| 31 Loving being back in the King Country Meringa Station is a stunning property, and its landscape features the Pureora Ranges at the back, the Tangamatoa Stream at the front. Graham and Tracey Sinnamon (inset). Kelly Deeks In the capable hands of Graham and Tracey Sinnamon, the stunning Pämu farm Meringa Station in Taumarunui is reducing stock and winter cropping areas as well as upping ewe numbers and riparian fencing as it continues to focus on prime lamb finishing. Graham has been with Pämu for 33 years, and came to Meringa Station from a Wairarapa farm in 2004, looking to get back to the King Country. He says Meringa Station is a stunning property, and its landscape features the Pureora Ranges at the back, the Tangamatoa Stream at the front, with lots of bush remnants between. “The infrastructure is immaculate from the fencing to the wool shed in the middle of the farm, and its mix of contour which for a King Country sheep and beef farm is fantastic.” He reckons his and Tracy’s greatest amount of work on the property has been around environmental protection, and says they have been early adopters of riparian fencing, having fenced many kilometres of riparian and QEII land. Pämu regional business manager Kathryn Broomfield also acknowledges Graham and Tracey’s hard mahi in environmental work at Meringa Station. “They have managed this farm for so long and through all the challenges we’ve faced as an industry, like keeping animals out of the waterways and reducing winter crop,” she says. “It has been an ongoing journey for them the whole time they’ve been on farm.” Graham says Meringa Station has always been a solid performer, and he inherited a farm with very good heart. “It was just a matter of refining what was already here. A lot of regrassing has probably been my biggest input, which I felt was an opportunity to assist with lamb finishing and winter grazing.” Graham has changed grass species to the tetraploid perennial ryegrass Viscount in the areas that could be cropped. Meringa Station is 1500ha effective, with a total area of 2000ha, 140ha of Mäori lease land, 200ha of forestry, 250ha of native bush, and 100ha of riparian fencing. The farm is carrying 300 mixed-age Angus cows, as well as 200 dairy beef or steers which are RURAL PEOPLE » Meringa Station Limited 168 Totara St, Manunui 3924 • Ph 07 895 8492 • Mobile 027 418 670 • Fax 07 895 7687 • ongaruetransport@xtra.co.nz Proud to be associated with Meringa Station r : HONDA FIRST TAUMARUNUI 4 Katarina Street, Taumarunui 3920 07 895 8110 | alanb@hondafirst.co.nz TAIHAPE 91 Hautapu Street, Taihape 4720 06 388 1211 | sales@taihapehonda.co.nz Proven on NZ Farms Proudly supporting Meringa Station l i i i purchased every year as 100kg calves, and kept for two years. The farm has been destocked this season down to 16,000 stock units to reduce stress on stock and staff. Graham says current staffing levels at the meat works means there is no guarantee he would be able to destock when he needed to. A very wet season sees Meringa Station already having had close to its annual rainfall in October, and as a result Graham has drastically reduced his winter cropping area to mitigate sediment run-off into the Whanganui River. “A lot of re-grassing has probably been my biggest input, which I felt was an opportunity to assist with lamb finishing and winter grazing.” “It’s going to have a major financial impact with a lot more money spent on baleage.” Like other industries, there are many openings in agriculture and Pämu has some exciting opportunities for young people across the country to get involved in farming. Pat Lacy Livestock Ltd Pat Lacy 027 495 35 64 nyanza@xtra.co.nz . . Buyer and seller of store stock & fat stock Sheep, Cattle & Deer ll , l Proudly supporting Meringa Station
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