| 23 RURAL PEOPLE » Glen Elgin Farms Two-tooth Romney and Romworth ewes at Tuturewa Hill. Hereford Friesian Heifers at Glen Elgin. Focus on doing things better each year Karen Phelps Equity partnership Glen Elgin Farm has organically developed into a complex farming system. But owner operator of the farming business, Jeremy Davies, enjoys the challenge. “When we set up the equity partnership in 2008 the goal was to expand the business into a viable operation. We purchased blocks in the Ngapaeruruarea and the farming system developed because of the blocks we purchased,” he says. The farms run 3200 Romney and Romworth ewes, 1050 replacement ewe hoggets and 1800 winter trade hoggets. A big part of the business – producing 33% of Gross Farm Revenue from 23% of the feed consumed – is surplus ewe lambs that go into a winter trade mob on the two finishing blocks and then are sold at the end of September for breeding. The farm has repeat orders for these. The land holdings are in the Tararua district, about 15kms east of Dannevirke. There are two breeding blocks: Glen Elgin, 255ha and Tuturewa Hill, 325ha. Here the ewes, ewe hoggets and Hereford Friesian breeding cows are run. Around 110 in -calf heifers and cows are wintered and 22 R1 Hereford Friesian heifers are purchased in early October. They go to the bull Mid December and become and the replacement mob. Approximately 17ha of finishing country has been developed on Tuturewa Hill where plantain and clover are grown for grazing a second cut of replacement ewe hoggets that go to the ram. Around 4ha of oats are grown for wintering 50 R1 Hereford Friesian Simmental heifers. There are two finishing blocks: 111ha at Mangatoro River and 97ha at Tuturewa Road. At Mangatoro River 10ha of chicory is grown in the summer and 2.5ha of fodder beet and 6ha of kale for winter feed. Between 80-110 R1 Friesian bulls are purchased at 250kg in early July and grazed on the fodder beet over winter. As winter trade lambs are sold the bulls head onto the pasture that’s been freed up. The kale is used to graze 50 homebred Hereford Friesian Simmental cross bulls, which then head onto pasture in the spring. “We aim to sell the Friesian bulls by Christmas then we stock up with homebred weaned lambs who head onto that pasture and chicory crops. We finish the male lambs over the summer and surplus ewe lambs during winter to be replaced by cattle the following spring,” explains Jeremy. At Tuturewa Road 18ha of chicory and 4ha of kale is grown. The kale here is used to winter the homebred R2 Hereford Friesian Simmental cross bulls, which then go onto pasture later and are killed by Christmas along with the Hereford Friesian Simmental cross R2 heifers. Then when lambs are weaned they get finished on this block over summer and winter. The farm also buys another 80 R1 Frisian bulls in early October and they graze there until Christmas and are sold as 420kgs live weight store bulls. Jeremy says the aim is to do things a bit better each year. This year ewes scanned at 195%, including triplets, average for mixed age and two tooth ewes over the last two years, and the farm is targeting 150% lambing. The hoggets scanned at 130% and the target is 100% lambing. The aim for replacement hoggets is minimum 40kgs by 1 May. Two tooth mating weight is 63kgs and for mixed age ewes is 68kgs. The target carcass weight for finished lambs is 18kgs and replacement ewe hogget target weight is 50kgs by 1 October. For R1 heifers the aim is 320kgs at mating. The average over the past five years for mixed age cows was 525kgs live weight at mating, average weaning weight of weaner bulls was 265kgs and heifers 255kgs at 190 days. Target carcass weight for the Hereford Frisian Simmental bulls is 335kgs and for the R2 heifers 285kgs. Jeremy works in conjunction with a shepherd to run the farms. The shepherd lives at Glen Elgin and shifts stock there while Jeremy lives at Mangatoro River and does the stock shifts on the other blocks. The two meet up to work on the main jobs for the day. Jeremy says a big focus has always been placed on developing staff utilising Primary ITO courses. “By developing their skills they are better able to do the job and participate in management discussions. “It’s another part of our philosophy of doing things better each year.” 06 374 7701 27 High St, Dannevirke We are proud to support the Glen Elgin Farm team with on-the-job learning. primaryito.ac.nz
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