38 | 2,700ha Taieri Lake Station acquired Four Rivers Farming in East Otago has expanded its operation. Aimee Wilson Four Rivers Farming in East Otago has expanded its operation with the recent purchase of the 2,700ha Taieri Lake Station near Middlemarch. Added to the 8800ha of coastal and rolling hill country near Waikouaiti and the finishing block at Taieri Mouth, the Four Rivers team manages up to 55,000 stock units of Romney sheep and Angus cattle at its peak in late summer. With 280ha irrigated, Taieri Lake will enable the business to build up capital stock numbers and finish all their own progeny along with some dairy grazing in the interim. At Waikouaiti they are also investing in Halter technology for 250 of their mixed age beef cows. Primarily used in the dairy industry, general manager John Fitzgerald said Halter hasn’t been used in their neck of the woods on East Otago hill country, and it was pretty exciting to see how they can improve production in the early stages. “One of our biggest challenges is that we have a stocking rate that our farm can handle, but we get such fluctuations on our grass.” If they aren’t weaning their lambs until the end of January, then it can affect milk production of their ewes, “because they often lose feed quality on their hill country so they aren’t eating good quality grass.” The Halter technology will allow them to better manage their cattle on the hill country before the feed quality deteriorates after Christmas, with the hope of being able to create better quality and improve not only cattle production but sheep performance as well. Despite this season being very wet and windy, the farm has seen strong grass growth and it has been a great summer to be farming. “It has been a remarkable turnaround since early 2024,” he said. Otago experienced an extreme weather just before Christmas two years ago, with between DAIRY PEOPLE » 4 Rivers Farming Company Ltd For all your Livestock cartage requirements give us a call. Full fencing service, from rural fencing to residential & commercial, retaining walls and more. Proud to support 4 Rivers Farming Crutching Trailers & Conveyor Available 160mm and 190mm of rain falling between the two properties over 72 hours. While the consistent rainfall was good this season, westerly winds throughout lambing and right through until Christmas has been relentless - then they switched to easterlies. The farm hasn’t seen a lot of sun this season, and John said that will have some impact on growth of the younger stock. Four Rivers Farming employs up to 12 staff at its peak, and finding the right team with the appropriate skills is always important. Outside of the workplace, John has moved up into the role of Beef+Lamb NZ Chair (Central South Island), advocating for farmers in the region. “There is a lot of optimism around at the moment. You only have to roll back the dial 18 months and it was a very different story.” The Government’s new RMA legislation is front and centre of everyone’s minds, but until those final decisions are made, farmers are enjoying the high lamb and beef prices that haven’t been seen for years. In other volunteer work around the district, John and six other landowners formed Mt Watkins/ Hikarora Conservation Group several years ago, to protect a local reserve along with native vegetation on the surrounding farmland. The 600ha area is one of the last remaining original native forests in Otago and has a lot of cultural significance to the local area. The focus of the group is the control of introduced predators and monitoring in the reserve and on the properties surrounding it, with an expansion of scope to manage the remaining pest species, habitat restoration, and the re-introduction of taonga species in the future. “We’ve had overwhelming success and now employ a fulltime co-ordinator and just recently have had groups of Waikouaiti Primary School kids visit the reserve for the first time while on a local school camp.” Civil Contracting, Earthworks, Kerb & Channel, and Drainage www.cargillcontracting.co.nz | (03) 482 2721
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