Business Rural 2016 December by Waterford Press Limited

Summer 2016

A woman of many hats Renee Rooney is one busy farmer. She chairs West Coast Federated Farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dairy section; she chairs the Lake Brunner School board of trustees; she has recently been elected the Grey district trustee for Development West Coast. And yes, she manages to milk 530 cows. Story: page 58.

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Pipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perendales: p25

Jack offers a beacon: p3

INDEX

Business Rural

9-19 What’s doing in the deer industry?

South Island stud breeders and commercial farmers talk about what they’ve got on the go and where the industry is heading..

20-28 Sheep breeders

As always, every stud sheep breeder has a different idea and a different method of how they go about their work. A number of them have agreed to share their thoughts and stories.

34 Wilding pines under siege

War has been declared on wilding pines, which are proliferating through the South Island high country. The secret weapon is the recent availability of government funds.

You can’t beat the beet

James and Ceri Bourke swear by fodder beet as a significant factor in helping them work through the challenges posed by the lower dairy payout.

57 Driven to succeed

‘A hell of a ride’

Access to irrigation has seen crops and seeds draw equal with sheep and lamb as the top contributors on Simon Williamson high-country station in the Mackenzie Basin.

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Hayden Peter is one of those blokes you just can’t keep down for long. At 34, he owns a sheep stud and is grabbing every opportunity for personal and professional development.

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A woman of many hats Renee Rooney is one busy farmer. She chairs West Coast Federated Farmers’ dairy section; she chairs the Lake Brunner School board of trustees; she has recently been elected the Grey district trustee for Development West Coast. And yes, she manages to milk 530 cows. Story: page 58.

Pip’s perendales: p25

Jack Offers a beacon: p3

RURAL PEOPLE » Jack Raharuhi

Business Rural

Jack’s story beacon for at-risk youth Neil Grant Jack Raharuhi reckons he was pretty rebellious as a teenager, despite being well brought up by his parents. Westport didn’t have too much to offer him apart from drink and drugs and plenty of mates happy to keep him off the straight and narrow. “I didn’t have a bright future,” he says. “Dad had a friend, Dion Fox, at Landcorp’s Basset Farm, and he gave me a casual milking job when I was 14. He was a hard bugger and I was young and dumb, but he kept me in line. “After a couple of years, I thought, ‘What am I doing?’ and went full-time at 16 to give dairying a go. I signed up with AgITO level three and started studying. “At 19 I was semi-qualified, and met my wife, Charlotte, and things took off from then. She sorted me out a bit, and I studied real hard. I got promoted to second-in-command at Basset, and into an accelerated management programme with Landcorp. Two years of intensive training, and if I ticked all the boxes, I’d get a management job.” He didn’t get the first job that came up, but after a year of “really going for it”, he had two years as 2IC and then manager at Basset Farm until last year. Landcorp has three adjacent farms near Cape Foulwind; Basset, Tram Road and Totara. At one stage, as well as managing Basset, he was overseeing Tram Road right through the calving season. At Basset, he undertook an environmental programme involving fencing 42 kilometres of waterways, and in partnership with conservation volunteers, planted flaxes, manuka and other natives to capture excess nutrient. He redesigned the farm map. His staffing programme involved not employing a 2IC, rather having two 3ICs, each spending three months in charge of either pasture or animals, and then swapping over. “By the end of the season I had two highly

I didn’t have a bright future. After a couple of years I thought ‘what am I doing?’ and went full time at 16 to give dairying a go.

Jack Raharuhi, winner of the 2016 Ahuwhenua Young Maori Dairy Farmer title, manages Landcorp’s Totara Farm at Cape Foulwind. skilled 2ICs to flick on to Landcorp. It gave me a reputation as a trainer.” Recently, he won a West Coast environmental award for milk suppliers. This was in the same year that he won the 2016 Ahuwhenua Young Maori Dairy Farmer title. His nominator, Landcorp’s business manager for the region, Rebecca Keoghan, became Dairy Woman of the Year. Landcorp recognised him as being in its top 10 per cent of dairy-farm performers, based on criteria such as animal management, milk quality, environmental impact, staff health and safety and profitability. This year, he took over managing Totara Farm, a 480-hectare property at Cape Foulwind,milking 1100 kiwicross cows. For six months he and Charlotte have seven staff, then four for the rest of the year. Charlotte cooks them all breakfast in the staffroom each day to ensure these single workers are well nourished. On wet days, Jack oversees their ITO studies. He likes to employ locals if possible; his main criteria are personality and motivation. Personal development, training and experience follow on

from there and contribute to the farm’s profitability. His dream is to move into an operational management role overseeing perhaps five farms and establishing a training centre where his skills can be used within Landcorp At 24, he is clearly a man of drive and talent.

While proud of his personal success, a real driver for him is the hope other young people, especially those running off the rails, may find inspiration in his life story thus far, and discover that redemption is possible – and that given the right help and opportunity, life can be pretty sweet.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Craig & Rachael Horrell

Business Rural

‘Environmental farming possible’ Neil Grant Modern farming is a relatively recent activity in the Te Anau Basin. Lying between Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri with the Kepler and the Murchison Mountains west of them, and the Takitimu and Livingstone Mountains to the south and north of its eastern fringe, the basin was, until the 1960s, mainly known as a native tussock and scrubcovered route to the Fiordland tourist centres. Lands and Survey farms led the farming development. Increasingly, private owners continue the process. It is perhaps fortuitous that intensive stocking did not occur earlier because today’s farmers are increasingly aware of environmental issues. Swamps are no longer drained as a matter of course, bush stands are seen as being worthy of protection, tussocks can provide sheep with shelter from the storm, and waterways through properties are required to be kept as pristine as possible. On State Highway 94, just north of The Key on the way from Mossburn to Te Anau, Craig and Rachael Horrell manage Elya Holdings, a Fortuna Group farm specialising in dairy grazing and calf and heifer-rearing. They have gained attention this year as the winners of the Southland Community Environment Award.

Fencing off waterway boundaries, using wetlands as nutrient traps, and intensive plantings of trees are all part of the environmental farming policy Elya Holdings follows in the Te Anau Basin . waterway boundaries that have been fenced off, “Working with Fortuna Group for the past few Fortuna Group was formed to manage the wetlands serving as nutrient traps, tree plantings years has also provided us with access to a really farms, support blocks and shareholdings owned by and Queen Elizabeth 2 Trust land. supportive senior leadership team with a wide range David and Kay Dodunski. The company now owns “We run 1000 dairy heifers and 1000 calves, of skills. Regular advice and support from Matthew or part-owns16 dairy farms or support businesses and winter 1500 to 2000 mixed-age dairy cows for Richards, Peter Bruce and Shaun Neeley has really in Southland, running 10,000 cows, 3518 hectares 10 to 12 weeks,” says Craig Horrell. “We take in helped us get Elya to where it is today, and will help of farms and 1500ha of support land. outside grazing as well as Fortuna stock, because us continue to improve what we do. Elya Holdings has 720 hectares, 665ha of Fortuna has not been able to supply us with enough “State Highway 94 runs past the property. it effective. Much of that 55ha difference is in animals. The outside grazing will slowly disappear Fencing off marginal areas showcases to people as we take on more Fortuna stock.” passing by that environmental farming is possible.” The Horrells have worked for the Dodunskis and Much of the work the Horrells have done has It’s a vulnerable place, so we have to look after it. The Fortuna for 20 years, the last eight on Elya. Craig been with advice and help from Environment Horrell says the Te Anau Basin is a special place. Its Southland, local iwi, Land Information New Zealand, Dodunskis were fencing waterways, planting trees and light stony soils are generally quite dry, so pugging Landcare and Fish and Game. building ponds 20 years ago, so we’ve been brought up is not a problem, but nutrient run-off is. “Working with these groups has led to their “It’s a vulnerable place, so we have to look being part of a group dealing with broom and that way. We’ve been trying to minimise the environmental after it,” he says. “The Dodunskis were fencing gorse along the Mararoa River. The Mararoa is a waterways, planting trees and building ponds 20 braided river, but has been increasingly choked, footprint. years ago, so we’ve been brought up that way. and is expensive for the local body to spray. The Since we’ve been here, we’ve been trying to group has developed 16ha as a trial to see if it can minimise the environmental footprint. become sustainable lucerne pasture that can be “The QE2 covenant and regenerated areas are “cut and carted.” quite distinctive. They also help us deal with nutrient • To page 5 run-off, so they benefit the farm in the long run.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Craig & Rachael Horrell

Business Rural

The Southland Community Awards winners...from left), Elya Holdings’ managers Craig and Rachael Horrell. farm worker Hayley O’Connell and stock manager Declan Hoban.

‘We’re here for the long haul’ • From page 4 Sustainability is part of the farm’s management system, too. The Horrells, stock manager Declan Hoban, and Hayley O’Connell, plus a casual tractor driver, handle all farm work except for ploughing and planting. They make 10Oha of fodder beet, 6500 bales of balage and 300 tonnes of silage on farm each year. “Fortuna not only has a strong focus on protecting the pristine landscape of Elya, but also focuses heavily on upskilling and developing its people,” says Craig Horrell.

“Fortuna has structured an ownership model whereby the people who work in the business can also have ownership of the business. We are proud shareholders in Fortuna Group and this really makes us feel we have some strong ownership of our farm we call home. He points to Fortuna’s values, which say, ‘Think about tomorrow: we’re here for the long haul’: “Winning the award was an honour, but that’s not all we are about. “It would be great if people wanted to come and look at what we do, and then go away and do it on their own property.”

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RURAL PEOPLE » Luke & Nicole Kane

Business Rural

Downturn an ‘opportune time to buy’ Karen Phelps Luke and Nicole Kane, from Tapanui, say that the recent downturn in the dairy industry has been a good time to expand Westholm Dairies. In the past two years they have added around 111 hectares into the family dairy farm, which now has a total of 380ha with a milking platform of 250ha. “We’ve found it to be an opportune time to buy,” says Luke. “We switched suppliers to do it, going from Fonterra to Open Country Dairy. This freed up our cashflow to buy more land and pay down debt. We certainly haven’t seen any downsides to switching suppliers.” The move has enabled the family to increase the crossbreed herd from 580 to 695 cows. Production last season was 286,000 kilograms of milksolids from 685 cows. This season the target is 312,000kg. They’ve re-grassed and improved drainage on the new land and are now producing more grass per hectare. Because they do not need to buy in extra feed for the additional cows, their business has become more profitable. In the last 18 months they have added more grain into the system, moving

Winter grazing (above) and work on a farm track (far left) at Westholm Dairies in Tapanui. Sharemilker Luke Kane is the fourth generation to farm this family land. In the past two years the family has added 111 hectares to the family dairy farm and has switched suppliers from Fonterra to Open Country Dairy. from purely silage, largely because of the cost effectiveness of grain at the moment. This year they will buy in 150 tonnes of grain from a neighbour, as well as 70-80 tonnes of fodder beet from the family sheep farm, which is bought at full value. Luke is the fourth generation to farm the land. His great-grandparents, David and Nellie Kane, bought the original block in 1929 – 300ha of flat to rolling ridges beside the Pomahaka River., in Otago Subsequent purchases have seen the family acquire three neighbouring farms – Pomahaka, Burnfoot and Oyster Creek – which are all run as one enterprise farming sheep and beef. In 2010 the original Kane family farm, where Luke and Nicole are now lower-order sharemilkers, was converted to dairy. The farm has a 54-bail, fully automated rotary shed. Luke and Nicole hit the ground running when they started off by managing the farm for a year before taking on a sharemilking position. Both are full-time on the farm and employ three staff – two full-time and one part-time. This season the Kanes are rearing 70 beef calves, which will be sold at 100 kilograms. It’s a new venture for them and is using sheds that were

on the land they have bought over the past couple of years. Luke says they are concentrating on consolidating and enhancing what is already there. For example, they are placing greater emphasis on when and what they are feeding the cows; this involves a lot more monitoring and measuring of grass, including sending samples for analysis to determine nutrient content. This has enabled them to adjust the cows’ diet to maximise feed and results. With breeding, they are focusing on their top performing cows, completing AI for eight weeks as opposed to four and a half to six weeks, mating them to dairy and the rest to beef straws. They are advocates of sustainable farming and have joined the voluntary Pomahaka group, set up in 2013 as a one-year programme by the New Zealand Landcare Trust with the aim of bringing farmers and stakeholders together to scope out a catchment plan for Pomahaka. The success of the initial work led to a further three-year Sustainable Farming Fund project, Pathway for the Pomahaka. This involves the Landcare trust, with support

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RURAL PEOPLE » Jeff & Kelly Gould

Business Rural

Poo-power harnessed on farm Karen Phelps Equity partners Jeff and Kelly Gould and Wyvern and Beth Jones are harnessing the power of the poop on their Mid Canterbury farm in a slightly unusual way. The two couples are installing a Zeecol system, which will recycle cow manure, transforming the nitrate-rich effluent into fertiliser, fuel, electricity and high-protein feed for use on the farm. Jeff admits that initially he was sceptical about the concept, but quickly saw the benefits. So how does it work? The Zeecol system requires hardware to be installed, which is owned, managed and maintained by Zeecol. Waste is captured and goes to a sealed manuring process in an anaerobic digester; the result is a variety of gases, liquids and solids. The gases are then separated, and the methane burned to produce electricity for the farm; heat produced is used to chill product and to heat water. Surplus methane can also be used to power farm vehicles. Carbon dioxide is extracted and sent to the system’s algae unit, along with water from the manure process. Water and biomass are sent to the enzyme process, which extracts oils to produce feeds, enriched fertilisers, petrol and diesel. Jeff Gould says the hope is that not only will the effluent produce products that can be used on the farm, but will also result in more environmentally farming. “We see it as a very effective way to deal with effluent, and to close the loop and become more self-contained,” he says. It will be an interesting addition to the diet of their herd of 1130 friesian cows, which already eat a varied mix of anything from wheat and maize grain to carrots and potatoes, even bread. The variety of feed has been a way to keep costs down as well as keep the herd well fed. The 300-hectare total/280ha effective farm, Aberystwyth Dairy, operates around a 60-bail rotary shed with automatic cup-removers, drafting, milk meters and ADF teat-dipping. A 618-bed cubicle barn was built three years ago, and has given the partners greater control over

Waimate dairy farmers Jeff and Kelly Gould and Wyvern and Beth Jones are installing an effluent system which transforms nitrate rich waste into fertiliser fuel, electricity and high protein feed for use on the farm. feeding as well as allowing them to move to split calving. They typically calve about 260 cows in autumn and will milk through to late December/early January, aiming to have cows dry for a maximum of 45 days. The barn has also given them control in a number of other areas. Rising two-year, spring-calving heifers come into the barn through winter to get used to the system and to reduce the number of animals at winter grazing. The remainder of the herd winters on fodder beet on the farm and the dry cows go across the road to the Jones’s farm to be wintered.

The two couples are installing a Zeecol system, which will recycle cow manure, transforming the nitrate-rich effluent into fertiliser, fuel, electricity and high-protein feed for use on the farm.

Luke and Nicole Kane.

Water quality in spotlight • From page 6 from the Pomahaka Farmers’ Water Care Group and the Pomahaka Stakeholders’ Group, working to improve farm practices that impact on water quality, infrastructure, reduction of nutrient loss, and improvement of water quality. Luke says he has already noticed results. “It has helped us pinpoint problems so that we can rectify them. This is important as our waterways start and finish on our land; we are quite conscious there’s no one else to blame if there is a

problem. It has changed our fertiliser use slightly – we now use it little and often. “The project is getting buy-in from the nonfarming community as to what farmers are doing to rectify water issues. Over the past three years we have noticed a massive difference in the number of fish and wildlife in the river.” Farm ownership is the couple’s ultimate aim: “Being quite a large business, that won’t happen overnight. But we feel that the bad, dairy-year payouts have helped us fine-tune our business and open us up to new ideas.”

Other benefits of the barn have been fewer empty-cow worries – they can now be carried over. As for most dairy farmers, the payout has been the biggest challenge. Interestingly, says Jeff, although they chose to reduce inputs last year, they made the same money as in the previous season as a seven-per-cent drop in production offset the savings. This season they plan to add 300 tonnes of grain into the system. Pasture is still a focus though, with the aim of round length and a consistent residual. The aim this season is to produce 640,000 kilograms of milksolids. Jeff did a Diploma of Farm Management at Lincoln University before working on cropping farms in Oamaru and gaining experience on dairy farms overseas. The couple progressed through the dairy system together, and went into the equity partnership with the Joneses eight years ago. The Goulds are responsible for the day-to-day running of the farm and have monthly meetings with the Joneses. The farm employs five full-time staff.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Thomas Bros

Business Rural

PHOTOS Left: A view across Thomas Bros orchard and packhouses. Below; Thomas Bros built two new cool stores two years ago, increasing holding capacity by 1500 pellets. Fifteen months ago, it bought a second packhouse and two more cool stores down the road.

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The burgeoning popularity of an early-ripening gold kiwifruit variety has seen Motueka cool store and packhouse operation Thomas Bros up its capacity by 25 per cent so that the fruit can be picked and packed on time. Thomas Bros director Bill Thomas says the company put up two new cool stores two years ago, increasing its holding capacity by 1500 pallets, Then 15 months ago, it bought a second packhouse and two more cool stores just down the road from its main facility. “To do our customers’ fruit justice, it’s imperative it’s picked and packed on time,” Bill says. “This new variety of early ripening gold kiwifruit has put pressure on post-harvest facilities in Motueka, and we had to grow to handle it. With our new facilities we are able to pack and store gold kiwifruit when its ready, around April 10, rather than the end of April/beginning of May. “We shut down the main packhouse from apples and change it over to kiwifruit, then finish the season off with apples in our other packhouse.”

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Thomas Bros runs orchards as well as postharvest facilities, and over winter, runs a staff of about 80. This summer, after a particularly good growing season, the company will run a night shift and employ about 300 staff at harvest time. “We’ve run a night shift a few years ago, but with the two packhouses, it hasn’t been necessary,” Bill says. “But this has been a really good season so far, with the gold kiwifruit producing 18,000 to 20,000 trays per hectare, where the green was producing around 10,000 to 14,000 trays.” Thomas Bros runs orchards as well as postharvesting facilities, and has been growing a new variety of apple for the past five years. The koru, a crisp and crunchy red fuji variety, was discovered by Geoff Plunkett who had some rotten fujis in his garage and threw them into the

garden. A tree popped up from a seedling, and a pretty spectacular new variety was discovered, then developed by McGrath Nurseries. “Now the Americans love it,” Bill says. “We’re getting koru for about $45 a carton, where royal gala is $26 and braeburn $23, so that’s a great profit.” Thomas Bros grows a couple of hectares of cherries which are sold into Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, and are used at the firm’s Cherry and Real Fruit Ice Cream Stall at Riwaka. The stall is also expanding this year, with flat-out summer trading requiring more room. Thomas Bros has run the stall for about six years and Bill says it has gone from strength to strength. “We’ve got our flagship cherry ice cream, which no-one else has really got, as well as boysenberry, banana, and gold and green kiwifruit. All our real fruit ice creams come with a cherry on top.” Last year some new products were added, including a kiwifruit sorbet, and the stall began offering freshly squeezed fruit juices and smoothies. This summer it wil;l have half as much space again, and will employ about 10 people.

DEER » Brock Deer

Business Rural

‘Tidy velvet’ Eddie’s sale tip Kim Newth Velvet and trophy genetics look set to rule the stag sale ring again this summer, say father and son Eddie and Elliot Brock, who farm Merino Downs, near Tapanui. Brock Deer is known for its commitment to breeding high performing velvet and trophy deer with good body attributes. Long-standing sires include Axel and Mitre, aand among the newcomers are Joseph (very heavy velvet, thick beam and good shape), Parker (longer-shaped velvet for genetic variety) and The Key (breeding well, heavy velvet). In 2015, Brock Deer sold the country’s most expensive stag for $50,000, a two-year-old son of Axel, which cut 10.2 kilograms shortly after he was sold. Brock Deer will hold its annual sale on January 12. Years ago, the farm’s stag and hind sale was run out of a marquee, but it’s now in a dedicated workshop space. Over the years, velvet weights and trophty scores have lifted considerably through a combination of genetics, selection and breeding from bloodlines. Around 20 stags and 30 or more hinds will be offered at the January sale, with around half a dozen leading sires represented. “We’ve had a great season and we’re looking forward to the sale,” says Eddie Brock, who believes astute buyers will be looking for tidy velvet this time round. “Of course, weight is important but I think they will be particularly interested in a more traditional velvet shape.”

PHOTOS: Left: Summit, a master sire; bottom left – top, Eddie amd Elliott Brock; three-yearold velvet; bottom, hinds in winter. Buyers and agents will be able to view still photos of deer coming up for sale from midDecember. Between 80 to 100 people, in cluding North Island buyers, are expected at the sale. The velvet industry has enjoyed good price stability in recent years, with positive, flow-on effects for farmers and deer studs. There has been

improving market access for velvet into the key market of South Korea. For breeding operations such as Brock Deer, maintaining a good market position means being prepared to introduce new bloodlines with strong potential, says Eddie. So, in January, he will also go to a number of deer sales in a buying capacity. When Eddie and his wife, Bronwyn, won the 2003 South Island Farmer of the Year title, their farm occupied 200 hectares; it has grown to 450ha. “We would have doubled our deer numbers as well,” says Eddie. ”In terms of velvet, we now have 1500 stags and 480 spikers.”

Velvet production off Merino Downs reached around eight tonnes last year. The Brocks have always looked to innovate and were pioneers in the application of early artificial insemination; the timeframe for this is in March. “In some years we get better results than in others, and we don’t always do as much from one year to the next,” says Eddie. “It depends on which stag we want to use and what new genetics we’re bringing in.” He says the quest for top-quality, velvetproducing sires and trophy stags continues to drive their on-farm breeding programme.

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DEER » Osborn Engineering

Business Rural

Specialist works well beyond farm-gate Kim Newth When it comes to quality farm-gates, Osborn Engineering Ltd claims to be “top of the south”. The Bluff-based operator has been building gates for local deer farmers and the wider farming sector for more than three decades. Owner-operator Grey Russell says the gates are known for their quality and strength, and can be made to order in any size. “For example, we have designed double-bar gates especially for high-pressure areas, and these are very popular with our clientele.” says owneroperator Grey Russell. “We have our own designers who can fully customise farm gates to whatever height or length is needed. We are also pipe specialists and are equipped with our own specialised machine.” Grey started working for Osborn Engineering in the 1980s, not long after it had been established by John and Marion Osborn. John was killed in a car accident in November 1992 and Marion retired from the business last year. Grey and Sue, who is the firm’s office manager, say they are proud to continue the Odborns’ legacy in the greater Southland region. Grey says the farm gates are made from highgrade materials, including high tensile strength pipe. The firm manufactures its own chainmesh netting. Whereas, with imported gates, quality may vary, Osborn Engineering produces reliable and durable products made for local conditions, he says.

Left: Grey Russell, owner-operator of Bluff-based Osborn Engineering, Right: The company’s services include a specialist commercial dive team. “Farmers know our gates are good quality and will last the distance.” Osborn Engineering has supplied farm gates as far north as Christchurch and is also expanding into the Central Otago area. The company has have worked on some of the country’s largest

As well as working with the farming sector, Osborn Engineering is an underwater-engineering specialist and has a commercial-dive group within its staff.

Osborn Engineering

high-country properties, such as Wanaka’s Minaret Station. The firm has 10 staff and offers a range of engineering services that extend well beyond the farm gate. As well as working with the farming sector, Osborn Engineering is an underwaterengineering specialist and has a commercial dive group. within its staff The firm also has experience in salvage and survey work, mooring inspections and repairs, search and recovery, wharf repairs, underwater prop and shaft repair, and underwater welding. “We are out doing commercial diving work once or twice a week,” says Grey Russell. “We do a lot of wharf work for South Port, including wharf

maintenance and taking care of beacons.” The company is also well entrenched in the fishing industry, producing recreational to heavyduty commercial crayfish and blue-cod pots for a clientele stretching from Stewart Island in the south to Cape Reinga in the north, and east to the Chatham Islands. Security fencing – including security panels and safety screens– is another sub-speciality. A recent commission involved providing security fencing and automatic gates for a local storage plant. Grey Russell says the company listens to its customers and is adept at lending a hand where and when needed by supporting Bluff School and others in the community.

