30 | RURAL PEOPLE » Papanui Estate: Sam & Sophie Hurley Bespoke bags add value to farm business Sophie and Sam Hurley with children Gussie and Harry, in front of their range of ‘Honest Wolf’ bespoke bags and accessories. Papanui Estate (below right) is a 5700ha sheep and beef operation in the Turakina Valley near Taihape. Sue Russell Sam and Sophie Hurley are proud third generation farmers in the central North Island on Papanui Estate, a 5700ha sheep and beef breeding/ nishing operation which employs 10 staff over a range of positions from shepherds, shepherd/ generals, stock managers, cook and manager. The couple live on the breeding block with children Harry and Gussie while father Andy and brother Jack live on the nishing property. Sam’s family bought the stunning property located in the beautiful Turakina Valley, near Taihape in 1952. Over successive decades the focus has been on adding value to the land and increasing its foot-print by adding land when opportunities presented. “My granddad Ray Hurley bought the original piece of land and then my dad Andy and his brother Mike separated the titles. We’ve taken over Papanui. I was brought up here and have been back seven years now,” says Sam. Today Papanui Estate is home to 25,000 breeding ewes, with all progeny nished on the property. Along with the sheep, a cattle trading policy provides additional income. “We buy in R1 and R2 Steers and take them through, growing them out on the hills.” Papanui is an iconic North Island hill-country Station with really big open hills and scatterings of blocks of native bush. Since Sam and Sophie have been in charge the sheep breeds of choice are Kelso and Forbes Cameron Romney. “Kelso have been bred to suit the hill country with reliable reproduction and great survivability, with ewes left to lamb uninterrupted to minimise mismothering.” The Romney breed provides a traditionally sound animal which aligns with the farm’s focuses on meat yield, reproduction performance and survivability. Forbes Cameron are long-standing breeders who have focussed on producing animals that have a higher tolerance to any worm or ystrike burden. Romney are world renowned for their lambing percentage. Each paddock on the station has patches of native bush offering shelter to the stock and especially to the new-borns when the harsh winter temperatures settle in. Asked what he thinks is important for the staff Sam says having a variety of experiences and working under different bosses is a good thing. “It makes them exible and gives them an appreciation that there is more than one way to do things. Hopefully this informs them well as they progress their careers and look toward farm management in the future.” Attitude and ability to t in are the two key factors Sam looks for when employing new staff. Understanding that it’s a team effort and having a solid work ethic in his opinion underpin success. “On Stations such as this you’re all living on the same farm so getting along is very important.” With a view to adding value to the farming enterprise Sophie and Sam have established ‘Honest Wolf’, a business that produces a range of bespoke bags and accessories using their home-grown wool. “It was at the time that plastic bags were being phased out and it got us thinking about creating products that could replace these, for shoppers to use. The range has just grown from that. Our wool is combined with locally processed NZ leather.” ‘Honest Wolf’ is mainly Sophie’s concern and since launching in June 2020, there’s been good interest in the range of products. “It’s another way to use strong-wool we shear and turn a product of little current value into something practical and hard-wearing.” Sam says sadly today a lot of people think of strong-wool as a negative. He and Sophie are determined to change this view. “We think about wool as an issue; how can we make it better and pro table.” When not attending to the practical day to day nature of running a sheep and beef operation Sam and Sophie have put available time and resources into improving their environmental footprint, with funding assistance from Horizons Regional Council, to assist with fencing off waterways. “I think with any generational farm, each generation wants to leave the property in a better situation than the previous. At the end of the day there are some things we don’t do now that previous generations would have. This is the nature of multigenerational farming.” Proudly supporting the Hurleys and their farming operations. We are “tax doctors” who specialise in tax minimisation, solving financial problems, and helping farmers all over NZ make excellent decisions. We offer innovative ideas and expert taxation & financial advice. We are taking on new clients. Please contact Jock on 0274 736 579 if we can assist you. Jock Stuart Ltd CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS Taupo www.rangitikeihelicopters.co.nz www.rakaiahelicopters.com Proud to be supporting Honest Wolf and Papanui Farms
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