38 | RURAL PEOPLE » Big Hill Station Shifting the stock mix at Big Hill Having returned home to his parents’ family farm in Hawke’s Bay four years ago, Sam Glazebrook has now taken up the reins at Big Hill Station. He took up the lease of the property from his parents mid-way through last year, paving the way to some changes in farm policy bringing a greater orientation towards cattle. The 2500-hectare hill country sheep and beef farm, 45 minutes west of Hastings, has been in Sam’s family for three generations now. His grandparents, Derek and Dinah, first purchased the farm in partnership with Derek’s brother in the 1960s. Then Sam’s parents Bill and Anna took it over, raising their family there. Another big milestone is coming up for the Glazebrook family now too, with Sam and his fiancée planning to get married later this year. Sam spent a few years away from the family farm before returning in 2020. After leaving school, he studied management and environmental management at the University of Otago and then went shepherding in South Canterbury and working on farms in Australia and Canada. “It was quite a contrast going from Australia – the most extensive you can get, where one of the properties I worked on was a million acres – to Canada on a 15-hectare farm that had five thousand ewes!” Both his university studies and accumulated farm experience have stood him in good stead at Big Hill Station that spans some rugged country and typically winters around 12,000 stock units. It has an effective area of around 1800-hectares The 2500-hectare hill country sheep and beef farm, 45 minutes west of Hastings, has been in Sam Glazebrook’s family for three generations now. with the rest being native bush. Most of the land is medium to steep, complemented with a smaller area of easy rolling country. Stock are mostly grass fed and the farm also grows some 40-hectares of forage crops with baleage fed out to calving heifers. Sam has recently taken on a new head shepherd, Josh, and has another junior shepherd starting soon. With seven kilometres of theRuahine ranges bordering the farm on one side and nine kilometres of the Ngaruroro river along another boundary, the location opens up a great lifestyle for the farm team. “We’re pretty lucky to have plenty of hunting and fishing opportunities right on the doorstep.” This autumn, Sam has been buying in some weaner Friesian bulls. He notes there has been a shift in farm policy, aiming for more of a cattle orientation and dropping back on ewe numbers, with cross grazing also part of the mix. “We’re trying to get away from threats around internal parasites by using more cattle in the system and cross grazing the sheep. With a lot of sheep, grazing year-round, they just don’t get a break from the worm pasture. Instead, by dropping ewe numbers, we can rest areas over certain parts of the year for a few months. We can then get the cattle in there to decrease the parasite load and reduce pressure.” As well, cross grazing helps reduce reliance on drenching for managing parasites, also lessening the risk of drench resistance. Meanwhile, Sam says his parents still run two other properties, closer to Hastings. “We send our old ewes down there and I like to go and help out there too.” “It was quite a contrast going from Australia – the most extensive you can get, where one of the properties I worked on was a million acres – to Canada on a 15-hectare farm that had five thousand ewes!” Kim Newth Proud to supply Angus Bulls to Big Hill Station. FAMILY-OWNED AND LOCALLY OPERATED PROUDLY SERVING OUR FARMERS. RURALAIRWORK.CO.NZ Josh & Suzie Calder - Owner Operators 06 8568070 - 0272759050
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