36 | Happy crew, healthy stock key for manager Tukemokihi Station is a 6000ha sheep and beef property Located 40mins inland from Wairoa. Anne Boswell As part of the mission statement of Te Whakaari Inc, the adage ‘toitu te whenua he whatungaro te tangata – man disappears, but the land will always be here, reflects the shareholders’ vision to develop a versatile, sustainable and profitable business to create ‘wealth’ (cultural, social, environmental and economic) for generations to come. And as manager of one of five Te Whakaari Inc. properties spanning from Gisborne to Wairoa on the East Coast, Tukemokihi, David Scragg keeps this ethos front of mind as he goes about his workday. Located on the boundary of the Gisborne/ Hawkes Bay regions, Tukemokihi Station comprises 6,200ha, of which 3,700ha is farmed with sheep and beef. David’s nine-strong team of permanent staff look after the station’s 29,000 stock units, undertaking a variety of farm tasks as required. Tukemokihi Station calves down 900 Angus cows, bred to be able to handle the property’s steep hill country and snow in the winter. The cull heifers are sold at two-years-old, as is all spare yearlings through to 18-months-old. Sire bulls round out the beef units on farm. However, the business has a strong focus on sheep. With 14,500 ewes on farm, store lambs are sold from weaning until the end of April, in addition to the best of the five-year-old ewes. As there is no official annual on-farm sale, David says he “chips away” at lamb and cattle sales, dependent on the season. The only sheep that are bought in are rams, from local stud St Leger. Traditionally, the Tukemokihi flock was bred to Romney, but over the last three years David says breeding is slowly moving toward Romdale. “(St Leger owner) Andrew Savage is passionate about what he’s doing, and we seem to be getting the results out of his sheep,” David says. Traits David looks for when selecting genetics includes high facial eczema (FE) tolerance, hardiness, and fertility. “I like a good, open face, free moving sheep,” he says. “Tukemokihi Station is steep and bluffy, so the sheep need to have a pretty good understanding that they are not coming back if they go over.” RURAL PEOPLE » Tukemokihi Off the farm, David and wife Bex enjoy competing in sheep dog trials, having achieved success in both regional and national competitions. When it comes to looking to the future, David’s goals are foundational, but critical to the success of the business. “I’d like to get more country under good fences and cleaned, and lift production and income while I’m at it,” he says. “I like to keep a happy crew of staff, and healthy stock.” The goals of Te Whakaari Inc fall into three categories: Land, Environment and People. It aims to farm and maintain its existing effective land area to a high level, assess all future developments based on a cost-benefit analysis and consider alternative income streams. Environmentally, the incorporation wishes to sustain, protect and improve New Zealand’s native species’ and support education engagement and care for the environment. And finally, it wishes to develop career pathways and professional development for shareholders, their descendants and committee members. P: 06 838 8282 M: 027 483 0644 | 027 230 8713 Mike Bramwell 027 644 8514 Farm Excavation Services Gisborne & Wairoa
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