All quiet around the Beehive
Relishing the lack of politics in the void after the election, Carterton farmer Mark Guscott has enjoyed a good lambing, and reveals his regenerative move.
I’VE JUST BEEN HAVING A look through some news websites and realised we’re in this wonderful utopia of NO POLITICS. Isn’t it wonderful! The election is over, the results are yet to be confirmed and the news media doesn’t have anything to report. The question needs to be asked, do we even need politicians?
There are stories about another war overseas, hospital waiting line dramas, so-called celebrities on reality TV and most importantly a rugby final against the Saffas. I’ve been quite invested in this World Cup, more than others I think. The Irish game was something to remember and I needed a lie down after it due to the extreme tension.
That’s the way sport should be. Does anyone else remember the old school rugby tours that stopped when the game went professional? How good was it watching France vs Wairarapa Bush in Masterton in 1994? I know they’re probably unaffordable now, but they were awesome.
How’s the farming in your area? Our little valley is finally growing some spring feed after what seems like a long early spring, with lots of hope and “next week looks good” but not much actual growth.
We’ve had our best lambing for a few years and the lambs look to be enjoying the sun on their backs. There’s definitely a tail-end in our ewe flock after a tough late winter and they will require a bit of TLC over summer.
Our cows are coming to the end of calving and they are mostly pretty good. We send them grazing to our neighbours for the winter and he’s done a good job again, even though they stayed longer due to a slow spring.
The last of our trade lambs are heading out next week and that’s been hard work. Our summer sale price was $10/head higher than our winter price. Not something that is very palatable for the finances and hopefully won’t be a regular thing.
Our direct-drilling contractor has just got going a couple of days ago. He’s busy planting chicory, kale and rape mixes that we use to supplement the expected pinch periods in summer and late winter. It’s quite nice to have the fertiliser bills a little lower than last year. If only the rates and insurance would go down!
We’ve finished planting peas and maize a little earlier than normal. That ground is all irrigated so an early planting usually means a little earlier harvesting and that will allow an early start for the following crop. Cropping is much easier when it’s a bit dry. Good riddance to the last couple of years.
Overall, I can’t complain too much about physical farming right at the moment. It would be nice if the beef and lamb schedules were showing some signs of life, but maybe 2024 will be better.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it in these columns, but we’ve been certified regenerative for almost four years now. It’s a bit of a triggering thing for some farmers.
Contrary to popular belief about regen farming, we’re still putting on conventional fertiliser and spraying paddocks as necessary. It’s not a prescriptive thing like organics. The lack of an actual definition is good as it means you can adapt the thinking to fit your system.
There’s definitely some scaremongering around about what you can or can’t do if you’re regenerative, but I think it’s just an introduction of new ideas. Some of those new ideas aren’t that new. Farmers still doing the same thing they did 10 years ago probably need to rethink things. And we’ve managed to get paid more for some of our products.
The additional returns are far more than what it’s costing us to implement any changes. Perhaps some people should challenge their thinking a bit more?
