TATC - Farming Operations

The Dairy Unit is situated on our main campus at Cornwall Road, Masterton. The Dairy Unit milks 615 spring calving cows through a 47 aside herringbone shed. The unit also rears 160 replacement heifers, and a further 80 bull calves through to weaning in a modern calf rearing operation. Students learn a full range of dairy management skills covering, calf rearing, stock handling, pasture management, care of young stock and irrigation.

Mangarata, