| 37 Ten-year plan coming to fruition Mill Valley’s Aaron and Amanda Harris (pictured with family below) have a 10-year goal of owning their own farm, running a purebred Shorthorn herd alongside the Shorthorn stud, and purebred Wiltshire flock alongside their Wiltshire stud, front of mind in all their decision making. Virginia Wright RURAL PEOPLE » Mill Valley Run by Amanda and Aaron Harris the sheep and beef farm known as Mill Valley can be found some70 kilometres east of Mount Taranaki in Pohokura. The two blocks they own outright account for a bit less than half of their total operation of around 1300 hectares effective, with the remainder coming from the family lease they took over on July 1st 2022. “We purchased the stock from Aaron’s parents and pay a lease to operate the land. We went from about 2000 stock units to about 6500 stock units,”explains Amanda Harris. The Harrises had spent the previous 10 or more years working with their Wiltshire stud towards owning a pure Wiltshire flock: a breed they rate highly for being compact with hardy feet, as well as agility, maternal traits, and for not being too fussy when faced with the rougher grazing on Mill Valley’s surrounding hills. That they require no shearing is an added bonus. The purchase of 2000 Romney ewes has meant the Harrises have had to go back shearing, but their goal to transition the flock to pure Wiltshire remains the same, that it will take longer a given. The 250 head of cattle they bought are Dairy-X, predominantly Hereford- Fresian or Angus-Fresian, to be bred for beef just as they did before. “We would rear Hereford-Friesian heifers for our replacement herd and put them to beef bulls then sell the progeny at various stages: weaning, yearling and so on,” says Amanda. As with their sheep they had spent some years working with their Shorthorn stud towards owning a purebred Shorthorn herd. It’s a programme they’ll using them while they’re still in their prime, but by 2025 calving we’ll be predominantly Shorthorn X,” explains Amanda. Aaron and Amanda keep their 10-year goal of owning their own farm, running a purebred Shorthorn herd alongside the Shorthorn stud, and purebred Wiltshire flock alongside their Wiltshire stud, front of mind in all their decision making. While they currently buy in all their replacements the 10-year goal includes keeping some of their Shorthorn-X heifers as replacements and building a Shorthorn commercial herd to complement their stud herd. “Having a dairy element to them means they milk really well which means they produce a really good weaner which is what our farming practice is built on. We sell predominantly at weaning so they need to be looking pretty good,” says Amanda. Having self-replacing commercial herds will help pay for the more expensive stud herd, and the same goes for the sheep. It’s all part of the 10-year plan which includes pulling together the infrastructure to allow them to build their own workforce, hopefully using one of the cadet schemes which facilitate young people getting into farming. Another goal that aligns with their own. Any Terrain, Any Season, whether it’s working the forestry or farm, Can-AM is there tomake your life easier. From the toughness of our engines and all-terrain traction, to our steadfast, classleading payload and towing capabilities. We have the vehicle to suit your needs. So put your trust into your local NZ no 1 CAN-AM dealer. Call us to your free onsite demo today. Servicing the whole Wanganui, Taranaki, Ruapehu, Taihape and Hunterville Areas with pick-up and delivery service available. ®TM and the BRP logo are trademarks of Bombardier recreational Products Inc. or its af liates. BREEDING HARDY HILL COUNTRY SIRES SIL-recordedWiltshire 2th Ramon-farmauction - 10thNovember 2023 1pm 15 Arnold Road, RD 25, Stratford 4395 continue with the stock purchased from the farm, while the additional land gives them the capacity to increase their Shorthorn herd thus producing more bulls to ultimately put over the Dairy-X cows. They’re slowly phasing out the Simmental bulls, that were part of the Harris family practice they took over, in favour of the Shorthorns. Having culled some of the 250 newly purchased cattle, predominantly cows, to help with the workload being managed by Aaron and Amanda between them, with help from both Amanda’s and Aaron’s parents as well as the wider community in busy times, they’re upping the percentage of Shorthorns every year. “Some of the calves on the ground at the moment are from our own bulls. We also buy in Shorthorn bulls to support other breeders and to bring in different genetics that focus on different traits. The Simmentals are really nice bulls so we’re
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