Business Rural North Summer 2021

28 | Developing people at Panekiri Station Pamu’s Panekiri Station’s 2021 docking team. Richard Loader RURAL PEOPLE » Panekiri Station F orty-five kilometres northwest from Wairoa, just before picture perfect Waikeremoana, Pamu’s Panekiri Station is a sheep and beef breeding operation, supplying quality store stock to Pamu’s finishing farms. In addition to its remoteness in Northern Hawke’s Bay, Panekiri Station embraces genuine hill country that rises from 200 metres to 880 metres above sea level and borders the Urewera ranges for 25 kilometres. Of the station’s 9071 hectares, there is 5244 hectares effective for livestock, with the balance consisting of production manuka, plantation forestry and QEII covenants with regenerating native bush. Some land has been given to DOC to manage. Overseeing the business for the last two and a half years is Farm Manager Ian Brown. Farming since he was 15 years of age, Ian is already a veteran farmer with 32 years experience, 17 years of which have been spent managing farms for Pamu. With a focus on enhancing farm performance and developing good people, Ian’s role includes the management of a team of twelve including stock managers. “I quite enjoy the people management and devel- opment side of the role. That’s pretty much my role now and it’s a really good thing to be able to do. It’s having the right people in the right place, and giving them ownership for what they do. As long as I’m communicating what the end target is they take it from there and go with it. We’ve had a couple of cadets out of Smedley Station recently and seeing them progress to become very good at what they do, get promoted here or other positions within the industry is quite good.” Panekiri Station is home to 21000 romney breed- ing ewes, along with 6500 replacement ewe lambs. From weaning in mid December, lambs are sent out to finishing farms through till April at the rate of 5000 a month. The biggest recipient of stock is a Pamu finishing farm in Feilding, with some going to the Wairarapa and the King Country. The farm is also home to 2000 angus cows, a reduction from the 2400 in previous years and a re- “We’ve had a couple of cadets out of Smedley Station recently and seeing them progress to become very good at what they do, get promoted here or other positions within the industry is quite good.” For all your Aerial Agriculture and Horticultural Services. SMS Certi ed Contact: John Chittick - 027 2249039 Matt Wilson - 027 3300482 GISBORNE | 743 Gladstone Rd | 06 867 9405 | gisborne@evs.co.nz WAIROA | 46 Freyberg St | 06 838 6099 | wairoa@evs.co.nz www.evs.co.nz Proud to be supporting Panekiri Station P: 06 838 8282 M: 027 483 0644 | 027 230 8713 Luke Bates, Ross Mitchell, Deano Brenssell, Daryl Fergus, Rob Fergus & Tim Petro www.fergusrural.co.nz Gisborne: Wairoa: Rob Fergus 027 4496007 Deano Brenssell 027 8638923 Luke Bates 027 4211653 Daryl Fergus 027 2092787 Ross Mitchell 027 4048965 Environmental Solu ti ons Consultant: Tim Petro 027 3390400 Supplying Livestock throughout New Zealand AGRIBUSINESS • to page 29