| 11 Merino breeding the lifeblood of the operation The farm produces Glentanner Merino rams, both polled and horned, designed for New Zealand’s challenging high-rainfall environments. Photo: Ben Doubleday. Karen Phelps MEAT & WOOL » Glentanner Station Merino At Catherine Fields high-quality merino breeding is more than a sideline - it is the lifeblood of the operation. Owned by Mark and Kate Ivey the farm produces Glentanner Merino rams, both polled and horned, designed for New Zealand’s challenging high-rainfall environments. “The stud has been carefully developed over decades to produce sheep that combine excellent wool quality with strong carcass traits, suited to high-rainfall, gorge-type properties,” explains Mark. Taken over by Mark and Kate in 2017, Catherine Fields, near Lake Pukaki, was originally part of the 4,000-hectare Glentanner Station, which has been run by the Ivey family since 1957. The Glentanner Merino stud has roots in the mid-1980s, when Mark’s father Ross Ivey purchased horned merino ewes from the Grampians Stud in New Zealand. Horned rams were bred exclusively until 2008 when polled genetics were introduced in response to client demand. The stud was halved to allow equal focus on horned and polled lines. Today it comprises around 550 ewes, with 50 to 60 rams sold annually by private treaty at the end of January. Catherine Fields spans 485 hectares of sheep, beef, deer and a small cereal cropping programme, with barley grown as part of the rotation. The farm winters around 2,000 merino sheep, 200 Angus and Angus-cross cattle and 350 Red deer. The merino breeding programme is highly focused, balancing wool quality and meat traits to suit local conditions. “We produce a medium to fine-medium type with broad, crimpy, well-marked wool that’s well suited to the conditions. Using EBVs, we select animals with good eye muscle area and positive fat while maintaining wool cut and nourishment. While we want positive fats and muscle we believe you can’t chase it to the extreme without losing wool cut and nourishment to be suitable in high rainfall areas so it’s getting a happy medium.” Partners: Paul Wolffenbu�el | Jasveen Singh | Nick Krivan | Kalpesh Hari | Mark Evans | Emma Gilkison 39 George Street, Timaru 7910 | PO Box 125, Timaru 7940 Email: hcmail@hcpartners.co.nz | Phone: 03 687 9222 | Website: www.hcpartners.co.nz HC Partners LP are proud to support Glentanner Station Merino chartered accountants PARTNERSLP Your Agri business partner We partner with you so you can focus on doing what you do best. Give Brent a call for a free no obligation chat to find out how we can help you reach your full potential. Brent Love T: (03) 683 1871 | M: (027) 528 1537 | E: blove@kpmg.co.nz kpmgenterprise.co.nz | facebook.com/KPMGFarmEnterprise Phone Robert 021 090 45608, James 03 614 7080 or Donald 021 187 8186 963 Cleland Road, Pleasant Point www.sternangus.co.nz Feed Pads Since the early 1990s genetics have been sourced from Australia and Australian-based sheep classer Chris Bowman continues to advise on breeding decisions. Recent years have seen an emphasis on dual-purpose traits - moderate-framed sheep with plenty of twist, meat in the backend, and wool measuring 18 to 19 microns. “I think we’re seeing a trend back to chasing quality wool. The industry as a whole has in the last 15 years gone down the path of dual purpose animals, which has improved lambing percentages and meat yield in merinos which is great. But in pursuit of chasing that quickly the quality of the wool has suffered a bit so there needs to be more emphasis on that and wool weight. All our wool goes to New Zealand Merino, with a long-term supply contract with Icebreaker. We are breeding sheep that produce wool perfect for the active leisurewear market.” While merinos form the core of the enterprise, cattle and deer provide diversity. Angus calves using Stern Angus genetics are finished at 18 to 20 months while Red hinds are mated to a terminal Elk composite sire sourced from Peel Forest Estate and processed at around 11 months and an average of 57 kilos. Mark runs the farm largely independently, bringing in casual staff and contractors as required, while Kate operates Kate Ivey Health and Fitness, her highly successful online health platform business. The couple also have three children - Olivia, 15, Gus, 13 and Imogen, 11 – who are all showing various interests in the farming life.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=