Kevin, Carol, Jacob, Daniel, Thomas and Martha Loe
The Loes farm of 1871 hectares, comprises of three properties. The Homestead has been in the familys hands for 100 years. The Shirt was added in 1993 (bought with Ross Agnew who has worked on the property since before Kevin and Carol took on management in 1980, and his wife Shirley), the back of London Hill in 1980, and Thorplee in 2002.
Over that time burning, fencing, stocking and fertiliser application have changed the landscape, for the better (good pastures for grazing) and worse (erosion, loss of significant vegetation to fire).
Since the late 1990s, repeated droughts have reduced profitability, meaning there is less to invest in development and maintenance. Increasingly, Kevin and Carol have adapted management to make the most of a production window from May through until November.
Management emphasis on feeding priority stock and maintaining pasture quality constantly shifts in response to the climate, feed availability and opportunity. Animals are farmed to suit the pasture growth curve rather than the bank manager; an approach that has meant the replacement of breeding with dry stock with the potential to run next to no animals at critical times of the year.
As well as grazing on farm, the Loes lease land and pay for grazing where they identify a market opportunity. Up to 18,000 stock units have been run.
Farmers draw a boundary around themselves the same size as their farm whereas I view myself as an asset and resource manager. Kevin says.
About 200 Angus cows are maintained as a base herd for quality breeding stock but other cattle are traded, depending on markets, available feed and climate. Because of the healthy climate, animals generally adapt quickly and grow well.
The main ewe flock has been reduced from 3500 to 2500 as a base for breeding. Replacements are kept only in years when they can be well grown to ensure their future genetic potential. All progeny are available for sale as stores unless the season provides the opportunity to add value.
Integrated Business Solutions/FarmHQ
Since 1990, the Loes have been developing a management plan for their properties, initially by writing a study of lessons learned and establishing a basic vision. In the mid 90s their business planning became more strategic.
That interest in farm management planning has since evolved into launching Integrated Business Solutions (www.farmhq.co.nz).
The Loes are among five farming directors. Other directors include a farm consultant, IT company owner, rural accountant, bank executive and wealth coaches/financial and governance writers, contributing off-farm expertise.
IBS this year launched its first product, Farm HQ, a computer-based service intended to be the farmers headquarters for information from any available source. Information such as animal ID records, stud records, GST returns, compliance records and bank statements are brought together to provide a complete physical and financial picture of the farming business.
Farm HQ covers:
Production: providing a clear picture of farm productive performance.
Finance: depicting net worth, net profit and operating costs. This module can import data from Cash Manager and Banklink. Others will follow as need is identified
Feed budget: a simple but powerful tool for monitoring feed strategies. This links to pasture cover, supplements, and stock number screens.
Market options: Analyse stock transactions by $/kg lwt, $/cwt, lwt/hd, cwt/hd, and carcase %. Assess the impact of potential stock sales, purchases, or grazing options on profit, cash, and feed.
Data is entered into the system or imported from other programmes such as Cash Manager or Banklink, and transmitted over the internet to FarmHQ's secure servers. It is especially designed to minimise bandwidth usage.
Staff from one of FarmHQ's accredited business support agencies then check the data to ensure it is clean and accurate, reviewing it with the farmer if required.
Working with the Marlborough District Council, The Loes have developed and adopted a Plan for Sustainable Management of Native Vegetation Areas, which they intend to develop as a layer of this plan. The aim is integrated management for productive and protection values.
Horses have been a cost to the Loes since Kevins grandfathers day. The family is now looking at ways of making them pay or even turn a profit.
A breeding program has begun utilising the familys existing polo expertise, enthusiasm and contacts. This venture which focuses on the lucrative polo pony export market - is overseen by Jacob and Daniel, and is still at an early stage currently involving approximately 70 horses.
Bred on limestone hill country, Flaxbourne polo ponies should have good bone, sound tendons, structural soundness, balance and big motors.
Ideally, the Loes will be able to de-stock over summer and concentrate on training and marketing polo ponies.
The family is objectively measuring the horses contribution as a grazing animal, versus other options.
