50 | RURAL PEOPLE » Eight Mile Farms The holdings are rounded out by their sheep and beef properties, all located next to each other around 30 minutes from the dairy farm in the Rangitoto district: Waipa, 600ha, Rangitoto is 580ha and Waihanga 490ha. • from page 47 The right animal on the right land using latest genetics With the bulls we aim for 300gm per day throughout the winter but in the late spring they get up to a couple of kilograms per day of liveweight gain. We’re targeting 400kgs per hectare of net protein produced to sale,” explains Matt. He says that working out the capability of the land is key - the right animal on the right class of land using the latest genetics. “We lease our rams rather than buying them for the fastest genetic input we can. Especially for our sheep, for example, if the breeders are targeting a low methane animal any improvement in that breeding value can be utilised quickly.” They are involved with He Waka Eke Noa – the primary sector’s climate change partnership. The framework aims to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and build the agriculture sector’s resilience to climate change. It helps farmers to measure, manage and reduce on-farm emissions; recognise, maintain or increase integrated sequestration on farms; and adapt to a changing climate. “If we can develop an action plan that essentially achieves what the ETS will achieve but is more business friendly, then that’s the goal. As a minimum we are aiming for our current farming system to be carbon neutral but the target for the future would be to be many times carbon positive than we are.” As the store of carbon in the top soil is undervalued and understated, Matt says they have recently undertaken soil testing to obtain a soil carbon and organic matter number to give a marker in the sand on which to base future decisions. “We need an idea of what emissions our system is producing. In order to supply protein in the future we’ll need to be at least carbon neutral. Soil is an enormous sync for carbon and the more we can sequester carbon in the soil the better off we’ll be. Our fertiliser policy for soil nutrients is to reach optimal levels for our class of land, stocking rate and type of stock. Any land deemed not suitable for grazing will be fenced off and planted.” The family has already planted around 65ha of pine trees in the last ve years with about 40ha of that being new plantings. They have also planted around 40,000 native trees over same period with the idea of putting this land into the ETS and claim carbon credits. Riparian planting has also been a focus – Matsudana willow poles along the riverbanks to stabilise the banks and prevent sediment as well as create a buffer zone to the waterway. Matt is quick to acknowledge none of this would be possible without their staff. They employ a farm manager on the dairy farm with three staff and two stock managers and a shepherd general on the other three properties and an assistant stock manager on the Spring Valley drystock unit. Matt and Olivia take on overall management of the business and ll in when needed. “We really value our employees and have some long standing ones. They are a key part of what we do. Without our staff we wouldn’t be anything. We are lucky to have some great people.” Relationship with key suppliers are also an important part of the business. “We maintain very good relationships with all our suppliers and processors to ensure our stock are killed on time when our livestock are ready to go. Especially with the disruption Covid has caused these relationships have been especially important.” Matt says they see a great future for farming: “We’re just the guardians of the land and we aim to improve it with each generation and leave it in a better place then when we took it on. We see a strong future for agriculture and we’re proud to be part of it.” www.pumpn.co.nz 40 Turongo St, Otorohanga 07 873 8673 www.pumpn.co.nz 0800 4 KELSO Proud to be working alongside Matt Buckley and his team at Eight Mile Farms.
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