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The Muster- Nigel Woodhead: South Otago Lambing Season · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Nigel Woodhead is farming in South Otago between Balclutha and
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Milton and we catch up once again. Nigel, good afternoon.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: How's the lambing been?
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Good afternoon, Andy. It's all right today because it's not raining.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: The sun's trying to poke out, so yeah, we'll take it.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: The situation with the rain down here, I'm sure you're
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: all over it. You would have seen the messages. And
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: pretty much every day there's been a couple of mills.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: How have you fared?
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: We definitely haven't had it as bad as you fellas
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: down south, eh? So, yeah, I appreciate there's been some
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: big rainfall numbers down south and people really struggling. But we, yeah,
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's wet, man, it's wet. Yeah, it's just
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: been tough, eh? It's just been tough. It's sort of,
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: you know, what was it, Tuesday night, Monday night, one
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: of those nights that was, you know, lying on bed
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: trying to go to sleep. Listen, you know, the house
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: was sort of shaky. You could hear rain on the
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: roof type thing. And, you know, it doesn't make for
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: a good situation. But, you know, we seem to be
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: ticking along not too bad considering.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: How submerged would you say the ground is at the
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: moment as far as being waterlogged?
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Oh, it's 100%. Yeah, no, there's no space. Anytime you
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: get a bit of rain, the old tiles start running. So, yeah,
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: that must have been... Yeah, we had a mob of
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: bulls turn the three-day break into mud in two days,
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: which pissed me right off. So, yeah, we're sort of
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: trying to... Like, usually by now, all of our bulls
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: would be in sort of heckier blocks and just on
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: rotation going round and round. With that mob there... I've
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: just basically put them in a two and a half
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: hectare paddock with no fences in it today just to
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: try and take the pressure off them and they'll get
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: shifted in two or three days time and just leaving
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: quite a bit of length behind to grow so it
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: grows away behind them and just trying to keep them
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: moving a wee bit quicker because I think grass is
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: growing slowly but if you chew a paddock right out
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: now it takes a long time for it to come
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: back so the idea is slightly bigger break, not make
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: as much mess, leave a bit of grass behind so
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: that there's still something there next time around. Just whip
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: around and the other two mobs, I'm actually sitting in
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: a paddock using lambs at the moment, I can see
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: another two mobs of bulls here. One rider came close
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: to starting their second round which is earlier than what
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: I'd like but they've got a bit of feed in
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: front of them, I think they'll be right and this
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: other mob spent about 10 days cleaning just some longer
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: patches up in the odd paddock before you've got set stocks.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: I think we've still got plenty of air in front
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: of us. It's a long-winded way of saying, depending on
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: the mild, things aren't looking too bad, but we should
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: be able to survive it. A bit of urea go
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: on this week, so hopefully it'll kick things off.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Everybody putting urea on by chopper at the moment. Well,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: it's the only way you can do it.
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, the old solar trucks won't be doing much. Yeah, well,
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: we're lucky we've got Mr. Helicopter's right next door, and
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: so I was talking to Alistair the other day, and
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: he said he's just under the pump, can't keep up.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: He's got guys, you know, helicopters from all over the
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: show helping him out. Sounds like the guys in Southland
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: are similar too. They've got people from all over the
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: country coming to help him out. And yeah, just trying
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: to get around it all. He said, you know, there's
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: some issues coming for with some dairy farmers, you know,
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: heading into their second round, A, early, and B, with
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: messed up paddocks, with, you know, struggling for covers. So,
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: you know, he's busy, you know, flat out, guys just
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: trying to patch a hole with some urea. So that's
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: what's happening there. And getting, you know, getting work done
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: has been the issue for them by the sound of it.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Just to, you know, get a day where it's not
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: howling gale So you can actually get the choppers out
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: and get the fertiliser on. But they'll be flat out today.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: It's nice and calm.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: The situation in South Otago where you're based in general knowledge,
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: how's it looking?
