52 | Rural living ‘more challenging’ post cyclone Second year cadet Brendan loading a truck. Farm crew riding home. Mia and Angus holding the horses. Richard Loader RURAL PEOPLE » Richard Webby Seventy kilometres west of Gisborne, Ruakaka Station embraces 2000 hectares of predominantly steep country and is home to 12,000 stock units, more or less an even split between beef and sheep. While seventy-eight percent of the farm has a slope of 25° or more, it is located inland, tucked down in the bottom country, so its altitude is not all that high. “At its lowest point the farm is 90 metres above sea level and 500 metres above sea level at its highest, but there’s not much above 350 metres,” says Farm Manager Richard Webby. “Ten kilometres of the farm borders the Hangaroa River, all of which is stock excluded bar about 600 metres.” Of the station’s 2000 hectares, 1300 hectares is effective, with 138 hectares of pine plantation and a further 570 hectares of native plantings. “We have four main watercourses that run through the farm, which are mostly fenced with quite large buffer areas that are either reverting or have already reverted back to native plants and that makes up a large chunk of that 570 hectares.” Richard has been at the helm of Ruakaka Station for just over six years and says he has got a lot of enjoyment from initiating a lot of farm development. “In the broader sense, when I arrived here I had a clean slate and had the support of the owners to get stuck in and get the farm up on its feet. “I’ve got a lot of enjoyment out of that development process, turning one dollar into two dollars. The farm is now in a turnaround phase and our productivity is starting to lift substantially, with livestock weights.” Richard says Ruakaka Station was fortunate that it suffered only minimal cyclone damage because of the farm’s location on the East Coast, compared to so many farms in the region. “Our waterways got a good cleanout, we had six slips and I lost one of my main access routes down to the river and that hasn’t been fixed yet. We’ve had to deal with the flow-on effects of the cyclone though. “We lost our main access to town. So all of a sudden you have gone from driving ten kilometres of gravel to thirty-five kilometres, and the impact that has on vehicles.” Apart from the physical aftermath of the cyclone, Richard also points to the growing pressures placed on families and personal relationships within the farming community. “It can take up to four hours return travel time on gravel to get work, as opposed to the two hours that it used to be, which makes the prospect of living in these areas more challenging. “There has been a significant change to people’s lives, kids have had to change schools, and people are having to reassess how their lives function. “Because people can’t go to town as often as they used to, we’re trying to encourage people to socialise in their own little communities, the way it used to be years ago.” “It can take up to four hours return travel time on gravel to get work, as opposed to the two hours that it used to be, which makes the prospect of living in these areas more challenging. There has been a significant change to people’s lives, kids have had to change schools, and people are having to reassess how their lives function. Home of Larsawn Manufactured Products and so much more. On site we have an electric Mahoe Sawmill and Gisborne's only Timber Treatment Plant. Have us mill your logs, dry and treat the timber to H3.2 or H4 hazard class. When it comes to product availability, knowledge and customer service, Larswan really is your one-stop shop. Call and ask us what we can do for you today! 77 Main Road, Makaraka, Gisborne 06 867 7135 admin@larsawn.co.nz TIMBER TREATMENT & MILLING GATES, FENCING & HARDWARE MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS STOCK FEED & DOG TUCKER OTHER PRODUCTS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=