| 29 Forestry part of diversified farm system Lakeview Farm near Levin is a diverse business comprising sheep and beef trading, a dairy farm and forestry. Russell Fredric RURAL PEOPLE » Lakeview Farm Lakeview Farm runs a diversified farm business that is strongly influenced by the coastal climate and the soils its sheep and cattle graze on. Located just east of Levin and bordering Lake Horowhenua, Lakeview Farm is situated about three kilometres from the coast. It comprises sheep and beef trading, a dairy farm and forestry with the ownership structured on an equity partnership between six Everton family members. The dairy farm is a 130 hectare, 285 cow business with a 50 hectare run-offand is run by sharemilkers Chris and Morgan Braddock. All up, Lakeview Farm covers 1430 hectares/1200ha effective including the dairy platform on sandy loam soil, with 100 hectares planted in various age classes of pine forestry, in addition to some native plantings. Nigel Everton says the farm aims to trade about 4,500 lambs and 500 cattle per season this season with emphasis on qualifying for the premium paid through Alliance’s Pure South Handpicked programme. With his father, Peter, now taking more of a support role, Nigel is among the next generation to steward the farm and has readily embraced technology. This includes using the Farmax modelling system for recording current performance data as well as for forecasting, and FarmIQ for various aspects of the farm’s management which, for stock, is a matter of right animal, right place, right time and capitalising on seasonal price peaks. Part of the management strategy has involved subdividing paddocks to smaller sizes to enable the grazing to be fine-tuned along with increasing rotations to make the most efficient use of the grass curve, while looking to trade more lambs and less ewes. “We’ve only got about 700 ewes; we buy in-lamb ewes. Half of them will be culled and then we buy in again 300 to keep the numbers up in-lamb,” Nigel says. Among the advantages of this strategy is that it mitigates the risk of facial eczema when it is at its peak. During the past four years the least productive bare land and the least productive sandhill land on the outsides of the farm has been planted in forestry, averaging close to 20 hectares a year. “They are in the ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) but they are just in the infancy of that process.” It is aimed to ultimately have 100 hectares planted in forestry which, at its peak, Nigel expects to create an income of around $150,000 within the first 15 years, with the counterbalance of adjusting the stock numbers. “You do have to be realistic. You can’t just plant pine trees and assume you can just run the same amount of stock, especially with our system. Those cows consume quite a lot of grass and the pinch point is the wintertime; we try to grow a lot of cattle through the winter.” As with the livestock management, Nigel feels this approach reflects the philosophy of ‘right tree, right place’ and of the best use of marginal land. “That’s the goal; we are only going to take out that poorest quality sand dune type land and that allows us to then focus on all the flats and rolling hills and improve those. A key aim of this diversified system is for Lakeview Farm to achieve its full potential within the various parameters it operates within. “I think we are at that point now because of the amount of stock we’ve got running through the winter.” “For example, we are selling cattle now that are 350 kilos on the hook so we are getting really good weights rather than [selling] later in the season when everyone else is trying to sell.” Agricultural Contractors - Levin Contact Garry 027 232 2380 Rowan 027 452 2562 Serving the Horowhenua since 1924 • Fertiliser spreading • Cultivation • All bulk silage requirements • Round baling & wrapping • Bulk cartage • Square baling & wrapping • Hay - large rounds / large squares • Stockists of Hatuma Lime • Ravensdown consignment store with certified weigh bridge SERVICES OFFERED:
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