Ltd

Manufactures of Cray and Cod Pots > Deer, Sheep and Cattle Gates > Chain Mesh Netting > Security Fencing > Commercial Diving > General Engineering P 03 212 8964 F 03 212 7547 H 03 212 7934 M 027 435 3524 Grey E osborneng@xtra.co.nz W www.osborneng.co.nz

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DEER » Littlebourne Farm

Business Rural

| 11

Southland deer farmer Geoff Pullar has increased his velvet production significantly by introducing a better feed regime.

Advice underpins velvet gains Kim Newth Southland deer stud director Geoff Pullar, of Littlebourne Farm, says sound advice at the right time has ensured his stags are on the right feed regime for optimal velvet production. Geoff is a member of the Southland Elk and Wapiti Advance Party, one of a number of such groups operating around the country to encourage farmers to share data and identify growth opportunities. He says THAT following the party’s advice on deer feed has proved beneficial. At their recommendation, Geoff switched from a mixedgrain-and-nut feed to a straight velveting-deer-nut feed for his two-year-old and three-year-old bulls, from button drop through to harvest cut. He tried this for the first time for the 2015 button drop, with each of the bulls receiving a one-kilogram deer-nut allocation. Total velvet production has risen dramatically from around 250kg (including mixed-age bulls, three-year-olds , two-year-olds and spikers) to 350kg. Last season, the two-year-old bulls cut an average 3.7kg of velvet and the three-year-olds cut a 4.7kg average. Geoff is in no doubt the better feed regime has been a key contributor to the cut-velvet increase. Improved grass management and good genetics are also benefiting production. Stock condition is looking very good on farm, heading into the annual Southern Elite Elk/Wapiti

We’ve had a good winter followed by a great spring with heaps of grass growth, so the deer put on extra weight. They are a couple of weeks ahead of where they’d normally be with velvet.” Sire Sale in mid-January 2017. Up to 20 three-yearold Littlebourne Wapiti bulls will be offered at the sale. “We’ve had a good winter followed by a great spring with heaps of grass growth, so the deer put on extra weight,” says Geoff. “They are a couple of weeks ahead of where they’d normally be with velvet.” The stud operation is one of Southland’s long-established deer farms, having been set up by Geoff’s father, Jack, more than 30 years ago. Geoff joined his father on the 160-hectare property in 1992 after returning home from overseas, and initially managed the property’s sheep work. He took over the entire operation after his father retired five years ago. The farm runs 100 hinds, 80 mixed-sex weaners and nine mixed-age bulls, plus 25 rising two-year-olds and 20 rising three-year-olds. It also

has around 1000 coopworth-cross ewes and 350 replacements. Since joining the Advance Party, Geoff has rolled out a number of improvements on the farm, including a new reticulated stockwater system costing $13,000. “It is working really well and it means every paddock has water,” he says. Ryegrass, clover and plantain-chicory have been planted to improve pasture feed quality: “We have found this gets the fawns up and going for good growth rates.” A triple-drench regime is being administered to help maintain good animal health. Geoff says the Advanced Parties system, which was developed by Deer Industry New Zealand to help farmers increase profitability, continues to work well for him. “It helps me to fine-tune what happens on the farm and I get to see what other farmers are doing,” he adds. Meanwhile, Geoff remains a keen member of his local golf course, playing once a week, and is also busy off the farm as a board member for Golf Southland.

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DEER » Peel Forest Estate

Business Rural

‘Great genetic depth’ key to performance Kim Newth Peel Forest Estate expects strong interest at its premium on-farm sales over December and January. Up-to-the-minute breeding technology and cross-herd genetic analysis has enabled Peel Forest Estate to hone bloodlines with both proven performance and heritability over many years, says the estate’s stud manager, Steve Blanchard. Thanks to heavy investment in research, the stud has made tremendous advances in producing deer that are resilient to Johne’s disease. “Feedback from our clients is that we have turned their farms around, with no sign of Johne’s, since using our genetics.” The estate’s annual forrester sale featured more than 40 animals. Forrester bloodlines are bred for hardiness, Johne’s resilience, fertility and growth. These deer also carry valuable genetics for velvet, says Steve. “We’re making leaps and bounds with velvet every year. At the start of cutting velvet this year, we cut 6.5 kilograms from one of our forresters; that’s the genetic gain you get from using superior sires.” Information – including weaning, yearling and mature weights, plus Johne’s resilience data – will be available to potential buyers at the sale. The estate’s velvet sale will take place on January 10 with 40 animals, predominantly stud velvet three-year-olds. From the award-winning windermere bloodline, these animals have been bred for optimal velvet antler structure suited to the commercial velvet industry, he says. Trophy stags will also be on offer at the sale,

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including progeny from a leading young sire, The Duke. “We haven’t followed the trend of going for the biggest SCI score,” says Steve. “We are keen to get length in the antlers, but we think the heads have got to be kept attractive and reasonably tidy. They still need to look like red deer.” Peel Forest Estate has 8500 fully recorded, electronically tagged deer with a great depth of genetics from which high-performance deer are selected for the venison, velvet and trophy markets, he says. For venison, it operates a simple system that uses dedicated maternal sires (forresters) to produce hardy, fertile replacement breeding hinds and dedicated terminal sires (B11s) to produce fast-growing progeny and to maximise productivity. Strong venison prices are being reflected in demand from deer farmers for forrester deer, says Steve. With velvet being such a valuable commodity, the forresters’ record for passing on good, clean velvet attributes is a market advantage. Much of the country where forrester hinds are farmed at Peel Forest Estate matches the typical rugged deer farming country that predominates in the South Island. A 1200-hectare hill block, which was acquired by the estate four years ago, has made a big difference in terms of the stud being able to trial genetics in tough conditions. “It has been a brilliant testing ground and has also been great for putting the stags in the roar,” says Steve. “ It enables us to utilise the flats better for our breeding hinds and gives us more options for the good pastures on the estate.”

For professional service and advice please contact your nearest PGG Wrightson Deer Specialist.

Deer Specialists Ron Schroeder Central & North Canterbury, Marlborough, West Coast 0274321299 rschroeder@pggwrightson.co.nz 218 Munro Road, 2 RD Cheviot 7382

Graham Kinsman NZ Deer Stud Co-ordinator 0274223154 gkinsman@xtra.co.nz 149 Moturata Road, Taieri Mouth, RD1 Brighton 9091

Marcus Adlam Mid & South Canterbury 0274039377 marcus.adlam@pggwrightson.co.nz 218 Wrights Road, Dunsandle 7682

Brian Duggan Southland 0274324212 bduggan3@xtra.co.nz 15 Devon Street, Arrowtown 9302

John Williams Otago 0272414179 jwilliams@pggwrightson.co.nz 133b Factory Road, Mosgiel 9024

John Duffy Auctioneer 0272403841 jduffy@pggwrightson.co.nz 5 Jackson Place, Alexandra 9320

Peel Forest Estate will be offering about 40 animals, predominantly stud velvet three-year-olds at its velvet sale on January 10. Trophy stags will also be on offer at the sale, including outstanding progeny of leading young sire ‘The Duke’.

Cultivation and Drilling Specialists Contact: Brad Coleman 0275445669 Email: brad@colemanag.co.nz Bridge Street, Arundel, RD22, Geraldine

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DEER » Downlands Deer

Business Rural

| 13

Deer transporter widens scope Karen Phelps Downlands Deer has developed a solid reputation for transportation of deer stock around New Zealand. But the company also carries dairy cows, heifers, beef cattle and rams. And, says company operations manager Kris Orange, this is a steadily growing part of the business. “We had all the systems in place to transport deer, so it was a logical extension of what we were already doing, focusing on care, attention to detail and communication with clients every step of the way.” He says the its high levels of service set the company apart. For example, when the company is delivering stud rams, the purchaser is contacted with delivery times. It sounds simple, but it’s often overlooked, says Kris. It allows clients to get on with their day rather than having to wait around. Because of the number of trucks the company runs, it can provide another option for farmers needing to move dairy stock during that busy time of the year when transport operators are pushed to meet demand. Downlands Deer has developed special crates for transporting deer, and Kris says the company applies the same attention to detail when shifting sheep and cows. Stock is carefully monitored and traced and not mixed with stock from different breeders. The Oranges also own a 270-hectare farm on which they run around 2000 deer. This property is equipped with holding facilities in paddocks for bulls, sheep and deer. and enables Downlands Deer to hold stock overnight when long distances are involved “When we transport further afield, we put rubber mats on the floor to keep foot damage to a minimum,” says Kris. “If it is a really big trip, we sometimes offload the stock at our yard, feed them or keep them in a paddock overnight before continuing the trip.”

Downlands Deer has developed specialisation in transporting deer. The company has also applied its skills to moving sheep and cows. Downlands Deer, started in 1984, is now owned by Kris, his father, Keith, and business partners Kevin Hurst and Allan Marshall. The company designed and built its first crate at its head office when the Orange family started running a few deer on their Geraldine farm in the 1980s and could not find a decent transport service to shift them. The problem was simple – sheep and cows are not the same shape as deer, so transporting deer in the same containers used for stock often resulted in damage and stress to the animals. Downlands Deer staff get together, for a function. So who got the bunch of flowers then?.

Downlands Deer crates have no protrusions and significantly more airflow. Kris says they are designed with the well-being of both the animal and the driver in mind. “For example, when we’re transporting deer to the freezing works, our crates can easily be adapted with the release of a few catches to accommodate a trophy animal with large antlers. Most crate doors are only about 1.1 metres wide, but the driver can easily open the doors of our crates out to 1.7m wide. We also have crates with bigger pens for transporting larger varieties such as elk and wapiti.” The company employs 10 staff and has trucks based in Geraldine, Christchurch, Fairlie and Timaru. All drivers are qualified through the Deer Industry New Zealand quality assurance programme, and all crates are also constructed to this standard. The company operates nationally. “Because we transport to so many places, we encourage farmers to get in touch,” says Kris. “We may be able to do their trip as a backload after completing another trip. In today’s world that’s what it’s all about – being as efficient as possible and keeping prices down for our customers.”

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14 |

DEER » Clachanburn Elk

Business Rural

Extra Russell Fredric

Megatron, Clachanburn Elk’s leading estimated-breeding-value, growth-rate bull. Clachanburn’s elk and Wapiti were the first in New Zealand to be entered in DEERSelect, New Zealand’s national deer recording database which records pedigree and performance traits.

18x4 Clachanburn Elk Breeding New Zealand’s highest growth rate deer As shown by the DPT and Deerlink

Clachanburn Elk is a multi-faceted farm business near Patearoa among the distinctive, rocky, landscape of Maniototo, in the southern South Island. The 2280-hectare property, a generational family farm owned and run by John and Mary Falconer, is a mixture of flat land and hill blocks on the south end of Rough Ridge. An important annual event for Clachanburn Elk is it annual sire stud sale on the property. At the 2017 sale (Wednesday January 18), 65 to 70 threeyear-old elk venison sires will be offered. Although the main focus of the farm is venison production, velvet production, stud sales and a trophy-hunting business, plus a small number of beef cattle, also contribute to the bottom line. During the past year some changes have been afoot with the addition of a 280ha neighbouring hill block, plus a 300ha irrigated block dubbed Loganburn. Both these properties are being fenced with about 20 kilometres of deer fencing. Total stock comprises 350 red deer velvet stags, 1750 red deer/hybrid venison hinds, 750 Deer Select-recorded elk stud cows, and 300 elk bulls for velvet and trophy hunting. By winter 2017 about 600 elk weaners and 1500-1600 hybrid weaners will have been added to the station. “For the past three seasons I’ve been selling weaners because we’ve had more hill country than flat country,” John Falconer says. The 300ha block is on flat land about 20 kilometres away, and will be used for finishing mixed-sex weaners up to 10 months old, as well as supporting 350 red deer velvet stags; the hill block will support commercial hinds. “The Clachanburn irrigated flats are really

The Clachanburn irrigated flats are really dedicated for stud animals and growing winter feed. The hinds are on the hill 12 months of the year. Clachanburn is really going to be a dedicated breeding and stud operation for our elk stud, and Loganburn a velvet and finishing block.

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DEER » Clachanburn Elk

Business Rural

| 15

acreage adds options Clachanburn is really going to be a dedicated breeding and stud operation for our Elk stud and Loganburn a velvet and finishing block. dedicated for stud animals and growing winter feed. The hinds are on the hill 12 months of the year,” says John Falconer. “Clachanburn is really going to be a dedicated breeding and stud operation for our elk stud, and Loganburn a velvet and finishing block.” Commercial venison is the “bred and butter” and makes up about half of the station’s income. But the stud, velvet and trophy hunting are the higher-value parts of the business in terms of income per stock unit. The addition of red-deer velvet stags has added another element to the station’s business, John says. About three tonnes of velvet is harvested annually. “All the velvet we’ve traditionally cut has been off our wapiti-type deer.” The multi-faceted nature of the business generates plenty of work for both of the Falconers. “We are very busy,” says John. “Mary keeps a track of all the stud records and all the office work. We do all our own ag work. We’ve got our own fodder-beet drill and grass drill. We do most of our own fencing.” Tough winters and dry summers are a feature of Maniototo, but a La Nina weather pattern means Clachanburn is enjoying a “once-in-a-lifetime”

season this year following two years of drought. Late in October John Falconer estimated the station was six months ahead for pasture, silage and fodder beet production. “It really is quite special. We are growing grass like Southland grows it.” Buyers at the January auction can be assured of the quality of livestock presented, he says. Clachanburn’s elk and wapiti were the first in New Zealand to be entered in DEERSelect, New Zealand’s national deer recording database which records pedigree and performance traits. The sire sale runs on a traditional auction system with most elk having full DNA-proven parentage, “hard data’’ and breeding values. He says Clanchanburn Station has been an industry leader in the assessment of newly identifiable traits such as eye muscle area scanning, foetal ageing of stud deer during pregnancy testing, and CARLA saliva testing, which measures the levels of an antibody against parasite larvae in animals. “They are true terminal sires, bred for venison production.” This year the station scored a coup in what John Falconer says is a first in New Zealand – supplying 150 straws of frozen elk semen to England, a market dominated by red deer. This year he was appointed as president of the Elk & Wapiti Society of New Zealand after serving on its council for 17 years. The society is holding its 30th anniversary at the Lake Wanaka Centre on January 28. The event will include a tour of Cattle Flat station, Wanaka, for ticket holders. Tickets are available from: Laura Waller, phone, 027 7378311, email, laurawaller1314@hotmail. com, or John Falconer, phone, 027 4344593, email, clachanburnelk@scorch.co.nz.

Lucy and Charlie Falconer at the entrance to Clachanburn Elk Station, a 2280-hectare property owned and run by their parents, John and Mary Falconer. The property, situated in the distinctive rocky landscape of the Maniototo, is a mixture of flat land and hill blocks on the south end of Rough Ridge.

Proud to support Clachanburn Elk Pregnancy testing specialists since 1992 Clachanburn Elk will hold its annual sire stud sale on Wednesday, January 18, with 65 to 70 threeyear-old elk venison sires on offer.

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16 |

DEER » Coonemara Wapiti

Business Rural

Connemara Wapiti will be showcasing around 30 of its top sire bulls at its annual auction at Manapouri on January 15. Connemara runs 330 velveting stags, 850 hinds and 1000 weaners.

Velvet, venison yields increasing

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Connemara Wapiti’s sixth annual auction will showcase about 30 wapiti sire bulls at Manapouri on January 15. The stud is part of a 290-hectare commercial deer farm owned by Murray and Bev Hagen. Connemara runs 330 velveting stags, 1000 weaners and 850 hinds, 300 of them Deer Select-recorded. Manager Jim Cameron says the stud has 25 Deer Select-recorded bulls; the system stores pedigree and performance (trait) records, then uses the data to provide estimated breeding values and economic indices. Deer-stud breeders can use these breeding values and indexes to make selection decisions and monitor genetic progress within the nationally recorded herd. Commercial farmers can use the information to select stud breeders and make buying decisions based on directly comparable data across stud herds. Connemara has been recording growth rates for four years, so all sale bulls will be sold with their growth-per-day rates from three to 15 months. Genetic gains in recent years have seen the

average weight of deer sent for processing increase from 58 to an expected 63 kilograms this season. Eye-muscle scanning in the last two years has produced very encouraging results; eye muscle area (EMA) figures will be available for the sale. Velvet weights have also been increasing, with two year-old bulls up 500 grams on last year with several cutting more than 4.5 kilograms, while some six year-olds are producing 8kg of velvet, partly attributable to provision of high-energy feed such as deer nuts and lucerne balage. Connemara’s records show growth rates from

its Fiordland wapiti to be better than its pure elk, with a more compact animal. Sale bulls to be auctioned in 2019 will have been CARLA(carbohydrate larval antigen)-tested. The CARLA test is an indicator of resilience and resistance to parasites; it measures antibodies triggered when animals ingest internal parasites. Initial DEEResearch trials of CARLA found high CARLA levels in autumn and spring, in response to a greater parasite challenge, correlated with lower

• To page 17

CONNEMARA V E N I S O N - V E LV E T - T E M P E R A M E N T

6 T H A N N UA L

SIRE BULL AUCTION

Sunday - January 15th 2017 at 2.00pm (viewing from 12pm)

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Murray Hagen 021 220 7889 Jim Cameron 021 220 7871 Craig North 027 473 0864

DEER » Coonemara Wapiti/Eyre Creek

Business Rural

| 17

Sheep on the up, deer down Karen Phelps Landcorp-owned Eyre Creek has dropped deer numbers and increased sheep numbers to improve its environmental footprint, says farm manager Andy Denley. Around 500 hectares of the farm has been retired from deer grazing – partly to protect the land, and partly in response to stricter cultivation regulations, which may change where crops can be planted on the farm. The 1650ha farm at Athol is on predominantly rolling to moderate to steep, hill country with – there is only around 80ha of flat land on the entire unit. As the farm can get wet during winter, minimising pasture damage was a challenge, so dropping deer numbers from 2850 hinds to 1200, plus 600 rising two-year-olds, has made a big difference, says Andy. The farm has an ongoing fencing programme and had already completed around one kilometre of new fencing with another 2.5 kilometres planned for the coming year. “Steep hill country is expensive to fence, so by decreasing deer numbers and increasingly sheep numbers – from 1000 to 2600 ewes – we can use and protect the land better. We can break-fence sheep and move them every day if we need to, whereas deer are much harder and more timeconsuming to shift,” Another benefit of the change has been that the work-load is spread more evenly through the year, which makes the unit easier for Andy and his fulltime staff member to manage. They are now split lambing – 800 in September and the main mob on 1 October. The change of stock ratios will also bring more flexibility to the

• To page 18

Landcorp farm Eyre Creek has dropped deer numbers from 2850 hinds to 1200 to mitigate pasture damage.

Temperament key bull trait • From page 16 parasite burdens. This makes the test a potentially useful predictor of resistance to parasites in farmed deer. Jim Cameron says focusing on incremental annual improvements in velvet and venison yields, along with careful genetic selection, is producing results for both Connemara and its clients. “The stud’s improving each year. We are getting a wider range of clients coming in. We’ve got bulls going as far as Nelson now.” A key selection trait for bulls is temperament. Assessing the nature of bulls as they are velveted is key to deciding if they are suitable to go to auction. “The big thing that sells our bulls is their temperament,” says Jim. “We are tough on that.”

Stud sires are selected for a deep, compact body, conformation, high growth rates, temperament, and well-above-average velvet weights. The Gallagher TSi system enables animal weights to be captured, replacing the traditional ‘eyeometer’. Animal-weight data allows farmers to make informed decisions about health treatments, feed regimes, breeding, and crop performance. Once weights are recorded and matched with their parentage, other data such as EMA can be entered. About 1000 Connemara’s animals – mostly yearlings, cull hinds and stages – are sent for processing each year. Sire stags are velveted all their life with some being sold to trophy farmers. Connemara uses Leader tags.

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DEER » Eyre Creek

Business Rural

Fodder beet – now in third year – proves ‘good move’ • From page 17 system, which can get summer dry, to give greater control over pasture quality as sheep are easier to move around. Eyre Creek runs perendale sheep and red deer. It also runs 200 breeding angus cattle plus replacements. Stag fawns along with simmental cross calves are transferred to other Landcorp properties for finishing. Andy says the mix of stock helps mitigate against market fluctuations by providing diversity to the business. A mild winter and a good start to summer means the farm has been growing plenty of grass. Silage is cut off the flats and this season 40ha of rape and fodder beet will be grown for winter feed for the deer. It’s the third year of growing fodder beet, and Andy says it has proved a good move with the ability to grow the same amount of crop on half the ground. As deer tend to graze rather than chomp, transitioning is easy as long as the beet is fed with other supplement. He has noticed that after 60 days, the type of supplement needs to be changed as deer tend not to do so well on fodder beet for long periods. Andy says the focus now is on improving the deer reproductive performance and weaning weights by running them in smaller mobs and monitoring them more closely. The farm has moved to pre-rut weaning in March, which means fawns can be transitioned onto supplement on the flats before the bad weather arrives for winter. This also allows hinds to pick up condition and start cycling meaning they should conceive around 10 days earlier, which, he hopes, will contribute to ongoing improvements at Eyre Creek.

Landcorp’s 1650ha farm at Athol is located on predominantly rolling to moderate to steep hill country with only around 80ha of flat land. Around 500ha of the farm has been retired from deer grazing in order to protect the land.

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DEER » Lora Valley

Business Rural

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PHOTOS: Lora Valley farm owners Tom and Nicola Wylie with children Georgia and Hunter. The couple run a diverse sheep, beef, dairy grazing and deer operation in Central Southland. Right: Two-year-old hinds graze on rolling contour land at Lora Gorge.

Succession planning ‘worthwhile’ Russell Fredric Diligent succession planning has been a worthwhile process for Lora Valley Farms owners Tom and Nicola Wylie. Although the cost of engaging accountants, bankers, lawyers and two independent consultants has been “horrendous”, Tom Wylie says it has been worthwhile to achieve something that works for all parties involved and, they hope, will future-proof to a degree. The couple, who have three children – Georgia aged 3 and Hunter, 18 months, and a newborn baby – run a highly diversified farm in Lora Gorge, Central Southland. They took over the rolling-contour, 580-hectare sheep, beef, deer and dairy grazing operation from Nicola’s parents, Bill and Jill Taylor, in the middle of this year. “Prior to going through the succession process, we leased 280ha from June 2013 to June 2016, before taking over the running of another 190ha which is essentially the deer unit,” says Tom Wylie. “We just recently purchased two small neighbouring blocks totalling 112ha.” Stock units total around 9000, 2700 of which are in deer – 600 breeding hinds, 110 stags, and about 600 weaners, including some trading stock. The farm employs a stockman and general hand, Nick Vinniecomb, while Bill Taylor also helps out with tractor work. “We run 3000 coopworth-texel ewes, typically lambing in the late 140s early 150s.,” says Tom. “This year we had a brilliant lambing weather wise with no excuses, of 157 per cent.” The farm’s ‘A’ mob, comprising 60 per cent of the ewes, goes to a coopworth texel ram sourced from Blackdale Stud, while the remaining 40% ‘B’ mob goes to a straight-suffolk ram. Seven hundred and seventy hoggets all go to cheviot rams sourced from Killara Stud, Wyndham, and typically lamb 85-90% to the ram. In a typical year around 150 friesian bull calves are bought in November/December for fattening, spread out in small mobs among the lambs, and go

off the farm at the end of April. “We normally try to trade a few store lambs; last year in a reasonable summer we did 2500, and we are hoping to do similar numbers this year.” This coming winter Lora Valley Farms aims to winter 650-700 dairy cows on swede, kale and fodder beet for eight weeks. About 200ha of the farm is deer-fenced. Its red deer operation is a split herd focused on velvet and venison production Quantified velvet genetic hinds go to a velvet genetic stag as do venison genetic hinds to venison genetic stags. The remaining hinds go to a wapiti bull, which is used as a terminal sire. The farm recently bought 10 hinds from the Altrive Deer Stud in Northern Southland as it looks to place a continued focus on velvet production. Tom Wylie has been involved in deer for just five years, so this aspect of the farm has been “a good learning curve”. He says he is fortunate to have advisers such as Bill Taylor and Southland deer genetics research veterinarian Dave Lawrence, both of whom have long experience in the deer industry, and Alliance Group representative Graham McBeth, who plays a key part in the farm’s sheep operation. Through the Alliance Group, Lora Valley Farms has been fortunate to be involved in the Red Meat for Profit Partnership programme which, says Tom, has been very worthwhile. “We carried out farm lamb-finishing forage trials involving red clover and various chicory, plantain and clover/red clover mixes, which was in part driven by clover root weevil and the devastating effects it had on our ability to finish lambs. The trials were nothing ground breaking, but in our operation worked well, allowing us to finish more lambs faster.” Although running such a diversified business takes some management and generates a lot of information, Tom’s focus remains relatively simple. “Our immediate priority is to focus on livestock, stay in business, put the head down, get on with it, and look to pay down some debt.”

