Business Rural - Spring 2017

Spring 2017

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

FENCERS NAIL IT After an absence of many years and a lot of work by the industry, fencer training is returning to the NZQA. See p69. Photo: Fairbrother Industries

INSIDE

‘B team’ wins national award – PAGE 5

Biodynamics a selling point – PAGE 8

Investment boost for processor – PAGE 14

4m-high rain gauge just part of life – PAGE 30

Farming, tourism seamless match – PAGE 56

Canterbury Jeremy Cunningham • +64 275 2002 303 • jeremy@fcn.co.nz

Southland & Otago John Roberts • +64 27 523 5993 • john@fcn.co.nz

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WHAT’S INSIDE »

Business Rural

07 Fruitgrower in expansion mode

Longtime Central Otago fruitgrower Webbs has acquired more land for growing peaches and nectarines, and plans to open a second roadside stall in the Cromwell area this year.

20 Station nears end of development phase

Glenquoich is an hour from anywhere, says Mark Evans. But they love living on the 850ha Northern Southland, high-country station. “It’s a great place to bring kids up.”

33 Winner acknowledges ‘great employers’

Sheepbreeder and commercial Hayden Peter was rated the ‘emerging talent of the year’ in the 2017 awards. Our ‘sheepbreeders’ feature profiles some of the South Island’s best.

54 Award reward for environmental stewardship

Derek and Bronwyn Chamberlain put a lot of thought and effort into their farm environment – and their work has been recognised with two awards.

73

60 ‘Lightbulb experience’ lives on

Mary and John Lindsay say they have ‘never been disadvantaged since they introduced the Inverdale gene into their pure romney flock 15 years ago.

‘Nature’s wonder fibre’ helps Polly pander

Throws and scarves, caskets and ash-urns, handbags and hip flasks... Polly McCuckin has proved wool’s ideal for all of them. She terms wool ‘nature’s wonder fibre’.

>> Index | 76

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RURAL PEOPLE » Stonyhurst Partnership

Business Rural

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Stewardship brings awards Kim Newth Planning for long-term improvement has been a productive and sustainable formula for North Canterbury’s Stonyhurst Partnership, which took top honours at this year’s Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

The 2950-hectare sheep, beef and deer breeding and finishing property won the supreme award, along with harvest and innovation awards and the farm stewardship award in partnership with the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust and the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust.

Brothers John and Peter Douglas-Clifford have farmed together at Stonyhurst for 40 years. John’s son, Charles, now takes care of day-to-day farm management after returning home in 2012 and starting a family with wife Erin; they have two young children, George, four and a half, and Lilly, two.

“I had a career in rural banking and had travelled overseas, but I always knew that ultimately I’d come back home,” says Charles. “One of the big driving forces for Erin and me was that we wanted to raise our family in a farming environment. We’re both off farms and really value that rural upbringing.

“It has been a great decision. Our kids love it here and take every opportunity to get out on the farm.”

Charles is the latest link in a family farm story

• To page 4 PHOTOS: Deer grown for venison (above) and angus-hereford cattle, targeted for early growth ad performance (below), are a strong focus of the Stonyhurst operation.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Stonyhurst Partnership

Business Rural

‘Be clear and transparent and just be really proud of what you are doing’ • From page 3 that dates back to 1850 when forebear Charles Clifford took up the original land lease. Successive generations have taken care to balance commercial farming with protection of the land’s natural resources.

Environmental gains have been a natural byproduct of the family’s commitment to sustainable farm improvement.

Back in the 1960s, John and Peter’s father worked hard to clear gorse and broom from the property. His two sons built on that effort by maintaining an effective weed and pest programme.

They made further improvements by developing infrastructure, and fencing off gullies and areas of native bush. At the property’s centre is a 200ha area of fenced bush, a regenerating treasure trove of native biodiversity.

The award judges were impressed by the property’s extensive and well-maintained farm tracks and system of reticulated water troughs.

“Improving access across the farm was something we had to prioritise so that Pete and I could run the farm by ourselves,” John recalls. “We achieved that goal through solid investment over many years.”

Reticulated stock water was rolled out across the farm a decade ago.

“That has allowed us to fence off places where we didn’t want cattle to go,” John says. “We couldn’t do that before we had the right system in place.”

Half the property is made up of hill country, with a strong focus on using legumes to fix nitrogen.

Almost five years ago, Stonyhurst got together with a group of like-minded fine-wool growers to form – with the help of New Zealand Merino – the Southern Cross sheep combining fertility, growth rates, fine wool and, most importantly, footrot resistance.

“Footrot was the biggest driver for that … we’re selecting on other traits as well and now getting much higher performance,” says John.

As an early adopter of EID tagging, used in conjunction with FarmIQ software, Stonyhurst has a wealth of data at its disposal.

“So, we’re now developing quite substantial databases that capture the history of all our stock, which we can use to monitor and analyse stock performance,” observes Charles.

With its hereford-angus cattle, Stonyhurst is targeting early growth and early performance, which has been a strong focus for the past 20 years, after having been adopted when bovine tuberculosis was an issue. Cattle are finished using a techno system to minimise compaction and pugging.

Completing the farm operation is a high-quality deer herd grown for venison and established through wild-deer capture in the 1980s.

Charles hopes their success at the Ballance awards will encourage other farmers.

“The take-home message is to be clear and transparent, and just be really proud of what you are doing.”

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PHOTOS – Left, upper: Penned sheep ready for shearing. Left, lower; Charles Douglas-Clifford adds information to the farm’s extensive database. Above: sea views from the 2950-hectare sheep, beef and deer breeding and finishing property, which took top honours at the Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

RURAL PEOPLE » Raywell Farm

Business Rural

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The lucrative vegetable seed market may be the focus for Leeston brothers Peter, Richard and Quentin Withell, but it didn’t stop their Raywell Farm entry being named runner-up in the crossbred section of the 2017 New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition.

National award for ‘B team’ Karen Phelps Sheep may only be a secondary part of the business, but Raywell Farms has been recognised nationally for the quality of its ewe hoggets. The farm’s entry was runner-up in the crossbred section of the 2017 New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition Peter Withell, who with his brothers Quentin and Richard, runs Raywell, admits the farm is a bit outside the norm – not a traditional sheep and beef farm, but with the business focused on mixed arable.

This means the sheep have to fit into the farm system, not the other way around. They use the hoggets mainly for controlling spring growth and grazing grass seed crops.

Nor do they usually mate ewe hoggets – in fact, this was the first time they had done so in several decades.

“A lot of breeding sheep have been slaughtered for the meat trade and we anticipated there could be a shortage of lambs this coming season,” Peter says.

“We have been very pleased with the results of the decision to mate them.”

The Withells had been recording and tagging ewes for more than 40 years, but recently decided to turn the stud flock to commercial because of diminishing demand for rams and a wish to put

more time and effort into the arable side of their business. They used Longdown rams over their borderdale flock.

Ewes mated to lambs weaned was 174 per cent and the majority of lambs were taken to 50 kilograms. The ewe hoggets retained for the competition scanned at 152%. Peter says the judges saw an evenness in their sheep, and flock production and lambing percentage were key.

The Withells farm 350 hectares near Leeston and runs 540 lambing ewes with 1300 hoggets bought in and finished each year. They also finish the bull heifer progeny of around 65 beef cows to 15 months of age.

Huge demand for vegetable seed has seen them concentrate increasingly on this market. The family has lowered sheep numbers in the past two years to make room for 15ha of additional arable land. They grow radish, carrot, mustard, chinese cabbage and swiss-chard seed. Wheat, grass-seed and white clover, make up a significant portion of the arable area. This year they are trialling a small area of corn-salad seed.

“The market forecast is for increased demand worldwide for vegetable seed production,” says Peter. “Because of our position in the southern hemisphere, Canterbury is an ideal location.”

He grew up on the farm, which has been in the family since 1869, and started working there after university in 1977.

Father John, 91, was actively farming until fairly recently when he and wife Rosalie decided to take things a bit easier.

Quentin now oversees the arable side of the operation, Richard manages the stock, and Peter fills in where needed, as well as being responsible for the bulk of the irrigation.

Around 285ha of the farm is under a mix of Roto-Rainer and Turbo-Rainer irrigation.

Peter says the mix of arable, sheep and beef is constantly being assessed, and with new decisions are made all the time.

“There are huge changes ahead of us, particularly in the way food will be produced. The biggest challenge is cellular agriculture – synthetic protein production – as well as falling demand for crossbred wool.

“We will always continue to explore areas of diversification. We’re just trying to farm as best and as efficiently as we can.”

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RURAL PEOPLE » Wayne & Tania Horton / Grove Bush

Business Rural

De-stocking win-win for Wayne Karen Phelps De-stocking five years ago has made their business more efficient and easier to run, say Wayne and Tania Horton, who run Hillcrest Farm at Grove Bush, near Invercargill.

The farm had traditionally run 2200 ewes and 400 hoggets on 232 hectares, but they have reduced ewe numbers to 1600.

“When the stocking rate was higher they fought over every blade of grass, were unsettled, animal health costs were high, and at lambing there was a lot of stress on the system,” says Wayne.

“The ewes are now healthier and happier with no shortage of grass, so they’re more settled and the lambs are happy to stay with them.”

He says the aim was for quality over quantity,

but both have improved as a result of the change.

He gives a couple of examples.

The farm used to buy two drums of drench every three weeks, but needed only two drums for the whole of last season. And, between the time they put the ram out until weaning, they would collect 250-300 dead sheep. Last season they collected just 37 in the same period.

Last year, with 200 fewer ewes than the year before, they ended up with 47 more lambs. They are also getting better prices for their meat, with no draft netting lambs under 19 kilograms. While they used to get 12 lambs out of 3500 away at weaning draft at a top hanging weight of 17kg, they now get 300-400 away at 19.5-20kg.

Other benefits of de-stocking have been having surplus grass to sell to dairy farmers for cashflow, an increase in lambing percentages (now above

160 per cent), and lambs away to the works much quicker than when the farm was fully stocked.

Whereas they were scanning at 135-140%, they are now at 176% just looking for twins. They expect this figure would be over 200% if they were looking for triplets.

The flock is romney/border leicester cross. They have put a poll dorset and a texel ram over them for meat yield.

The farm has been in Wayne’s family for more than 150 years, and he grew up there. Tania was a self-confessed ‘townie’ before she met Wayne and they married 20 years ago.

“When I moved onto the farm, I thought ‘Crikey what have I got myself into here?’,” she remembers with a laugh. “I very quickly learned to swap the high heels for gumboots as I made the transition from office to paddocks.”

They took over from Wayne’s parents, Owen and Dorothy. Wayne and Tania say that despite the history, they have discovered the importance of not being over burdened by the family history or expectations, and to look at the farm as a business.

“Multi-generational farms still need to be treated as separate business entities, despite the history of ownership. This involves a huge mind-shift, removing heart from all business decisions which need to be made in the best interests of the farm, not for family approval,” says Wayne, who admits this has not always been an easy balance to achieve.

Both say that surrounding themselves with the right advisers and support network has been a big asset, whether it’s someone they can discuss the

• To page 7

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Southland farmers Wayne and Tania Horton, say the aim of de-stocking on their 232-hectare Hillcrest Farm at Grove Bush was to improve quality over quantity, but both have improved as a result. The farm had run 2200 ewes and 400 hoggets, but they have reduced ewe numbers to 1600.

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Grove Bush farm bought for £68 Karen Phelps Robert John Horton was born in 1832 and was an experienced ship’s carpenter until he left England around 1863. He travelled to the Bluff via Melbourne and eventually bought 65 acres of land at Grove Bush on February 19, 1864 for 68 pound.

He and his brother then travelled to Lawrence in Central Otago, where the gold rush was ongoing.

There Robert used his building skills and built many of the prospectors’ huts in the area. He returned to the farm almost two years later.

In addition to clearing the land and farming, he built a number of bridges for the provincial council.

The farm still has two of the original piles from a bridge he built nearby around 1870, Robert married Henrietta Popenhagen in 1872 and they had 12 children over the next 26 years.

Farming was extremely difficult at the time, with

none of the modern conveniences or equipment we now take for granted, say Tania and Wayne Horton.

Ploughing was done with an old swing plough pulled behind two horses. It had one furrow and, after the sowing had been done, a log was dragged across the drills to cover the seed.

They say the majority of Robert’s time would have been spent clearing bush by hand and with true horsepower. It is believed it took him about 15 years to clear the first 65 acres before he looked at expanding the farm by buying more blocks.

Over generations land was bought and sold – bought when the prices were low enough to make the purchase feasible, and sold at times to finance retirement for older generations.

Wayne and Tania Horton are the fourth generation. They are farming 232 hectares, have 1600 sheep, 400 hoggets, and alternate between lamb fattening and selling standing grass for dairy support.

RURAL PEOPLE » Webbs Fruit

Business Rural

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Simon Webb says the riper and sweeter pieces of fruit are picked for Webb Fruits’s roadside stalls. He says it is “great the see our customers’ reactions to having juice dripping down their chin, and the constant comment of ‘You don’t get fruit like this in the supermarket’.

Potential for peaches, nectarines Kelly Deeks Long-standing Cromwell stonefruit and pipfruit orchard Webbs Fruit is growing this season.

Twelve hectares of a new 30-hectare lease block will soon be planted in peaches and nectarines, and a second fruit stall will be up and running this year.

Simon Webb – who with his wife, Trudi, owns and operates the business – says the remaining 18ha of the new block will be developed and planted with apples and aprictos over the next five to seven years.

He says the opportunity to expand (the business has 25ha of orchard at present) came at a good time, with other orchardists removing peaches and nectarines in favour of chasing the big money in cherries.

“We don’t do cherries and we never have. We’ve got enough on. The packing shed we built in 2010 provides the infrastructure we need to increase our peach and nectarine production, so all we’ll need is a few extra staff.”

By November, Webbs Fruit will have opened a second fruit stall at Kawarau Gorge Road. Simon says this will service a different client base in another location.

Lobulus Fruit’s roadside stall on the orchard’s frontage to State Highway 6 was opened in the 1960s by Simon’s father, John. To mark the company’s 100th anniversary in 2014, it was redeveloped into a bigger and brighter version.

The redevelopment gave the stall a historic look – it has a large verandah and Webbs’ old fruit grading equipment is on display inside.

Simon says riper and sweeter pieces of fruit are picked for the roadside stalls, then cool-stored until needed or pre-ripened at ambient temperature for a day or two before being sold.

“It is great to see our customers’ reactions to having juice dripping down their chin, and the constant comment of ‘You don’t get fruit like this in the supermarket’,” he says.

Webbs Fruit was established in 1914 by J R Webb (Simon’s great-grandfather), who bought about 10ha of orchard on sunny slopes on the outskirts of Cromwell.

Simon was brought up on the orchard; after finishing school, he gained a post-graduate Diploma in Applied Science. He then worked for a year in Canada at Dendy Orchards, a large cherry and apple orchard and packing facility, before spending the next year with Empire World Trade, an apple importer in the United Kingdom.

“I got to understand the standards the supermarkets wanted, the need for fruit quality, the importance of good infrastructure, and the necessity for building relationships with buyers,” he says.

His great-grandfather’s legacy continues in the form of some plum, pear, and apple trees that have been on the property for more than 100 years.

“As a variety gets old, it starts to produce less fruit,” says Simon. “When we look at replacing those varieties, we talk to the marketers, plant importers and nurserymen, and find the best thing that’s going to carry on.”

He says the newer varieties handle better and store longer than older varieties, and look a lot nicer as well.

‘We’re sheep farmers...always will be’ • From page 6 current markets with or a mate they can share a beer with.

“We have a very good relationship with everyone we deal with,” says Wayne. “Our biggest learning curve has been the importance of keeping the communication lines open and knowing that if we pick up the phone for advice or just to offload, there is always someone on the other end of the phone who can help us out and talk us through it.”

With a mind to future-proofing the farm, they have been widening gates to accommodate the larger modern equipment and generally working smarter, not harder, to get better work-life balance.

Their thoughts are on the next generation and how it might continue the family legacy. They have three children, Anthony 18, Cameron 16 and Laura 14. As the last big sheep farm in the district they are proud to carry on the family tradition.

“I’m not a morning person,” says Wayne when asked if they have ever thought of converting to dairy. “We’re sheep farmers, that’s what we are and always will be.”

“I have enough trouble moving sheep around, let alone cows,” adds Tania. “We are now concentrating on our plans, a goal that constantly fluctuates thanks to the markets, debt levels and benefits available to our children, all while balancing health and well-being.”

Apples on their way through the sorting and packaging process in Webb Fruit’s packing house.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Rudi Bauer

Business Rural

The nerve centre at Quartz Reef wines, located on the lower vineyard block, is where all the plants and herbs are grown and all the preps and teas are made and matured.

Biodynamics a selling point We want to show that you can look after the land and ensure it is in better shape for the next generation while making great wine at the same time.

Karen Phelps

Quartz Reef winemaker Rudi Bauer says biodynamics is based on the maintenance and enrichment of soil and vine health.

There are only a handful of wine makers producing their wines using biodynamic principles in New Zealand. But according to Austrian born Rudi Bauer, winemaker, viticulturist and general manager of Central Otago winery Quartz Reef, interest is growing.

“As consumers become more aware of what they drink and biodynamics demand is growing. We don’t achieve more for our wines because they are produced using biodynamic principles. But it is a selling point,” he says.

Based in Cromwell, Quartz Reef is located at Bendigo Station and sits on the largest quartz deposit in New Zealand. The Historic gold town on Bendigo was mined from 1862. Quartz reef was founded in 1996 and the principal partners are Rudi, Trevor Scott and John Perriam. There are currently 30 hectares under cultivation.

For Quartz Reef though the decision to start farming biodynamically in 2007 was more about farming responsibly and sustainably. Biodynamics is a method of organic farming originally developed

by Rudolf Steiner and treats the vineyard as an entirety, as a living system. At Quartz Reef it is based on the maintenance and enrichment of soil and vine health and the recognition of the rhythms

of the cosmos and their influence on weather, soil, plant and animal life.

Rudi cites the move from integrated to specialist farming as being a more challenging way to farm sustainably as traditionally farms have relied on a variety of crops and animals to ensure soil and plant health. So a more diverse ecosystem is encouraged at Quartz Reef. For example at Quartz Reef sheep eat the grass between the vines after harvest also giving valuable organic matter back into the soil.

Crops are planted in between vines such as soya bean and various grasses, which are mowed or mulched to further enhance soil life. Other crops such as lucerne attract insect life, which helps to

• To page 9

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RURAL PEOPLE » Frazer & Karen Allan

Business Rural

|9

Mixed age ewes on winter swedes (top) and heifers strip fed kale at Frazer and Karen Allan’s Glenure Station in Northern Southland.

Winter mode for prize flock Richard Loader Glenure Station, deep in the Hokonui Hills of Northern Southland, is in winter mode. The station is home to 7800 stock units, including 4750 Peters romney ewes, 1230 replacement hoggets, 240 charolais cows and 40 heifers that farm-owners Frazer and Karen Allan winter and calf.

From the warmth of his home overlooking the Waimea Plains, Frazer says that if you get a southerly blast and cold miserable day, you do what you have to do outside with the animals, then find something else to do – like bookwork.

On a nice day you’re fencing and doing general farm maintenance.

The 800-hectare property has been in the family since 1972 when Frazer’s father, Mitch, shifted from a smaller farm on the Aparima River.

Frazer and Karen bought a 30 per cent share of the farm some years back, and then bought Mitch’s

share about four years ago.

“Dad’s 95 and retired from the farm in the last six months,” says Frazer. “He got the farm to where it is now. I’m just continuing what he started.”

“We were very good mates on the farm and he still comes up once or twice a week to see what’s going on.”

The Allans’ 25-year-old son, Ben, recently joined them on the farm – maintaining that family spirit.

“Karen does a huge amount of work on the farm,” says Frazer. “She’s probably done as much work as any of us. At present Karen and Ben are feeding all the sheep and I’m looking after the cattle.”

Like so many Southland farms, Glenure Station suffered badly from the ravages of clover-root weevil a couple of years ago. Frazer says the weevil attacked the clover savagely, leaving them with a real struggle to fatten the lambs.

That’s all under control now; the clover has fought back and things are back to normal.

This year the Allans’ Peters romneys topped the Northern Southland ewe hogget competition, not just in the breed section but as overall winner as well.

A key objective of the competition was to select the flock replacements most likely to be the most productive and profitable over their lifetime.

The Allans’ win meant their hoggets went into the Southland/West Otago competition where they won the romney section.

“I had reluctantly entered the competition to support the local thing,” Frazer says.

“But I was very proud of the fact my sheep were judged good enough to win because you don’t know how they compare until you are judged.”

Besides feeding out and strip-grazing the stock, fencing has been taking up most of their attention of late.

“We’ve been fencing off a couple of waterways and duck ponds and so forth,” says Frazer. “I can see that we will have to do a lot of that in the next few years, but you can’t do it all at once cost-wise.

The investment in fencing is not cheap.”

With a potential 16 kilometres of waterways to fence, there could be quite a few winters’ worth of work involved.

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Frazer and Karen Allan’s hoggets on winter crop at Glenure Station.

Interest in biodynamics grows • From page 8 keep problems such as powdery mildew at bay as the insects feed on the spores.

All biodynamic preparations and activities are carried out at what has been dubbed ‘the nerve centre’, located on the lower vineyard block. Rudi says that this is the heart of the farm, a mini amphitheatre, where all the plants and herbs are grown, and all the preps and teas are made and matured.

The result is not only healthier land but also more flavoursome fruit affecting the resulting wine. Rudi says that as the vines have matured

and they have gained a better understanding of the land year on year the wines have become more layered, textured and have more character. Quartz Reef produces estate grown Methode Traditionnelle non-vintage and vintage, pinot gris and pinot noir.

Around 60% of sales are domestic with export sales being primarily driven by the USA and Australia.

“For us the highest priority is being good custodians of the land and making wine in a responsible manner.

“We want to show that you can look after the land and ensure it is in better shape for the next generation while making great wine at the same time.”

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10 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Grant family

Business Rural

Southland’s Grant family run 40,000 stock units over several farm blocks totalling around 4200 hectares, including around 800 hereford/angus cows and 165 rising two-year-old heifers.

Native tussock, scrub areas a big part of farm award Neil Grant

Peters Peters Romneys Romneys

Yes, it is possible to radically develop a farm yet still be in contention for an environmental award.

Southland’s Grant brothers and their father show how it can be done.

Cameron and Bronnie Grant have the Campbell’s block in the Otamita Valley in the Hokonui Hills, west of Gore. Robert and Lyn are a few kilometres east on the Tin House block.

Their father, Peter, stays on the original farm established by his grandfather in the 1880s further east again at Croydon. In 2014, they bought another farm not far away in the Hokonuis at Otapiri and then several months ago added a neighbouring

block to Tin House to enhance its potential.

This makes them stewards of a total of 4200 hectares on which they run 40,000 stock units.

“We have expanded to provide for business growth and farm succession,” says Cameron.

“Robert and I are fourth generation on the farm, and we’ve both got families.”

The blocks are farmed together, but trade as separate entities under a somewhat complex ownership and partnership arrangement.

Cameron’s and Robert’s blocks were under development at the time they nearly won the Ballance Environment Award in 2014. A major part of their success there was down to maintaining

• To page 12 Your local transport specialist 03 203 9010

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RURAL PEOPLE » Grant family

Business Rural

| 11

PHOTOS: The Grant family runs 20,000 ewes, 6900 hoggets and 330 rams. Pasture development has been a major focus for brothers Cameron and Robert in the Otamita Valley in the Hokonui Hills.

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12 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Grant family/Edwin & FungaiFungai MabongafUN

Business Rural

Tussock cover, genetics help ‘best lambing ever’ • From page 10 native tussock and scrub areas in gullies and rocky ridges surrounded by those areas that were under pasture development.

“Leaving areas in native cover is partly for environment reasons, but also partly as good farming practice.

“We had changed to Peters Genetics, and then we had the big snow. Yet we had the best lambing percentage ever, and we put it down to the change in genetics and the tussock providing natural shelter.

“The Peters romneys are very hardy – they want to live. We’re getting 146% lambing to the ram over 20,000 ewes. That’s up from 120%.

“The lambs are early maturing at 19.5 to 20 kilograms, up from 17.5, and we’ve brought our kill date forward by two to four weeks.”

The flock is run in A and B mobs. The Bs go to three-quarter suffolk/one-quarter texel terminal sires. As well as the ewes, there are 6900 hoggets and 330 rams in the flock. Shearing takes place in February and August.

Largely for pasture-management purposes, there are 788 mixed-age hereford and hereford/ angus cows and 165 rising-two-year-old heifers.

The Otapiri block was bought as it had room for development, the potential to increase their stock numbers, and to fit into the winter-feed programme.

Its five-wire electric fences have been replaced with 10-wire permanent fences.

A programme of spraying, root raking, fertilising and regrassing means it is now “ticking along nicely.” They had intended to build a house on this property, but the purchase of the smaller

Staff are a big thing now.

We rely on them.

Robert’s and my roles have changed dramatically. We do a lot more management now. neighbouring block, which already had a house, has delayed that.

