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The Muster- Robin Greer: Getting On With Production · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to The Muster. The song is Boom Boom
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Pow by Black Eyed Peas. I know. But anyway, Robin
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Greer joins us next. Good afternoon, Robin. Boom Boom Pow,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: does that describe the grass growth at Tutorau?
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Ah, certainly has, yeah. It's been amazing going from, you know,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: just sort of getting through, having enough to get through, to, gee,
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: now how soon before we're... Cutting baleage.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: It's got to that stage down in your neck of
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: the woods.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Yep, yep, yep. Phillip's pretty close to getting the mar on.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: It's been a heck of a fast turnaround. Like, you know,
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: we all knew it would come right, but, gee, I
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: don't know if I don't remember very well from past years, but, gee,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: it's turned around extremely quick.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: As far as ground conditions, though, has everything settled down?
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: I mean, you guys had quite a bit of rain
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: there too, let's not forget.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, like, we ripped our crop paddocks, yeah, last week,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: and they were drier than I thought. Like, I thought
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: there'd be areas that we wouldn't get through, but managed
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: to get all of every paddock, which, that really surprised me,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: just how quick them ground conditions have turned around.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: So your feed levels, where would you say you're at
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: at the moment, Robin, compared to, say, 12 months ago? Um, oh.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're not in a bad place at all. Like
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: I say, we've got a heap of surplus that we're
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: going to have to take off in the next couple
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: of weeks.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: Which, yeah, like we've been able to fully feed our
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: cows right through. Feeding the cows hasn't been a problem. So, yeah, no,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: we're pretty excited about the season going forward, really.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: What do you put that down to, Robin? Just good
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: management regarding having the feed available?
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. We grew a fair bit in the winter,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: and our cows did calve a little bit slower this
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: year than what we would like. But, yeah, no, Phillip's
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: doing a great job of managing it. I can't take
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: credit for that. I'd like to, but no, I can't.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Regardless, though, to be in that situation, especially with mating
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: around the corner, it's a good place to be.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, oh, look, hey, we all need our cows in
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: good condition and good feeding levels, you know, going forward
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: for mating. So I think it's looking very promising for
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: mating this spring. Like most people, while people might have
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: spent a bit more on feed in the spring than
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: what they were sort of hoping to or planning to,
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: I think most people going forward now should be in
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: a reasonable place.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Is that your major focus at the moment, or do
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: you say it's just tractor work and looking at getting
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: the silage slash bailage shut up if it isn't already
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: and just thinking about the late spring cycle as such?
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, like, gee, there's going to be a bit
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: of diesel burnt in the next two or three weeks,
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: that's for sure, whether it be, you know, getting grass
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: in and getting baleage done and that sort of thing.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: And at the same time, you know, mating time is
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: extremely crucial on dairy farms. So, you know, it's a
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: very busy time between now and Christmas. You know, we
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: say calving and lambing is busy, but, yeah, between now
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: and Christmas, it's certainly there's plenty that has to happen. And,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: you know, we need the weather on our side to
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: do that.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: And the diesel supply isn't going to be an issue.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: It's the pricing. Yes.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Gee, it hurts, doesn't it? It's easier to fill up
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: on the farm than fill up at the gas station.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: You see the dollars when you fill up there. It's
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: a bit frightening.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Well, when you're living on a farm, it's a luxury
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: having a pump, I suppose. But in town, Thursdays when
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: you have the discount days, generally between 15 to 20
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: cents off a litre, at the South Surf stations. And
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: at the moment, it's still, what is it, about $ 3. 12.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Yesterday on discount, it was just over $ 3.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I see up at Cromwell, $ 3. 40 something for diesel. Like, gee,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: it blingin' hurts, that's for sure.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, what's that all about? Is that just a location,
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Central Otago pricing?
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it does tend to be a bit dearer up here.
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: But yeah, it certainly frightened me when I seen that price.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: I'm glad I fill up in Gore.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: We're talking to you at the moment. You've got a place,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: a residence up in Cromwell as well. How's it looking
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: around there from a farming sense? Because generally it can
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: get dry pretty quickly, but is it coping pretty well?
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: Oh, look, hey, they've had rain. When I arrived up
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: here last night, it was raining. So, yeah, like it's
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: looking pretty green up here, really, I would say, for
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: this time of the year. certainly don't need to water
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: your lawn at the moment, but that day will come,
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: because yeah, it does dry out quick, that's for sure,
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: once it starts drying out.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Regarding cell phone coverage, it's been a big issue for
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: a lot of people recently, Robin. How are you finding
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: it there, but as well in Tootarail, how do you
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: find the coverage? Have you had issues with it?
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: It's been shocking, and it drops off in places that
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: we used to have coverage. I obviously do a lot
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: of travel around Southland with my real estate, and Gee,
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: there's a lot of places that have shocking coverage now
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: compared to what they used to. It's definitely a problem.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: It's factual. It's not just people's thinking, that's for sure.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: A lot of people are saying it's a 3G network
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: got switched off, and that's been the issue, and 4G
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: and 5G just isn't up to it at the moment,
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: even with satellite calling, which isn't readily available either.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, like, it certainly... It's dropped off markedly, um... And, like,
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: even at two to three hour times, sometimes we blink and, yeah,
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: we just lose coverage where we had coverage, you know.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: I have to be careful where I use my phone
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: at times.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Do you still have a landline at home?
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: No, we haven't had a landline for years, but sometimes
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: you begin to think that maybe you should have.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: Interesting you say that. I remember we got rid of it. Oh, gee,
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: it was about the mid-2010s, and the rationale was the
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: only people that ever called it were the parents or telemarketers.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. But, hey, it was reliable, though.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: We dropped the landlines thinking that, you know, cell phones
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: had become reliable and we could count on them, but, yeah,
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: I'm not quite so sure at the moment.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: It'll turn around again, but maybe enough of us need
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: to complain about it and make us think about it
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: to get something to happen.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: You might have had a neighbour with a big short
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: going through or somewhere in the line through to Balfour,
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: but at least you knew you could speak to someone.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: There was just a.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: to tolerate, like a tick in the background, but you
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: had coverage.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. You knew you could pick the phone up
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: and you could always talk to someone when you needed to. Yeah, it... Obviously,
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: us rural areas don't really count. Everyone can go to
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: a city and it's all good, but those of us
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: in the rural areas, they don't seem to matter.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: It's an interesting one, Robin. Hey, we'll let you carry
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: on up there in central Otago. We'll catch up again
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: and you enjoy the weekend.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: I will do.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: You too.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: Thanks, Andy.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Bye. Robin Greer, base of Tutorau. You're listening to The Muster.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Before we wrap up for the week, Andrew Alderson out
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: of Newstalk ZB. Let's talk sport ahead of a big weekend.