NZ Dairy Winter 2021

12 | nz dairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Ryan Sanderson & Malinda Wynyard KERRY FOGARTY EXCAVATORS LTD P.O. BOX 16, MATAWAI PHONE/FAX (06) 862 4863 EXCAVATION WORK — FARM DRAINAGE ETC. WE ARE LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATING FOR 23 YEARS Servicing all makes & models of agricultural machinery & equipment Full mechanical & engineering workshop Fully equipped service truck Comprehensive parts department for all agricultural needs D P Williams Ltd 370 Bushmere rd, Gisborne. Ph: 06-8632612 Email: admin@dpwilliams.co.nz Machinery Sales & Service Gisborne Agents For Motu River project highlights environmental action Ryan Sanderson and Malinda Wynyard are members of the Motu River Catchment project which has recently seen them plant 4000 trees in fenced off areas of Homebrook farm through the One Billion Trees project. Karen Phelps F or contract milkers Ryan Sanderson and Malinda Wynyard the best part of being named finalists in the 2020 Ballance Farm Environ- ment Awards was being able to get the message out about all the positive things farmers around the country are doing for the environment. They won the DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award for 2020 and have been interviewed by newspapers including the New Zealand Herald and NZ Dairy and are proud to tell their story to as many people as they can. Operating as Hollow Point Pastures Ltd, the couple run a 325ha dairy farm at Matawai for owners Mark Anderson and Kathleen Wynyard, Katmar Ltd. Known locally as Homebrook, the farm milks 700 cows on a 300ha milking platform. Ryan and Malinda are in their third season on the farm and are presently completing cultivation and fencing off waterways. This has allowed them to put into action experience gained from working their way up the dairy system on a number of farms in Reporoa, Taranaki and Otago, where they had always tried to do their part to protect the environment and enhance it. Fencing wetlands and drains, and creating silt and excess nutrient filters to help the waterways and provide habitat for wildlife was some of the work undertaken. Homebrook is situated at the head of the Motu River so early on they got involved in the Motu Catchment Project, which has recently seen them plant 4000 trees in fenced off areas of the farm through the One Billion Trees project. The Motu Catchment group has been formed by a group of farmers to improve the quality of the Motu River and reduce erosion and also to highlight the difference farmers can make to water quality and soil conservation. The unstable nature of the land together with the influence of high intensity rainstorms means the area is subject to erosion, and consequently at times the river carries a large sediment load. The second round of funding for the project, which Ryan and Malinda have benefited from, has provided for 22.5 kilometres of fencing for stock exclusion from riverbanks or erosion prone areas and 78,800 native plants to mitigate erosion. Ryan says that as the funding application was headed by a single person in the group it made it easy for busy farmers to take part. Water quality on Homebrook is being monitored as part of the project. A keen deer stalker, duck shooter and trout fisherman, Ryan has also been keen to cre- ate ponds on the farm and 160 DOC traps have seen pests eradicated, which has resulted in a booming weka and duck population. Neither Ryan nor Malinda grew up on a farm but both had farming grandparents so rural life was second nature. As soon as he left school Ryan started a farming career. Malinda, a quali- fied accountant, has worked off farm but gradu- ally taken an increasing role and now completes the farm bookwork, rears the calves and is the primary caregiver for their two children Theodore, 5 and Wynonna, 2. As the farm naturally improves over time after being a new conversion along with herd genetics and breeding they are seeing production rise. This season they are targeting 270,000-280,000 kg/MS from 700 cows and Ryan thinks the farm has the potential to eventually produce around 300,000 kg/MS The Motu Catchment group has been formed by a group of farmers to improve the quality of the Motu River and reduce erosion and also to highlight the difference farmers can make to water quality and soil conservation.