We started off the day visiting a local Kiwifruit vineyard. The Kiwifruit is grown on a vine in an umbrella formation to optimize yields. Sadly, the harvest season ends in late April so we did not get to see the fruit growing on the tree. We have had the opportunity to sample some of the varieties of Kiwi and especially enjoyed the golden Kiwifruit that is a bit sweeter to the taste and is not the traditional green hue.
Not only were we able to taste the Kiwifruit, we stopped at the large Hastings Farmers Market. From figs to pasta and vegetables to jams, the farmers market was packed with local produce from the rich agricultural region. This market provided a large look at the variety of products as well as providing us with a bit of home as the live musician played "Sweet Home Alabama." Leaving the market, we soon came across the sight of farmers using their dogs to move their sheep herd along the road into another pasture.
We continued our travels to the much anticipated deer farm. John Spiers is a deer farmer that showed us the many steps to the process of raising deer for meat and velvet. He runs 1,400 total deer in his herd. The velvet that is produced comes from the stags that are in the herd and they reach their growing potential at five to ten years old and can yield up to 15 kg per year. We continued to tour his property by taking a hayride where we got to see his various herds and saw his self-feeding barley silage system. We ended this visit by enjoying some hot tea and Subway sandwiches.
After learning some things about how deer farming works, we were able to change gears and learn about farm businesses in New Zealand by our visit to the Westview Farming Partnership. We have been discovering more about how share farming works in the country but this was a much more elaborate business model. Visiting with Nicola Shadboldt, she shared how the partnership was started in 1986. The farming market dramatically changed with the elimination of farm subsidies in 1984 and some farmers were exiting the market. Nicola and her husband Shane decided that it was time for people to invest in farming. They put an ad in the paper to attract urban investors to begin this partnership.
Once they had a large enough pool of investors, they purchased a farm to get started. Over time, they were able to expand and get more investors and have an active sheep, dairy, beef and deer farms. One thing that really stood out about the sheep farm that they run was the fact that they will shear 1,500 sheep in one day which would be about 300-400 sheep per person or on average one sheep per minute. The sheep and other parts of the farm are operated by managers and workers to do the day to day management but the investors and shareholders are urban families that only meet one time per year to discuss trends and big picture decisions that need to be made.
We ended this discussion and got back on the road just before 6:00 p.m. when we traveled to to hotel. Once checked into our rooms, we went to have dinner with Dr. Patel and his family. Dr. Patel is a new professor at SDSU that lives here in New Zealand. Overall, we had a great day and all want to send our love to our mothers on this special day!
Peace out,
Natasha Laska & Wyatt DeJong
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