Although Jack Scheres admits other farmers often look at his farm and baulk at the mix of steep to rolling country he says farming a property of mixed contour is not an issue.
Jack and wife Liz own two farms at Putaruru: a 145ha effective/149ha total farm on Lesley Road and a 170ha effective/190ha total farm on Waimakariri Road. Both peak milk around 530 friesian cows.
Both farms comprise around 50% rolling and 25% steep country. The Scheres have coped by undertaking 24 hour grazing where cows stay in the same paddock for two milkings.
Jack says this encourages cows to graze the more difficult areas and means they have larger paddocks: 18 paddocks at Lesley Road and 24 paddocks at Waimakariri Road.
This makes management easier and he says cows are also more settled. He thinks it is all a matter of what the cows get used to. “If cows expect fresh grass every milking that’s what they want.
Having a feedpad cows can also only want to feed off the pad but we have found with 24 hour grazing this is not such an issue. The cows get up onto the hills and graze them out better.
We also keep some dairy replacements on the Waimakariri unit to clean up the steep areas,” he explains. The farms are system five and rely on inputs.
They grow 20ha of maize on each farm and buy in about the same again along with other supplements. Some young stock is grazed off farm.
Jack and Liz are now stepping back from their operation. Their son Paul and his wife Claire are in their fourth season of 50:50 sharemilking at Lesley Road.
Daughter Ashley and her husband Chap are sharemilkers on the other farm, which was purchased just 1 ½ years ago.
Both farms winter milk and Jack says this has worked out well financially. They have been gradually moving more cows to winter milking over the years and now aim to get as many of the herd in-calf for winter milking as possible with the remainder given a short mating during spring. Around 70% of the herd is on autumn calving now.
The Lesley Road unit produces around 325,000 kilograms of milk solids and next season, when the Waimakariri unit hits its stride, it is expected this farm will produce similarly. Each farm has a different type of milking shed.
Lesley Road has a 45 bail internal rotary. Although popular many years ago these models are now a rarity but Jack says they have distinct advantages which suit this unit.
“Because you milk from the inside of the circle it can be a one person operation as the cows have to circle back to you again before exiting so you can keep a good eye on them,” he says. The other farm has a new 50 bail external rotary.
Both sheds incorporate automation: automatic cup removers, automatic teat sprayers, automatic drafting, mastitis detectors and heat detection collars are used.
“Chap preferred the external rotary as with an internal rotary it can take a couple of seasons to break in the herd to that system. Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages.”
The family has been farming for generations. Jack’s parents emigrated from Holland and arrived in New Zealand purchasing the first 60ha block. Jack’s brother Peter still farms this land today.
Jack ran five family farms in Putaruru in partnership with his brothers Peter and Henry before they went their separate ways with each brother taking over one farm each. Jack sold out of an equity partnership on the other two farms he owned with his brothers around two years ago.
“It was easier for us to pass on a farm to our own children who might want to enter farming if we each have separate ownership of at least one unit,” explains Jack.
And with all of Jack and Liz’s kids returning to farm and with seven grandchildren now it looks likely the future generations of Scheres will continue the family farming tradition.
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Jack a big fan of 24-hour grazing