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Nathan Dodd

Business Rural

Texel pioneers still among the biggest fans Kelly Deeks Glenham texel breeders Nathan and Joy Dodd had a great day at the 150th South Otago A & P Show in Balclutha in November. Thjeir sheep won the champion texel ram, c\ champion texel ewe, and supreme champion texel accolades. And their texel ewe with triplets at foot was judged the grand champion ewe over all breeds. Nathan Dodd has been on his Glenham farm all his life. He took over from his mum and dad about 20 years ago. “Dad and Mum started with 120 hectares, and now we’ve got 560 hectares,” he says. “Dad started breeding texels in 1991. He bought some of the first texels that were imported into New Zealand. A ram and three or four ewes cost him about $30,000.” Nathan and Joy took over the stud in 2000. The hardy texel was a great option for the Dodds who were looking for a higher meat yield than

they were getting out of their south suffolks, says Nathan. The ewes have excellent mothering ability; the lambs are born with a determination to survive, muscle up at an early age, and have an excellent meat-to-bone ratio. Nathan and Joy are crossing their texel rams over romney-texel ewes to keep a bit of wool as well as the increased meat yield. They also still run a few south suffolk ewes, which they cross the texels over. “We’re running 260 pure texels – registered with New Zealand Sheep Breeders and all recorded with Sheep Improvement Limited (SIL) – and about 40 south suffolks, 3500 romney/texel ewes, and 200 head of beef cattle, which we buy in at 18 months old and kill at two and a half.” The Dodds look for rams all over the South Island with the help from their PGG Wrightson stud stock agent. Nathan says it is getting harder to

find rams to keep improving their stud. They buy a ram or two every two years, and they don’t worry about the price, so long as the animal is good. “We paid $9000 a few years ago for one ram,” Nathan says. “He was good, and he did his five or

PHOTOS Left (upper and lower): These Dodd texels look happy in the plentiful Soputh Otago grass. Above: Nathan Dodd with the South Otago A & P Show champion ram. Top: A mob of texels on the Dodds’ Glenham property.

six years. We sold one of his sons for $7500, and others for $5000.” They aim to keep a good, hardy flock, and improve the meat yield as much as they can. They are already right up in the top 5 per cent of lambs going to Alliance Group, and have had great success with winning and being placed in Gore A & P prime lamb competitions processed at Alliance Group. “Texel/romney cross lambs can yield about 58%; we’ve had a few competitions where our lambs have yielded 63%,” says Nathan. “Most people are yielding about 50%;we’re aiming to get to the high 60%s, which would be a really, really good yield.” Nathan and Joy are always working on improving the mothering ability of their ewes as well as yield. If a ewe is a good mum, they try to keep all her lambs; but if a ewe doesn’t look after her lambs, she’s culled. The Dodds keep their top 60 stud ewe lambs, and top 80 stud ram lambs. These rams are sold as two-tooths from January onwards.

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SHEEPBREEDERS » James Kenny

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Gore farmer Jimmy Kenny thinks Okaruru Dorset Down Stud genetics will help him improve lambing percentages and lamb weights.

Stud purchase salute to late partner Karen Phelps Jimmy Kenny’s purchase of Okaruru Stud was partly in memory of his late partner, Becks: “She was a big part of this farming operation before she passed away about 18 months ago, and was a big driver of the stud side of the operation,” He thinks she would have been chuffed at the purchase. Buying the stud made good sense as Jimmy has always seen the benefits of the dorset breed – he used dorset rams across his romneys. He cites factors such as “big bones and good meaty back legs” as key advantages. Previously the couple had just a small (around

100 ewes), experimental unregistered dorset down stud on their farm at Kaiwera, near Gore, The purchase of the Okaruru Stud, formerly owned by Bob and Marilyn Masefield and run from their Banks Peninsula farm at Goughs Bay, has added 350 dorset down stud ewes to Jimmy’s operation. He plans to build on the stud’s established reputation with a firm focus on producing terminal sires that result in fast maturing lambs. He will keep outstanding rams and use their genetics in the stud, as well as looking out for new promising genetics to bring further gains.

• To page 22

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SHEEPBREEDERS » James Kenny/Kamahi Perendale

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Business Rural

Fodder-beet success Perendale ‘key improvement’ Russell Fredric

• From page 21 His first sale is scheduled for December 15 at the Gore A & P showgrounds where he will offer 80-90 dorset down, dorset down/texel and south dorset down-cross rams. After growing up on a farm in Lawrence, Central Otago, Jimmy worked on sheep and beef operations in Otago, progressing from shepherd to stock manager. He also worked as an agent for Rural Livestock before he and Becks leased the 222-hectare farm at Kaiwera off her family. The multi-faceted operation includes 1000 commercial romney ewes, 130 beef cattle which he winters and finishes, and finishing 200-300 deer. Jimmy says having several threads to the business helps reduce risk and maintain strong cashflow.

The target for the commercial operation is to keep lifting lambing percentages (the target is to top 140 per cent), and to continue seeking improvements in lamb weights. He hopes the Okaruru genetics will help him make faster gains in both areas. Over the past three years the flock has been averaging 18 kilograms kill weight, and he aims to maintain this figure. Fodder beet has been a key improvement. Last year he planted 10ha and says this will be increased to 15ha this season. The higher yields from the crop have left more of the farm free to grow grass, which has benefited all the animals. “The deer’s average daily weight gain through winter was higher than when we fed them swedes, and they ended up around 10kg heavier coming out of winter. In spring we’ve seen up to 1.5kg of weight gain per day for cattle.” Jimmy is bringing up the couple’s son, three-year-old Ridge, and the plan is to buy the farm soon. He sees the purchase of the Okaruru Stud as a positive step towards this: “It is the oldest registered dorset down stud in the country. I want to carry on the work Bob and Marilyn have started, and keep producing good-quality stock for my customers.” The view across Jimmy Kenny’s 222-hectare property at Kaiwera, north of Gore.

With the south flushed with grass during spring and the battle against clover root weevil being won, perendale stud breeder Warren Ayers says this season’s rams will be his of the last five years. Kamahi Stud, based in Mimihau among rolling hill country about 20 kilometres south of Gore, is part of a 888-hectare farm running 5500 ewes, including 700 recorded stud perendale ewes, 1500 ewe hoggets, 150 ram hoggets and 125 angus cows. Owner Warren Ayers says the perendale breed is a hardy, easy-care sheep with good survivability and good mothering ability, which makes them ideal for the type of country he farms. He is the fourth generation of his family on the property. His great-grandfather, John Henry Ayers, established the farm in 1911. There is a long association with Perendales on the property. John Ayers is a past president and life member of New Zealand Perendale Breeders’ Society as well as a foundation member of the Southern Perendale Breeders’ Club where he was president for three years. Of the four Southland winners of the Sir Geoffrey Peren Cup, two have been to clients of Kamahi Perendales. Since it was established in 1972 Kamahi Perendales has introduced genetics from many top rams into its bloodlines, a quest which at times has come at considerable expense, says Warren. In January 2003, the Ayers, in partnership with Kylemore Stud owners Malcolm and Margaret McKelvie, of Wyndham, paid a world-record price of $22,000 for a perendale ram at the South Island Perendale Stud Ram Fair at Gore. The ram, described as “technically perfect” for the

breeder

breed, was from a Mt Guardian sire offered by the Anderson-Wilding partnership of Parnassus in North Canterbury; Mt Guardian has New Zealand’s longest-established performance-recorded sheep flock. Warren Ayers says Kamahi Stud has made a point of buying the best sires possible during its long breeding history, including using those from breeders with rams in the top five of the Perendale Sire Summary. He says the stud’s sheep are grown under commercial conditions and are bred for natural care lambing, fertility, productivity, mobility, growth rates and wool weights. RFID tagging is used for ease and accuracy of recording. The 2014 and 2015 seasons were challenging for Kamahi because cold wet winters and springs were, followed by an infestation of the clover root weevil, resulting in the loss of clover over much of the farm. The weevil has been combatted on the Ayers farm by the release of parasitised irish wasps provided by Beef and Lamb New Zealand and AgResearch. “This year is certainly a turn-around from where it was last year,” says Warren. “There’s clover for Africa in the paddocks again. We’ve had a real good winter and a great spring.” About 120 to 130 rams are expected to be available for sale on-farm from mid January: “The rams are certainly looking really good. They are into younger-grass paddocks now and it keeps them growing faster.” Although he is passionate about purebred perendales, Warren believes there are more composite sheep being bred today with perendale genetics because of traits such as survivability, which, along with lamb growth and meat yields, is backed up by Perendale Progeny Trial data.

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Kamahi Perendales

Business Rural

| 23

bullish about new-season rams

PHOTOS: Perendale breeder Warren Ayers ( above left) says a bumper spring and plenty of clover means this season’s rams (left) will be the best on offer for five years from his Kamahi Stud. An Aangus cow and calf (above) graze on the farm’s abundant feed.

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Dalzell Stud

Business Rural

Harsh country breeds tough texels Karen Phelps Breeding sheep on harsh South Island tussock country from 700-1200 metres above sea level has become a point of difference for Dalzell Stud. “A lot of stud breeders are running their sheep on what I call pavlova (soft) country,” says Aaron McCall. “We get snow in the winter and usually a drop in spring at lambing, so our stock are tested on the harder stuff. Aaron owns and operates the 1660-hectare property at Albury, around 45 minutes inland from Timaru, with wife Nicole and his parents, Ian and Diane. He grew up on a sheep-and-beef unit in western Southland, then worked around New Zealand, initially shepherding, then as a stock manager, before joining his parents in a new farming venture when the family bought the farm in 2009.

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McCall Farms runs 1200 texel ewes, 250 of which form the stud. It also runs 160 angus cows. As a straight store property selling calves and lambs at weaning, the farm is susceptible to market price variations, says Aaron. Dalzell Stud was started in 1991 when the texel breed was introduced to New Zealand. Factors such as the high yield and muscle attracted the family to the breed. Around 30 ram hoggets are sold on the farm each year (the next sale is scheduled for January 27). Fifteen texel (all in the top 10 per cent of texel rams recorded by SILS) and 15 suftex rams will be up for sale. The family places great importance on SIL figures in its breeding – they carry 75 per cent weighting in selection, with 25% on the look of the ram. “We source genetics from around New Zealand, but I won’t go to a sale and just buy a ram because it looks good,” says Aaron. “It has to have the figures to back it up.” The three main criteria in the terminal-ram breeding programme are survival, growth rates, and yield. The family does DNA tests for cold tolerance and foot score, and CT-scans the top rams and VIAscans culls to identify high-yielding genetics. The January sale rams are CT scanning at 80.56%, with an average scan yield of 75.2%. As dairy and beef prices have pushed up the price of good country, it has pushed sheep farmers onto more marginal land. But Aaron McCall sees this as a benefit for the stud, which can test sheep on similar country to what customers will be running them on. With lamb prices in general a challenge, the test for a stud breeder is to find ways to improve profits for farmers, he says. The family aims to continue to improve the farm by fencing and sectioning off hill blocks into smaller areas to allow better control of grazing and stock. With only 200ha of the farm able to be cultivated (the rest is steep tussock country), the McCalls aim to improve this area with new grasses.

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PHOTOS: Dalzell Texel Stud covers 1660 hectares at Albury, inland from Timaru, on tussock country that rises to 1200m above sea level. Snow in the winters and spring means stock are tested in extreme conditions, especially at lambing, when three-year-old Maddison McCall lends a hand.

SHEEPBREEDERS » Montana Perendales

Business Rural

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Southland’s Pip Wilson runs 3000 stock units, a mix of commercial ewes and stud perendales, plus 40 trading cattle at Weldon Valley. The overall winner of the 2016 New Zealand hogget competition used her Montana Perendales stud genetics.

Farming in Pip’s veins Karen Phelps Pip Wilson is testament to the fact that anything is possible when determination is combined with passion for farming. In fact Pip admits she started saving for a deposit towards her first farm when just a youngster. “From when I was teeny tiny, I was saying I wanted to be a farmer. Mum tried to tell me I’d be a farmer’s wife, but I was adamant – I wanted my own farm. When people used to give me pocket money, I used to save it to buy a farm whereas my friends bought ice creams and sweets.” From those small beginnings grew the deposit for what would become her stud operation, Montana Perendales. Pip grew up on a sheep and beef farm at Wyndham and went mustering around the South Island when she left school. At the age of 26 she had saved enough to buy 67 hectares at Mossburn and farmed there for 12 years. She leased some land and her stock units grew to 1000 perendales. In 2001 she registered her stud, which had developed from stud ewes her father had bought when Pip was a child. She sold the Mossburn property and went into a partnership at Greenvale for four years with 7000 stock units. In 2014 she leased her present 323ha farm in the Wendon Valley. She runs a total of 3000 stock units – a mix of commercial ewes and stud perendales – plus around 40 trading cattle. She also leases 52ha off her parents, who farm nearby at Mossburn where she grazes ewe rams and hoggets. Since she took over the Wendon Valley farm., she says she has been busy on the land with assistance from owner, 84-year-old Phil Edge. They have done extensive gorse spraying, fencing, drainage and fertiliser application, and a set of covered yards is being built. When Pip took over, there were just 700 stock units. She sees the potential to winter 3000 stock units on the property (she is presently wintering just under 2000).

To run any business you have to be a risk-taker. When I bought my first block, my accountant wouldn’t even back me – he thought I was mad because he didn’t think I could make it work financially. “We’ve done quite a bit of work here but there’s still heaps to do. Phil has contributed and proceeds from my stud have helped to finance things,” she says. Montana Perendales’ experiences successes. Three times perendales have won the New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition – and two of those winners have used Montana Stud genetics. Willie and Philippa Menlove, from Lumsden, in 2016 and John and Sharon Templeton, from Walter Peak Station, in 2006. Pip credits having ram clients who are excellent farmers as a key factor in this successful result. Her aim is to breed aggressive fossickers, which can survive and thrive in harsh conditions, produce multiple lambs, mature quickly, and are well muscled, high yielding and good grading. She says ewes are easy care, have good conformation and constitution. They get no molly coddling – she runs her stud flock with her commercial ewes most of the year. She sources genetics from New Zealand and is a ruthless culler. “I’ll cull, even if they’ve expensive stock, if they are not performing. The margins in farming are so tight you can’t afford to have hangers-on in your flock. “I learned this early on because I started off so small and money was so tight. I also learned a lot from my parents in terms of conformation.”

Pip Wilson’s aim is to breed aggressive fossickers, which can survive and thrive in harsh conditions, producing multiple lambs.

Pip sells around 150 rams each year by private sale. She runs her farm alone apart from casual labour during busy times. She admits she has always taken calculated risks to get to where she is today. “To run any business, you have to be a risktaker. When I bought my first block, my accountant wouldn’t even back me – he thought I was mad because he didn’t think I could make it work financially. “But I worked hard and worked on other people’s farms as well to make it a success. I’d be running around in the dark doing things on my own farm after I finished work.” She’s keen to to expand her business and sees huge potential to increase stock numbers. She also stresses that it’s important to enjoy life in the now. “You get only one crack at life and if you’re not enjoying it, change things so that you are,” she says. “I just love farming and breeding – it’s a passion.”

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26 |

SHEEPBREEDERS » Blairich Station

Business Rural

A mob of merino rams on fertile river flats at Blairich Station in the Awatere Valley. The station’s annual on-farm ram sale will be held in January.

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Neil Grant The Awatere, Maori for “swift river”, is one of three rivers running parallel to one another in a southwest to north-east direction in Marlborough. The Awatere and Wairau run out into Cook Strait. In a fit of eccentricity, the Clarence doubles back on itself to empty into the Pacific Ocean not far north of Kaikoura. It is an indication of the seismic nature of the area, as are the Awatere fault, the river tracks, and the recent earthquakes centred on Seddon at the Awatere’s mouth. The plains of the two northern rivers are fairly narrow, but fertile. The surrounding hills are steep, rugged and dry. Vineyards drive the economies on the flats; and merinos do what they do best – forage among the native herb fields on the hills producing outstanding wool and flavoursome meat. Blairich is a sheep station and stud in the lower Awatere. It has 3170 hectares, some on the river flats, but most running up into the Blairich Range at 1500-metres-plus. Ron and Sue Small came here in 1999. Their son, Tom, returned from overseas to join them in 2009. Their merino stud began in 1991 before they came to this valley. About three years ago, they bought Erewhon stud’s merino and polled merino stud to run in parallel. The two horned studs now run pretty much together, and the polled stud has its own band of clients. Blairich has traditionally superfine fleeces previously favoured for fine Italian-suit material. However, the Smalls produce a more productive fine-wool type these days “We can’t afford to chop and change with seasonal fads and trends,” says Tom Small. “By

Blairich Station’s Tom and Ron Small with another prizewinning ram. the time you set an objective, it takes time to get there; if you try and change to suit every fad, you’re always behind it. So we try to produce more of the things that make money: we work hard so that our genetics make money for our clients...more quality wool, more lambs, bigger lambs. “We bought a ram this year from Roseville Park (an Australian stud). He’s 148 kilograms and 17 microns...a big sheep for those microns. So, he’ll put more sheep into the same quality we’ve always been known for.” The ram was bought in a syndicate with two Victorian studs. He has now finished his season’s work with them and arrived at Blairich in November. Blairich’s commercial flock has 5400 merino ewes – 850 of them studs with, 450 of which are joined to Blairich sires, 200 to the Erewhon

horned sire, and 200 to the Erewhon polled ram. The station’s economy is roughly, depending on the season, a third from wool, a third from surplus sheep sold, and a third from cattle and calf sales. “The stud pays for itself,” says Ron. “Its wool is included in the commercial sales .Ram sales are an important component, but aren’t the main reason for the stud. We breed them for our own flock, but the sales pay for the investment in sires and genetic improvement. “Running a stud is an interest. You need to be passionate about breeding sheep, or you might as well just buy rams off someone else.” The stud principles remain the same even though the sheep have changed slightly over the years. “We’ve increased size and put more wool on, while maintaining the quality we’re known for.” Showing is part of the stud’s promotional activity. In March 2016, Blarich sold the top-priced ram at the Tekapo sale. The stud’s own ram sales are on farm in January. Most buyers are from around Marlborough, but that top ram went to Haldon Station, Tekapo. “We contact clients to find out what they want, get enquiry from new clients, and contact people we think our rams would suit,” says Ron. The polled sheep are finding some favour in New Zealand and Australia, he says. Where tailing is a family affair, farmers are happy when wives and children are not exposed to sharp little horns. Shearers are also in favour. “Previously polls tended not to be of such good quality as horned sheep, but this is changing as better-quality mating programmes improve the genetics.”

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Matakanui

Business Rural

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Irrigation reduces the ‘limiting factor’ Karen Phelps A new irrigation system has allowed Andrew and Tracy Paterson to double the irrigated area on Matakanui Station, take on more stock units and fatten store lambs for sale. Around 430 hectares of the farm is now irrigatied by two gravity-fed centre-pivots and five gravity-fed guns. As a result of the additional irrigation, wool production has increased and they are now producing nearly 500 bales as opposed to 400 bales. The target next year is 550 bales, then rising gradually to 600 bales. “Water has always been the limiting factor on this farm. We are now able to run more sheep and feed them better,” says Andrew. The couple have been running the 8700ha highcountry station in Central Otago, which rises from 260 metres to 1600 metres above sea level, for two years. Andrew is the third generation of his family to farm the land, which was originally bought by his grandfather in 1958. Andrew studied accounting, marketing and wool science at university before heading off on a ruralfarm exchange in Ireland followed by two years working in London as an accountant. He and his brother, Hamish, farmed the station alongside their father. In 2004 the family bought the 6700ha Mt Stalker Station. Hamish now manages Mt Stalker, leaving Andrew and Tracy to manage Matakanui; the couple then bought the station three years ago. Matakanui Station previously shore 12,00013,000 sheep; this figure has risen to 17,000. Now, says Andrew, thanks to the increase in irrigation, the aim is to increase the number of stock units to 25,000 over the next four years. Of the current stock, 1100 are polwarth stud ewes. The Patersons have done a lot of genetic work on foot rot resistance, cold tolerance and the t-muscle gene. As fine-wool sheep are very susceptible to

Thanks to the increase in irrigation, the aim is to increase the number of stock units to 25,000 over the next four years,

Left: This second centre-pivot at Matakanui increased the area irriated on the farm to around 430 hectares. Below: Andrew and Tracy Paterson celebrate winning the champion fleece award at the 2015 Canterbury A & P Show footrot, improvements in this area can net big gains for farmers, says Andrew. In less than a decade, the sheep have gone from 80% to 100% footrot resistance through the process of footrot challenging. Sheep that survive the challenge are bred from and the footrot genemarker is then tested as a back-up gauge. Andrew says very few; if any, other fine-wool sheep studs are doing this to this scale. He and Trudy have also managed to reduce the difference between lambing and scanning percentages from 36% to 19%: “Traditionally fine-wool sheep haven’t been the best mothers because the lambs aren’t aggressive enough when they are born,” says Andrew. ”It’s about having lambs with get up and go to survive.” He has created his own fine-wool terminal with the t-muscle gene (MyoMAX) by breeding a ram using a snowline ram over very fine-woolled, footrot-resistant merino ewes. By doing this he has introduced the t-muscle gene to create a lamb that produces wool and meat suitable for the market. The proof is in the pudding and at the 2016 Canterbury A & P Show in November Matakanui Station won all the wool sections it entered – halfbred, polwarth and strong merino – and was second in the supreme fleece, just half a point behind the winner, Simon Paterson, who happens to be Andrew’s second cousin.

DION MORRELL SHEARING

PH. 03 448 9170 M. 027 630 9081 dmshearing@xtra.co.nz

Highly skilled staff for quality work and ﬂexibility in all different wool-contract requirements Contact: DION OR GABRIELA Proudly Servicing Matakanui Station

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28 |

SHEEPBREEDERS » Grant & Bronwyn Campbell

Business Rural

The Campbells carry on legacy Kelly Deeks Central Southland sheep farmers Grant and Bronwyn Campbell are continuing the legacy of Grant’s parents, Robin and Lynley, co-developers of the TEFRom breed’. The composite breed was established in 1994 to offer sheep farmers the opportunity to take a leap forward in per-head performance and overall farm production. The TEFRom is made up of 25 per cent texel, 25% east friesian and 50% romney. “We’ve got a sheep which has picked up a bit of extra meat from the texel, mothering and milking ability from the east friesian, and 400 years of constitution out of the tomney,” Grant says. When Robin returned home to his romney stud from a Waitangi Fellowship in 1992, he came back thinking the sheep industry was about to put more emphasis on meat than wool.He joined forces with Russell and Pam Welsh to put the composite together, and by 2004, the TEFRom breed society was established from the three founding flocks, the Welshs, the Campbells and Derek Daniells, from the Wairarapa.

