2009 Winners

2009 PGG Wrightson Land and Life Award

Ben Todhunter and Donna Field

Cleardale

Ben Todhunter and Donna Field run a successful pastoral operation on the spectacular country between the steep northern slopes of Mount Hutt and the Rakaia River.

Cleardale is a 1250ha freehold farm on the south side of the Rakaia, upstream from the gorge. Before Ben and Donna took over in 2006, it was part of a larger family farming company that also ran Lake Heron Station. Some livestock is still bought from Lake Heron, but it is now a completely separate operation. Ben’s parents still live and help out on the farm. Ben and Donna run an Angus cattle stud, as well as Halfbred, Merino and English Leicester sheep studs.

Of the 4500 ewes run on Cleardale, 3200 Halfbreds are mated with a Poll Dorset or Southdown terminal sires for lamb production, while 1300 Merino ewes are reared for fine wool production, as well as for mating with English Leicester rams to produce halfbred replacement ewes. Two hundred and fifty breeding cows are carried, plus about 140 heifer calves are wintered over. Two hundred and thirty Angus steer calves are fattened for the Five Star Feedlot near Ashburton. In addition they are wintering 60 bulls for breeding and selling.

A new enterprise on the farm, unusual for the high country, is 40ha cropping milling wheat and feed barley. "We find it’s quite useful for the rotation and for controlling weeds, and we seem to get reasonable yields," he says.

Now that their four children are getting older, Donna is getting more involved with the farm. "She’s an equal shareholder with me in the farming company. She does a lot of the staff side of things, helps with the mustering, and organises a lot of the conservation plantings and weed and pest control." Ben says that historically the property has had good shelter belts. It is subject to the full force of the nor’westers coming down the river which cause wind erosion and weed spread. Since the Todhunters bought the land in the 1940s, there has been an extensive programme of shelter belt planting on the developed flats and terraces. More recently, riparian strips have been created along streams flowing down to the Rakaia River. These are being planted in corridors of natives. They have a clear focus on grazing management to maintain the quality of pasture and to get optimum use out of it. They grow a lot of winter forage brassicas and use cattle to control feed quality. "We are disciplined with our feed budgeting to try and optimise pasture cover, and make it as palatable as possible. During winter we rotate large mobs of sheep behind electric fences.’’

The main problem weeds are gorse and broom spreading on to the property out of the Rakaia River. Ben says they have been well-contained by past generations. Donna is chair of the local Landcare Group which has recently surveyed emerging weeds in the Rakaia and is working to eradicate them.

Donna is also in charge of fundraising for the Methven Primary School. Ben has been involved in farming politics, and has been chairman of the High Country Committee of Federated Farmers. Until recently, he was chairman of the High Country Accord.

He has a strong belief that private individuals can look after conservation values as well as the Crown. He is a member of the Molesworth Steering Committee and has been involved with a Sustainable Farming Fund project looking at how to best manage biodiversity and farming on high country properties. The judges said Cleardale is well managed by a couple dedicated to developing its potential, and with a clear focus on maintaining a sensible balance between economics and the environment.

Judges' Points:

• Long-term involvement with the High Country Accord and successful promotion of the principles of sustainable land management to Government officials.
• Ben is part of the oversight committee for Molesworth Station.
• Donna is the chairperson for the Whitcombe Landcare Trust which oversees a weed and pest management programme in the Rakaia River.
• Through direct drilling they minimize the threat of soil erosion.
• Very good shelter catering for the needs of the sheep and cattle.

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© 2009 Environment Canterbury