Supplementary feed is important. At the moment there are 200ha in winter swedes, 104ha in kale, 75ha in fodder beet, 60ha in turnips, plus grass grown for silage, balage and lamb grazing.

On the human side of the business, as well as the families there are a full-time tractor driver, a fulltime handyman and three other stockmen.

“Staff are a big thing now,” says Cameron Grant. “We rely on them, and we’ve got a really good team. Robert’s and my roles have changed dramatically, and we do a lot more management now.”

Cameron and Bronnie’s children – daughters Addison and Zoe and son, Angus – and Robert and Lyn’s daughter, Kazia, and son, James, are “good farm kids” and like to be out and about on the farm.

And for relaxation?

“Every generation has had racehorses over the years,” says Cameron, enthusiastically, in anticipation of an upcoming Christchurch race.

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Developing and re-grassing pasture has been a key objective for Cameron and Robert Grant.

Payout pressure: a matter of adapting to survive Kelly Deeks A second run-off block leased in April last year to support Edwin and Fungai Mabonga’s Otautau dairy farm has given them more control over both their feed costs and their young stock.

The couple moved Zimbabwe to New Zealand in 2003, looking for a better lifestyle for them and their two children, then aged four and one. They had a third child in 2007.

Edwin, who was farming in Zimbabwe, had experience in both dairy and cropping, and exported flowers to Europe.

They arrived in Taranaki where Edwin tried getting a job on a sheep farm, but because . “I was looking for a farming job, but because he had no dogs, he was advised to go dairying.

He started as a farm assistant in Taranaki, and after six months was promoted to herd manager.

After a year he and Fungai went contract milking, then moved south in 2007.

They started lower-order sharemilking on a 600cow farm, at Riversdale, in Southland, then began looking for partners.

“We found people who were interested in getting involved in converting three Otautau sheep farms to dairying,” Edwin says. “I liked the set-up of the sheep farms, and I knew I could convert them into what I needed.”

His dairy farming experience (since 1983) in Zimbabwe included converting a farm to dairy, so he had the confidence to go for it. “I think that’s half of it – not doubting yourself,” he says.

He designed the conversion, which took six months to turn 204 hectares of sheep country into dairy. The Mabongas now sharemilk 800 friesiancross cows for their equity partnership.

The farm is supported by an 80ha run-off, also owned by the partnership, and in April the partners took on the lease of a 48ha block at Otautau as a

Edwin Mabonga inspects his pasture (above) and with his bike and cows (below). second run-off. Both are used for silage supply and grazing young stock.

The Mabongas dropped cow numbers to 750 last season, but are back to 800 cows with the improved milk pay-out.

He says the low pay-out forced them to adapt to survive: “You can make changes that might look good, but in the long run it’s still too early to tell. It’s going to take a couple of years to bounce back, and time will tell.”

The Mabongas cut costs on feed, and with the new run-off are able to grow more of their own. The lease remains an expense, but as a fixed cost not floating with the market.

This season the couple are working to improve per-cow performance; they have made headway in the past four seasons, increasing production from around 390 kilograms of milksolids to 413kg/cow.

“For the past four years we’ve been slowly building up our friesiancross cows and getting more friesians for their bigger capacity,” Edwin says. Pasture quality is improving as grasses mature on the conversion and the Mabongas are re-grassing 10% of the farm every year.

RURAL PEOPLE » David & Glenis Crutchley

Business Rural

| 13

Secret sits in soil biology Karen Phelps Completely changing farming methods has brought big benefits for the land and the meat heading off the farm, says David Crutchley, one of the owners of Shortlands Station.

The 6121-hectare, high-country, sheep-andbeef station at Kyeburn Diggings in Danseys Pass has been in the family since David’s father bought the property in 1946. David grew up on the property and took over when he was 26 years old in 1977.

The farm runs 13,000 stock units – a flock of texel/romneys with a dash of perendale. David was farming traditionally, but noticed a lot of the dung on the farm was not decomposing.

He decided to investigate. This led him down the path of a regenerative agricultural programme in which only naturally-based phosphate fertilisers are used on the farm, along with a myriad of other natural products to encourage healthy soil biology.

“I wanted to leave the land as a legacy to my family and in better condition than I had taken it on,” he says. “That wasn’t going to happen using traditional fertilisers.”

It’s a decade since the family made the shift, and David believes this was partially responsible for them winning a silver award for their meat in the crossbred section at the 2017 Beef + Lamb New Zealand Golden Lamb Awards, aka the ‘Glammies’.

He says farming as they do results in better animal health, fewer deaths, higher lambing percentages, better carcase weights and better nutrition, with the end-result tastier meat.

This is combined with breeding techniques, such as mating only the top 65 per cent of the ewes on the farm to a maternal sire; the remaining ewes go to a terminal sire. There is also focus on breeding for intramuscular fat, which is an important factor when it comes to tasty lamb, he says.

Because they can see the improvements on the farm, the family has funded some independent scientific studies to document the results. This has proved the value of improving carbon levels in the soil.

“Using alternative soil fertilisers lifts the soil biology, which we have found lifts mineral nutrient levels and carbon” says David. “If you can lift soil carbon levels by one per cent, you retain 144,000

‘Sustainable’ is the status quo, and that’s not good enough. Now the farm is beyond ‘sustainable’, and we aim to keep improving and getting better. litres of water per hectare. For a dryland farmer, that is very valuable.”

The farm system sees 70% of dry matter going to capital stock and the remainder to trading opportunities and/or bull beef, dairy-cow grazing, heifer grazing and growing out in-calf heifers for the dairy industry.

What is chosen depends on the year and is matched to available feed supply. For example this year they are doing bull beef with 360 bulls on the farm and 200 empty carry-over cows that will be put in calf for the dairy industry, plus a few steers.

Because of the long, cold winters, the farm’s pressure period occurs in September/October, and they aim to have the lowest stock numbers on the property at that point.

The family business is owned by David and wife Glenis and their children, Charles, Zara and James.

Charles manages Shortlands Station. James runs another family-owned, 1400ha, sheep-and-beef station carrying 6000 stock units at Palmerston.

This farm has had three finals placings in Glammies, But if there are secrets to winning awards, David isn’t letting on. He says they are working to develop a sound financial business, although he shies away from the term, ‘sustainable’.

“The farm was a store-lamb property which was unsustainable. ‘Sustainable’ is the status quo, and that’s not good enough. Now the farm is beyond ‘sustainable’, and we aim to keep improving and getting better.”

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14 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Prime Range Meats

Business Rural

Investment boost raises Kim Newth Invercargill-based licensed meat processor Prime Range Meats is confident it is well-positioned to increase its domestic and export sales following the move late last year by a Chinese investor, Cuilam Industry Ltd, to lift its holding in the New Zealand company to 75 per cent.

The new investment, approved by the Overseas Investment Office is bringing direct spin-offs by boosting access to the Chinese market while also paving the way to improvements in plant infrastructure, says Prime Range Meats’ general manager, Paul Hamilton.

“It is very exciting for us and we’re now proactively working at both ends, namely procurement and marketing,” he says. “If we’re successful in getting more stock in, that will ultimately create more jobs.”

Prime Range Meats employs around 150 people and provides a versatile processing service focused on the Southland region and its farming community from where it draws its supply of stock. The plant, which is open all year, processes sheep, lambs, cows and bobby calves.

One of the immediate benefits of the recent investment deal is that Prime Range Meats gained an export licence for China, enabling it to capitalise on strong demand for mutton and lamb there in time for Chinese New Year celebrations.

A trial shipment of beef sent to China this year, has since been followed by five more such shipments.

“It is still very much a trial in progress,” says Paul Hamilton. “Cuilam Industry has a cold store in China and a lot of products have gone there. They are working on developing a marketing strategy in

• to page 16

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For the rural sector, Southern Transport provides a fortnightly wheelie bin service for most areas of Southland, as well as mini, maxi, and skip bins, and also provides delivery of aggregates through sister company Allied Materials. Southern Transport has been providing these services since 1946, and Chris has been with the company for 14 years. “I know my customers quite well and have good relationships with them,” he says. “Also with the end users of our recycling. All of our plastic goes to Southland Disability Enterprises, and our cardboard goes to the same building but a different company, Oji Fibre Solutions.” All waste is taken to the landfill at Winton owned by AB Lime.

Southern Transport has always been in the waste game, and added the recycling service about six years ago. “We saw a growing need to separate the recycling from the waste, and set up a new bin system for people to separate their general rubbish, green waste, plastic, and cardboard,” Chris says. “We offer bins ranging from 240 litres to 1100 litres, and this service is provided around Southland as well as in Invercargill’s CBD.” For general waste, large bins are available that hold from two cubic metres up to seven cubic metres of waste, and are available to hire both long and short term, with fast, reliable pick up and delivery. Southern Transport has a range of five different skip bin sizes and something to meet the needs of everyone. The company has the ability to pick up its skip bins anywhere, anytime, with a collection service to both residential and commercial

customers in Invercargill and throughout Southland.

“Pick-ups can be as often as you like,” Chris says.

“Either call us when your skip is full, or we can arrange a regular pick-up service. Or, if it's a one-off job, such as clearing a section or renovating a house, we can sort that too.” Southland Transport operates three loader trucks to handle its mini and maxi bins, two of which are Hino 500 series trucks only a year old. There are also four rear loaders, one dedicated solely to recycling, with the other three looking after commercial rubbish and wheelie bins. Reliable machinery is vital to Southern Transport and its clients, and as such the company operates strict service programmes with trucks being services every 5000kms, and a replacement policy which sees trucks replaced every 10 years.

Southern Transport’s staff are also a big part of the company’s reputation, and in the waste and recycling arm, Chris runs a really good team of 11 drivers. The wider company’s vehicle operations arm employs about 50 staff.

“The whole idea of the waste division is we’re bringing in people who haven’t got a lot of experience, and training them up in smaller trucks,” Chris says. “Their goal is to work through to the heavy truck and trailers in vehicle operations. Training in the waste is a good foundation for them.”

Chris currently has one female driver on his team, and did have two until one moved on to driving a truck and trailer. “It’s hard because we’re always retraining, but it’s also a great way to get people into the industry. We still have staff who haven’t moved on and don’t want to, because they enjoy the waste game. A couple of our front loader drivers have been here for three years, and one of our guys has been here for 10 years, so we do keep some experience on the team.” Southern Transport employs a few of its drivers from SIT’s nine week driver training course, and has never had any trouble finding staff.

Southern Transport, as part of the wider HWR Group, has the support of a large company and good resources to meet its clients’ needs. “Our top priority is good service for a fair and reasonable price,” says Chris.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Prime Range Meats

Business Rural

| 15

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16 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Prime Range Meats

Business Rural

Firm aims to lift levels of exports and production • From page 14 China, but everything is still in its infancy as yet.”

While other meat-processing companies have partnership arrangements, Prime Range Meats’ deal with Cuilam Industry represents something new to the industry, says the Invercargill firm’s production manager, Brent Crawford.

“It means we have our own integrated supply chain and marketing into China,” says Paul, who is working with accountant Josef Geisser to explore opportunities to put more through the plant.

While exports to China can only grow from the new investment, there is also nothing to stop Prime Range Meats from continuing to lift its exports into its other key markets, says Paul Hamilton.

These markets include Europe, the United States and Taiwan.

“We began exporting 20 years ago,” he says.

“We’re a small player in the export world, but we are gradually strengthening our presence.

Tony Stock, our international sales and marketing manager, has many years of experience and has used his contacts to create opportunities for us.”

The company’s goal is to lift processing to 250,000 sheep and 15,000 beef animals this year, up on past annual targets, says Paul Hamilton.

With its rising procurement aspirations, Prime Range recognises there will be challenges ahead.

With dairying on the rise in Southland, sheep numbers are in decline and that inevitably creates procurement pressure.

“When it comes to the fringes of the season, there’s a real scramble for lambs or whatever stock is out there. We are competitive and positive, and continue to look for opportunities to improve our revenue.

“Procurement is being helped by the fact we are now able to develop in a market that is exciting. Of course, we continue to be serious about schedule prices too.”

He says Prime Range Meats remains a dedicated supplier of high-quality meat to domestic clients, including butcheries, restaurants and supermarkets around New Zealand.

Cuilam has boosted this side of the business too through a recent investment in a new processing facility not far from Prime Range Meats’ plant.

“It is a very good building,” Paul says. “We intend to grow some of our local business with our current supermarket and restaurant clientele by doing more intricate cuts for them. “ It just means we have that flexibility in terms of what we can offer them. We have been restricted by space up until now, so this new investment is really great.”

While Prime Range Meats employs its own specialist butchers, the acquisition of the new processing facility is not about trying to compete with local butcheries.

Far from it, says Paul Hamilton. Prime Range Meats sells a lot of product, primals and carcasses directly to butcheries, who appreciate being able to source good quality product from an export licensed local plant.

Cuilam Industry is also backing opportunities to improve how the operation of the plant, having recently put up the money to streamline the vacuum packing and boning room area. Effectively, this will speed up processing through the plant, says Paul.

It also means additional beef and offal parts can be saved and processed.

“It is great that they (Cuilam) are on board so that we can capitalise on these opportunities as they come along. They want to be here for the long haul – they are happy to sit around the table with us and want to know what we can do for this company and ultimately secure our future.”

As well as buying into the company, Cuilam has bought some parcels of land in Invercargill. One of these is a farm Prime Range Meats uses for stock before processing.

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52

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RURAL PEOPLE » John & Tracey Hickman

Business Rural

| 17

Debt reduction rates priority Russell Fredric Southland dairy farmers John and Tracey Hickman are looking to this season’s forecast farm-gate payout of around $6.50 to back debt reduction in their large-scale business which peak-milks nearly 1700 cows.

John and wife Tracey farm 310 hectares (effective) at Bayswater (bought in 2008) and 190 hectares (effective) at Oreti (bought in 2011), about 50 kilometres north-west of Invercargill.

Together, the farms produced 726,000 kilograms of milksolids last season, but Bayswater’s production was lower than usual following the purchase of an adjacent 100ha sheep farm.

Tracey has a significant role in the business, handling accounts and administration along with calf-rearing during spring.

Nine staff are employed, including a manager on each farm.

The operation is supported by a 560ha run-off nearby at Avondale; 500 cows are wintered at Bayswater, but the balance all go to the run-off.

“We graze 400 heifers of our own plus about 400 heifers grazed for two farmers at Avondale,” John Hickman says.

The farms collectively operate on a Dairy New Zealand system four which means about 30 per cent of feed – a mixture of grain, palm kernel, whole crop and grass silage – is inputted.

Running two farms creates the opportunity to critically compare one with the other, says John.

But the scale can be a double-edged sword that can work for or against the bottom line, he says.

He recalls his reaction when the forecast payout plummeted at the start of the 2014-15 season.

“The first year I was probably like a lot of dairy farmers. We were almost in denial. In the second year we thought it couldn’t happen two years in a row, but by early spring we had systems in place to minimise losses as did most dairy farmers.

At the start of last season, with another low payout forecast initially, the Hickmans were in a much better position to cope because of the lowcost-structure environment they had created.

“With the way the season came out, it was a really good year and basically we recovered everything we’d lost in the last two years.”

The Hickmans engage a farm consultant who visits the farms every six to eight weeks.

His involvement means there is an independent third party to discuss issues such as employment and health and safety, as well as providing a sounding board around decision-making for any aspect of the farms’ operations.

Measuring grass weekly with a tow-behind pasture meter is one of the critical processes of running the farms.

The machine produces dry-matter-per-hectare data, including a feed wedge. This information is wirelessly downloaded to the cowsheds so that

With a bit of scale you make a lot when things are good. At $6.50 you can pay off a bit of debt

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The system is also invaluable as a means of quickly identifying whether grass growth is slowing or accelerating, so pasture and supplementary feed management can be proactive rather than reactive.

With two low-payout seasons behind them, and farm working expenses of $3.52, the Hickmans are hoping to continue recovering more ground this season and beyond.

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18 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Marty Kelly

Business Rural

Mates, mentors fuel Marty’s farming desire Richard Loader North Canterbury sheep-and-beef farmer Marty Kelly’s love of farming was forged on the cricket and rugby grounds of Dunedin’s John McGlashan College some years ago.

A third of the schoolboys were boarders, mostly from farming parents, and while Marty’s background was not farming, a common bond was established on the sports fields.

“Going through school I became friends with those boys, went back to their properties and saw not just the farm but the family life they were living.

I could see that was what I wanted and said to

myself way back then – ‘One day I’ll have a farm’.”

A further defining period occurred when after leaving school, he went to work on the historic Stonehenge Station, at Patearoa in Central Otago, for two years.

“It was my time on Stonehenge, a property exceptionally well run by passionate owners who taught me about work ethic and stockmanship – skills that have stayed with me and influence what I’m doing now,” Marty says.

He achieved his dream of farm ownership four years ago when he went into equity partnership on

• To page 19

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RURAL PEOPLE » Daniel & Amanda Schat

Business Rural

| 19

Lameness, high empty rate factors in production loss Russell Fredric Mid Canterbury sharemilkers Daniel and Amanda Schat have set an ambitious production goal for the season ahead despite facing several setbacks last season.

They are targeting 400,000 kilograms of milksolids this season.

They aim to achieve this through more attention to detail on transition feeding, making silage from pastures with more than 2900kg average dry matter per hectare, and strategically boosting the availabliity of supplementary feed.

The couple are in their fifth season as 50:50 sharemilkers on a 224-hectare (effective) farm owned by Daniel’s parents, Harry and Gail Schat, at Te Pirita, south of Christchurch.

The property was converted from a sheep farm 20 years ago and peak-milks about 800 cows; the farm’s highest seasonal production has been 382,000 kg milksolids.

While the planned increase in supplementary feed comes at a higher cost, this season’s increased forecast farm-gate payout against the Schats’ farm working expenses ($2.20/kg milksolids last season and $2.40 budgeted for this season, including the cost of irrigation) makes it feasible, Daniel says.

“You can make a profit on that dollar spent on the supplements this year. I know there’s always a risk that the payout’s going to drop out, but I don’t see that happening.”

“I feel reasonably confident that the money we spend on the supplements this year will go into profit, whether it’s body condition score on cows or into the silo in milk.”

The second part of their production equation is cow size.

“We are trying to bring the average size of the cows down while holding production ability.”

They are aiming to breed cows that produce milksolids equivalent to their bodyweight and bulls that are “elite” for breeding worth and production, both to make sure they are protecting their future with good cows and for sale through New Zealand.

Although the Schats supply Fonterra, all the bulls they now use have the A2 protein gene to create the option of supplying Synlait and being paid a

Lameness, a high empty rate and reducing the amount of supplementary feed were ‘three big factors’ that affected milk production last season, says MidCanterbury sharemilker Daniel Schat.

Last season 100 cows were dried off by mid-April because of lameness. We just couldn’t do anything about it, so that cost us a lot. premuim, while also creating an income stream from A2 calves.

“For example,” says Daniel, “this year I’ve organised a contract to sell excess calves to a farmer who does supply Synlait for A2 milk, so that I can command an extra income source.”

He says last season was “not great for us”.

They ended up with just 348,249kg milksolids – their “worst year in a long time”.

The poor production was the result of a high rate of lameness and a high empty rate.

“Last season 100 cows were dried off by mid-

Early lessons ‘stay with you’ • From page 18 a 1350-hectare property at Waiau with “another very good farmer”.

The farm runs 8700 stock units – 4800 ewes, 1200 hoggets, and the balance in cattle.

On taking over the property Marty felt the sheep were not ideally suited to the steep topography and long, wet winters.

“The sheep had excellent fertility, but lacked the constitution to handle the farm’s altitude, which ranges between 350 and 780 metres, right in the snow belt.

“When it got wet and cold, the sheep really struggled, dropping body condition and affecting lamb survivability.

“I wanted a dual-purpose sheep that had the constitution of a romney but the growth and yield traits of a texel.”

Researching the Sheep Improvement Ltd (SIL) genetic database he found a couple of romtex breeders in Southland whose rams had the traits he was looking for – fertility, growth, yield, survivability, and a moderate frame.

Three years ago, Marty entered the Canterbury A & P Show’s Mint Lamb competition to benchmark himself against other breeders.

In the first year he entered (2014) he finished in second place with a yield of 56.7 per cent. In 2015 and 2016 he entered his new dual-purpose romtex lambs and won the maternal class on both occasions with yields of 58.9% and 58.97%.

“I came away from that competition really excited and with confidence we were building a very good maternal romtex flock.”

He says it’s not just the yield of the animal but the ability to get the animal off the property earlier.

He’s now consistently killing lambs down to 32 kilograms liveweight and killing out at 16.7kg.

Previously it was more like 36kg liveweight to get it out the gate.

Does Marty have a key message?

“When you’re young and working for the right person, it makes such a difference. The lessons you learn when you’re young stay with you; they become your own standards and a benchmark for your own farming business.”

April because of lameness. We just couldn’t do anything about it, so that cost us a lot.”

Also impacting on production was a reduction, because of the low pay-out, in the amount of grain and grass silage bought in for supplementary feed.

“These were three big factors that contributed to us not doing as well,” he says.

The bulk of the herd is large holstein friesian cows with a North American genetic base, and a careful selection of New Zealand genetics; most weigh in around 550-560kg.

“We felt we couldn’t get quite enough energy into them, which is the lesson we’ve learned in hindsight. We struggled to maintain the production and get as many cows in calf as we were used to.”

Consequently the empty rate was 18 per cent, compared to an historical range of 10-14%.

“That hurt us, so we’ve learned that, yes, you can save some money on feed, but it’s probably going to impact on you in other ways in terms of reproduction. I think that’s a very valuable lesson.”

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20 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Mark & Gillian Evans

Business Rural

Goal – Neil Grant

Glenquoich Station’s Mark and Gillian Evans with children Gabrielle (left), Adriana (centre) and Chonelle (back).

The dramatic Eyre Mountains start at Cecil and Walter Peaks opposite Queenstown, and finish at Mossburn on the Oreti River. Much is conservation park, but the vast, tussocky flats and slopes on the eastern flanks bordering the Mataura River have been farmed since the 1800s.

Athol is a small township about halfway between Kingston and Mossburn. Eyre Creek and the smaller Quoich Creek meet the Mataura here. The homestead for Glenquoich Station (pronounced ‘Glencooee’ in these parts) is on the edge of the township. The station has 2086 hectares running from the flats of the Mataura into the Eyre Mountains with Eyre Creek as its southern boundary.

When Mark and Gillian Evans, and Mark’s parents, Alistair & Stephnie Evans, first leased it, 400 hectares was in pasture and the balance was unimproved hill country.

Seven years later, in 2004, they bought it. Mark and Gillian have since taken over ownership and that 400ha has expanded to 850 with still more potential for improvement.

Over the years there has been steady development. Where once fencing might have been based on running a line down a ridge, current requirements to keep stock out of waterways means that now, many fences run alongside streams. Sediment traps (duck ponds) keep effluent and fertiliser run-off out of the streams.

“It was a run-block with 34 paddocks when we came here,” says Mark. “There are now more than 100 paddocks.”

“We’ve been developing back into the hills, improving the pasture. The hills had a lot of matagouri scrub and gorse. The gorse we deal to

MEADOWSLEA ANGUS IS PROUD TO SUPPLY HILL-BRED ANGUS BULLS TO MARK AND GILLIAN EVANS OF GLENQUOICH STATION We have been buying Turanganui rams for our whole farming career, they are a great looking type with nice open points for free movement around our hills They have top mothering ability with the lambs really sticking to their mothers, they provide good growth rates for us and the farmers that buy our lambs And have proved they can perform and grow a fleece of wool too.

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36 Warrens Road, RD2 Featherstone 5772 Mike Warren 06 307 7841 | 027 446 5312 | warren.m@xtra.co.nz

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RURAL PEOPLE » Mark & Gillian Evans

Business Rural

| 21

to raise hill-country capacity It was a run-block with 34 paddocks when we came here. There are now more than 100 paddocks. each year with 10-15 cans of Tordon by helicopter plus hand gunning, and we are finally making progress on that front. We try to do it ourselves with a digger and root-rake, drainage, spraying and pasture renewal. We were not getting enough fencing done, so we have a fencer who lives here part-time.

“We root-rake it needed, then work it down, put in Green Globe turnips and Moata ryegrass at rates of two kilograms and 10kg respectively for the first year, and second-crop with Green Resistant turnip and Moata to give it time to build up fertility. The third year it goes into pasture.

“The hill blocks are re-sown with AR1 ryegrass, Savvy cocksfoot and Huia white clover, which can handle lower fertility. On the flats, we put in a better ryegrass mix, Maverick and AR1 ryegrass, timothy, Hilltop and Bounty white clover.”

Glenquoich runs 6200 perendale/romney ewes and 1750 hoggets. Perendales are from Newhaven, and romneys from Turanganui, The perendale aspect ensures they will survive in challenging climatic conditions and forage up into the hilltops, whereas the romneys give a bit of size, mothering ability and calmness; also, the lambs grow out to good weights.

The lamb policy is to wean in mid-January and get as many away to the works as possible.

“Last year we got 1200 away at $85, weighing 17kg. We have been having a store-lamb sale with the neighbours in February. We averaged $82.70 for 3500 lambs, which makes for an easy decision to sell stores, freeing up grass for the ewes in what can be a dry climate. The neighbour had a similar amount. We keep the balance and grow them out to a good store lamb.”

