It is the largest single employer in the Hurunui district employing 43 full-time staff. Steve jokes that he started farming with a desire to feed his family. He is now feeding a good number of New Zealanders.
It is profitability that has allowed the business to grow, innovate and make maximum use of the resources they have available. Patoa Farms is owned and operated by Steve, Josie and Holly Sterne. Steve began farming pigs full-time 16 years ago after a career in the steel industry.
What began as a hobby on 22ha on the outskirts of Christchurch became a business as Steve and his family made the decision that he step off the corporate ladder to care for his children and his first wife who was terminally ill. While it was a sad beginning, the business grew from what was a very small capital base.
“The good thing about pigs is you don’t need a massive amount of capital to start out. You can start from a low base and grow. Although I had always liked the idea of farming, the idea of amassing enough capital for a sheep and beef farm was just too hard.”
As Steve says, pigs multiply and do so very quickly. At the same time as Steve changed careers so did an economist friend of his, Jens Ravn.
Both were independently farming pigs and over a telephone conversation the idea was mooted that they combine and leverage off each other’s assets and grow their business.
It took them 18 months to find the perfect property. Steve says they set out with a list of non-negotiables which included flat terrain, free-draining soils, low rainfall, low snow risk, and close – but not too close – to a village, schools and markets. The 410ha they bought near Hawarden ticked all the boxes.
Tucked alongside the Hurunui River and Medbury forest, the farm is close enough to a labour force but remote enough to reduce the risk from biosecurity breaches.
Steve explains that the introduction of an exotic disease is the biggest risk to their business and while they are many miles from any other pig farm, they still take every precaution with visitors entering the property. They also run a completely closed herd and all genetics bought in are in the form of an artificial insemination (AI) straw.
All sows and weaners at Patoa Farms are routinely vaccinated against leptosporosis, erysipelas and porcine parvovirus and weaners are also treated for internal parasites.
The introduction of an exotic disease is the biggest risk to the Sterne’s business and the distance from other pig farms was one of the reasons they bought the farm at Hawarden.
Steve says they carefully manage visitor access and no one is allowed on the farm who has had exposure to pigs or pig products within the preceding 48 hours. Most visitors can only view the farm from a vehicle to mitigate disease risk.
There are only a handful of vets in NZ who service the pig industry. As well as providing animal health services they offer a performance measuring and benchmarking service. This gives individuals the opportunity to measure themselves against others in the industry.
