76 | MEAT & WOOL » Mt Cook Station Wilding pines prove an ETS headache Alongside the eradication of wilding pines (below) the Miles family run 400 Angus cattle. There is also a thriving tourism accommodation business on the farm. The legendary Shearers Quarters offers ve bedrooms and shared living spaces with a balcony overlooking the Jollie River, Tasman River Flats and the Southern Alps. Karen Phelps When Alana and Clint Miles took over Mount Cook Station in 2016 it was nearly two thirds covered in wilding trees. It would be fair to say the pair knew they were in for some work but the reality has been even more challenging. The trees were submitted to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) by the previous owner and it’s taken Alana and Clint until this year to clear the carbon credits through harvesting the wood and selling it on the export market to transition the land back to farmland. There has also been an exemption for some of the credits by the government, a process that has taken four years causing delays in getting the farm developed. Clint says that because wilding trees were permitted to be included in the ETS it has created this unique problem for some landowners. And the costs can be signi cant. For example when Alana and Clint rst looked at purchasing the farm carbon credits were around $11.50, meaning it would have cost them $2.2m to pay them back. When they nished clearing the credits it was $6.8m. Today that gures sits at approximately $18.5m. They are now just waiting for nal con rmation they are completely out of the ETS so the clean up work of the post-logging land can begin in earnest. They have now harvested around 300ha of the 2600ha property and sprayed around 700ha out. There is still another 750ha of trees to harvest, which they estimate will take them ve to six years. Wilding trees are a huge problem in New Zealand and although the couple has been working alongside Environment Canterbury and MPI Clint says a lack of government funding is ensuring it is a problem that’s here to stay for many landowners for years to come. He says the government needs to put more money into controlling the invasive weed trees with urgency to protect indigenous biodiversity. They know all too well wilding trees are not easy to control; Alana’s father David Gould spends his days pulling out the small trees that spring up in the cleared blocks to try and keep the problem at bay. Alongside the eradication programme, the Miles family has been farming 400 Angus cattle. It’s a small breeding business because they have only had two hay paddocks to produce enough winter feed for the animals. They sell around 130 steers to a neighbour who nishes them and keep 100 replacements, which are taken through for two years then the bottom animals culled. Their aim is to one day nish all their own stock and build stock numbers up. As they clean up more land they are excited to have a blank canvas upon which to develop their farming business. The plan is to farm cattle and deer rst and maybe sheep in the future. There is also a thriving tourism accommodation business on the farm. The legendary Shearers Quarters offers ve bedrooms and shared living spaces with a balcony overlooking the Jollie River, Tasman River Flats and the Southern Alps. Closer to the homestead are the unique Station Huts, originally used to house the shepherds who worked the farm years ago. From the exterior, these huts are still in their original state, with the interiors lovingly refreshed to be warm, cosy spaces. A new house, situated on a plateau overlooking Aoraki/Mount Cook, provides ve-star B&B accommodation. Alana says Australian tourists are already coming back and there are also strong bookings from overseas. Alana and Clint not only complete all the work on their farm but Alana also works full time as a farm manager on a 3845ha merino station. The couple’s children Tahlia, 5 and Peter, 7 are home schooled with help from Sue Woods, who is part of the logging crew, and Alana’s mum Marion. Clint’s oldest son Lukas, 13, lives in Napier and comes down for school holidays when he enjoys helping out on the farm. The aim is to build a strong farming business capable of supporting the whole family. “We knew when we took this farm on it would be a huge challenge. It’s a lot of hard work but we’re starting from scratch and making it ours. When we wake up and see how beautiful it is here and how much the kids enjoy it we can’t complain. We are just taking things one step at a time.” www.ruraltransport.co.nz Ashburton (03) 308 4079 Waimate (03) 689 6100 Kurow (03) 436 0849 Fairlie (03) 685 8911 T R A N S P O R T L T D • Stock Cartage • General Freight • Fertiliser Spreading •Bulk Cartage • Hiab Hire • Cool Storage Accountants & Business Advisors 18 Woollcombe St, Timaru | www.fordsimpson.co.nz | P: 03 687 2080 Proud partners of successful South Canterbury Businesses Pleased to support Mt Cook Station Ford Simpson Ltd Chartered Accountants Antony Ford Brodie Craig 0508 PF OLSEN | pfolsen.com LEADERS IN FORESTRY FOR OVER 50 YEARS
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