Business Rural North Summer 2021

10 | Striving for dual purpose ideal at Aratiatia Aratiatia is an intensive operation, predominantly run for dairy support with regular contracts for heifer calves and wintering of dairy cows. Kim Newth RURAL PEOPLE » Aratiatia Farm: Mark Cunningham S heep and beef farmers may not always agree on how best to add value to their flock. While the popularity of shedding breeds has increased in recent years, many continue to see value in wool and in developing their flock’s true dual purpose potential. Farm manager Mark Cunningham, of Aratiatia Station, is one of those choosing to keep wool in the equation having introduced fine wool merino genetics this year to the station’s predominantly Romney flock. Aratiatia is a Pamu property just north of Taupo. Romney-Merino crosses were apparently tried on the volcanic plateau some years ago but Mark is confident they can do better today with the support of full recording and EID tagging to track progress. The firm intention is to chase fine wool; a range of different Merino genetics has been introduced and that parentage will be closely tracked and measured. “I’m a sheep farmer at heart and my family has always been in the sheep industry,” says Mark. “My father was a fine-wool classer in his day. If it’s a choice between fine wool or no wool breeds, then I prefer fine wool. It’s where my interest lies. It would be brilliant if we could get to 21 microns but at the moment it’s very much a wait and see game.” He believes Merino genetics could serve the dual purpose equation too by improving the flock’s lean meat yield. Aratiatia Station has extensive historical data on the Romney flock. Mark is confident it will enable good comparisons to be made on performance going forward. “Condition scoring was done just before lambing. Every animal has an EID tag. We’re going to be doing a lot of recording and making sure we get as much data as we can.” Stock manager Ben Keenan has recently joined the station team, bringing a wealth of sheep, beef and dairy experience with him from previous farms in Gisborne and Balclutha. He is enjoying the hands- on role at Aratiatia, keeping a watchful eye on stock in the field and making sure the new lambs are well-fed. There are still a lot of unknowns. While Merino sheep are well used to cold conditions, it remains to be seen how well the lambs will stand up to wind chill on the plateau. “And I don’t doubt that we’re going to have some footrot issues throughout the season,” observes Mark. “On the other hand, this is pumice country; we don’t get a lot of mud and also the sheep and beef country has a steeper contour so is grazed at far lower covers than the long lush feed in the dairy support areas, so we don’t think footrot will be too much of a problem to manage.” In order to collect second shear data off the crosses, the lambs will remain on the station longer than usual through to the end of the financial year in 2022. Lucerne is being planted to help graze the additional stock load through the summer period. Aratiatia is an intensive operation, predomi- nantly run for dairy support with regular contracts for heifer calves and wintering of dairy cows. The property also has a couple of hundred beef cows, evenly split between Angus cows and Stabilizer composites, as well as a deer milking herd that has tripled in size this year to 90. “We’ve also got 95 hectares of organic lucerne in its second year. We’ve got another year to go and then it will be Canadian (COR) accredited, which opens a lot of premium markets for us.” “If it’s a choice between fine wool or no wool breeds, then I prefer fine wool. It’s where my interest lies.” - Glass Silage - Maize Silage - Cereal Silage - Precision Planting: - Maize & Fodder beet - Supply & deliver supplement - Direct Drilling - Round & Square - Hay & Silage - All Cultivation - Mulching - Animal Bedding 07 3331 506 - Andrew: 0274 909 417 - Clint: 0272 849 875 A.T. COOK CONTRACTING LTD For all your agricultural requirements 51 Raywood Crescent, Ashwood Park, Taupo 0800 CAR FIX bjwheeladdiction@gmail.com www.wheeladdiction.co.nz Tyres • Mag Wheels • Alignments • Mechanic • Warrant of Fitness 126 Rakaunui Rd, Taupo, PO Box 547, Taupo O ice: 07 377 0868 Email: o ice@waterservicesnz.co.nz Mobile: 027 488 0621 www.waterservicesnz.co.nz • FarmWater Reticulation Systems, Design, Installation & Supply • Water Meter Installation/Verification • Effluent Systems • Water Reserviors • Trenching • Deepwell & Submersible Lifts • Domestic & Commercial Pumps • GPS mapping • Pipes & Fittings Supply (concrete, steel, PVC, Polythene all grades)