64 | nzdairy “Evie is a lot like Myra. She has my stubbornness and Richards patience, so nice for her to have taken over Grandmother’s farm.” Still live in the original Southland homestead Tracey Edwardes Present day team at Hawthornden Evie, Dion, James, Charlotte, Jan and Richard Wards from Hawthornden Farm. New Zealand Century Farm and Station Awards » D Wards and Co. Ltd Through trials, tribulations and change, Hawthornden has remained the heart of a farming family for 150 years - This year’s Century Farm Award recognising the milestone. Richard Wards and his wife Jan live in the original Southland farm homestead. Its resides on the three farms from the original Knapdale Run settlement sale, purchased for £2.10acre. Richard’s great grandfather and his two brothers bought a 200acre block each. “Over time the three blocks were bought by my grandfather, James Aiken.” The farm is now 315ha, developed with thousands of clay tiles to drain the once swampy land. Hawthornden aptly named as his Scottish Great Grandfather planted Hawthorn hedging, refusing the gnarly gorse. The couple’s sons Will and James have worked on the farm, but it is 33-year-old Evie who has permanently taken over. Originally some grain, then dry stock, Richard converted to dairying in 2014. “Evie suits the cows, and with dairying you can have different management solutions down the track, such as share milking,” says Richard. “She does all the work with her partner Dion, calf rearing, milking plus we hire a relief milker.” ‘They work side by side and are a good little team and are in there second season. She has a lot of patience with the calving, working here since she was 15,” says Jan. Woman have been pivotal in the farm’s history, Richard’s great grandfather’s youngest son died in the first world war and his oldest son, Bill, had two daughters and thankfully one of them, Myra, Richard’s mother, loved working on farm from a youngster, so the family’s farm history could continue. “Evie is a lot like Myra. She has her stubbornness and Richard’s patience, so nice for her to have taken over Grandmother’s farm.” Richard takes care of wintering the cows, tractor work and topping. He has been tidying up after the big wind where they lost 30 trees. “We milk around 550 cows, producing 180,000 milk solids last year. We just bought a 48ha run-off just down the road, then sold 20ha. I will graze heifers on the new block next year. Only five minutes to Gore, half way between Gore and Waikata on the way to Tapanui, the Waikaka farm’s easy rolling country sits in the Waikaka Valley. With the Waikaka river traversing through it, their fly fisherman’s cottage is a sporting haven for tourists. Richard originally met Jan, who was from a small farm in Middlemarch, at the Waikaka pub, where Richard is now a director of the community-owned local. Their 1880s homestead became a wedding function venue 20 years ago to keep up with restoration costs. • to page 66 Working with you for happy, healthy and productive animals in the south. 24/7 EMERGENCY CARE DAIRY SERVICES “Quality Solutions Delivered on Time” Covering Southland, Central & South Otago
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