| 35 RURAL PEOPLE » Black Pond Farm / Drumpeel Farms Flexibility of mind Sue Russell Operating a complex and carefully thought through mixed cropping and drystock operation across two separate blocks in central Hawke’s Bay, takes flexibility of mind and a resourceful disposition, as is the case with Hugh and Sharon Ritchie of generational farming business Drumpeel Farms. “I’m the second generation. Dad and his brothers buying Drumpeel, though his brothers exited in 1976 and Mum’s family owning the Horonui block which we use for finishing bulls, some cropping on the flat and for finishing lambs,” Hugh explains. In all the two blocks extend over 2,000ha and the farm has been in the family over 60 years. Drumpeel Farm is where the bulk of mixed cropping takes place. Across both units a team of 9 staff are employed, with 3 devoted full-time to the cropping operation, along with Hugh. A very experienced stock manager takes care of the animals at the Horonui block, leaving Hugh free to concentrate on producing the best possible crops and seeds, through the careful interplay of lamb finishing and rotational cropping systems. Crops grown on the Drumpeel block extending some 640 ha of peat, silt and sandy soil-based flat country near Otane including wheat, maize, barley, oats, carrots, peas, sweetcorn, beans, export squash along with specialist grass and vege seed. “We find it works well to finish up to 10,000 lambs across the cropping platform each winter. They graze on short-rotatiion grasses sown over the top of the old crops,” says Hugh. Irrigation was introduced to Drumpeel in 2000, mitigating the potential to be summer-dry with the water coming from an on-site bore. Average annual rainfall is, give or take, 800-850mm, however there’s been a shift in how the rainfall is distributed throughout the year. “As Hawke’s Bay summers go, this has been a good one. Having access to irrigation certianly enhances what we grow in terms of access to higher value crops, making long-term reliable access to water one of the critical factors in the area.” Hugh should know better than most just what water means to the long-term security of cropping in the region and he’s put his money where his Proud to support Drumpeel Farms For all your Hay - Silage - Cultivation Phone Mike 021 733 918 mike@mikekettle.co.nz | www.mikekettlecontracting.co.nz Certified organic Sue Russell Since settling on their ‘slice of heaven’ nearly 8 years ago, enterprising beef rearing farmers Hamish Browne and Robyn Budd have continued to pour their time and energy into creating a wonderful environment in which to raise their herd of mixed-age cattle. The couple practice restorative and regenerative management systems to ensure their certified organic property continues to flourish and that starts from the soil up. At 260 acres, including a beautiful block of native bush and trees, the farm is located on the western side of the Firth of Thames, near Miranda. The main bush areas include an abundance of mature native trees such as Rewarewa, Rimu, Totara and Kauri. A focus has been to fence the bush and instigate an ongoing pest control program, which has rewarded the couple with the return of many native birds, lizards, while the riperian streams are home to both short-fin and long-finned tuna. “We’ve created a spring fed tuna pond next to the main stream, providing a natural habitate even during very dry months,” says Robyn. The herd are raised in tight-knit family groupings, with calves left to wean naturally at about 9 or 10 months. They stay together all their lives and each day are introduced to a new paddock to graze over. In this way, they grow with little stress or concern, impacting the quality of their meat. “We breed our cows to shorthorn bulls which in turn produce wonderful calves. As a small beef producer in terms of numbers processed at any given time, we’ve had to find the best way to make this farm viable and the way we’ve done that is to find an MPI micro abbattoir and local butcher to process our meat,” explains Hamish. Their meat is sold to Pravda Cafe and Grill in Wellington and Pantry d’Or Boutique Bakery in Rotorua. More locally its available at the Miranda Farm Shop, Thames Organic Shop and the Urban Market in Pukekohe, to name a few. And while Black Pond Farm is home and where their hearts are, Hamish has other activities that keep him busy. He has an engineering workshop and is a hay and balage contractor in the district. 