The Charteris’ have a variety of operations, making the most of the land types and natural resources of their farm to diversify their income streams. A split-lambing Romdale ewe flock has the older ewes lambing in July. Their progeny are finished early – targeting 20kg – to reach the lucrative Christmas lamb trade, which also takes the pressure off the summer dry country and allows the couple to buy in extra lambs to finish from December to July if the season allows.
They are targeting 150% lambing in the next three years and are currently reaching 135% with the recent focus on increasing numbers as more land comes into the station constraining culling of stock for performance, Marty says.
Calving in the Angus herd has fluctuated with the seasons and the dry, but the herd has performed at 94% in 2012-13 and the Charteris’ are targeting 95% calving survival to weaning in the next two years.
Goats are mustered annually on the farm and any killable ones trucked to the local meatworks with any trophy heads sent to game parks.
Haylage over and above that needed for the farm is sold off – 600 bales last year – and Marty and Janice are investigating setting up their own beekeeping enterprise as another revenue stream. They’re also considering using the station’s homestead and setting as a function venue. Other ideas include growing maize for silage, squash for export and grazing and calving down dairy cows.
The couple have worked hard over the years to upgrade the farm’s infrastructure and environment, progressively improving pastures by oversowing at the same time as they spread fertiliser on the property. Annual soil testing allows careful planning of effective fertiliser application based on actual measured nutrient levels.
Horses are still used on Maranga Station in winter or during bad weather.
Governance and strategy
Marty and Janice Charteris have a well-defined strategic plan, developed in consultation with their whanau to provide direction and understanding of their farm operation.
The strategic plan defines what they want to achieve (vision), reminds them what they are there to do (mission), provides a path (goals), sets direction (objectives), tells them how they are going to do it (actions and strategies) and fits it all on one (big) page.
The goals are:
- Strive to motivate all to achieve partnership goals
- Maintain a team atmosphere respecting employees’ beliefs and ideas – treating employees like family
- Identify and manage risks – financial, health and safety
- Control costs and lower the debt-to-asset ratio
- Strategic forward thinking and planning to anticipate market changes
- Be an active member of the local and Maori community
- Improve the local environment in a practice aligned to the concept of kaitiakitanga
- Each goal has a set of objectives assigned to it and these are what the couple measure their performance against annually.