In the early 80s the Loes came to realise that planting trees and keeping them alive was very difficult and started to question why they were cutting down native vegetation that provided shade and shelter. As a result, they became more selective in how they cleared the land.
The Cape Campbell Walkway crosses through the seven hectare Whare Bush block, which was covenanted to the QEII Trust this year and fenced with funding from QEII, the Marlborough District Council and Governments biodiversity fund.
The site boasts bush which is extremely rare in this arid landscape. In the gully is a pocket of broadleaved mahoe (whiteywood), ngaio and five finger with old man cabbage trees a feature. Seed is being ecosourced from these cabbage trees, for planting out elsewhere in the district. Especially unusual is a single young mamaku (black tree fern) and a kowhai.
A survey of Significant Natural Areas in South Marlborough (carried out for the Marlborough District Council) discovered that original native vegetation is found on as little as 2% of land area and secondary regenerating native vegetation on 5-10%, almost exclusively on private property. The public conservation estate includes little of the areas coastal and lowland environments, placing the onus on private landowners for protection.
The SNA survey identified 230 hectares on the Loes property in eight sites as ecologically significant.
Once we had this knowledge, we recognised our responsibility as stewards of the land to look after these areas, says Kevin. We now take a whole-farm view of native vegetation and dont make any changes without looking at total rather than solely production impacts.
Kevin is critical of the existing requirement that a minimum of 50 hectares of regenerating native is required to claim carbon credits when on a property such as theirs areas are scattered. Rainfall requirements also exclude an area like Flaxbourne.
Two other coastal areas have been fenced and one gully as a trial to observe the difference between controlled grazing and no grazing at all.
Early indications are that we are achieving better results with managed grazing than total exclusion, says Kevin. This is a learning exercise.
The Cape Campbell Walkway
http:/www.capecampbellwalkway.co.nz
The Loes and their neighbours, Rob and Sally Peter, have developed a four-day walk (with a two day option) through their properties.
Highlights are a night at the Cape Campbell Lighthouse, seeing distinctive South Marlborough native vegetation which is being conserved on both properties, crossing a working farm landscape, the rural character of accommodation and shelter, and invigorating isolation experience.
This, the FarmHQ project and polo ponies are ways of using our knowledge and experience to build something useful and/or enjoyable to people, and extract a dollar at the end!
Over that time burning, fencing, stocking and fertiliser application have changed the landscape, for the better (good pastures for grazing) and worse (erosion, loss of significant vegetation to fire).
Since the late 1990s, repeated droughts have reduced profitability, meaning there is less to invest in development and maintenance. Increasingly, Kevin and Carol have adapted management to make the most of a production window from May through until November.
Management emphasis on feeding priority stock and maintaining pasture quality constantly shifts in response to the climate, feed availability and opportunity. Animals are farmed to suit the pasture growth curve rather than the bank manager; an approach that has meant the replacement of breeding with dry stock with the potential to run next to no animals at critical times of the year.
As well as grazing on farm, the Loes lease land and pay for grazing where they identify a market opportunity. Up to 18,000 stock units have been run.
Farmers draw a boundary around themselves the same size as their farm whereas I view myself as an asset and resource manager. Kevin says.
About 200 Angus cows are maintained as a base herd for quality breeding stock but other cattle are traded, depending on markets, available feed and climate. Because of the healthy climate, animals generally adapt quickly and grow well.
The main ewe flock has been reduced from 3500 to 2500 as a base for breeding. Replacements are kept only in years when they can be well grown to ensure their future genetic potential. All progeny are available for sale as stores unless the season provides the opportunity to add value.
Integrated Business Solutions/FarmHQ
Since 1990, the Loes have been developing a management plan for their properties, initially by writing a study of lessons learned and establishing a basic vision. In the mid 90s their business planning became more strategic.
That interest in farm management planning has since evolved into launching Integrated Business Solutions (www.farmhq.co.nz).
The Loes are among five farming directors. Other directors include a farm consultant, IT company owner, rural accountant, bank executive and wealth coaches/financial and governance writers, contributing off-farm expertise.
