| 19 Reacting to change critical to survival Dean and Antoinette Martin have made numerous changes on Glenlands Farm since taking over the farm in 2014. Ange Davidson RURAL PEOPLE » Glenlands Farm Droughts, ooding and a near worthless wool clip are behind numerous enterprising changes made on Glenlands Farm since Dean and Antoinette Martin took over the 244 hectare farm in the Esk Valley, Hawkes Bay in 2014. Dean had come back to farm Glenlands in partnership with his parents, Sue and Gerald Martin, in 2006, just as a crippling drought settled over much of the East Coast. This prompted a move to holistic grazing practises to maximise the pastures photosynthesising potential by grazing at the top of the pasture growth curve. “The seeded grasses are knocked to the ground during grazing and trampled into the soil which provide cover, especially during summer and in the wet, and creates an ideal environment for seed germination and survival. We have longer grazing rotations and the system gives us greater exibility to adjust to whatever nature throws at us,” says Dean. Adjusting to change is what Dean and Antoinette have been doing since they took over the reins at Glenlands. With a background in accounting, Antoinette did a feasibility study for the farm which con rmed that they were making a major loss on their wool clip. By including the cost of Dean’s labour with poor wool prices and increased shearing costs, the decision was made to eliminate wool and invest in Wiltshire ewes and rams to breed out their Texel ock. The growth rate for Wiltshire lambs wasn’t as good as the Texels and they looked overseas for other shedding breeds. • to page 20 NAPIER: 06 843 5308 HASTINGS: 06 876 7001 WAIPUKURAU: 06 858 9060 WWW.VSHB.CO.NZ OUR COMMUNITY, OUR ANIMALS Proud to provide legal advice to Glenlands Farm LEADING LAW IN HAWKES BAY ATTN13CLD06 www.carliledowling.co.nz p. 06 835 7394 67 Ra es Street, NAPIER
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