Page 22 - NZ Hereford Magazine 2023

Herefords in the

Awatere Valley

Words and photos: Tony Benny between his two sons, Edwin, and Jeremy’s father Allan. Upon
Edwin’s retirement, Allan purchased his share of Mt Gladstone
hen Jeremy Pitts’ grandfather bought Mt and later added Jordan and Camden stations as well.
Gladstone station in 1963, he stocked it with Under their own farm succession process, Jeremy and
Herefords, reasoning they’d be easy to identify Hayley now own Mt Gladstone and Jeremy’s brother Hugo
when they strayed on to the Awatere River has Camden and Jordan. That transition was made easier for
Wflats and mingled with black cattle from Jeremy and Hayley thanks to what turned out to be a lucrative
neighbouring properties. venture they took on at the same time as working full-time
There wasn’t much fencing back then, and the river was one for the family company – grazing and finishing up to 10,000
boundary of a number of stations in the rugged high country lambs a year on Marlborough vineyards over winter.
of Marlborough’s Awatere Valley. Nowadays Mt Gladstone is They bought lambs, starting with merinos, from as far away
well fenced and has been developed over three generations as the Mackenzie Country. “We’d source lambs and graze them
with tracks, new yards and stock water. One thing hasn’t for six weeks until the vineyards were ready, and then we’d
changed though; Hereford cattle are still the favoured breed take them through until October. We made really good money
(and the neighbours still run Angus). shearing and then finishing them,” says Hayley.
“I do like the Herefords, they’re quiet,” says Jeremy, who Over time they switched to crossbreds in the vineyards.
farms the 5500-hectare property with wife Hayley. “Although that was less profitable, it was also less workload,
“When we sell our Hereford heifers at the calf sale, the same easier financially, and involved less time away with two little kids.”
people try to buy them every year, mainly because they’re Thanks to success of the lamb finishing venture, Jeremy
quiet,” Hayley agrees. and Hayley started farming on their own account in a
A couple of years ago, their heifers topped the local sale for good financial position. They upgraded fences and put in
price per kilogram. additional stockyards around the farm, as well as putting in
“Our little heifers beat all the steers,” Jeremy says with a 15 kilometres of pipe and 15 tanks to reticulate stock water at
laugh. “The guys just chased them, they wanted them and one end of the property.
kept bidding on them; it was incredible.” “We never ran out of feed at that end but we ran out of
The Pitts run 170 cows plus replacements on Mt water quite a lot. When it got dry we would have to open the
Gladstone’s lower country but their main business is 8000 gates down to the river and then the cattle would get boxed
Merino sheep. The station rises from 440 metres above sea up with the neighbours’, and we thought, ‘We’re not farming
level at the homestead to 1600 metres, and is mostly steep, in like that’,” Jeremy says.
places near vertical. He says having stock water has been brilliant, but despite
Mt Gladstone only had four paddocks when Jeremy’s that, they struggled to increase cattle numbers because TB
grandfather bought it. He eventually split the property (bovine tuberculosis) was rife in the district and every year

20 HEREFORD MAGAZINE Year 2023