The beef herd is hereford/angus, moving to predominantly angus with the purchase of Meadowslea bulls. The herd comprises 243 mixed age cows and 75 in-calf heifers. The top steer calves are sold at weaning in April. At the Castlerock sale this year, 82 weaner steer calves averaged $915. One hundred and ninety four calves left on farm are wintered through on fodder beet, with replacements selected in the spring and the balance sold as store calves after winter.

A third string to the economic bow is dairy grazing. The dairy downturn cut that back from 750 cows to 450, but the expectation is that next year, things will be back to normal. Running these cows has been helpful in improving pasture, fertility and cashflow. They are wintered on swedes or kale, supplemented with lucerne balage and grass hay.

Glenquoich has one full-time staff member,

Top/above: Developing hill blocks and improving pasture has been a priority on the 2086-hectare Glenquoich Station, which runs around 6200 perendale/ romney ewes and 1750 hoggets. Below: The Evanses (Gillian and Mark, and (from left) Chonelle, Gabrielle and Adriana) are dwarfed by the surrounds.

Jacob Hume, and casuals are employed as required. And then there is the family.

Mark’s parents own a lifestyle block near Gore, but his father comes over to help from time to time.

Gillian likes shifting the cows in winter, and spends a lot of time getting the children to various activities.

“It’s an hour from here to anywhere,” Mark

reflects. “Gillian spends a lot of time taking kids to hockey, figure skating and other sports commitments in Gore.

The three daughters – Adriana, 12; Chonelle, 10; and Gabrielle, six – have busy lives. Getting out on their motorbikes, exploring for gold, swimming in the rivers, helping when needed on the farm.

Chonelle and Gabrielle go to Garston Primary School, 10 minutes to the north, and Adriana is at Northern Southland College, in Lumsden.

In the Young Farmer of the Year competitions in Feilding, Adriana was in a Northern Southland College team in the Agrikids competition. There

were about 240 regional teams nationwide and the 21 finalists competed at Feilding – Northern Southland College finished sixth.

Mark feels they are nearing the end of the development phase on the station. They are getting better production as they lift the hill country’s carrying capacity and improve the flats with lucerne (45ha sown so far) and new pasture. With regrassing heading for a second round, he feels there is still a lift to be had in production.

“We enjoy the challenge, we’re busy all the time, and love living here.“It’s a great place to bring up kids.”

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22 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Graham & Pam Hunter

Business Rural

Trees ‘add beauty, character’

Graham and Pam Hunter own and run Hunter Farm, a 264-hectare sheep-breeding and finishing and beef-finishing business near Lawrence.

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Richard Loader Hunter Farm in South Otago is as diverse as it is picturesque. Owners Graham and Pam Hunter’s job roles are equally varied.

For Graham, a day could involve working with sheep, cattle, pruning trees or giving advice about farm forestry to potential tree growers. Meanwhile, Pam could be helping Graham with stock work, attending to numerous administrative tasks, or preparing a meal of home-grown lamb and vegetables for farm-stay guests.

A 3400-stock-unit, sheep-breeding and finishing and beef-finishing business, the farm covers 484 hectares, of which 264 hectares is effective, on rolling to steep contour south-west of Lawrence.

About 2.5 kilometres of the farm borders the Clutha River, 60 hectares is in gullies, 40ha is river flat, 20ha is Queen Elizabeth II Trust-covenanted, and 40ha is in commercial forestry planted in 1997.

The farm was certified organic for seven years, but because of the difficulty in maintaining certified

organic status during challenging feed periods, it is currently farmed following a biological system.

The Hunters love trees and have planted many thousands and created seven kilometres of shelter belts during the 20 years they have owned the farm.

“They add beauty and character to a farm,” says Graham Hunter.

“You get a lot of satisfaction seeing them grow and how they enhance the wildlife and birds. It’s cool, I really enjoy it.”

This year the couple won the Farm Stewardship Award in partnership with QEII National Trust and the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust.

To qualify for the award, they had to demonstrate management systems that include productivity and sustainability and help with the creation of special places such as unique manmade features or natural features.

In the award citation, the judges commented on the pride and passion the Hunters have for their

• To page 23

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Chez Hunter...The South Otago couple were recipients of this year’s New Zealand Farm Environmental Awards farm stewardship award, with judges praising a tree-planting strategy for land stabilisation, shelter, shade, weed suppression and aesthetic improvement.

RURAL PEOPLE » Graham & Pam Hunter

Business Rural

| 23

PHOTOS About 2.5 kilometres of Graham and Pam Hunter’s farm in South Otago borders the Clutha River. The three photos on this page capture various aspects and angles of that connection.

An absolute gem – homestay guest • From page 22 property, along with their high level of knowledge of native and exotic tree species and enhancement of diverse native-bird habitat.

Also noted was the outstanding execution of their tree planting strategy for land stabilisation, shelter, shade, weed suppression and aesthetic enhancement.

Hunter Farm Home Stay, the newest addition to the couple’s business, was established five years ago.

Described by one guest as an “absolute gem”,

the farm is a picturesque, verdant country haven for tourists wanting to experience a slice of real New Zealand farm life.

Better promotion of the farm-stay last season has resulted in an increase in visitors.

“It takes a wee bit of time, but it’s pretty interesting, the people you meet,” says Graham. “It has been a wonderful to promote a bit of Kiwiana, and how we live and our wonderful environment.”

He believes the farm showcases a commercially run farm with a strong environmental focus complemented by significant visual beauty.

As well as enjoying what has been created over

the past 20 years, the Hunters love their work and the multi-faceted nature of the farm’s day-to-day operation.

One disappointment is the ongoing struggle to achieve consistently good prices for commodities, with wool prices at a long-term low after suffering a sharp drop from the start of this year.

“However, we hope that out of this, some innovations and opportunities will develop within our wool industry,” says Graham.

After many years of investing in improvements, their immediate priority is to improve the farm’s profitability.

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24 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Kane & Lisa Heaps

Business Rural

Scale adds to excitement Russell Fredric Managing a 6500-hectare station with the same name as a mythological Titan goddess is far from a form of purgatory for Kane Heaps.

Styx Station, in the Maniototo, and the nearby town of Paerau provide a great community and family lifestyle for Kane, his wife, Lisa, and their two children Charlie (four) and Archie (three).

While the Greek myth includes the Styx River and a great marsh, the real-world parallels of the Taieri River and the swamp it runs through on the station are about as far as the analogy goes.

A dryland sheep and beef trading operation, Styx Station is owned by New Zealand Pastures, an unlisted farming company which farms 23,500ha of productive New Zealand farmland on behalf of its institutional shareholders.

The Heaps family has been on the station for just two years, but Kane has worked for New Zealand Pastures for six years: “I started out as a stock manager, then managed their Omarama farm before being promoted to Styx.”

The station averages about 32,000 stock units and employs five staff, including Kane.

About 30 kilometres in length, it lies on the western side of the Rock and Pillar Range, bordering the headwaters of the Taieri for about 10 kilometres. In contrast to typically dry Maniototo, this is an area of flat, swampy land with little fall.

Despite not having irrigation, the property is generally summer safe because of cooler evenings at its altitude of about 550 metres above sea level.

During the 201-17 financial year the station bought and sold 55,000 store lambs and 3,000 cattle.

Stock are bought each spring and summer from around the country. How long they are kept depends on market and seasonal conditions; the average holding time is about four months for

Left: Styx Station...the 6500-hectare base for a dryland sheep and beef trading operation.

Below: Beef cattle find a touch of green. lambs and six to eight months for cattle.

Last spring, 550 300-kilogram friesian bulls were bought in and, along with other store cattle, were sold at the end of March; lambs were bought in mid-December, shorn and sold from late January.

The station calved 700 beef cows at the start of October; half of these were sold in April and half are being kept until this spring, while 600 rising twoyear-old beef cattle were sold in April.

Staff range from block managers to junior

• To page 25

Proud to support Styx Station

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RURAL PEOPLE » Zach Haderbache

Business Rural

| 25

Farm gets a big tick on all four pillars Richard Loader A passionate farmer, proud of his staff and its success announced at Synlait’s annual ‘Leading with Pride’ award dinner in June – that’s Landcorp’s Eyrewell dairy unit manager, Zach Haderbache.

The programme recognises and financially rewards suppliers who achieve “dairy-farm excellence” across four pillars – environment; animal health and welfare; milk quality; social responsibility.

The Eyrewell unit received the ‘Best New Lead With Pride Supplier’ award following an audit of these four pillars.

“The award was affirmation of the work done on the farm to achieve best practice since its conversion to dairy two years ago,” says Zach.

“Landcorp has a strong environmental focus and our involvement with Synlait’s ‘Lead with Pride’ programme aligns with that.”

The 315-hectare (effective) Eyrewell unit is part of Landcorp’s Maronan complex in North Canterbury; the property also has a 92ha run-off, which is used to graze 500 young stock.

As part of Eyrewell’s supply agreement with Synlait, the farm operates a pasture-and-crop feed system.

“We can use fodder beet but cannot use grain of any type,” says Zach. “Fodder beet is an important part of the feed system so that we can carry on meeting feed requirements throughout the seasons – especially in the autumn.”

REWS

One of three paddocks of fodder beet is normally grazed before winter, says Zach. Oats are then planted to absorb nutrients so that they don’t go into the waterways during the winter.

“It’s what we call a catch crop. The oats are grazed in the spring or cut, and then we re-grass it. For us, it’s a way to re-grass and to capture the nutrients we don’t want going into the water.”

Eyrewell receives a premium of 0.25cents per kilograms of milksolids from Synlait, because it is a pasture and crop-based supplier. With its ‘Lead with Pride’ status affirmed by audit. the farm will now receive an additional .6 cents/kg/ms.

Last year the farm milked 910 cows, achieving per-cow production of 415kg/ms. This season the farm will calve down 1050 cows and is targeting 440kg milksolids, says Zach.

“The big difference will be the increased stocking rate and we’re hoping to harvest a bit more grass,” he says. “We may have to feed a bit more grass silage here and there, but one of the big things is harvesting more grass.”

He emphasises the importance of his four staff team members in the success of the farm’s operation. He says his focus is to make the farm a pleasant place to work where everyone respects and cares for one another.

Safety is a high priority and in July there were special staff meetings to talk about farm safety in very busy months ahead.

“Farming is a passion for me,” says Zach, and we try to give our young people that passion to farm. We are trying to have as much fun on the farm as we can—that is all part of it.”

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PHOTOS: Top: Eyrewell Dairy manager Zach Haderbache (second from left) says he is proud of his staff after winning Synlait’s ‘Best New Lead With Pride Supplier’ award. Above: Part of Landcorp’s Maronan complex... the 315-hectare farm milked 910 cows last season.

Weeks ‘go quick’

• GENERAL FREIGHT • LIME & FERTILISER

• From page 24 shepherds. Kane says that, given the scale of the business, his skills need to include “super duper” organisation, good communication and planning, and approachability.

The logistics of transporting stock are significant with 55,000 lambs equating to more than 70 truckand-trailer units; this work is contracted to one or two companies, which sub-contract as required.

The scale of Styx Station is part of the challenge and excitement of his work, says Kane.

He also enjoys teaching younger staff and helping them build their knowledge and experience, an offshoot of having had good mentors himself.

“Not many people can say they do what I do and, at a young age, I’ve been given a good opportunity within the company. I’ve worked hard to get to where I am and I’m only 30.

“The weeks go quick when you’ve got so much to do. I love the challenge in it all.”

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26 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Mike & Buff Power

Business Rural

Couple’s development work Neil Grant

Oh deer: Tailing with a difference at Island Block.

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The Clutha, New Zealand’s largest river spends a fair bit of its 338 kilometres squeezing between steep-sided schist hills. Occasionally, gaps open and at places like Roxburgh and Ettrick, fertile flats prove suitable for farms and orchards. Between Millers Flat and Raes Junction, a narrow flat lies west of higher land called Island Block. The river flows on the other side of this, but the flat was once a river channel as shown by the alluvial gold mined here.

Mike Power and his wife, ‘Buff’, farm here. Their land runs from the flats at 70 metres above sea level to steep hill country to the west running to 700m. Two hundred hectares are flat, 400ha can get the tractor over them and the other 1140ha are high and steep.

The couple bought and ran a 2500-stock-unit farm near Dannevirke to get themselves started.

Being good South Islanders, after about eight years they shifted back to a 5000-stock-unit farm at Wilden, near Moa Flat, staying there for about eight years, too.

Just for a change, they next took on a deer block south of Alexandra, but deciding they were better doing what they really knew about, in 2008 they bought the Island Block farm with two other investors, A third investor came on board later.

“We’ve spent a lot of money developing it,” says Mike. “Some of it was well fenced, some not so well. We’ve put in 30 kilometres of fences, sprayed 500ha for weeds, and put in self-feeding gravity water schemes.

It was carrying about 11,500 stock units, and still is, but there has been a big increase in kilograms of meat and wool sent off the property since they took over nine years ago.

Lambs have lifted 2,5-3kg carcase weight, averaging 19kg; deer-carcase weights have lifted 5-8kg. They had been killing 80 per cent of their lambs ‘off mum’. Now, they grow their own hoggets from their 3500 ewes, killing 56-58% off mum.

With improved sheep genetics, the Powers entered the New Zealand Ewe Hogget competition, coming second this year in the composite section.

They have entered the Glammies previously getting eighth and tenth, so he reckons they are on the right track.

The composite flock has been developed from growbulk and romdale hoggets crossed with texels.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Mike & Buff Power

Business Rural

| 27

raises yields

lambing. So, they are moving to an eight-month shearing system, and are introducing a rom/tex cross to improve mobility.

The 300 beef cattle are angus/hereford cross cows that have a simmental bull across them. All calves are sold at the Heriot sale.

“We’re getting a name for ourselves, with our heifers and steers in the top three pens.”

When they moved from Alexandra, they brought deer genetics with them. It had been an unregistered red deer stud. They run 1400 hinds, and finish everything themselves. An experiment with out-of-block stags did not provide the conception rates they wanted, so they stick with the red genetics they brought down.

“We chase more meat yield and faster growing animals to get the most efficient hinds giving the best weaners,”

Surplus in-fawn hinds sell for a premium later.

Building up fertility, especially on the higher country has been achieved by fencing, growing crops and then re-grassing. A rotation of turnips followed by flanker ryegrass, clover and plantain works there. The easier country sees swedes, turnips and now fodder beet rather than kale in the rotation.

Managing three types of stock requires two fulltime staff to be employed.

“They are a vital cog – I can’t do it on my own,”Mike says. “It’s a big challenge with three classes of stock. They intertwine – lambing, velveting, ag work.

“Of the three areas I’ve farmed: North Canterbury, where I grew up, was good for animal health; Dannevirke was low cost; and Moa Flat has reliable seasons. This one is a mix of all three.”

PHOTOS: Development work – including fencing, spraying, re-grassing and genetic improvements – has led to better fertility and higher carcase weights across the three classes of stock at Island Block.

Above left: Farmer Mike Power gets a helping hand from Anna and Henry. Above: Angus-hereford cattle on the higher elevations. Lower left: Ewes on rolling hill country.

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28 |

DEER FARMING » Puketira Deer

Business Rural

North Canterbury’s Lyndon Thomas started with five deer in 1996, but has increased numbers to 1000 at his Waikari property.

Tree-planting legacy behind awards Kim Newth North Canterbury deer farmer Lyndon Matthews grew up in the region’s limestone country, near to land once farmed by both his great-grandfather and grandfather. So the concept of ‘stewardship’ from one generation to the next comes easily to him.

It also informs the approach he and his wife, Millie, have to farm management at their 267-hectare North Canterbury property, Puketira Deer.

A big old walnut tree on their front lawn is a constant reminder of how an enduring legacy can grow from small beginnings.

“Whoever built the house must have planted that tree 130 or 140 years ago,” says Lyndon. “Little did they know what a magnificent big tree it would eventually grow into.

“I get a kick from planting trees around the farm. It is a slow, long process, but even after just

10 years, you can start to see the results of that effort.”

Long before environmental compliance was mandatory, this property was picking up awards for its sustainable farming practices. At this year’s regional Ballance Farm Environment Awards, Puketira Deer added another two, winning both livestock and water quality awards.

The judges praised the family’s pride in the farm environment and noted how they had enhanced and protected its sensitive areas and natural values over many years.

The dryland farm has few water courses, but a creek running through it has been fenced off and other areas have also been fenced off to facilitate planting of trees and shrubs.

What also impressed the judges was how this couple has consistently worked within the limits of their drought prone land to manage pasture.

“Lucerne is the big one for us. It thrives in our environment – we’ll get 10 years from a lucerne

Puketira Deer is about to deer fence another 60 hectares to increase deer numbers to around 1500. stand.”

A recent shift to using a self-feeding silage stack, rather than silage wagon, has also reaped rewards for the farm environment. “It’s certainly

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saving the paddocks and, in addition, our animals are a lot happier and calmer.”

• To page 29

DEER FARMING » Puketira Deer

Business Rural

| 29

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Sales: Simon Moir Service: Richard Bowler Workshop The Matthews family from left: Thomas, Lyndon, Millie, Eldon and Delaney. Their property, Puketira Deer, landed both livestock and water-quality awards at this year’s regional Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Tree planting ‘a labour of love’ • From page 28 When it comes to tree planting, Lyndon has broken with a once prevailing practice of filling gullies with pine trees. He prefers a more aesthetically pleasing mix of natives and English trees. Jamie McFadden, of Hurunui Natives, assists with guidance on native trees and shrubs, while Hawarden landscaper John Harper is their ornamental plants and English trees expert.

Prior to purchasing Puketira Deer in 1998, Lyndon completed a BCom(Ag) at Lincoln University and worked in rural banking before taking up the farm lease.

“When we came here in 1996, my father had 30 hinds and I started with five deer. I’ve now built that up to 1000 deer and we are about to deer fence the last 60 hectares so will be able to increase our deer to 1500.”

Completing the farm stock are 550 ewes and 430 ewe hoggets.

Son Eldon, 20, now himself in the final year of a BCom(Ag), recently prepared a comprehensive farm environment plan for Puketira Deer.

Daughter Delaney, 19, is in her second year of an Agribusiness and Food Marketing degree at Lincoln, while youngest son Thomas, 18 is in his final year at school.

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DEER FARMING » Raft Creek

Business Rural

Four-metre rain gauge just part of life Russell Fredric Annual rainfall of 4000 millimetres or more each year is a striking feature of Landcorp’s Raft Creek deer operation, inland from Hokitika on the South Island’s West Coast.

While any amount of farmers would despair at the prospect of a four-metre-high rain gauge, the Coast is designed to quickly shrug it off and it’s all part of a day’s work for Raft Creek’s manager, Stephen Wright.

He readily rattles off some monthly rainfall statistics. In May last year 713mm fell over 27 days, 420mm fell during November and December 2016, and 502mm in January this year.

“We can have five inches (127mm) in 24 hours,” he says.

It is a fact of life. But high rainfall during summer makes it difficult to sow crops and to make silage, Stephen says.

And prudent stock management and pasture management are crucial to avoid pugging and wastage of supplementary feed, he adds.

“You’ve got to be on to it; with shifting stock, an hour can be too long.”

Despite the rainfall, Hokitika’s latitude and geography provides for a temperate climate without large seasonal variations. And the area

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Raft C reek, which is about 15 kilometres inland from Hokitika with Lake Kaniere to the east, supports nearly 1500 deer on 457 hectares (effective) of flat pasture.

Its deer herd comprises 111 rising-two-yearold stags, 43 mixed-age stags, 219 two-year-old hinds, 488 mixed-age hinds, 300 weaner stags and 300 weaner hinds, which are split 50:50 into a commercial breeding herd and a terminal herd.

Sixty steers come in as calves each April and leave the following autumn; the farm also supports 150 ewes and, if conditions are favourable, 1000 store lambs are bought in.

However, the focus is venison production, and the 329 kilograms of velvet that is harvested annually is seen as a by-product.

In recent years genetics have been sourced from Landcorp’s Stuart Farm, near Te Anau, Deer Improvement and, last year, Wilkins Farming, in Northern Southland.

“We’ve been focusing on breeding fast-growing animals that will get to the chilled market, but also taking into account trying to limit mature hindweight, and we scan for the eye muscle,” says Stephen.

In collaboration with Focus Genetics, for the first time this year Raft Creek will adopt the CARLA (carbohydrate larval antigen) saliva test while eyemuscle scanning in October to potentially select animals for resistance to parasites.

The test measures antibodies triggered when animals ingest internal parasites; the test for the antibody is now well established and has been trialled successfully in deer.

It is expected that CARLA breeding values will eventually be provided within Deer Select.

A farmer for 30 years, Stephen’s job satisfaction is revealed by his 20-year tenure at Raft Creek; his partner, Pauline, works off farm, but lends a hand when needed.

Stephen has also enjoyed being involved in the “sharp end” of industry-wide development work.

“I was quite involved with PGP (the Primary Growth Partnership) in the Farm IQ development.”

Farm IQ has been developed to help the redmeat industry deliver consistently high-quality meat cuts to export markets with better profitability for farmers.

For individual farmers, the system is an information hub enabling comparisons and benchmarking of farm performance (including meat quality).. The system also provides farmers with links to red-meat consumers and supports their planning and decision-making.

PHOTOS: Venison production is the name of the game at Landcorp’s Raft Creek farm near Hokitika.

Raft Creek supports nearly 1500 deer on 457 (effective) hectares of flat pasture. The herd includes 111 rising-two-year-old stags and 219 two-year-old hinds.

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DEER FARMING » Ardleigh Deer

Business Rural

| 31

‘We haven’t hit threshold yet’ Russell Fredric The rising tide of genetic gains in Ardleigh Deer Farm’s deer herds shows no sign of ebbing, despite continual advances made in recent years.

Owned and run by the Hudson family – Donald, Kathy and son Ben – Ardleigh continues to benefit from year-on-year genetic improvements, with the results particularly evident in the farm’s annual velvet yield.

“We haven’t hit a threshold yet and I think the potential is for us to carry on (improving),” Donald Hudson says.

While the Hudsons aspire to “cut big weights and grow big (antler) heads” on individual animals, most important as a farm business is achieving the highest possible averages over their herds.

“Nowadays we get a lot fewer poor performers at the bottom end of a herd than what we used to have,” says Donald. “ It was the bottom end that used to be the problem; nowadays it’s not.”

Ardleigh Deer Farm encompasses two blocks in the heart of South Canterbury – a 540-hectare home block near Geraldine, and the 260ha Rockpool about 20 minutes away.

The family moved to their present property from Mt Somers, where they had a deer operation and converted half it to dairy. They sold it three years ago to focus solely on venison and velvet production.

Staff member Pete Shearer is a long-serving part of the farm’s management. His expertise is particularly valuable in assessing when antlers are ready to be cut for velvet.

The Hudsons bought Rockpool eight years ago as a breeding unit for running hinds to support Ardleigh’s trophy-stag herd.

The stags are sold as eight-year-olds to regular clients; last year 95 stags went to the trophyhunting businesses.

Ardleigh’s venison and velvet operation supports 1600 hinds, 1600 stags and 1100 weaners.

“Of those hinds we sell 250 in calf in the spring time and also have about 450 in calf that are hybrid for finishing weaners for the venison industry,” says David.

Of the hinds bred for velvet production between 400 and 500 are artificially inseminated each year, while about 100 to 150 hinds are mated naturally to supply the velvet herd.

Artificial insemination is used to provide “the very best” genetics sourced from top sires, but 220 of the most highly ranked first-calving hinds are single-sire mated to top sires.”

“One of the reasons I got involved in the deer industry was the potential for genetic gain, and our production’s just going up and up every year,” says David” Traits such as fertility and temperament have been a key focus for the Hudsons. They aim for

Kathy, Donald and Ben Hudson with some prize Ardleigh antlers. hind weights of 110-125 kilograms at maturity.

Velvet production is based on a formula of a stag’s age plus one kilogram ,which, says David, means a four-year-old will produce five kilograms of velvet.

“Not long ago we were just cutting a kilo per year of age. Now we’ve managed to better that by a kilo in the last four to five years.”

Last year’s annual velvet harvest at Ardleigh was just over nine tonnes.

During the past five years velvet returns have been good with a steady increase in value. But during last season, the per-kilogram price dropped by 20 per cent, with velvet averaging around $100 a kilo, Donald says.

Venison prices are buoyant, which has been a long time coming, he says.

“The marketers are doing an excellent job and it looks as though, in the medium term, venison is in a very good space.”

During the last two years venison prices increased steadily to $9/kg carcass weight midyear for quality stags.

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32 |

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Hayden Peter

Business Rural

| 33

Hayden enjoys his slice of ‘Glam’ Richard Loader It was a case of third time lucky for Southland sheep farmer Hayden Peter when he won the 2017 Ballance Agri-Nutrients Sheep Industry Emerging Talent of the Year. He had been a finalist for the last two years and was nominated by his peers for the award which recognised his contribution to the beef and sheep industry.

Hayden is quick to acknowledge the investment from past employers in his personal development and their ongoing encouragement.