Two-tooth ewes and lambs on spring grass. The TEFRom breed has ‘picked up a bit of extra meat from the Texel, mothering and milking ability from the east friesian, and 400 years of constitution out of the romney,’ says Grant Campbell. Each of the founding flocks has a long history of breeding high-performance romneys and from these sheep, the breeders sought to retain longevity, soundness, fecundity, high growth rates, wool weights, freedom from pigment and other basic faults, parasite resistance, and good temperament.

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The texel has enhanced the wool bulk, parasite resistance, hardiness, muscling, and lowered the wool fibre diameter of the TEFRom. The east friesian offers higher ovulation rates, especially in hoggets, and increases bulk milk production, especially in late lactation, and positively influences wool bulk. “We’ve got the ability to lamb hoggets with them as well, which gives you a good option if you’ve got 10 to 15% of your farm under hoggets to get some lambs out of them,” Grant says. He has been running the farm since 2005, leaving his engineering career to come home and take over from Robin. Grant is concerned with what is happening outside the farm gate at the moment. “The growth and returns the Australian lamb market is receiving is a mystery , they seem to get paid heaps more than we do. Of the lambs imported into the United States, 85% come out of Australia and 15% from New Zealand. “All the politicking that is going on, plus Brexit, is concerning because they could potentially reduce

Where you can implement the most changes is inside the farm gate. imports of New Zealand lamb,” says Grant. The impact on land-use options from the draft Land and Water Plan is also a concern for Grant, who says he could lose farm value and productive potential, depending on how limit settings might be imposed. “Free-trade demands that we produce as much as we can as efficiently as we can. If we face restrictions that are not applied to our competitors, we are placed at disadvantage.” In spite of these outside pressures, he says one of the best lessons he learned from his dad is while you’ve got to know what’s going on outside the farm gate, it is pretty hard to change. “Where you can implement the most changes is inside the farm gate,” Grant says.

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SHEARING » Te Ako Wools

Business Rural

| 29

‘Strong uptake’ for industry courses Karen Phelps

WHAT IS TE AKO WOOLS?

Since Te Ako Wools started offering industry training in July there has been strong uptake from industry, says Te Ako Wools operations manager Jock Martin. Already 136 new trainees have signed on for courses and the goal is to reach 200 by the end of 2016. “Because Te Ako Wools is owned at grassroots level by the industry, this should mean that any trends or gaps in the industry needing training modules are readily apparent. “With this direction from the industry we can identify areas we need to be working on in the form of training for the good of the industry to keep it as the top of its game,” he says. Already new opportunities have become apparent, says Jock. He sees the development of strong links between Te Ako Wools, the New Zealand Shearing Contractors’ Association and relevant organisations as the key to developing successful training for the industry. For example, the New Zealand Shearing Contractors ‘Association is working on developing e-learning modules in conjunction with the ACC injury prevention team to meet industry need for training in this area in light of recent legislative changes. Farmer and shearing contractor focus groups have already been conducted to identify what has and hasn’t worked in terms of health and safety practices in the attendees operations. Jock says this will identify problem areas and also ideas for development of the e-learning tools focused around meeting the legislative requirements. It is hoped that the prototype will be operational by the 2017 World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in February. If

• e ko ools is a er cent industr owned and operated by the New Zealand Shearing Contractors’ Association. It is contracted to recruit, deliver and assess training for the wool industry by the Primary ITO Launched in 2016, it operates on a cost-recovery basis delivering training for New Zealand Qualification Authority qualifications to the industry. • e ko ools was develo ed b the rimar ITO and the New Zealand Shearing Contractors’ Association with a focus on a renewed level of collaboration at the grass roots. • he organisation offers training in level and 4 in shearing, wool handling and pressing.

successful, stage two of the project will involve shearers, wool handlers and pressers to develop tools for injury prevention, he says. “Training is one of the best injury prevention training tools available,” says Jock Martin. “We take the view that prevention is better than cure. Since Te Ako Wools and the New Zealand Shearing Association is from the industry, at the farm gate, we can pass the right messages onto people coming into the industry as well as those already working in it.” He says designing training such as this to meet specific industry needs determined from grass roots level is key. For example he says that e-learning modules provide multiple pathways for learning – visual and oral – appealing to more people, particularly those that may find more traditional methods of learning challenging.

• More wool stories: page 30

Te Ako Wools hopes to have 200 trainees signed on for its industry training courses by the end of the year.

Because Te Ako Wools is owned at grass-roots level by the industry, this should mean that any trends or gaps in the industry needing training modules are readily apparent. With this direction from the industry we can identify areas we need to be working on ...

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30 |

SHEARING » Te Ako Wools

Business Rural

Te Ako Wools delivers training nationwide for NZQA qualifications to the wool industry. The organisation currently offers training in Level 2,3 and 4 in shearing, wool handling and pressing.

Standardised wool training network Karen Phelps The establishment of Te Ako Wools has provided a standardised nationwide training network for the industry, says Te Ako Wools operations manager Jock Martin. “Previously the industry had various trainers around the country, but each had individual theories on training delivery. Te Ako Wools has given a standardised national footprint so what we are teaching at one end of the country will be the same as what we are teaching at the other end,” he says. Te Ako Wools has four full-time trainers – Dean TeHuia and Cheryl Traill in the North Island, and Robyne Murray and Chas Tohiariki in the South Island – and seven external trainers. The organisation has engaged a strategic planner to development Te Ako Wools on a national scale.

“We know Te Ako Wools will bring huge benefits across the board – not only to the trainees but to farmers and shearing contractors right down to the consumer,” says Jock. ”Shearers are paid by the number of sheep shorn. Better skills mean immediate returns to the trainee and the employer. It also means the shearer will minimise damaging mistakes, such as skin cuts and second cuts, again adding value to the clip. “Wool handlers and pressers have a major influence on the wool clips returns. Their expertise with the wool clip preparation is the defining point between success and failure for the client’s returns. Training is essential to maximise returns, especially when the returns are low. “While we are still in the early stages with Te Ako Wools and working on a long-term model, we have the aspiration to be the world leader in wool harvesting training. Support for Te Ako Wools has been overwhelming – and we’ve only just started.”

DION MORRELL SHEARING

PH. 03 448 9170 M. 027 630 9081 dmshearing@xtra.co.nz

Highly skilled staff for quality work and ﬂexibility in all different wool-contract requirements Contact: DION OR GABRIELA Proud member of NZSCA

Managing risks around shearing Farmers are being is encouraged to work with their shearers in managing injury risks. Last year, 129 people suffered severe injuries while shearing – a job that involves long hours and an increased risk of back injuries, sprains, strains and hand wounds. “Contractors who shear or crutch thousands of sheep each year are generally well set up to manage risks,” says David Fagan, a five-time individual world champion and seven-time world team champion shearer. “However, shearing gear needs to be well maintained If you’re upgrading your shearing plant, consider a safety sensor with a cut-out switch.” David Fagan says farmers should ensure their stock are fasted and empty before shearers arrive. A full animal is heavier and awkward to handle, and increases the chance of injury to the shearers. He also encourages farmers to check that tracks to the woolshed are safe for shearers’ vehicles and to ensure that the woolshed steps are not slippery: “A safe and clean working environment with basic facilities such as toilets and wash basins is also a good idea,” he says.

WorkSafe’s sector lead for agriculture, Al McCone, says farmers and shearers need to take the time to check all of their gear before starting shearing. “It’s really important to make sure everyone takes extra care when operating equipment such as the wool press and grinders. “Talk with your shearers about the best techniques for handling and shearing sheep, the risks around the shed, and what that means for the people and equipment the farm provides. “Everyone in the woolshed needs to keep health and safety front of mind. T he checks and conversations might take an hour or two, but if you, your workers or a member of your shearing gang is laid low with a back injury, that’s going to have a much bigger impact on your bottom line.” • WorkSafe’s Safer Farms programme has published new guidance to support farmers in managing risks around shearing: http://saferfarms. org.nz/guides/safe-sheep-shearing/.

Training vital for industry Te Ako Wools operations manager Jock Martin, who owns and runs his own shearing business, sees training as vital to take the industry. “The shearing industry in New Zealand is very established, but it is evolving. “For example, when I started shearing 30 years ago, my father was a shearer and I grew up on a farm. “But nowadays, people coming into the industry can be urban-based and might not have had that exposure to farming life. “We need to be able to integrate people into the industry that may have been brought up outside it,” he says. Te Ako Wools is working with Worksafe on

developing a pre-employment programme to attract fresh blood to the industry. Te Ako Wools has also established a Facebook page in effort to attract the next generation to the profession. And, says Jock says that there is huge potential for well-trained wool harvesters. “Te Ako Wools provides on-the-job training and also block courses. “The main trait is to have a competitive streak, to be self-driven and disciplined – they have to be prepared to learn, to get up early and to work in all climates.” He says some of New Zealand’s top shearers can earn more than $130,000 per year, so there is extremely good money to be made.”

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32 |

RURAL SERVICES » Great Southern Group

Business Rural

New Timaru branch ‘a step up’ Kelly Deeks Former Ashburton manager Mark Robertson and Phil Millar, from the Temuka site, are managing agricultural products supplier Great Southern Group’s new store in Washdyke, Timaru. Between them, they have a wealth of knowledge and can offer advice on products for projects, says the group’s business manager, Roy Duffell.. Great Southern shed manager Reon Park is also based at the Washdyke store, and is available to help with advice and pricing on lean-to and gable farmsheds and buildings. The Timaru store is a step up from the previous store at Temuka,, says Great Southern Group business manager Roy Duffell. He says moving to a bigger and better location at Washdyke will allow greater quantities and a greater range of stock to be carried, which will help the company live up to its claim of being a ‘onestop fencing and timber shop, with everyday good prices’. “We’ve now got a full building of tools, fittings, bolts, screws, nails, ply, cement, and lots more,

PHOTOS: Great Southern Group has moved its Temuka store to Washdyke, on the northern outskirts of Timaru. The Timaru store has a full building for tools and fittings, a large rear entrance, sealed driveway and spacious yard. everything you need for your outdoor project. The site has a large rear entrance, a sealed driveway, and

a huge yard with plenty of room for trailer or trucks.” A small replica shed sits high on display above the fence at the new branch, harking back to the company’s reputation in building sheds and farm buildings to individual specifications. Great Southern Group was formed through the amalgamation of five long-standing timber companies with more than 40 years of experience in providing in farm fencing, timber, farm buildings, and concrete products. Roy Duffell says the company’s range of timber would be one of the most comprehensive available. “Because of our manufacturing base, we are able to produce a product that is exceptional value, and we believe superior in quality to any other timber in the market. “We pride ourselves on having superior products, and we have a rigid, quality-control programme

in place that ensures a high standard of graded dimensions, straightness, and a smooth finish across all our products.” The company operates through most of the South Island, with branches in Ashburton, Cromwell, Gore, Invercargill, Milton, Oamaru, Ranfurly, Waimate – and now Timaru. Through its origins, Great Southern Group has a range of skills and local knowledge, that help staff meet each customer’s specifications and requirements. As well as having one of the best ranges of timber and posts on site, our big point of difference is our customer service,” Roy says. “When people drive out of our driveway, they drive away happy with the whole experience, with both the products we have provided and the friendly service and advice we offer.”

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RURAL SERVICES » Harves Contracting

Business Rural

| 33

Kaka Point contractor Harves Contracting specialises in stockwater schemes, farm development and maintenance, demolition, site development, trenching and driveways.

Magic winter keeps contractor busy Russell Fredric A “magic” winter in the south followed by a tentative improvement in dairy pay-outs has kept means Kaka Point rural contractor Mike Harvey since early spring. With two dairy-farm stockwater schemes recently completed, the owner of Harves Contracting is typically busy over summer doing dairy-farm lane maintenance and general contracting work with his new Caterpillar 314E hydraulic excavator. The 14-tonne machine, equipped with a blade, replaces an older digger of the same size, while a 12-tonne 312C digger is kept on hand as a backup. “In the last five years I’ve had two machines. Mike Harvey says. “If farmers have something

urgent, rather than pulling one out (of a job) we’ve got one there as a standby.” The 14-tonne digger is a versatile machine, and is capable of operating well in wet weather or on sometimes slippery clay soils. The South Otago business evolved from supporting a silage contractor 15 years ago with Mike Harvey initially leasing, then buying, a digger. He believes his experience of having worked on a family farm in North Otago has helped create confidence from his clients because of his understanding of farmers’ needs. “We’ve got a regular client base and we’ve stuck with those clients,” he says. “ If you get too big, one of your clients will suffer if you can’t handle the workload.” “I enjoy working with the farmers; you’ve got to understand how they think in respect of what they want done and the standards they require.”

14 Frances Street, Balclutha • Forestry Guarding • Buckets & Grapples • Machine-Shop Work • CNC Profile Cutter • Jetboat Fitouts and Maintenance • Hydraulic Hose Repairs

Harves Contracting is a versatile operator with the ability to complete a variety of farm development and maintenance work, including drainage, cow lanes and farm tracks. Mike Harvey’s expertise with stockwater schemes for dairy and sheep farms means he gets a good amount of this work.. “We’ve got two sheep-farm schemes booked in to do this coming season.” Other work includes demolition, commercial and residential site development, trenching and driveways. The company also operates a high-waterpressure tile cleaner, which can save farmers time and money by avoiding the need to uncover blocked drains. “If a drain is silted up, sometimes it frees it up rather than the expense of replacing the section of drain.”

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The firm also works with other contractors, including silage contractors, providing an extra truck when needed, while its transporter is available for hire to move machinery. Having good support from Balclutha service companies such as Duffy Engineering and Hewitts Tractor Service has been important in minimising downtime and keeping Harves Contracting machinery operating to optimum capacity, he says.. This year’s southern farming season is considerably different from last year, he says. Contracting work is a month ahead because of the milder winter and spring, favourable rainfall and incredible grass growth. “It’s good for the farmers,” says Mike Harvey. “And happy farmers, happy contractors.” Outside of the business Mike keeps his hand in at farming. He and his wife, Lynette, own a sixhectare property at Kaka Point.

34 |

RURAL SERVICES » High Country Contracting

Business Rural

War declared on wilding pines Kelly Deeks Efforts have begun to deal with an increasing threat to South Island, high-country farmland – thanks to a $16 million fund announced in this year’s budget aimed at wilding pine control. Wilding pines now cover more than 1.8 million hectares of South Island high country and they’re advancing at the rate of five per cent a year. The tree pests, which generally have no economic value because they are dense and tangled with poor form, pose a threat to nature and to New Zealand’s primary-sector economy. Wilding-pine spread contributes to loss of water availability, loss of productive land, and reduction in biodiversity. It affects the amount of water left available for farming, river levels, and other water use such as hydro-electric generation. With another dry summer on the horizon, both reduced water yield caused by wilding pines and the risk of fire are troubling issues. One of the companies charged with the removal of wilding pines around Canterbury is High Country Contracting. Business manager Khan Adam says the firm has extensive experience and the infrastructure required for multiple types of animal and plant pest control operations. “We use only modern methods,” he says. “We combine multiple years of experience in the industry with the latest techniques.” Options for wilding pine control include: cut and paste where trees are felled with chainsaws and stumps are treated with herbicide to prevent

The target: Wilding pine infestations pose an increasing threat to the South Island high country. Pleasant Point-based High Country Contracting has been commissioned to help tackle the problem. regrowth; gun and hose spraying, using up-todate herbicides for thick stands of young trees; aerial spot spraying of isolated trees; aerial boom spraying of matured stands of trees. Organic approaches are also available for properties with an organic status. From its fixed base in Pleasant Point, High Country Contracting can provide pest-control services through South Canterbury, the Mackenzie country, and Central Otago, says Khan Adam..

The company runs a modern fleet of vehicles, built and fit for purpose – from robust off-road machines to lightweight, two-wheel motorbikes. A GIS system provides accurate data management, detailed mapping, and postoperational reporting. Khan says animal and plant-pest control is regarded as a high-risk industry, and High Country Contracting takes an extremely stern approach across the board with health and safety.

“We put our guys through regular and intensive training and, when it comes to health and safety and conforming to regulations and legislation, we operate with a really high level of compliance. “We employ a health and safety manager, an operations manager, and an office manager, all of whom look after health and safety, and compliance of the guys on the ground – the ones jumping in and out of helicopters, climbing up mountains, and taking down about 100 trees a day.

Above: Khan Adam visits a High Country Contracting work-site. Left: Ridges like this are a typical work environment for company staff.

Freephone 0800 684 882

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021 422 947

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RURAL SERVICES » Winton Engineering

Business Rural

| 35

Engineers express their versatility Russell Fredric Known for the manufacture of an extensive array of agricultural and industrial equipment, Southlandbased firm Winton Engineering also has a history of building large-scale dairy wintering sheds. The family-owned company employs 10 staff and is owned and run by three shareholders, Steven Henry, Justin Short and his father, Roger Short. Its expertise runs across fitting, turning and machining work, all types of welding, dairy shed repairs, hydraulic and farm-equipment repairs, and the design and manufacture of new equipment. The company also does new dairy yards, dairy-shed work, the design, building and erection of wintering sheds, and the manufacture of backing and top gates for all yard types. It has been a long history of building dairy sheds under the Advanced Dairy Barns Ltd brand. “We have been involved in building barns for about 10 years, housing more than 21,500 cows in more than 20 barns,” says Steven Henry. Despite the dairy industry taking a hit during the past two seasons, some barns are of an epic scale, he says. “At present, we’ve got a massive job...one of the biggest jobs in that line of the business.” It’s an 1150-cow, 7700 square metre barn being built as a turnkey package for a client in in Clinton, in South Otago. The job started early October and requires a significant commitment of resources from Winton Engineering. It will be completed for the 2017-18 season. This follows a 1500-cow barn completed two years ago for the Van Leeuwen Dairy Group at Makikihi, in South Canterbury. De Laval claims this is the largest robotic-dairy barn in the world.

At 200 metres long and 67 metres wide, it occupies 13,000 square metres – about the size of two rugby fields. By using Winton Engineering’s engineering expertise, Advanced Dairy Barns Ltd can advise on design options based around individual requirements and taking into account factors such as location, cow numbers, length of time cows will be housed, the type of milking system, effluent scraper systems, and mattress or matting options. Other considerations include light, air flow, rest areas, space, feeding and water supply. “A good barn is 100 per cent geared to the needs of the cows to keep them healthy and productive. In addition, the design of the barn ensures work can be done with maximum efficiency and working conditions are pleasant so that staff enjoy working there.” The company has built 10 barns in the past five years. Winton Engineering has designed and manufactured a wide range of farm and industrial equipment – including aerators, chisel ploughs, soft-hand bale clamps, silage grabs, bale forks, pallet forks, log splitters, leveller/cultivators, rollers and bale feeders. These are sold direct to clients. “Most of them we’ve developed ourselves over the last 10 or more years, or put our own stamp on the designs,” says Steven Henry. “The leveller/cultivator is one of our biggest sellers; it has the option of including cultivating tines. Last year we added a fodder-beet bucket to the range.” The company’s workshop does precision turning work up to 2000mm in length and 500mm in diameter, as well as key-way broaching and milling, thread cutting, hydraulic ram manufacture and press forming. Fabrication work includes MIG, TIG, gas and stick welding and repairs.

Examples of Winton Engineering work. and products...the van Leeuwen Dairy Group robotic-dairy barn (above), a leveller/cultivator (below,a an aerator (bottom) and rubber roller (bottom left).

WINTON HEAD OFFICE P.O BOX 34, Winton Phone (03) 236-6580 Fax (03) 236-6581

Te Anau (03) 249-7051 Lumsden (03) 236 6580

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Telephone: 03 236 6077 or 0800 WINTON (0800 946 866) Fax: 03 236 6088 53 Great North Road, Winton, New Zealand wintonengineering@xtra.co.nz

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W e b site : www.gvi.co.nz Em ail: info@gvi.co.nz

• • • •

Southland W ide. . . Contact Paul 0275 505 718

36 |

RURAL SERVICES Âť Aratuna Freighters

Business Rural

New truck dedicated to fishing Kelly Deeks

Aatuna Freighterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new hiab-equipped Iveco services fishing boats around the South Island, unloading at Bluff, Lyttelton, Timaru, Nelson and Picton.

A new regular run to Westport and a new unit equipped with a hiab have recently expanded the operations of West Coast-owned and operated transport company Aratuna Freighters. The company has gained a group of new customers who can make use of its dedicated services and improved fleet. The new hiab truck, which was required to service an Aratuna Freighters client, Westfleet, now follows the fishing boats around the South Island unloading at Bluff, Lyttelton, Timaru, Nelson, and Picton. The specialised unit has opened up more opportunities for other fishing-company clients. Aratuna Freighters was originally a one-truck business started in 1985 by a West Coast farmer, Durham Havill, and his wife, Lorraine. Their son, Andrew, and his wife, Monique, are now also fully involved in the business. With a staff of 74, Aratuna Freighters now carries fuel, frozen products, general freight, bulk freight, and livestock from the West Coast mainly to Nelson and Christchurch. However, Aratuna units can be seen around the South Island and, at times, in the North Island. As well as food and fuel, the rural side of the business has been a constant focus since day one. It includes two stock units, nine bulk units, and three curtain-sider trucks and trailer. They run out of Aratuna Freightersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; second yard in Hokitika, which was acquired in 2003 and is managed by rural manager John Hutchison. Two years ago, Aratuna Freighters built a Ballance fertiliser depot in Greymouth, taking the pressure off Ballanceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s closest depots at Timaru and Rolleston, both of which were nearly at capacity.

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YOUR

TRANSPORT PARTNER

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Business Rural

RURAL SERVICES » Aratuna Freighters

| 37

fleet Aratuna Freighters now manages Ballance Greymouth, and shifts the bulk fertiliser. Andrew has had two boat-loads of fertiliser shipped from Southland to Greymouth to show that it could be done, and to illustrate the time and savings farmers can make. More recently, the firm became the Mainfreight depot for Greymouth; it started with one truck and now, it runs four trucks painted in Mainfreight colours. This service crosses the mountains to Christchurch daily, and a new, five-day-a-week general freight run to Westport is an expansion of this. Aratuna Freighters has also expanded into the courier market with the acquisition of the Fastway Couriers franchise for the West Coast. Three Fastway Courier vans run out of Greymouth. In charge of the day-to-day comings and goings is logistics manager Jamie McGeady, He runs a tight ship and works with management and staff.. Aratuna Freighters has also recently bought some land at the Three Mile Sawmill site at Hokitika. This has been tidied up and fenced off, and is now land-banked for development into an industrial estate.

We are proud to partner Aratuna Freighters Ltd as their preferred service provider.

For all truck, trailer and construction equipment servicing, contact us. 52 Preston Rd, Tyler Stanton Greymouth (03) 768 9063 027 836 4582

PHOTOS Aratuna Freighters’ rural operation includes two stock trucks and nine bulk carriers. The company also runs three Fastway courier vans and has recently become the Mainfreight depot for Greymouth.

www.tasmantyres.co.nz Proud to be a major supplier to Aratuna Freight “Four small areas of rubber, each the size of a postcard, are all a vehicle has holding it to the ground ... ... So it pays to look after them

- Greg Murphy Phone Greymouth: 03 769 9081 Phone Mainfreight West Coast: 03 769 9081 Phone Hokitika: 03 756 8012 Fax: 03 768 4102

8 South Island Locations Free phone your nearest branch

0800 838 973

email: info@TasmanTyres.co.nz

38 |

RURAL SERVICES » Lister Helicopters

Business Rural

Squirrel provides the competitive edge Kelly Deeks When Otago firm Lister Helicopters needed more capacity at the start of last season, owner Alister Lister was keen to maintain the customer connection his business has thrived on. So instead of buying two new helicopters and increasing the company’s fleet to four, which would have required taking on a couple more pilots and for him to step back from flying into an administration role, he bought one big helicopter and continues to personally service clients and maintain the customer relationships he has cherished for so long. Lister Helicopters’ new Eurocopter AS350FX2, or Squirrel as it is known in the industry, offers twice the lift capacity of the company’s two MD500Es. It can carry six passengers, is ideal for heavy lifting, and comes into its own when firefighting. Lister Helicopters is a family-owned and operated business run by pilot Alister, his wife, and administrator Nadine. They are supported by two other pilots, and four ground crew. Key to the business is its independent, owneroperator status. “When you call Lister Helicopters, you speak directly to your pilot and get a precise and accurate assessment of time scales and approximate costs, allowing you to plan your own schedule with confidence,” says Alister Lister. Services offered include spraying liquid

fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, aerial seed and solid fertiliser spreading backed by the farming background and stock knowledge of rural-based staff. The firm can also help with mustering and animal control. It offers lifting, transport, forestry, sightseeing, firelighting, and firefighting services, and has the ability to call in extra machines. This means that, quite literally, no job is too big or too small. Alister Lister reckons that connecting with its clients is one of the biggest strengths of the

business: “I try to get to most of them myself at lleast once a season, just to keep that contact up, and I’m always talking to them throughout the seasons. “I don’t want the business to get too much bigger, and to go away from that personal service and to become a voice on the end of the phone. “I want to be there to service our clients, to do a good job for them, and to build good relationships with them.” The new helicopter has allowed him to extend the business’ capabilities without detracting from

customer connection. The helicopter is set up for fire fighting, and has the ability to carry a tonne of water at a time. “it is a really effective performer,” says Alister Lister. “It is a popular machine amongst agricultural clients as it is set up for spraying and spreading fertiliser.” With the addition of the Squirrel’s six seats for passengers, Lister Helicopters now has the ability to move 14 people at a time by using all of its three machines.

