32 | Kids are the 5th generation now on farm Laura and Jeremy have continued the family tradition of predator trapping and native planting. Virginia Wright In the nearly seven years since Jeremy and Laura Watson have been leasing Monowai Station off Laura’s parents, Michael and Adele Savage, they’ve made the most of a connection to the land that goes back 100 years. Their sons George (9yrs) and Blake (5yrs) are the fifth generation on the farm and enjoy ranging over the land as much as their parents. Laura and Jeremy have continued the family tradition of predator trapping and native planting as they carry on farming in the way that most suits the sprawling nature of the land up the Waimata Valley 25 km north of Gisborne, explains Jeremy. “It’s 735 hectares of mainly steep hill country with 150 hectares ineffective which are mainly bush and steep, unstable gully systems. We run it to suit the extensive style of the farm with relatively low stocking rates per hectare. It’s largely a breeding property but we do finish most of our stock.” With few paddocks to rotate stock through they allow them to spread out across the land and adjust their numbers year to year according to the season and how much feed they have available. After Cyclone Gabrielle they pulled their Romney ewe numbers back 150 to the 1350 they currently run along with a 180-strong, largely Angus, self- contained herd. From their small un-recorded Monowai Sufftech terminal ram stud they sell 40 to 45 rams each year mainly to local farmers who know they’re buying a ram that will serve their flock well. They put their own Sufftech terminal rams over their B-mob, their older ewes and hoggets, to capitalise as much as possible on terminal sired lambs. The top 60% of their ewes go to the St Leger Romney rams they buy in to give Monowai Station the quality replacements they need for their Romney flock. Having larger paddocks means the sheep can be quite selective where they graze, and the cattle not only help the bottom line but also help maintain the feed quality for the sheep in places where it gets away at different times of the year and on some of the steeper faces. Since Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 they’ve continued to have wet winters with last year’s even RURAL PEOPLE » Monowai Farming wetter than the one immediately following the cyclone. The last three springs have been dry around weaning time, with rain starting to fall in the second half of summer and early autumn. “It makes it interesting when you’re making decisions around whether to drop your stocking rate before Christmas and then you get a whole lot of feed after Christmas, but with the prices now being what they are it’s an easier decision to make than if they’d been lower,” says Jeremy. PROUDLY SUPPORTING MONOWAI FARMING Ramguard tested at .66 2026 Proudly Supporting Monowai Farming MONOWAI FARMING PROUD TO BE WORKING WITH
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