Life brings many changes, some good some not so good – Graham Smith

It matters how you adapt and move on as things happen. I am adapting to not milking cows every day as I have done for the last 50 years, yeah, that ages me! Surprisingly I didn’t find it as difficult as I thought it would be. Suddenly I don’t know which paddocks the cows are in every day, but they are out there working, and I am getting other things done. So far life has changed for Lance, my son, and me. We are both better off than we were and that is no small thing. Production is very close to last year, with a ripper of a start but now cruising along at 1.28 solids per cow per day. Last season we averaged 1.29 per cow for all of December. 

The third cut of silage off the leases went into the pit yesterday (12/12/23) so we are well placed for the summer. Any future cuts will be baled and that will be mostly weather dependent. I agreed to purchase 2.1 hectares off my neighbour which is planted in lucerne, so I expect to get at least two more high quality cuts off that. We intend to run the lucerne out, that is not spray out the grass and then undersow it with annuals in the autumn. We like the idea of being able to winter on that block which if left in lucerne is not a good option. So, reversion to grass is the answer. In the meantime, it will provide good bales for early dry period feeding. 

All the young stock are doing well. We reared a few more calves this spring after our poor mating of last spring. We have also mated longer, 8 weeks, instead of the usual 7 weeks. Until scanning in late January we won’t know if the empty rate is lower, but I would be disappointed if it is not. 

Cyclone Gabrielle wreaked havoc here and only in the last two weeks have we finally cleared all the mess with the burning of the heaps of branches. The trees have a lot less leaves this year, so I expect growth rates to be down, not just for last season but this one as well. The slower growing a tree is, generally the heavier the timber will be. This applies to Paulownias, and some of my customers’ products are very weight sensitive. In fact, two customers always bring scales to weigh each piece of wood to ensure they can produce products to specification. 

As I mentioned earlier, I purchased some land, which I took over managing on the 1st June’23. I arranged a surveyor and work began. Due to a few complications, they now inform me that the final transfer of ownership will not be until March ’24. I thought land purchase was reasonably clear cut but not in this case. The Otorohanga Council want a riparian margin of 20 meters wide in their ownership alongside the stream, to ensure access for fishermen. Of course, although they own it, I pay for surveying! A margin, then called the Queen’s Chain had already been surveyed off in 1920, and there had been further surveys done to effect a shift in the road. This took some time to sort out and so here we are nearly Xmas and no sale yet. I could tell you more, but it is complicated, so when you see me next ask me to tell you an interesting story. Perhaps that way I can save about a thousand words in print! 

Finally, Tess and I bought an A-Liner camper off my uncle, with a view to tripping around comfortably, as one does in semi- retirement. We are having fun kitting it out how we want it and are already planning our first major trip with it. We camped on the farm last Sunday to see how everything worked out. It was very comfortable, and the 360-degree view was great from the top of our hill. If you know of some good camping spots let me know, we love tripping around this great country. 

Tee – the hardest worker on the farm!

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