Farm race lifts school fortunes

BOOK EXTRACT

Farm race lifts school fortunes

In this extract from Tim Fulton’s Kiwi Farmers’ Guide to Life: Rural Tales from the Heartland, Farmlands shareholders Leighton and Jane Croft share their story of fostering a healthy community as well as a healthy Omihi School bank balance.

Omihi is best known for its farmer All Blacks, including World Cup-winning former coach Alex Wyllie. Leighton Croft didn’t reach those rugby heights but he also grew up on an Omihi farm, played a few games for Canterbury, coached the famous Glenmark Seniors and did a stint as club president. And like most of the farming locals, he and his wife, Jane, are thoroughly community-minded. The Crofts host the Omihi Farm Race, an imaginative annual bike, run/walk event raising funds for Omihi School. The sheep and beef farmers’ hill-country property has about 600ha of effective grazing and runs about 2,000 Romney or crossbred ewes, 500 replacement hoggets and about 100 Angus breeding cows. A partnership between the farmers and an outdoorminded community, the race has been a boost for a community that has been through the mill. First came several years of drought, then a fire which razed the cherished Omihi hall, the habitual gathering point for the area’s famous rugby team. Those were dark days, made more worrying by a school roll that fell to fewer than 10 pupils. It eventually rained and a monumental fundraising drive built a new community centre from the ashes. To the relief of many, the school roll has risen again as well, helped by the arrival of a new principal, Maree Lucas. Seeing the obvious danger of closure for the school, she managed to muster a busload of new kids from Pegasus Village, 30 minutes to the south. The roll is now a much heartier 30 to 40 kids strong. Maree taught at other North Canterbury schools early in her career before heading overseas to teach in London. She answered Omihi’s urgent call for new leadership soon after marrying George Lucas, a sheep and beef farmer in nearby Greta Valley. Maree also owns and operates event-organising company M Factor Events, so she has been able to put the sum of her professional skills to work for the farm race.

The event every March nets between $15,000 and $20,000 for the school and the Crofts only need to spend about a week setting up the course. It’s not like the old days of sausage sizzles, which Leighton describes as ‘hours and hours of work for bugger-all money’. The hardest part is probably hunting down prizes, he says. “There are so many fundraisers on around the place . . . poor old Farmlands in Amberley, they must get hit up about half a dozen times a week.” March is a good time for the event because stock numbers are usually low. “I can shift stock around to certain blocks if I have to, but sometimes I just get extra people to sit on gateways. I just drop them off and they make sure people go through, but no stock. And it’s quite good having people spread out, because if anyone’s having problems we’ve got half a dozen radios out there round the farm.” Forestry investment company Rayonier helps too by allowing competitors access to a forestry block. Like a good stockman, Leighton has a plan for stragglers. “I think at the end of the day we’ve got our tail-end Charlies so if there’s anyone left on the course they just get picked up.” A promotional flyer lays the details bare: “It is all on a beautiful farm that the Crofts have very kindly let us use. There is definitely climbing in every race, but the longer bike will have a bigger climb (and better views!). There is always the option of pushing your bike up the hill if need be.” The event was originally called the Omihi Farm Race Challenge, with emphasis on the ‘challenge’, but there are now more categories, including more leisurely social formats for all ages. Entrants range in age from 8 to 80. Generally, barring changes due to stock movements, for example, runners can opt for either 12km or 18km, beginner and intermediate bikers 12km and advanced intermediates 18km or 26km. Walkers can expect 12km. Depending on the category, the race starts between 9am and 10am. One year, the whole Omihi Valley was covered in fog early in the day and it seemed like most of the competitors would miss the views. Jane remembers that all changing, right on cue. “Just as people got up above the fog, it was stunning.” The landscape is eerily quiet on a day like that, except for the padding of feet and calls of encouragement. Generally, the weather or tracks have to be pretty gruesome for the event not to go ahead, though in 2020 the event was postponed, firstly because of COVID-19, then heavy rain before a scheduled re-do later in the year. Jane reckons next time round they might do a rogaine challenge (longdistance cross-country navigation), just for a change. Meantime the Crofts have had competitors suggest they should put a permanent walking track around the farm, and possibly accommodation too. Some years ago an eco-tourism business pitched the idea of a glasshouse-like pod on their place. Looking back, they made the right call to turn down the idea, Jane says. ‘While the accommodation provider would have managed bookings, the Crofts would have been responsible for the facilities. We just thought, do we want that tie every day of the week, with cleaning and all that? Actually, no.’ On the farm, the Crofts raise stock either to a certain weight for sale to other farmers or to send direct to slaughter, depending on seasonal feed and weather conditions. They also have about 80ha of Pinus radiata forestry and bush including 20ha of natives under a covenant. Some of the newer forest is financed by the government-backed One Billion Trees programme. The family also has a covenant near the top of the farm where they have planted natives as part of a long-running conservation programme. Now well established, the area is turning into a remedy for vulnerable hillsides and gullies and a haven for animal life. ‘They’re catching geckos and skinks and re-homing them, just where the track is going to go. There’s going to be a 170-hectare covenant up there. We’ve actually noticed a few kereru coming in — they love the bush from over the top and they come down here to the house every year,’ Jane says. It seems those farm race competitors and kereru have something in common.

Photo: Claire Inkson

WIN A COPY

Farmlands has three copies of Tim Fulton’s book to give away. To be in the draw to win, go to www.farmlands.co.nz/bookcompetition and enter your details, or address an envelope to Book Competition, Farmlands, PO Box 271, Christchurch 8053. Remember to include your contact details. Entries close 10th September. Winners will be notified and also listed in the October edition of The Farmlander.

Kiwi Farmers’ Guide to Life: Rural Tales from the Heartland by Tim Fulton, published by Bateman Books, RRP $39.99. Available now.

SUPPORTING TOMORROW’S RURAL LEADERS

APPLY NOW FOR A $2,000 STUDY GRANT

The Tom Cranswick Memorial Award offers five under-25s financial support to assist their tertiary study in the primary sector.

APPLICATIONS are open to shareholders and the children of shareholders, who have completed at least ONE YEAR of tertiary study related to the rural/primary sector and intend to continue their course of study in these sectors next year.

The grants will enable students to further their knowledge and experience, helping them achieve more in their chosen careers to give back to the primary sector.

The Memorial Award is in honour of Tom Cranswick, a founding Farmlands Director and 20-year Chairman, whose passion and dedication helped establish Farmlands. The Cranswick family has been hugely supportive of Farmlands and it is an honour to offer this award in his memory.

Award applications close 12th September 2021. For more information and to register, please visit www.farmlands.co.nz/tomcranswick