“I’ve had three great employers and in my last three years full-time farming I’ve realised how precious time is. You’re always juggling industry involvement with getting work done on the farm.”

His farming career has included managing Kerry Dunlop’s Greeline Stud for six years until he was offered the opportunity of buying it in 2012, it was an offer Hayden could not refuse.

He took the reins of the family farm at Waimahaka in 2015, and now runs 800 stud ewes spread over four breeds – greeline, cooptexel, texel and suffex, along with 3000 commercial ewes and 1100 lamb hoggets.

His success this year has included collecting a bronze medal for one of his commercial lambs at the Golden Lamb Awards—a national beef and lamb event commonly referred to as the Lamb Glammies.

This ‘tasty glam lamb affair’ judges new-season commercial lambs across four breed categories; ‘traditional’, ‘crossbreed/composite’, ‘terminal cross’ and ‘open’. There’s also a ‘retailer’ category.

From an initial pool of 160 entries sent through to the meat-processing plants, the best of each category are sent for independent analysis looking for things like yield, colour, succulence and tenderness.

“Once the analysis is done, the best four lambs of each category are short-listed and final judging takes place at the Wanaka A&P Show.

“It’s the taste and texture test,” says Hayden.

“One of my lambs was short-listed for the composite class.”

Come show day, Invercargill chef-cum-beef and sheep ambassador Graham Hawkes cooks up a storm for the discerning tastebuds of ‘sixs’ —all head chefs in their own restaurants.

A crowd watches proceedings as the judges sniff and taste their way through several cuts of cooked lamb, ranking each one from fourth to first place in each category, and identifying an overall winner.

“Out of the 160 entries, my lamb was amongst the top 20. I was quite chuffed to get bronze,” says Hayden. “A few years ago we got silver. But just to get through to the final top four for each category and be judged at the A & P show was great.”

And yes, good fortune does come in threes.

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Waimahaka farmer Hayden Peter with the Ballance Sheep Industry Emerging Talent of the Year award and bronze medal for one of his commercial lambs at The Golden Lamb Awards.

Out of the 160 entries, my lamb was amongst the top 20. I was quite chuffed to get bronze...Just to get to the final top four for each category was great. local Tokonui Rugby club’s prime lamb competition, which is an annual fund-raiser.

“The lambs are judged on the hoof, so it’s all based on carcase confirmation, judged by two livestock drafters,” says Hayden. “There are 80 commercial lambs involved. Each farmer submits one lamb. There’s no tasting involved.”

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34 |

SHEEPBREEDERS » Terry Dennis

Business Rural

New farm, same focus for Terry Karen Phelps It’s not easy to leave the farm you grew up on and which has been in the family for three generations.

But Southland farmers Terry and Nanette Dennis are benefiting from the fruits of their work and those who have gone before them. They have sold their 580-hectare farm at Waikaia, north of Gore to move to a smaller 240ha property at Greenfield, in Otago.

“None of the family want to be farmers, so it’s time to sell up,” says Terry, admitting it was hard to walk off the land his family has farmed for more than 100 years.

One thing, however, did not change when they moved to their new farm at the end of July – the stud flock remains the same.

It has been a long-term passion for Terry, who has bred an efficient, easy-care sheep from a Wairere South romney base.

Ten years ago he started to put a texel romney cross over the flock to get more meat yield. Four crosses later, the result was good with the usual meat yield from liveweight to deadweight rising from 42 to 45 per cent.

When he saw unfavourable texel traits starting to come through – namely bald in the head – Terry stabilised the flock by putting his texel/romney cross progeny rams across four other crosses.

Meat yield has stayed the same and the look of the sheep has stayed texel/romney cross.

Terry has now moved back to a straight romney ram for the past few crosses across the stabilised texel/romney-cross ewes. He is aiming to hold the texel/romney body, frame and meat yield while bringing back more romney traits, such as head cover, length of body and depth in the barrel.

He has separated his flock into the stabilised cross ewes and the texel-romney-cross ewes – 350 ewes in each flock – for his breeding work, but

The flock’s average lambing percentage with this policy of no assistance is 140150, and the scanning average is 170-180 per cent. aims to bring them all into one flock eventually. His next move will possibly be to go back to a texel ram and putting it across the texel/romney ewes, then using the progeny of that cross as stud rams to add a dash of texel back in.

Terry says he values the input of Guy Martin, of Livestock Confirmation Ltd, who provides an independent outside eye with selection of rams from the stud.

Terry sells his rams, typically around 70, privately on farm at the end of January. They are all electronically tagged and eye-muscle scanned, and prospective are provided with detailed information on wool weights, weight gains etc. Every ram in the sale is twin-bred.

He says easy-care genetics are sought after.

During lambing he goes around only once a day to pick up any that are cast, but otherwise he has no contact with the sheep at all, and certainly no mothering or care.

The flock’s average lambing percentage with

• To page 35

Terry Dennis has sold the family farm at Waikaka, north of Gore, but will be keeping his stud flock of texel/romney crossbreds on a smaller 240-hectare farm at Greenfield, in Otago.

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Waikaka Genetics

Business Rural

| 35

PHOTOS – Left: Beauty and the beasts. Emmie Paterson is the sixth generation of the family to live on the Southland station. Right: Ross and Steph Paterson (left), who run Waikaka Genetics, with his parents Sharon and Laurie Paterson. Laurie’s great-grandfather bought the station in 1907.

Tradition, trends in juggling act Karen Phelps Sticking to tried and true, traditional traits while keeping an eye to the latest trends has seen Waikaka Genetics prosper.

“What we are doing is ultimately driven by what the public is wanting but we can’t be influenced by fads,” says Ross Paterson, who with his wife, Steph, and his parents, Laurie and Sharon, runs the business.

“It’s about taking notice of what is happening in the market, but being confident in what you are doing in your breeding programme. It’s a juggling act,” he says.

Ross cites the move towards marbled meat over recent years whereas previously demand was for leanness. He sees this as a more long-term trend driven by how marbled meat tastes and by the fact that small amounts of animal fats are now perceived to have health benefits. This has led the Patersons to incorporate this trait into their breeding programme.

Ross and Steph are the fifth generation to farm the Southland station, which was bought by Laurie’s great grandfather in 1907.

The family has a massive interest in stud breeding: hereford cattle, and romney and texel sheep.

Ross says their breeding programme is based on genetic gains. Their aim is to help commercial clients by offering them the best possible genetics to strengthen and develop their livestock businesses

and, ultimately, make them more profitable.

Across the various Waikaka studs, the general emphasis is on structure, easy calving/lambing and good muscling.

They have 500 ewes in the romney stud, and the emphasis is on wool and maternal traits. The family also runs a commercial romney base flock of 3400 stock units.

The texel stud has around 200 ewes, with the Patersons aiming to breed a good crossing terminal sire with a focus on carcass. Sharon has a particular interest in this stud, which was formed in 2000 from four ewes bought from Blackdale, near Invercargill.

Two hundred cows are calved in the hereford stud where, says Ross, the aim is to breed good functional cattle.

They aim to breed bulls with a good carcase for the key programmes they will be sold into; this helps the animals to grade well. Because of market demand, the push is on polled genetics, he says.

Eiffel Tower, which came from the Monymusk stud at Te Anau, is still breeding well in his eighth year. Last year Waikaka bought a bull from the Otapawa Stud, in the North Island. Ross says this bull exceptionally good figures and the looks to match in the flesh. The family is waiting for his first progeny to arrive shortly.

The Patersons are strong supporters of the Hereford Prime quality beef programme. Laurie was one of the programme’s early instigators and is the the long-standing president of the company. Pasture to Plate is an idea that drives their entire production

The 730-hectare Waikaka Station is home to hereford, romney and texel studs process, as the goal is always to produce the tastiest beef possible.

Ross says the family farms with an awareness that they are caretakers of the land and that it will one day be passed on: “With our young children, Ollie and Emmie, being the sixth generation to live on the land, we must try to build on what the generations before us achieved.

We are committed to developing our operating practice, we are keeping a close eye on industry innovations, wee are always striving to make our herd and flocks the best we possibly can while implementing new technologies to make our jobs easier.

“Our door is always open to new ideas and discussions on how we can make things better for our clients and the industry as a whole.”

Terry eyes up more dog trialling • From page 34 this policy of no assistance is 140-150, and the scanning average is 170-180 per cent.

There is also a commercial sheep operation, which has dropped from around 5200 stock units to 1500 with the move to the new farm.

Terry and Nanette are looking forward to a quieter lifestyle. Terry will keep breeding rams on the elusive search for the perfect sheep. He admits this will never be achieved but it’s a worthy goal,

and it keeps him motivated to keep on breeding better and better sheep.

He also aims to have more time to indulge his other passion – dog trialling. It’s something he was heavily involved when he was president of the Southland centre of the Southland Sheep Dog Trial Association and acted as a judge.

However, both Terry and Nanette say farming will always remain a passion for them, and they intend to carry on farming for as long as they are able.

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Nithdale Genetics

36 |

Business Rural

Meat quality under microscope Kelly Deeks Nithdale Genetics is involved in a consortium developing a genomic test for meat quality based on the DNA of the animal.

Andrew Tripp, who runs the Nithdale romney and suftex studs, says he is working with the South Island genomic calibration flock at Duncraigen, Te Anau, “For the past two years, we have had molecular breeding values on tested ram lambs for

Craig Donaldson Pleased to support Nithdale Station Limited PO Box 791, Invercargill, New Zealand Free-phone: 0800 15 30 40 Phone: 03 214 0791 Fax: 03 218 3343 Mobile: 027 271 8362 Email: craig@donaldsons.co.nz

tenderness, marbling or intra-muscular fat, and pH. One of our rams, Nithdale 384/15, ranked number one in 2016 for overall meat quality.”

He says meat quality is becoming increasingly important for meat companies, and while freezing works are not yet paying a premium for betterquality animals, it’s only a matter of time.

At the same time as this trial, Alliance and Headwaters have been running the omega lamb project, which has also concentrated on meat quality. These companies have begun marketing lamb under the Te Mana brand.

This season Alliance has been trialling a machine at Smithfield, Timaru that uses hyperspectral imaging to measure intra-muscular fat.

“For years we’ve been breeding the fat out of animals, and we’ve found intra-muscular fat has got less and less,” Andrew says.

“That affects the eating quality of the meat, so we’re wanting to stop doing it. You want some fat on a carcass, and some intra-muscular fat to make it taste good. Now we’ve got information through genomics to help with that selection decision.”

He says the importance of meat quality is not surprising because lamb is a product consumers eat; if it is top quality, they will enjoy the experience and continue to eat lamb.

“For farmers the question is when will meat companies start differentiating between animals and pay a premium for those of better quality?”

Stud breeders need to be ahead of the game, he says, and at Nithdale he is making selection decisions that include the impact on meat quality.

“We want to continue productivity gains in growth and yield, while at the same time improving meat quality,” he says.

• To page 37

Nithdale ram 384/15 ranked number one, according to a genomic test for overall meat quality based on the DNA of the animal. Molecular breeding values on tested rams cover tenderness, marbling and pH.

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Beer Brothers

Business Rural

| 37

Northern Southland brothers Nigel, Neville and Geoffrey Beer own three farms under a partnership in West Dipton, running some of the few commercial lincoln flocks in New Zealand.

Three brothers, three farms, one breed Kelly Deeks A Northern Southland farm partnership run by the Beer brothers – Nigel, Neville and Geoffrey – is a traditional sheep and cattle business with a twist.

The brothers run three farms in the West Dipton area, a short drive up a side valley from the home turf of former Southland farmer-come-prime minister Bill English.

The Beer family patriarch, Mervyn, bought a block in 1957 and created a farm from land broken in from tussock country. Now 86, he still lives on the farm.

Neville bought a 230-hectare block in the late 1970s with Mervyn’s backing. About 1988 Nigel and Geoffrey bought a block over the road – 260 hectares of pasture and 210ha of natural wetland.

This purchase, made in the thick of Rogernomics when interest rates were high and there was a hangover from a bad sharemarket

crash, was the catalyst for the formation of the partnership.

The brothers ran the three properties as one entity until about 10 years ago when they separated their operations. Nigel and Geoffrey’s farm was split by an imaginary line, with each of them supporting 1300-1400 ewes.

The farms lie on a variety of contours, from flat to steep, about 330 metres above sea level. They are winter-wet, susceptible to snow in winter and spring, and get strong north-west winds.

While much science is now available to farmers, the brothers have kept things simple and have stuck to their knitting.

“You could say we are very traditional ,” says Nigel. “We just get on with the job and we haven’t had any problems.”

The collective twist is that the Beers run some of the few commercial lincoln flocks in New Zealand.

According to the New Zealand Sheepbreeders’ Association website, lincoln is one of the oldest-

established long-wool breeds, originating more than 5000 years ago in Lincolnshire, East Anglia, England.

The modern lincoln, which evolved from crossing the original lincoln with the english leicester, is known to have been in existence about 1760.

The breed prospered in New Zealand, peaking in 1900 when 44 per cent of rams in use here were lincolns.

Large, comparatively long-bodied and heavily built with a good constitution, lincolns are a hardy breed able to withstand harsh, cold, wet conditions.

Which makes them ideal for the Beers’ farms.

“Lincoln were one of the base breeds that came out to New Zealand in the early days because they were such a hardy sheep,” says Nigel. ”They could put them on rough country, anything, and they could survive.”

They breed is also known for its longevity, its

mothering ability and its ability to continue to clip heavy wool weights as the sheep get older.

A special feature is the lustrous wool they produce, which has appeal to some garment manufacturers.

While lincolns produce a late maturing lamb, the Beers’ terminal lambs come from lincoln ewes mated to a poll dorset, which makes “a very good early lamb”.

Lambing on the Beer farms starts in midSeptember and usually averages 145 to 150 per cent, with carcase weights of around 17.5 kilograms.

Any increase in production will be dictated by the nature of the pastures, Nigel says.

“Our main focus is to get the land more manageable. It’s a wet, wet place in the winter.

Winter basically dictates our capacity. If we could get the land far drier, it would make no end of difference.”

Genomics ‘more accurate, cheaper’ Dipton Service

Centre 2000 Ltd

• From page 36 He says genomics technology is getting better and cheaper, and the meat-quality information that will be available on his maternals in the coming year gives Nithdale a head-start on stud breeders not genomics.

Meanwhile AgResearch has developed the sheep 50K and sheep 5K genomic tool which gives information on an animal for up to 22 traits based on its DNA. A higher-density ovine SNP chip has been created this year, based on more markers and the inclusion of parentage information and major genes for the same price as parentage last year.

“It’s more accurate with more traits involved, and at a cheaper price,” says Andrew. “It’s giving us a lot more options to make really good genetic progress.”

He says Nithdale Genetics has been at the

It’s more accurate with more traits involved, and at a cheaper price, so it’s giving us a lot more options to make really good genetic progress. forefront of breeding dual-purpose sheep that are resistant to internal parasites and have high productive traits.

This year Nithdale was a finalist in the maternal trait leader for parasite-resistance category at the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Sheep Industry Awards.

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38 |

SHEEPBREEDERS » Arnie & Robert Gray

Business Rural

Dual-farm boosts capacity and Neil Grant

Arnie (left) and son Robert Gray farm Hillgrove (545 hectares) and another 300ha property in the Lilburn Valley, running 10,300 stock units.

Suff-Tex

• High growth rates and meat yields • Dark feaztures and hardiness • Myomax DNA tested

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• Good growth rates and meat yields • Good fleece weights and hardiness • Inverdale DNA tested

North-east of Tuatapere, at Orawia, Arnie and Fiona Gray, and their son, Robert, run an intensive sheep and beef farm.

This is Hillgrove, which covers 545 hectares.

Further west in the Lilburn Valley, the Grays have another property, 300ha which they bought in 2014, This combination allows them to run 10,300 stock units in total.

“We run 7000 romney-based ewes to the ram,” says Robert Gray. “There are 3500 commercial romney ewes, 500 recorded stud ewes, and 3500 mainly romtex terminal ewes. There are 1850 winter replacement hoggets, 1400 going to the ram, and 200 other stud hoggets. Then there are 140 ram hoggets for sale.

“We buy in 50 to 80 trading cattle in late winter, early spring. Numbers vary according to feed available and whether we can make a decent margin.”

The Grays’ ewes have scanned at 180 per cent over the last five years. Survival is weather dependent – there is not a lot of shelter – so it varies from 140 to 150 per cent.

Hoggets scan at 90%. Half have had a suftex ram over them, and the smaller half go to a dorper ram. They have found these are easier lambing, yet yield well for their size.

Those 140 ram hoggets are taken through to two-tooths, then 90 to 100 are sold privately on farm. Arnie deals with this side of things over two or three weeks, ensuring there are plenty of cups of tea, and the occasional gin, Robert believes.

Eighty per cent of the rams are suftex; the rest either texel or romtex. The latter two have the Inverdale prolificacy gene.

Arnie and George Davis were both involved in the study and development of the Inverdale gene in flocks in the late 1980s. It is now widely used, especially in flocks in places like around Middlemarch – drier areas where farmers struggle to get an autumn flush of feed.

The suftex and texel sheep are all Sheep Improvement Ltd-recorded.

Sixty per cent of the suftex rams have the MyoMax gene, which influences carcase weight, ie it is a meat gene. Testing means buyers can decide whether they want this in their flock or not. Breeding to get animals with as dark a face as possible means farmers can draft them off at the gate.

“We finish 9000 lambs at 18.5 to 19.5 kilograms off mum,” Robert says. We mostly winter our

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Arnie and Robert Gray

Business Rural

| 39

d scale stock on pasture. We put in 24ha of swede and kale as a winter crop, mostly for the younger stock. We also grow 8ha to 10ha of summer turnips to speed up grass rotation.

“Putting the smaller lambs on that in early January is getting good results. When they first go on, growth rates are about 250 grammes per day. That goes up to 300gms, then in the last three weeks they average 480gms per day. This is a leafy turnip with a small bulb. At the end of March, we put a mob of ewes on it. They graze it down, then we direct drill permanent pasture.”

Over the last three seasons, clover root weevil has made life difficult for the Grays. This autumn, clover sown with nitrogen fertiliser was tried.

Results are still to be determined.

The Grays have a stock manager doing dayto-day work on the Lilburn farm. A couple of days most weeks, he comes over to the home farm to assist there. Lambing time is pretty intensive, so two lambing shepherds are employed at this time.

In summer, a Lincoln student is employed.

Usually there is a different student coming each year, which means a period of retraining. But, two years ago, a young woman came to help, went back to university, then texted Robert the next season to see if she could come back.

“So, that worked out well. I must have been too good a boss,” he reckons.

Above: Suftex ram hoggets are taken though to two-tooth stage, and are then sold privately.

Below: Romney ram hoggets at the shed.

Bottom: Arnie Gray on patrol.

Phone Tina or Zane Barrett 027 6266 720 or 03 234 5090 SHEEP SHEARING CONTRACTOR

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Phone: 03 418 2304 | Terry Dennis: 027 444 2233 Email: nhdennis@ruralinzone.net | 84 Hadfield Road, Greenfield, Clutha, Otago.

40 |

SHEEPBREEDERS » Armidale

Business Rural

More awards than you can shake Neil Grant The Maniototo is a place of superlatives. To the Maori, it was ‘the Plain of Blood’, perhaps referring to the red tussocks growing everywhere before farmers turned up. For gold miners, adjectives described luck, both good and bad. Poets and writers, then and now, search to describe the vastness of the plain, the crumpled hills, the tangled skeins of the rivers, the seemingly limitless sky.

Superlatives apply also to human activity there. Imagine what adjectives could be used for a farm which, just this year, has won the Royal Agricultural Society supreme champion fine wool title, champion merino ram, champion merino ewe, champion merino hogget, champion halfbred, Massey University innovation award, Waterforce integrated management award, and, to top it all off, overall winner of the National Ewe Hogget Competition.

And that’s just this year. Armidale’s competition successes go back years.

The ewe hogget award was the icing on the cake, reckons Simon Paterson.

“Our hard work has paid dividends,” he says.

“We didn’t do anything special with the hoggets.

They weren’t pampered. We were judged on our commercial flock. In the other awards, there’s one judge judging one fleece from one sheep. In the national competition, there are three judges looking at your replacements for the next year – the stock that are going to produce your income for the next five years or so.”

Armidale is a 2000-hectare farm at Gimmerburn, on the western side of the Maniototo, running up against Rough Ridge. It has been in Paterson hands since the 1880s. George Paterson established a

Above left: An Armidale fleece won this year’s Royal Agricultural Society supreme champion fine wool title, to add to a swag of other industry awards.

Above right: Simon Paterson gets a helping hand moving the mob from son Hugo on their 2000ha farm at Gimmerburn. merino stud in 1940. The war put a stop to that.

In 1956, Bruce Paterson re-registered it. Allan and Eris Paterson continued the process, and now run it in partnership with Simon and Sarah. There are two more Patersons, Hugo , five, and Bede, three, waiting in the wings.

Success doesn’t come by accident.

“The first part is getting management, pasture and everything else right,” says Simon Paterson.

“Then you get the genetics to perform under those conditions. We believe quality is important; wool is a big part of our income, so we believe in keeping it right.

“We want every part of an animal performing at its best on a dollar per head basis. It needs to perform in our environment to produce a white, quality fleece, and have the conformation to produce good quality lambs.”

There are 1000 or so stud ewes, selected from those that perform commercially. Performance recording measures each sheep’s fleece weights, dag scores, eye muscle, fat scores, and fleece micron. There has been full pedigree recording for 60-odd years.

Stud rams are sold privately to an established client base, from Central Otago to Marlborough.

Any ewe giving trouble at lambing is culled.

Of 700 stud ewe lambs born, 300 go to the stud, based on phenotype and performance recording.

Armidale runs 3300 merino breeding ewes and 1100 halfbred ewes. The rest, making up the 8000 stock units, are wintering hoggets and trading cattle bought in and finished, which aid pasture control.

Forty-two hectares had been watered by borderdyke irrigation. As that wore down, it was replaced by more economical pivots, which cover 65ha.

Another 80ha is irrigated with a Roto Rainer. Water comes from the Maniototo scheme based on the Loganburn dam.

PROUD TO SUPPORT ARMIDALE

P ETER L YON S HEARING Servicing wool growing clients in Southland, Otago & South Canterbury

Peter: 027 433 3522 Phone: (03) 448 6378 Fax: (03) 448 9201 www.peterlyonshearing.co.nz

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Armidale

Business Rural

a stick at

| 41

TALK TO A WAI-ITI CLIENT NEAR YOU CONGRATULATIONS TO CLIENTS, RICHARD & MEZ POWER, WINNERS OF THE 2017 NZ EWE HOGGET COMPETITION, ROMNEY SECTION.

Nelson

Ian Parkes ‘Punawai’ Wakefield 027 444 4709

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Mark Ferguson

‘Waipuna Station’ Ikamatua 03 732 3521

North Canterbury Att Lawrence

Armidale’s Sarah Paterson (second from left) with husband Simon (centre) and Simon’s parents, Allan and Eris (right), with the Ballance Farm Environment Award for the Otago region. Charlene Severne (left), from Massey University, presented the award.

The first part is getting management, pasture and everything else right. Then you get the genetics to perform under those conditions.

‘Mount Hilton’ Hawarden 03 314 4095

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TIM WALLACE “It’s a fantastic scheme making it justifiable to run sheep and beef in this environment,” says Simon.

About 1000 tonnes of winter feed is produced each year, mostly lucerne silage based with ryecorn grown and break-fed as well.

The farm’s emphasis on quality fleece has led to their recent signing of a contract for much of their clip, negotiated through PGG Wrightson, with Devold. This Norwegian company has manufactured active outdoor clothing for explorers,

fishermen, farmers and skiers and trampers since the 1800s, about the same time Patersons started farming at Armidale.

“They came out here last year, looking to source a lot of wool from New Zealand clips,” says Simon.

“There are synergies between the two companies: both aim for quality wool, best animal-welfare standards and long-term sustainability. Because we have got the product they are after, they offered a fair contract. This looks like a long-term arrangement. It gives you confidence.”

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42 |

SHEEPBREEDERS » Cheddar Valley Station

PHOTOS – Above left: Snowline ram 10495/2015, the jewel in the crown at Cheddar Valley station.

Above right: Ewe hoggets in full fleece. Below: Mustering in progress on the 2350-hectare Cheddar Valley Station.

Business Rural

Testing aims to breed the finest with the finest Richard Loader The next time you buy high performance heavy apparel sportswear or a fine pair of woollen socks, there’s every chance the fine-wool fibres have been shorn from Cheddar Valley Station’s snowliner sheep.

For owners Jason and Tracey McDonald, success is about proactively driving change rather than waiting for change or wondering what just happened.

Jason, Tracey and Jason’s father, John McDonald, have worked on developing finemicron genetics while retaining fleece weight, high reproduction and meat yield.

Coming from a well-established farming lineage in Southland, Jason and Tracey took possession of Cheddar Valley Station, a 2350-hectare property near Waiau, in North Canterbury, in 2004.

It’s a typical hill-country sheep-and-beef operation with a snowline stud ram business.

The recent slump in strong-micron wool at the sales has exacerbated an issue for sheep farmers, but the McDonalds are ahead of the game in turning a negative into a positive.

