Page 112 - NZ Hereford Magazine 2023

Campbell’s impressed with the weight gains on these young stock, especially the Herefords.

He’s proud of last year’s early spring weight gains in his
2021-born yearlings – one steer growing 2.1kg a day, with the
mob averaging 1.7kg – before the farm dried out in February.
Campbell says the decision to become a registered herd was
to add value.
“I’m so passionate about it, I thought I might as well turn
my passion into some money too. But I’m pretty keen on
buying good genetics, and I feel like I’m breeding good
genetics, so why not make them available to others?”
The initial plan is to sell by private treaty to dairy farmers
for the first four to five years, but that’s not his end goal.
“I want to put my twist on them, figure out what sort of
bulls I want them to be, and turn them into something I’m
proud of.” Progeny are sold at 18 to 20 months, before their second winter.
Campbell and Dani lease the farm from Campbell’s
family trust. He says his love for Herefords was sparked by
his grandmother, who grew up on Waipapa Station in the
Clarence Valley.
“I spent a lot of time with her on this farm when I was a kid;
we were sheep and beef then.”
Campbell was nine years old when it was converted to dairy
in the early 1990s by his parents, Jet and the late Lyndal, who
died when Campbell was 11.
“They were barely scraping by thanks to Rogernomics, and
Dad thought, ‘right, we have to do something’. I remember
when the cow shed was brand new. There were five or six farms
that converted to dairy around here at the time, so there were A homebred sire (far right) is joined by bulls from Ardo, Otapawa
lots of shed-warming parties.” and Okawa studs.
But Campbell wasn’t taken by the idea of being a dairy farmer.
“I spent school holidays fencing, not milking. I left school to “I’d like to buy Dad’s debt off him, off the trust, and take
do a building apprenticeship and worked as a builder for a bit. over half the farm, leaving the rest tied up with the trust,
I came home to do three weeks work and never left. I wasn’t which I’m a beneficiary of, with my sister.”
doing the milking or working with the cows, but I was managing It’s consolidation for now though, because they bought the
the people and doing all the maintenance. I got to the point cows when prices were high, pre-Covid.
where it dragged me down. It rains and rains and rains here, Because the farm is fenced for dairy, Campbell farms
and when it’s not raining it’s about to rain. Some people just intensively to make the most of the existing infrastructure.
can’t cope with our weather and don’t want to persevere … and “Everything gets mob stocked, and they have to work hard.
I couldn’t be bothered with it any more. I said to Dad I’m either I’ll rotationally graze with daily shifts. It’s quite hard on the cows
leaving or I’m changing. He went with the change. and calves but it’s good for grass, and then it’s good for the cows
“He still works here. I can’t get rid of him, but that’s a good really in the long term because they get better grass quality.
thing, because I can’t afford to replace him,” he says, laughing. “It does make it more labour-intensive but it makes it a lot
“He loves the place.” more productive.”
Jet is in the original farmhouse Campbell grew up in and Dani, who is starting to breed Paint Horses and is at home
the other houses are rented out, which helps with farm with daughters Izzy (4) and Lottie (2), is from a small sheep
cashflow. and beef farm in Colyton. She laughs [now] about what it

110 HEREFORD MAGAZINE Year 2023