| 39 Up to 2000 bales of of baleage is made at Ohutu Station each year. It has 3000 head of cattle throughout the year made up of weaners, older steers and heifers, as well as rearing around 50 Friesian bull calves. RURAL PEOPLE » Ohotu Station Small tweaks create farm efficiencies Karen Phelps A number of tweaks to the system at Ohotu Station are creating efficiencies in key areas of the farm. Located 15km east of Ohakune, with 1500ha of mainly flat to rolling land, Ohotu Station is owned by Atihau Incorporation and takes stock bred on the incorporation’s breeding stations and raises them to saleable weight on pasture or forage crops. Farm manager Dean Francois says that one recent change is the farm will not grow any winter crop. “We have a really awkward grass-growing pattern and grow the most in December and make a lot of baleage – up to 2000 bales. We have the surplus there already so it made sense to stop growing 70ha of kale for winter feed and instead lock up 100ha of older grass paddocks in January and winter on that with the baleage,” explains Dean. Trading cattle is the main part of the business and Ohotu Station kills around 2000 head of cattle each year and kills year round. It has 3000 head of cattle throughout the year made up of weaners, older steers and heifers, as well as rearing around 50 Friesian bull calves. The Angus breed is favoured as it utilises feed well, has a thick skin to keep warm, good foraging ability and lays down internal fat. A great deal of emphasis is placed on marbling and Dean says the key is to keep the stock well fed so they don’t need to feed off the fat in their bodies. Another key change has been work done around methane emissions, which has seen the farm lower its age group of trading cattle. “Normally we would have 400-500 R3s going into their third winter so have tried to take them out of the equation as older animals emit more methane. We’ve under taken fencing development so we can feed them better and send them away earlier. Now 90% are gone before their third winter so we can carry on killing our two-year-old cattle. It has made the system more efficient.” Importantly this has been achieved without compromising carcass weight too much. Previously these cattle were sent to the works at around 310kgs and this has only dropped slightly to 300kgs. While cattle numbers have been increased slightly sheep numbers have been dropped to mitigate trading lamb price fluctuations. The farm fattens 20,000 Romney and Perendaletrading lambs each year. The season is short – starting in December and ending in June. The summer dry is also a big challenge as lambs are “more finicky quality feeders” compared to cattle, says Dean. The farm has irrigation on 70ha, which helps produce high quality grasses and clovers for the sheep. Due to the cold winters – four snowfalls per season is to be expected – Dean uses a crossbred or terminal sire to produce hybrid vigour and good ability to convert grass to meat. “We’re trying to farm 12 months of the year with 100 day winters,” he says putting the challenge in perspective. “We don’t really have an autumn as at this time of the year soil temperatures can plunge quickly so all our new grasses must be planted in spring.” The farm is just over 2000 feet above sea level but close to the mountain range. “At the moment it has one of the deepest snow bases in the world on Ruapehu. It’s like having a big bag of ice in your chilly bin – it keeps things cold.” Located right next to Tongariro National Park, a World Heritage site, Dean says environmental stewardship is important for Atihau Incorporation. The farm won the Farm Stewardship regional award at the 2018 Ballance Farm Environment Awards.Around 111ha has been retired including 43ha of native bush covenanted with Nga Whenua Rahui. The station’s 50km of waterways are fully fenced. DA WINDLE LTD Raetihi for all your livestock transport needs phone ke rry on 027 222 3431 WE ALSO SUPPY BUILDERS MIX, BARK & STONE. CALL THE OFFICE FOR A PRICE. ROBBIE: 027 442 8686 (ENQUIRIES) EMAIL: ROBBIE@LILTRANS.CO.NZ 15 RAILWAY ROAD, RAETIHI 4632 • WOOL • TIMBER • FERTILIZER • GRAIN • METAL • POSTS • LIME • STOCK FEED SUPPLEMENTS PROUD TO SUPPORT OHOTU STATION
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