In 10: When farmers lead change

Waiuku dairy farmer, and Dairy Environment Leader, Stu Muir has spent years restoring waterways, protecting the land and helping reconnect people with the Lower Waikato River Delta.

In this episode of Talking Dairy In 10, Stu shares what inspired him to take action on his farm and across the Mangati Stream catchment, where once degraded, weed-choked waterways are now thriving ecosystems.

Stu was recently recognised with the first Kaitiaki Award at the Dairy Environment Leaders Forum, honouring his commitment to environmental restoration, kaitiakitanga and community leadership.

Hear how Stu’s practical, persistent approach has helped restore waterways, open up a public walkway and build momentum for positive change through the Dairy Environment Leaders network.

Are you ready to be a Dairy Environment Leader? Find out more.

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at talkingdairy@dairynz.co.nz

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Transcript

Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Kyoda and welcome to Talking Dairy Inten. I'm your host Jack McGowan from DairyNZ. It's great to have you with us. Earlier this year at the Dairy Environment Leaders Forum, Stu Muir from Wayuku was recognized with the very first Kaitiyaki Award. In this episode, we'll hear what Stu's working on at home, why he got involved with the Dairy Environment Leaders, and what he's learned along the way. If you're trying to make environmental progress on farm while still running a business, there'll be plenty here that resonates for you. Stu, thank you for joining us, Tinakwe. I'm not sure if we've had you on the podcast before. How about quickly introducing yourself? Who are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Well, of course, Mua Takuengua. I was born and bred here on the banks of the Waikata River just before it hits the sea. My kids are sixth generation on this farm. It was dairy, then sheep and beef. And then when I came back from uni and overseas, uh that got converted back to dairy. And that's and then, you know, I sort of worked my way up through working for other people as you do to share milking until finally uh, you know, I became a multi-million detonaire when I bought the farm and the next one neighbours and all of those things that we do along the way. Yeah. So that's sort of my background.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

All right, thank you. A long history on that farm. Well, first of all, congratulations on winning the Kaitiaki Award at the Dairy Environment Leaders Forum in Wellington earlier this year. And I want to start by sharing some of the words that were shared about you on the night because I think this beautifully captures the meaning of the Kaitiaki Award, the journey you've been on, and the impact you've had. And I'm sure this will be very uncomfortable for you to hear it again. Stu is one of those people who would never ask for recognition but obviously deserves it. A fifth generation farmer, Stu has quietly led one of the most powerful environmental restoration stories in our sector. What were once degraded weed-choked waterways on his farm are now thriving ecosystems with native species returning and water flowing again. But what makes Stu truly special is not just what he has done on his own farm, it's the way he has brought people with him. Through his work in the Mungati Stream Catchment and beyond, Stu has worked alongside Iwi, community groups, neighbors, and volunteers to restore waterways and rebuild ecosystems. He has shown what is possible when farmers lead, when communities come together, and when action is grounded in care for the land. He leads with a quiet confidence. There is no noise, no need for recognition, just a deep, unwavering commitment to doing the right thing. His mana within his community and across the wider sector is immense, and the respect he holds among his peers speaks for itself. Stu has also made a significant contribution to the Dairy Environment Leaders through his role on the National Advisory Committee. His insight, experience, and steady leadership have helped shape the direction of this network. The inaugural Kaitiaki Legacy Award is about honouring someone who has made a lasting impact, someone who embodies stewardship, leadership, and a deep responsibility to the land and future generations. And Stu, you are the very definition of Kaitiaki. How did it feel to be recognized in that way?

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Well, I sort of just wanted the flaw to swallow me up initially. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it was. I felt a little bit embarrassed. But also it is a very nice thing to be recognized for the work that we do.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

How did you come to be this person?

SPEAKER_00 3:43

You'd probably need a lot of psychoanalysts to work that one out. So where we are is in the lower Waikata River Delta where it splits up into all of those islands before it reaches the sea. And I think my family having a long connection with Iwi uh neighbours and this area, you learn a lot about how things were and how things could be. And being into white baiting and eagling and duck shooting and deer stalking and fishing and surfing, all of those things that you do when you're brought up in the country, and you see that they're degrading, you've got two options A. You can either do nothing and whinge about it, or you can quietly get stuck in and make a difference in your own property or in whatever you do. So yeah, I I guess the first few generations were the people that broke the land in. Hate that phrase, but that's what they did. Yeah. And then the you know, the next three generations are the ones that are trying to restore it. And you know, my father and my grandfather and all of them, they were big influences in it too.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

And Stu, what are you most proud of about your environmental work on farm?