IBS this year launched its first product, Farm HQ, a computer-based service intended to be the farmers headquarters for information from any available source. Information such as animal ID records, stud records, GST returns, compliance records and bank statements are brought together to provide a complete physical and financial picture of the farming business.
Farm HQ covers:
Production: providing a clear picture of farm productive performance.
Finance: depicting net worth, net profit and operating costs. This module can import data from Cash Manager and Banklink. Others will follow as need is identified
Feed budget: a simple but powerful tool for monitoring feed strategies. This links to pasture cover, supplements, and stock number screens.
Market options: Analyse stock transactions by $/kg lwt, $/cwt, lwt/hd, cwt/hd, and carcase %. Assess the impact of potential stock sales, purchases, or grazing options on profit, cash, and feed.
Data is entered into the system or imported from other programmes such as Cash Manager or Banklink, and transmitted over the internet to FarmHQ's secure servers. It is especially designed to minimise bandwidth usage.
Staff from one of FarmHQ's accredited business support agencies then check the data to ensure it is clean and accurate, reviewing it with the farmer if required.
Working with the Marlborough District Council, The Loes have developed and adopted a Plan for Sustainable Management of Native Vegetation Areas, which they intend to develop as a layer of this plan. The aim is integrated management for productive and protection values.
Horses have been a cost to the Loes since Kevins grandfathers day. The family is now looking at ways of making them pay or even turn a profit.
A breeding program has begun utilising the familys existing polo expertise, enthusiasm and contacts. This venture which focuses on the lucrative polo pony export market - is overseen by Jacob and Daniel, and is still at an early stage currently involving approximately 70 horses.
Bred on limestone hill country, Flaxbourne polo ponies should have good bone, sound tendons, structural soundness, balance and big motors.
Ideally, the Loes will be able to de-stock over summer and concentrate on training and marketing polo ponies.
The family is objectively measuring the horses contribution as a grazing animal, versus other options.
In the early 80s the Loes came to realise that planting trees and keeping them alive was very difficult and started to question why they were cutting down native vegetation that provided shade and shelter. As a result, they became more selective in how they cleared the land.
The Cape Campbell Walkway crosses through the seven hectare Whare Bush block, which was covenanted to the QEII Trust this year and fenced with funding from QEII, the Marlborough District Council and Governments biodiversity fund.
The site boasts bush which is extremely rare in this arid landscape. In the gully is a pocket of broadleaved mahoe (whiteywood), ngaio and five finger with old man cabbage trees a feature. Seed is being ecosourced from these cabbage trees, for planting out elsewhere in the district. Especially unusual is a single young mamaku (black tree fern) and a kowhai.
A survey of Significant Natural Areas in South Marlborough (carried out for the Marlborough District Council) discovered that original native vegetation is found on as little as 2% of land area and secondary regenerating native vegetation on 5-10%, almost exclusively on private property. The public conservation estate includes little of the areas coastal and lowland environments, placing the onus on private landowners for protection.
The SNA survey identified 230 hectares on the Loes property in eight sites as ecologically significant.
Once we had this knowledge, we recognised our responsibility as stewards of the land to look after these areas, says Kevin. We now take a whole-farm view of native vegetation and dont make any changes without looking at total rather than solely production impacts.
Kevin is critical of the existing requirement that a minimum of 50 hectares of regenerating native is required to claim carbon credits when on a property such as theirs areas are scattered. Rainfall requirements also exclude an area like Flaxbourne.
Two other coastal areas have been fenced and one gully as a trial to observe the difference between controlled grazing and no grazing at all.
Early indications are that we are achieving better results with managed grazing than total exclusion, says Kevin. This is a learning exercise.
The Cape Campbell Walkway
http:/www.capecampbellwalkway.co.nz
The Loes and their neighbours, Rob and Sally Peter, have developed a four-day walk (with a two day option) through their properties.
Highlights are a night at the Cape Campbell Lighthouse, seeing distinctive South Marlborough native vegetation which is being conserved on both properties, crossing a working farm landscape, the rural character of accommodation and shelter, and invigorating isolation experience.
This, the FarmHQ project and polo ponies are ways of using our knowledge and experience to build something useful and/or enjoyable to people, and extract a dollar at the end!