68 | ON FARM » Kotu Station Changes to the farm’s soils and pastures The main access bridge into Kotu - being cleared for the 5th time this year. Karen Phelps The long-term effects of Cyclone Gabrielle are continuing to influence decisions at Kotu Station with changes to the farm’s soils and pastures leading to a rethink of sheep genetics. The 1420-hectare Wairarapa station, which runs around 4200 ewes and 180 Angus cows and replacements, lost more than 20 per cent of its land to erosion during the cyclone and while major repair work is now nearly complete the impact on soil fertility and pasture performance remains. “Cyclone Gabrielle changed the property significantly,” says farm manager Simon Stevens. “Even though we put grass seed on, we then got an autumn drought which didn’t help. It will take another few years to fully repair.” The cyclone not only removed productive land but also washed away valuable fertility, creating a more variable farming environment. “We’ve done two soil tests since and they are all over the place and not as consistent as they were before.” The farm has moved away from relying solely on Romney genetics and is introducing Perendales to bring more resilience into the flock. “The Romneys weren’t enjoying the way the land has changed so I needed something with a bit more vigour,” says Simon. The farm has purchased rams from Hautere Perendales, a performance-recorded line bred by stud owner John Henricksen. Simon says the genetics have been developed through significant investment in high-quality rams including purchases from throughout the South Island. “They are beautiful Perendales, big bold rams with a beautiful carcass,” says Simon. “I’m over the moon with them. We’ve got our first line of hoggets on the ground now and they will go to the ram as two-tooths next autumn so we’re looking forward to that.” The Perendale influence is expected to help Kotu Station make better use of the tougher conditions created after the cyclone while also improving finishing performance. Twelve months ago another 160 hectares of finishing country was purchased around 20 minutes away allowing it to move towards finishing its own lambs rather than selling them as stores. The first year of using the finishing block has been highly successful, helped by favourable seasonal conditions and strong stock prices. “The timing was impeccable really,” says Simon. Call us today for your next haul! 027 255 7222 Wairarapa’s trusted choice for livestock transport. office@livestocktrucking.co.nz Fuelled by experience. Driven by community. Proudly supporting Kotu Station ORDISH & STEVENS “The past six months have been the best I have experienced in 47 years of being involved in farming.” Simon says the Perendale-cross lambs have already shown promise with good growth and carcass performance. “It might enable us to run a few more stock units and it’s certainly giving us a good carcass weight with our male lambs that are going onto the fattening block and finishing,” says Simon. “They are finishing pretty quickly and we are killing 65 Years of Proven Performance. Rob & Lucy Thorneycroft. robandlucy@tapiriangus.co.nz 027 203 5921 Tapiri Angus tapiriangus.co.nz at 20 to 22 kilograms on the hook from December to February.” The breeding programme will remain flexible with Kotu Station planning to maintain some Romney influence rather than moving entirely towards Perendale. “The Perendale-cross hoggets we have now, I’m planning on putting a Romney back over those,” says Simon. “I think one cross should be enough for us for enough vigour and then we’ll cross back.”
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