SPEAKER_00 4:49

It would have to be that opening up of the Mangati stream. It was the lifeblood of Nati Chata in Tainui as a way of getting from the Wakatu River to the Awardor into the Monaco Harbour and north. We always had sections of it open, but it was sort of a dream to open the entire length of it up. And one of our co-marters, Tom Paradovich, you know, he was the last one that had a track through there for harvesting and that. And Dad said, look, one day you'll do it, you know, you'll you'll get the whole bit done rather than going on with the chainsaw and doing a little bit at a time. And you know, I'd be in my 90s before I finished it. So opening that up and then the boardwalks, I think the boardwalks are really key because that way you get to share what you've done and you create that intergenerational change because people can experience it. That would probably be the best. But I mean, there's heaps of things that we're doing, dune lakes and little bits and pieces and the people you meet.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Yeah, you never stop. What are you doing on farm now?

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Well, the big project at the moment, the one really ugly piece of the farm was our underpass as you come into the farm, you know, and we've tried all sorts of things to mitigate it. And in the end, I was just like, no, we've got to start again. So we've basically created a whole new road. Uh it's been a massive project, but it means that when you come into the farm, everything looks sweet. So that's been a big job the last few weeks. But then, you know, annually as we do our contouring and uh harvesting, you know, there's a couple of other wheat patches that went, oh well, Mars will put a pond in there. You know, just little things now, sort of just putting the icing on the cake. We've got a few thousand trees to plant in the next few weeks. So yeah, that's still ongoing. It's always ongoing.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

How do you tackle something like that? A few thousand trees in the next few weeks?

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Oh, if it's just a thousand, that's all right, I can sort of do that. But I just get mates to help. Sometimes it's school, sometimes it's corporate.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Okay, so Stu, what made you want to get involved in the dairy environment leaders and what does that even involve?

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Yeah, well, I think I've been pretty much involved from it from the start. And it was just starting at that time, and the environment was really not very high up in people's thinking at that time. And there's a guy that uh lovely Dr. Rick Pridtmore, he started it up, and I think they must have seen what I was doing, and yeah, got invited along. And then it yeah, one thing led to another, and before you know it, you've been raped into the committee and all sorts of other things. You know, it's a a lack of being able to say no, I think.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

So, what do the dairy environment leaders do?

SPEAKER_00 7:25

It's evolving all of the time. But we basically have an annual conference in Wellington over two to three days, and it's a way of getting people from all over the country together, people that are just starting or well down their sort of environmental trap, but you get to listen not only to other farmers but to outside speakers that sort of really broaden your mind, you know, encourage that sort of lateral thinking. And the thing that I really like about it is that you realize that there's so many things that are happening, like what I'm doing all over the country, and you're meeting like-minded people, and it gives you that sense of positivity. And one of the things that I've really noticed over the years is how many leaders it's created. You see, people the first year they might be too shy to say boo to a goose, but by the next year they they sort of step up. Next thing they're on council or feds or you know, catchment groups, and they really go away, I think, feeling empowered and able to do things. And that's that's a really encouraging aspect of it. I mean, I I think basically it's the stimulation you get when you go there.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

How does one get an invitation to this forum?

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Well, one has to do some work. I know I don't have my own phone anymore, so I'm automatically people about it. No, there's two ways. Either you come in as a speaker and we try and have a fairly broad brush of that because it's good to have people outside the industry, you know, people that see the anomalies in life or the geopolitical situation. But mainly it's people that have come to our attention that are doing stuff in the environment. But what we really want is because it's flowing under the radar so much, is people to actually volunt put their hands up and say, hey, look, this is something I want to come to. Please invite me. So quite often it's word of mouth, and I think through our catchment committees, and we're trying to get it a better regional base so that we're keeping on bringing new people through there all of the time. So just put your hand up.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Yeah, yeah. I it sounds like my hand up is not going to be noticed, but tell me more about the regional activity. How might someone get involved?

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Probably by contacting Gary and Z or actually going to the Dell website themselves. Some regions are stronger than others. Like Totanaki is amazing. We've got really proactive people there. And the Wikitats that's developing a a hell of a lot. Christchurch was amazing, Canterbury was really good, the top of the everywhere was really good, but it's like all things that you know, it goes through its ups and downs, and it it takes the enthusiasm of the people running it and the awareness of these things going on, you know. So I think that's kind of key. We need to build more awareness.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

Yeah, okay, and that's what this is about as well.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Of course.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

What's been the best thing about being involved in dairy environment leaders?