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: It sort of depends a wee bit, I think. Like
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: the guys, so down on the flat below us, the
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: guys that sort of land a couple of weeks prior
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: to us, two or three weeks earlier, they're struggling. You
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: can just tell because driving along the road, you can
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: see he's used... you know, the feed underneath ewes has
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: sort of got that muddy look about it. You know,
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: they always, and I think we talked about it a
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: couple of weeks ago, like they always carry feed into
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: the spring and, you know, they start killing lambs in November. But, like,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: you know, the poor old ewes just haven't had a
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: chance and the grass gets a bit muddied up. So, yeah,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: some of the guys that land a bit earlier, I think,
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: you know, are probably struggling a bit, whereas, like I said,
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: we're just up on the hill a wee bit and
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: We made a conscious decision to hold ewes behind a
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: wire for a bit longer than we wanted to just
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: because we felt like things were still a bit cold
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: and wet so I'd like to have ewes spread out
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: a few days, week or so before they start lambing
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: but it was pretty much the day they started lambing
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: we spread them out and it's served us pretty well
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: on covers. We've still got a wee bit of grass
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: around us so we're pretty lucky but we had to
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: work hard for it. Yeah, but then you go inland
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: a wee bit around Wairau and Alliance, those guys with
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: a bit more altitude have had more snow and rough
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: weather than us. I'd say they'll be struggling a bit.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: So it just sort of depends where you are.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: Your wet dries, are you getting rid of them sooner
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: than later this season?
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, we'll shed them out. The idea, we usually
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: have them all shedded out prior to tailing. We try
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: to anyway. And yeah, they'll be heading on a truck
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: pretty quick smart. We keep our wet dry two-doos because
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: I reckon most of the time it's just a two-doo
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: sort of inexperience as to why most of them are
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: wet dries we'll give them an extra age tag and
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: a terminal so we don't breed from them again and
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: I reckon I've been doing it for six or eight
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: years and not very often you see a wet dry
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: two-doos come back and make another mistake type thing So usually,
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: you know, it's a shame they haven't reared a lamb,
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: but most of the time you'll get lambs out of
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: them for the rest of their life. And, you know,
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: that one year as a wet-dry two-do, they usually end
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: up massive, so they have twins for the rest of
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: their life.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Interesting mindset regarding dry sheep. A few people have dry hoggets,
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: they cull them. Other people with dry ewes, wet dry ewes,
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: if the weather's not playing ball, they get culled as well.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: They're saying, well, they haven't had the impetus to get
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: up there and rear a lamb or the like. So
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: it's a different mindset depending on who you speak to
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: regarding what you do if you're wet dry.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, like hoggets, I mean, I sort of, you know, Yeah,
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: if a hoggart rears a lamb, it's a bonus for me.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: So I don't punish my hoggarts for... If they're not
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: up to weight at tupping, then that's on me just
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: because I haven't fed them well enough. We've got the
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: genetics and the ability to feed a hoggart a ewe
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: lamb well enough to get her up to mating weight
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: by the start of May. And if that hasn't occurred,
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: it's either a seasonal thing or it's me cocked it up.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: So I don't punish them on that. You know, and dries,
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: all of our dries lose their head as soon as,
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: you know, we can after scanning. Keep a couple for
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: mutton and the rest of them go to the yards
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: or the works. So there's no second chances on being
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: dry at scanning. That's inexcusable. And, but yeah, the wet dries,
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: like a mixed AGU wet dry, I have a no
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: second chances policy on them. It's just two dudes, you know, like,
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: if you, you know, quite often you drive into a
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: paddock and there's a bit of carnage going on, more
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: often than not it's just tooters being young and getting
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: a bit confused and they might get stuck out up
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: on top because all the old tarts are down in
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: the shelter or something. So, like I say, I don't breed,
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: you know, we don't keep any replacements from those wet
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: dried tooters ever again. But, you know, like I say,
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: they usually end up growing to be pretty good, big
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: solid sheep and you put a terminal over them for
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: the rest of their life and more often than not
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: you never see them again putting a foot wrong so
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: you've only got to feed them for another couple of
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: months before it's weaning time and they go back to
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: the mob anyway and we've got a few forestry blocks
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: and pokey panics here and there we can throw them
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: into once we've got them out of the mob and
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: they don't cost too much to feed them through the
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: rest of the spring Good on.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: You Nige, next time we speak September will be in
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: the distant mirror and we'll catch up, all the best.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: Well, hopefully we'll have some tractors rolling by then. We'll see.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: Nigel Woodhead, based in South Otago, between Barclutha and Milton.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: You're listening to The Muster. Up next, MP for Southland,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Joseph Mooney.