30 | ‘When you get an asset, you improve it’ Stuart (left) and Roger. Kim Bowden In 1925, when Roger and Stuart Cotton’s grandfather first stepped onto Bellamy Station (Run 137A), his first order of business was pest control work. He cleared 30,000 rabbits off the land before he could really start farming. Today, the 2,900-acre (1,173 hectare) property at Evans Flat, halfway between Lawrence and Beaumont in inland Otago, stands as a testament to more than a century of the family’s golden rule: “Whenever you get an asset...you improve it”. The brothers have overseen a significant expansion of the estate, growing it from the 1,800 acres originally farmed by their father, Graeme, to where it is now. But for Roger and Stuart, improvement isn’t just about the size of the boundary fence; it is about running the farm smarter overall. The most visible shift is what Roger calls “the tree thing” - a pragmatic pivot to forestry on steep, marginal hill country blocks that they began four years ago. Now, they have 300 hectares of trees, with 263 hectares registered in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). “We looked at our business model and our age and thought, ‘How can we make the most of our land and time?’,” he says. “That’s what attracted us to the trees.” Inside the farm gate, the livestock operation has been progressively refined under the brothers’ tenure as well. They usually winter approximately 200 head of cattle each year, and most of them are sold to the Wakanui Feedlot. New Zealand Century Farm and Station Awards » Bellamy Station Delivering honest, prescriptive fertiliser solutions grounded in science Proudly partnering with farmers to • Balance Soil • Increase Profit • Improve Animal Health • Develop Nutrient Rich Plants Contact Us Today office@fertlink.co.nz fertlink.co.nz 10 Irvine Street, Lawrence | 0274 535 954 FITZGERALD HAYLAGE Congratulates ‘Bellamy Station’ For achieving 100 years of Farming by the Cotton Family of Evans Flat • to page 32 Graeme 027 304 4520 Tony 027 667 0627 millersflat.trans@xtra.co.nz School Rd, RD2, Millers Flat
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