Supported by the Sustainable Farming Fund

Hawkes Bay Advance Party seventhon-farm meeting

Wednesday 19 November2014

George Williams and Laura Billings

“Te Maire”

679 Matheson Road, Tikokino

Agenda:

Start with lunch at the homestead (provided, as usual). Four wheel drives will suffice as the farm is well laned and tracked.

12.45: Introductions and plan for the day Amy Wills is attending and delegating Tony Pearse to attend the same-day event at Invermay

1.00:Tour of Te Maire- start at deer shed then look at both deer farm areas and new shed site plan.

3.00: Return to homestead, smoko and group discussion for Te Maire deer. Consider financial data presentation format provided by George.

We need to also discuss a suitable date for the final 2014 group meeting at Charteris’ which will need to be in the first week of December

Also need to discuss questions for Sharon McIntyre regarding issues the group would like answered around breeding values and genetic improvement. Sharon would like to be able to provide answers to specific questions when she visits. See previous email circulated.

Te Mairestock numbers for winter 2014:

Stock class / Te Maire / su / Total su
Total area / 1188 ha / 13287su
Effective area / 970ha / 13.7 su/eff ha
Deer fenced area / 410 ha
Effective deer fenced area / 400ha / 6.4 deer su/deer ha
MA hinds (in fawn) / 200 / 2.4 / 480
R2 hinds RWS / 93 / 1.9 / 177
R1 hinds / 130 / 1.7 / 221
R1 stags / 126 / 1.7 / 214
R2 stags / 97 / 2.5 / 243
R2 stags venison / 2.5
R3 stags / 81 / 3.2 / 259
MA stags / 264 / 3.5 / 924
Sire stags / 11 / 3.5 / 39
deer / 996 / 2557
MA cows / 565 / 5.5 / 3108
R1 Heifers / 1127 / 4.5 / 5072
R2 heifers / 192 / 5.5 / 1056
R2 bulls / 5.5
R2 steers / 170 / 5.5 / 935
R3 steers / 5.5
cattle / 2055 / 10171
MA and 2T ewes (rwr) / 490 / 1.1 / 539
Lambs and hoggets / 20 / 0.7 / 14
Rams / 7 / 0.8 / 6
sheep / 517 / 559
Total / 3568 / 13287

NB: stock units based on DINZ for European red deer and on BLNZ information for sheep and cattle

Our Background

  • 1998 leased 500ha of Te Maire, leaving 140ha to be farmed by my father for his breeding hinds.
  • May 2000 lost my father in a motorbike accident on the farm. Managed the rest of the family farm, including Paretai (300ha flat farm on the Tikokino straight). At the time Paretai was running 1000 velveting Stags. I sold the majority of the stags (kept my father’s favourites and the breeding hinds)
  • November 2000 leased all of the family farm: Te Maire 640ha and Paretai 300ha
  • 2002 Purchased 280ha of Te Maire (south side of Matheson Road)
  • 2006 family sold Paretai
  • 2006 purchased the rest of Te Maire (360ha)
  • June 2006 started leasing Spencer MacDonald's farm next door to Te Maire (320ha) and a 40ha flat farm on Matheson Road
  • 2012 purchased MacDonald Farm
  • 2012 purchased Homeview, a 74ha flat and run down farm on Matheson Road, next to the 40ha lease farm (Margy's)
  • 2014 Purchased Homebush, a 120ha farm next to Te Maire. Also run down!
  • June 2014 moved farming operation from the Trust to the company "Temco Ag Ltd"

Today we are farming 1188ha (970ha effective) made up of...

  • 370ha flat of which 340ha can be cash cropped
  • 600ha medium Hills
  • 80ha pine trees
  • 50ha QEII fenced off native bush
  • 55ha fenced off native bush
  • 33ha scattered Totara trees

Our Team

  • George- manager
  • Laura- looks after George, Tessa, and Chalky! Does the book keeping.
  • Amy- responsible for stock movements and rotations.
  • Dan- full time tractor driver/general farm maintenance and also helps with stock when needed.

