| 99 ON FARM » The Grange Oxford We like using Airbnb because we have the ability to block it out if we’re busy on the farm or want to go away on holiday.” Their caretaking of the environment sees them balancing economic return with looking after the land. The Birds have identified high-risk areas and fenced off and planted waterways. They are in the process of putting around 116ha of regenerative bush into the emissions trading scheme and are involved in a local trapping programme, which they have started to implement on their own farm. With several key waterways traversing their property or feeding into regional waterways of importance they have started monitoring rivers with the help of DairyNZ and Waimakariri Landcare Trust, which Alistair is a trustee on. The Birds have a planting plan going forward as part of ECan’s SCAR Programme, which aims to reduce the amount of sediment washed into waterways by stabilising eroding land with poplar and willow poles. “We are mindful that what we do has an impact on the water quality further down. The Cust River starts on our property and we are also one of the head waters for Coopers Creek, which flows into the Eyre River,” explains Alistair. It’s all created a diverse and profitable business with about three-quarters of The Grange’s income derived from sheep and 20% from cattle, with the balance coming from horse riding, accommodation and hay sales. The business has recently moved from finishing all lambs to a store system where the only lambs sold prime are off mum at weaning. The remaining lambs – excluding replacements – are sold store at weaning. Their Angus beef herd calves are sold at weaning. Proud to supply Genetics to The Grange - Oxford David Giddings 027 229 9760 George Giddings 027 656 3323 www.meadowslea.co.nz
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