30 | Station’s focus on premium product Todd Bolton and wife Jacqui with children Holly and Finn. Richard Loader A Central Plateau steep hill country sheep and beef farm, Pamu’s Mangamingi Station sits between Taupo and Rotorua in Reporoa and is surrounded by low-lying dairy properties. Encompassing 3600 hectares, the property’s altitude rises from 600 metres to 800 metres above sea level. Only 1550 hectares is in grass, with 1480 hectares in plantation forest, which is now in its second rotation. There is also 130 hectares of native forest under QEII covenants and some land protected through Waikato Regional Council conservation, including waterways and gullies, which are being progressively fenced off. While Mangamingi emits 6.6 tonnes of carbon as a farming operation, it sequesters 34 tonnes due to the amount of forestry. For the last four years Mangamingi has been under the stewardship of Farm Manager Todd Bolton and his team of four staff. With multiple accreditations to supply various meat processing companies including Silver Fern Farms, Mangamingi has until recently been both a breeding and nishing property. Todd says that climate change and dryer conditions have been a challenge for nishing stock, driving a decision to transition to a breeding only operation, supplying weaned progeny to other Pamu farms for nishing to retain the premium status gained from accreditations. “Those accreditations look at a diverse range of criteria including how we treat our people, how we treat our animals and feed them, how we look after the environment in terms of reducing winter cropping due to close proximity to the Waikato River, our use of FarmIQ, and NAIT transactions. “It’s being the best at all those things that show we have a premium product. We’re audited every couple of years to ensure we still meet those criteria in order to keep providing the premium product into those supply chains.” Mangamingi’s capital stock includes 5300 breeding ewes and 600 Angus cows, plus all replacements. Depending on the season 240 Angus steers will also be nished. In addition to 1800 replacement hoggets that Todd and his team select for Mangamingi, a further 900 are selected for another Pamu breeding property near Te Awamutu. Rams and bulls are supplied by two nearby Pamu properties, Goudies Station and Rotomahana. Todd recently found out that Mangamingi won the Silver Fern Farms Bay of Plenty regional Pasture to Plate lambs supply award. He and his team had previously won the same award in 2020. “I think it’s awesome. It’s great recognition of the hard work that the team does throughout the year and the premium quality of our product.” RURAL PEOPLE » Mangamingi Station Todd’s journey to farming has taken on many twists and turns along the way including installing cell phone’s in cars, installing barcoding equipment for courier companies, working on an IT project in the United Kingdom and even working as a gardener on a large country estate. But in 2005 the journey came back to farming in New Zealand, and with his wife Jacqui and children Holly and Finn, Todd’s calling was found. He says the outdoors lifestyle, the changes and challenges that every day brings, and the pride in seeing premium quality product leave the farm gate are key to why he does what he does. “It’s also about working with people. Coaching and developing people is something that I’m quite passionate about. In my previous job I worked on a farm that had a cadet scheme and fourteen cadets, so I cut my teeth in that role, coaching fourteen students.” Todd currently has four staff under his wing, at varying levels of experience and responsibility. “Over the last four years Jason Forrest, Mangamingi’s stock manager and I have combined our abilities, working together to develop the younger shepherds and further their careers in agriculture. This has been a really rewarding experience.” Proudly supplying quality shearing services to LANDCORP FARMING for over 50 years We support all that is best in shearing
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=