Proudly supplying Lister Helicopters with quality weed control.

Lister Helicopters’ new Squirrel is ideal for heavy lifting jobs such as solid fertiliser spreading and firefighting. Others services include spraying, mustering and animal control.

Business Advisors & Chartered Accountants Contact

Lee McAuslan or Stephen Kornyei

17-19 John Street, Balclutha. Email: adviser@haymake.co.nz

Balclutha (03) 418 1256 | Milton (03) 417 8558 Proud to support Lister Helicopters

45 Ward Street, Dunedin 027 870 3344 | 03 477 7616 www.red1.co.nz

Sp e cial ist Sup p l ie rs of A gricul tural Che m ical , Se e d & Sp ray E q uip m e nt Exp e rie nce - C om m itm e nt - S e rv ice

Indep endent adv ice to get the b est from your land

P roud to sup p ort Lister H elicop ters

0800 2 2 7 2 2 6

www.ad v ance - agricul ture .co.nz

RURAL SERVICES » Glassey Contracting

Business Rural

| 39

The rutbuster (above left) is the machine behind one of Glassey Contracting’s new services. The company manufactures its own Rutbuster gravel (above right_ crushed to 15mm, used to fill centre-pivot ruts.

New services meet new needs Karen Phelps A number of new services have been added to Glassey Contracting Ltd’s repertoire in the Selwyn district. The Tai Tapu-based company has diversified and is offering forage harvesting, mowers and conditioners, pit silage (grass, maize and cereal) including vacuum barrier film silage cover, says director Scott Glassey. Other services include: rut filling; the formation and maintenance of farm tracks; and the cleaning of drains, driveways and dairy-shed bases. The company also spreads effluent, manure and compost. Scott Glassey says the aim is always to provide farmers with the best service possible at the best price, which is particularly important in the present, low-dairy-payout environment. Any investment that farmers make must pay dividends in the long run, he says. For example the company’s new vacuum barrier film service, placed on top of the stack under the normal covers, sucks down to form a vacuum seal that creates an airtight stack. It’s simple to lay, not costly to use, and accelerates air-free fermentation, stifles wastecausing aerobic organisms, and reduces the risk of in-stack mycotoxins. As silage is such an important part of dairy farming operations, the company’s new mower and conditioner is also proving popular. Glassey Contracting can mow and condition all in one pass. The business also thrives coming up with answers to common farm problems. For example, Scott manufactures his own Rutbuster gravel crusher to 15mm. Used to fill centre-pivot ruts, it can cut down damage caused to pivot gearboxes and machinery from stones as well as make the workplace safer for staff. A 32mm shingle attachment is also available for tanker tracks, along with sand for arable farmers. “We have the gear and specialist knowledge to make light work of pivot ruts,” says Scott. “This service saves farmers money, because it does less damage to equipment, and saves them time as it can be mowed straight over. It also lasts longer by compacting to form a very hard surface,” says Scott. Glassey Contracting was started by Scott’s

Silage harvesting is an important part of Glassey Contracting’s contracting operation.

We have the gear and specialist knowledge to make light work of pivot ruts father, John, in the 1970s to provide earthmoving and earthworks services, and shingle cartage and supply. Silage harvesting was added to the repertoire in the early 1980s and the company was soon servicing a number of large dairy farms in the Selwyn district. Today, the business is owned and operated by Scott Glassey, with Mark Watkins a partner in the silage operation. Jason Marley, who has recently joined the company, is a former dairy farmer who brings extensive experience. The company also has a wide range of machinery – including self-propelled forage harvesters, trucks, loaders, rakes, weighing machines, diggers, bulldozers, graders, rollers, tractors and manure spreaders. Scott says new machinery is added to the fleet frequently to ensure the company is offering customers the benefits of the latest technology.

Ths business is located in the Selwyn district 20 minutes’ drive from Christchurch city. Scott says Selwyn is becoming popular with lifestylers, which results in plenty of earthworks and excavation work as well as soil moving and property levelling in preparation for building and landscaping. With around 16 staff (depending on the season and the workload) Scott says the business is always growing. Most of its work is mainly between the Waimakariri and Rakaia rivers, but it will go further afield for significant jobs.

9 South Island Locations

Free phone your nearest branch

ROLLESTON Proud to be a major supplier to Glassey Contracting

0800 838 973 email: info@TasmanTyres.co.nz

www.tasmantyres.co.nz

“Four small areas of rubber, each the size of a postcard, are all a vehicle has holding it to the ground ... ... So it pays to look after them

- Greg Murphy

C L A A S HA R V ES T C EN T R E CH R I STCH U R CH - 03 341 6 900 | 02 72 715 46 2 www.claasharv e stce ntre .com

is proud to support Glassey Contracting www.agpac.co.nz

‘Supporting one another’

40 |

RURAL SERVICES » Green Fuels/ Millar’s Plumbing

Business Rural

Biodiesel ‘great renewable fuel source’ Kelly Deeks The importance of sustainable fuel options has been ever-growing in recent times as we become more aware of the negative impacts of using global fossil fuels. Christchurch’s Green Fuels is making the switch to more sustainable fuels easy for New Zealand businesses with its Middleton-based refinery converting a waste product, used cooking oil, into environmentally friendly biodiesel. Green Fuels director Martin Johnson says his company’s product, Biogold, is a great renewable fuel source. Green Fuels seeks to make environmentally friendly fuels, and help its customers make a positive environmental difference. He says Biogold is a very low-cost way for businesses to reduce their carbon emissions, as well as demonstrating to customers that they care about how they do business and their effect on the environment. For every tonne of used cooking oil used to make Biogold biodiesel, New Zealand’s carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by at least two tonnes, he says. It also helps clear the air by reducing particulate emissions by up to 50 per cent. Other benefits of using Biogold include a reduction in engine noise with the improved fuel lubricity increasing the level of protection for fuelinjection components and resulting in more efficient engine use, he says. Biogold also produces fewer hazardous exhaust emissions, including a significant reduction in visible smoke when high-blend proportions of Biogold biodiesel are used. In the event of a spill, Biogold biodiesel is less hazardous to the environment, and is a much safer

Green Fuel’s Karl Hatton (left) and Martin Johnson at the company’s refinery in Middleton, Christchurch.

Environmental awareness plays an increasing part in the way businesses operate today, and we plan to keep growing as more and more customers see the benefits in ecological responsibility. and simpler fuel to store and handle than traditional mineral diesel, he says. The locally produced Biogold brings more environmental advantages as transportation is minimal compared with imported products, he adds. Martin says switching to Biogold is easy and affordable. In most cases, it is a direct replacement for diesel fuel with no modifications to engines or

parts necessary. Competitive pricing means it can be more economical than ordinary diesel. All Biogold fuel is made to New Zealand engine specifications and is independently tested, he says. This is important because a five per cent blend of Biogold with mineral fuels will not void any vehicle warranty. GreenFuels supplies 100% Biogold nationwide, and Biogold blends in the Canterbury region.

The company provides its customers with tanks and manages their fuel delivery so that fuel is always there when needed. “Our customers never have to worry about running out of fuel as we take the hassle out of that process,” Martin says. “Alternatively, they can collect fuel direct from our Christchurch refinery.” The refinery has capacity to manufacture up to 4 million litres of Biogold annually. After three years in business, demand continues to grow, says Martin. “Especially in Christchurch where businesses are moving forward from the earthquakes and are once again thinking about operating more sustainably,” he says. “Environmental awareness plays an increasing part in the way businesses operate today, and we plan to keep growing as more and more customers see the benefits in ecological responsibility.

Plumbing firm puts a lot Richard Loader

En vironmentally friendly fuels

phone [03] 335 0273 or email info@greenfuels.co.nz

SOUTHBUILD For all your Building requirements and Farm Building projects contact Southbuild ITM Winton Phone 03 236 6055 Fax 03 236 8599 Email sales@southbuild.co.nz www.itm.co.nz

Plumbing, drainlaying, gas fitting and carpentry services are all in a day’s work for Millar’s Plumbing and Drainlaying. From its base in the farming, forestry and milling town of Otautau, the firm services most of Southland. “We are domestic-maintenance plumbers as well as commercial plumbers for beef, sheep and dairy farmers, the local sawmill, and a few other businesses in the area,” says managing director Graeme Millar. The firm’s four tradesmen service a loyal customer base over a significant area of Southland, he says. He recounts being engaged to upgrade Kisbee Lodge’s plumbing and drainlaying. Set in the middle of Fiordland, it’s a remote location. “Access had to be gained by helicopter, so we had to be super organised. Millar’s now has the maintenance contract.” The business operated from Otautau for more than 140 years, though not always as Millar’s Plumbing. Graeme and his father worked for the business when it was known as FR Insull & Son. ‘My father and I were offered the business in 1984 and we jumped at the opportunity,” says

Graeme. “My father passed away four years later and I took on sole responsibility for the business.” More than 90 per cent of Millar’s business is repairs and maintenance for rural clients. Graeme attributes their loyalty to customer service, quality work, and the longevity of the business. “People like to know they can get a plumber when they need to. If we can’t get there today, we can almost guarantee we’ll be there tomorrow.’ Graeme, a qualified plumber, gas-fitter and drainlayer, employs a plumber who has been with Millars for 22 years, a carpenter who has worked for the firm for 15 years, and a plumbing apprentice in his fourth year and due to qualify next year. ‘Their workmanship and loyalty to Millar’s has played a significant contribution to the businesses success,” says Graeme. He says having a qualified builder with a limited certificate in plumbing and drainlaying provides cost benefit to customers when carpentry is also required as part of the plumbing repair, particularly in rural communities. It has also enabled Millars to become more multi-faceted by taking on farm-building work with Graeme as the project manager. ‘We’ve built three houses and a few huts now, and we’re about to start a three-bedroom house on

PROUD TO SUPPLY MILLARS PLUMBING & DRAINAGE CNR TWEED AND LIDDEL STREETS, INVERCARGILL 9810

Ph. 0800 476 426 or 03 214 4424

RURAL SERVICES » Hecton Products

Business Rural

| 41

Invercargill firm takes aim at Aussie market Russell Fredric Hecton Products has launched a stand-alone company in a bid to capitalise on market potential in Australia. The Invercargill-based firm began trading as a separate entity, Hecton Products Australia, in early August after selling its products through a distributor network. The 40-year-old Southland business is synonymous with innovative agricultural equipment and was bought four years ago by Aaron Bremner. A fitter welder by trade, he had worked for the company for eight years and gradually increased his shareholding before acquiring it outright in 2012. “I’ve enjoyed the new challenges, projects and opportunities, and being able to do what I want in the last four years has been really good,” says Aaron. Hecton Products grew on the back of its sheep-handling gear, such as its crutching machine invented by John Hector. The machine has been so successful that little has changed in its design since it was invented. The company developed a reputation in New Zealand and Australia as well as in the United Kingdom, Ireland and United States. “The crutching machine is the staple really,”

says Aaron. “That was the first product. It’s what Hecton has been built on.” “They’re fast, they’re simple and reliable. They do the job.” The machine is unique in that it allows full access to a sheep’s belly. And it can be used in either static in sheep yards, or in mobile mode on a trailer. Stepping into the Australian market is the company’s most recent challenge. The downturn in the New Zealand dairy industry and a strong sheep industry in Australian have both been catalysts for the launch of Hecton’s Victoriabased business. The timing is favourable, with the sheep industry in Australia being “really good” this year, and farmers achieving good prices for lambs. And feed in south-eastern Australia is plentiful because of a good season. While Hecton Products’s Australian business volume was modest before the August company launch, “the potential was always there” to increase sales in a large market, says Aaron. The launch of the company will allow for better control of all aspects of its Australian operation, he adds. “With the downturn in dairy, if I was going to experience any growth I had to go overseas.” The initial focus is in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, with products being sold

A sheep handler and lead-up race, one of the many products manufactured by Southland agricultural engineering firm Hecton Products. The company is stepping into the Australian market and has launched a standalone company in a bid to capitalise on markets there. comprising Hecton’s sheep crutching machine, stock worker, races and anti-backing wings. “All the manufacturing’s done in New Zealand and we’ve got a warehouse in Victoria that does our distribution for us.” Meantime, the company continues “sticking to our knitting” in New Zealand, says Aaron. “We are trying to develop product that complements what we already do and focus on promoting ourselves. Even though we’ve been around a long time, there are still a few farmers who don’t know who we are.” The easing of the company’s high workload installing dairy-shed feed systems is providing a grass-roots opportunity to attend agricultural shows this summer to display its sheep-handling gear and for staff to see their many farmer and contractor clients face to face. Hecton Products’s second-largest seller is its trailers, which range from single and tandem axle

ATV models to tip trailers, flat deck and well-sided options for builders and contractors. Engineering services include stainless steel and alloy Tig and Mig welding along with general or custom engineering projects. After-sales and breakdown support is an important aspect of Hecton Products’ service, says Aaron. The company has a workshop van on the road to meet this demand.

A com p l e te range at com p e titiv e p rice s

of store on trouble-shooting skills I like to think that we’re a one-stop shop. We are [ plumbers, drainlayers and gas-fitters, and we have a carpenter.

Ph. (03) 687 9440 Fax (03) 687 9438

admin@dancosgrove.co.nz www.dancosgrove.co.nz

SonomaEnterprises Ltd Import . Export . Distribute The staff at Millar’s Plumbing service most of Southland from their base at Otautau. a sheep farm in November,” says Graeme. He emphasises that Millar’s is a ruralbased operation that specialises in repair and maintenance work, as well as doing new work and gas-fitting.

“I like to think that we’re a one-stop shop,’ says Graeme. “We are plumbers, drainlayers and gas-fitters, and we ave a carpenter enabling us to provide service to the rural community. We are very good at trouble shooting.”

Feeding systems ffor H Feedi Herringbone i b and dR Rotary sheds h d Cumberland Grain and meal storage silos Mineral dispensers Roller mills Stainless steel feed trays

Ph: 09-551 0959 M: 021-341 286 E: mcgregor@sonomaenterprises.co.nz Web: sonomaenterprises.co.nz

Peter Excell Building ltd

FOR ALL YOUR BUILDING NEEDS • Dairy sheds • Feed pads / silage pits • Farm bridges • New homes/alterations • Light commercial • Dairy effluent bins & tanks 30 thousand litre to 2 million litre

E: excellbuildingltd@yahoo.co.nz | P: 03 214 7969 | M:021 605 457

Your Local Rural Builder New Homes & Alterations • Dairy/Wintering Sheds Digger & Machine Hire • Concrete Work • Roofing Call Grant: 027 544 5791 Phone / Fax: (03) 231 3165 Email: gtchamberlain@xtra.co.nz

42 |

ON FARM » Mt Aspiring Station

Business Rural

Romdales have been the breed of choice for many years at Mt Aspiring Station, which runs 4000 ewes, 1000 hoggets and sells around 4000 lambs as stores each season.

‘A quiet perendale with a bit better wool’ Neil Grant Glaciers surrounding Mt Aspiring feed the West and East branches of the Matukitiki River, which then flows south-east past Treble Cone skifield and into Lake Wanaka. Quite broad in its lower reaches, the valley narrows upstream near its confluence at Cameron Flat. The steep slopes on the north side of the river are bush-clad up to 1000 metres; equally steep, those on the south side are largely tussocky grasslands. The valley floor towards Cascade Hut is farmed, grassy flats, bisected by the river and the tramping track (used by thousands every year) that heads towards the dramatic alpine landscape of the Main Divide. Mt Aspiring Station homestead sits at Niger Stream. Aspinalls have farmed here since 1920, raising sheep and cattle despite the snow, rain, wind and early isolation; and enabling, and sometimes saving, trampers and climbers who pass through their farm. Unlike many high-country farms, it is too wet here for merinos to flourish. Romdales have been the breed of choice for many years. “They’re a good, steady, all-round sheep – not setting records, but producing decent wool,” says Randall Aspinall. “They’re hardy and reasonably fertile. Nice sheep for this country. A quiet perendale with a bit better wool.” The ewe clip averages 37 microns. It is sold under contract with PGG Wrightsons, and much

They’re a good, steady, allround sheep – not setting records, but producing decent wool. They’re hardy and reasonably fertile. Nice sheep for this country. goes overseas to make carpets for airlines and cruise ships. The contract gives a sense of certainty that when prices take a dip, as at the moment, the return will hold up; when prices rise above the auction average, the return is not as great. But the ability to budget, and the sense of fairness to both farmer and buyer make it worthwhile. Aspinall’s father, John, had largely bred his own flock over the years. “He had a fairly closed flock, not many outside genetics. It’s like they say about dogs: if it’s a good dog, that’s line breeding; if it’s a bad dog, that’s in-breeding. “For the last couple of years we’ve tried coopdale rams. We buy the rams from Alastair Cocks, in the Kuriwao Gorge which has a similar climate. It’s hard country and can be wet and cold. He breeds good sheep that do a good job. We expect the coopdales will bring a few more lambs,

better lambs, and outside genetics to move the flock forward a bit.” Chipping away at making each day’s work a bit easier has involved steadily improving paddock layout and fencing. “We’ve got a guy, a tractor driver-fencer, who works part-time, so we get a lot of little jobs done which wouldn’t get done if we used only contractfencers. If you’re mustering or moving a mob and you think, ‘A gate would be good in that corner,’; he puts a gate in that corner.” Mt Aspiring Station runs 4000 ewes, 1000 hoggets, and sells around 4000 lambs as stores each season. There are 500 hereford/angus cows, and 500 steers and heifers as replacements. The cows had been drifting towards angus, but the intention is to pull them back more towards hereford and first-cross hereford/angus, which seem to be a bit hardier and have more bone and fat in this environment. This process will introduce more first-crosses with more hybrid vigour. Increasing numbers of tourists introduces some interesting issues. “It’s getting busier and busier each year, so we have to be more aware when we’re shifting stock. Some people don’t like driving through fords, so you can get 10 or 12 cars all banked up on both sides of the road and have to drive stock between them. Most people don’t mind, and some seem to like it. And you try to avoid circuses when moving cows and calves around with dogs or trying to push stock through creeks and rivers. You try to present the farm in a good light.”

Randall and Allison’s two pre-school boys, Johny and Josh, enjoy getting out on the farm, their Dad reckons. “One did some shepherding the other day, and the other one loves tractors.” As to whether or not they will be farmers? “Oh, you never know at this age, do you?”

Ainsley Shearing Ltd

Richard Woodhead: 027 437 4863 Phone/Fax: 03 443 7017 Email: wanakaag@gmail.com Proud to support

MT Aspiring Station Cultivation - Direct Drilling Silage Harvesting - Baleage - Hay Bayling

Proud to support Mt Aspiring

Proud to support Mt Aspiring Station 126 Ballantyne Road, Wanaka P 03 443 6373 | M 027 284 0484 | E info@morganengineering.net.nz

www.morganengineering.net.nz

Mobile: 0274 340 887

Email: avanti@xtra.co.nz

ON FARM » Nathan & Greta Currie

Business Rural

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Cost-control a fine balance Karen Phelps Cutting costs has been at the forefront of Nathan and Greta Currie’s farming operation at Staveley, Mid Canterbury over the last few years. But they haven’t been afraid to invest in farm infrastructure as long as it has been with the goal of saving money on operating costs. They have installed automatic cup removers, heat detection technology, Protrack and automatic drafting,l which has helped them to save 1one and a half labour units. More capital fertiliser has helped them grow more grass and, therefore, reducing their need for bought-in silage. They cut costs further by bailing and wrapping their own silage on farm. They generally buy in around two-thirds of their silage needs. They also grow 32 hectares of fodder beet on farm, which enabling them to halve their winteringoff costs. “We’re still looking to control costs further, but not at the detriment of production,” says Nathan. “It’s about trying to find that fine balance.” He grew up on a sheep-and-beef farm in Rakaia Gorge, and always planned to go farming. But Rogernomics put an end to his taking over the family farm one day. After leaving school, he worked on a dairy farm, which he saw as the only viable path to farm ownership. He completed a Diploma in Agriculture at Lincoln University then worked his way through the system on various units around Mid Canterbury. Trading cattle while managing farms provided him with the cash to buy his first herd and go sharemilking in 1999 for Tasman Agriculture. He progressed on various farms, taking on increasingly larger 50:50 positions, and also bought a 139-hectare dry-stock block at Ashburton Forks, which he used for grazing. He sold this to help fund the purchase of the first farm – 226ha at Staveley. The couple converted this dry-stock block and began their first season milking in 2008-09. They lease an additional 100ha, which gives them the total of 326ha (310ha effective) they farm today. They milk 1000 friesian/friesian cross cows

Greta and Nathan Currie milk 1000 friesian/ friesian cross cows on their 326 hectares at Staveley. They are intent on reducing costs and developing off-farm business to avoid the vagaries of exposure to the dairy payout. through a 54-bail rotary shed. Just over half the farm is irrigated, but because it is in the foothills, it has high rainfall. A centre-pivot irrigates 110ha and a Roto Rainer services another 70ha. The farm has a two-pond effluent system with three months of storage capacity. Around 140ha of the farm can be covered. The couple employ four full-time staff and are looking for a new manager. The present manager is retiring after working on the farm for seven years and will leave big shoes to fill, says Nathan. “We’re looking for someone who is enthusiastic, a people person and is willing to learn and grow,” says Nathan. “Definitely someone who is looking to make dairy farming a career.”

We’re still looking to control costs further, but not to the detriment of production. It’s about trying to find that balance.”

Nathan says Greta is an integral part of the operation taking on relief milking, rearing 500-600 calves per year and the bookwork. The Curries have three boys: Logan, 15, Jacob, 13 and Paddy, 11. They all like to help on the farm when they can, but Nathan concedes that rugby, cricket and hockey takes precedence.

Last season the farm produced 396,000 kilograms of milksolids. This season cow condition is not as good as they would like and they are heading for producion of around 380,000kg. They plan to keep on developing their business off-farm to spread risk so that they are not totally exposed to the vagaries of the dairy payout.

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ON FARM » Earthquake aftermath

Business Rural

The damage to farmland after the November earthquake is evident from these photos taken shortly after the 7.8 magnitude shock.

The world is now familiar with the photo of cows standing on an outcrop of land as the cracked earth drops away beneath them on what, just days before, was verdant and productive farmland. But how have farmers in the area really fared following the Kaikoura earthquake in November? KAREN PHELPS talks to Michael Woodward, the Federated Farmers dairy chairman for North Canterbury.

