Business Rural North Spring 2021

36 | RURAL PEOPLE » Richard and Laura Morrison / Charlie Reynolds First year of sole ownership ‘rewarding’ Richard Morrison is looking to increase the Wiltshire ratio of the flock. Karen Phelps R i chard and Laura Morrison from The Gullies have noticed a huge upswing in interest in their Wiltshire and Low-Input Composites. “The sheep industry is at a crossroads at the moment with where wool is at in terms of price and increasing costs. We’ve always had interest from markets such as lifestyle and organics but we are now seeing a big increase from main- stream farmers looking at their options going forward,” says Richard who says they are looking to increase the Wiltshire ratio of the flock to meet demand. And options are what The Gullies is all about. The Morrisons own the original New Zealand Wiltshire flock dating back to the early 80’s. The Gullies focuses on the traits of sound- ness, fertility, growth, carcass, survivability, facial eczema and worm tolerance as well as the char- acteristic self-shedding traits that make Wiltshires unique. Sheep Improvement Limited (SIL) is used for genetic evaluations. Richard says that this validates the performance of the sheep, relative to the New Zealand sheep population. Richard says farmers can choose to put Wiltshires over their flocks to experience some of these traits or even aim for a full Wilshire flock eventually. Their Low-Input Composites need shearing once a year but not crutching and little dagging or flyspray so offer yet another option for farmers who may still want to keep their options open regarding wool but reduce their workload and costs. The Morrisons have experienced the benefits of the breeds on their own property. The Gullies is 250ha (200ha effective) and located just ten minutes drive from Marton. It includes 70ha of flats that are separated by the gullies after which the farm is named. There is 110ha of hill country and the balance in native bush making for a very attractive farm, says Richard. Now the sheep have gone Richard Loader L ast year East Coast farmer Charlie Reynolds made the decision to focus entirely on the cattle side of his farming business. Charlie’s farm is Tepapa, a hill country farm in the small rural settlement of Ormond, 20 minutes inland from Gisborne. With native scrub on the edge of waterways, 400-hectares of the south-facing farm is effective and 20% is classified as steep country. Growing up on Tepapa, Charlie never aspired to be a farmer – something that he attributes to his dislike of sheep. But after several years working in the city and then in the horticultural industry the draw of working with animals became too great. “Dad said I couldn’t come back on the farm till I learned about farming and so I went to Massey, did a Diploma in Agriculture at the age of 28 and returned to the farm in 2008. I worked for Dad till 2012 when I could scrape some cash together to start buying Tepapa.” The farm had always been sheep and beef but the middle of last year Charlie made the call that the sheep had to go. “I hate the things. Certainly over the last three to four years they’ve made my blood boil. There’s such a small return for the amount of work involved. So I thought, why am I doing this? Every day I’m chasing these things because they have broken another fence or popped another gate. I was very pleased when the last ewe left the farm gate.” Charlie’s distaste for sheep is matched absolutely by his passion for cattle. He reckons there’s a con- nection with them, something about the way they walk and the little dance he does when drafting the bulls from the cows. “Obviously the bulls don’t want to leave the cows, he’s a bit snarly. So you’re watching him and The farm runs 2000 stock units comprised 70% of sheep and the balance of beef. As a one- person operation, Richard says his sheep breeds save him time and money. Rams will be available by private sale in December. The Morrisons have just completed their first year of sole ownership of The Gullies, which was previously part of a larger family business. “It’s been rewarding because I get to do a bit of everything now and it’s created more family time and work-life balance,” says Richard. The farm also supplies Burbank Hereford bulls to the dairy industry that provide a quality New Zealand beef alternative to using Jersey bulls. Traits focused on are soundness, temperament, low birth weight and calving ease. The farm is registered NZ Hereford Association breeders with the cattle analysed on the Breed- plan database. They are excited that their first crop of bulls will be available shortly in September with around 20 bulls to be sold privately. Ethical genetics is the Morrisons focus for both their sheep and cattle. “To us this means having the most appropriate livestock, which best utilise our natural resources and produce sustainable, high-value produce with minimal interventions or synthetic additives,” explains Richard. The Morrisons are presently tweaking the farm- ing system to get it just right and the next step is looking for a lease block to grow both sheep and cattle numbers. The ewes in the flock scanned at 195% this year, their fertility making it easy for the Morrisons to build flock numbers when required. They also run an accommodation business from the farm they say helps to bridge the rural-urban divide. Covid-19 has seen an upswing in domestic tourists and the business has been busy. They are about to offer their first artist residency, which will see an artists reside in the cottage for a month to gain creative inspiration from the land. “The sheep industry is at a crossroads at the moment with where wool is at in terms of price and increasing costs. We’ve always had interest from markets such as lifestyle and organics but we are now seeing a big increase from mainstream farmers looking at their options going forward. Marty Reynolds, Charlie’s father, on the search for a new spring.