2006 Winners

2006 PPCS Livestock Farm Award

Cara and John Gregan and family

John and Cara Gregan’s South Canterbury farm is a top producing livestock operation with an underlying ethos towards sustainability. They farm sheep and cattle on 330ha of freehold and 370ha of leasehold land. The main focus of their sheep operation is as a breeding partner with Rissington Breedline’s Sheeplink Programme. This means they breed ewe lambs from their breeding flock of 7500 Highlander composite ewes to sell to Rissington as ewe lambs for breeding stock. The ram lambs are sold as prime lambs, and they trade cattle.

The dry land farm has an easy contour, and is subdivided into small paddocks making stock shifting easier, and allowing for better stock management and grass utilisation. Re grassing is carried out using direct drilling to conserve soil moisture and reduce erosion. “We haven’t ploughed a paddock for 10 years” John says. Wood lots and plenty of shelter belts have been planted, and they recently fenced off 5ha of wetland and are planting the area in native trees and shrubs to encourage wildlife.

They hope a lot of the run-off from the farm will be filtered through the wetland, which should improve the quality of water downstream. Cara has a strong interest in recycling and was responsible for starting a local recycling station. John says they monitor the operation closely and will continue doing that. “Hopefully that will ensure we are doing things sustainably and the long term viability will continue. “It’s a family farm. My grandfather and father were here, and hopefully we’ll leave it better than when we arrived.’’

What the judges said…
• Refencing and access lanes allow for ease of stock and pasture management.
• Has fenced out a wetland and created a planted fenced off seepage runoff.
• Uses high performance Highlander sheep with intense management and a sound marketing plan.

2006 Ballance Nutrient Management and Environment Canterbury Water Efficiency Award

Jean-Luc & Sarah Dufour

Meticulous attention to water and nutrient management has been a feature of Jean-Luc Dufour’s work as viticulturist at Canterbury House vineyard at Waipara. The vineyard is established on a largely frost-free site on stony soils which have little water retention and are poor in nutrients and organic matter.

Under his careful management the vineyard has gone from strength to strength and Canterbury House wines have won a number of top awards at the prestigious annual Air New Zealand Wine Awards. Irrigation is from artesian water; a resource that is used sparingly. “Because water is not retained in the soil profile we have to have close control of the water status of the soil and the plants” he says. The trickle irrigation system is designed to deliver up to 12 litres a day to each vine, but on average Waipara vines need about 6 litres. “We have to monitor it very closely. In January the vines may lose 8 to 10 litres a day, and we have to compensate for that.’’

A neutron probe is used to measure soil moisture, and a leaf testing technique, PMS, is used to test the moisture status of the vines. Equally close control is maintained over the nutrient status of the vineyard. Soil nutrient is measured in winter, while leaf analysis is done in December and at grape ripening. Jean-Luc says the vineyard requires very small amounts of added nutrient, mainly lime and some phosphate. The vineyard follows a sustainable viticulture scheme, aiming at best management practice for the soil, the environment, employment, and the wine. However, Canterbury House has gone beyond the minimum guidelines, and is aiming for biological control of pests. “We haven’t used insecticides for the last three years” he says.

Buckwheat is planted in the vineyard as a source of nectar for a wasp that is a predator of the leaf roller caterpillar. Work is underway to find native plants that perform the same function. “Grapes are very much a monoculture and we are really concentrating on bringing biodiversity into the vineyard.’’

Ballance Nutrient Management Award:
What the judges said…
• Fertiliser needs are based on accurate and extensive soil and foliar testing.
• Incorporates fertiliser into the irrigation system.
• Does nutrient budgeting.

Environment Canterbury Water Efficiency Award:
What the judges said…
• Has a deficit irrigation system to maximise crop quality and minimise water use.
• Measures both soil moisture and plant leaf moisture stress.
• Restricts irrigation to minimise disease and canopy management.

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© 2009 Environment Canterbury