Rural Living-South Covid-19 Lockdown Flipbook 14-4-20

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Tuesday, April 14, 2020 | Phone 09 271 8000

LATEST NEWS

STOIC CATTLEMAN

FARMS ON

While some folk are trying to find ways to kill time during the Covid-19 lockdown, others are as busy as ever – if not, more so. In particular, our primary industries have been hard at work with feeding stock as top priority. HELEN PERRY spoke to one local dry stock farmer who fits the bill of essential worker John Gracie has been farming locally for nearly 60 years. At 85, he continues to work his 112 acre Whangarata farm every day but, right now, it’s tough times. “I’m only small fry compared to some but the lockdown and summer drought are having their effect even on my operation,” says John, who was also a stock buyer up until 15 years ago and is well known in the district. “Being so dry means there’s a lack of feed. I go over to the farm [from his Pukekohe home] every morning to shift small mobs of cattle. My dog, Whacka,

helps but she getting on, just like me!” While John says although some grass is now coming through, he’s had to buy in 50 bales of silage to supplement feed. “That’s gone so I’m hoping for rain otherwise I’ll have to buy more.” Normally carrying about 90 cattle, John says he’s down to 56. “With the sale yards also closed I can’t buy and I can’t sell. I usually operate on buying in Friesian/Hereford cross cattle at about 250kg then, when they’ve reached about 450kg, sell at the sale yards.

“They get picked up by bigger farms where they are fattened to 600-700kg before being sent straight to the abattoir; there’s no need to revisit the sale yards. “I had cattle ready to sell in March and what I have left should be heading to sale now but I’ll just have to hang on to them and takes what comes my way.” In the meantime, John says there’s always something to do on a farm with general maintenance ongoing. Turn to page 2

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