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Te Paenga - a true Ātihau family affair
The running of Te Paenga station is very much an Ātihau family affair – and it looks like it will continue that way for a long time.
Farm manager Sheldon O’Hagan has worked on ĀtihauWhanganui Incorporation farms for 21 years, starting as a shepherd on Omerei station, then moving on to Tawanui and Operiki before taking on the farm manager role at Te Paenga four years ago.
Wife Renee helps out with the farm admin when she isn’t taking care of people in her HR role at the Ātihau office in Whanganui, and eldest daughter Elizabeth works at the Hapuawhenua dairy farm when she isn’t studying for her Animal Science degree at Massey University. Middle daughter Josie is in Wellington, and youngest daughter Charlotte loves animals and is thinking about a future in farming.
The baby of the family is 15-year-old Sheldon, who is a chip off the block in more than just name.
“There’s only one way Sheldon is going to go, and that’s farming,” chuckles Sheldon senior. “He just wants to be out there doing it. He loves being out on the land and being hands-on with the stock.”
Sheldon himself didn’t come from a farming background (describing his parents as ‘townies’) but his mates were all farmers and he caught the bug from them.
“I have been very lucky in that I have had some great role models right from when I was starting out, which helped that passion grow,” he says. “I worked for nine years under Steve Tapa at Tawanui and he was really good at helping me to grow my knowledge and confidence until I was ready to take on a farm manager role.”
Sheldon says he stayed with Ātihau throughout his career because it is a whānau-oriented business. “You can’t underestimate the importance of good people and a good working environment.”
The farm itself is a breeding operation covering 3,497 hectares of challenging hill country, of which 2,530 hectares are effective, with the rest a mix of native bush and mānuka under Ngā Whenua Rāhui kawenata.
A breeding herd of 750 Angus cows produces upwards of 650 calves each year in early October, which stay with their mothers until late March/early April. Then they are weaned and drafted, with the steer calves heading straight to the Ātihau finishing farms. The heifer calves stay on farm and 200 are selected as replacements for the breeding mob.
“We have found this gives them the best start and we have quality animals right from the get go,” says Sheldon. “This season they are looking particularly good due to the exceptional grass growth we have been experiencing.”
Of course, genetics play a big role in the quality of a beast and the meat it produces, and Sheldon purchases his bulls from the Te Mania Angus bull stud in North Canterbury, along with the three other Ātihau breeding stations. Around 24 bulls go out to the girls, grouped by age, in late September.
“The bulls you use are all-important, and these ones produce superior marbling in the meat, which is what gives it that amazing flavour,” says Sheldon. “And, as importantly, they have the physicality to cope with the hill country.”
Alongside the cattle, 10,500 ewes produce around 12,500 lambs each year, with lambing beginning in late August. Previously the flock has been all Perendale, but Sheldon has been introducing Romney rams to help bring higher-performing genetics into the breeding stock. “It always used to be Romneys up here, so you could say I’m taking the station back to its roots,” he says.
The largest lambs are weaned in late December and go off to the works, with the rest staying with their mothers until January shearing, drenching and weaning comes around. Again, the largest lambs go off to the works while 3,000 ewe lambs are kept as replacements and the rest go to Ohotu or Tohunga stations for finishing.
“Te Paenga was split to create a smaller block around five years ago so we could really focus on improving stock performance,” says Siwan Shaw, Ātihau Business Manager. “That focus is delivering some good results. Sheldon and his team have increased their monitoring and it is paying off.”
“There’s always something going on up here,” says Sheldon. “The animals and their welfare come first, and then there is always a list of farm work to tackle.”
He credits his team of five as the ones behind the success of the station. “Like a shepherd is only as good as his dogs, a manager is only as good as his team and I have got a really great team with me here on Te Paenga.”
Head shepherd Jade Johnson and the newest member of the team Brayden Clement take care of the stock, helped by junior shepherd Damian Biddle, a second-year
Awhiwhenua cadet. Fencers Tamati Aramoana and Keith Cranston (another Ātihau stalwart with 18 years under his belt) make sure the animals stay where they are supposed to.
“But we all pitch in and help each other out, depending on what needs to be done at the time,” says Sheldon. “That’s what makes us such a good team. We all work together for the benefit of the animals and the farm.
“It’s a real privilege to work on this land, and its good sometimes when you are up in the hills to just stop and take a moment to appreciate it.”
