Savings have already been made by growing maize silage that was previously bought in.
The 9ha of native bush on the block is an asset for wintering hinds. Hamish and Campbell are planning how to build two self-feed grass silage pits to make hind wintering simple and labour efficient.
Access is an issue so for now they have allocated 350 round silage bales to winter the hinds.
Wintering hinds in the bush leaves more space and pasture for younger deer and winter grazing space for beef animals and dairy cows.
It also reduces the winter stocking rate on the block, allowing for more intensive regrassing as part of development.
The bush block on the recently purchased farm is proving useful for wintering breeding hinds.
Fawns are weaned post-rut in early June at the same time as TB testing. Campbell has found fawns grow better with the later weaning and seem to have fewer health issues.
Three decades of pre-sale TB testing ended for the Clarkes just three years ago, opening the opportunity for them to sell stags into the trophy industry.
After weaning, feed availability to stags is built up to peak with the spring flush. Hamish would like to start weighing velvet stags if he can find a way to do so safely and efficiently.
He is also experimenting with Pedigree Matchmaker technology to match hinds to their mothers.
If successful they will be able to implement tougher selection criteria to farm fewer hinds and more velvet stags.
“The hind-to-stag ratio has a big effect on the gross margins of the deer enterprise,” Hamish says.
Velvet stags are selected on their velvet cut as two-year-olds. While they are building numbers the Clarkes have a selection criteria of above 2kg (first cut) to make the velvet herd.
Hamish says that every day working with deer is different.
“Currently, we can run velvet stags on our hill country and create a good return on investment, with less physical labour compared to what we could achieve with sheep.
“Deer farming is not for everyone – it requires a special set of skills and a different type of person compared to dairy. I was very lucky to be brought up surrounded by both.”
Related story: Steady as she goes
FARM FACTS
Te Mara Farm – Tauraroa Valley, 20 minutes southeast of Otorohanga
Campbell and Helen Clarke – owners with son Hamish drystock manager
- 550ha (including 144ha recently bought)
- Annual rainfall – 1600mm
- Dairy, dairy support, velvet stags, breeding hinds
Red deer
- 360 hinds (including yearlings)
- 260 weaner fawns
- 260 velvet stags (building to 400-plus long term)
Milking – 575 dairy cows
- 150 R2 heifers
- 250 R1 calves (including
