| 49 RURAL PEOPLE » Riverhill Farm Horses are part and parcel of life on Riverhills, the family’s hill country property near Ohura. Stockwork is mostly done on horseback. P. 0508 159 159 E. info@focusgenetics.com W. www.focusgenetics.com It’s a busy time for equestrian sports and we had a lot of people ordering online for Christmas. Sue prefers to have product on hand, so the saddlery has taken over a couple of bedrooms in the house!” When the family goes to equestrian events, Sue takes the King Country Saddlery gazebo along too. “It helps spread the word – it’s making a difference.” In recent years, carbon farming companies have been moving into the King Country and buying up sheep and beef farms for forestry. Sue and Dean have no intention of going down the forestry route themselves, with pastoral farming still their main focus. Half a neighbouring farm is going into forestry but the owners recently agreed to lease the other half to Sue and Dean for 12 months, with an option to purchase that land at the end of the lease. That takes Riverhills to 1900ha, complemented by ‘Pukerata’, a 500ha finishing block to the north in the Tapuiwahine Valley. With 2024 shaping up to be another financially challenging year for farmers, Dean is continuing to chase production on the farm with a target of adding an extra kilo on every lamb. As a breeder of quality Angus bulls, Dean anticipates ongoing strong demand for their dairy service bulls, sold privately from October to December. A close eye is being kept on the farm budget, with cutbacks in areas like weed control and fertiliser applications. Rather than bulk fertilising the whole farm, Dean says they have split it into three sections and will fertilise a third of the farm each year. “There’s no new capital development and no money in this year’s budget for new fences. We have increased the size of the farm, but at the moment are holding off taking on any extra labour. Overall, what we’re trying to do is trim costs while still maintaining performance and production.”
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