Holiday chance to reflect on 40 years

George Scott, Pukerau, South Otago

11-08-2010 | Contributor

We have been enjoying a dry, if sometimes cold, July on the farm.

Mary and I had a two week winter break in Malaysia in June.

We spent time in Kuala Lumpur with friends, then travelled an hour by plane to the island of Langkawi. While only a short holiday, it was wonderful to relax by the spectacular beach and the swimming pool.

With no distractions, and no pressing farm work to do, it was a good time for us to reflect on the past 40 years of farming, and to discuss our future. The idea of becoming less actively involved in the farm, or even retirement, needs to be faced, even if it is several years away.

No one in the family wants to take over the farm immediately, but they have all been included in our discussions.

As a family we will work towards a plan to satisfy everyone's objectives. We all have indicated what we would like to see happen, and with time on our side, we will be looking at all the options over the next few years. We are sure the best plan will eventually fall into place.

On the farm front, we have just bought the last of the weaned deer. Back in February I was concerned about the demand for weaners, and there seemed to be a shortage. This turned out not to be the case, and we had no problems buying the weaners we wanted.

They are looking good, and we are hoping for a good spring. While the Euro is weak against the NZ dollar, there appears to be a good demand for venison, and we hope the prices we receive are comparable to last year.

We have had issues with one line of deer, which we suspect are having problems with Johne's disease.

Our veterinarians have asked us to become involved in a Johne's research project, which we hope will help with our problem.

Our ewes scanned slightly higher than last year, but I feel the results are not as good as they should be. Our hoggets have scanned well again, but the results are slightly down on last year. The ewes and hoggets are both looking well, and with adequate feed in front of them, all we need is good weather over lambing.

We have just started the process of applying to be registered for the ETS in order to claim the carbon credits on our forestry blocks. Some of our trees are pre-1990 and some post-1990. With several blocks of different ages, I think we will be in a good position to make use of the ETS system. This is something else to factor into our retirement plans.

Last autumn wasn't all hard work. Our AFS Canadian daughter Marie-Claude had returned to NZ for our son's wedding in March. Together we tramped the Young-Wilkin
Track. I particularly enjoyed the day walking from the Young Hut, over the Gillespie Pass to the Siberia Hut.

My second tramp for the season was the Hump Ridge Track. I walked this with Ditte, our farm worker from Denmark. While the weather was not good, we thoroughly enjoyed this tramp. The Tuatapere community have done a great job of running it.

It provides several options to trampers that are not available elsewhere. Here you can choose to have your pack flown in, or have a proper bed to sleep in. You can even choose to have a private room.

One of the best treats is to have a beer or wine with friends and others over the evening meal, and to have porridge cooked for you at the start of the day.

In February I am planning to go trekking in Nepal, with one of our former farm worker. who is from Austria.

The company I am going with has been great at supporting clients with their individual needs. We will be able to visit some farms and meet some farming families. We will have an interpreter, and as well will complete the tramp to the Annapurna Base Camp.

Mary's job is coming to an end in mid-September. She has been establishing a home-based education service in Wanaka and the Wakatipu.

Because of the budget cuts to early childhood education services that employ 100% qualified and registered teachers, the sector has been hit hard. It seems incongruous that government can pay lip service to supporting the education and welfare of young children on one hand, and reduce funding to quality services for children on the other hand.

With no permanent employment prospects in the offing, Mary is looking for work with children and families either in the Central Otago or Southland areas.

 • George Scott, Pukerau, South Otago

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