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The Muster- Harriet Bremner: Zanda McDonald Award Nominations · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: This is the muster on Hokonui. We're away to Jericho
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Station in Fjorda, not far from Manapōuri, where we catch
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: up with Harriet Bremner. She is an author, she's a
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: rural mental health advocate, and she's a previous winner of
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: the Xander MacDonald Award. Harriet, good afternoon. How's everything over
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: at Jericho Station?
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: G'day, Andy. Well, I hate to say it, but it's
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: just starting to rain again, just on the lambing beach.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Didn't get as wet as what I have been lately. But, yeah, no, look,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: it's another spring on the horizon that we don't want
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: to think. But for us personally, we've got a bit
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: more feed than this last year. Don't have as many
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: sheep to lamb on the flat, which is good for us. And, yeah,
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: I'm just shuffling around some heifers and calves to find
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: some feed for them.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Did you change your dynamics after the previous two springs?
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Does that come into it, Harriet?
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Oh, look, probably the whole farming dynamic's changing all the
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: time with our pasture renewal and all that kind of thing,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: but we do have more young stock cattle-wise on the
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: flat now, so we haven't lambed the hoggets this year.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: I think I've said that to you previously, and we
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: sold our terminal ewes and lambs at foot earlier in
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: the year, so we've just got our two-doos on the flat.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: Everything else is up on the hill, so... that makes
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: that more manageable so really we're just focusing on pasture
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: management for the young cattle stock at the moment and
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: heather's nearly finished carving and yeah just got into lambing
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: last week so just hoping that the weather gods can
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: be a bit nicer to us moving forward maybe not
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: given this weekend's forecast.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Well actually heather carving then no problems there everything's been
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: as anticipated?
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah no pretty good thank you we've pulled three out
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: of the whole mob we actually put a hair of
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: football over the heifers this year as well so yeah
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: so it was the first time I've done that since
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: I've been here but no they've been calving well and
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: yeah not too much admin there which is good and
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: they're all healthy and happy so yeah calves are a
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: lot less admin than sheep aren't they?
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Do you enjoy working with cattle more just for that
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: mere fact there, they're a lot less admin?
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Well look I enjoy both stock classes Andy but You know,
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: the disheartening thing around sheep, I guess, is that every
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: time they're in the yards, it's, you know, dagging or
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: dipping or crutching or shearing or, you know, there's just,
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: I guess it's felt in the last few years that
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: there's so much work that we've done to our sheep
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: and for not a lot of return, but this year
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: is more positive. But then it's a hard one because
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: I'm also extremely passionate about wool, as are a lot
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: of farmers and this incredible product that we produce, but Yeah,
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: you know, you get cattle in the yards and it
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: sort of feels like the job's over and done with
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: pretty quickly and there's not as much to it compared
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: to when you've got 3,000 sheep in the sheep yards
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: lined up to do X, Y, Z.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Are you positive about the future of the animal? Or
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: the fibre?
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Oh, look, I think hope keeps a lot of us
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: ticking forward with them and I really like to think
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: that wool is going to be recognised by the world
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: as such a positive... fibre to be used in households
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: and clothing and the like but we've just got this
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: constant battle with the world as using products every day
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: that have plastic and oils in them and it's very
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: hard to compete with that and I think a lot
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: of us don't realise how many things we use in
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: a day that have those not so great things in
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: them but wool has its place and we definitely have
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: people out there that are supporting that side of the
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: industry and buying those clothes and using the woolen carpet
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: and insulation in our homes and things. So let's just
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: hope that that continues to grow and we can keep
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: sharing our story as farmers in the industry at the
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: great job that we do at it over here in
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: New Zealand. And yeah, just, I guess, hope that it
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: continues to be on the up.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: Well, you've just answered that next question for me, Harriet.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: I was going to ask you, do we need to
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: sell the story of New Zealand wool better?
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, look, I think, You know, that's a positive
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: thing that we can, you know, keep doing. If people
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: are getting it from all sorts of angles, and it's
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: everywhere that they look is this thing called wool, then
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: you like to think that, yes, it is going to improve.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: But I don't know that we can rely on storytelling
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: solely alone. But, you know, we might start to get
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: out of my wheelhouse there, Andy, if we go global.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, going global is not always a bad thing,
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: I suppose. Now, you're the 2023 Xander MacDonald Award winner.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Applications are opening up for this, and we caught up
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: with you earlier on in the year when you were
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: up at Christchurch at the announcement, and you just hear
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: a lot of good things about this.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, the award is one of those things that's
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: very hard to put into words and explain the incredible
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: outcomes that you get from being part of the Zanber
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: McDonald family but what I would say to people is
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: if you're sitting there wondering, you've gone onto the website,
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: you're following social media, you're hearing advertisements about it and
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: you're thinking about it, just do it because there is
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: an age limit for applying for the award and I
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: was one of those people that sat there and pondered
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: it for quite some time and my mother-in-law actually was
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: the one that gave me a wee shove and said
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: just do it and I think, you know, sometimes you
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: just need somebody to give you a push in the
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: right direction. And if that can be me today for
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: someone out there that's wondering, then please go ahead and apply.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: It opens up opportunities that you wouldn't dream of and
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: connections with people that, you know, are just there to
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: want to support young people in the industry and help
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: them with their dreams, goals and aspirations. And, yeah, it's
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: a very special award to be a part of. So
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: anyone out there listening, please apply. Applications are opening in October.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: It's a great process to go through, even if you
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: don't get through into the finalist list, just to reflect
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: on where you're at and what your goals are and
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: what you want to do next. It's a fantastic process
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: to go through.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: And this is a great story too. You said so
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: yourself about being backwards and coming forward and the rewards
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: come to those who are actually prepared to put themselves
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: out there.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, my motto in life is that if
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: anything makes you a bit nervous or you think it's
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: a bit scary, then it's probably something you definitely need
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: to do. So it is hard to put yourself out there, but,
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: you know, the rewards that you get from doing so
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: are incredible, so definitely worth it.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: Good on you, Harriet. All the best on the lambing beat,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: the Savo.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: Cheers, Andy. Hopefully it's not too wet.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Harriet Bremner of Jericho Station with some great words too
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: regarding the Xander McDonald Award. Awards nominations opening up very shortly.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: This is the muster up next. We're away to Garston.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: Tom O'Brien, let's catch up.