INFORMED FARMINGINFORMED LAND USE CONTINUED“It’s largely a matterof getting more preciseinformation about whatis actually happeningon the farm and why …and being sustainablein both productive andenvironmental terms.”Mararoa’s stock water supply is supplemented bya pump that is powered by ground water seepingfrom one of the property’s hills. The spinningPelton wheel drives the pump which pushes200,000 litres a day 180 metres above the pumpsite to two storage tanks, from where it is gravityfed through 120km of pipes to 200 stock troughs.And it is all done using only gravity! Tim had thesystem designed when alternative electricitypoweredpumps emerged as uneconomic.Extensive areas have been protected for their environmental value.The property has 334 hectares under QE II covenant, many being fencedwaterways and tussock lands.Protected areasExtensive areas have been protected for theirenvironmental value. The property has 334hectares under QE II covenant, most of thesebeing fenced waterways and tussock lands.They include 14km of the Thomas Burn, astream which flows from the foot hills ofMount Prospect into the Mararoa River. Somecovenants allow for limited grazing among thetussock – something that Tim favours stronglyas a way in which farming can be integratedmore closely with conservation practice. Suchgrazing occurs along parts of the ThomasBurn and regular downstream water qualitymeasurements have shown no detriment.Some hillsides in this catchment andelsewhere are fenced and planted in douglasfir – and as the trees grow these areas, too,will be opened for grazing. During 2009/10, 30hectares went into such forestry (60 hectaresin the previous year).Protection of natural waterways andsurrounding areas is supported by a highlyinnovative system for pumping livestockwater. As nature would have it, water seepsconstantly from gravels on some of Mararoa’shighest ground and this led Tim Smith to lookfor an economic means of reticulation tohis animals. External engineering consultantJohn Scandrett, with assistance from LincolnUniversity, developed a system that catchesthe seepage and pumps much of it across theproperty via a network of pipes and troughs.In fact, the natural water flow off one hillsideis used to drive the pump – the design usesso-called Pelton wheel technology – with noneed for electrical power. The system supplies200,000 litres of stock water a day, andthis enables the exclusion of livestock frommany of Mararoa’s streams, natural wetlandsand ponds.Productive usesFeed supply and animal condition areobviously critical variables for Tim Smith.In managing them, he is introducing afavourability ranking of each paddockand tussock area on the property, relatingattributes such as feed cover, soil fertility andshelter to different options for productiveuse. Paddocks that have good shelter beltsare generally set aside for multiple lambingewes. Tree lanes break the weather, aid grassgrowth and also improve survival rates amongnewborns. Likewise, Tim uses some areas oftussock or scrub for fawning, which is thetime when hinds need most distance frompeople. He has a comprehensive re-grassingprogramme that sees some paddocks rotatedinto swede and kale crops.Some tussock has been over-sown with grassand clover seed to increase grazing valuewithout disruption to the area’s naturalvegetation. Tim has moved away from pastpractices of developing tussock into pasture,especially along valley floors. On parts ofMararoa, conversion has certainly increasedfeed supply but also led to increased floodingand soil erosion that leaves streams heavilysilted. By retiring riparian strips, Tim has notonly improved water quality but also reducedlivestock losses.Tighter integration between conservationand production fits nicely with Tim’s drive forhigher survivability among lambs, calves andfawns, and for higher birth weights. “We’vegot to get away from the old focus on pushingup stocking rates and think more in termsof production per hectare and kilograms ofproduct out the farm gate,” he says. That shiftputs more emphasis on raising productionthrough more attention to year-round feedingof females, and the care of them and newoffspring, “It’s largely a matter of gettingmore precise information about what isactually happening on the farm and why …and being sustainable in both productive andenvironmental terms,” says Tim.Note: Tim Smith and wife Trish werecategory award winners in the 2010 BallanceSouthland Farm Environmental Awardsand winners of the 2010 national ElworthyEnvironmental Award sponsored by DeerIndustry New Zealand. See page 15.Hinds in a home paddock36
Tim and Senior Shepherd Kate Gallandmeasure the yield of dry matter in aswede crop five months after sowing.The results will go into careful feedbudgeting for Mararoa’s long winter.Measurement requires bulbs andfoliage from a one metre square patchof the crop to be weighed. As a generalrule, 11 per cent of the total weight isdry matter.37
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