Our farm is about 600 hectares, with scattered native bush throughout. It is nestled up alongside the
Tongariro National Park, in the Ruapehu District. The farm is flat to gentle, rolling contour throughout.
We will often have snow on the farm a few times each year, but it's not normally around for long. The
frosts can be brutal here, but the cows don't seem to mind!
We’re about 15 minutes drive to Ohakune, Raetihi, or Waimarino/National Park; 80 min to Taupo or
Whanganui; 120 min to Palmerston North.
The Ruapehu District is absolutely stunning, in our opinion. It is incredibly scenic and provides
ample opportunities for leisure activities when one isn't busy farming (fly-fishing, hunting, biking,
tramping, skiing/snowboarding, kayaking, and so on). The people who call this district their home are
generally very warm and welcoming, which is part of what drew us here many, many years ago. The
local schools are all safe and enriching environments for our children....
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Spring calving for us begins about 20-August and we calve approximately 600 cows.
The shed is eleven years old and is a pleasure to work in. It’s a 34-a-side, "double-up" herringbone with
ACR’s (automatic cup removers), rapid exit system, in-shed feeding, and a hydraulic backing gate.
We’ve also installed a SmartWash system to help keep the plant sparkling clean.
In addition to 600 milking cows, we tend to hold some carry-over cows and all of our young stock on
the home farm (and a couple of nearby lease blocks). Each year, we aim to rear 120 dairy heifer
replacements and between 20-30 dairy bulls. Tail-up bulls of various ages are always on the farm
or on the lease block as well.
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