0800 284 3838 | anexa.co.nz KEEP YOUR FARM MOO-VING. JOIN THE CLUB NOW. The Anexa team provides friendly and professional veterinary care for your farm and pets. Founded by farmers in 1923, our Anexa Vet Club has a proud history in helping farms feel legen-dairy by offering: • Vets who are specialised in herd health e.g., advanced mastitis advisers, healthy hoof advisers, and body condition score assessors certified. • A team of technicians to help with a range of animal-health jobs e.g., bolusing, teatsealing, disbudding, and milk sampling. • An on-farm product and delivery service. • An in-house lab for fast and efficient test results. • Tailored and practical on-farm training and clinic workshops to improve your farm’s health and productivity. mouth is, in terms of investing, along with others, in purchasing the consents and IP from Regional Council for the moth-balled Ruataniwha Dam project, once promised for the region. “In my view it was an absolute tragedy that the pathway toward establishing the Dam by Council was thwarted when a Supreme Court ruling in 2017, stopped any further engagement by Council in proceeding with the project. We bought the already approved consents and IP in order to keep some hope of salvaging this significantly important project alive.” A glimmer of hope that the project would eventually find traction again came when the National-led coalition governemtn in 2023 developed a list of 149 project for fast-tracking, with the Ruataniwha Dam one of them. Seeing progress on this matter is really important Hugh says, citing his own situation of consents to access water coming up for reapproval in about 8 years and a sense that the mood to reduce current volumes being accessed for the cropping enterprise will prevail. “We’ve absolutely got to get a sense of certainty that we’ll be able to continue to access the volumes we need. If you look at the case of the Heretaunga Plains, access volumes have been under review for 4 years and its going to the Environment Court with the overarching driver to reduce water volume.”Hugh says, to be fair, the Government is very supportive, wanting to see increase profitability and encourage the cultivation of high value crops. “High value for croppers comes from access to high value crops and these need the certain supply of sufficient water. Building the dam will, in fact, add more water access and storage so that minimum flow volumes can be guaranteed and the river itself enhanced in terms of flow and water quality.” Hugh says confidently with his long background in cropping in the region, his understanding of the benefits building the dam would bring, that if he can’t meet public expectations around water security and associated environmental obligations ‘then he wouldn’t know who could’. Setting aside Hugh’s long journey with matters ‘water’, he says the business is ticking along nicely. “I’m fortunate to have a great team on the ground, a stock manager who can be left to get on with it and with years under my belt, I feel we have farming systems that work very productively for us at this time.” Since settling in the district the farm has experienced all manner of weather, from quite dry to Cyclone Gabrielle, however Hamish says 2024 was a good year. “We’ve dried out a bit now but we had a good spring and summer.” Along with their interest in ensuring their animals and environment are well tended, the couple also engage in the local catchment group. “That’s been great also for giving us different ways to think around things. One of our big things at are the moment is trying to make sure at any point where water is coming into the main stream, its supported to remain as clean and fresh as possible,” says Robyn. The catchment group is an incorporated society and has two key focuses. First to bring knowledge and capability to all members to support their ability upskill members to spend every dollar they have in the most effective way. “We’re doing a lot of measurement around water quality but its wider than that. It goes into mental health, pest control, first-aid. The second purpose of the group is to build a robust and connected community.” The aspiration to become certified organic was there from the outset for both Hamish and Robyn and that in itself requires a solid commitment as it impacts on all aspects of how the farm operates. Homoeopathic remedies are supplied to animals and Robyn says there are continually new products at arms reach for them to try. “There’s a large body of knowledge out there and many vets are interested in these organic remedies.” Asked how they assess when an animal is ready for processing Hamish says its about observing them carefully to see if they look ‘finished’. “We weigh them and choose the best conditioned ones out of the group.” Robyn says she enjoys nothing more than to see the four legged families enjoying life. “They are wonderful to observe, playing and squabbling, just like human families do. The young ones form groups and you can see they are just enjoying life. We know its a privilege to have this farm and to farm the way we do.”
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