SPEAKER_00 10:06

I think meeting people inside and outside the industry and the encouragement that you get, because it's easy to lose hope or to see that things can't change. People come back a couple of years later and they tell you all of the things that they've done. Actually, for quite a lot of the like South Islanders and they did uh one of my mates at Totanaki, they've gone away and wanted to learn that El Maori and made bigger impacts with the Iwi around because that that's something that's been really lacking and something I've always been pushing. So they come hear people coming back and they've made those contacts and uh developing positive relationships. Like that personally gives me a lot of hope for the future.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Yeah, as I understand it, the greater environmental impact is not just on your farm, it's through working with others, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Absolutely. I mean, if you're gonna create intergenerational change, which is what we need and what we want, um, you've got to be collaborative with other people. And and that's why, you know, we've put a big push into trying to get beef and lamb and and all of the agricultural sectors. It shouldn't just be dairy. We all face similar issues and differing solutions, but if we can work together again, that collaborative model, that's where we create real change, I think. And that's where our strength is this organization is, is that we can, with the support of Darian Z and various groups, get a lot of different people in the room.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

Tell me more about that in your forum. You said you get people along. What happens there?

SPEAKER_00 11:33

Well, first night sort of like meet and greet and get a guest speaker. We had an amazing guy, Trevor Moike from uh he's an advisory to treasury, and he just set the tone. It is a combination of humour and deep thought and process. So people realize that, hey, we're not just here to catch up and have nice food and a few drinks. You're gonna get challenged, you know, we're gonna have to think outside the cordu, so to speak. And the thing I liked about this year, particularly with the new cohort, we changed tables every session. So we actually were forced to meet because it's very easy just to catch up with the people you know or one like-minded person, but by actually going around the room and shifting, you got to know a lot more of those people's stories. Everyone sort of has a biote, so you can open it up and say, Oh, what have you done? That sort of thing. And then later on, like I still sometimes go back to books, you know, 10, 11 years ago. I think, oh, who was that person? Look back through it and and uh, you know, you can contact them and you make some really good friends and good connections for the agricultural industry, but also outside the agricultural industry too. The speakers are the main thing too. You just get some people that absolutely blow your mind, you know. Like sometimes you think, oh, can I really afford two days off farms, you know, typical farmer? But you come back and you're literally you're bouncing off the walls, you've just been so stimulated.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Yeah, okay. It's quite common to come away from something like that feeling very inspired. How, Stu, how do you turn that inspiration into, you know, your your action?

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Well, one of the things we used to do is that you'd have to write down what your next six months was going to be and your year goal sort of thing. And then it was kind of like, this is where these regional groups will be really important. Be like, Well, how are you going with that? Did anything happen? It's like if I go to a board meeting, I hate nothing worse than seeing an action list and people going, Oh, well, deal with that next time. Like, pretty much by the time I've left that meeting, half the people have rung. You know, I like to get things done. I can't stand waiting. That just depresses me. And that's where I think these regional groups are gonna be really important because it is easy just to go back and you get stuck under the udder and and everything else and you put her off. But I think that's why these regional teams are gonna be really, really powerful in the future.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

Okay. Well, Stu, it's been such a pleasure to catch

Episode summary

SPEAKER_01 13:54

up with you again. Of course. Thank you for sharing your journey with us and congratulations on that Kaitiaki Award. Very, very deserved. Now, for people listening, if this has inspired you and you'd like to know more about the Dairy Environment Leaders Network, yes, check out the webpage at dairynz.co.nz forward slash Dell. That's D-E-L. And as Stu talked about, you can get involved in a at a regional level or you know, try and get yourself an invitation to the forum down in Wellington. We'll link to that page in the show notes. Thanks for listening and we'll catch you next time. Matewa. If you'd like to get connected with DariNZ's latest advice, research, tools, and resources, whether it's reading, scrolling, listening, or in person, you can visit dairynz.co.nz forward slash get-connected, and don't forget to hit follow to keep up to date with our latest episodes. As always, if you have any feedback on this podcast or have some ideas for future topics or guests, please email us at talkingdairy at dairynz.co.nz. Thanks for listening and we'll catch you next time on Talking Dairy.