heads, there'll
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: be a lot of diesel burnt, and this week, anyway,
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: that's for sure, because we've all got a fair bit
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: of catching up to do.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: You've got a split carving operation there. How has carving gone,
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: weather aside?
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: Weather aside, it's been pretty maintenance-free, shall we say. We've
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: still got about 50-odd to calve, but they'll be tidied
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: up in the next couple of weeks, which has been
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: a slow calving this year, which hasn't been a bad
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: thing considering what the season was like, or the spring,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: if you want to call it that, was like. So
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: we didn't encounter a huge amount of calves very early
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: on playing on paddocks. So it hasn't been easy, but
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: it could have been a lot worse for us.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: Metabolic issues, have they been any different to other seasons?
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: No, no, we've had a pretty good run. I think
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: I only had two or three down cows the whole
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: way through. And that and a couple of them were
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: known culprits. It seemed every year to decide they're going
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: to do something silly. So, no, touch wood. And it's
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: been pretty good and, as I said, fuss-free, really.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Supplement-wise, it's pretty intensive of what you're doing there with
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: the shed you've got in place.
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: What are you like as far as resource there?
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're... Getting close to the tipping point there. I mean,
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: everyone says, oh, you're lucky you've got that big shed,
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: but the outdoor cows, as we call them, they've been
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: outside the whole time just eating grass and pellets in
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: the cow shed from Sergeant Dan. No real supplement of
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: any sort. We gave them a few bails there early on,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: but we had to protect what's happening in the barn
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: there with the robot cows and feeding dry cows, so
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: it was a fluid situation most days. I mean, we
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: ran out of straw and... managed to find a couple
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: of small unit loads or part unit loads of rounds
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: and then two weeks ago yeah we were on the
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: hunt for a bit more but there was no straw
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: south of Christchurch so we managed to track down one
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: of the last two unit loads of squares of ryegrass
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: straw that May Brothers had up in Canterbury so that
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: tells you how far it had to come so unusual
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: that everyone was looking for straw at this time of
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: year but yeah it wasn't cheap exercise but it was
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: something that needed to be done and and obviously baleage
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: will be a lot rarer again, and if you could
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: find it, I'd hate to think how much you're having
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: to pay for it. But yeah, it's been a balancing
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: situation for a lot of people. Obviously the feed trucks
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: have all been doing extra time because people have just
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: turned up the dial to try and make up a shortfall,
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: and now we've got to look ahead to having some
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: to make for this incoming year. So we've had about
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: 50 hectares here. earmarked for silage since the start of
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: the season so that was the cows didn't go on
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: that they were never going on that we needed to
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: say that was that was silage and that's what it
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: was so um we've got some in front of us
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: there when the weather does finally come right it grows
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: a bit more to put under a bun.
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: That was a great plug for the sponsor.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: Before yeah he does a good job.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah how long you've been using sergeant dan stuff as such.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: Oh i'd say we've 15-plus years now for the dairy
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: feed and the shed, and prior to that we've been
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: using the calf feed for, yeah, as long as I
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: can remember, probably from day one when they started. So, no,
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Daryl does a great product, and they've never let us down,
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: so they do a good job.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: Look, tractor work is behind schedule. You do maize there.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: Are you having to change thinking at all for the
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: upcoming season, or everything's just been delayed?
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: No change of thinking, no, but yeah, we haven't tried any.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: We're actually singing a chuck in the Maxi Till on
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: this afternoon and giving them a couple of kale paddocks
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: that were in kale during the winter, a wee tickle
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: up just to let the air into them. But yeah,
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: the oats that go in after the maize, they probably
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: didn't like the wet as much as we'd like, so
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: they're down on yield, and the calves that are on
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: them are probably three weeks late getting on to them,
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: but that's just nature of the beast this year, so
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: those paddocks have all got to be gone in May
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: in less than a month really so there's a lot
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: to do in a very short time.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Feed utilisation as far as the crop paddocks how did
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: that end up?
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah no it ended up pretty good probably would have
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: liked to have another paddock had another paddock of kale
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: or that but the way it's turned out but who
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: was to know that this was going to carry on
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: like that so you know everything was sort of three
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: weeks behind like I said the calves and the In
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: the barn there, they were out on the oats the
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: start of September last year, and they weren't on until
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: about the 20th this year. So, like I said, three
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: weeks behind. So we've just got to try and jog
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: that three weeks forward to get everything back to where
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: it needs to be.
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: You're a pretty pragmatic character, to be honest, Bruce.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: So is it a matter of just seeing what was
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: behind you and looking forward and just being matter-of-fact about
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: how you're going to get stuff done now?
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Oh absolutely I mean it's a cliche you can't change
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: the weather and if we could we'd all would have
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: done it a long time before now but that's the
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: joy of farming every day is a new adventure and
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: you just have to play what's in front of you
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: I know we're all looking at the calendar there and
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: it said that you know 10 days ago there was
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: a good spell of fine weather coming and we'd all
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: been counting down and counting down and it's come to
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: fruition so you know those first couple of days of
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: sun it was like a brand new country and And
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: the start of the season really started then, in my opinion.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Everyone had a spring in their step and a better attitude. And,
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: you know, they say if the sun's shining, everyone's a
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: lot happier. And it certainly rings true at the moment.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: I'll say there's people in worse positions than us, you know. And,
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: you know, you really feel for everybody in this situation. So,
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: you know, you've just got to try and make as
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: much as cliche as it sounds every post a winner,
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: you know, if there's... You can try and get back
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: those couple of weeks. Nobody's scared of sitting on the
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: track around here, and we'll catch it back up. And
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: the farming calendar still rolls on, whether it's wet, dry,
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: or otherwise, so you've just got to make it happen
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: instead of sit around and hope that it happens.
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: Good on you, Bruce.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: Just by the way, have you ever been to Bathurst
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: or harboured ambitions of going?
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: I haven't been to the race, but I have. I
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: was on a trip there a good 15-odd years ago,
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: and I did do a burnout on Pitt Street in
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: the rental car. But, yeah, it's an amazing track. I mean,
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: to think it's a public road every other day of
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: the year, you drive around it, it's amazing the undulation
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: in that. So I've never been to it race week,
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: but I don't know if it would be as good
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: as just sitting in front of the TV with a
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: few beers. You get all the replays and you don't
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: have to deal with the flies and the snakes and
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: the spiders.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, hell of a muster trip.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no, it would be. Yeah, mark that down.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: Duly noted, Bruce Seed. Thanks for your time as always.
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: Righto, mate.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: Thank you. We'll see you later.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: Bruce Seed of Calso in the Sargeant Dan Farming Roundup.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Thanks to Sargeant Dan. Stock Foods based here in Gore.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: You're listening to The Muster.
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: Up next, Eric Roy. Let's talk politics.