Business Rural North Summer 2021

16 | Family link to the land important Grandchildren Thomas and Ruby with this season’s pet lamb Richard Loader P erched on the brow of a steep hill Cliff Deery sits on his side-by-side with Shi his Hunter- way dog on the back tray. Together they look out over the farmland in Kawakawa Bay. Nestled in the Hauraki Gulf, the Bay is beauti- ful and just forty kilometres from Auckland’s CBD its accessibility makes it a popular spot for city dwellers. The farm has been in the family ever since Cliff’s grandfather arrived in the Bay 110 years ago as a stockman for the early settlers. Speaking fluent Te Reo, part of his job was to communicate with the local iwi. Because of that relationship Cliff’s grandfather started to lease land of the local Maori, eventually buying parcels, which form the home farm Cliff is now the custodian of. Cliff has farmed the land all his life and says he is passionate about the culture of farming; the camaraderie. “Here in our area there are only a few farmers and we look after each other, we don’t see each other as competitors.” Cliff farms three properties, each of about 100 hectares. There’s the home farm and a neighbour- ing property that is leased, and there is another farm about twelve kilometres away in Orere Point. Proud of his family’s ties to the land and drawn by the beauty of the location, Cliff offers the hon- est view that the coastal land itself is reasonably marginal. “The home farm goes from sea level to 243 metres in about a kilometre so it goes pretty well straight up. It’s a difficult environment to farm in because of the summer dry and winter wet. Because of the heavy nature of the soil and the topography the farm is better suited to sheep than cattle. We have 1200 breeding ewes, including 200 stud Poll Dorset, and 50 Angus cross cows. We try to finish everything that we breed but the last two summers have been extremely dry and we’ve had to sell store stock.” While the land is best suited to sheep the RURAL PEOPLE » Cliff Deery Photos: Hauraki Gulf farmer Cliff Deery with trusty Hunterway Shi overlooking Kawakawa Bay. This year’s ram hoggets. environment is not so friendly with chronic facial eczema common in the region any time between November and May. “We also have Barbers Pole, a blood sucking worm causing severe anaemia and sudden death to sheep. So we just have to breed animals that cope with both facial eczema and the worms. Cliff has been breeding Poll Dorsets for 40 years and hopes they will eventually replace his Romney flock. “I realized that my Poll Dorsets were performing almost as well in terms in resistance to disease, and that’s what inspired me and my breeding partner Ken Haywood to breed a flock of eczema and worm tolerant Poll Dorset, which hasn’t ever been done in this country before. During December and early January private clients visit the farm to select Poll Dorset rams for their own commercial flocks. “We will have 40 – 50 rams available for sale,” says Cliff. “Buyers can expect a tough, resilient, lean and active terminal sire. They are SIL re- corded, muscle scanned, Carla swabbed for worm tolerance and footrot and eczema tested.” Privileged to have assisted Cliff with his shearing requirements for more than a decade. Ph Kieran 027 488-4344