| 25 Proudly supporting FraserKing Grateful for the diversification options Bernadette Cooney With lamb prices plummeting and predicted to stay low, Canterbury Plains sheep and beef farmer Fraser King is grateful for the diversification options provided by his beef cattle herd, dairy grazing, and cropping operations. Being a dryland farmer, much of the farm’s ability to diversify is credited to the nine years the Kings have been part of the Central Plains Water Irrigation scheme. Farming at Hororata, the King family farm irrigates 300 hectares of their 1100-hectare holding over three blocks between Windwhistle and Glenroy. Fraser and Amanda King, along with their children Greta, 10, and Dudley, 8, live on the 500-hectare home block Shelterdale Farm and assist with the 416-hectare Round Top Block at Windwhistle. Between these farms, the Kings manage about 3,800 ewes and ewe hoggets. Coopworth mixed breeds are raised at Shelterdale, while Round Top Farm has Coopdales known for their hardiness on the hills. The 300 Angus cattle and 11 sire bulls move between the properties. “We keep the Angus heifer calves to select replacements from and finish the excess heifers or sell them as in-calf heifers,” says Fraser. Shelterdale Farm benefits from water sourced from the first and second stages of the Rakaia River intake within the $180 million Central Plains Water Scheme, covering over 40,000 hectares of the upper Canterbury Plains between the Rakaia and Waimakariri Rivers. This access to irrigation, which Fraser refers to as being able to “turn on the rain,” has enabled them to farm more intensively and with greater assurance, particularly with grain cropping and winter crops of fodder beet, kale, and swedes for dairy grazing. MEAT & WOOL » Fraser King Fraser brings in a little ryegrass straw bales for the cows most years, but everything else is grown on-farm. “Our farm changed when we put irrigators in,” says Fraser. “We could do more dairy grazing and guarantee our crop yields for barley and wheat.” The CPWS irrigation scheme is expensive, with charges of around $900 per hectare annually. “But it’s useful and we wouldn’t be without it now,” Fraser explains. “Debt servicing the water scheme is more than 50% of our annual charges, but it will serve second and third-generation farmers, so it’s a good scheme to be a part of.” Another King brother, Dougal, and his wife own a neighbouring dairy farm carrying their own herd plus 1,300 winter-over dairy cows. The third King son, Angus, is a scientist living in Anchorage, Alaska. Tragically, the family lost their father, Gavin • Ploughing - Kuhn 8f • Conventional drilling - Pottinger drill seed/fert • Direct Dill - John Deere 750A • Precision Drilling - Vaderstad Tempo Seed/Fert Maize / Fodderbeet • Min Tillage - Heva Rippers / Discs combination • 8mtr Kuhn cultivator / Roller • 8mtr Vaderstad roller • Discing - Two 6mtr Proforge Inverta max pro Disc’s • Triple Mowers Sam 027 279 1344 BASED IN HORORATA Ploughing, Cultivation, Seeding and Mowing Blair and Jane Smith: (03) 432 4154 / 027 432 4154 newhavenfarms@netspeed.net.nz 2474178-13/4 PROUD TO SUPPLY THE KING FAMILY WITH FOSSIL CREEK ANGUS BULLS Between these farms, the Kings manage about 3,800 ewes and ewe hoggets. Photo: Amanda King King, three years ago in a tree fall accident at Windwhistle. Despite this loss, the family continues to cooperate on running a successful farming operation and is looking forward to a healthy lambing season this September. However, the poor lamb prices are demoralising. Agribusiness reports show a downturn in exports to China and weakened markets in the U.S. and Europe. Global prices for lamb leg cuts and fore quarters have dropped 20 to 30% compared to the five-year average, with no recovery in sight. For the King family, focusing on core business and maintaining a fertile, maternal Angus herd is key to navigating these challenging times. “Our farm changed when we put irrigators in.“We could do more dairy grazing and guarantee our crop yields for barley and wheat.”
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