26 | Already changing how stock are grazed Lorne Peak Station is an extensive sheep and beef property between Garston and Kingston. Russell Fredric RURAL PEOPLE » Matthew Tayler Matthew Tayler believes collar technology could eventually help tackle one of the southern conservation estate’s biggest challenges – wilding trees. Leaseholder of Lorne Peak Station along with his wife Shona, Matthew has been trialling electronic cattle collars across the station’s high country near Kingston, with the system already changing how stock are grazed across parts of the station. Preliminary discussions are now underway with the Department of Conservation (DOC) around a possible trial using collared cattle on neighbouring conservation land to target wilding tree spread while protecting sensitive biodiversity areas. “We’ve got [the cattle] locked in quite tight on an area that’s got quite a lot of wilding trees,” Matthew says. “I’ll get a better idea in a couple of months’ time, but I think they’ll ringbark enough of those trees to make it a semi-viable option for controlling wilding trees.” Lorne Peak Station is an extensive sheep and beef property between Garston and Kingston comprising 5600ha, of which about 5300ha is Crown pastoral lease, which alongside another farm near Mossburn and an adjoining Kingston pastoral lease takes the total area to around 12,000ha, supporting approximately 40,000 stock units. The business winters and finishes large numbers of sheep and cattle across challenging hill and high-country terrain, with Matthew continually assessing how technology can improve grazing management, productivity and environmental outcomes. The collars are currently being used on Friesian bulls. “Those bulls are right up around the snowline, about 900 metres at the moment. We can graze the top part of those blocks now and then drop them down the hill later in winter as energy demand increases.” The collars have allowed cattle on country that previously proved difficult to manage efficiently. “We’re probably running another couple hundred cattle because of them. You can exclude them out of waterways or high biodiversity areas or wetlands and stuff, so we can keep them out of all that.” The collared cattle would be used to increase grazing pressure in selected wilding pine areas while ensuring stock remain excluded from environmentally sensitive zones. “We think some of the areas where there’s a lot of wilding trees could be a bit of a win-win. There’s a benefit for us because we get some grazing, then there’s a benefit for the conservation estate because hopefully it makes controlling wilding trees a bit more cost-effective.” The scale of the wilding tree issue across parts of the South Island is continuing to grow, particularly through the Mackenzie Basin and high-country environments, Matthew says. “There’s a limited pot of money and they’ve got to find smarter ways of getting on top of some of these areas.” Technology adoption was one of several themes discussed during the Federated Farmers High Country Field Day at Glenaray Station in Northern Southland in late March. The event was attended by Matthew and about 280 farmers, politicians and industry leaders. Matthew, who is Federated Farmers’ Southland representative on the High Country Committee, says events like this are important for highlighting both innovation and regulatory pressures facing high-country farming businesses. The Tayler’s are also exploring additional technology platforms around pasture measurement, artificial intelligence and animal genetics. “We capture a lot of information on-farm and if we can capture that information a bit easier, it gives us more time to interpret it and actually do the right thing from that data.” Satellite pasture measurement tools, AI-assisted pasture analysis and genomic testing are all areas Matthew sees potential in, particularly as sheep and beef businesses look for ways to improve productivity while remaining environmentally sustainable. He believes the increasing use of data across farming systems will become even more valuable during the next decade. “The more information you capture now, the more you’re going to be able to take advantage of AI further down the track.” “Some of the areas where there’s a lot of wilding trees could be a bit of a win-win. There’s a benefit for us because we get some grazing, then there’s a benefit for the conservation estate.” For all your sheep shearing requirements within the Southland region, contact Andrew at: 027 355 1557 leith.shearing@outlook.com Kelvin Murray - kelvin@sinclairtransport.co.nz - murray@sinclairtransport.co.nz PROUD TO SUPPORT MATTHEW TAYLER Ph: (03) 236 0466 Fax: (03) 236 0467 LIVESTOCK, GENERAL CARTAGE & FERTILISER SPREADING Silage and Baling contractor servicing the Northern Southland District Brent Eaton 027 485 5994 | O ce 027 428 4328 | Email ewl.balfouro ce@gmail.com Visit us on our website: www.ewl.nz Lifestyle & Rural Fencing including: DEER • SHEEP • CATTLE • POST & RAIL • YARDS 027 867 2975 | dbfencing2024@gmail.com
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