“We haven’t just thought of bringing the micron

We are not losing kilos of fleece weight, but we are losing micron and gaining price per kilo. down just because the price for heavier wool is as poor as it is,” says Jason. “We have been microntesting our rams for the last five years, identifying lower-micron sheep.”

They also went through all the hoggets and microned the females, identifying the lower-micron end to breed the finest with the finest.

“The rams that we have been using are lower micron with positive fleece weight. So we are not losing kilos of fleece weight, but we are losing micron and gaining price per kilo.”

Last year Jason found his jewel in the crown; a ram he describes as a real curve bender, — Ram 10495/2015—an AI sire born and bred on Cheddar Valley Station.

• To page 43

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Colhoun Genetics

Business Rural

| 43

Scanning helps hone objectives Karen Phelps David Colhoun, from Colhoun Genetics, says he has changed his breeding objectives in the last few years.

The sheep-scanning operation he has run alongside his coopworth and suftex stud for the last 25 years has shown him the huge advances made in general performance; a lot of flocks he scans are performing at a high level.

But what he has also noticed is a drop-off in quality in constitution and structural soundness, which he says are attributes that also affect a ewe’s ability to perform.

“Some flocks are experiencing more tail-end ewes than previously, which comes at a cost with extra feeding and management,” he says.

This information has led David to make a slight change in direction with his breeding programme.

He still breeds for high performance, but alongside this he now places emphasis on constitution, structural soundness and longevity traits.

While there is always a firm focus on using stud sires in the top 10 per cent of their flock based on performance figures, he says technology and good basic farming techniques must go hand in hand.

How a sheep looks can be just as important as how it rates in terms of records, so David uses both techniques in his breeding programme.

He aims to source new genetics every year and is involved in Alpha Sheep Genetics, a groupbreeding scheme where participants share rams to get their hands on the best genetics.

A couple of years ago he bought two rams from the North Island – a suftex from Paki-iti Farms

David Colhoun is tweaking his breeding programme to focus on constitution and structural soundness. Clients using his Colhoun Genetics rams continue to do well in national competitions.

and, to try something different, a romney ram from a hard-hill country farm, Pahiwi Stud. The first progeny from both will be available by private sale from mid-November this year.

“Their progeny has resulted in the characteristics I was after,” says David. “The rams have more bulk with good muscling.

Last year three of his clients won their sections

in the New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition. This year both Kevin McCallum and George McEwan reached the finals in the coopworth section using Colhoun Genetics.

“To do well, they have to have good

performance as well as look the part and fulfil all the judges’ criteria,” says David.

“My clients are always challenging me over my breeding programme and I know their stock have to perform to their expectations for them to continue to use me as their ram breeder. I feel privileged to be part of their farming operations and always strive to do my very best for them.”

Located at North Makarewa, Colhoun Genetics has a strong and loyal customer base in Canterbury.

The stud has of 950 coopworth and coopworth/ texel ewes, and 500 suftex ewes. Around 400 twotooth rams are sold each year and more than 150 ram hoggets are sold or hired out.

David started Colhoun Genetics in 1985 because he saw it as a way to diversify his income.

The fact that it is purely a stud operation with very few commercial sheep is a point of difference, he says.

“Breeding is not about overnight success. Small incremental gains add up. A strong focus on your aims and breeding programme will see gains over time.”

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Star ram ‘jewel in the crown’ • From page 42 “He shears five kilos of wool with a fibre diameter of 25.8 micron, which today is worth $8 per kilogram. So that ram has $40 worth of wool on his back as a hogget.

“Compare that with ram X with 32 micron and 5kg of wool. At the current price of $2.60, he’s got $13 worth of wool on his back.”

The the cost of harvesting the wool is fixed regardless of wool diameter. If the shed cost is $3.80 per head, then based on a fleece weight of 5kg at $8/kg. the farmer gets $36.20 for a 25.8-

micron as opposed to $9 for a 32-micron.

For being the superstar that he is, young 10495/2015 was rewarded with a trip to the AI centre at Xcell breeding in Rangiora. A good supply of semen was taken off him before he was returned to Cheddar Valley and sent out to the ewe flock early on his own.

Jason says that back in the 1970s, a dualpurpose sheep provided 50:50 meat/wool income.

Now it’s more like 90 per cent meat and 10% wool.

“We want to shift that back so that it’s more like 60:40,” says Jason. “I think you have to be a wee bit proactive to make that happen.”

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44 |

SHEEPBREEDERS » MacLean family

Business Rural

The MacLean family have farmed Bellfield, near Omakau, for five generations. Donny MacLean and wife Cathy run the sheep-and-beef farm with his parents, Don and Win. Changes over the years have seen the establishing of a southdown stud, then a south suffolk stud by Don. Later, Donny bought and added a dorset down stud.

‘Traditional outfit’ with family focus Neil Grant When a farm stays in the same family’s hands for 126 years, not only the land gets passed down from one generation to the next. Pasture management, breeds of stock, coping with weather all become part of the culture. It takes a strong will and the courage to accept grumbles of “I told you so” to make radical change. Subtlety and evidence are required.

Donny MacLean is the fifth generation of his family to farm Bellfield, just west of Omakau in Central Otago. He and his wife, Cathy, and his parents, Don and Win, run the 980-hectare property. Much of it is flat, but parts run into steeper, rocky country at Tiger Hill. About half is under contour irrigation.

Dairying has changed the nature of farming in this area, but Bellfield retains its traditional sheep-and-beef heritage. Changes have seen the establishment of a southdown stud, then a south suffolk stud by Don. Then Donny bought and added a dorset down stud.

“They all do a different job,” says Donny. “The southdowns are for hogget mating, the south suffolks grow quickly and go to harder country, and the dorsets go to heavier country. We have the three studs to meet the different needs of our clients.”

His father had his 80th birthday this year, but still takes an active part in daily activities.

“He gets out and feeds his ram hoggets every day. He lambed and tagged all the south suffolk ewes last season. He says, ‘ If I catch them when they hit the ground, I’m OK. But if they stand up, I can’t catch them.’

“It was really cold today (just before July’s

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snowfall) so I told him to stay inside, and I fed his hoggets. When I came in at lunchtime, he said, ‘I’m bored.’ ” The traditional 1600 romney/coopworth cross form the commercial flock. The 450 stud ewes are run separately according to breed. Eight hundred to 1000 quarter-merino lambs are bought in to fatten, shear and sell before Christmas. They run about 20 cows, initially angus, but now, thanks to the purchase of a hereford bull, leaning to herefordcross, and fatten their progeny.

Rams are sold from the beginning of February.

“Selling on farm gives us more time to go over performance figures and get a feel for what farmers want,” says Donny.

“For ‘ram week’, buyers from most parts of Otago come by appointment; the longest standing get first pick, and so on. Two or three rams are taken to the Christchurch show and auctioned there each year.

“We run a traditional outfit. The more established breeds do well here. We’ve learned how to manage the country. You have to be careful in the upper country, which is thin soil over schist. If you overwork it, it blows away.

“We make all our own hay on the river flats and grow lucerne on the non-irrigated land, plus grass and oat hay and some balage. Autumn-saved grass does get dry and frozen, but it pumps them up.

I seem to spend all summer making hay and all winter feeding it out.”

Cathy does the farm administration, and Donny does most of the farmwork himself. For the last three years a student has helped in summer.

The three stud breeds are recognised meat producers and, wool prices being what they are,

•

Don MacLean, 80, still takes an active part in running the farm lamb sales are the mainstay of the business.

“Dad says, ‘Lean one way, don’t jump in one way.’ We’re hopeful the beef will supplement the wool, which is down at the moment. Usually one is reasonable, one is up and one is down, so it balances. It costs the same to produce good wool as it does to produce crook wool, so we may as well keep good fleeces on their backs.”

Supporting local businesses and organisation is important, Donny says “If past generations hadn’t done so, they wouldn’t be here for us. The garage, the engineer, school and shop...they are all growing now because of the Central Otago Rail Trail. If local people don’t support them, we’ll just be a satellite of Alexandra.”

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•

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Sam & Viki Holland

Business Rural

| 45

Amuri scheme ‘game changer’ Karen Phelps Taking part in the Amuri Irrigation Scheme will be a game changer for North Canterbury farmers Sam and Viki Holland, who farm in partnership with Sam’s parents, Alistair and Lissa Holland.

The scheme irrigates more than 27,000 hectares in the Amuri Basin, in North Canterbury, taking water from the Waiau and Hurunui rivers.

The Hollands have bought two new centre-pivots and completed fencing works to set them up to start pumping water over an additional 125ha of their farm next season. This will complement the 50ha currently under irrigation from a pond on their farm. They plan to increase their stock units from the present 6000 to 7500-8000.

“It will give us more security to offset the droughts and allow us to increase our stud operation by carrying over larger numbers of bulls and rams through summer,” says Sam. Importantly it will give them options. While the family finishes most stock, depending on weather, they sometimes have had to sell early. The last three years of drought have underlined their vulnerability and they believe the Amuri Irrigation Scheme will help stabilise their farming operation.

The Hollands farm a 960-hectare unit at Culverden – a mix of sheep and beef. They run 2400 romtex, texel and suftex ewes, 1700 of which belong to their stud, Hemingford. They also have 750 ewe hoggets, 650 stud ram hoggets and 50 sire rams. Their charolais stud comprises 210 in-calf females. They also farm 30 heifers, 65 heifer calves, 75 bull calves and 12 bulls.

The family started stud operations around

A Hemingford Stud charolais bull goes through the sale ring.

12 years ago, largely to service their own needs although Sam says both he and Alistair are keen on breeding, particularly meeting clients and seeing the results they achieve.

Romtex is their maternal breed and they focus on breeding for traits such as fertility, survival, early growth rates leading to good yields, good mothering ability, and robust, tough sheep that can survive in harsh conditions.

The texel stud is their multi-purpose breed and

It will give more security to offset droughts and to increase our stud operation by carrying over larger numbers.

they are working on improving meat yield, fertility and soundness.

The suftex stud is their terminal breed and they breed black-faced, tough, early maturing sheep with good eating-quality meat. They are involved in the Premier Suftex breeding group and have taken part in trials around meat eating-quality.

They swap genetics with the top studs in the country and sell rams privately each year. This year they will have around 450 rams from the three breeds for sale. Sam says they are all sound rams that make up the top third of the flock. All are Sheep Improvement Ltd-recorded and, while they pay attention to figures, they combine this with an eye for structure.

Sam and Viki manage the farm and handle

the day-to-day responsibilities. Alistair still works full-time on the farm and Lissa helps out mainly by taking care of Sam and Viki’s children, Molly, 11 and Scarlett, nine. The family initially farmed in Manapouri but moved north to increase their business in 2000. Sam has a Diploma in Farm Management from Lincoln University and worked in fencing overseas before returning home.

Viki grew up on a farm but had not actively been farming until meeting Sam. She now considers she has found her true vocation. The aim is to keep on developing the business, says Sam, who plans to take over the farm one day with Viki.

“This water scheme will be massive for us,he says. “The opportunities are huge. It will be a real positive for the whole Amuri Basin.”

Sam and Viki Holland run a mixed sheep-and-beef farm on 960 hectares near Culverden. Their operation, Hemingfrod Stud, run in conjunction with Sam’s parents, Alistair and Lissa Holland, includes 2400 romtex, texel and suftex ewes.

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46 |

SHEEPBREEDERS » Peters Farms

Business Rural

Always another project on the Richard Loader

In addition to establishing Peters Romney Stud and Peters Angus, Trevor and Karen Peters have built up a portfolio of six sheep-and-beef farms in Southland and West Otago with a total of more than 60,000 stock units.

It’s unlikely that Trevor Peters will ever retire from farming – there’s always just one more project on the go.

Letting go of the reins of what he and wife/ business partner Karen have built up over a lifetime working the land, does not seem to fit with Trevor’s view of the world.

He and Karen have every reason to be proud of what they have achieved.

In addition to establishing the Peters Angus and Peters Romney studs, they’ve also built up a portfolio of six beef-and-sheep farms in Southland and West Otago, replete with more than 60,000 stock units.

Not bad for the Southland boy who, a little over 50 years ago, left school and home at 15 to make his own way in life as a farmer.

Trevor’s a hard man; a hard worker. He says he doesn’t suffer fools easily. He says there’s only one farm adviser in his camp – and that’s him.

Strong family values and relationships also play a very big part in his life.

His values, attitudes and powerful work ethic have been forged over many years, hammered out on life’s anvil.

“When I left school, I made sure that my hands could do anything I asked them to do, and I’ve been a leader in that direction all of my life. I wanted to do the whole lot, so I learned building, I learned fencing, I learned engineering, I learned tractordriving, I learned truck-driving ,and shepherding.”

Ten years after leaving home Trevor was summonsed back to the family farm at Waikaka. His 57-year-old father had suffered a massive stroke that had left him bedridden and would render him unable to work for the remainder of his life.

It was a difficult and uncertain time for the

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Todd & Fleur Anderson

Business Rural

| 47

radar When I left school I made sure that my hands could do anything I asked them to do ... I wanted to do the whole lot, so I learned building, I learned fencing, I learned engineering, I learned tractor driving, I learned truck-driving, and shepherding.

Peters family. Succession planning was virtually unheard of in those days and, effectively, Trevor was tasked with winding the farm up on behalf of his mother and three siblings.

“A friend of my fathers was going to sell the farm to our neighbour. He said ‘Why don’t we give Trevor a go?’ So we went back to the family—my two brothers and sister—and I borrowed $7000 off each of them and away I went.” That was 1973. A debt of $21,000 was a lot of money back in those days.

Trevor says that uneasy start was the trigger for why he and Karen started their succession-planning process early with the aim of removing uncertainty and the pain of no plans in place.

Over a 20-year period from 1997, Trevor and Karen set about buying and selling farms in the Southland/West Otago area so that, as Trevor says, if nothing else, their children had some bricks and mortar.

Sons Clayton and Morgan have taken farmmanagement roles on two of the Peters’ farms as part of the succession process.

Clayton runs Spylaw Farms, a 1050-hectare property at Dunrobin with 12,250 stock units, while Morgan runs Bullock Range, a 1300ha farm at Moa Flat with 11,000 stock units.

The other farms – Teviot Valley Station at Millers Flat, Clutha Downs at Beaumont, Mount Margaret at Waikaka, and Attadale at Middlemarch – are all run independently with farm managers and overseen by Trevor and Karen.

Each farm is structured as a trust with specific objectives within the succession plan.

Daughter Justine farms in the Gisborne area with her husband, and a trust has been established for her as part of succession.

“The first thing that has gone well is getting enough in place with all the family taking on farms,” says Trevor. “The kids have all gone farming, so we didn’t have to sell a farm and pay them out.

“The second part is that we can all eat around the table together. We can all meet at the same room and we don’t have knife jabbing. I have seen some families where that is terrible. We are all really good friends.”

Hefty hindquarters show good conformation on these southdown rams at Todd and Fleur Anderson’s Tralee Southdown Stud at Kauana, near Winton.

Todd puts the case for southdowns Russell Fredric Todd Anderson, like many sheep farmers, is a little one-eyed about his favoured breed, but completely convincing about his reasoning and results.

Todd and his wife, Fleur, farm 280 hectares (effective) at Kauana near Winton, in Central Southland. It’s a sheep, cattle and deer operation.

The sheep side concentrates on lamb production, finishing traits and selling rams. The cattle are bulls and heifers for the dairy sector and velvet is at the core of their deer operation.

The farm winters a total of about 4500 stock units and includes Tralee Southdown Stud, which was established in 2002 on a leasehold property before the Anderson’s bought their Kauana farm in 2009.

“We established the stud initially by purchasing ewes from two dispersal sales,” says Todd. “Then we bought the best sires we could and extrapolated the best genetics by AI and embryo transfer.”

His interest in southdowns started with his grandfather, who had the breed. But of greater relevance is the advantage they have in their mean kill date, which is more important than meat yield, he says.

“Mean kill date basically gives you opportunities to do something else with the feed. If you are killing your stock at efficient weights earlier, you can buy store lambs, you can make supplements or whatever you want to do. You’ve got options.”

Tralee southdowns are bred for early maturity and the ability to send lambs for processing “at any stage”.

Clients’ rams are commonly mated to their

B-flock mixed-age ewes to produce prime lambs and to hoggets, as the lambs are not overly large at birth.

Other key traits are carcase conformation, good carcass length, and efficient conversion of feed – traits that still show strongly when they are crossed with other breeds.

Breeders have concentrated not just on carcass length, but on the length from the last rib to the tail, because the value in that meat is worth more than that from the last rib to the shoulder.

This contrasts with the southdowns of 60 years ago, which were small, stocky, heavy-shouldered animals with a fairly short neck.

“The thing that gives me a huge buzz,” says Todd, “is that people who trade lambs to fatten love buying southdown-cross lambs from the properties that have on-farm store lamb sales because they finish so well” In assessing the performance of a breed of sheep, Todd prefers to quantify kilograms of meat produced per hectare and earnings per hectare, rather than yield grading.

“We shouldn’t be paid on an average price per

kilo; an animal producing three to five per cent more yield might be making that up on the shoulder meat, the poorest value meat against the loin and hindquarter. The slightly lower yielding carcase may, in fact, be worth more once it has been sold by the processor” Southdown sheep produce a dark, fine-grained “beautiful eating meat”, he says.

The Andersons also run the Blythburn Romney stud. The acquisition of this stud followed tragic circumstances – the stud’s former co-owner, Peter Wishart, one of the southern sheep industry’s bestknown and respected breeders, died suddenly on his Tussock Creek farm in 2008.

Blythburn ewes have been identified as having a fecundity gene; they are also noted for their high embryonic survival rates, strong maternal traits and tolerance to sold.

Pregnancy scanning of the Andersons’ mixedaged flock is typically 200 per cent in ewes and 193% in two tooths.

Blythburn’s romney rams are sold privately in early December and Tralee’s southdown rams are in early February at an on-farm auction.

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48 |

SHEEPBREEDERS » Wilfield Stud

Business Rural

Okaruru Dorset Down Ram Sale WE WILL PAY CARTAGE TO THE CLOSEST SALEYARD At Gore Show Grounds on DECEMBER 14TH 2017

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Wilfield Stud aims to produce a corriedale that is more fertile, better milking, meatier and finer woolled, says stud owner Robin Wilson.

Corriedale 2.0 the ‘sheep of the future’ Karen Phelps Wilfield Stud aims to produce corriedales that turn “grass into dollars”, says Robin Wilson, who owns the stud in partnership with wife Pip and brother Gavin.

They are working on corriedale 2.0, which the brothers see as the “sheep of the future”.

Based on 130 years of development for meat and wool production. the corriedale 2.0 is an openheaded, more fertile, better milking, meatier and finer woolled sheep than its predecessors.

It is bred for putting more money in sheep farmers’ pockets, says Robin.

He says the stud combines the traditional breeding practices of good stockmanship with modern objective measurement and analysis and gene-marker technology to identify the most productive and profitable animals for meat and wool production.

Objective measurement and analysis is provided through Sheep Improvement Ltd (SIL), and gene-marking can identify animals likely to provide footrot and worm resistance, extra muscling and cold tolerance and worm resistance.

The brothers have a commercial flock, which they say gives them a good understanding of their stud clients’ needs.

At 25-30 microns corriedale wool has multiple uses ...

Corriedale wool is currently netting three times the value of crossbred wool, says Robin.

“At 25-30 microns, corriedale wool has multiple uses – from clothing to upholstery and carpet – and we’re seeing worldwide demand for it.” .

As a bonus, the carcase weight of corriedales is comparable to any breed, says Robin Wilson.

Wilfield sheep have consistently scanned amongst the top corriedales for meat in testing at Lincoln University.

The breed has a long productive life – it is not uncommon for ewes to last eight to 10 years and produce 10-20 lambs.

Robin says he and Gavin chose to use footrot DNA technology as soon as it became available in 1999, and Wilfield rams are extremely footrotresistant “DNA technology has made a huge impact on our commercial sheep operation. Forty years ago

• To page 49

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SHEEPBREEDERS » Bell family

Business Rural

| 49

Ram change brings ‘huge improvement’ Karen Phelps The Bell family, of Dorie in Mid Canterbury, has been using rams from Wilfield Sheep Stud for decades.

Ian Bell, who with his wife, Julie, owns the farm, says the relationship began by chance when he was seeking a new supplier.

It has continued because the results have been good, particularly when it comes to footrot resistance.

“I used to have to do a lot of trimming of feet and treatment in late summer,” he says. “In a bad year, we’d have to check the whole flock. Now we don’t have to treat anything much. It has been a huge improvement.”

They favour using 1.1 footrot-resistant rams from the stud and balancing this with the need to produce good conformation and wool type in their corriedale flock.

They aim to breed for 26-micron wool with a nice crimp and have noticed a general improvement in their flock over the years in this area, as well as from using Wilfield rams.

Other improvements have included longevity and improved mothering ability. Ian says corriedales are not renowned for their mothering ability, especially with twins, but he has noticed definite changes in this area.

This has resulted in improved lambing percentages, most recently 140 per cent lamb survival till sale. It has also resulted in less work as they run a relatively intensive mothering-up system as need be.

The Bells farm 400 hectares and run 3800 corriedale breeding ewes, plus replacement ewe hoggets. All progeny bred is finished on farm.

They supplement this side of the business by growing process peas and barley, and leasing out a small amount of land to potato growers.

Bells have been farming this land for generations. Ray and Jean Bell bought the property in 1940, and Ian took over in the 1960s at a relatively young age following the death of his father.

Ian’s son, David, is now also working on the farm after completing a Diploma in Agriculture and Farm Management at Lincoln University and working on other farms in New Zealand and overseas.

Ian Bell says one of the biggest changes he has seen has been the need to achieve higher carcase weights. While they used to send lambs to the works at 13 or 14 kilograms, they now have to reach 18-19kg to remain financially viable.

The Bells say they work as a team and the goal now is to keep improving their system to allow

Wilfield Sheep Stud rams have helped the Bell family make a ‘huge improvement’ in footrot resistance in their corriedale flock.

In a bad year we’d have t o check the whole flock.

Now we don’t have to treat anything much. for further opportunities, in particular perhaps increasing stock numbers.

Ian says they aim to keep working on these general traits of their flock while maintaining the wool micron, style and weight as well as higher weaning weights and growth rates

DNA tech makes ‘huge impact • From page 48 three-quarters of our commercial flock would have had footrot. Now it has virtually been eliminated.

Around 90 per cent of our stud animals are in the top quartile of the footrot-rating system. Our clients want rams that are highly footrot-resistant.”

He says Wilfield Stud sheep are very fertile. The flock has produced over 150%-plus lambing for the last 15 years and 170% scanning for the last five years.

The farm’s two-tooth ewes are now breeding as many lambs as their older ewes.

The family farm around West Melton encompasses 400 hectares over three blocks. It is a sheep and cropping operation running 3000 stock units, around 1100 of them in the corriedale stud. They also breed suffolk-texel sheep.

Each year the Wilsons sell around 150 corriedale rams privately on farm. Prices are pre-set based on SIL measurements and levels of footrot resistance. Semen can also be purchased.

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50 |

SHEEPBREEDING/ON FARM » Chris Medlicott

Business Rural

‘Flash sheep’ don’t wash with Chris Karen Phelps Breeding is a minor part of Chris Medlicott’s sheep-farming business – his main thrust is on his commercial flock. Which, he says, gives him a unique perspective as a breeder.

“I finished 8000 lambs last year and my breeding operation is geared to what I know commercial farmers want and need. If you are at the coalface, you really understand your clients and it makes you better informed as a ram breeder.” .

The Clifton Downs stud celebrated its 60th anniversary last year and Chris says he is not impressed by “flash” sheep that perform extremely well under good conditions.

He’d rather have sheep that provide more consistent results under more challenging conditions.

“Today’s sheep farmer needs to run more sheep per hectare, so you are better off with a lot of animals performing to a good moderate level. I’ve had animals here that can grow very fast if they are in a small mob situation and everything is in their favour.

But we run mobs of 500-plus lambs, so they

Waimate sheepbreeder Chris Medlicott focuses on sheep that perform well under challenging conditions. His Clifton Downs stud sells most of its southdown rams privately in December with around 10 elite rams sold in the South Island elite sale in late November. need to have good constitution and do well in that kind of environment – animals that will grow well on

less feed as production per hectare is the ultimate goal to profitability.”

Chris says his aim for his stud customers is to use Clifton Downs rams as a terminal sire to get more lambs off their farms earlier and under variable climatic conditions, in a good condition to sell as prime.

He sells the majority of his commercial rams privately in December. Around 10 elite rams are sold in the South Island elite sale in late November.

The stud is on the 160-hectare Medlicott family farm in the Hook district, just out of Waimate.

There are just over 200 stud ewes, with 100 ram hoggets and 100 ewe hoggets wintered. Around 60 per cent of the ewes are destined to go back into the flock, with some sold for breeding and a few making their way to the Medlicott dinner table.

The farm also finishes 250-300 head of cattle each year.

Clifton Downs was started in 1956 when Chris’ father, Bill, and grandfather, Jack, were competing in the Smithfield competition in the United Kingdom. Driven to keep improving their carcass conformation, they decided they would have to produce their own rams.

