Focus on breeding stock quality key to boosting productivity

Improving the quality of breeding stock on one of ĀtihauWhanganui Incorporation’s original hill stations will help boost the production bottom line.

Papahaua Station is a breeding station that 6315ha of steep to rolling hill country, where 9500 pedigree Perindale ewes and around 500 Angus beef cattle are managed on 2600ha of effective land.

Papahaua Station is a breeding station that 6315ha of steep to rolling hill country, where 9500 pedigree Perindale ewes and around 500 Angus beef cattle are managed on 2600ha of effective land.

It is situated on the Matahiwi Track in the Waimarino district near Raetihi and is one of the more challenging farms in the organisation’s farming portfolio.

“The fact that there can be huge distances between grazing blocks due to the terrain is just one of the considerations that have to be taken into account when planning the management of this farm,” says Siwan Shaw, AWHI Business Manager. “The need to be proactive when it comes to animal health and the impact the lie of the land has on workloads are also factors that are taken into consideration.”

Justin Booth, Papahaua Station manager, leads a team of three shepherds, one general hand and a second-year Awhiwhenua cadet to manage the property.

Justin was himself a shepherd on the station before leaving to gain experience elsewhere. He took on the manager’s role around two years ago.

“Perindale sheep are used at Papahaua, as opposed to the Romney breed found on other Ātihau-Whanganui Inc stations, as they are ‘good doers’ on hard pastures, and are bred to cope with the physical challenges of the hill country, which also makes them easier to muster.” Siwan says.

Above: Perindale ewes unique to Papahaua Station.

The station was part of a benchmarking exercise carried out at the end of last year with assistance of a $125k grant from Te Puni Kōkiri.

The money came from the Whenua Māori Fund, which is an initiative to help Māori landowners identify and assess opportunities for boosting productivity.

“The project helped us identify that there were changes that could be made to improve productivity at Papahaua Station,” says Andrew Beijeman, AWHI CEO. “The main focus is on ensuring the breeding stock are the best they can be, which will translate into increased scan rates and more robust offspring to send off to our finishing farms when they are weaned.

“Preferential feeding and more regular monitoring to measure parameters such as growth rates, body condition and overall general health will help to increase farm productivity, which is good news for the overall profitability of the business.”

Infrastructure work, such as eight kilometres of fencing put in over the last three years and the creation of new dams to address the ongoing issue of very dry summers, contributes to the improvement of the bottom line too.

“The team are doing a great job of taking the benchmarking information and identifying where changes can be made to deliver the results we are looking for,” says Andrew.