2006 Winners

2006 Wrightson Habitat Improvement Award

Peter Handyside

A combination of farming and tourism is allowing the Handyside family of Conway Flat to run a productive farm while at the same time protecting its stunning natural features.

Peter is largely responsible for the farming side of the Medina property, while his parents David and Sally are commercially involved with the successful Kaikoura walking track, which runs across several farms in the area.

The property has been in the family since it was established as a soldier-settler block by Peter’s grandfather. Peter took over the farming operation from his parents in 2001. Of the 580ha about 380ha is in grass and much of the rest is in native bush and scrub. Some of the bush has never been logged, and is among the best remaining examples of coastal bush in Canterbury. In 2003 38ha of bush was put under QEII covenant.

About one-third of the farm is flat and the rest is rolling downs. Production has been focused away from significant native habitats. The farming operation runs about 1800 composite breeding ewes and is calving about 70 angus cows.

Because the property is summer-dry they try to sell their lambs before Christmas as store lambs. Peter says there is a lot of potential to lift production. He says that being part of the Kaikoura track enables his parents to continue to make an income off the property. About 15 per cent of the total farm income comes from the track.

What the judges said…
• Has a diverse well blended range of native and exotic plantings for amenity, timber and shelter.
• Successfully integrates tourism and farming
• Has three generations of native planting and management of trees.

2006 Hill Laboratories Harvest Award

Graham and Eleanor Marr

Soil protection is crucial to Graham and Eleanor Marr’s arable farming operation on the high Canterbury Plains inland from Methven. The area is at the outside limit of arable farming in Canterbury, but careful soil husbandry on the family-owned farm since 1878 has allowed a sustainable growing regime to be maintained. “The prime motivation for us is the protection of the soil”Graham says. The 375ha farm is between Methven and Mount Hutt. It has good rainfall, but the biggest factor influencing production is the strong nor’westers which blow out of the Rakaia Gorge.

The Marrs specialise in cocksfoot seed production, which the family has been growing since 1913. Most of it is exported. This year the tried-and-trusted cocksfoot made up about 40 per cent of the arable area, while 45 per cent was in cereals, 9 per cent in peas, and small areas were planted in vegetable seeds and red clover.

Cocksfoot is grown for five to seven years and then is spelled for at least three years when mainly barley and peas are grown. The Marrs buy in up to 2000 lambs and sell them on winter contract. They also graze 400 dairy cows during the winter.

Having cocksfoot in the ground for a long period aids soil retention in this windy environment, as does the tree planting that has been done over the generations to provide shelter from the nor’wester. The time of crop planting is also geared to minimising soil erosion. Crops are not sown during the winter months to avoid wind damage to exposed soils due to frost lift.

What the judges said…
• Developed soil conservation techniques to suit their environment.
• Cleverly places shelter and paddocks.
• Highly respected Cocksfoot seed harvest and drying system.

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© 2007 Environment Canterbury