38 | High quality stock Exciting new ventures Emma Bailey Tracey Edwardes The Ward family’s farming connection to the land dates back to 1884 and their business Peninsular Pastoral Company is synonymous with prime cattle across the Coromandel Peninsula and Hauraki Plains. Peninsula Pastoral Company specialises in breeding and fattening New Zealand cattle and sheep for sale. It comprises two expansive properties; Colville breeding farm located at the top of the Coromandel Peninsula managed by John Ward and partner Robyn and Patetonga the fattening farm on the foothills of the Hauraki Plains managed by Simon and Clare Ward. They are well known for the high quality stock they sell. The season has been pretty good, Clare said. “The weather overall has been quite kind. The summer was a bit difficult getting the hay done; it went in stops and starts in Patetonga. Having two different locations has its challenges particularly with the roads during the winter and the rising cost of fuel. “The biggest issue is when the storms come and the roads get washed out. Getting fertiliser and trucking cattle backwards and forwards is costly.” While the roads are often fixed by the council in spring, with the summer tourist traffic by autumn they are compromised again. “We are driving over massive potholes for most of the year.” The family is very good at keeping their head down and working away together with Clare and Simon’s children Frank (9) and Henrietta (7) also enjoying farm life. For Will and Nicola Jackson, consolidating the family farm lead them down the track of exciting new ventures. This year is the 60th anniversary of Piquet Hill Stud. “My grandfather established the Te Akau based property in 1951,” he says. “Peter, my father founded Piquet Hill Stud in 1966 breeding Romney rams. My brother and I took over the family farm from 2012 until 2018 after which I bought him out. In 2022 after Peter passed away Nicola and I reevaluated our business and decided we needed to make some changes focusing on our stud business and spending more quality time with our four young kids. The tough decision was made to sell our property at Te Akau and relocate to Wharepuhunga, Te Awamutu.” In 2018 Piquet Hill started to develop a shedding composite they call a Sheddmaster, a low input sheep that focuses on parasite and facial eczema tolerance. Piquet Hill Farms now encompasses two properties, the main drystock property “Stockland” at Wharepuhunga is 1375 hectares on running 2500 stud ewes, 1200 ewe hogget replacements, 550 ram hoggets, 450 stud and commercial Angus cows, 120 Angus heifer replacements, and 120 R1 Angus bulls which will be sold in Spring. “Mangawhio” a 300 hectare dairy/Drystock unit was purchased in 2025 based at Ngaroma milking 400cows on a 200 hectare platform and running cows and ewes on the remaining hill country. “Around 400 two tooth Rams will be for sale in early December, by private treaty and Ram Hoggets being sold in late February. All Sheep and Cattle are DNA parent verified and genomically tested through RURAL PEOPLE » Peninsula Pastoral Company “It wouldn’t work if we didn’t work well together as a family, we are very fortunate we all work so well as a team” Cattle are sold every three to four weeks at the Frankton Saleyards in Hamilton. The steers are coming in around 650kg and the heifers 550kg. Their stock is highly sought after. The South Devon, Shorthorn and Hereford cattle are 100 percent grass fed, with supplement feed of hay and grass silage; used when necessary. This feed is made on farm “The South Devons cross grow extremely well; they are a big animal which the buyers love. The Herefords are a solid classic and the Shorthorns have a really good ratio of meat off the carcass.” The cattle are sold as rising threes (coming up to three-years-old) or if they fatten quickly rising twos. The farm also has sheep. “We don’t have a huge amount but they definitely clean up a paddock well.” In 1884 the Ward Family settled on the Coromandel Peninsula running Shorthorn Cattle. In 1953 Simon and John’s father Marcus Ward left school and started working on the family farm. Peninsula Pastoral Company was formed when the Wards bought the Patetonga Farm in 2001. Their father Marcus passed away two years ago which has been an adjustment for the tight family group, Clare said. The family’s longevity comes down to resilience and holding onto the land. “The Wards never sell any land. We are not looking for what the next big thing is on the horizon. We focus on managing our money, trying to keep cost down and managing debt.” It’s also a small team with only one staff member, shared between the two properties to help with fencing and general farm work; few contractors are called in. “Everything we can do ourselves, we do.” Zoetis Genetics enhancing breeding values and improving buyer confidence. Genomics have played a big part in the improvement of breeding values and helped massively with sire selection. We also have quite a large embryo transfer program that we run in our Angus stud where we calve down between 20-30 ETR born calves a year. “We certainly have simplified our system here cutting back on stock classes and reducing labour inputs.” Nicola, originally from the district, developed and looks after Real Native Walking Retreat a venture that is well suited to the property. The tracks traverse the entire farm, with the Mangatutu Stream and the Puniu river flowing through the 750ha of grass and 500ha of native bush. They developed tracks, built bridges and two accommodation sites. The three-day 39km hike has alternate route options, all mapped and marked. Hikers don’t have to carry luggage, just a day bag. In 2018 Piquet Hill started to develop a shedding composite they call a Sheddmaster, a low input sheep that focuses on parasite and facial eczema tolerance. “Te Akau was complicated and labour intensive system. Cutting back, reducing stock classes has definitely been a game changer for us. The highly geared system was tough. Even though it made money, staff attrition was an issue. Here it’s just Matt, myself and a casual fencer. A more sustainable operation looks after itself with the right key people”. Focus is now on developing industry relevant sheep and cattle genetics. “We enjoy seeing the massive production gains in sheep and cattle, through intensive recording. It’s nice with a little less stress and a more manageable workload, with more client contact and time to focus on the studs.” At Hammer Down Construction, your satisfaction is our priority. We collaborate closely with our clients, understanding their needs & aspirations to deliver bespoke solutions that exceed expectations. Let us bring your dream to life. “WE NAIL IT EVERYTIME” • Decks & Fences • Renovations • Maintenance • New Builds Our Awesome Services: 027 868 4766 Shaunr.hdc@gmail.com Shaun Richardson Our experienced, friendly & motivated team will work with you to assist you in your business. Accounting, Forecasting, Planning, IRD Compliance, Trust Accounting, Financial Management 9 King Street, Frankton, Hamilton. Ph 07 847-8154 www.dbchartered.co.nz 027 478 5917 | 07 828 5829 Where the grass is green, B&S has been. Spreading of bulk lime, fertilisers & Urea Baggedfert delivery. Bulk spreading off the ground GPS guided & Spreadmark Certified Semi solid & organic spreading Feed pad / herd homes / effluent waste spreading RURAL PEOPLE » Piquet Hill Farms Ltd We’ve been helping farmers get the most out of their sheep and beef farming operations since 1966. • Maternal Composite • Romney • Sheddmaster • Blackface Composite • Angus • FE testing for 42 years, & above FE Gold Standard for 9 years • Romney sires tested at 0.72mg of Sporidesmin/kg of live weight & Maternal Composites 0.68mg • Ewes run in commercial conditions under no drench policy • Modern & prolific ewes lambing between 140-150% on hard hill country • All rams guaranteed for soundness & structure for 2 years • Romney & maternal Composites have a lifetime guarantee against FE www.piquethillfarms.co.nz william@piquethillfarms.co.nz Will Jackson 027 739 9939 Building Better Bloodlines. “Our Romneys & Maternal composites come with a lifetime warranty against Facial Eczema.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=