Farmers count the cost of quake There were no mad calls from panicked dairy farmers after one of the worst earthquakes in New Zealand’s history, according to Michael Woodward. “Farmers are pretty staunch – they always think someone else is worse off than them, so they won’t put their hand up for help straight away. It’s about getting in there and assessing each farm and seeing what they need then telling them the support is there if they need it,” Initially, Federated Farmers focused on assessing needs, collating resources and assisting farmers in the Waiau/Lesley Hills/North Culverden region simply because Kaikoura was inaccessible, The immediate effort centred on getting dairy sheds up and running and freighting in generators for those needing them. Of the 105 dairy farms in the region, only one shed (on a Lesley Hills farm) has been written off. While some farms will have business interruption insurance, milk companies will be picking up the bill for milk that couldn’t be picked up. Another focus, he says, was on providing support staff, including relief milkers, especially for farms where sheds were working overtime picking up extra cows from damaged sheds. “We also needed to give staff the chance to assess damage to their own homes and appropriate support as required,” he says. When access was gained to Kaikoura by air, getting to individual farms was still problematic. It has now been discovered that on the 23 dairy farms in the region, only three dairy sheds were severely affected (two were confirmed as write-offs). While some of the relatively unaffected dairy sheds had back-up generators, others didn’t, so the focus was on flying in generators while farmers shared around those they had. Some cows have been transported by truck to Culverden and other areas to be billeted out. Walking cows around the district to be milked has been another challenge with the sheer amount of damage to the landscape. “An added complication is that the earthquake has taken place in the middle of mating. I believe LIC has flown in semen and AI technicians,” says Michael Woodward. While adrenalin carried farmers through the early days, the pressing issue now is how to relieve longterm stress as they realise they will be living with the effects of the earthquake for some time. It can take two to three seasons to recover from a major event such as this, says Woodward. “The stress factor is always in the background and it’s hard to know what impact it will have on people. It’s about trying to help relieve as much of that stress as we can so that they can take time with family. There is also a lot of support out there if they need to talk to someone. Federated Farmers is trying to help restore normality to farms and offer targeted help.” He says he has been overwhelmed by the support received from farmers from around the country:

Above: Dust rises from continued rockfalls and landslides that dammed this river north of Kaikoura. Below: The Kekerangu fault, in Marlborough.

The farming community has been amazing, all pulling together to get food in, and retired farmers or people volunteering to help on their days off. “The farming community has been amazing, all pulling together to get food in, and retired farmers or people volunteering to help on their days off. For example, I put a post on Facebook and there are some guys from the North Island planning a trip to help once their bulls had gone out. The support has come from the whole country. It’s been unreal. But it’s important to remember that the need for help will be ongoing. It’s on a case-by-case basis, so if there is anyone out there willing to help in any way, get in touch.” Farmers wanting to offer support or assistance to those in the earthquake affected areas can phone 0800 FARMING.

ON FARM » Teece Family Farms

Business Rural

| 45

Irrigation critical but controlled Richard Loader “Balancing good land custodianship with sensible land development can be challenging,” says Hamish Chamberlain. “Particularly when irrigation is a key element.” Based on a 560-hectare sheep and beef finishing farm in Cheviot, Hamish has been the operations manager for Teece Family Farms since 2014, He says his key objectives are to develop the finishing block as a financially viable standalone business and to a high environmental standard. The farms, owned by expat Kiwi David Teece, include Esk Head Station and Caverhill Farm, which supply Hamish with his stock. The 180ha Mt Beautiful Vineyard and Winery is also part of the group. Collectively, the properties form an integrated farming system that works like clockwork, says Hamish. “Our lambs go into the vineyard for grazing during winter. The first year we did that was to get us through a severe drought. A lot of vineyards do it to clean the inter-row weeds that never get mown,” he says. The farm’s target was to finish 10,000 lambs a year, but the drought in North Canterbury over the last couple of years has limited growth to 7500 lambs. Around 350 seven-month-old angus and angus/ hereford calves are brought in from Esk Head and Caverhill each year for finishing. “They are in our system through to R2s,” says Hamish. “When the steers reach 500 kilograms they’re sent to the Five Star Beef feedlot where they go into a grain-feeding programme. The heifers are generally sent to the local trade.” In keeping with environmental practices, the stock are spread around different areas of the farm to minimise pasture damage. “We’ve relied heavily on irrigation for the last two years. It’s all that has kept our stock numbers at the status quo to be honest,” says Hamish. “We were trying to double our numbers, but half the farm has been closed because of the drought.” When Hamish arrived on the farm, there was just one centre-pivot irrigator, covering an area of 50ha. He has set up k-lines that cover a further 150ha. “They suit the environment we are in because they’re very manoeuvrable, relatively cheap in comparison to pivots, and they didn’t require the removal of trees. “They also enabled us to dodge waterways,” he adds.. The farm’s irrigation regime is strongly influenced by environmental practices, which have limited development to about 50 per cent of the oroperty. “We are operating within the Hurunui-Waiau zone regional plan, which includes the 10%-rule,” says Hamish. “That rule limits key nutrients such as nitrogen

Centre pivot and k-line irrigation is vital on this 560-hectare sheep-and-beef finishing farm near Cheviot, says operations manager Hamish Chamberlain.

and phosphorus to within 10% of a baseline that was set in 2012-13.” The farm’s stocking rates, soil type, and fertiliser and water use are We’ve relied heavily on irrigation for the entered into the Overseer last two years. It’s all that kept our stock computer software, then submitted to Environment numbers at the status quo to be honest. Canterbury for checking off

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against the Hurunui-Waiau base plan on an annual basis. Hamish says he started off doing five to seven days a week on the farm, and an hour or two a week in he office. Now he’s in the office two to three days a week, and a couple of days on the farm. “As we have grown we have employed more staff to do the practical work while I have

become more involved in compliance, rules and regulations,” he says. While drought and irrigation limitations have meant that the farm has not yet developed to its full potential, he says the financial and environmental objectives are on track: “The biggest thing that I enjoy is just when you think you are getting on top of a goal, another development project comes along. We are never static.”

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ON FARM » Nick Templer & Anieka Venekamp/Mitchell & Lynn Bragg

Business Rural

Breakthrough for novice breeders Russell Fredric Novice dairy stud breeder Anieka Venekamp had a gut feeling she was onto a winner every time she looked at a cow in the herd she manages with her partner, Nick Templer. The couple, who were 2015 Southland-Otago Farm Manager of the Year award winners, contractmilk for Lyall and Jan Hopcroft on a 238-hectare (effective) farm near Balfour, in Northern Southland. In recent years Anieka Venekamp has developed a passion for breeding holstein friesian and ayrshire cows. “There was a cow in the herd I really liked and she had a bull (calf). I wanted to try and get him to Ambreed.” After the friesian cow’s traits and production figures were assessed by CRV Ambreed, and the yearling calf, co-owned with Jan Hopcroft, was accepted into its progeny test programme and sent to the North Island. Initially the women’s respective partners were cynical and gave no credence to the calf being of any significance, but it seems mothers know best. “They didn’t want anything to do with it,” says Anieka. “But now he’s got through and might make us money if his daughters turn out really good, if he turns out to be one of Ambreed’s next top bulls, Lyall and Nick want something to do with it.” Of around 600 bull calves put forward for selection nationally, only 40 or so are accepted across all breeds by CRV Ambreed for its progeny herd, she says. Because the women are relative novices when it comes to breeding, the calf’s selection is even more special considering experienced stud breeders have bulls rejected. “We didn’t know anything about it. We just went

I’ve got the mother so I know he’s going to be a good bull.

PHOTOS: Balfour contract milkers Nick Templer and Anieka Venekamp (top), daughter Maycie (above right) and the bull calf (above left) accepted by CRV Ambreed into its progeny test programme. for it and weren’t expecting it (to be accepted). Beginner’s luck maybe.” “His calves will be born next spring and we still have to wait two years after that to find out what the daughters are going to be like; I’ve got the mother

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so I know he’s going to be a good bull.” The Hopcrofts’ herd of 640 is predominantly holstein friesian milked through a fully automated 54-bail rotary shed. The farm is supported by two run-off blocks

totalling 187ha, used for silage, wintering and young stock. Historically the cows have typically produced 470kg of milksolids, but this has increased to 520kg without extra inputs. It has been a good winter and spring in Southland, but Nick Templer also attributes the introduction of fodder beet last year and an increased amount this year to their ability to maintain overall production despite the herd being reduced from 650 cows. The couple have been contracting-milking for the Hopcrofts for five seasons and have signed on for another three seasons. They are intent on gradually building up a herd of their own, rather than acquiring one quickly by “taking out a massive loan”, says Anieka. An excellent relationship with the Hopcrofts also means they do not feel under pressure to change their situation. “They understand where we want to go, we understand where they want to go,” says Anieka. ”We’re just happy to stay where we are. We might get a better offer somewhere else, but we don’t know if we’re going to have that relationship again. “I grew up in a sharemilking home and we shifted every three years. I don’t really want to do that to my daughter. We like that security.”

Self contained unit Karen Phelps South Canterbury farmers Mitchell and Lynn Bragg managed to turn a profit last season despite the challenging payout conditions. The fact that the unit they manage is fully self-contained was a big help in achieving this, says Mitchell. “It gives us good control over expenditure and our budget – no surprises,” he says. The couple – in their tenth season on a 266-hectare effective (290ha total) farm at Glenavy – are currently milking 1000 cows. The farm runs a crossbred herd through a 60-bail rotary shed. It’s supported by a 290ha run-off 15 kilometres away at Ikawai. Around 120ha of the run-off is under k-line irrigation. It’s used for grazing young stock and winter grazing. The Braggs grow 23ha of fodder beet and take off 500 tonnes of silage each year. Running a low-cost system, they are reliant on how favourable the spring is each year. This year both winter and spring have been kind. They would like to increase production slightly – they achieved 380,000 kilograms of milksolids last season and are targeting just over 400,000kg this season if the weather holds up. The farm has an irrigation scheme with

three centre-pivots with 360-degree coverage meaning that the whole dairy platform is under irrigation. They have also built 12 bridges over the ecologically sensitive Waikakahi stream running through the property. The steam is under Fonterra’s Dairying and Clean Streams Accord, agreed in 2003 between the Fonterra Co-operative Group, the environment and agriculture ministers, and regional councils. The steam is also home to Canterbury mudfish, an acutely threatened species. After growing up on a sheep-and-beef farm in the Coromandel, Mitchell’s career has included shearing and working on sheep and cattle stations in the King Country and Northland. The opportunities the dairy industry presented converted him to dairy. He and Lynn went straight into a 50:50 sharemilking job with 400 cows, staying a year in that job before moving to the Hauraki Plains to milk 320 cows for three years. They then 50:50 sharemilked 600 cows for five years on a Landcorp farm in the same region moving to an equity partnership on their present property. After three years they sold their share and staying on as managers. The farm is owned by an equity partnership and operates under a company structure with a board of

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ON FARM » Denis, James & Andrew Aitken

Business Rural

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Breeder back with latest tips, trends Kelly Deeks

Holstein friesian breeder Denis Aitken has some tips for New Zealand farmers and breeders following a recent trip to a world conference in Argentina.

Denis Aitken – Holstein Friesian New Zealand senior classifier, senior judge, past chairman of the Traits Other than Production (TOP) committee, past president, and passionate breeder – Denis Aitken has returned from the World Holstein Frieisian conference in Argentina with some tips for New Zealand farmers and breeders. The Outram farmer is a member of the World Holstein Friesian Working Group for Type Harmonisation, and says the information coming out of the Argentine workshop points towards worldwide concerns regarding strength of the cow, rump angles, and close and small rear teats. “We have to keep an eye on these things. We have the most fertile cows in the world, the most efficient grass conversion in the world, and we align pretty closely with what the rest of the world is looking for.” However, New Zealand does not have the highest producing cows; several countries are feeding concentrates. “But the recent reduction in milk value has really put focus back on producing from grass,” he says. “There are parts of the world now going to grass – Ireland, parts of the United States, and most of South America. But they also have infrastructure problems holding them back.” He says other countries are starting to believe that holstein friesians have got too tall, whereas in New Zealand, we haven’t gone that way yet. “We need to maintain an efficient cow and not get too tall. There is no need to be chasing stature.”

For the past five years, Denis has been travelling the country with his presentation The Perfect Cow, helping people to understand Traits Other Than Production and classification. He has now run more than 20 workshops and talked to about 1200 people. “There is no such thing as the perfect cow, but we all want a cow that is perfect for our conditions.” His sons, James and Andrew, run the Airdrie and Broomfield studs respectively and are now looking to introduce some polled cow families, in response to an international trend. “It’s all the rage in Scandanavia and gaining momentum in America because of the animal welfare issue and the fact it’s going to be more and more costly to de-horn,” Denis says. “Even in New Zealand de-horning is becoming a cost and time issue. Where we’re heading is to develop two or three polled cow families. We’ve already started and got the first ones on the ground.” But there is a hurdle: “The problem with the polled genes available is production is not that high. We’re concentrating on that and we have secured some semen from a New Zealand polled bull whose production is competing with some of the other high-producing bulls. But he’s heterozygous, so only half his progeny will be polled. “What we really want is a good producing, New Zealand homozygous polled bull, and one will turn up somewhere. The welfare issues and the time and cost issues are becoming more important, so there will be some emphasis on that in the next few years. We want to breed the families to be able to make good producing polled bulls.”

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ON FARM » Mathew & Catherine Korteweg/Barry & Ann Matthews

Business Rural

Bumper spring a positive for pair Karen Phelps A good spring provided challenges of the positive kind for Kaitangata-based dairy farmers Mathew and Catherine Korteweg. “The grass grew faster than the cows could eat it,” says Mathew. “But it was a good problem to have. It has given us options such as making more silage and saving costs as we have been able to milk purely off pasture.” Along with the dairy forecast, this is another positive for the couple, although Mathew remains cautiously optimistic. “The reality is that it’s just a forecast and we have to stay focused on keeping costs down because it would be easy to go out and spend. It’s about being optimistic, but also realistic.” This business-focused attitude no doubt helped the Kortewegs to runner-up and three merit awards (human resources, dairy hygiene and business performance) in the 2016 Sharefarmer of the Year. As first-time entrants they were “really stoked” with the result, says Mathew. “It was a challenging time in the dairy industry with the payout, and we wanted to review all aspects of our business. It was a good chance to make sure we were on track. The awards were a good pat on the back when things were tough to show us we were doing good things.” Mathew is the third generation of his family to farm the 175-hectare unit. His grandparents, Meil and Bep, bought it when they emigrated from Holland. Mathew’s father, Stephen, took over when Stephen was 21, and was later joined by wife Rhonda. Mathew, the youngest of four, grew up on the farm but had a varied career – playing rugby overseas and gold prospecting in Australia – before returning to the family farm. He and Catherine are in their third season as lower-order sharemilkers, this season milking 565 friesian-cross cows. This season they are concentrating on mating to improve in-calf rates, which, historically, have been 10 per cent empty and last year 12%. They are hoping to bring that figure down.

The awards were a good pat on the back when things were tough to show us we were doing good things. They are also working to ensure their pasturebased system can consistently meet targets no matter what the payout. He says their first season was a big learning curve because he had never really worked on the farm. Regular pasture walks with the help of assistant manager Tye Bellamore have proved key to recording information. They have also made tweaks to the stocking rate. In their first season, they looked to calve 590 cows but have brought this down to 575. As a result of these changes and favourable spring weather, the cows are producing more than last season. The 2015-16 average was 425 kilograms of milksolids, and the target for this season is 440kg per cow. Both Catherine and Mathew take a hands-on role, with Stephen and Rhonda involved in calf rearing and helping as required. Stephen and Rhonda own two more farms – one at Hedgehope, in Southland) where Mathew’s brother, Blake, is 50:50 sharemilking, the other at Wallacetown, just out of Invercargill, where Graeme and Amy Johnston are equity sharemilking. As with the two family generations before them, Mathew and Catherine’s ultimate goal is farm ownership: “We’re proud dairy farmers and we love what we do,” says Mathew. • pper right: Mathew and Catherine Korteweg are in their third season sharemilking a 565-cow herd at Kaitangata.

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Listen to people you trust Kelly Deeks

money. They have replaced the sharemilker with a manager. “But now we’ve actually got a second-inNorth Otago dairy farmers Barry and Ann Matthews demand on the smaller farm and I’m overseeing it,” have been in the dairy industry for eight years since Barry says. “We had to cut costs as much as we can. We’ve converting their 256-hectare Ngapara farm. got a Filipino manager on the large farm, and the Two years ago, they expanded their operation 2IC on the small farm is also Filipino. They are both with the purchase of a 40ha block next door. They doing really well.” added a second 40-a-side herringbone shed and As well as overseeing his farms, Barry works as splitting the herd into two. a stock agent for Rural Livestock. They had gone from 430 cows to around 900 He says that after eight years in the dairy on the home block, and the shed was struggling to industry, he now understands how fickle it can be. cope, even with its cup removers. He says that over the past three years, dairy The Matthews now run two herds – 750 cows on farmers have learned lessons and not many will 256ha, and 450 cows on 140ha. They also have a 160ha run-off block at Maheno, go back to the way they used to farm, which often involved feeding too many supplements. where stage two of the North Otago Irrigation “When you think about the price of supplements, Scheme is being installed. The block is due to be it’s good when it’s an $8 payout. But when it’s a $3 connected to irrigation. payout, it’s not.” Another addition to the Matthews portfolio is He says he and Ann just wish the payout would a 250ha lease block, where most of the cows will improve. be wintered, and 300 to 400 beef and bull calves “With all due respect to the experts and the raised. people who think they know what the payout is The couple’s heifers have been brought home going to be, it is very hard to budget – especially this season. when a low payout is due to an over-supply of milk. They did have a sharemilker running the smaller “You can listen to all the experts you like, but (40ha) property, but the low payout had them losing

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ON FARM » Ross Ewing

Business Rural

| 49

Ross makes his next move 50 years on Kelly Deeks Lambing this year was a bit different for Ross Ewing. With his 878-hectare farm on the market after more than 50 years, the North Otago sheep farmer has been proudly demonstrating to prospective buyers – driving through the farm right in the middle of lambing – the excellent mothering instincts and great counting skills of his 2800 coopdale ewes. The Ewing family moved to the Kauru Hill Rd farm at Maheno in 1964 from the historic Totara Estate, just south of Oamaru and renowned as the birthplace of New Zealand’s billion-dollar, frozenmeat industry. The first shipment of frozen mutton was prepared at Totara and sent to the other side of the world on the SS Dunedin in 1882. Ross was born there and, as the family grew, they needed to move on from the beautiful, old homestead,. As Ross says, it needed more than a farmer’s income to maintain it. The Ewings moved to Maheno and took over 1800 romney ewes, and continued to farm romneys for many years. Ross moved through the ranks from shedhand to shearer, went away shearing, then came home to a partnership with his dad after marrying wife Daphne in 1971. “I went into partnership with Dad under Muldoon, and the following year the value of the farm had halved,” he says. “I had no equity at all at that stage, and my debt was to the family. Dad and I survived, and I eventually took over the farm.” He set about trying to buy the best romney rams he thought he could, but couldn’t find them anywhere. He bred his own rams for a while, and got up to 150 per cent lambing, before improvements stalled.

Ross Ewing and canine friends out on the farm. He went to see Ron Cox at Methven looking for coopworths to further increase his lambing percentage. They talked about Ross’s farm and what he was trying to achieve. “He told me to go and see his son who had these coopdales, perendale/coopworth-cross rams and sheep, on a similar sort of farm, and they were doing very well. “This was about 15-20 years ago, and I’ve been getting rams ever since from Alister Cox, at Clinton.” He says the sheep have just changed so dramatically: “We’ve been scanning at about 200%,

and our best year up to 206% when we had 800 triplets. A great result, but the mothers still need to look after their triplets.” He was looking for ewes that could lamb themselves, and sheep size was a big factor. He says that back then, the coopworth breeders were the revolutionaries of New Zealand’s sheep industry. “They were very strict on recording. A lot of other breeders at that time, who have now improved a lot, were saying ‘This is a really nice sheep, we must keep it, but it may have had a really poor mother’. “The coopworth guys could go back to their

books and see that a ewe had had three sets of triplets over three years, but had reared only five of them. “Because I’m a breeder, I want my ewes to be able to count and have good motherly instincts. They are the ones whose mother before them reared all their lambs.” He says all breeders have some good sheep, but the most important thing is to pick a breeder you can trust, and who is moving in the same direction you want to go. “That’s as important as picking the breed,” he says

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50 |

ON FARM » Eilean Donan Farm

Business Rural

Family farm a lamb focus for red-meat programme Russell Fredric Former rural banker Matt McRae is enjoying the challenge of working on the other side of the fence since taking over the management of his family’s generational farm. The property, Eilean Donan, which has been in the family for 108 years, is a 630-hectare (580ha effective) sheep and dairy-support unit run in two blocks seven kilometres apart on rolling contour at Mokoreta, near Wyndham, in Southland. Stock numbers include 4200 romney/texel ewes, 1200 mated hoggets and 260 dairy heifers grazed from December to May. About 15ha of the farm is used to grow cereal silage for the family’s neighbouring 360-cow dairy farm. Married to Natalie McRae, a lawyer in Invercargill, Matt shares the responsibility of running the arm with his younger brother, Joe McRae, who came on board about a year ago. They have a brother and sister involved in the agriculture industry, as a dairy farmer and agricultural scientist respectively, The siblings lease the farm from the family trust at varying levels and aim to increase or improve equity, plant and profitability, and to repay debt to assist in family succession.

Farms seem to be getting bigger and more complex and there’s more paperwork involved, so you have to be reasonably astute to survive. His experience of working as a rural bank manager has brought a different perspective to farming, Matt McRae says. “It makes you slightly more business-focused rather than solely production-orientated. “Farms seem to be getting bigger and more complex and there’s more paperwork involved, so you have to be reasonably astute to survive.” In addition to the financial side of farming, environmental regulations are changing rapidly and also need to be well understood, he says. After returning home five years ago, Matt had

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ON FARM » Eilean Donan Farm

Business Rural

| 51

PHOTOS Matt and Joe McRae say they have benefited from being involved in the Red Meat Profit Parnetship programme over the past 18 months. The objective of RMPP is to drive productivity improvements in the sheep and beef sector. The brothers farm a 580-hectare sheep and dairy support unit near Wyndham, in Southland. Facing page: A dog heads a mob of sheep along a laneway on the farm. Above: The view across the property. Left: Sheep wait in the shed. Below: Sheep penned out in the paddock.

Next generation in mind • From page 50 the benefit of a transition period with the farm’s former manager staying on for two years, but he concedes that running the farm has still been a learning curve. However, the brothers have surrounded themselves with a group of professionals and advisers. They have also had the benefit of involvement in the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP) programme during the past 18 months. RMPP is a collaboration between the red-meat sector and Government through the Primary Growth Partnership programme. Its objective is to drive sustainable productivity improvements in the sheep and beef sector to achieve on-farm profitability. Eilean Donan is one of several Southland farms participating in the programme. “It’s been good for getting new ideas from industry experts, and was a natural fit with what we are wanting to achieve,” says Matt. The programme has included a focus on lamb growth on the McRae property.

“Through a trial we completed last season we decided a ewe body-condition score of between three and four, and pasture cover of 1600 to 1800 kilograms of dry matter per hectare at lambing was about right for this environment. But no doubt we will continue to fine tune this.” “We have had a good season, so it was fairly easy to achieve this year. The challenge is going to be nailing that every year and turning it into product heading out the gate.” Ewe scanning has been consistent at 180 per cent (excluding triplets), and lambing rose to 150% this year. “Like everyone else, we are trying to breed the perfect sheep and are working on increasing kilograms of meat sold,” says Matt. He is enjoying working outdoors, likes the variety of work, and working with stock. “It is rewarding seeing the results from the work you put in. We try and farm sustainably, both financially and environmentally. We want to look after what we’ve got so that it’s still here for the next generation.”

