Peter Reeves from the Mokairau Hereford Stud at Whangara is justifiably proud of being a fifth generation East Coaster. Having lived at Whangara all his life, surrounded by the Mokairau Polled Hereford stud, he is passionate about the land and the cattle.

Peter, his wife Christine and their five children farm a 1,000 hectare property (940 ha effective) which has been in the family since Peter's grandfather Stan purchased it in 1927. But the Reeves have been in the Tolaga Bay area for two generations longer than that since his great great grandfather Andrew Reeves, from the Scottish Borders, bought and developed land in 1864. Andrew drove the first sheep to the Poverty Bay from Takapau -over the Mohaka River and settled at Tolaga Bay with his wife.

Whilst having a family and carving out a farming life they developed large tracts of land. It was a time of hard work, isolation and a certain amount of danger as Te Kooti and Hau Hau raiding parties drove most settlers to move into the stockades each night for safety amongst the soldiers. Around this time many pioneers left their land and the remaining settlers took up the 99-year leases.

The Whangara property is coastal summer-dry country, one narrow strip of land back from the sea. With 100ha of river flats (and 7.5 km of river boundary), water is one of the property's great strengths, according to Peter.

Even on the rest of the medium to steep country, natural springs in many of the gullies are not prone to drying out and dams have been built in many of the paddocks to keep stock watered. Almost every paddock has a patch of native bush and a few of them have been fenced off from stock. As well as providing excellent stock shelter and erosion control, the bush enhances the attractiveness of the country.

Whale Island and Whangara Beach, site of the recent blockbuster Whale Rider are at the front of the neighbouring property and visible from the trig point, along with a panoramic view from Young Nicks Head to Mt. Hikurangi.

Stan Reeves and his son David founded the Mokairau Hereford Stud 50 years ago this year. Beginning with five cows bought from Fred Humphrey's Wilencote Stud 25th Jubilee sale, Stan and David soon added 24 cows from Selwyn Bridge. Stan Reeves and Fred Humphreys, one of the Hereford breed's stalwarts from the early days, were good mates.

"We could never afford a Wilencote bull, " said Peter, "but Mr Humphreys lent Stan one because they were good mates." Stan was President of New Zealand Federated Farmers in the early 1950's and made many trips overseas marketing and selling New Zealand meat.

His wife Blanche was a keen gardener and often brought back plants and seeds from overseas to grow and swap with other local gardeners - amongst them a very colourful character Douglas Cook, who established Gisborne's renowned Eastwood Hill Arboretum. Stan and Blanche left the property in 1960 to move to town, but not before Stan had instilled in grandson Peter a great love for Herefords "I've grown up with Herefords," says Peter, "they have been table talk ever since I can remember."

He has very fond memories of being taken around and shown Herefords as a wee boy with his grandfather Stan and Mr Humphreys. "I was very fortunate to be involved with some very astute stockmen in the industry."

David and Joy Reeves took over the reins in 1960, and gradually added a further three blocks of land and built the stud up to 100 cows. A reduction sale held to cut numbers back to 50 was one of the most successful sales of females. David was a keen showman of cattle and for many years the family prepared cattle for the shows around the North Island.

Even Royal Shows in Christchurch were a worthy occasion and many of the Gisborne breeders would join together to truck cattle down the country.

David also spent 14 years on the Council of the NZ Hereford Association, including stints as President and Vice-President. He attended World Hereford conferences and spent many years judging breeds of cattle allover the country.

Peter joined the partnership in 1975, and Christine came on board when they married in 1980. Peter's brothers Andrew and Mark were also involved in the home property. Peter was a keen shearer and with his brothers shore around 30,000 sheep per season on the family properties - one at Tiniroto and one further inland at Matawai. "We had a vision and have been fortunate in getting where we have," says Peter.

The partnership was split a few years ago when David retired and all the brothers are now farming on their own account. "Dad was wise enough to see that we all needed our own independence and space, "says Peter, "so we were all able to purchase our own blocks."

The stud held was steadily built up from 60 cows in 1975 to 300 cows today, by replacing commercial cows with recorded stud cows. "The herd is run on very commercial lines, " explains Peter, "and the larger numbers give us a broader opportunity to try out new bloodlines."

Peter is adamant that the herd is very simplistic but commercially oriented. "We are breeding for the commercial man, therefore we must be close to him."

David Reeves always remembered the advice he was given by a prominent King Country breeder Dan Tynan, when he was bailed up and told "Remember, boy, you have to keep the cattle practical." Peter agrees saying "structural soundness is of paramount importance". Although the genetics were kept tight in the early days, with use of two early bulls Atlantic Gem and Dover Gem, AI came in vogue in the 1980's and early 1990's, and Mokairau introduced American genetics - with varying success rates. "We had a few disappointments, " says Peter, "so we went back to using mainly New Zealand and Australian genetics"..."The herd has a lot of Braxton blood in it," he added.

Homebred bull Mokairau Rob, by Braxton Dynasty, has been used heavily in the last 5 years, as well as his sons. "Rob has been the best 'cash in the bank' bull," says Peter, "with all the attributes we are looking for in the breed. He has exceptional soundness, good colour - to keep the identity in the breed, a good hooded eye and a middle of the road frame score."

"We are about to sell Rob's fifth crop of bulls and we have managed to breed more even crops of calves, by keeping the genetics tight and using linebreeding with Rob's son and grandsons," says Peter "One of the advantages of having a big base of 300 cows is that we can use lots of bulls. We'll be getting back into the AI this year and will use a proven bull as well as some exciting bulls we bought last year at the Beef Expo. At the end of the day, clients want a fresh infusion of genetics, but we don't want to take too much of a blind risk, however we can afford to try different bulls with our large numbers."