• To page 51

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ON FARM » James & Laurie Hill

Business Rural

| 51

Genetics, water, pasture improvement in mix Russell Fredric Genetics and irrigation are proving production boosters at The Gums, a large Central Otago sheepand-beef property.

Owned by James and Laurie Hill, the 2097-hectare farm in Teviot Valley, near Roxburgh, has four blocks over a variety of contour and altitude supporting 10,000 stock units – the 300ha home block; the 285ha Morris’ block; the 400ha Dillon’s block; a 1000ha tussock run-block.

It was originally owned by James’s late father and mother, Richard and Mary Hill, who moved there from the Arrowtown district in 1979; their former farm is now the site of the luxury Millbrook resort.

The run block rises to 700 metres above sea level, while Dillon’s is low-altitude, early country and Morris’s is rolling country at mid-altitude. On the home block,100ha is under irrigation, supplied by the Teviot irrigation scheme.

James, Laurie and their three children moved to the farm from a management position in Waitahuna, in South Otago, in 2010.

“We were keen to get into the farm and get into making a step into the ownership, so we made the move home,” James Hill says. On moving they learnt that Richard had cancer. He died in 2012.

To assist with running the farm, the couple employ one full-time worker, plus casual labour when required.

James says they are part of a farm discussion group, and the input of a farm adviser has proved an asset in decision-making and looking at ways to improve production.

One of the challenges of coming from a nonirrigated farm has been learning how to manage the k-line irrigation system, as well as understanding what the best grasses are to grow in irrigated paddocks.

Another challenge was improving the genetics of its purebred romney flock which was producing lambing of just 130 per cent and an average carcase weight of 16.5 to 17 kilograms in 2010.

New genetics introduced from the Rawahi Romney stud, in south Wairarapa, have produced good gains.

“We’ve found a big improvement with the weaning (weights), getting close to half the lambs killed off mum and the yield of the lambs has also increased.”

Lambing is now 140-150% and carcase weights 17.5 to 18kg. A lot of effort has also gone into

producing finer wool and minimising the number of triplets.

James feels the results have validated decisions made during the last seven years: “We’ve set a few goals and we’ve done our best to achieve them.

That’s probably the part I enjoy most. It has been pretty awesome and we’ve certainly learnt a lot about lambing and looking after the ewes.

“We seek to make sure we’re doing the job right with the ewes, from feed through into weaning.”

Their plans include adding more irrigation over the next five years: “Improving the pastures is a big one for me. There’s a lot of rough pasture.

There’s a lot more potential with the irrigation and, obviously, the carrying capacity.”

Including different pasture species such as lucerne could also be part of the equation, he says.

Continuing development of the high-country run, which is about 25 kilometres from the home farm, will also be a focus.

Last year they applied 200 tonnes of lime to improve the soil pH in newly developed areas.

He says the run is “really good summer country” and a strategic asset to the The Gums overall operation, allowing stock to be moved there seasonally to rest other pasture.

Above: New genetics from Rawahi Romney stud, in south Wairarapa, have produced good gains in The Gums’ purebred romney flock. Below: Pasture improvement and irrigation are among plans aimed at improving production.

‘Production per hectare the ultimate goal to profitability’ • From page 50 Chris started his own stud, Tasvic Downs, as a young lad. He says the competitive streak soon came out, as father and son sought to outdo each other over the years. In 2013 Tasvic Downs merged with Clifton Downs.

Chris believes farmers are over-absorbed with the per-lamb price instead of the return on kilograms of dry matter eaten.

He says more lambs sold off the ewe at weaning equates to higher efficiency, but concedes that this is not always achievable on various classes of country.

“It is important to have lambs left after weaning growing at speed. The quicker those lambs leave your farm over summer, the more options you have to improve next year’s production or take on trading stock.

“Getting lambs away early is one of the strengths of the southdown breed.”

He admits he has a massive interest in finishing stock and thinks that specialising in sheep allows him more control over this:

Everyone says there is no money in sheep, but I’d argue there is if you do the right things to make it work.

This thinking was behind his recent decision to no longer grow cereal crops on contract.

“Specialising allows us to manage our costs – I can control my fertiliser costs etc more efficiently.

It also allows me to guarantee when I can sow feed crops whereas before, if it was a wet season and harvest of the cereal crop was delayed, this would affect the feed crops I need to grow for the lambs.

“Everyone says there is no money in sheep, but I’d argue there is if you do the right things to make it work.”

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52 |

ON FARM » Alex & Elle Taylor

Business Rural

Family aims to farm sustainably Neil Grant Taramea Farms is a family business on just under 290 hectares, 35 kilometres west of Oamaru.

South-facing, towards the Kakanuis, it starts growing grass about two weeks later than other local farms, but holds on a bit better when it dries out. It’s a mixture of flat terraces, rolling and hill country, with limestone soils that are deep, rich and naturally fertile. Pivots irrigate 80ha, and there is 120ha of k-line.

Named after taramea, the spear grass found on the property, it has a lease block growing barley and supplementary feed used for young stock.

Duncan and Evelyn Taylor bought it in 2006 as a drystock farm for sheep farming and dairy grazing.

When that became uneconomical around 2009, they began dairy-leasing and working off the farm. The North Otago Irrigation Company (NOIC)

scheme has made other land use possible.

The Taylors’ son, Alex, his wife, Elle, and their six-month old daughter, Beth, moved back from Australia in 2014 to manage the dairy conversion.

In Australia, Alex was involved with quality and food-safety assurance in the pork, poultry and dairy industries. Elle was an environmental specialist with DairyNZ, working on joint-industry environmental initiatives and designing technical/educational resources for farmers and rural professionals.

“We planned and worked on the conversion for two years,” Alex says. “We had pretty bad luck with our timing, and started producing in the middle of the dairy-price slump in July 2015.”

Their 50-bail rotary dairy has integrated technology and automation – automatic cup removers, automatic in-bail teat-spraying, in-shed feeding system. Pro-track allows automated drafting and some remote-access herd

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We planned and worked on the conversion for two years. We had pretty bad luck with our timing, and started producing in the middle of the dairy-price slump in July 2015. management. The circular yard holds 700 cows.

Alex says they had three goals for their effluent system: to capture all effluent and nutrients at the dairy and spread it over as much of the farm as possible; to run a passive system, avoid breakdowns, reduce human error, reduce running costs, and make the most of the gravity/slope at the dairy site; to future-proof design of the dairy and effluent systems so that infrastructure could be added.

“It uses a green-water recycling system for wash-down. This recycles pond water under the backing gate to clean the yard. Effluent drains to a double-bunker, weeping-wall system to remove solids. Liquid then runs into a large storage pond.

When soil conditions are suitable, effluent can be injected into three pivots covering around 60ha.

“We can go several months without having to empty the pond, which is great through spring if it’s wet. When conditions are right, we can empty the pond pretty quickly.

“We have relied heavily on our lease block to top up feed. Additional shares from NOIC stage two allowed us to fully irrigate the platform to make the farm more self-contained, allowing for herd size of 700 once new pastures are established.”

Selecting an animal to manage on the hills, Taramea runs 600 small-framed, light kiwicross cows, around a third of them heifers.

“We now have three girls, Beth (four), Grace (two) and Lucie (eight months),” he says. “My

• To page 53

ON FARM » John & Sally Andrews

Business Rural

| 53

Karen Phelps Winning the composite section at the 2017 New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition has shown John and Sally Andrews they are on the right track.

“It’s acknowledgement that we are doing things right,” says John Andrews. “But a lot of producing a good sheep also comes down to feeding and management. It’s about being out there regularly, ensuring pastures are up to scratch and moving stock in a timely fashion. Basic good stockmanship.”

The Andrews own Riverslea Farm, a 1700-hectare sheep-and-beef unit at Waipiata, in Central Otago. It’s a family farm bought in the 1950s by John’s grandparents. Sally spent time on her grandparents’ farm as a child and before marrying John in 1990, was retail agency supervisor for Wrightson/Dalgety Crown in Ranfurly.

John grew up on the family farm, did a Diploma in Agriculture at Lincoln University and spent a year in the United States on a MAST programme before returning home to the family farm in 1983. He and Sally took over the farm in the early 1990s.

They now run around 180 predominantly hereford/angus beef cows to calve, and finish all calves. They are venturing into trading. They also have 4200 ewes (1900 romney/merinos and 2300 composites), plus replacements.

Sally runs 150 angora goats, which arrived at the farm around 10 years ago. They are farmed for angora fibre and bring diversification.

The Andrews started crossing their traditional romney flock with east friesian in 2000, aiming for a quarter-east-friesian/three-quarter-romney-

Win confirms couple’s confidence cross sheep. For the last few years they have been breeding largely a coopworth/texel sheep, but still with the historical east friesian influence that is in their flock.

They have been using coopworth/texel rams from Garth Shore’s Wharetoa Stud for the past 10 years and have also used textra rams from Wendy

and Leon Black’s Blackdale stud.

The Andrews also won the composite section of the New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition in 2003 and 2004. John says the competition is a balance between production and phenotype.

They breed for good carcass, depth of body, and resilience to bounce back from challenging feeding conditions, plus potential for good fertility and growth rates of progeny.

Their flock is achieving 150-160 per cent PHOTOS Top: Ewe hoggets with En Hakore and the Rock and Pillar range in the background.

Left: John and Sally Andrews with charolais steer calves on fodder beet.

lambing and they aim to get lambs away in a timely fashion. This season their sheep averaged 19.2 kilograms carcass weight at the works and is producing wool at 38-39 microns. John says the aim is to produce 5kg of wool per sheep.

Pasture renewal is ongoing – improving feed quality enhances lamb-growth weights and carcass weights at the works and improves lambing percentages.

In the past two years they have upgraded part of the farm irrigation system to centre pivot. Around 320ha of the farm is now under irrigation, giving them more options; traditionally they have sold all their calves, but can now finish some. They currently have 200 calves and 50 rising two-yearolds on the farm.

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Most milk used for baby formula • From page 52 parents live on arm, and my father does most of the tractor work, fencing, repairs and maintenance.”

Elle does a lot of the farm administration including GST and payroll. This season, her sister, Emma O’Connell, has started as productivity manager, managing two full-timers and a casual over calving and mating. Alex was farm manager, but can now do dairy-industry work off-farm, some currently with the Ministry of Primary Industries on the mycoplasma bovis situation.

“Most of our milk is turned into baby milk formula, so quality is important. We target achieving below 100,000 somatic cell count throughout the season. Not only does this return a

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All waterways carrying water only when it rains have been retired from grazing. They plan to plant these in natives. Elle has made a start around the housing, tanker track and dairy area. They have donated a 2km easement along the western boundary to allow the Alps to Ocean cycleway to pass through. Riparian planting, and a public rest area and wetland are planned alongside it.

“We would love to work towards an ecological project such as creating a habitat for native bees, and create more shelterbelts using native species,” says Alex. “A designated stand-off area for cows during wet weather would help preserve soil structure and pastures.

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54 |

ON FARM Âť Derek & Bronwyn Chamberlain

Business Rural

Derek and Bronwyn Chamberlain’s West Range Station is a 2300-hectare dairy-support and sheep-and beef-trading-operation at Eastern Bush, in Western Southland. The couple (pictured below) were dual winners in this year’s Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Winners do business on environment Russell Fredric Taking care of business while also having an eye for the environment has culminated in two awards for Western Southland farmers Derek and Bronwyn Chamberlain.

Their entry into the 2017 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards saw them emerge regional winners of the farm stewardship award (in partnership with the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust and the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust). They also won agri-business award.

The Chamberlains’ West Range Station is a 2300-hectare, dairy-support and sheep-and-beef trading operation at Eastern Bush.

The farm stewardship award criteria includes the creation of special places such as cultural, historic or natural or man-made features. There was also a need to demonstrate management systems that include productivity and sustainability.

Significant for West Range is a 28ha area of sphagnum moss that has been subdivided off and is under a QEII Trust covenant. The area also holds other native and rare species of plants and wildlife.

The agribusiness award recognises the approach farmers take to accomplish management practices to operate a successful farm business; it includes development, implementation and review of systems and processes, and the degree to which they form part of the overall farm management.

This may include the use of industry

professionals, software programs and networks, and how they contribute to the sustainability of the business.

The Chamberlains are not shy in using technology in planning and monitoring daily farm tasks and upcoming requirements, and these have also been adopted by staff.

The couple are the third generation of Derek’s family on West Range Station, formerly a traditional sheep-and-beef property with 13,000 breeding ewes and 500 beef cows.

The focus has changed dramatically during the past eight years – this year they had about 2000 rising-one dairy heifers grazing until May, and then wintering 2000 -3000 cows, depending on crop tonnages.

The farm also supports 230 beef cattle, and they bought in 450 ewes last season. It is also grazing 430 carry-over cows for 12 months.

About 8000 store lambs are usually fattened during summer, and the farm has 2000 lambs for finishing this winter.

Derek concedes the change to dairy grazing has its “trials and tribulations at times�, but it is a reliable source of cashflow. Dairy support began when they bought a neighbouring block of land. “The only thing we could really justify it with was dairy support; it grew from there.�

Under the new business model it was also

• to page 55

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ON FARM » Robert & Cindy Rosser

Business Rural

| 55

Irrigation drives breed change Sue Russell Robert Rosser’s 15 years of managing dairy farms took him to Ashburton for four years, but home is very much in and around Takaka, in Golden Bay. Since k-line irrigation was installed, followed by three centre-pivots five years ago, on the 165-hectare farm, he has moved towards crossbreds. They do better on grass, he says.

The Takaka River runs through the farm, which has three distinct terraces.

By the time he dried off his 546 cows for the 2016-17 season, they had surpassed the production target of 222,000 kilograms of milksolids by around 5000kg.

“Even though it was so wet in spring and through parts of summer, we made up and got ahead. We did have a lot of lame cows to contend with, but we used cow-slips, which helped them walk once we lifted them.”

Milk is produced through a 50-bail, Waikato rotary with Protrack and cup removers’ it has served the Rossers well in the eight years it has been in operation. Meal is also supplied in-shed – half a tonne per cow over the season.

As he seeks to boost production, Robert is starting to look at per-cow performance and will do some culling.

Over winter the herd is stood off on nearby runoff blocks: “All the herd is wintered for six weeks off the farm to give the home block a rest.”

He is assisted on the farm by Pete Doughty and Sam Goffriller. Pete has been with him for six years while Sam has just completed his second season.

“We don’t really have a structure, and Sam and Pete work together,” says Robert.

Robert places high store on training and is always looking to upskill. He finds that the programmes offered through the Ag ITO system work well.

“Sam has completed level 4 this season. I think its great because I learn about what he has been taught by the book, and it gives me a chance to explain why we do things the way we do on this farm.”

Outside of farm life, Robert and wife Cindy have two-year-old Benjamin to look after, and another baby due in late July. A serious back injury last year added pressure to farm activities as Robert required a significant period off the farm and did not return to full duties until the start of October.

PHOTOS – Top left: Sam Goffriller and partner Sage Andrews assist Takaka farmer Robert Rosser on his 165-hectare farm (above) at Golden Bay. Top right: Robert’s two-year-old son, Benjamin, is also keen on hands-on help.

“Fortunately, calving last season went really well,” he says.”This season we’re calving 550 cows. Only a dozen or so cows have had mastitis and our somatic cell count has been really low.”

Sam Goffriller’s entry and success in the

Robert places high store on training and is always looking to upskill. He finds that the programmes offered through the AgITO system work well.

region’s Dairy Industry Trainee of the Year awards brought a lot interest and pleasure to the farm.

“I was up against managers as well, and the process of entering was quite full-on, providing a few pages of detail,” Sam says.

“We also went to Tapawera for the prelims with half an hour to answer as many questions as we could, followed by 20 minutes of theory and 20 minutes of practical.”

The preliminary rounds involved three judges.

The original group of 11 competitors was culled to six for the second round, which involved five judges. The group visited the Brightwater farm

of the previous winner where more theory and practical tests took place.

“These were harder questions and I thought I did terribly, to be honest,” says Sam “So, when the awards were announced and the five merit awards were handed out, I begin to wonder about my chances. I was thrilled to come in third, picking up more than $3000 in prizes and vouchers.”

Awards aside, he says he’s really enjoyed his time on the farm.

“It makes a difference to have a manager you get on with. Robert is very hands on and great to work alongside.“

Grazing accelerates environmental efforts • From page 54 appealing not to be facing the outfall of storms during lambing. During winter, cows are fed on fodder beet, swede and kale, and weighed monthly.

The Chamberlains have developed relationships among their grazing clients and know that communication is key. Having an independent agent come in every month to weigh and monitor stock also saves a lot of “finger pointing” at the end of the season.

“We’ve got a core base of about 10-12 clients who coming back, but we still welcome new business relationships when numbers allow.”

The shift to dairy grazing also accelerated the farm’s environmental focus; five years ago a goal was set to entering the Ballance Farm Environment Awards after starting a programme of waterway fencing and riparian planting.

“Not only was it humbling to be recognised for work being done, but having another set of eyes onfarm to critique what we are doing and why, was great feedback,” says Derek. “That’s the part that keeps us accountable”.

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56 |

ON FARM » Stu & Lorraine Duncan

Business Rural

Farming, tourism seamless match Kely Deeks Building a client base is what it’s all about for Maniototo farmers Stu and Lorraine Duncan, whether its their sheep-and-beef operation, their angus stud, or their tourism venture.

They are the fourth generation to farm the block at Wedderburn, which came into the Duncan family via a ballot on arrival from England and Scotland in 1886.

The farm has been developed and grown to 2000 hectares, running dual-purpose. crossbred merino and romney sheep for the past 10 to 15 years, and an angus stud, Penvose Angus, which Stu’s father, Graeme, started in the 1970s.

“We are one of the highest-altitude angus studs in New Zealand, between 600 to 1000 metres above sea level,” Stu says. “At 600m above sea level, we’ve got to grow a lot of grass very quickly, and we’ve got to conserve it. We’ve got to be better than anyone else.

“At sea level, grass grows all year round, but we have only a short time-frame in which we can grow

grass. We’ve got to grow a lot, conserve it, and feed it to stock that produce the best.”

But at the end of the day, he says, any good farmer for the past 50 years has had good stock and fed them well.

“It’s not the strongest man who survives, it’s the one who can adapt to change.”

The Duncans started their tourism venture when the Central Otago Rail Trail opened in 2000; they used a spare house at one end of the farm. Now they are owner-operators of Wedderburn Cottages, the largest accommodation provider on the trail.

Their farm is at the trail’s exact halfway point of the trail, which runs through the centre of their complex.

They quickly realised they had an opportunity on their hands, and have added self-contained cottages to the 1928 homestead lodge. Wedderburn Cottages can now cater for 55 people, whether individuals and groups riding the trail or tourists and families travelling through the Maniototo.

Stu says Wedderburn Cottages has made a

• To page 57

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ON FARM » Michael & Emma Sutherland

Business Rural

| 57

The Sutherland family run 15,000 stock units – angus and angus/hereford cross and Moto-Nui romney ewes and hoggets – on 2000 hectares at Slopedown, between Clinton and Wyndham.

Storms, compliance pose hurdles Karen Phelps The Sutherland family has gone from one extreme to another – the dry conditions of Canterbury to the cold wet weather that can plague the south. The family moved to Longridge Farm at Slopedown, between Clinton and Wyndham, in 2001.

“We had no irrigation on the farm we had in South Canterbury and we wanted the more guaranteed rainfall of the south,” says Michael Sutherland, who manages the family farm in conjunction with his parents, Raymond and Claire.

They now have 2000 hectares after buying a 480ha neighbouring block last year. It is a 50:50 split of paddock and hill country, with 15,000 stock units – 400 angus and angus/hereford cross breeding cows and 153 heifer calves, 9000 MotuNui romney ewes and 3000 hoggets.

They normally supply their cattle to Five Star Beef at 450 kilograms liveweight, but because of favourable calf prices this year, they kept just the heifers. Michael says they will assess the situation in spring and decide whether it is worth buying in steers to finish.

They fatten all the lambs and try to average 19plus kilograms over the season.

Michael says they are aiming to lift lambing percentages from the mid to high-130s. Weather has made it hard for them to break the 140% mark.

“The farm looks predominately to the south. It takes only one storm to hit during lambing to really affect us. We lamb at three dates to spread the risk.”

Lambing at the Sutherland family farm is over three dates to spread the risk from southern storms.

They shear in a nine-month, nine-month, six-month pattern and supply wool to CP Wool.

Because of current wool prices, the family is holding on to some wool to see if prices improve.

The Sutherlands aim to breed hardy lambs capable of surviving the challenging conditions the south throws up.

Another challenge, as it is for many farmers, is meeting regulatory requirements. The family is fencing off waterways and will have to put in a

Stu bridges town-country divide • From page 56 big difference for groups riding the rail trail; its scale allows groups to stay together in the same accommodation.

“As a result, we get a lot of tour-bus companies with 16-seater buses, particularly on a Wednesday and Friday when the Taieri Gorge excursion train pulls in to Pukerangi.”

The Duncan’s tourism offering has now

extended to farm tours, and Stu relishes the opportunity to bridge the gap between town and country and show people how things really are on farm.

“There is a massive division between rural and town,” he says. “We see that in our own Central Otago District Council where I represent the Maniototo ward and push for the farmers. Any chance I get to have people on the farm, I’m going to take it.”

water scheme on the new block at some point, says Michael. He points out that with lamb prices as they have been, this is challenging. They are particularly working on developing the most recent land purchase, which has a river running though it.

Michael runs the day-to-day farming with the help of two full-time staff. Wife Emma helps out as needed and does some of the bookwork. She is

also busy with their two children – Henry, two and Thomas, seven months.

The plan is for Michael and Emma to take over the farm one day. Michael acknowledges the success of his parents, who also own a dairy farm at Clydevale milking 750 cows. Now, he says, it’s up to the next generation to carry on what Raymond and Claire have started.

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58 |

ON FARM » Jeremy & Julie Cameron

Business Rural

Contracts bring price certainty Russell Fredric Hyde farmers Jeremy and Julie Cameron lament the struggling status of wool in the world, but are making the most of opportunities to gain modest premiums paid on the clip from their halfbred merino/romney flock.

Their farm, Capburn Downs, totals 2476 hectares, 400ha of it cultivatable paddocks and the balance in tussock hill country on the Rock and Pillar Range, rising to about 1000 metres.

An unirrigated, dryland property, the Maniototo farm usually receives just 500 millmitres of rain a year.

It produces 18,000-19,000 kilograms of wool each season. about 30 per cent of which receives a premium from The New Zealand Merino Company for supply to United States sock and apparel manufacturer, SmartWool, and Godfrey Hirst Carpets New Zealand.

The Camerons’ 25-micron wool goes to SmartWool for hiking socks, and the 23-micron for leisure socks. Wool of 28 and 29 micron is supplied to Godfrey Hirst for fine-wool carpet, with the balance (27 microns) going to open auction.

While Jeremy laments the grip synthetic fibre has on the world, the average price Capburn Downs has received over the past three years from contracts has been around $7/kg for greasy ewe fleece and $10/kg for greasy hogget fleece – about 15% more than if it went to a traditional auction.

“The good thing is that at the beginning of the season there is some price certainty and we know what the final products will be,” Jeremy Cameron says.”

The farm runs 1500 halfbred merino/romney breeding ewes in its A flock, 1200 terminal ewes in its B flock, 650 ewe hoggets, and occasionally winters 100-200 mixed sex half-bred lambs.

Its B flock consists of any ewes not suitable to breed replacements from; they are run on the paddocks and some of the lower hill country and go to a southdown or suffolk ram.

Lambing averages 130%.

Hoggets are usually wintered on turnips and balage in the lower-altitude paddocks.

Cattle are split 50% between hereford, run on the hill, and hereford/angus. They have 90 breeding cows in total, and replacement heifers are also kept.

Capburn Downs was bought by Jeremy’s father in 1965 as a 2056ha block and developed over subsequent decades. Jeremy and Julie added 420ha five years ago.

“The main property was lacking winter feed,” says Jeremy. “We didn’t grow root crops, so we bought it to balance the property to give us some

wintering and winter-feed growing areas.”

The merino/romney cross is well suited to the type of country farmed. Rams are bought from Stonehenge Station, at Patearoa, on the opposite, western, side of the Rock and Pillars.

“Their bloodlines dictate where we go. They breed halfbreds as well as merinos. They are bigframed sheep with long, crimpy wool. With only 500mm of rainfall, you can run only what suits the country and the climate.”

Rabbits remain the biggest ongoing threat to the farm, he says. Control has been improved by the removal of vegetation such as scrub, matagouri and gorse, which rabbits use as cover.

“We’ve worked on it over the last 20 years or so to enable better rabbit control to get away from using 1080 poison. Potentially rabbits are still our number one pest

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Above: The lower paddocks at Capburn Downs, in the Maniototo, with the B flock and hoggets. Capburn produces between 18,000 and 19,000 kilograms of wool each season, of which about 30 per cent receives a premium from the New Zealand Merino Company. Below: A brisk and frosty Maniototo morning greets the Cameron sheep.