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52 |

ON FARM» James & Ceri Bourke

Business Rural

Fodder beet key crop in tough times Karen Phelps Fodder beet has been a big help in reducing farm costs to meet the challenges of the lower payout, say Culverden-based dairy farmers James and Ceri Bourke. The crop has enabled them to winter the herd on farm this season, and because it cheaper than the alternatives. It has assisted their budgeting and eliminated harvesting costs because cows breakfeed the crop. “Growing kale was commonplace in this region until a few years ago,” says James. “We have been growing fodder beet at a cost of 7.5-9 cents per kilogram of dry matter compared with buying in standing grass silage at 23 cents, plus 12 cents extra to process it, plus feeding-out costs. The benefits of fodder beet are clear.” . Another benefit has been the reduced nitrogen output that results from feeding fodder beet in autumn with an on-off grazing system such as they use on their farm. James is hopeful that this might be taken into account in meeting environmental guidelines, which would be yet another benefit of the crop for dairy farmers. Fodder beet has meant that last season, they needed to buy in only 250kg per cow of palm kernel to fill gaps. James grew up on a farm in Taranaki and Ceri moved to New Zealand from Wales in 1998. The pair met at school in Rangiora after James’s parents moved to the South Island to convert a farm at Hawarden. Ceri completed a university degree, then theyr went sharemilking together in 2009. They spent three years in a 450-cow position at Lincoln before moving in 2012 to the farm where they are now sharemilking.

• To page 53

Above: James and Ceri Bourke get help with feeding out from daughters Cate, six (left), and Charlotte, 10. Below: James and Ceri Bourke say fodder beet has reduced farm costs, helped them winter their herd. and eased some of their budgeting concerns.

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ON FARM » Gary & Tania Coker

Business Rural

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Left: Feeding time at the wintering shed on Gary and Tania Coker’s 550-hectare farm at Dacre, in Southland. Right: Cattle out on the range.

Exposure to fluctuations critical Karen Phelps The biggest challenge to beef farmers is exposure to market fluctuations, says Federated Farmers’ Southland meat-fibre chair, Gary Coker. “The price of calves has increased a lot and we have no indications of the beef schedule, so farmers have to be careful when buying in calves that they can sell them for a profit at the other end. A lot can happen in the market in 12 months.” Gary and wife Tania operate a 550-hectare unit at Dacre; they buy in calves to finish for the Japan-based Aleph company through a contract with ANZCO Foods. Over summer they will have 900-1000 calves, and 600 over winter. They also contract-graze around 700 dairy heifers for dairy farmers and winter 700 cows from a dairy farm at Morton Mains in which they are equity partners. The heifer-grazing payments are good for cashflow as the beef cattle sell only from February to April, he says. They also finish around 200 twoyear-old beef cattle each winter on fodder beet. Aleph requires cattle produced in a low-input system; and whole-grain feeding is not allowed as Aleph values grass-fed beef. The system is market-driven by the value placed on the taste of grass-fed beef. He says they have had a film crew on the farm filming presenters in

paddocks of happy cattle munching grass. The footage has been used to promote the brand to buyers in the belief that perception is important in consumer decisions. The difference between grass and grain-fed beef is that in grass-fed, the fat is around the outside rather than marbled through the meat. An integral part of the Cokers’ operation are two sheds – a 7-metre by 18m wintering shed on their farm, and a smaller shed, converted to a barn, on a nearby farm. Gary says the barns have had a big impact on growth and mortality rates. He sees another big challenge for farmers in the region in environmental compliance. Federated Farmers has been in discussions with Environment Southland to represent the concerns of the industry. Recent compliance changes to prevent nutrient and sediment issues will have a big impact on the Cokers’ property (which is on rolling hill country) determining where they can grow crop. Farm waterways have already been fenced off (well back from watercourse), and an effluent pond captures the run-off from the wintering shed. Paying attention to environmental issues can pay off though, says Gary. They no longer use manufactured, acid-based fertilisers on their farm after a visit from a rep and a couple of trial paddocks showed no negative impact from a

Farm owners open to new ideas • From page 52 The 500ha property is owned by Pete and Ruth Mossman, who James credits as another factor in their success as sharemilkers. “They’ve both been really helpful in terms of assisting us to minimise costs during the low payout. They’ve been open to trying new ideas like fodder beet.” In their first two seasons there, the Bourkes milked their own 500 cows on a 50:50 contract, and 500 cows as contract milkers. Herd numbers rose last season after a second cowshed was added to the farm in 2014. They milk a herd of 630 predominantly heifers through a 50-bail rotary and

920 mature cows through the new 54-bail rotary. A block manager assists with milking and pasture management. Both herds are calved through the old shed; once 500 cows have been calved, they split the herd. This also works well for transitioning the herd onto fodder beet in spring. All cows are wintered on farm and calves are grazed on until January, returning in May. Both James and Ceri work full-time on the farm as well as raising Charlotte, 6, Cate, 10 and Kara, 11. They employ five full-time staff. They want to maintain the good herd and pastures this season and aim to re-grass 10 per cent of the farm each year through crop rotation.

change in regime. He also suspects it may have contributed to a rise in meat yield, from 52 per cent to 58-60% over the past five years. A Dosatron system mixes and dispenses nutrients in water going into troughs. However, Gary is concerned about the impact of changes to land values if they make it difficult for

farmers to have the choice to convert to dairy. This is a particular concern to the Cokers as Gary and Tania have four children all showing interest in or already working on the farm: James and Leighton work alongside their parents, while Alexandra and Charlotte are still studying but relish the opportunity to help in holidays.

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54 |

ON FARM » Patoa Farms

Business Rural

Pig farmers scoop top awards News around the pork industry has been negative and we really enjoy turning that on its head. We employ 45 staff; our business has a positive flow-on effect.

Congratulations to the Sterne family and Patoa Farms team for your recent success in North Canterbury Business Awards. What a ride it has been for you all and it doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime in the future. Keep the pedal to the metal and hang on. Warmest regards, Warwick, Lori and Sam.

Karen Phelps Winning the agribusiness and supreme gongs in the North Canterbury Business Awards was a milestone for Patoa Farms. The Culverden-based company, which farms free-range pigs, now produces about 15 per cent of New Zealand’s domestic pork market and about half of outdoor-raised pork. Patoa Farm general manager Holly Sterne says entering the awards provided a good opportunity to analyse the business. “The news around the pork industry has been negative and we really enjoy turning that on its head. We employ 45 staff and our business has a positive, flow-on effect for the local community. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate success with our staff. It is also great for our customers to have our farm practices affirmed by an outside source.” The business was started by Holly’s parents, Steve and Josie Sterne, and their business partners, Jens and Anne Ravn, in 1998. They had a specific goal – to farm pigs outdoors in as close to their natural habitat as possible. The Sternes took over the business outright in 2013. The property sits on the Hurunui River south bank; sows roam free range and have 2000 small, straw-based shelters paddocks for farrowing. Sows average 2.3 litters and 24 piglets a year. At weaning (24 days), piglets are separated by sex and size, vaccinated and put in open sheds with ad lib feeding. Twelve diets of pelletised feed are available, depending on the age of the pig. Fresh straw is added daily. Pigs being finished for bacon are reared in large eco-barns with deep litter straw. There are about 48,000 pigs on the farm at any time. Between 2100 and 2200 are sold each week, aged 17 to 22 weeks. The farm has been

• To page 56

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ON FARM » Patoa Farms

Business Rural

| 55

Josie and Steve Sterne (above) started Patoa Farms with a specific goal to farm pigs outdoors in as close to their natural habitat as possible.

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56 |

ON FARM » Patoa Farms

Business Rural

Happy pigs: Concern over the way pigs were farmed led to Culverden couple Steve and Josie Sterne farming their pigs outdoors. There are about 48,000 pigs on the farm at any time.

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Free-range pig farming ‘a labour of love’ • From page 54

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approved by the SPCA. The three main customers are: Progressive Enterprises (Countdown supermarkets), Kaiapoi smallgoods manufacturer Hellers, and two wholesalers. Farming free range is more labour intensive and expensive than other methods of pig farming, but it’s a labour of love, says Steve Sterne. “We prefer to farm pigs outdoors because we like to work outdoors and we also believe it is the environment the pigs prefer to live in. “When we started the business, we could also see that consumers had the same concerns we had about how pigs were farmed. We believe this is a trend that will continue to grow.” If business is anything to go by, he’s right. Patoa Farms is the second-largest employer in the Hurunui district, with the staff including a mechanic, builder, engineer and butcher. The business had been growing year on year, but Steve says it is currently stabilising because of adequate market supply. Patoa Farms is taking the opportunity to refine its processes to improve efficiency. Finding enough qualified staff is the biggest challenge to growth, says Steve. “Typically people who want to work on a pig farm do so because they like the practical aspects of the job and like working outdoors. Our first priority is to identify people within the company interested in management positions, but we find that such positions may not interest them. “So,” he says, “we are looking at how to identify those who want to progress to management, and how to source these people from outside the business when necessary. “We need intermediate managers capable of working with staff in a progressive and constructive manner.”

We prefer to farm pigs outdoors because we like to work outdoors and we also believe it is the environment the pigs prefer to live in. The business has recently become a recognised, AgITO-training provider, which allows it to bring new people through the industry with a recognised qualification (National Certificate in Pork Production-Husbandry). It’s a significant investment for the business, involving bringing in a vet three days per fortnight to train staff, But Steve hopes it will pay off. Also under the microscope is how to continue to improve management of nutrient inputs and outputs. Around half of the 900ha farming platform is dedicated to the production of silage and balage – pigs do not set foot on this area. “We take the compost the pigs produce, apply it to this land, crop it, then take the crop – and the nutrients – off the farm,” says Steve. “Our aim is to export the same amount of nutrients off the farm that are produced on the farm. Sustainability is important. We are looking at succession planning.” Holly Sterne says the business is very much family oriented and it was “very affirming to know the work we are doing is recognised, important and valued, and that the things we are passionate about resounded with the public and judges in the competition”.

Business Rural

ON FARM » Glenbrook Station

| 57

High-country cropping ‘a hell of a ride’ Richard Loader Diverse and productive, Glenbrook Station sits in the southern end of the Mackenzie Basin presenting its custodians with a rich potpourri of opportunity. The Williamson family bought the 5800-hectare property in 2003 following their sale of Birchwood, a 23,783ha sheep station in North Otago’s Ahuriri Valley. Glenbrook had originally been part of the larger Benmore Station, which was split up some years previously. When the Williamson family took ownership, Glenbrook it was divided again – between Simon and his brother, Henry. While Henry operates a 2100ha sheep-and-beef finishing operation as well as producing merino wool, Simon has diversified his 3700ha portion to include crop and seed. “Glenbrook Station is an interesting operation,” says Simon. “We’d no sooner arrived in Glenbrook when we had the opportunity for the water going on. The Benmore Irrigation Company was formed and we became the second-biggest shareholder in it.” While Glenbrook had been operating successfully as a sheep-and-beef station, there was a patch of ground not being used for anything. It was dry, barren and flat. The rabbits and hieracium had caused significant damage to the flats and the tussock had been depleted. Simon’s farming experience was limited to horses, sheep and beef. He had no knowledge of cropping, seeds or the machinery required to sow or harvest crops. “I had a very dear friend, Bill Simpson, who was a very good farmer from Duntroon,” says Simon. “I said to him, ‘If we put all this water on, how are we going to make money out of it?’ He said it would work, but he’d give it some thought. He rang me in the middle of the night and said, ‘We’ll grow clover.‘ “That’s exactly what we started doing. He was a huge help to me bringing his own headers up and supplying me with advice and industry contacts.” The clover infused the ground with important nitrogen and organic matter, turning soil with the texture of talcum powder into soil with a real earthy texture to it. With 500ha under irrigation, Glenbrook now grows clover, chicory, plantain grass, lucerne, mustard and radish seeds, mostly for the export

We are growing more dry matter in a year than what is grown in the Waikato.

The Benmore Irrigation scheme has allowed Glenbrook Station’s Simon Williamson to diversify his sheep operation into crop and seed. With 500 hectares irrigated, Glenbrook’s crop and seed operation now equals the sheep-and-lamb side of the business. market under contract to China. Other crops, such as peas and beans, are also grown. “It’s amazing how quickly the soil structure has improved with water and minimum tillage and what it produces now,” says Simon. “It’s incredible. We are growing more dry matter in a year than what is grown in the Waikato.” In addition to the crop-and-seed operation. Simon also runs 3000 merino ewes and will finish 3000-5000 merino hoggets every winter. A few years ago he, his wife, Kirsty, and an American partner established the SH8 Merino Wool Company. It has strong relationships in the United States, supplying companies such as Global

Merino, Point6 and First Lite with New Zealand merino fibre. Simon and Kirsty are the New Zealand distributors for Point6 merino socks and have just ventured into Australia. Simon says he dibbles and dabbles in beef a little, but the crop-and-seed operation is now equal in significance with the sheep-and-lamb side of the business. He has been elected to the dual roles of Federated Farmers national high country chairman and North Otago provincial president. “It’s interesting times for farming and that’s why I believe Federated Farmers does a great job. It’s the only voice farmers have got. They have got some very smart people working for them.” He also juggles many other leadership roles and responsibilities within his community. But farming is where his passion lies. He is determined to leave a good place an even better place than he found it. He is very proud of the Benmore irrigation scheme and what has been achieved on Glenbrook in his tenure. “It has been a hell of a ride and I have loved it,” says Simon. “Who knows if your children want to farm or not, but even if they don’t, here’s a place they can call home and always come back to.”

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58 |

ON FARM » Renee Rooney

Business Rural

Coast farmer wears many hats Karen Phelps West Coast dairy farmer Renee Rooney is one busy farmer: chairman of Federated Farmers West Coast’s dairy section; chairman of the board of trustees at Lake Brunner School; and, more recently, elected as the Grey district trustee for Development West Coast. The Development West Coast position is for a three-year term and Renee says she’s excited about it. The charitable trust manages, invests and distributes income from a fund of $92 million, an adjustment package for the loss of indigenous forestry and the privatisation of much infrastructure on the West Coast in the late 1990s, received from the Government. She is in her third year in her role at Federated Farmers. “Relationship-building and having communication lines open is key. It’s about everyone working together for good outcomes. Being aware of policy changes coming up and having farmer feedback and input is important.” Renee says she’s looking forward to more time in the near future to dedicate to her off-farm work as the equity partnership she is in with husband Greg and one other partner, on a 330-hectare (effective) farm at Inchbonnie looks to put on a contract milker next season. “We’ve achieved all our farm goals to date and it has good systems in place, good production and herd. The farm is in a good position now to engage a contract milker.” The farm milks 530 cows and the partnership has just bought a 110ha (80ha effective) support block which, Renee says, will open more flexibility and options to the operation. As the purchase is recent, the partnership hasn’t decided whether to use it for grazing and extra supplement, rearing replacement calves, or increasing cow numbers. The farm is also supported by a 46ha support block owned by Renee and Greg. This means they need to buy in only a little supplement – mainly meal and barley – which makes the farm pretty much self-contained. A big challenge has been their TB status – they had an infection in the herd, which placed restrictions on how they farmed. But they are presently clear of TB, although Renee says they remain vigilant. She is on the TB-Free West Coast committee. “We are very much aware that we are only a cull cow away from infected status,” she says.

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ON FARM » Richard & Sarah Paver

Business Rural

| 59

Contracting milking provides way round tight dairying times Neil Grant With the lower dairy payout and most farm operating costs fixed, lower-order sharemilkers Richard and Sarah Paver were struggling a bit. But they were able to change their contract with farm-owner Rod Hayman to a contract-milking arrangement that has enabled them to keep operating. “We had had a good year two years prior, so we had some money to help us through,” says Richard. “We’ve been lucky because Rod has carried the re-grassing and fertilising schedules on. You’ve got to keep the foundation going to take advantage when things swing up again. We toned back a bit on supplement, but luckily we are nearly all grass feeding anyway. We have good irrigation, so we grew good grass.” Dairying was new to the Pavers when they arrived from Zimbabwe 14 years ago. Now in their fifth season on Springbank Farm, near Otaio in South Canterbury, Richard reckons they are ticking along pretty nicely. “We calved 820 cows this season. The herd is down to 780 now with natural fall-off. “We’ve reduced our vet costs by being a bit harsher with cows that get mastitis and using less anti-biotics. We give one or two treatments, then

they are likely to be culled unless they are special cases. This is a family farm, so if a cow has character, we might keep her.” The herd continues to veer towards kiwicross. The farm’s topography is quite hilly, so biggerframed cows struggle a bit. Anyway, he prefers the look of the crosses. “We had a six-week, in-calf rate of 74 per cent, down from 84% the previous season. We’ve been a bit more proactive with put ov-sunch programme this year. We tried short-gestation semen last mating, which gave us a decent break between articially inseminated and naturally bred cows. We’re continuing with 10-week mating this season. “We’re getting 450 kilograms of milksolids per cow, and we’re delighted with that. We hope to beat the previous year’s production each year, although this season the weather might influence that.” The farm has three full-time staff – a secondin-command who has been with the Pavers for five seasons and two dairy assistants. The most recent employee is an Indian who had been working in an orchard in the North Island, and came on board when a worker left. “He has been here only one month. He’s keen and reliable, which is 90% of the battle. He has a bit of trouble because we talk so fast, so we have to make sure he relays things back to us so that we know he has the gist. He’s a really nice guy.” The family is holidaying back in Zimbabwe this year, and he believes it will be good for the children,

Richard Paver (second from left) with staff members (from left) Ajay, 2IC Tony and Alex now at high school or university, to see family, and where they came from. The 2IC will look after the farm, with “Rod keeping an eye on things” while they are away. On their return, they will be busy – they have entered the dairy-industry awards, so will need to make sure the farm and the bookwork are all up to scratch for when the on-farm judges turn up. Contributing to their enjoyment of New Zealand

life are the relationship they have with Rod Hayman, and the wide range of hunting possibilities in South Canterbury. Son Neil has taken up bow hunting, so he and his dad get away as often as possible, hunting wallabies to help cull them, and deer and thar to fill the larder. “If the cuts aren’t palatable, we make biltong, a South African delicacy. Well ... delicacy? I don’t know. That’s debatable, perhaps.”

Above: Richard Paver with one of his ‘character cows’, Left: The herd heads in for milking.

DU NCAN EE ENGIN RING

TB status ongoing challenge • From page 58 “But TB numbers are dropping on the West Coast and New Zealand in general – a trend we hope continues.” She says their main farming philosophy is simply to concentrate on getting the basics right i the belief everything else flows from this. Their current goals are mainly financial in the light of payout pressures. “We are looking at where we can save without having a massive impact on our production or animal health. We’ve always been pretty efficient, so fine tuning has been the key.” Renee was born on the West Coast, and grew

up on dairy farms there and in Mid Canterbury. She met Greg who was farming at Inchbonnie and joined him on the Coast a few years later. They began their dairying partnership, in management and variable-order sharemilking positions before entering into their equity partnership deal. The farm supplies Westland Milk and this year, a wet season, they aim to produce around 205,000 kilograms of milksolids. Both Renee and Greg take a very hands-on role in the operation; they employ two full-time and one part-time staff. The couple have three children, who also get involved on the farm when they can Shaun is 14, Hamish 12 and Bridget nine.

    

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60 |

ON FARM » Simon & Kirstin Engelbrecht

Business Rural

Flexibility key to dynamic farming Neil Grant

Palmerston farmers Kirstin and Simon Engelbrecht are committed to coopdales as an integral part of their farming business.

Flexibility is the key to Simon Engelbrecht’s farming business. The 611-hectare farm near Palmerston, the extra 170ha he and wife Kirstin bought at Goodwood 20 minutes away nearer the coast, and another little neighbouring block they bought more recently keep him pretty busy. “I do about 95 per cent of the work on my own now, so I needed to reduce the workload on myself, especially in September–October, which is a pretty busy time,” he says. He thinks there is a unique set of circumstances in front of farming across the country, and keeping an eye on the signals to make educated predictions is important. “The dairy guys are not grazing their stock off farm, and they are not carrying excess stock, so they will not be buying cut and carry grass off-farm. “It has been a dry year in North Otago, but more land there is going under irrigation. When grass is growing well right across the country, there will be more of it, and something has to eat that grass. When there is a shortage of breeding animals – cows and sheep – you can’t correct that immediately. “At the moment, store markets are strong in relation to the fat price. Circumstances have created a shortage of animals, but at the same time, better moisture levels have meant more grass, so it is better to maintain capital stock and make them heavier.” He has reduced the number of cows the farms carry. Only about 90 were put to the bull this year, and a lot of those were first-calvers. The market determines whether they sell cows in calf, or calve them themselves, but reducing the number of pregnant animals is part of reducing the workload. Lately, he has bought stock, fattened it and sold it in late summer or early autumn.

“We buy whatever has a margin and will fatten the best. We don’t buy in just so that hey can eat grass. We don’t have rough country that needs cows. “We listen to the signals. If the meat companies say there are clouds on the horizon, we take that on board in our decision-making.” Simon Engelbrecht is committed to coopdale ewes on the farm. A cross between coopworth and perendale, their hardiness, clip, high scanning and survival make them ideal for the country they are on. Plus, the Engelbrecht’s won the 2014 New Zealand ewe hogget award with them. Last season they sold a number of in-lamb ewes because a cold snap had made feed tight. “The guy we sold to was over the moon with them. Another guy approached me recently and will take any coopdale ewe lambs we breed for him. It’s a guaranteed market.” The Goodwood farm has proved a good investment. It has taken a bit of work to get it up to scratch – fencing, pasture development and a new water scheme at the top of the hill. The 20-minute drive gives him time to think about things and clear his head. He finds that pretty enjoyable. They use it mainly as a trading block for cattle and a few sheep. Being coastal it provides an alternative to the main farm which is more prone to drying out. “We tailed over 170 per cent to the ram at Goodwood. It’s a nice little farm.” The business all boils down to listening to the markets to determine where the margins are, making best guess estimates of how best to stock the farm, maintaining enough pregnant animals to not be reliant on trading, balancing stock numbers against predicted weather and pasture conditions, and measuring all those aspects against sensible workload. And finally, “You’ve just got to keep on improving things.”

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Business Rural

ON FARM » Alan Davie-Martin

| 61

business An effluent pond gives 25 days storage and helps reduce fertiliser bills, with effluent dispersed over 65 hectares of Alan Davie-Martin’s Culverden farm.

Benefits start to flow from Amuri irrigation scheme Karen Phelps

Simon and Kirstin Engelbrecht have expanded their farming business buying 170 hectares at Goodwood, which is used mainly as a trading block for cattle.

Freephone 0800 684 882

1 Gill Street, Waikouaiti 9510, Otago

PH 03 465 7290

The upgrading of the Amuri irrigation scheme to a pressurized pipe network will mean savings over time for farmers, predicts Alan Davie-Martin, a shareholder in the scheme whose farm will be one of those under the new upgraded network. “It will create efficiencies in terms of water use and because it will arrive to our farm under pressure we will no longer need to operate a pump so there will be electricity savings,” he says. The scheme irrigates more than 20,000 hectares in the Amuri Basin in North Canterbury. It takes water from the Waiau and Hurunui rivers. In about a year Alan’s farm will be benefiting from the new pressurised pipe network. The current border-dyke system on a 100ha leased run-off block will be replaced with a centre-pivot, but apart from this no changes will be necessary on his farm, which is already mostly under centre-pivot irrigation. Alan grew up on a dairy farm in Northland and worked on various farms around the North Island before going 50:50 sharemilking in 1982. In 1993 he bought a 55ha dairy farm in Warkworth, which milked 150 cows, and was joined by wife Sharron in 1985. They managed to squeeze 50,000 kilograms of milksolids annually out of the farm with tricky topography and soils. In 2005 the spreading out of Auckland and the rise in land prices made it timely to sell and they bought their present farm in Canterbury, attracted by the land prices and irrigation. The 150ha total/141ha effective unit milks a herd of 540 friesian-cross cows through a 40-a-side herringbone shed. With the milk-price pressures the couple have worked to produce as cheaply as

possible with a firm focus on pasture management and reducing inputs. “We’re constantly analysing our business and costs. It’s not all about production it’s about profit,” says Alan. They use balage and silage made on the farm and run-off, as well as around 200 tonnes of palm kernel. More cows are now wintered on the runoff – around half the herd – reducing reliance on grazers. They are in their third season of growing fodder beet and grow 12ha plus 18ha of kale. They have found the fodder beet has given good yields if you keep a close eye on it.. “It’s not a ‘She’ll be right’ kind of crop. You need to keep your eye on the ball the whole time from establishing, to growing to feeding,” says Alan. An effluent pond giving 25 days storage was built several years ago giving them more options. It has helped them to use nutrients better, and has reduced fertiliser bills. Effluent is dispersed over 65ha of the farm. With a good winter and spring production is currently 12 per cent ahead and they’ve already managed to harvest silage. Last season the farm produced 268,000 kilograms of milksolids and the target this season is 250,000kg as Alan says he prefers to be conservative when setting budgets and targets. Once again it’s all about profit. For example, the farm has produced as much as 285,000kg, but with the low payout this wasn’t profitable so goals were re-established. The couple’s daughters – Rachael, 38, Abbie, 35 and Casey, 28 – are all learning the governance of the business. They are busy bringing up their own families, but Alan says that learning business skills will give them valuable knowledge in this area that could be translated to any type of business.

