Mr McPhail flew south, hellbent on attending the red meat industry meeting in Gore yesterday afternoon, and arrived in the town at 1am. Coming from the drought-parched north, he drove from Dunedin airport in ''beautiful rain'', he said.
Mr McPhail was one of hundreds of farmers who packed into the Gore Town and Country Club yesterday, frustrated with the state of their industry and desperate for change.
There were 800 chairs set out and, as one of the organisers, Allan Richardson, hoped, they were all filled, with people standing and sitting on the floor around the fringes.
As Federated Farmers chief executive Conor English told the gathering, sheep farmers did not have a sustainable, viable future. Like others, he pointed out the future was in the hands of the farmers. If they wanted consolidation, as the recent CRT and Farmlands merger demonstrated, it was in their hands.
There must be change, it must occur this year and no-one was exempt from that change.
''You as farmers can't sit here and say it's all the meat companies' fault. The meat companies can't sit there and say it's all the farmers fault.
''You've actually got to work together to get a solution,'' he said.
There was plenty of passion - it was, after all, their livelihoods at stake - and the outcome was hardly surprising.
Long-time farmer Harry Brenssell moved the motion that farmers support the six key principles outlined by the Meat Industry Excellence committee, and the need for industry change.
Rather than a show of hands, meeting chairman Gerry Eckhoff asked those present to stand if they supported the mandate for change. Not surprisingly, there was a standing ovation - just without the clapping.
Mr Eckhoff believed it was the first time in 40 years he had seen such unification in the industry.