ON FARM » Hamish & Sheree Haugh

Business Rural

| 59

Although the drought has brought some changes to their farming systems, North Canterbury beef-and-sheep farmers Hamish and Sheree Haugh’s core capital stock remains 2500 Wairere-bred romneys and 160 angus cows and heifers.

Resilient couple ride out rough times Richard Loader There’s an old saying that ‘it’s not what happens to you, but what you do about it that matters’.

North Canterbury sheep-and-beef farmers Hamish and Sheree Haugh pushed through the big dry of 2015-16; making tough decisions, rolling with the punches, and talking with lots of people along the way.

“It’s important to know you aren’t alone,” says Hamish. “To keep talking with other farmers and having a good relationship with your bank along with a supportive family.”

Hamish and Sheree farm in partnership with Hamish’s mother on their 750-hectare sheep-andbeef finishing farm at Parnassus.

Long known as The Sisters, the property was bought by Hamish’s parents in 1988 – just in time for a drought.

While there have been some changes to the farming system post the 2015-16 drought, core capital stock remains 2500 Wairere-bred romney ewes along with 160 angus cows and heifers.

Hamish also runs a number of hoggets, twotooths and cattle as trading stock and provides a bit of dairy grazing.

“On farm we’re in really good shape. We’ve probably got the most stock this season we’ve ever had. Financially we still need a solid 12 to 24 months to recover.”

Early on Hamish expected the drought to blow over in a few months. There had been a good growing spring in 2014, cattle prices were very positive, and the farm was in pretty good shape.

A few months in, towards the end of that first autumn in 2015, it became evident that it wasn’t going to rain and Hamish had got through a fair bit of feed on hand.

“You knew it was coming,” he says. “You were living and breathing it – every day you were constantly reassessing things. It’s not like you turned a corner and suddenly said ‘Shit, what am I going to do now?’. We just tried to do the right thing by our stock really.”

Quite a lot of money had been spent on feed, much of it borrowed from the bank or drawn from the farm’s current account. Hamish says it had got to the point where a line had to be drawn in the sand.

An early decision was made to protect the capital stock.

The trading cattle were sold at a loss and the dairy grazers had already gone. Over the next few months the trading ewes were sent for grazing to

Drought breakers: green feed, green pastures and a full pond are in stark contrast to the drought conditions of 2015-16 on the Haugh farm at Parnassus.

On farm we’re in really good shape. We’ve probably got the most stock this season we’ve ever had. Financially we still need a solid 12-24 months to recover.

Ranfurly and Mid Canterbury. We got to May 2016 and I made the decision that the cows couldn’t stay, so I found grazing for them in Sheffield.

“We got through with our capital stock and a very small amount of trading stock with just the steers we had, so our cashflow was severely compromised.”

Fast-forward to this season, Hamish says he has been given an opportunity, with a favourable autumn, to return to a full stocking rate with the bank’s help.

“Sometimes you get given opportunities and you have to take them. I’m not saying what I did was the right thing, or what anyone else did was wrong – you just have to get through it. There will be another drought.”

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60 |

ON FARM » John & Mary Lindsay

Business Rural

Fertility gene still sets John alight Richard Loader A light-bulb experience occurred for Southland sheep-and-beef farmer John Lindsay when he attended an agricultural field day focused on the Inverdale gene some 15 years ago.

The gene increases fertility in any breed, with ewes carrying the gene for life.

Now a strong advocate of the Inverdale gene, John is reaping its benefits and strongly recommends it as an option for farmers who may not have the opportunity to increase productivity through further land development.

John and his wife, Mary, are the third generation to care for their 1400-hectare property and with their three children all following the agricultural path, there is every possibility of a fourth.

It’s a diverse operation with a total of 17,150 tock units made up of around 6300 ewes and 1700 hoggets, about 210 cows, 137 rising one-year bulls and 118 rising one-year heifers. There are some carry over rising two-year bulls, with the balance made up of hinds, stags and weaners.

Management of the sheep is designed around a mating programme using rams and ewes with the Inverdale gene. The flock is split in two to avoid double-crossing and barren progeny.

“Half of the sheep are straight Wairere romney,” says John. “The other half carry the Inverdale gene and are composite: half-romney – for easy care and mothering; quarter texel – for muscling and yield; quarter poll dorset – for the milk production

required for additional lambing.”

A half-texel/half-poll-dorset ram carrying the Inverdale gene is put over the Wairere romney flock.

The progeny from those ewes will be half romney, a quarter texel and a quarter poll dorset, and will carry the Inverdale gene. John will select replacements from the new lambs for the following year’s mating.

Meanwhile, the other half of the flock, the composites which include last year’s replacements and which carry the Inverdale gene, are mated with a terminal sire.

These are the ewes that will scan 40% more than their non-Inverdale colleagues and provide a greater potential for lambs weaned.

In the 15 years since John started with the Inverdale gene, the average lambing percentage has increased from 150 to 165; carcase weight has lifted from 17.5 to 18kg; and the average kill date has moved from early February to late December.

“I have never been disadvantaged compared to our pure romney flock,” says John. “The Inverdale flock has always, regardless of weather, ended up with a higher lambing percentage than the pure romney.”

He says you will always have more losses with an Inverdale flock because you are more likely to get twins and triplets.”

The risk of losing all new lambs to a storm is managed by splitting lambing – the Inverdale ewes start around August 20 and the romney ewes in mid September.

John makes the point that a lot of lambs doesn’t mean they won’t grow.

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Top: Triplets from the first draft of the Lindsays’ Inverdale flock. Above: John and Mary Lindsay say that in 15 years they have never been disadvantaged by the Inverdale compared to the pure romney.

ON FARM » Mike McElrea & Natasha Harmon

Business Rural

| 61

Perendale ‘best survival of any breed’ Richard Loader Rising through the mists 290 metres above sea level to a steep 650 metres with a reasonable chunk at a more moderate 400 metres is Gowan Braes Farm, home to Mike McElrea’s prize-winning perendale flock.

A lot of snow falls during winter, but the higher altitudes bring the blessing of being summer safe.

There’s 450 hectares of tussock country, a third of which extends to the higher altitudes, with a further 220ha of cultivated land, including 30ha of winter crop.

Gowan Braes is Edievale, 20 kilometres from Tapanui, in West Otago. Mike is the second generation of his family to farm the property.

“Dad bought the farm in the early ‘70s with perendales already on the land,” he says.

“Perendales are well suited to the farm’s very steep terrain, but the breed also performs very well on easy country.”

Taking over the mantle in the late ‘90s, Mike sought to increase his ewe flock of perendales and, in doing so, took an opportunity to buy a stud. He established the Gowan Braes Stud.

With the help of his partner, Natasha Harmon, Mike now runs 3500 ewes, including about 750 stud ewes, 900 ewe hoggets and 700 stock units of cattle.

The five-year average lambing sits at 141 per cent from a scan of 174%.

“Perendale has the best survival of any breed,” he says. “That was proven last year when the three finalists for survival at the Sheep Industry Awards were all perendale flocks. Perendales have always had that—they are just a bit tougher at birth.”

About 300 ram hoggets are wintered, culled down in the spring, and sold on farm in December/ January.

Last December Mike sold 170 rams, attracting buyers from all over, but mainly Southland and Otago and a few from Canterbury.

“All the stud ewes are run on the hill country with the commercial ewes for 10 months of the year,” he says. “When we sell our rams, buyers can be confident the sheep can handle hilly conditions.”

Mike, who is also president of the Perendale Sheep Society, is a firm believer in the breed’s future in New Zealand farming.

He says that through research, testing and breeding, perendale is progressing on all traits.

In the last five years, the breed has been placing emphasis on facial eczema.

Worm resistance has been a key issue for Mike since establishing the stud 20 years ago.

“Our ewes haven’t been drenched for 20 years

PHOTOS – Above: Drafting at Gowan Braes farm, near Tapanui. Right (three photos): Mike McElrea runs around 3500 perendales and 700 cattle. or so. We were in the sheep industry awards as a finalist for ‘internal parasite resistance’ and ‘meat yield’ two years running a couple of years ago.”

More recently, his perendales won the West Otago ewe hogget competition and his flock was judged best overall against other breeds.

He went on to win the perendale section in the regional Southland/West Otago competition and then the national event held in Cromwell.

With a son and daughter retaining strong interest in the farm, there is every possibility a third generation of perendale breeders will roam the hill blocks of Gowan Braes.

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62 |

ON FARM » Kevin & Sheila McCallum

Business Rural

Proud to support Kevin McCallum

Lochiel farmers Sheila and Kevin McCallum won a brace of awards at the West Otago Southland Ewe Hogget Competition.

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Awards prove ‘a good benchmark’ Russell Fredric Lochiel farmer Kevin McCallum has plenty to be pleased about after winning two sections of the Merial Ancare West Otago Southland Ewe Hogget Competition.

In April, judges travelled through West Otago and Southland assessing nearly 75,000 sheep for the competition which covers romney, perendale, coopworth, fine wools, crossbred and composites (three or more crosses).

Kevin McCallum won the coopworth and best overall flock sections of the competition.

“I was quite chuffed actually,” he says. “I’ve entered it before and failed. It’s a good benchmark.”

His coopworth flock, because of a diminishing population nationally, was the only one entered in Southland, but competition committee member Noel Hamilton said this did not dilute the significance of winning.

“They were very good sheep. They looked great, had performance and all the traits.”

Sheep are judged on a number of criteria – production (50 marks), flock phenotype (physical characteristics and if true to type, 20 marks), wool quality (15) and breeding objective (15).

“Even though Kevin’s sheep didn’t come up against another coopworth (flock) they then went into the West Otago round where they went up against 18 other flocks of different breeds.”

“He still achieved enough points to beat everything else.”

Kevin farms 250 hectares (effective) in Central Southland.

The farm supports 2770 ewes of which more than 2000 comprise a maternal flock, 30 rams, 770 hoggets and 25 cattle.

Kevin has started introducing coopworth with a quarter romney genetics into the flock from rams bought from David Colhoun Genetics to improve hybrid vigour.

“I want a ewe that can stand on her own feet a bit better. I feel that the coopworths can get lazy.”

He aims to run the farm “like a hill-country farmer, but on the flat” with lambs that require little attention and prefers to have as few triplets as possible, however a good lambing percentage means they will be well represented.

“It you’re going to have a good lambing you’re going to get them, end of story. You can’t do 160 per cent lambing without have quite a lot of triplets.

Pasture management is one of the major things in sheep farming. Stopping grass from going to head, topping and keeping pasture quality is just so paramount. If you haven’t got pasture quality you won’t have clover and you won’t fatten lambs.

Only two-thirds of your ewes have twins.”

The average lamb-carcass weight for the past season was 18.6 kilograms and lambing 164%.

Kevin has run a scanning business for the past 22 years; it keeps him busy for about six weeks each winter.

“It’s a great way of seeing how people operate and scanning doesn’t tell lies.”

While lambing performance on his own property has changed little during the last 20 years, gains on low-performing farms and hill-country farms have been “huge”, he says.

He attributes the gains to improved management practices, particularly from ensuring that sheep are well fed.

To make pasture management easier, especially during summer, most of the McCallum farm has been divided into three-hectare paddocks.

Most farmers can manage pastures well during winter when grass is not growing, but managing fast-growing grass during summer can be challenging, Kevin says.

“I’ve got one mob of 1700 ewes; they’re in a paddock for only a day and a half or two days.

Pasture management is one of the major things in sheep farming.”

“Stopping grass from going to head, topping and keeping pasture quality is just so paramount. If you haven’t got pasture quality, you won’t have clover and you won’t fatten lambs.”

ON FARM » Roger & Alison Thomas

Business Rural

| 63

Winning secret: pasture quality Karen Phelps Concentration on the environment, animal welfare, breeding and pasture quality has seen the Thomas family of Southland experience continued success at the Glammies Beef + Lamb New Zealand Golden Lamb Awards.

They say they enter to help promote what a good product lamb is. And in the six years the Thomases have entered, they have reached the finals five times and won section awards twice.

Their most recent success was the gold award for best of breed: crossbreed this year.

Alison Thomas grew up on a sheep-andcropping farm in Mid Canterbury and Roger on a dairy farm in the Waikato. They started farming in the mid-’80s when they returned to Alison’s 192-hectare family farm. After a few years of drought, they sold up and shifted to Southland in 1991 – to a 200ha sheep-and-beef property farm in the Lillburn Valley running around 2300 stock units.

Ten years later, in 2001 they moved to their present farm near Tuatapere to run a bigger operation. They now have around 3000 stock units – 2150 perendale/texel ewes, 560 hoggets and 15 cattle – on 263ha.

For the past decade they have sourced rams from Robert Gardyne (Oturehua, Central Otago), who was this year named ‘producer of the decade’ at the Glammies.

The Thomases put a lot of emphasis on pasture quality to achieve their consistently tasty meat.

They have sub-divided paddocks – there were 30, there are now 65, with an average paddock size around 3ha. They say this gives more control over feeding and grass quality.

They have also been part of a trial to pinpoint the feed needs of ewes over winter, which worked out around 1.35 kilograms per day maintenance.

The trial also compared once-a-day and four-day shifts, measuring the animals’ intake, bodycondition score, weight gain and damage to pasture to ascertain the effect on weaning weights and incidence of bearings.

The results surprised the Thomases. Four-day shifts worked out equal or better in all categories.

The results have been a huge saving on time, less pasture damage, and more settled sheep.

Pasture walks are done weekly. Roger credits the farm’s high clover content with producing tastier meat.

The cattle are used mainly to keep pasture quality high, and numbers have been increased to 50 over summer for this reason. They use cattle in finishing paddocks to chew it out evenly and they top where necessary.

The family’s attention to animal welfare and the environment has seen them win the 2013 Southland Environment Award and make the regional final of the 2014 Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Extensive planting and fencing protects waterways and shelter belts provide stock with shade in summer. And, says Alison Thomas, happy sheep are a key factor in producing tasty meat.

The results have been a huge saving on time, less pasture damage, and more settled sheep.

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Southland sheep farmers Roger and Alison Thomas, and son Jeremy run 3000 stock units, including 2150 perendale/texel ewes, on their 263-hectare property at Tuatapere. They say animal welfare, attention to the environment, and breeding and pasture quality are the reasons for their continued success at the New Zealand Beef and Lamb and Ballance Farm Environment awards.

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Son Jeremy, who has a Bachelor of Commerce and Agriculture degree from Lincoln University, works part-time on the farm and makes up the balance working on a neighbouring farm.

He has his sights on full-time employment with the family business, which is leading the Thomases to look at buying a larger property that will offer greater scale – anywhere south of Dunedin.

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64 |

ON FARM » Nelson & Fiona Hancox

Business Rural

It’s simple – staff, soil, timing Richard Loader Keeping things simple, understanding their soils and developing great staff relationships is Nelson and Fiona Hancox’s recipe for farming success on their West Otago beef and sheep properties.

It was also their winning formula at the Otago Ballance Environmental Awards where the couple won the soil management and business management awards.

“We were honoured to win both,” says Nelson.

“It was a good thing to be involved in and good for our staff to be part of.”

He says he entered the competition to make a positive contribution to the agricultural industry, by showing that farmers are good custodians of the land.

“Farming has been a great journey. It has been really positive for us as a family, and we wanted to show that if you keep things simple and get the timing right, there are sustainable rewards in it.”

His farming journey started as a 21-year-old, fresh from Lincoln College. With $40,000 of hard earned cash and a couple of loans, he bought a 181-hectare farm in Northern Southland in 1984. It was a calculated risk that paid off.

• To page 65

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PHOTOS: Top: Wohelo farm manager Paul Slack (left) with owners Fiona and Nelson Hancox. The couple run three beef-and-sheep farms near Tapanui running a total of 22,500 ewes, 6800 hoggets, 240 cows and 160 hoggets on a simple pasture and brassica-based system

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ON FARM » Nelson & Fiona Hancox

| 65

PHOTOS Above: The Hancox farms produce two to 13 tonnes of brassica on 175 hectares and about 25 tonnes of fodder beet across 25ha Left: Brian Sparrow (left), who manages the Hancoxs’ Kowai Downs property, and Julian Kelly, manager of the Mt Allen farm.

Working relationships with staff a ‘cornerstone’ • From page 64 Nelson and Fiona sold up nine years later and moved back home to West Otago to start their family.

Taking a long-term approach to farming, they have built a portfolio of three beef-and-sheep farms near Tapanui – Kowai Downs, Mt Allen and Wohelo, which collectively cover 3090ha and produce more than 30,000 lambs a year.

For the 2017 year, there are 22,500 ewes, 6800 hoggets (4500 of which Nelson hopes are in lamb).

240 cows and 160 rising-one-year calves (wintered across Mt Allen and Wohelo.

Each property has its own manager, two of them long serving. In total there are five staff across the three farms, plus casuals as required.

In making the management award, the judges commented on the couple’s “outstanding people management with a focus on supportive empowerment of their farm-management team”.

Nelson is crystal clear that developing and retaining good working relationships with staff is a cornerstone to success.

“I guess that’s why we have got pretty long-term staff. They stick with us is because they can use a bit of glide time. They play golf, pig hunt and do dog trials when they want to, without questions being asked as long as the work is being done.”

Commenting on the Hancoxs’ soil management award, the judges mentioned their ‘excellent understanding of soil management and good management practices”.

“Our soils on Kowai Downs can be very wet in

the winter and pugging is a real issue with cattle,” says Nelson. “So we don’t have any cattle on that farm in the winter. We have 160 rising-one-years on fodder beet at the Mt Allen block and that is a great place to winter them because it’s drier, a bit freer draining and more rock-type country – so there is very little soil damage.”

No supplementary feed has been grown on Kowai Downs for 20 years, he says.

“It has all been grass or brassica crop, which makes things a lot safer and simplifies the winter feeding. Heavy tractors aren’t destroying our soil structures feeding out. “We average 2-13 tonnes of brassica on 175ha and about 20 tonnes of fodder beet across 25ha. That enables 200ha to go back into new pasture each year.”

The couple are part of the Pomahaka Water Care

Group, and Nelson is very aware of surface and ground water nutrients. He has a lot of sediment traps filtering sediment out, particularly on the Kowai Downs property, and plans to put a lot more in.

The rate of fertiliser has been varied on all hill country for the last 20 years, targeting just the bottom two-thirds of the paddocks.

Of the competition itself, Nelson says it was a good process to go through and it was great to get the feedback from the judges who had come on the farm.

“We had about eight judges and they made some really valuable comments we will take on board to improve our lot. We will definitely enter again in two or three years after we have developed our tree-planting across all farms a bit more.”

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66 |

ON FARM » Lance & Wendy Main

Business Rural

The dairy shed/yard complex on Lance and Wendy Main's farm at Oxford, in North Canterbury.

Farm, soil management praised Kim Newth When Lance and Wendy Main look back on what their farm near Oxford was like when they took up the land in 2010, they can see huge differences in both soil health and productivity.

Their farm and stock-management achievements were recognised at the 2017 Ballance Farm Environment Awards, where they received the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award and the LIC Dairy Farm Award.

Originally 165 hectares in extent, the farm was only a few seasons into a dairy conversion when they bought it. The year before they started, total production reached 67,000 kilograms of milksolids.

The Mains have expanded the property to 255ha and lifted production to 277,000kg. They have regrassed extensively and planted 10,000 pine trees for shelter.

Their goal this season is to peak-milk 540 cows and to push production from their ayrshire and friesian herd past 500kg milksolids per cow; they have their cows on a high-quality feed regime.

The couple kept only 50 cows from their previous equity-partner position in Southland, with Wendy using her experience as a junior stock judge to build up their current herd.

“We’ve come a long way,” says Lance. “We’re delighted with the way things have gone.”

Their interest in ayrshires goes back 20 years when they encountered them while sharemilking in Northland. They got involved in the local ayrshire club and never looked back: “They’re something different and we really enjoy them.”

At Oxford, Lance and Wendy started with only a basic understanding of their farm’s soil type, but that soon changed as Wendy began applying her experience as a primary ITO tutor – “She started using our farm as a research model,” says Lance.

Since 2013, their experience as Synlait gold-plus and gold elite certified suppliers – including helping develop the Lead With Pride programme – has, they say, proved invaluable and undoubtedly laid the groundwork for their Ballance award success.

“We can’t speak highly enough of that

programme, which really encourages best on-farm practice,” Lance.

The Ballance judges praised the Mains for their use of monitoring, measuring and benchmarking tools. Paddocks going into crop are monitored before and after cropping, and regular area testing is carried out. A moisture meter has proved an invaluable aid to understanding soil profile.

A mix of Poulfert poultry manure and sawdust is used as fertiliser, and has greatly improved soil condition, says Lance.

“It’s definitely opening the soil up and we’re getting better moisture retention.”

While their farm has higher-than-average annual rainfall for Canterbury - around 850 millimetres – much of it comes down as snow or winter rain.

Irrigation remains an important part of the equation and they are able to use around 3.2mm per day.

“We put it on only when we need to,” adds Lance.

Back in 2010, there was just one functional well on the farm. That and two other abandoned wells were redeveloped and made operational.

“We’ve gone from 18 litres a second to 64 litres a second. We irrigate around half to two-thirds of the farm in summer.”

Neither Lance nor Wendy has a farming background, so they have had to learn the ropes from scratch. They have worked hard over many years to achieve farm ownership. Lance started as a 16-year-old farm cadet in Northland and, after he and Wendy married, they devoted almost 30 years to sharemilking, from Kaitaia to Gore.

Now, both feel ready for change. This season, Wendy’s nephew Rhys Harris and his wife, Lily, have started contract-milking on the farm, with Lance in a mentoring role.

“I haven’t taken on any other work at this stage, though a few people have suggested I consider a role as a farm adviser. In the short term, I hope to get out and do those jobs on the farm that have been put to one side.”

Wendy’s life remains very busy with ITO classes and part-time nursing.

The couple have two adult children, son Jesse and daughter Sarah. They have five grandchildren and a 17-year-old niece is currently living with them.

PHOTOS: ‘They’re something different and we really enjoy them,’ says Lance Main (above) of his ayrshire cows. The view (below) across the Mains’ 255-hectare property towards the Southern Alps.

Business Rural

ON FARM» Christopher and Siobhan O’Malley

| 67

Mantra: ‘Know better...do better’ Kim Newth A positive attitude towards learning and selfimprovement is a hallmark of Christopher and Siobhan O’Malley’s Mid Canterbury sharemilking business, Pukeko Pastures. And it brought awardwinning results when the couple were named Share Farmer of the Year in the 2017 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.

Along with the top prize, they also received awards for human resources, interview, and livestock recording and productivity. Earlier in the year, they won the Canterbuty/North Otago Share Farmer of the Year title.

Christopher and Siobhan both grew up in Christchurch and had other careers before they started Pukeko Pastures in 2011-12.

Their mixed urban-rural experiences have imbued them with a determination to spread the word on the upsides of the dairy industry beyond the rural sector, (and one of the ways they are doing so is through regular posts on their Pukeko Pastures Facebook page).

“When I was growing up in Christchurch, no-one talked about sharemilking as a career possibility, yet this is such a great industry,” says Christopher. “There are just so many opportunities.”

Having a grandfather who was a dairy farmer on the West Coast gave Christopher his first taste of country life. He has fond memories of school holidays spent on the farm.

Perhaps it is also where his passion for outdoor adventure first took root. Before dairying, he worked as an adventure-tourism guide and, one year, his fearless nature saw him sign on as first mate to sail across the Pacific – even though he had no sailing experience at the time.

Siobhan, a former secondary school teacher with an MA in classical studies. is now in the last stages of completing a Diploma in Agribusiness Management.

At the time of the global financial crisis in 2008 they were working in Dublin, but then decided to head home to safer pastures. Siobhan found a job teaching, while Christopher decided to try his hand at dairying.

“Tourism is very seasonal, so for me it was all about getting a career,” he says. “I started as a dairy assistant in Darfield in June 2009; I could see there was a future for us in it.”

By 2011, they had decided to combine their energies in dairy farming. They took to it like proverbial ducks to water, entering the regional 2013 Dairy Industry Awards while working as

Mid Canterbury sharemilkers Siobhan and Christopher O’Malley say a positive attitude to learning and self improvement were instrumental in their being named 2017 Share Farmers of the Year. variable order sharemilkers on the West Coast. The farm was fighting a severe drought at the time, but the couple still came away with a leadership award and a farm safety and health award.

Entering the 2015 awards round did not go so well, as they were in the process of job hunting at the time. “It was timely reminder of the huge commitment you need to be able to make to do these awards justice.”

They then waited until they were into their second year, sharemilking 515 cows on Graham Brooker’s 138ha farm in Ashburton, before trying again.

“I remember saying to Siobhan, well before awards night, that we were already winners

When I was growing up in Christchurch no-one talked about sharemilking as a career possibility, yet this is such a great industry. There are just so many opportunities.

because we’d looked into the business in so much detail and really analysed what we were doing and why. That was the biggest prize of all from entering.”

The awards function at Auckland’s Sky City Convention Centre in May took a dramatic turn when Christopher’s father collapsed at their table and had to be rushed to hospital. “I’m relieved to say he’s okay,” says Christopher.

One of the key points of difference the judges praised about the O’Malleys is how they are embracing technology to boost farm health and safety.

