Sheep become ‘environmental do-gooders’

Ruby Mulinder catches up with one of her “environmental do-gooders”.

Tihoi dairy sheep farmer and Federated Farmers Rotorua-Taupō meat and wool chair Ruby Mulinder and husband Sean Nixon, a process engineer in the milk sector, have found a farming way of life that suits them.

Both came from rural backgrounds; Sean’s family in dairying and Ruby grew up on sheep and beef properties her father managed, but neither were interested in milking cows, not least because of the capital required.

Eleven years ago, they became interested in sheep dairy models, seeing potential for financial and environmental sustainability.

“We leave all the lambs on the ewes and that was always something that we were both really passionate about – letting the ewes rear their lambs first, then we milk the ewes once they have weaned their lambs.”

Happy productive ewes are key to a successful dairy sheep operation.

Mulinder will talk to the Taupō Lakes and Waterways Action Trust on Thursday, April 24 on Lake Taupō protection from a rural perspective, sheep dairying and current climate effects on farming in the catchment.

When looking for land the couple saw Taupō’s nitrogen discharge restrictions as an opportunity because the rules were clear and predictable.

They use Overseer (an agricultural tool that estimates nutrient flows) to model a sustainable and profitable system.

“I think other people historically had seen it as a risk or a challenge. But we were always pretty confident we would be able to make the system work.”

Mulinder is an Agri Concepts farm consultant and has also been working with farmers on the Chatham Islands.

She knows farming is not all plain sailing.

Along with this year’s extended dry spell, there have been market pressures on higher value products post-Covid and a drop in demand from China, resulting in softer prices.

In their fourth year of milking, Mulinder says the ewes have produced well and reared a lot of lambs and the sheep dairy model is a good fit with nitrogen restrictions. He calls their ewes “little environmental do-gooders”.

“We know what we’re functioning with; we know the tools we need to utilise to model different system changes. We know what we can and can’t do.”

Healthy well-performing stock fed on well-maintained pasture is key, she says.

“That means the more productive and efficient an animal is any output or waste is getting diluted over more product which is what we want – the same number of animals but for them to be healthy and perform really well.”

A structured grazing rotation combines with innovations like ‘catch-crops’ – winter oats under sown with an Italian ryegrass or winter active grass.

The catch-crops act like a mop, taking up nutrients and holding together the soil, and prepare the hoggets ahead of their first lactation.

“It can suck up a heap of nitrogen compared to open ground and it’s nice for the sheep as they have got pasture they can sit down on instead of bare soil.”

Maintaining and protecting pasture cover, even in drought conditions is key to capturing nitrogen before it disappears through the soil profile. 

This is made harder at times due to the herds of 50-plus wild pigs from surrounding land including pine and native forests coming onto the farm and rooting up extensive areas. 

Even with regular hunting the numbers seem to be out of control causing concern to the couple with regards to pasture damage, nutrient and soil loss. 

“As a catchment group and Federated Farmers member this is an area we will focus on going forward.” 

The catchment is a good example of bold decisions made early, says Mulinder, and people know what they are working with in terms of environmental standards.

“The challenge now, especially for sheep and beef operations, is how do they continue to be productive and potentially still look at alternative land use opportunities to actually stay financially viable.” 

The Emission Trading Scheme has seen a push for whole farms to be planted in Pinus radiata, one of the sector’s biggest challenges, she says. 

“We are seeing real challenges for the sheep and beef sector which is a fundamental part of our rural communities and land stewards. We must continue to adapt to ever-changing dynamics to see our sector survive and thrive.”

Mulinder’s presentation at 5.15pm at Waiora House will be followed by a brief TLAWT annual meeting and nominations for trustees.