Three hundred cows will be mated this coming spring, including two-year-old heifers. The heifers are mated 0.5-1 cycle earlier than the mixed aged cows, which go to the bull in the last week of October. The bulls come out the week before Christmas. Calving has gradually come back to late July onwards, so that the sale bulls are up to weight by sale time. "It's a bit of a psychological barrier, the bulls need to be up to 700kg or better by our early June sale, " says Peter.

After selling through paddock sales for many years, Mokairau launched its own on-farm auction sale in 1986. As a part of the East Coast Hereford sale week, they have a Breakfast Sale on the Wednesday morning after Queen's Birthday weekend. "It's a great few days, with 130-140 bulls for buyers to select from," says Christine, "and the sales attract many outside buyers to the East Coast".

"The breakfast sale works really well," she added, "as we can entertain our clients by putting on a good breakfast for them, as many have travelled for a couple of hours to get here."

The Reeves aim for their top 35 bulls to go into the on-farm sale and usually sell another 12-15 in paddock sales afterwards. Between 100 to 120 2-year-old bulls are sold into the dairy industry, going to Gisborne dairy farmers and through to Reporoa and Matamata. Some are sold through agents, but many are repeat clients who ring up or have found Mokairau on the internet site.

"By having the farmers come straight to us we get to the grassroots and the feedback doesn't get filtered," says Peter. "Many dairy farmers have gone away from using the yearling bulls over their heifers - they seem to be preferring Jersey bulls for yearlings but want sound, well marked, easy calving and good temperament Hereford bulls for their follow-up mating of cows," remarked Peter. "We can make sure the bulls going into the herds cause no worries with calving difficulties - we supply bulls with good flat shoulders."

Peter is keen to work on improving client service, with follow up calls and/or visits. "I endeavour to get around or make phone contact with the clients - some don't need a visit - they prefer a call." Three quarters of Mokairau's beef bulls are mated to Angus cows with many going to big stations up and down the East Coast.

Mokairau has sold bulls at the National Sale in Palmerston North in the past, but not for the last 12 years. "You really need to be getting over $10,000 to make the exercise worthwhile, and we like to keep the local buyers happy."

The Expo is a great place to buy stud sires however and Mokairau bought two in 2003. "We bought a great Okahu Boomer son from Pat and Kelly O'Neill of Raetihi for $10,000 and then a Lake Station bull from Nelson which has some horned blood in him He was a real bargain," said Peter. "The bull was a baby at the show; September born and an outcross bull -people didn't seem to see his potential - he has grown out to be the biggest bull and we are thrilled with him," he added.

Another stud bull bought by private sale from the Hain family was an autumn born bull that has also grown out to be a great bull. Eight bulls were used this last mating.

Carrying over 10,000 stock units on the station, the land uses and stock classes have been many and varied over the years. "The stud is the one constant," says Peter "We are trying to make the land work for us - the only thing really in place is the stud." Deer, breeding ewes, trading lambs and in the past cropping organic vegetables, are all part of the mix of the Mokairau enterprise.

Deer farming began on Mokairau with sharefarming in the early 1980s and numbers peaked at 1200 deer. "We have enjoyed the industry but can't see the returns improving in the short term There is simply not the continuity of supply for the market place, " says Peter. So numbers are slowly reducing to 450 Red deer with a corresponding increase in sheep numbers to better control weeds.

The velveting herd has gone down the road and now the simplified breeding system sees stags finished as rising two-year-olds and sent to the works in September.

Ewe numbers and numbers of lambs traded are being increased to take over the reduction in deer numbers Running 3000 ewes in a terminal sire system, buying in mixed age or five year old ewes from his brothers, Andrew and Mark and mating them early to a Poll Dorset ram, the sheep policy is Peter's "release valve", creating 'easily quitted' classes of stock if the season turns dry.

Lambing in early July ensures that 1400 lambs are sold off the ewes at weaning, and half are gone by Christmas, followed by all the ewe lambs. Depending on the season, a further 1500-2000 composite male store lambs are bought in and finished for Richmond Meats. The aim for finishing is 165kg carcase weight and according to Christine, this year's average was running at a healthy 17.9kg in January. "The sheep policy is not a concrete formula, " says Peter, "but it is working We are not getting high percentages but are making good dollars per hectare, " he added.

Over the last year a monitor windmill has been whirring away on the trig point at the top of the farm, testing the wind flows for a possible windfarm site. The constant sea breezes and the infrastructure of the coastal power lines going past are encouraging signs for Peter and Christine who are excited by the possibilities of windpower for the Coast.

The Reeves family has been fortunate to have Martin Paenga working for them since 1982. Martin and his son Simon are both keen horsemen, so the Mokairau way of life suits them well, with the majority of the stock work being done on horseback. "The horses keep the cattle quiet and are less noisy than motorbikes," says Christine.

Horses are also a love of Peter's, and the station has five part-Clydesdale brood mares that are bred to a local stallion to produce station horses.

Martin and Simon are keen on horse sports and polo, as well as breaking-in young horses and the Reeves sell station-bred sport horses.

In keeping with family tradition all of the Reeves' children have been involved in working on the farm also. John is currently working on the property fulltime having returned from Telford and Matthew works there part-time as well as growing grape rootstock on the property and selling rooted cuttings. He has purchased a 29 hectare block at Tolaga Bay that is currently cropping squash. Richard has recently graduated from Police College and is stationed in Tauranga. Along with Sophie and Sam, still at school but taking an active part in the farm whenever possible -Peter says he is under pressure to start showing cattle again from Sam.

One could say the future of the Mokairau Hereford stud looks to be in safe hands. Fifty years of breeding Hereford bulls will no doubt grow into 70, 80 or 100 years with this family of East Coasters who are proud of their history, their land and their cattle.

Story by Jackie Harrigan