The couple find WhatsApp an invaluable tool for keeping in touch with what’s happening on farm, from the mundane to potential risks.

“So, for example, we can let everyone know if there’s a wire across a track, so don’t drive your motorbike down the hill. Or if I’m off the farm, the person milking can text and say when the cows are locked away so that I know they are safe.”

The judges also noted how the O’Malleys had

been able to put together a high-quality herd within a budget constraint. When they signed up for their current 50:50 sharemilking position, they had no cows. As Christopher says, it was because the job came up in April, very late in the season.

“So we’d either sold or leased out all our animals. We spent May driving around the country trying to find 500 animals to milk!”

Along with sharemilking, Christopher and Siobhan are raising a family of three – Finnian, five, Aisling, four, and Ruairi, one.

Christopher, who was named 2016 MidCanterbury Rugby Referee of the Year, somehow finds time for his favourite off-farm recreation too.

“I’m still refereeing senior rugby in Mid Canterbury – it’s the one thing I have to myself!” he laughs Farm ownership is their ultimate goal. Nothing seems impossible for this hard-working couple who have already come so far and whose favourite saying remains, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know, do better.”

(Maya Angelou).

As well as being busy sharemilkers, Christopher and Siobhan O’Malley are raising a young family of three, Finnian, five, Aisling, four and Ruairi, one (left).

68 |

FENCING » FCANZ conference

Business Rural

Conference draws record numbers Karen Phelps More than 100 industry-related attendees gathered in Christchurch from July 28-20 to make this year’s Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand annual conference and annual meeting the biggest in the organisation’s history.

This theme was about bringing people together and developing business.

FCANZ president Mike Billinghurst says it was a good opportunity for delegates to mingle and swap information, to explore fresh ideas and best-practice techniques, and to hear and see talks and demonstrations from partners, sponsors and speakers.

The focus was not just on physical skills, but also on how to run a business professionally, he says. Advice was offered from the ANZ Bank, the Accident Compensation Commission, Crombie Lockwood and Successful Tradie.

A field trip took delegates to view the manufacturing process of Steel & Tube’s Hurricane netting, to observe a Stockade demonstration of staple-gun maintenance, and to see a Power Farming industrial-fencing project.

A casual dinner event provided the opportunity for members to mingle and get to know each other, which was particularly important because of the number of first-time attendees, says Mike.

The next day, partners had a day of pampering and shopping while delegates headed off for demonstrations and a “fun” North Island-South Island fencing competition.

This included demonstrations and support from sponsors and partners – Wiremark and Steel & Tube, Gallagher, Farmlands, Milwaukee, Stockade, Stihl, Mahindra, Waratah, and Permapine. Kerry Godinet from KG Marketing Ltd, and Strainrite Fencing Systems also supported the event.

• To page 70

The focus was not only on physical skills at the Fencing Contractors’ Association of New Zealand annual conference, but also how to run a business. Advice was offered from the ANZ Bank, the Accident Compensation Commission, Crombie Lockwood and Successful Tradie. Photo: Fairbrother Industries

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FENCING » FCANZ conference

Business Rural

| 69

Fencer training formalised Karen Phelps For the first time in many years, Fencing Contracting Association of New Zealand members will have access to New Zealand Qualifications Authority training.

FCANZ president Mike Billinghurst says the NZQA training will be available before the end of this year.

He says training has been identified as a key area of need in the fencing industry, and the association has has been working for some time with the Primary ITO to establish a training provider for fencing qualifications.

Although a qualification is not necessary for contractors to operate in the industry, he says the FCANZ is aiming to lift the overall professionalism and to encourage young people into the industry.

“There is a skills shortage and we need to encourage more people into the industry. Fencing is a physically demanding profession, but it is also very rewarding and a good lifestyle where there

is the opportunity to make good money. It’s very satisfying to look back at the end of a day and see the results of your labour.”

He says the proposed training is intended to encourage new people into the industry and to improve the skills of those already involved.

It will be complemented by FCANZ field days over the next year in Gore, Oamaru, the King Country and the Waikato. These will showcase best practice through demonstrations of fencing at each location.

Mike says some top-notch people will be presiding over each day with father and son Paul and Jason Van Beers at the South Island days.

“Paul is a 14-times winner of the Golden Pliers, Jason has been a finalist twice, and the pair have won the Silver Spades doubles championship together.”

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FCANZ members will have access to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to provide training for fencing qualifications. Photo: Fairbrother Industries

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70 |

FENCING » FCANZ conference

Business Rural

Field day proves popular with FCANZ members • From page 68 Chainsaws were revved up, a new farm vehicle was showcased, and products were demonstrated.

Farmlands also held a ‘fastest battening’ competition, which proved popular. Explosives expert David Craig highlighted the safe use of explosives,.

“It was a real ‘have a go’ day,” says Mike

It was a real ‘have a go’ day. It was a ‘chance to trial different fencing techniques, products and learn more about best practice

Billinghurst. “It was a chance to trial different fencing techniques and products, and to learn more about best practice.”

The day ended with a gala dinner at which William Gallagher, head of the Gallagher Group, spoke.

The final day offered an opportunity to wind down with talks on health and safety, and a general question-and-answer session.

“Everyone enjoyed themselves, especially catching up with other delegates as it’s a networking type of industry,” says Mike. “There was a really good feeling in the room this year.

Everyone is really busy.”

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The Fencing Contractors’ Associaton of New Zealand annual conference field day gave members a chance to trial fencing techniques and products. Photo: Fairbrother Industries.

Agricultural products supplier Great Southern Group has brought together five long-standing companies combining a range of skills with local knowledge to ensure individual specifications and requirements are met.

The amalgamation of Waiareka Industries, Odlins, Mac’s Timber, Pooles Timber, and Hallidays Timber into Great Southern Group has created a company with more than 40 years of experience in providing top quality and service in farm fencing, timber solutions, farm buildings, and concrete products.

The company operates through most of the South Island, with branches conveniently located in Ashburton, Timaru, Waimate, Oamaru, Ranfurly, Cromwell, Milton, Gore and Invercargill.

Great Southern Group business manager Roy Duffell says the company’s range of timber would be one of the most comprehensive available. ‘Due to 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,” he says.

Great Southern Group has manufactured treated wooden fence posts and timber since the introduction of treatment chemicals in the early 1960s. “We have a very rigid quality control programme in place, which ensures a high standard of graded dimensions, straightness, and a smooth finish across all our products.”

Today the company treats timber with pure oxide chemicals, which leave much less residue on the wood surface and make the product cleaner and safe to handle, and less corrosive on wire and staples.

“We’re finding in this range people are coming to us because of our grading,” Duffell says. “Our posts are what we say they are or more. That’s really important for a fencing contractor, they want to be using something they know can be put in the ground and the job is done. They like using good quality products.”

A complete range of wooden posts, poles, and piles is available, treated with a chromated

copper arsenate (CCA) preservative, and backed up by a no questions asked 50 year guarantee against rot, fungal decay, and insect attack. Great Southern Group is a member of the New Zealand WOODmark Quality Assurance Programme, and all its treated timber meets New Zealand treatment standards and conforms to the high standards and vigorous tests imposed by WOODmark.

The company is quickly becoming known as the one stop fencing shop, stocking everything needed to build any sized permanent or electric fence, including netting, wire, steel standards, droppers and insulators they also specialise in making wooden gates to customers specifications.

Great Southern Group’s concrete division is well known for producing one of the most complete ranges of concrete products available. All of these products are made from high strength 35-40 MPA concrete, which is reinforced with fibre, steel or both.

“Included in our full range of troughs is one of the best designed, very popular 1500 litre round cattle troughs, with a separate trough chamber,” Duffell says. “Other concrete products are single and double sided cattle feed troughs, fuel bunds septic tanks, and concrete posts Great Southern Group also provides a number of farm buildings options, and has forged a reputation for having one of the toughest sheds available.

They manufacture their own designed 5 star dog motel with galvanised cage with an iron roof and a xtra large galvanised wooden lined kennel. These are available in a single, double and triple options.

They also have a comprehensive range of multipurpose small buildings which are relocatable, skid mounted and can come in a kitset form which is quick and easy to assemble.

These come in a range of sizes and designs and are used in many applications like: Stables, Animal shelters, Woodshed, Tool shed, Vehicle shed, Calf rearing shed, Garden shed Green house, Hen Houses.

FENCING » Renner Fencing

Business Rural

| 71

Security work ‘has really taken off’ Kelly Deeks Long-standing Marlborough fencing contractor firm Renner Fencing is now being run by the second generation, Company founder Terry Renner’s sons, Brad and Michael, have taken over and are bringing a few new thoughts into the business.

“When they see a new idea at one of these big field days, the young fellows are keen to try it,” Terry says.

Terry Renner has been fencing around Marlborough since 1968, and from its base in Seddon, Renner Fencing’ services the area from Clarence to Rai Valley, and everywhere in between.

Brad and Michael have been involved in the business for nearly 20 years; Brad runs the fencing side of things and Michael handles the administration.

Their wives, Michelle and Olivia, and their mother, Karen, all work in the office. Terry is nearing retirement age, but says he has a few good working years left in him.

Which is good, says Michael, as they have so much work on even Michael is on the tools three days a week to keep up with demand.

Renner Fencing is now working with the third generation of some farming families, with sons and grandsons of many of Terry’s original customers now running their family farms.

When Michael came into the business, he had recently returned from overseas and he brought some ideas with him.

“We expanded from our vineyard development work and basic stock fencing, and started getting

into decking and timber fencing, he says. We also began getting into the town market, which is seasonal and we do a lot more during the summer months.

“In time we got into security fencing as well. Paul Fitzsimmons, of KC Fence Systems in Christchurch, sent us a trainer free of charge to bring us up to speed, and since then, security fencing has really taken off.”

The company has recently completed 1.2 kilometres of security fencing around the RNZAF Base Woodbourne, near Blenheim, and also around Marlborough Airport, and the new netball courts and carparking area at Lansdowne Park.

With security fencing booming, Renner Fencing is boosting its security-fencing capacity specialists by training an additional staff member.

Vineyard development work is still strong, with 260 hectares of new vineyard development fenced this season.

“The advance of the grape industry has seen all the good land already put into grapes, so many of the areas we’re putting new trellis into now are hard, tough areas,” Michael says. “Three years ago, we bought a larger driver to get through this tough land.”

But despite the changes in the industry and the company’s services over the last 20 years, it still comes down to good materials and workmanship, and good staff doing the job properly, he says.

“All of our workers have got their own strengths, from security fencing to stock fencing, but we are still only as good as our hydraulic team, or mechanical team, or transport providers who will all work into the night to ensure we can be back on site fencing the next day.”

PHOTOS: Stock fencing (above), stockyards and security fencing (left) are some of the services provided by Seddon-based Renner Fencing.

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72 |

FENCING » Romahapa Fencing

Business Rural

Fencing – from 2000ft to the sea Kelly Deeks Having grown up on a family farm in South Otago, then moving to farm work and later a deer manager position, Derek Paterson dreamed of owning his own deer unit.

“I knew I would have to look at doing something for myself to make this happen,” he says. With all of the farm work he had done, he knew a lot about fences, and sheep and cattle yards.

So they took a gamble on starting Romahapa Fencing in 2003 – “and after meeting the bank’s criteria and getting some clients, off fencing I went.”

His wife was working as a meat inspector and they had three young children.

“In time we sold at Romahapa and bought a 30-acre (12-hectare) block at Owaka where we had a variety of animals, including deer for an animal park,” Derek says.

“It was during this time that dairy prices were skyrocketing, and I realised that land prices were continuing to be out of reach. Just as well, I really enjoyed fencing.”

The Paterson family found their dream home by the seaside, so another move was in order – from the top of the hill to the sea, and with that came downsizing in land.

Romahapa Fencing now runs a staff of three men, including Derek.

“We work for some really great clients, from Middlemarch to Gore, from 2000ft to sea level, and

They took a gamble on starting – and after meeting the bank’s criteria and getting some clients, off fencing I went. we even put a fence out to the Nuggets,” Derek says.

Romahapa Fencing’s main business has been rural fencing – which includes deer yards, cattle yards, and sheep yards. However, over the last five years, the business has taken a gamble by broadening its operation to include urban fencing with post and rail, which can be two or three rails depending on the preference of individual clients.

Following a request from a client eight years ago, Romahapa Fencing extended its repertoire in include building driveways around houses and lifestyle blocks.

The company operates two D21 Komatsu bulldozers, with post-drivers, a system that works well in keeping up with clients’ workloads.

“We can meet most people’s needs and we endeavour to leave our clients happy,” Derek says.

“After 14 years in business, we feel we have achieved this. And we look forward to continuing to do so for the next 14 years.”

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PHOTOS: Romahapa Fencing has broadened its operation to include residential post-and-rail. The company operates two tracked Komatsu bulldozers with post-drivers.

RURAL SERVICES » Exquisite Wool Blankets/Yaldhurst Wools

Business Rural

| 73

‘Nature’s wonder’ helps Polly pander Kelly Deeks A love of wool and high-quality woollen products drives Polly McGuckin’s business, Exquisite Wool Blankets.

“It’s hard work but I keep trying to think of ways to develop the business using wool,” she says.

He established Exquisite Wool Blankets in 2008.

Her family’s business, Yaldhurst Wools, has long supplied the Hainsworth mill in England with New Zealand wool, sourcing from farms around the South Island for many years.

Hainsworth produces the John Atkinson New Zealand wool blankets on which Polly’s business was established.

She says the wool trade has played a huge role in writing the history of the United Kingdom and, of course, the same is true for New Zealand.

But competing with the cheaper prices in the synthetic market has today’s wool industry suffering, even though for consumers, buying a woollen product in the first instance would eliminate the need to replace synthetic products multiple times.

Back in the 1660s, the British Parliament passed an act stating every body being buried had to be wrapped in a woollen shroud. The act helped the ailing textile industry of the time to get back on its feet, and while our government hasn’t passed any similar acts to help today’s wool industry, its emphasis is still on finding new ways to use wool.

“We can’t dictate what people have to use anymore, so I’ve got to concentrate on ways of using wool,” Polly says.

“The fibre is fantastic. Even though it’s all doom

and gloom with the crossbred wool prices at the moment, there is positivity in the finer microns because of change of fashion.”

For Polly, wool has so many positive aspects.

She calls it nature’s wonder fibre. Wool is warm in winter and cool in summer. Its durable, low allergy, 100 per cent environmentally friendly, and can last for decades. Its breathable, resistant to bacteria, mould, and mildew, and filters dangerous carbons from the atmosphere. It has natural odour control and flame retardant properties.

She says Exquisite wool blankets bounce back, wrinkles fall out easily, and they allow for up to 25% deeper sleep.

Polly says while wool still accounts for only 2% of the global fibre trade, its producers and marketers don’t want it to be a luxury item.

“We want it to be affordable to everyone. That’s why I’ve moved out of retail and concentrated on being on line, so that I can get wool exposed and marketed to people at a more affordable price.”

Her business has grown to include woollen throws and scarves, and the Natural Legacy wool caskets and ash urns that were developed in 2009 after a chance uncovering of that act of Parliament.

Gentle on the eye and soft to the touch, Natural Legacy caskets and ash urns are available in wool white and limestone grey.

This year Polly added another timeless way of using wool to her range with genuine, hand-made Harris Tweed handbags and hip-flasks.

Her Harris Tweed products come with the Orb Mark, Britain’s oldest surviving certification mark which ensures the tweed has been hand-woven by the islanders at their home in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides.

PHOTOS: Harris Tweed handbags and hipflasks (above) from Exquisite Wool Blankets, are certified to ensure that the tweed has been hand-woven by islanders at their home in the Outer Hebrides and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun there. Hainsworth Mill in England produces John Atkinson New Zealand wool blankets and throws (left).

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74 |

RURAL SERVICES » Bobby calf regulations

Business Rural

Bobby calf rules change Seven new regulations now regulate the handling of bobby calves by farmers and transporters. Four came into effect on August 1, 2016, and the other three took effect from August 1 this year.

According to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the regulations “set standards and requirements in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge, and ensure appropriate penalties can be applied to incentivise those in charge of calves to change their behaviour”.

The act refers to “young calves”. A “young calf” is defined as “up to 14 days of age” and “separated from its mother”.

The four regulations introduced in August last year were: • The killing of any, not just young, calves

by blunt-force trauma prohibited, except in an emergency.

• Calves must be at least 96 hours old, and display certain physical characteristics, including being disease-free and able to stand and move freely, before being transported.

• Maximum journey time of 12 hours for calves.

• Transportation of calves across Cook Strait prohibited.

The three regulations due to come into force on August 1 this year are: • Loading and unloading facilities so that calves can walk onto and off vehicle on their own.

All reasonable and practicable steps must be taken to provide these facilities.

• Suitable shelter must be provided for calves before and during transportation and at points of sale and slaughter.

The MPI says farmers should talk with transport operators about design, location and consent requirements before finalising shelter sheds. It says Dairy New Zealand can also provide some guidance on the process.

• Calves must be slaughtered as soon as slaughter premises. Feeding is required if calves cannot be slaughtered within 24 hours of their last feed on the farm.

Infringement of the regulations can attract fines of up to $5000 for individuals and up to $25,000 for body corporates.

The MPI says it offers education and

awareness programmes on the new regulations, is communicating to raise awareness and promote best practice, and is implementing a programme to monitor and assess compliance with the regulations through the use of inspectors’ The ministry also says farmers, transporters and processors need to talk to one another about meeting the requirements and working out the detail.

“If you own or are in charge of calves, you may need to change your current practice, systems and facilities.”

• Details of Animal Welfare (Calves) Regulations 2016: New Zealand. MPI hotline (0800 008333). legislation website (www.legislation.govt.nz).

PHOTOS (left and facing page: Examples of sheds and holding pens that comply with the new regulations for the handling and transportation of bobby calves.

Business Rural

RURAL SERVICES » Bobby calf regulations

| 75

It starts on the farm with the best-practice checklist Bobby calves entering the supply chain have a lot to cope with, so it’s important farmers ensure their calves are healthy, strong and fit before being transported.

The Taranaki Bobby Calf Action Group has come up with an eight-point checklist of best-practice guidelines that farmers must tick off before a calf can be cleared for transportation.

Calves must be: * At least four days old. * Ears up and eyes clear. * Correct eartag. * Dry navel. * No scours. * Firm and worn hooves. * Standing and walking. * Full tummy – no antibiotic milk.

Bobby calves also need to be separated from their keepers when ready for transportation.

The group says it is important for staff selecting the bobby calves to know these eight points that must be ticked off before the calves can leave the gate.

Calves that do not meet these guidelines will not be picked up by the transport company.

“No matter the fate of a calf, all calves should be treated the same,” says the group Designated bobby calves should have a dedicated area that meets criteria developed by the Taranaki Bobby Calf Action Group:

• The holding pen needs to be 1.1 metres from solid ground, level with the truck deck to meet transport-company loading requirements, and with all-weather access. It should be two metres high so that the working area is safe for all workers.

• There should be steps on the side of the pen, preferably on the left-hand side.

• A loading platform (preferably not a ramp) should come from the holding pen at truck level straight into the truck so that the bobby calves can walk straight onto the truck.

• Holding pens need to be enclosed and set off the road to minimise public visibility.

• Holding pens must be at least 25 metres away from milking facilities.

Holding pens must be big enough for all calves to be able to lie down comfortably. Pen size will vary depending on farm size and calf numbers.

A guide is: 2.4m x 2.4m for 17-20 jersey/cross breeds or 15-17 holstein/friesians.

The ideal flooring for holding pens is slats or grating, so that the floor is non-slip. There must also be adequate ventilation. Bobby calves need to be separated from their keepers when ready for transportation.

The group says it is important for staff selecting bobby calves to know these eight points that must be ticked off before the calves can leave the gate.

Calves that do not meet these guidelines will not be picked up by the transport company.

Business Rural

76 |

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INDEX »

Alex & Elle Taylor ..................................... 52-53

Grant family ................................................. 10-12

Peters Farms................................................ 46-47

Ardleigh Deer .................................................31

Hamish & Sheree Haugh....................................59

Prime Range Meats ..................................... 14-16

Armidale .................................................. 40-41

Hayden Peter .....................................................33

Puketira Deer ............................................... 28-29

Arnie & Robert Gray ................................ 38-39

James & Laurie Hill ...........................................51

Raft Creek ..........................................................30

Beer Brothers .................................................37

Jeremy & Julie Cameron ...................................58

Raywell Farm .......................................................5

Bell family ......................................................49

John & Mary Lindsay .........................................60

Renner Fencing ..................................................71

Bobby calf regulations ............................. 74-75

John & Sally Andrews ........................................53

Robert & Cindy Rosser ......................................55

Cheddar Valley Station............................. 42-43

John & Tracey Hickman .....................................17

Roger & Alison Thomas .....................................63

Chris Medlicott......................................... 50-51

Kane & Lisa Heaps ...................................... 24-25

Rom,ahapa Fencing ...........................................72

Christopher & Siobhan O’Malley ....................67

Kevin & Sheila McCallum ..................................62

RudI Bauer ....................................................... 8-9

Colhoun Genetics ...........................................43

Lance & Wendy Main .........................................66

Sam & Viki Holland ............................................45

Dan & Brett Frew ...........................................80

Maclean family ..................................................44

Stonyhurst Partnership .................................... 3-4

Daniel & Amanda Schat .................................19

Mark & Gillian Evans ................................... 20-21

Stu & Lorraine Duncan................................. 56-57

David & Glenis Crutchley ...............................13

Marty Kelly................................................... 18-19

Terry Dennis................................................. 34-35

Derek & Bronwyn Chamberlain ................ 54-55

Michael & Emma Sutherland .............................57

Todd Anderson ...................................................47

Exquiste Wool Blankets ..................................73

Mike McElrea .....................................................61

Waikaka Genetics ..............................................35

Edwin & Fungai Mabonga ..............................12

Mike & Buff Power ....................................... 26-27

Wayne & Tania .................................

Fencing Contractors’ Association............. 68-70

Nelson & Fiona Hancox................................ 64-65

Webbs Fruit..........................................................7

Frazer & Karen Allen........................................9

Nithdale Genetics ......................................... 36-37

Wilfield Stud ................................................ 48-49

Graham & Pam Hunter ............................. 22-23

Organics ............................................................32

Zach Haderbache ...............................................25

6-7

80 |

ON FARM » Dan & Brett Frew

Business Rural

Jammin’ it up on family farm Richard Loader Entrepreneurial brothers Dan and Brett Frew are gearing up for a flippin’ great time on their Southland farm in February 2018.

The buzz of motorcycles, the rattle of mountain and BMX bikes, and cheers of an energised audience will signify the start of Farm Jam – the one-day, freestyle-jump event sponsored by Red Bull.

Born from a passion for motorcycles, a vision of a ‘chilled out, casual freestyle event’, along with creative farm diversification, Farm Jam roared into life on the international stage 10 years ago, never so much as glancing in the rear-vision mirror.

Held on the Frew family’s working sheep farm on the Otapiri Gorge, near Winton, the popular event is run every second year to maintain its freshness and to provide breathing space for the Frew farm and family responsibilities.

Dan’s passion for motorcycles started when he and Brett were little kids trying to help their dad chase sheep from one paddock to another.

“We thought we could do it quicker on motorbikes than Dad could do it with the dogs. We had a lot of fun,” says Dan. After leaving home the brothers pursued nonfarm-related careers. Dan spent two or three years riding motorbikes professionally, performing jump stunts for The Crusty Demons.

He decided to move back to the farm in 2006, while Brett returned in 2010.

“I was always going to be a farmer,” Dan says. “I loved Southland and the home farm, and I always enjoyed farming with Dad because he was innovative and progressive.”

Two sides of the Frew family farm business...the international Farm Jam event (2016 version above) and sheep on the move (left).

The brothers set up jumps and a motorcycle course in the paddocks, and invited friends to bring their bikes and join the fun. Dan and Brett had seen jump courses overseas, and knew what riders liked and what spectators enjoyed seeing. They decided to develop a professional public event.

Dan approached contacts at Red Bull who

were very supportive, agreeing to provide financial backing with an extensive media package but did not seek to own the event itself.

“What started off being a ‘jump jam’ in the backyard has developed a long way,” says Dan. “Now we are getting 25 international riders, 80 local riders and 3000 spectators. It has become a very well known international event and recognised within the riding community for being unique.”

The event has provided the farm with an additional income stream, and the Southland community has reaped rewards as athletes, media crews and spectators use local accommodation, restaurants, cafes and bars.

It has also profiled this part of the country through print, internet and television coverage.

Dan says his parents are very supportive of the event and come the day, have their sleeves rolled up: “Mum helps out with food and Dad is especially handy around helping us with the set-up.”

The brothers share their father’s innovative and progressive spirit. They run a busy sheep farm and have young families, yet have developed an international event that is on many riders’ bucket list and looked forward to by spectators.

Roll on February; let the good times roll.

Proud to support Dan and Brett Frew

PO Box 41, Winton 9741

• Silage • Round Baling & Wrapping • Direct Drilling • Fodder Beet Planting All Cultivation work • Ploughing - Sowing All digger & Truck work Phone/Fax: (03) 236 4149 • Tony Mobile: 027 454 5674 Email: keencontracting@xtra.co.nz