Page 24 - Hereford Magazine 2021

Wilencote breeds quiet, structurally sound, easy doing cattle. Stud cows are treated the same as commercial stock on Wilencote.

[repairs and maintenance] when Dad died. I had never been
anywhere else to know what I needed to do. Life carried on
and I had no further training; we managed. But cattle were
our love and we were struggling to get traction in the industry
on nearly 1100 acres. If we were going to be serious about it, if
we wanted to run more than 250 cows, sheep were not going
to be a big part of that.”
Moving to a full cattle policy was all about quality of life.
“It was literally me saying, ‘well, I’m going to really enjoy the
last period of our farming life’. Let’s do something we actually
really enjoy instead of having that other thing that we don’t
enjoy quite so much.”
Both Peter and Susie remember the time it took to fix the
fences.
“My favourite tool was my Stockade batten stapler,” Susie says.
They had to cut down many old macrocarpa and pine trees, A young Wilencote calf enjoying the sunshine.
and generally make the farm more functional.
“It’s a bit of an old cliché, but when Matt comes on board, “It’s been hard work getting the cattle to where they are now.
we’d like to think we’ve made it a better place,” Peter says. We have a good, sound, functional cowherd. We’ve worked hard
“But there’s still enough room for him to make his mark and for it, and we’ve loved it. We’ve really enjoyed the journey.”
develop it further. Matt says he wouldn’t chuck things out Peter’s mother, Erica, lives in Gisborne and retains a keen
straight away. But there’s no pressure for him to keep the stud interest in the farm.
if it’s not his passion.” “As well as a love of the red and whites, she also owns a
Matt says he hasn’t had a huge involvement with the stud, handful of cattle in the Wilencote herd,” Peter says. “She is 92
but is keen to keep it going for at least another generation. and while farm visits are not so common now, she has always
“I’ve grown up with it, been bred into it; hopefully, there’s a totally supported all involved and has been a good sounding
bit of instinct there.” board whenever the opportunity arose.”
Matt’s siblings all own their own businesses: sister Fleur is a
beauty therapist in Gisborne, brother Richard is in real estate THE FARM
in Auckland, and Ben is a builder in Gisborne (and responsible
for the adjustments to the old shearer’s quarters). A large portion of Wilencote’s contour is south-southeast
Matt, who’s the youngest, has always been the farmer. His facing, which means it retains moisture when the surrounding
winters are often spent mustering thousands of feral goats Ngatapa and Rere areas are turning dry.
from the East Coast hill country with his two good mates The property’s average rainfall is 1120mm, but it had been
Henry Gaddum and Fraser Tombleson. He loves training significantly down through 2019 until winter 2020.
working dogs and has a full team of 10 or 11 dogs. The homestead is 120 metres above sea level and the hills
“One of the main reasons we’ll probably end up with sheep rise to about 400m.
back on here,” Matt says with a grin. The Totangi Stream flows through the farm, giving some
Peter says one of the best things Matt did was work with river flats as well as a steady water supply; it then flows into
commercial cattle on Siberia at Taihape. the Wharekopae River at Te Karaka.
“I think he’s well equipped for where we see the industry. Most of the farm is medium to steep hill country. There is
Our market is probably 95% commercial players. Our cows are about 15ha of unfenced native bush.
all treated commercially here. They don’t lead a bad life, but The neighbouring forestry block, sold in 1996, comes down
they’re certainly not pandered to.” into a V on the property, effectively giving a natural border
Susie says she’s proud of where they’ve got to. between cow country and bull country. Peter explains there

22 HEREFORD MAGAZINE Year 2021