| 53 Totara trees growing like weeds Te Uranga B2 takes pride of place in the King Country. Richard Loader With totara trees growing so prolifically that they could almost be considered weeds, Maori incorporation owned sheep and beef farm Te Uranga B2 is a beautiful property that takes pride of place in the King Country. Rod walker, who has been the farm’s manager for the last eight years, says it doesn’t take very long for little totara seedlings to pop up in areas of bush that have been fenced off and out of harm’s way. “They grow exceptionally fast. A lot of farms in the area are covered in totara all through their paddocks. Visitors often comment about how scenic the farms are with the trees, and they provide really good shelter for the stock.” When Rod arrived on the farm the owners had already been very proactive with a planting regime and riparian planting around waterways was well underway, including a large well-established wetland area with flax plantings that had been fenced off. “I have continued to oversee the programme and we have planted a number of creeks and waterways with a diverse range of native trees including manuka. We are now up to about forty hectares of plantings, including creeks that were already fenced off.” Complementing the native plantations, Te Uranga B2 also includes plantations of pinus radiata. 37 hectares of plantation forestry was harvested and milled two years ago, and this winter that area will be prepared and replanted in pine RURAL PEOPLE » Te Uranga B2 Inc to help meet the farm’s carbon sequestration targets. 580 hectares of forestry are currently leased to a forestry company which has just commenced harvesting operations. When completed in two – three years that land will be replanted as part of the lease agreement, and returned to the incorporation who will take control of the trees. Just 12 minutes north of the quiet rural service town of Taumaranui, Te Uranga B2 is also home to 5000 FE tolerant Romney ewes, along with 1550 hoggets, finishing all progeny except for a handful of lambs sold store before the end of the year. This year 1000 of the hoggets were lambed. “We buy FE rams from Hildreth,” says Rod. “We get a little bit of facial eczema here but they have been bred for FE tolerance for many years so its incidence is limited. We also calve 300 angus cows and 75 twoyear-old heifers. The progeny are all finished, with the steers sold as two year olds. We go to the Gisborne bull sales every year and usually buy in from Kaharau Angus and Tangiahau Angus studs, along with a local Taumarunui stud – Black Ridge Angus stud.” Rod has been farming since leaving school at 16, almost four decades ago, and says he lives and breathes the life that he loves so much. “It is working with animals, being outdoors, and training dogs. It is the sort of thing you do as a kid, love it, and then get paid to do it.” Ably supporting Rod on the farm are shepherds Jacob and Nivea. BOOVBM CVMM TBMF $0OUBDU 6T ۬ɎƏȇǕǣǝƏɖƏȇǕɖɀ ³ɎɖƳȅƏɀɎƺȸ (ƺƏȇ xƬRƏȸƳɵ גהڷ וא אגא אבד ɎƏȇǕǣǝƏɖِɀɎƏɎǣȒȇ۬ɴɎȸƏِƬȒِȇɿ -XQH _ 30 « 0 0 ( X zJ È n n ³ ³ X z! 0 ח ג ח ɯɯɯ ِ Ɏ Ə ȇ Ǖ ǣ ǝ Ə ɖ Ə ȇ Ǖ ɖ ɀ ِ Ƭ Ȓ ِ ȇ ɿ DEAN & TERESA SHERSON 675 Taringamotu Road, RD 4, Taumarunui 3994 p: 07 896 7211 m: 027 690 2033 e: blackridgeangus@outlook.com Like and Find us on Facebook BLACK RIDGE ANGUS STUD TAUMARUNUI a family farming operation BULL SALE 25TH SEPT 11AM
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