Balfour arable farmer Blair Drysdale takes on The Country Fast Five

Balfour arable farmers, Jody and Blair Drysdale. Photo / Rochelle Dillon Photography

New Zealanders often hear about farmers being the backbone of the country, but do we really know what makes the primary industries tick?

With that in mind, The Country’s Kem Ormond has compiled a list of questions for everyday Kiwis in agriculture.

This week it’s the turn of Blair Drysdale, who, along with his wife Jody, owns a predominantly arable farming operation in Balfour, Northern Southland, where they grow seven to 10 different crops each year for stock feed and export seed.

The Drysdales also grow hemp and have a value-add business, Hopefield Hemp, selling hemp oil-based products nationwide.

• If you would like to be part of The Country Fast Five series, get in touch with Kem at kem.ormond@nzme.co.nz or fill in the form here.

Blair Drysdale

What drew you to agriculture?

Being born and raised on a farm, it was largely a natural progression into farming after getting a trade as a mechanic.

But there was a time 17 years ago, when we were setting out on our own, that we almost flagged it and I gave serious thought to being either a commercial pilot or a chef, which might surprise some people.

But with a change of bank and following what my heart was telling me, the rest is history, as they say.

What would you like non-farmers to know about your role/industry?

The arable industry in New Zealand is very small but one of, if not the, most important industries - not only for our country but also for the rest of the world.

The arable industry grows a sizeable portion of the world’s grass, clover, brassica, pea, beetroot, radish and carrot seeds, to name a few, not only providing for our pasture-based livestock industry but also for vegetables on people’s plates.

What does being a farmer/grower/food producer mean to you?

It means we have a huge responsibility to the land and people, to be the best custodians of the land we can possibly be while producing the highest-quality food and ingredients that we can for the sustenance of people both here and around the world.

We personally take every opportunity we can and spend a lot of time educating and informing groups of people here on the farm about what we do and how we do it.

I think that’s really important for the greater good of food production in this country and it’s something we enjoy doing.

What are you most proud of?

Taking a plant and product grown on our farm, then having people all over the country consume, or use, our Hopefield Hemp products.

It’s extremely satisfying and is really what keeps us farming, in what is becoming an ever-more challenging industry due to legislation and diminishing margins.

What is your wish for agriculture?

For all food producers to get paid a better price across the board, to have fewer people clipping the ticket that doesn’t actually add any value to the product, and for all political parties to grow up and work together more with cross-party support to legislation - like the RMA, for example.

I want the consumer to have a better understanding of what we do, the challenges we face and what the future holds for us.

We carry all the risk, buy everything retail, sell everything wholesale and pay the freight both ways.