Meanwhile, inside the house, we fret about how much pasture we don’t have and how little our cattle will be worth if we have to sell them on the weak store cattle market. This conversation is punctuated by the occasional chicken blowing past the window like a tumbleweed in the savage equinox winds.
Spring is always a stressful time as we anxiously wait for things to fall into place at the start of the season. But this spring is something else. Here in Dunedin, there are floods to the south of us and fires to the north. Covid-19 has the world’s restaurants chasing their tails, which means the meat export markets are tenuous at best. Tenuous would also be the best way to describe our grasp on the firehose of regulations streaming out of central government. There is no shame in that – even the regional councils are shaking in their boots.
And, that’s not to mention the general election and the triennial farmer bashing that we have come to expect with it. Farmers are taking more than their fair share of the political digs now that there are no immigrants to vilify and the growing pool of beneficiaries have safety in numbers.
It is pretty easy to get into a defeatist frame of mind. But, if we keep focusing on the obstacles, we run the risk of missing the beautiful things happening around us. Joy is always there to be found even in the grimmest of situations. Seriously, some of the happiest people I know are funeral directors.
So, here are a few things that have made me smile lately.
Firstly, the Town and Country Hui tractor trek. To be honest, when I heard that a tractor protest was in the wind, I was opposed. There was a huge risk that the farmers involved would look like they were protesting against the environment rather than the unworkable and bewildering rules that have been foisted at farmers and regional councils to “help” the environment. I thought that tactical frivolity (to be explained in a future column) would be a better strategy, but I need to earn a lot more credibility before anyone is going to follow me down the rabbithole of glitter bombs and Pastafarians. So, when I turned on the news and saw a convoy of gleaming tractors and kind faces patiently explaining the crux of the problem in crisp soundbites, I was tickled pink.
Farmers shouldn’t have to protest. But, it is good to see that practise really does make perfect.
Secondly, the heartwarming #Bales4Blair fundraiser. Through a collaborative effort with wool brokers and New Zealand Wool Scouring Ltd, farmers can donate wool bales to provide wool insulation and carpets for the Southland Charity Hospital. It is such a tremendously practical way to keep the late Blair Vining’s battle for health equality alive. I almost wished I was a wool producer so that I would be able to contribute.
Thirdly, I was also chuffed to see the breeding ewe numbers holding static in the Beef + Lamb NZ stock survey results. NZ’s ewe flock has been tanking since the 1980s and really couldn’t get much smaller without neglecting some of our lamb export markets. So, it’s good to see the sheep industry showing some signs of confidence, however tentative that confidence may be.
And, finally, the election campaigning is almost over. Actually, by the time you read this it really is over. Election night might be a very tough gig for the farmers who have pinned their hopes on a change of government. But if it is any consolation, I have crunched the numbers and most people are going to be let down in some way.
With the general election and the two referendums, there are three chances to be bitterly disappointed. When the votes are in, you may be jubilant that the leadership has or hasn’t changed. You may be smug that 400 legal tinny houses are or aren’t about to be dishing out cannabis throughout the country. You may be comforted to learn that lethal medication will or won’t be at hand during your final days.
But, the probability of anyone hitting the trifecta and sitting in a warm bubble of self-righteous contentment on election night are less than one in five, based on current polling. Yup, roughly 18% of people will get exactly what they want and the rest of us will have to take a compromise. Technically, it’s even lower than that if we consider the electorate seats, but I am from Dunedin, where both the major parties are standing disgraced members, so I am not sure how to work the maths on that one.
So, I guess my point, if I am at any risk of making one, is that in a world of hungry lambs and wind blown chooks, it pays to be that steer – taking a quick break from a spot of unplanned ovine parenthood to see if he can get the gate open.
