Day 14

 

Students on Catwalk with Geoff at Temuka Sales

Blog Post May 22^nd

We left our hotel in Oamaru to head north along the coast to Timaru. In Timaru, we had a quick stop for coffee before getting back on the road for a short drive to Temuka. There we made a stop not on the itinerary at a livestock saleyard. Temuka Sales is one of the largest livestock saleyards on the South Island with sales every Monday. 

Auctioning Hereford/Friesian steers

Prime sheep at sale

Today there were about 1,900 head of cattle and about 20,000 sheep for auction. The main sale day is Mondays when they sell steers, heifers, cows, and bulls, as well as several different classifications of sheep: prime lamb, store lambs, prime sheep, hoggets (ewe lambs), one-shear sheep, ewes, and rams. On Thursday they have a store cattle sale. Throughout the year they also have numerous other special sales. This allows them to make a grand total of 100 sales per year. 

Cattle sale information

We were met by the yard manager Geoff Taggart who directed us inside where we were able to watch the first dozen pens of prime cattle go through. On the cattle side they start with steers, then heifers, and then cull cattle. They sell their livestock on a cent per kilo basis. Most pens had between 1 and 3 head of cattle coming onto the floor of the sale barn. There were multiple auctioneers that enabled them to switch on every pen of cattle. Temuka Sales also have online bidding during the sale, which is indicated by a blue line across the overhead screens when the highest bidder is online. 

Cows in pens at back of sale barn

Highland cattle at Temuka Sales

While we were watching the sale Geoff pulled groups of 4-5 aside and took us out to a platform that overlooked the sheep pens. He explained the basics of their operation and how the sheep were unloaded and sorted into pens by the workers. These pens were then weighed and sold by total weight, with an average per head being shown during the bidding process. After watching the first dozen sales we went out onto the catwalks over the cattle pens to look at the different types of cattle being offered. Most were in pens of 3, but larger pens of up to 8 were also around. In these pens, the cattle had different colored markings which allowed them to be sorted before heading into the sale barn in smaller groups. There were Hereford, Angus, beef crosses, Hereford/Friesian crosses, Friesian and Jersey cull dairy cows, a few Galloways, some individual pens with British White, Murray Grey, and one pen containing two highland cattle. They also have a website where you can watch the sale: temukasales.co.nz. Before we got on the bus Geoff gave us some beef cattle stud books to look at.

Group Picture @ Hewson Farms – Students on top of potatoes

After leaving Temuka Sales we continued our journey north to Ashburton. Just outside of Ashburton, we went to a 2,430-ha arable crop and vegetable farm. Hewson Farms is a family farm owned by Ross and Rochelle Hewson, and they have owned the property for the last 23 years. We started with lunch at their home, where they served rolls, lamb, and a cabbage salad. 

Farmyard

Hybrid rape (canola)
 

Following lunch, Ross gave an overview of their farm. All their acreage is fully irrigated by center pivots and a few lateral irrigators. In terms of crops, they grow wheat, barley, ryegrass, clover, hybrid beetroot, hybrid rape, kale, linseed, and peas. On the vegetable side, they grow carrots for seed as well as potatoes and onions for the domestic market. In addition to the crops, they also finish approximately 12 to 14 thousand lambs annually, mostly on oat cover crops. Including the family, they have 15 full-time employees and hire four additional employees in the summer months. They also hire seasonal workers during potato and onion harvest. Ross then answered our questions before we went on a tour of the farm.

We started the farm tour out at the potato storage buildings. Hewson Farms grow two varieties: Innovator and Russet Burbank. Each of the sheds stores around 6,000 tons of potatoes until they can go to the manufacturer. These buildings are air-conditioned with temperature and humidity control as well. 

Potato storage shed at Hewson Farm

Innovator potatoes in shed

We were able to go into one of the Innovator storage buildings and see just how many potatoes really fit inside. Since the walkway was small, we climbed up onto the pile where we were able to get a closer look at the potatoes and take pictures. After we climbed down, we went into the cooling rooms that run along the sides of the storage area. Potatoes have to be kept at a very specific temperature to avoid changing the starches to sugars. For Innovators, this is 46.4° F, and for the Russet Burbank, this is 48.5° F. They also must be kept at 95% humidity to prevent sprouting.

CLAAS combines at Hewson Farm

From the potato storage buildings, we went to the farmyard where the machinery is stored. Despite having 9 separate parcels of land, all the machinery is kept on the home farm. Unfortunately, we were not able to see any of the onion or potato equipment because they are still in the process of harvesting due to the rainy summer and the machinery was still in the fields. We did get to see their 4 CLAAS combines in the sheds as well as their drills and a few tractors in another lean-to. Also, on the farmyard were multiple grain bins, or silos as they refer to them. All their grain is stored on the property until it can be shipped to the buyer. Ross and his farm manager Andrew answered our remaining questions, and then we got back on the bus to drive into Ashburton.

In Ashburton we went to Ruralco. This store has more or less three sections: a home décor and kitchen supply area, a work clothing area, and a farm supply area. It was only a short drive to Hotel Ashburton after leaving the store where we had a couple of hours to pack our bags for the flight tomorrow and relax before a BBQ dinner served by the hotel.