It’s been a period of expansion for Tim and Monique Neeson at Awarima Station, a thriving sheep and beef farm at Tokirima, west of Taumarunui and 20 kilometres south of Ohura in the deep heart of the King Country.
The couple bought the 1,200-hectare home farm from Tim’s parents in 2020 and, since then, have added to the land-holding, with the purchase of 330 hectares of the neighbour’s farm that was sold to forestry and leasing its remaining 500 hectares. “Having this 330 hectares has given us access to the other blocks, which is a dream we made into reality,” says Monique.
The Neesons have also just gone unconditional on a 100-hectare, 240-cow dairy farm in Taranaki, which Monique says works well with their beef finishing program. “It was about bringing a more sustainable scale into the business, leading to more profit. It’s brought in better land, more suited to our calf-rearing operation.”
The stock numbers are impressive: 8,000 Romney breeding ewes, 300 breeding cows and their progeny, 2,000 hoggets and 450 mixed-age dairy beef cattle. “We’re fortunate to acquire excellent genetics with rams sourced from Keith Abbot and Craig Alexander.”
“It’s important to be introducing the best possible fresh genetics into the business regularly, while pursuing our breeding goals.”
Monique’s main responsibilities seasonally are around rearing the approximately 480 calves, nurturing them until they leave the calf shed. It’s a stunning property, with two iconic rivers, the Whanganui and Ohura, bordering its perimeter. There’s a feeling of being in a very special environment with the Forgotten Highway not too far away. Stunning native blocks punctuate the landscape, with the couple committing 300 hectares to forestry, in those parts not suited to rearing stock.
“Our bank manager gave us some really solid strategic advice. He pretty much laid out an investment strategy plan for us to follow. Succession now is a huge focus for Tim and me,” says Monique. That means growing the business for their three children, by diversifying as product and market opportunities present themselves.
While the two youngest attend the local school, their eldest has been home-schooled this past year, an experience Monique says has been extremely positive for him. “Heath will be off to boarding school next year. It’s not something we’re really looking forward to, but this year of being educated at home has really been a good thing.”
Assisting the couple at the sprawling station are two staff, a farm manager and a general shepherd. Having a solid staff makes a big difference in continuity and in understanding how Awarima operates. And being situated where they are, very often the rain doesn’t stop for days, though Monique says, compared with other farming areas of late, they have got off fairly lightly.
Both celebrating the fact that the wool clip has at last seen improvement in market value, Monique and Tim have decided to put their successful ‘Shear Warmth’ woollen blanket business on the back burner, given the increase in cost to produce the luxury items, sold through their online store.
“We’ve always been committed to having the blanket made in New Zealand. Provenance is an important element to our values, and I always wanted the blankets to be in the affordable range. Now, costs are putting them somewhat out of reach, so we’re just going to focus on the farm products that make sense economically.”
Monique says her greatest dream would be to see one of the children take over the business in the years to come. Never without a thought to try something new though, Monique says, when they acquired more land, a hectare became the home for growing sunflowers, much to the delight of locals.
“We called it the Itty Bitty Farm and it was well received. The plot just spread some joy throughout Taumarunui. Last year was our first go at this, and we’ll do it again. When the flowering season was over, we fed them to the cows, so nothing was wasted.”
Monique says with three busy children, an expansive farming business and the daily tasks and challenges that come with it, there’s never a moment to spare. “Life is busy. This is a wonderful environment to raise a family in.”