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62 |

Business Rural

ON FARM Âť Barewood Station/Andrew Stewart

Planning and monitoring the key tools Kim Newth Meeting sheep production goals on Barewood Station requires careful planning and close monitoring to overcome natural challenges, including low annual rainfall and a short growing season. The 6300-hectare property at Pukerangi, between Outram and Middlemarch, was bought by Tom Sturgess in 2004 as part of the wider Lone Star Farms group, a sheep and beef cattle farming enterprise with six properties. Barewood farm manager Marty Deans and his wife, Nettie, arrived at Barewood almost 20 years ago. The station has been significantly improved through a fencing, fertiliser and re-grassing programme, resulting in predominantly lucernebased pastures. Lucerne responds well to minimal moisture and has also proved resilient to the porina grass grubs that plagued the property for years.

Barewood now does its own direct drilling and has a well-organised fertiliser plan. One of the big challenges is the truncated growing season that starts in October and can end in January. Silage is cut by Barewood Station is a 6300-hectare property at Pukerangi and is part of the Lone Star Farms group, a beef and cattle farming enterprise that comprises six properties. mid- to late November. endorsed because you can see the benefits of using The station carries 18,300 romney/texel â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have to try and produce as much as BCS so quickly.â&#x20AC;? cross ewes and 5400 ewe hogget replacements. possible in a short time to set us up for the rest It is policy within the Lone Star Farms group to Additional trading stock is bought in as feed supply of the year,â&#x20AC;? says Marty Deans, who notes that carry out ewe condition scoring after weaning, at opportunities allow â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the station currently has 400 periodical drought also affects growth. pre-tup and scanning. trading cattle. Elevation itself is not as much of an issue as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;In fact, we can score them five times a year,â&#x20AC;? Romney-texel rams were bred for Barewood schist rock that underlies the propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thin layer of says Marty. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have grass to tup on here, topsoil, â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this rock affects grass depth and moisture by North Island sheep farmer Derek Daniell, with so we had to tup on grain. Introducing supplement additional genetics sourced from the Orari Gorge retention. allows our sheep to produce an acceptable lambing Romney Stud in South Canterbury and AlexandraThis growing season is looking good, he says: percentage.â&#x20AC;? based romney/texel breeder Bill Everett. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re quite comfortable. We regularly monitor our Being part of the Lone Star Farms operation has Headwaters rams have been used to increase covers to keep an eye on what is growing.â&#x20AC;? fertility in the ewe flock, resulting in much improved many advantages, he says. For example, omega lambing percentages. Omega rams are now used to lambs from Barewood are sent to be finished at Caberfeidh Station, another Lone Star Farm. produce a market differential product. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Each farm is run on its own account and we Lone Star Farmsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shared goal is to achieve trade on market value; regular communication 150 per cent lambing by 2018. Central to that goal and liaison is essential for this to happen. The is having no ewes under a body condition score properties all work in a complementary way to (BCS) of three, says Marty. achieve common goals.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is something our staff have really

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Achieving a sustainable work-life balance while maintaining profitability were key drivers in Andrew Stewartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transition to once-a-day milking last December. His ancestors have farmed in the Kumara area of the West Coast since the 1890s and his parents now own the home farm. Breaking from tradition was a big call for Andrew , but he says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inherited a reputation for challenging the status quo. â&#x20AC;&#x153;An opportunity arose to work on Dadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farm not long after I left school,â&#x20AC;? says Andrew. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes it was like the old bull and the young bull in the same paddock. There were a few

debates about things, but it was good learning.â&#x20AC;? In 2000 his parents bought a farm down the road from the family farm. Lying next to the Taramakau riverbed and set in lush rimu forest, the farm is comprised of a 30-hectare hill block where young stock graze and 125ha on the river flat which is carries 250 milking cows . After a period of managing the farm and progressively buying stock from his father Andrew began 50:50 sharemilking in 2008. The downturn in dairy payouts was a deciding factor for him not replacing his farm worker following his resignation three years ago. This left Andrew to manage the operation on his own with the assistance of his wife, Jill, when she was not on duty as a nurse at the Grey hospital. While paying a farm worker was not sustainable,

A big part of going once-a-day was the birth of my daughter and wanting to spend more family time. The significant positive for me is the flexibility once-a-day has provided, enabling me to spend quality family time and attend to nonmilking related chores.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Barewood Station is a beautiful property, not just visually but how it is managed. Well done Marty and team.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;˘

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Business Rural

ON FARM Âť Hayden Peter

| 63

Young farmer driven to succeed Richard Loader Hayden Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love for farming started as a young boy growing up on his parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Waimahaka sheep and beef farm. Now aged 34, that love has flourished into a passion for breeding profitable sheep for the New Zealand sheep industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mum and Dad joke that the first day I got dropped off to the school bus I told Mum what paddock Dad had to shift the sheep to. I knew a lot about the farm when I was five,â&#x20AC;? says Hayden. For the last two years he has been a contender for the Ballance Agri-Nutrients sheep industry emerging talents award. This comes on top of fifth place in the 2011 Young Farmers grand final, which he reached after making the regional finals seven times. â&#x20AC;&#x153;More recently, I completed a Kelloggs leadership course and did a project paper on farm succession planning,â&#x20AC;? he says. He has a bachelors degree in agricultural science with honours, has worked for Landcorp and Alliance Group, and managed Kerry Dunlopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Greeline stud farm at Winton for more than six years, and then in 2012, bought the stud when Kerry retired. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I saw it as a great opportunity to breed lambs of the future,â&#x20AC;? says Hayden. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I really enjoyed the work, working with the clients and seeing the production we have achieved over the years.â&#x20AC;? He started to develop the stud in the 1990s using a composite of coopworths, texels and east friesians. He brought in these three breeds because the mix created the hybrid vigour effect, enabling their progeny to perform over and above what their parents had . â&#x20AC;&#x153;The texels were used for their carcass conformation and parasite resistance. The friesians are there for fertility and their milking ability, and the

The way we are farming now is not the way we will be farming in 40 years. We need to be flexible to meet the challenges ahead.

Eye on the prize: Waimahaka farmer Hayden Peter has a Bachelors degree in agricultural science with honours, has been a contender for sheep industry Emerging Talents award for the last two years and gained fifth place in a Young Farmers Grand Final. coopworths because they are a structurally sound animal and for their fleece,â&#x20AC;? says Hayden. Now back on the family farm at Waimahaka, he has added 110 hectares of his own land, making a combined total of 430ha under his stewardship. The farm is running a total of 800 stud ewes

proves deciding factor

spread over four breeds; greeline, cooptexel, texel and suffex. Hayden also has 3000 commercial ewes and 1100 in-lamb hoggets. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Apart from lambing and mating time, my stud ewes are mixed amongst my other ewes,â&#x20AC;? he

says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get any preferential treatment or feeding, so they are tough, robust sheep that can handle the diverse commercial environments my clients are in.â&#x20AC;? His focus for the next three years is about efficiency in relation to his stud breeds. He has set three objectives. â&#x20AC;˘ to increase the lamb survival rate; â&#x20AC;˘ to increasing the kilograms of lambs weaned per kilo of ewes mated; â&#x20AC;˘ to decrease farm labour through savings in fewer daggings, less drenching and no footrot. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The meat quality is all about the consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; eating experience,â&#x20AC;? says Hayden. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work being done with intramuscular fat, or marbling as its better known. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening in the beef industry and I think it will be the next thing to come to the sheep industry.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Over the last year Alliance Group has measured the meat yield of Greelineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progeny at 56 per cent, which Hayden says is in the top 10% of the industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The way we are farming now is not the way we will be farming in 40 years,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to be flexible to meet the challenges ahead. People need to evolve what they are doing over time. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up to future generations to rattle the cage and get things motivated again.â&#x20AC;?

FAX (03) 983 5550 Proud to be associated with Hayden Peter

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On the benefits side of the ledger work Stewart Feature Andrew was also finding milking 250 cows COMPANY: Gavinthat Eastwick Accountant ATTN: Gavin Eastwick RE:were Andrew ISSUE: RS4_16 For efficiency & reliability sustainability, flexibility, family time, maintained plus looking after 60 young stock on his own was AD AD SLE pasture care and animal welfare. PRICE COLOUR equally unsustainable in the long term. $350.00 + GST Full profitability, 23-08-16 00-00-16 ARTIST Caleb SGN: .............. CALL NOW FOR A JOB CORRECTED MADE â&#x20AC;&#x153;After I put a business case to Dad to show him The couple have a 14-month-old daughter, and WELL DONE I had done my research, he was very supportive with Jill wanting to continue nursing, they needed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; although heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still getting his head around the to re-evaluate theiradvert priorities to make farmlife more For any changes or corrections please contact: Sarah McQuilkin 03 983 5560 Phone Mark Spain or production side of things.â&#x20AC;? sustainable. It is still early days in that regard, but Andrew is â&#x20AC;&#x153;A big part of going once-a-day was the birth Martin Smith - 03 218 3712 Fax 03 218 3714 hoping production will be similar to last year, which of my daughter and wanting to spend more family Martin Smith (Mb) 027 432 8930 was about 80,000 kilograms of milksolids. time,â&#x20AC;? says Andrew. But heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adamant that sustained profitability and PRINT DATE NEARING â&#x20AC;&#x153;I also had a mate who was sharemilkng on a not being run ragged are bigger drivers. once-a-day farm and I chewed the fat with him. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The significant positive for me is the flexibility He was very encouraging, particularly in regard to that once-a-day has provided, enabling me to spend productivity.â&#x20AC;? ............................................. quality family time, attend to non-milking-related Key issues Andrew considered were chores, and not be so drained at the end of the productivity, stocking rates and feed, animal day,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? he says. selection and somatic cell counts.

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A mineral mate for fodder beet Fodder beet is increasingly valued as a winter feed crop for beef cattle and dairy cows alike. The tremendous yield potential of the crop and the bulb’s high metabolisable energy level make it a popular choice up and down the island. Provided some nutritional constraints are addressed, this relative newcomer on the feed crop scene delivers outstanding results. In the early 2000s, when fodder beet was commercially introduced to New Zealand, farmers took to it like ducks to water. It soon gained a reputation for being a high-quality, cost-effective crop, with yields up to 30 tonnes of dry matter per hectare not being uncommon. “It’s understandable that it has become such a popular crop,” says SealesWinslow Nutrition and Quality Manager, Wendy Morgan. “It offers a lot to the farmer and the animals alike and has the potential to be a win:win crop.” However, to unleash its true potential, some inherent dietary shortcomings need to be addressed.

The long and short of it Nutritional constraints include a low fibre content as well as protein levels that are below optimal. “These nutritional shortfalls can be easily offset by offering silage and straw as a supplementary feed,” recommends Wendy. A further dietary inadequacy occurs because cows ingest soil while they’re grazing on fodder beet. The root of the problem is the relatively high iron content in our soils and the fact that iron disrupts the metabolism by interfering with the absorption of copper and other essential trace elements. The perhaps most notable mineral deficit of fodder beet is its low phosphorus content. Given the importance of phosphorus for skeletal health, rumen function and milk production, this requires meticulous attention. Traditionally, this has been addressed with regular dustings of dicalcium phosphate – a task that’s not only timeconsuming but also thoroughly unpleassant, not to mention wasteful (around half of the phosphate goes into the ground instead of the cows). Besides, the issues with copper and other trace elements, as mentioned above, remain.

All minerals in one block SealesWinslow’s Fodder Beet Block targets those very problems in a convenient and cost-effective manner. This goes some way to explain why it has amassed a strong following among farmers who tried it last season. The molasses-based block is formulated to provide the precise mineral needs for dairy cows and beef cattle that are feeding on fodder beet; it’s loaded with phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, sodium, cobalt, copper, iodine, selenium and zinc. Critically, it helps prevent the development of a phosphorus deficiency, which manifests as reduced appetite and rapid weight loss. However, as Wendy advises, those symptoms don’t always show up immediately; they can be delayed because the cow mobilises existing reserves first. Thus, for cows overwintering on fodder beet, symptoms would show up at calving time or during early lactation, with unwelcome sideeffects being a loss in milk production and implications for the health of young stock. Some cows will even go down, presenting as ‘creeper cows’ – alert but unable to rise. With SealesWinslow’s Fodder Beet Block, there is no guesswork about supplementation, no waste and no more unpleasant dusting jobs. “Simply place the tubs under the fence at the crop face and allow one tub per 25 animals,” says Wendy. “Cows will typically ingest 100 – 200 g/cow/day.” It’s a smart nutritional management investment that easily pays for itself, affords peace of mind and plays a critical role in maximising the potential from fodder beet. Just ask those who already use it! For further information or to discuss any questions, please contact your SealesWinslow representative, or visit www.sealeswinslow.co.nz

ON FARM » Bushwood Farm

Business Rural

| 65

In-shed feeding lifts production Russell Fredric Southland dairy farmer Geoff Baldwin is looking to an in-shed feeding system to increase his herd’s production this season. The system was installed last season in Bush-wood Farm’s 30-a-side herringbone shed, but the Pourakino Valley (near Riverton) arm’s cows have taken some time to adjust to their new supplementary feeding regime. “Last season our cows didn’t really cotton on to it during that spring; they took a long time to get used to it, but they were alright (this) autumn. This spring they know what it’s about,” Geoff says. As well as improving production, the supplementary feed has also boosted the herd’s submission rate and in-calf rate. From its herd of 330 cows, the farm produced a total of 141,000 kilograms of milksolids last season. This is on track to increase to around 148,000kg as a result of the feeding system. By late November, the herd’s production was up by 6 per cent for the year which makes the target achievable, with potential to go to 8% and 150,000kg. Because the farm is in an area which receives a high rainfall – up to 1800mm a year – it is summer safe; but pastures can be challenged at other times. “It’s really good summer country, but it poses challenges in the spring and autumn,” says Geoff/ He and his wife, Sarah, have four daughters aged 17 to 24. They bought the dairy unit in 2001. The home farm is 141 hectares, 50ha of it “pretty special” native bush, while an additional 38ha is leased from a neighbour. A 37ha run-off, six kilometres from the home farm is used for calf grazing and making silage. The property and its neighbouring farms are surrounded by the Pourakino Forest Conservation area to the west and the bush-clad Pourakino River to the east. The native bush is home to considerable birdlife, including warblers, wood pigeons and New Zealand falcons. About 90 species of plants have been identified in the bush. The Baldwins were sharemilking in Waikato for 14 years before they moved to Southland,. Dairy farm prices at the time made purchase of the farm and run-off possible. From the 330 cows milked, 85 to 95 calves are reared for replacements each season. Herd manager Craig Brown has worked on the farm for five years and his love for the valley equals that of the Baldwins. It is apparent the property has been diligently managed in the Baldwin’s stewardship during

PHOTOS: Above: Southland dairy farmer Geoff Baldwin (left) and herd manager Craig Brown. Right: Part of the 330-cow milking herd. the past 15 years; Bushwood Farm won three categories of the 2016 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards in April. The awards – the LIC dairy farm award, the Hill Laboratories harvest award and the Ballance Agri-nutrients soil management award – cover the likes of environmental impacts, nutrient use, soil management, herd improvement, reproduction and animal health and welfare. While the Baldwins had one award in their sights, winning three was unexpected. “We are really proud and really surprised we got three of them,” says Geoff. “That was pretty cool actually.” He agrees that winning the awards is confirmation they are on the right track and doing things well on the farm. “I think we’ve got a system that works for us. Our next step is probably to get a share-milker on board, probably 50:50, within two or three years.” The couple hope this will allow them to step back from the day-to-day operation, buy a house in Central Otago, and travel overseas.

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66 |

ON FARM » Earnscleugh Station

Business Rural

Terrain/technology mix works Neil Grant

Ernscleugh’s cattle operation carries over 500 stud cows, 16 sires and 465 heifers or bulls. The stud has three breeds, angus, hereford and composite.

Looming above the Clutha River, the Old Man Range is a place of murderous legend, gold mining, fortune and disaster. Its huge schist tors, especially the Obelisk ,or Kopuwai, watch over Central Otago like sentinels. Earnscleugh Station lies against the south bank of the Clutha and runs up into the range. Those sentinels have watched goldminers seek their fortunes, farmers get driven off by rabbits, engineers build dams and power stations, and more recently, sheep and cattle studs using modern technology to produce quality animals and fleeces. Alistair and Judith Campbell came to Earnscleugh in 1981. They developed the property and increased stock numbers. A rabbit plague set that back, but aided by a government programme in the 1990s, rabbit numbers were reduced dramatically and have remained low. This has allowed pasture regeneration and sustainability. Tenure review saw marginal land retired, allowing

public access there, and purchases of neighbouring blocks have created a farm of 21,000 hectares, 250ha irrigated flats. The Campbells’ son, Duncan, returned from overseas to continue the family tradition on the station. Father and son share responsibility for the studs, the merino ones having six strands: ultrafine, super fine and fine, poll, inverino and mermax. inverino are basically a poll merino with the inverdale fertility gene, and bred back to pure merino. The mermax had stud merino ewes crossed with high-muscle, crossbred rams, then bred back to merino. “The flock is mostly run together except when the ram goes out,” says Duncan Campbell. “We choose an aim for each animal, and can check how they compare with one another. We use all the technologies available to cover the field for our ram-buyers. We know what outcome we want for each type, and work back from there. The computer allows us to pull out any trait we want, and fit sheep to the market.” An over-riding factor in the operation is a form of

EARNSCLEUGH HIGH COUNTRY GENETICS

RAM SALES BY INVITATION MARBLE DRAW Please contact us if you wish to be invited to the sale • 3000 Stud Ewes Mated • 6 Separate Studs • Ultra Fine - Australasia’s finest Fibre Diameter EBV flock • Superfine / Fine - Horns and Polls • Polls - Icebreaker Wool. Fertility and Carcass • Inverino ™ - Merino’s Carrying the Inverdale Fertility Gene • Mermax ™ - Merino’s Carrying Loinmax and Myomax Muscle Gene • Smart Sheep - Poll Merino with 5 to 25% Xbred Suitable for Smart Wool Contracts Limited numbers of rams available carrying the GDF9 Fertility gene. Members of the Southern Cross breeding group.

· Using breeding values since 1988 and generated by Merino Select, Australia since 1999 · Full Fleece Records · Muscle Scanned · Widespread use of DNA · Stud sheep run in large contemporary groups · Ewes run under commercial conditions including Autumn on high altitude snowgrass to test their constitution.

Duncan Campbell - 0276 596 713 e: duncancampbell77@gmail.com Alistair Cambell - 0274 892 820 e: ecgenetics@farmside.co.nz Keith Wilson - 027 125 766 - Marketing & Client Liasion www.earnscleughstation.co.nz

Merino stud rams are progeny tested and breeding values generated and tested. In addition to the 1700 stud ewes and 160 rams the commercial side of the business has 10,000 ewes, 7000 wethers, and 5000 hoggets, all merino.

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ON FARM » Earnscleugh Station

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quality oracle natural selection. Earnscleugh breeds high-country animals for high-country farms. Both cattle and sheep spend most of their lives up high, with the sheep coming down for the winter. After weaning on the flats, cows go back above the snowline, where they scratch a living from the snow tussock and native grasses. Those that do well continue the line. But there is plenty of science involved, too. Stud rams are progeny tested and breeding values generated and tested. DNA testing for footrot tolerance and cold tolerance in rams, and ewe fleece information are recorded using electronic identification technology at shearing time. The cattle stud has three breeds: angus, hereford and composite. The composites are a four-way cross – hereford, angus, simmental and gelbvieh, giving hybrid vigour. All are bred for strong maternal traits and constitution. “A lot of buyers look for a mixture of bulls, so we cover the market,” Duncan Campbell says. In addition to the 2500 stud ewes and 160 rams, the commercial side of the business has 10,000

ewes, 7000 wethers, and 5000 hoggets, all merino. On the cattle side, there are 525 stud cows, 16 sires and 465 heifers or bulls. From the irrigated flats to the high tussock tops, pasture types include flood-irrigated country, direct drilled or oversown and top-dressed mid-altitude country, native grasses, annuals and silver tussock between 700 and 1200 metres, and snowgrass, blue tussock and herbfields above 1200 metres. Some supplement is made, mainly for hoggets and bull calves. Prairie grass and clovers have proved the most successful pasture type. Lupin is being trialled to get some nitrogen into the system, and ryecorn is being considered. Climate and lack of flat pasture mean Earnscleugh is not run as a fattening property. The best wethers, ewes and hoggets are kept as replacements, and store lambs are sold. So, sales from the studs and store animals, and the 100-odd tonnes of merino wool, along with keeping rabbits in the sights, all contribute to the success of this historic Central Otago station.

Natural selection is an over-riding factor on the tough terrain at Earnscleugh, which breeds high country animals for high country farms.

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Business Rural

ON FARM » Tahora Stud

Younger brigade shines for Tahora After winning 11 times in the last 13 years, Tahora Stud did not produce the supreme champion cow title at the 2016 South Island championships at the Canterbury A & P Show in November. But owner Dean Geddes is not too disappointed. “It’s good as it will make me go harder next year. The cow that won was a good animal.” Tahora Stud did collect a couple of awards though – both the junior and intermediate champions. Tahora McCutchen Tori, a six-month-old calf led before the judges by Dean’s 13-year-old daughter, Sophie, was the junior champion. “She was up against heifers a year older than her.,” says Dean. “She has heaps of spring and depth of rib and was very well balanced.” Tahora Goldsun Jasmine won the three-and-halfyear-old class, and was chosen as the intermediate champion. Dean describes her as a “good dairy cow with good veining on her udder”. Son Tom, 10, is carrying on the family tradition with a fourth place in the six-month-old calf class with Tahora Soloman Fern. The Tahora Stud was founded in 1963 by Dean’s parents, Jim and Judith Geddes. They based the

Left: Dean Geddes with son Tom, 10, and daughter Sophie, 13, at the halter. Sophie led in Tahora McCutchen Tori, a six-month,old calf, which was named junior champion cow at this year’s Canterbury A & P Show. stud on the breeding philosophy and success of Judith’s late grandfather. L.H.Leslie, and her late father, Merton Leslie. L.H.Leslie bred registered friesians from 1925 to 1938. During that time he showed or bred six Canterbury champion cows as well as the 1934 Royal Show champion cow, Pareora Ethel Burkeje. Dean, who took over the stud in 1991, farms a 180-hectare block at Greenpark, just south of Christchurch, and has a 37ha run-off at Rolleston. He maintains there are three ingredients to breeding a great cow – passion, dedication and money. He concentrates strongly on conformation, longevity, fertility and production.

He also places a great store on investing in the best genetics he can lay his hands on. He had a half-share in an Australian cow, Pooley Bridge Titanic Alicia, the granddaughter of Shoremar S Alicia, one of the first Excellent 97 cows in Canada. He also had a quarter-share in another Australian cow, Blue Chip Goldwyn Paradise, which took out junior, intermediate and senior titles over three consecutive years at the International Dairy Week in Australia. He also took a third-share in a sister to Blue Chip Goldwyn Paradise. Although he is no longer involved in these partnerships, he has heifers as a result and says they are showing promise.

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