Stock policy

Cattle

Since 2011 we have had a change from finishing bulls to dairy heifer grazing. Transition was slow and painful, running friesianbulls and heifer graziers at the same time is not ideal!! But it meant we spread our risk of selling out of our cattle over two years. All heifers are contract grazed on a weight gain basis. Grazing is great for cash flow, not so good for pasture management. Rarely do you have a mob you can use to clean up a paddock.

Winter cow grazing on crop, good cash flow and works well with cash cropping.

Also carry 170R2 steers June till December to help combat the lack of grazing pressure in the spring.

Deer

The deer have become a personal passion of mine. Only started to enjoy farming them in the mid 2000's!! Bred solely for velvet- venison is more of a by-product.

The deer are proving to be a good mix of stock to have with the heifer grazing. MA hinds and stags do a great job of cleaning up after the heifers at certain times of the year.

The plan at this stage is to continue to grow the velvet herd. We have been breeding up our velvet herd since 2002 and are fortunate to have timed it well with an older herd and high prices in the last few years. Breeding all our own stags to get to this stage was slow and not so profitable!

This year we are averaging:

  • 5.9kg for MA stags 5yr+.
  • 4.6kg for 4yr olds
  • 3.8kg for 3yr olds

Wilkins Farming (WFL) Stud Stock. Since 2010 we have been the home of WFLs North Island Stag Sale. Mike Wilkins sends around 25 stags to us in early August and it is our responsibility to feed them as well as possible and prepare them for the on farm sale in December. We are paid a management fee for doing so and get the velvet.

Sheep

Sheep are basically for grazing laneways and steep gullies etc.

Cropping 2014-2015

  • 80ha malting barley
  • 14ha feed barley
  • 65ha process peas contracted to McCains
  • 80ha winter feed crops (kale and swedes, Goliath, oats and kale)
  • 36ha autumn feed
  • 180ha new grass per annum

We do our own cultivation and baling. Harvesting done by contractor.

Identified issues for Te Maire...

  • Improving velvet production through DNA or use of a spotting scope- cost/benefit and use of data
  • Financial comparisons and analysis- EFS summary and budgets will be presented

Identified group member issues at 2013 meeting...

Ru, Hugh, Ben:Completed AP on-farm meeting 10 April 2014

  • Identifying late born small fawns to their dams so dams can be culled
  • Adding terminal sires into the breeding programme
  • Improved weaner growth rates
  • Use of crops for R1 deer in particular
  • Developing a firm long term direction- venison and/or velvet?

Grant, George and Matt:

  • Improving velvet production through DNA or use of a spotting scope- cost/benefit and use of data

John, Marie and Daniel:Completed AP on-farm meeting 22 October

  • Loss of weight for velvet stags over rut
  • Drought and the effect on lactating hinds
  • Pasture persistence- grass grub, drought and persistence in general
  • Utilisation of recorded information for selection and sale- how much is too much?
  • Irrigation possibilities and future farming policy
  • Selection of outside genetics . Currently using Deer Improvement semen for AI. What are appropriate genetics to build on current performance and will they perform?

Matt and Paula:Completed AP on-farm meeting 4 September

  • Feeding two year olds at pinch periods and effects on lifetime performance
  • Improving velvet production through DNA or use of a spotting scope- cost/benefit and use of data
  • Weight loss in stags over autumn- management (feed, space) or science

Karen:Completed AP on-farm meeting 31 July

  • Better lactation performance from hinds- wean better weaners
  • Improve weaner weight gain in autumn
  • Start a velvet stag herd

Karen and Richard:Completed AP on-farm meeting 22 October

  • Improved weaner weights and continually improved velvet production
  • Riparian retirement- costs and practicalities

Evan and Linda:Completed AP on-farm meeting 2 July 2014

  • “Blank canvas”- any input on development plans welcome
  • Want to hold hind numbers but develop a plan to utilise the extra deer fenced area- velvet, improved feeding
  • Do things “better”- feeding, genetics source and pairing up hinds/fawns
  • How to best tap into potential genetic gains