| 27 Bull rearing a win-win at Puketotara Puketotara Station in Northland has doubled its carcase weight production per hectare since abandoning the traditional New Zealand sheepmeat and beef format. Hugh de Lacy RURAL PEOPLE » Puketotara Pamu Switching to bull-rearing to soak up Pamu’s surplus dairy calves has seen the stateowned farmer’s Puketotara Station in Northland double its carcase weight production per hectare since abandoning the traditional New Zealand sheepmeat and beef format. Where the standard carrying mix of cows and calves, sheep and lambs used to produce 150200kg of meat per hectare, bull-farming at Puketotara, near Kerikeri in the Far North, has hiked that to 400-450kg/ha. Puketotara comprises two blocks of medium hill country totalling 1300ha, but after fencing off riverways, streeamways and anything steep or dangerous, and gifting native bush to the QEII National Trust, the effective area is 786ha. “Basically, we’re farming half what we used to and we’re making more money than we ever have,” Puketotara manager Ian Shaw says. “We’ve doubled or tripled the profits on half the land.” The farm carries 550 R2 bulls, 1000 R1 autumn bulls and 500 R1 spring bulls, and is one of five Pamu farms converted to bull-rearing, some completely, while others have retained sheep for the steeper land. “We are moving to greater use of dairy beef to meet our ambition of increasing usage of surplus dairy calves,” Ian says. “We wean them after four or five days, and then off they go to the calf-rearers, after which they’re sent back to us at 100kg liveweight. “Pamu has invested significantly in calf-rearing facilities at its Wairakei farm on the Napier-Taupo Road, and they’re investing in more.” Pamu’s dairy farms produce around 20,000 surplus calves a year and, as well as having its own calf-rearing facilities, it sends many off to outside calf-rearers, then brings them back to stock the bull-rearing farms. Puketotara is a particularly wet farm, usually getting 2-2.5m of rain a year, though last year it got 3m, and this year’s massive downpours, yet to be quantified, are certain to top that. “Last year we finished bulls in July-August at around 550kg – rather than 650-700kg – and got all the big boys off the place before it got too wet. “This year we’ll again finish them in July, and once they’re gone we’ll start taking on autumn calves in August-September, and that’ll help control our spring growth. “It’s called the Efficient Bull System – EBF – and it’s essentially intensive farming on a big scale,” Ian says. Besides Ian, the farm has three full-time staff called bull-finishing specialists, a role that’s “somewhere between a shepherd and a stock manager,” Ian says. “Each of us has our own block and mobs to take care of, and each mob is allocated 15 paddocks and moved every two or three days. “In the growing season we give them heaps to eat and they very efficiently turn grass into meat, and then in winter we do them hard, but come spring we open them up and away they go.” There’s a big benefit to the staff from EBF farming in that for much of the year they’re able to take the weekends off. “It makes for a nice lifestyle,” Ian says. Puketotara comprises two blocks of medium hill country totalling 1300ha. Rob Titter Farm Services Ltd Repairs on all makes & models r��er@xtra.co.nz Ph: 09 401 1774 Mobile: 027 522 6248 55 Station Road Kaikohe NZ Farmers Livestock & Livestock Specialist Noel Baker are proud to be associated with Ian Shaw & the Team at their livestock management & purchase plan. NZ Farmers Livestock Ltd are 100% New Zealand owned & operated and have a long standing and established history within the livestock market . See us on MyLiveStock & download the MyLiveStock App, it’s simple & helpful with up to date livestock info list /buy / sell / market results . Call Noel on 0274 555 828 Northland area.
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