Hi from - Amaughfarms

Hi everyone, we are moving our young family (mum, dad & 2 kids) to a small 4 acre block based in Whangarei on the 30th of June where we plan to grow crops & farm small animals for our family and the local market. Dad thinks hes a bit of a entrepreneur too so we also plan to sell some useful equipment on the side

We are still unsure on the best way to utilize the land we don't have much start up money but we don't mind hard work either. The land consists mostly of nice sloping terrain which backs on to native bush. The soil and grass seem to be in good condition and we are lucky enough to have a small flat holding paddock with a very good set of sheep yards. Water is supplied by a local spring & roof collection. I believe wind could be an issue here

We are looking forward to this new venture & lifestyle and would really appreciate some good guidance from other successful/experienced people/mentors out there. We are not interested in gambling with what little resources/funds we have available but we are willing to invest our time effort & money in solid farming practices that suit our situation

We don't really want to end up with a bunch of pets to look after as much as we do love animals we would prefer to be a little more productive

the journey begins...

Welcome. Which way does the land face? Nice sloping south isn't the same proposition as nice sloping North!

Is the fencing in good nick? How many paddocks?

Hi Ruth, North facing, the fences are in good condition only 3 paddocks 2 smaller ones and one large. Sheep have been run on the place previously

Sounds lovely. Are there Kiwi in the area? Are you moving from somewhere local, or coming from afar?

Were the sheep run only on that block? Do you know how many the area was able to support? Have you kept animals before?

Sorry that all sounds quite nosey, but for others to help, it's most useful to know your starting points.

Ruth;426694 wrote: Sounds lovely. Are there Kiwi in the area? Are you moving from somewhere local, or coming from afar?

Were the sheep run only on that block? Do you know how many the area was able to support? Have you kept animals before?

Sorry that all sounds quite nosey, but for others to help, it's most useful to know your starting points.

There could be kiwi in the area & yes we are locals here. I believe the sheep were run on our 4 acres but also the surrounding farm so I don't know how many it could support. I was raised on and have worked on dairy, beef & sheep farms when I was younger so I guess you could say I have some knowledge we keep small animals in town we've raised chickens for eggs, ducks to onsell, quail for meat/eggs, meat rabbits etc all on a very small town section and we keep a pretty good vege garden

Be careful selling meat of any sort, whether mammal, bird, fish or reptile. If it has not been killed in a licenced slaughter premisis with a meat inspector then it is illegal. 4 acres equals about 16 sheep and lots of work keeping them healthy.

Hi LongRidge,
thanks for that, We plan to raise meat for ourselves but if we did sell anything for meat it will be sold live. We are thinking about trying garlic on the side but I'm open minded about what else we can do, there were some sheep on the property before hand.
One of the biggest issues for me is the cost of food for animals Id like to produce something for the local market but the cost of food for things like poultry, pigs, calves etc seems to make everything look like an expensive pet

Hi LongRidge,
thanks for that, We plan to raise meat for ourselves but if we did sell anything for meat it will be sold live. We are thinking about trying garlic on the side but I'm open minded about what else we can do, there were some sheep on the property before hand.
One of the biggest issues for me is the cost of food for animals Id like to produce something for the local market but the cost of food for things like poultry, pigs, calves etc seems to make everything look like an expensive pet

There are a couple of problems with homekill. One is that on a small block, every animal tends to become a pet. With sheep, if you don't have a sheep dog, then they have to be tame so they follow you with the bucket of pellets into the yards so that you can treat them. Unfortunately, the ones that don't behave themselves are the ones that you want to kill ..... but they escape
The other issue is that with a homekill you get all the meat back. Unless you are a versatile chef, there will be bits that you don't want to bother with .... and eventually the freezer gets full of these that are too good to feed the dogs.
For us, a sheep gives about 20kg of meat and offal, and about 45 single meals. A 450kg steer gives about 150kg of meal and offal. We use about one steer a year for us, so have a calf and a yearling. When the replacement calf comes along in about March, the older steer, which is now 30 months old, gets killed in April or May.

Sounds like you've bought our neighbours lot!
Where abouts in Whangarei?

lewbro;427467 wrote: Sounds like you've bought our neighbours lot!
Where abouts in Whangarei?

We are on Mt Tiger