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 AMBERLEA
FARM NEWSLETTER
September 2008
Hello everyone,
Hasn't time slipped by since our last update.
We have all had a hard wet winter, no matter what part of
the country you live in. Rain, rain and more rain! Hopefully
we are on the mend and Spring is just around the corner. It
is slightly warmer and the days are a little longer so cheer
up everyone and let's look forward to Summer.
 Well,
you have all had my note to say we were moving farms. Everyone
has been asking so I thought I would give you an update on
our new farm here in Rotorua.
We have moved to 65 hectares on the edge
of Lake Okareka, Rotorua. Lake Okareka is a small lake approximately
11ks from town. So handy but yet tucked away from the hustle
and bustle of tourism Rotorua. We have approximately 20 ha
of flats, 30ha of hills, 11ha of mature pine trees and the
balance is native bush. With boundary being DOC Reserve Bush
and a view over the lake from the house this farm is very
diverse.
Because the farm is in "Lakes Catchment
Sensitive Zoning" we will have to run it a little differently
to the past Waikato Dairy country. There are a lot more rules
and regulations and environmental issues regarding the lakes.
Our goal is to run the farm more economically and environmentally
sustainable. The farm has not had any fertilizer for many
years, and in some parts not at all. We will be using natural
fertilizers and work towards improving the balance of the
soil to improve pasture growth.
 The
yards were only broken down sheep yards and not suitable for
cattle so we have been busy with the help of a fencing contractor
to improve the facilities. Thank goodness we haven't had any
calving issues to date and have not had to call the vet or
we would have been in big trouble without facilities. The
rain and mud have not helped with this of course! In general
there are lots of repairs and maintenance to be done. Lots
of gates that are just tied on with bits of string, and so
far we have replaced up to 15 gates and more to do.
 The
animals we brought with us have all settled in nicely and
all in all I think we are going to be very happy here.
AMBERLEA
FARM
For the
full newsletter download here (PDF 234kb)
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