24 | NEW ZEALAND CENTURY FARM AND STATION AWARDS » Gutschlag Farming Ltd Multiple generations of enjoyment 3 generations, Grandad Eric (brown suit), Dad Mervyn (light grey suit) and Pete as a baby. Pete is currently 4th generation, his children being the 5th generation living on farm. Randall Johnston Farming on a property 30 kilometres north east of Gore; Bex and Pete Clyne run an operation consisting of 5,000 Growbulk ewes and 50 Angus-Hereford cattle across 603ha of rolling to steep land. The family is excited ahead of the Century Farms Awards, and don’t have far to travel to Lawrence for the celebrations. “There will be about 12 of us, including mum and dad, so it’s going to be great really. We are very proud of the history and it’s especially nice for my parents and our two kids Emma and Cruz to witness,” Bex says. “At 78, dad is half-retired but he still comes out most days. I’m the third daughter of Mervyn, so he gave us the opportunity about 10 years ago to come on and manage the farm. Pete was managing for another property over at Balfour at the time and I was nursing, so he hit the ground running.” Five years ago they started doing half bred Merinos. “So we run about 1,000 breeding half-bred Merinos, 400 half-bred Marino hoggets and 400 cross-bred hoggets. The aim there is to try and get better wool, rather than just solely focusing on meat production – it makes sense so long as you can keep the meat quality as well,” Pete explains. “We had the worst spring on records so growth has been slow. We didn’t have much of a summer and autumn came very quickly, but we’ll be able to bounce back from that.” They plant 10ha swedes, 10 ha of chow and 10ha of turnips, which helps keep feed costs down and Pete is looking to bring his beef herd up for 50 and closer to the 100 mark over the next few years. admin@waikakatransport.com 032072885 Stock Cartage, General Cartage & Fert Spreading Congratulations on 100 Years !
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