Rhys Evans is a sheep and beef farmer near Ōwaka in the Catlins, working alongside his father, Graham. The family-run farm, situated at a relatively high altitude for the region, faces unique challenges that have driven them to adopt progressive farming practices and cutting-edge Germinal pasture varieties.
Farm development and challenges
Rhys and Graham have focused on extensive development since acquiring the property 20 years ago. “Our main goal has been development,” he explains. “It was pretty much all old pastures and all run down, so we’ve had a big focus on pasture renewal. We've also brought in some forestry ground that we've broken back into grass and renewing that into productive pasture.”
The farm's high altitude presents distinct climate challenges, particularly during harsh winters and late springs. Recent dry spells have also tested the farm's resilience. To combat these issues, they employ strategic crop planning and careful timing of lambing seasons.
Innovative pasture solutions
For the past 15 years, Rhys and Graham have used Germinal grasses and clovers for their persistence and ability to outcompete unproductive native grasses. “We continue to use them, so we're really happy with using Germinal seeds,” he states.
Germinal Aber High Sugar Grasses (Aber HSG) have proven to be a game-changer for Rhys' farm. He observes, “One of the main things we notice is it's a really thick sward, so you get a lot of feed value off the grass that you have. And they last as well – they're very persistent. I've got nine-year grasses that are still producing really well.
“You put sheep in and you just think they're only going to be a day or two and you'll notice they're actually quite a bit longer because there is a lot of volume of feed in it.”
Improved sheep performance
The benefits extend beyond just pasture density. Rhys reports improved voluntary intake by livestock, faster recovery after dry spells, and extended productive seasons.
“The Aber HSG grasses go to seed later so we can maintain a lot more vegetative production longer through the spring. And they have strong autumn growth, so we find we grow grass later into the autumn as well,” he explains.
Perhaps most significantly, Rhys has noticed a major improvement in lamb performance. “We also notice that the lamb growth of ewes that are on areas with Aber HSG is far better than the areas that are in the older native grasses and other grasses.”
“The lambs that are weaned off the high sugar grasses are heavier by far than the ones coming off the older pastures,” he states. This improvement in weight gain continues post-weaning when lambs graze on high-quality Aber HSG pasture.
Resilient clover varieties
The farm uses three different Germinal clover varieties: world-first DoubleRoot hybrid clovers (under the AberLasting variety), AberDance white clover, and AberClaret red clover comprise around 30% of the farm’s pasture mixtures. Rhys has been particularly impressed with the performance of DoubleRoot during dry conditions.
“When the grasses stop growing, the clovers step up,” he notes. “2023 was really good with AberLasting (DoubleRoot) in the dry conditions. It held on and then it came back quite quickly when the grasses slowed right down – AberLasting was there.
“For us, nitrogen use is an important part of the overall production. We generally don't use nitrogen when the clovers are present and they are producing.”
Pasture renewal strategy
The farm's approach to pasture renewal involves a two-crop cycle to reduce the presence of older grasses, followed by the establishment of new grass varieties. The preferred method is direct drilling with a mix of Aber HSG varieties, along with red and white clovers.
For sheep farming, Rhys finds DoubleRoot clover particularly valuable due to its "high tolerance to set stocking" and ability to recover from tough conditions.
Through an efficient approach to pasture management and embrace of Germinal’s innovative pasture varieties, Graham and Rhys Evans have transformed their Catlins farm into a model of modern, efficient sheep and beef production.
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