36 | Consistent breeding for structural soundness The 4200-hectare station is a productive sheep and beef breeding property. At Te Mania’s 2 Year Bull Sale in June, Rex came away with 15 bulls. A lot of work has gone into fencing stock from the Mangawhero River. Rex has been sourcing top beef genetics from Te Mania, the largest Registered Angus seed stock producer in New Zealand. Kim Newth In the Ruapehu district, Ohorea Station is a flagship farm for the Atihau-Whanganui Incorporation (Atihau), a Maori-owned incorporation managing and protecting thousands of hectares of land in the region. Rex Martin, who has worked on Atihau farms for nearly two decades, has been managing Ohorea Station for the past 10 years and knows this rolling to steep hill country property very well. Dissected by the Mangawhero River, the 4200-hectare (effective) station is a productive sheep and beef breeding property running some 17,000 ewes and 900 Angus cows. Ohorea Station is also home to a thriving kiwi population in a large, fenced off conservation area. A lot of work has gone into fencing off the Mangawhero River from wandering stock too, with new stock troughs now supplying the water. Controlling pests is another big focus for Rex. “Deer are a major issue; we’ve got hunters here shooting deer practically every weekend and we have regular wild goat culls too,” he says. “In the kiwi sanctuary, bait stations are being checked and filled once a month. Adult birds have been seen over the past couple of years, along with juvenile kiwi, so we know they’re breeding there.” Rex has been sourcing top beef genetics from Te Mania, the largest Registered Angus seed stock producer in New Zealand, ever since he started working for Atihau. Other top studs he has favoured through the years are Waitangi Angus and Matauri Angus Stud. “In the early days, there were those legendary bulls like ‘Unlimited’ (Te Mania) and ‘Reality 839’ (Matauri), sires that most New Zealand Angus breeders will be familiar with.” RURAL PEOPLE » Ohorea Station FOR ALL YOUR AGRICULTURAL HELI NEEDS. Spraying Top Dressing Pest Control Fire Lighting Frost Lifting Call Nick: 021 828 424 facebook.com/rtbheli
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