16 Dec 2016

Running Rangitaiki

From Country Life, 9:36 pm on 16 December 2016
Rangitaiki Station Sam Bunny and Emmet Thurston-Parris

Rangitaiki Station Sam Bunny and Emmet Thurston-Parris Photo: RNZ/Susan Murray

Landcorp's Rangitaiki Station on the Central Plateau is one of the State Owned Enterprise's bigger farms.

It is nine thousand hectares and carries tens of thousands of animals. Twenty staff live on site with over 100 dogs.

But you'd guess none of this as you whiz up the windswept Napier Taupo highway, with your foot heavily on the accelerator, and lake receding in the rear vision mirror.

You have to travel off the highway to your left to then see sweeping views of green pastures, barns,  trees and high wire fences keeping in New Zealand's largest deer herd - seven and a half thousand of them.

Venison from Rangitaiki is now being marketed under Landcorp's Pamu brand in North America and New Zealand.  Over the past year the once production-focused farmer has been developing partnerships with locally based processing and marketing companies, with the aim of adding value beyond the farm gate.

This amazingly diverse property also has 21,000 sheep, 1200 cattle and hectares of crops.  Shearing takes a week using two wool sheds.

For shepherds and managers alike it's a great place to work because the dog teams are large and the work is varied.  

Deer on Rangitaiki Station

Deer on Rangitaiki Station Photo: RNZ/Susan Murray