| 7 RURAL PEOPLE » Brewer Farms No till farming a successful way to go Rosa Watson Shaun Fowlie 027 511 9009 shaunfowlie2018@gmail.com TransAg Centre are proud to support Brewer Farms A Taranaki couple are showcasing how a no-till approach to farming can have huge benefits, both environmentally and efficiently. Richard and Jenni Brewer, along with Richard’s brother William Brewer and wife Lisa, took out the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award and Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award at the annual Taranaki Ballance Farm Environment Awards. The partnership farms two properties – the 250-hectare family farm at Hawera and another 210-hectare block 19 kilometres away at Manutahi. The operation includes a dairy unit with 230 cows, 300 Angus/Hereford cattle, 2300 Romney ewes, 600 hoggets, and maize silage production. It also runs a second dairy unit on 90ha, with 225 cows, in an equity partnership with our previous 50:50 sharemilker. It is also one of 15 shareholders in export company Coastal Spring Lamb that promotes the sustainable production of the lamb it sells. The property at Hawera is third generation, first farmed by the family in 1908. The Manutahi property was purchased in 1987 and a 64ha neighbouring dairy unit was purchased in 2021, which is now used for maize silage, beef and lamb finishing. “It was a lovely piece of soil and we just put it back into finishing crops and maize sileage.” Maize silage is fed to the dairy herd. Lambs are finished on 30ha of chicory. “The diverse operation fits together like a big jigsaw with crops going in as the cattle are finished during the winter and early spring. Annual ryegrass follows the maize and chicory crops in the autumn. “Our focus has been on having really productive stock and fast growing animals. The less number of days you can have the animals … that cuts our emissions down.” Richard has always had an interest in soils, and studied it while at university. “I guess it’s a passion of mine.” It was how he came to introduce a no till approach to his operations. Richard Brewer inspecting soil. The farm owns a cross slot drill - the only one in the Taranaki area – that was developed here in New Zealand. “It’s a technology that’s really underutilised.” It was developed by Massey University agronomists in the 1980s and went on to be manufactured in Fielding. Richard happened to be a student of the engineers Dr John Baker and Bill Ritchie in 1982. It is an impressive non-precision drill that sows seed straight into sprayed out pasture or crop residue. “Yields are very consistent in a range of conditions. Turnip crops of 17 to 21 TDM (tonnes dry matter) are particularly impressive.” The maize silage is also sown with the Cross Slot in 30cm rows. An auto-downforce system meant the seed was always placed at the correct depth. “It was certainly an investment, but it certainly paid it’s way.” The no till method had made his farm very sustainable. “At the end of the day the no till works. We never get to the point of ruining our soils. “We’re leaving cover on the soils all the time. It can be less than 24-hours between grass and maize.” New Zealand had been slow in introducing no-till farming, and Richard said he was enjoying mentoring other farmers into introducing the method. “No till is so gentle on the land.” One of the motivations for entering the awards was to showcase sustainable farming to consumers, he said. All farmers wanted to farm sustainably, he said. “Sustainable farming takes time. Improvements in plant and animal genetics and farm systems cannot happen overnight.” TBSL TARANAKI BULK SPREADING LTD
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