Business Rural North Spring 2021

| 21 RURAL PEOPLE » Ngarakau Farm: James & Virginia Kilmister Meat, growth rates, fertility the focus The Kilmister clan: Henry, Sam, Ginny, Haana and James. With wool prices low, Kelso Romney bloodlines have been introduced to get “heavier lambs away off their mothers and a consistently higher lamb lambing percentage,” says James. Hugh de Lacy W ool’s still important to Ngarakau Farm but, after 121 years of it running pure Romneys, owners James and Virginia Kilmister have this year introduced a composite bloodline to get their carcass weights and lambing percentage up. The farm, three kilometres out of Hunterville in the Rangitikei, comprises a 620ha home block sup- ported by a 200ha leased block just down the road. The home block is mostly medium hill country, about 40ha of it croppable, and carries 2900 ewes and 1000 hoggets, plus 144 Angus cows, while the lease block, which is about a third flat, a third rolling and a third steep, carries 650 ewes, 44 cows and calves, 24 weaners, 25 rising three-year-old steers and 13 rising two-year-old heifers. The 40ha of cropable land on the home bloke has been sown in chicory and clover, mainly for summer grazing for lambs but also to produce some hay reserves. “It’s been a big change for us but this year we’ve brought in Kelso Romney bloodlines for the first time because we want to sell more lambs off the ewes and raise our lambing percentage consistently to around 140%,” James Kilmister says. “We’re still very conscious of maintaining and improving wool quality – no black spots – but we’ve taken a bigger focus on meat and growth rates and fertility in our ram selections.” James has sourced the Kelso influence from stud breeders Hamish Bibby and Matt Holden of Ongaonga in the Hawke’s Bay, and his long-term loyalty to wool was expressed by his buying Wools of New Zealand (WNZ) shares about ten years ago to take advantage of their lambswool contract offer. Ngarakau produces 27,000kg of wool a year, and from 2013 to 2019 the WNZ lambswool contract price ranged between $4 and $7.20 a kilogram. Covid put paid to those contracts two years ago and the price fell to a miserable $1.20/kg at auction last year, though the past few months have seen it inch up to between $1.60 and $1.80. The ewe wool is in the 38-40 micron range and under a new WNZ initiative it is shipped to Turkey to be made into carpets, then brought back to New Zealand to be marketed by floor-covering retail chain Flooring Extra. The arrangement prices the raw wool just above synthetic fibres, and both types compete for buyers in the Flooring Extra shops. “WNZ has done a lot of research into the signifi- cance of price to the carpet-buying public, and it shows that 80% of people buy on the basis of price, and just 20% on environmental sustainability,” James says. “There’s got to be a recovery in strongwool prices eventually, but it’ll be two or three years before we get back to the $4-$5/kg range, and there won’t be a full recovery until the price is up around $10/kg. “In the meantime our focus has to be on getting more and heavier lambs away off their mothers and getting a consistently higher lamb lambing percentage, and that’s what the Kelsos will give us.” he says. We share business journeys. AllanMcNeill has over 50 years of experience partnering with businesses of all shapes and sizes. We’re proud to have been part of the Kilmister family’s journey for many decades. For trusted advice that supports your business growth contact us today. info@allanmcneill.co.nz 06 356 4808 (Palmerston North) 06 323 6114 (Feilding) www.allanmcneill.co.nz Here at BJW Motors, Marton we offer a comprehensive mechanical service on all makes and models of cars. We are also an Authorised Holden Dealer for Parts and Service. WOF • Car Repairs • Tyres • Car Parts • Vehicle Appraisal • Rental Cars We pride ourselves on quality workmanship at very competitive prices. Phone Nigel or Glenn on (06) 327 8880 or visit bjwmotors.co.nz