In a move that signals a new era for Stevenson Agriculture, the company took over the management of its Huntly farm from the lessee on April 1st.
Although Stevenson has owned the Huntly farm for a number of years, this is the first time it will have farmed the property. The Huntly farm and the existing Drury farm will be run as a joint enterprise. They will function predominantly as finishing farms for Lochinver’s sheep and cattle. This will enable Lochinver to maximise the potential of its land and extend its breeding programme.
‘Our focus will shift from season to season. The first task will be to fatten lambs and have them ready for the Auckland market,’ says Drury and Huntly farms’ Supervising Farm Manager Justin Thompson.
For Lochinver’s former Stock Manager the chance to supervise two 420 hectare farms is a dream come true. The new role represents Justin’s first managing job. He grew up on his family’s Taihape farm. After a stint in the police force he spent eight years as a shepherd on various Taihape properties before working for a year at Lochinver.
The move north will involve a change in both lifestyle and climate for Justin and his partner. They have been living at Lochinver,surrounded by a large and predominantly young team of other live-in farm staff.
‘It’s important within our business to be able to provide opportunities for our farming staff to further their careers within the farming sector,’ says Stevenson Agriculture’s Financial Controller Natalie Colson. ‘Taking over the management of the Huntly property has enabled us to promote Justin to a manager’s role.’
‘It’s great for everybody to see young staff learning new skills and being able to progress through to managing farms for the company,’says Justin.
He plans to employ a farm production manager for the Huntly farm once he’s established there. It will be an advantage to have Ross Craig-Smith continue in this role at the Drury farm.
Justin will leave the day-to-day running of each farm up to the individual stock managers, who will make decisions on stock rotation and run the farms as if they were their own.
‘They’re both very beautiful farms,’ he says. ‘The Drury farm has some native bush on it. It runs around the perimeter of the Stevenson Drury quarry, acting as a buffer zone. Some of the Huntly farm likewise acts as a buffer zone for Stevenson’s Huntly quarry.
‘It’s a matter of 40 minutes’ drive between the two farms. I’ll live at the Drury farm and work between the two farms to ensure that they run at peak performance.’
Lochinver Station will remain the jewel in the crown of Stevenson Agriculture’s properties. Justin will have ready acces to its management and scientific expertise to achieve the company’s goal to grow its farming business.
‘I’m looking forward to the challenge of coordinating two properties. I’m very familiar with Lochinver’s standards and expectations,’ he says.
Modern farming relies on applied science and good stockmanship. Lochinver has recently employed Scott Tomlinson as its new Farm Technician, following Ineke Stearn’s promotion to Operations Manager. This will be Scott’s first full-time farm job since he completed his Bachelor of Agricultural Science with first-class honours at Lincoln at the end of 2007. He will work closely with Ineke, and Lochinver’s consultant Forage Agronomist Simon Moloney will support their work.
‘I’m still getting a feel for the current production levels and the potential for increased production and how this might be achieved. I’m excited about my new role and look forward to being involved in a
developing station and monitoring and increasing its production. I want to do the best that I can in the job,’ says Scott.
Says Stevenson Agriculture’s General Manager Brian Gibson: ‘The addition of the Huntly farm will strengthen our business. It will leave Agriculture less vulnerable to the autumn store market, allowing us to finish the bulk of the stock bred on Lochinver Station.’
