Twenty years of working on enhancing the environmental performance of their property has earned recognition for Evan and Linda Potter who have won deer industry’s premier environmental award.
The couple never set out to win awards. They just want to leave Waipapa Station in Central Hawke’s Bay a better place for the next generation.
“It’s been quite humbling and very much a surprise. We never set out to win anything,” Evan said.
“But we had a bit of pressure put on us to enter and this is the result.
“Really, we are doing no more than any other farmer wants to do.
“We are farming to our philosophy of leaving the property a better place for the next generation and obviously we want to make a profit and land is our biggest asset, not necessarily in value but as a resource.”
Before buying Waipapa the Potters worked on and managed farms for other people.
They had a goal to own their property.
“Waipapa is an old lease block. There was a lull in forestry at the time and given it required a lot of work it was the perfect storm for us for achievable entry there.
“It was the worst house on the street scenario – the agent listed it as a doer-upper.
“It had a beautiful home and woolshed but the rest of the place was a real project ready to get your teeth into.”
With a blank canvas, a gorge system that ran through it and good working relationships with the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and the QE11 Trust, the Potters set about transforming the 640 hectare station.
That meant retiring some land and matching the rest to its most suitable use.
“It was the focus right from the start for us to match land use to land class.
“Some is better in bush, some in livestock, some forestry, some wetlands. It was about evolving that in tune with our philosophy.”
Waipapa now has 130ha under QE11 covenant after retiring a fifth of the original 740ha over a seven-year project.
“We continue observing what happens and we’re constantly retiring land in terms of finding areas better suited for other things including environmental habitat, forestry in both radiata pine and native bush and livestock production.”
The livestock operation on Waipapa is split evenly as one third deer, a third sheep and a third beef across 600 effective hectares.
The 750-deer herd is predominately velvet and runs on a 145ha block on one side of the gorge.
It is separate to the sheep and beef on the other side of the gorge.
“We do cross-graze the deer block, the sheep and beef are always floating in and out of the deer unit but we never have the deer on the sheep and beef blocks.”
Waipapa runs a Romney ewe flock, buying in ewe replacements.
On the beef side Friesian bull calves are reared, some sold as yearlings, some as two-year-olds to processing with some finished as three-year steers.
“This came about through matching the environment and feed supply to the production system.
“When we came here 20 years ago it was a traditional sheep and beef property running 2500 ewes, 150 cows and 30 deer as a hobby herd.
“It wasn’t giving the focus it should have had on matching land use to land class.”
Three years on the Potters had grown the deer herd to 150.
“A good friend said to me you have to be in or out. The industry was in a bit of boom. It was good timing so we went in.
“You either love or hate deer, there’s nowhere in between. Obviously we love deer.”
Because of the climatic conditions the cattle are all trading and with buying in the ewe replacements the lambs can be ditched early if need be.
“That’s our safety valve and it needs to be here.”
The Potters hope to create more wetlands in future.
“There’s biodiversity areas that naturally lend to the choices we are making in matching land use to land class.
“I can easily see what still needs to be done.
“Living in it all the time I struggled to see what we had done but this (award) makes you step back and take a look. It’s been a light bulb moment for us and we are truly humbled by it.”
The Potters were praised by the judges for the work they have done to enhance the environmental performance of the property, a bush-clad gully on the farm that was put into a QEII covenant being one of the most visible and attractive aspects.
Their carefully planned nutrient management and waterway protection and extensive use of willows and poplars to help prevent soil erosion were highlighted in their awards haul.
The judges said building a thorough knowledge of soils on the property helped develop an excellent fit of stock class to land.
The Potters also won the NZ Landcare Trust Award for excellence in sustainable deer farming through action on the ground.
Central Otago deer farmers John and Mary Falconer received two environment awards – the Duncan NZ Award for vision and innovation while mastering a demanding environment and the Gallagher technology and innovation award for excellent use of farming technologies to improve productivity and manage resources.
The Falconers have a wide range of deer-based business streams including venison and velvet production, trophy hunting and genetics.
In particular, the judges commended their efforts to manage water quality and quantity in Central Otago’s low-rainfall environment.
Adam and Sharon Waite, who manage the intensive finishing farm Northbank Station in Canterbury, also won two awards – the Firstlight Foods Award for total commitment to farming sustainably with a strong customer focus and the NZ Deer Farmers’ Association next generation award for outstanding performance across environmental, financial and social aspects of the business.
The Waites have been managing an extensive redevelopment on the property, featuring more water-efficient irrigation systems, improved pasture covers and new native shelter belts and other plantings to provide shade.
Young South Canterbury couple Kiri Rupert and Josh Brook were highly commended by the judges for excellence in business planning, farm environment planning and farm succession.
The Kinzett family, who farm for velvet production near Murchison, received a commendation for their work on fencing and shelter belts, providing shade and shelter and screening stock to prevent deer fence pacing.
