LIVESTOCK | ONFARM
Kereru Farm faces higher risk from more regular summer droughts and experienced a lengthy dry period for the first half of this year.
Tips from top performers BY: TONY LEGGETT
T
he winners of two neighbouring regional farmer of the year awards in 2020 share several distinct qualities. Stuart and Jane McKenzie’s Te Rangi Station enterprise won this year’s Wairarapa Farm Business of the Year Award on strong financial performance through a period of significant growth in land area and stock numbers. Their 2100ha (effective) station is a patchwork of 7ha paddocks tucked away in the Whangaehu Valley about 25km north-east of Masterton. It’s an extensive property managed intensively and has achieved remarkably consistent financial and livestock performance in a challenging summer-dry location. Simon and Trudy Hale’s Kereru Farm at Weber 30km east of Dannevirke is also a consistent financial performer, smaller in size but intensively and safely farmed by
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very capable owners who manage its 790ha (effective) with one full-time staff member. Both couples are forward thinkers, especially when it comes to the increasing demands coming on environment preservation. The Hales won the 2019 Ballance Farm Environment Awards overall prize for Tararua on the strength of their efforts to enhance their farm’s environment and biodiversity. The McKenzies have also invested substantial money in fencing and planting to protect sensitive catchments and wetlands. Consistently high flock performance coupled with flexible cattle policies are also evident. Both run cow herds for pasture control, but cattle make up only about 20% of the total stock units on each property. Ewe condition is the priority for both sets of owners, so retaining flexibility in the cattle policies is paramount. Being in control means keeping track of data and information and both would find that challenging without the aid
of software and mobile phone apps to monitor performance, plan stock rotations that ensure ewe target body condition scores are met at critical times, and provide detailed farming task schedules for all staff. Both teams of staff and owners make extensive use of labour-saving sharing systems and programmes like Cloud Farmer, AgriWebb, Dropbox, FarmIQ, Farmax, Cash Manager, and Excel spreadsheets. A must-attend Monday morning meeting sets up the task list for everyone where everyone is encouraged to contribute on a no-surprises basis. Neither owner is wedded to dates to wean lambs, preferring to put ewe condition ahead of weaning weight of their lambs. Early weaning is often a reality, and that’s where crops on Kereru Farm are providing feed for ewes to free up space on spring pasture paddocks to keep lambs moving ahead off mum. At Te Rangi, up to 50% of 6000 lambs are sold at weaning before Christmas.
Country-Wide
December 2020
