28 | Community spirit comes to the fore The Faulkner’s were gutted to lose the woolshed on their East Coast farm to fire. Kim Bowden Rob and Sandra Faulkner were gutted to lose the woolshed on their East Coast farm to fire six months ago. It was a special building, built by Rob’s father with timber from trees that were planted on the farm by his father before that. Rob describes it as a loss, not just for him and the farm, but the wider community too. “It served as a sort of district community centre,” he says. The building was insured, and plans are underway for its replacement, which Rob hopes will be up and running later this year. In the meantime, neighbours have offered up the use of their woolsheds, and Rob reckons a silver lining is the reminder that other people can have your back when times are tough. A fourth-generation farmer, Rob values the connections he has made throughout his career with others working in the industry. He is one of the founding members of a farmer discussion group that has been going for decades. It’s 15-odd members get together up to four times a year, visiting each other’s farms and exchanging knowledge. “We don’t hold back. We know each other enough to give sound advice. It’s great networking,” he says. Rob’s wife Sandra is hands-on on the farm too, alongside taking an active role in Federated Farmers, where she sits on the National Board. “She is super important to the day-to-day running of the farm,” Rob says. “She’s got three dogs of her own and loves getting out in the hills. We’re often bouncing ideas of each other. I couldn’t do what I do without her assistance.” The pair are looking to the future and the option for the next generation – their two sons – to take the reins at the family farm. Rob acknowledges it can be a tough gig, and he is pragmatic that what comes next will ultimately be a decision for the boys to make. “The responsibility, and the pressures that come with that, are massive,” he says. “There are expectations – people are watching you and judging what you do. “It’s very real, when you’ve got a farm that’s been in the family for 120 years, you don’t want to be the one that sells it.” When he and Sandra bought out his sister and brother-in-law to take full ownership of the property a few years back, they made the call to put in place a board to help guide the business. “Sometimes you don’t want to know what they tell you, but it’s just good practice really,” Rob says. “You’ve got some huge decisions to make, and you need that sound advice at the end of the day.” Located 20 minutes or so from Gisborne, the farm’s topography lends itself to diversification. RURAL PEOPLE » Wairakaia Partnership Rob and Sandra are making money off sheep and cattle, citrus orchards, seed maize and forestry on their land. They run close to 1,800 lambing ewes, predominantly Coopworth Romneys for hybrid vigour. For Rob the focus is terminal genetics “to get the lambs out the gate as soon as possible”. They also have 550 hoggets, plus 1,000 trade lambs. Then there’re 150 breeding cows and 400 cattle, largely to “groom the paddocks”, Rob says. “They’re a Hereford with a Simmental put over them, for hybrid vigour once again.” Next up, is approximately 50 hectares of forestry. “The land we’ve targeted is steep and erosion prone - country that might only carry four stock units to the hectare - and because of our proximity to the port, it’s a bit of a no-brainer really,” Rob says. “We have seed maize on the best of the flats – we do about 80 hectares of that. “And then we do contracting work – tractor work – in and around Gisborne, just utilising machinery and staff.” In recent years, ten hectares planted in orange and mandarin trees has dropped to four, with the more productive and resilient varieties remaining. The farm employs two fulltime staff and contractors are brought in as needed. PROUD TO SUPPLY RAMS TO WAIRAKAIA PARTNERSHIP Ramguard tested at .64 2025
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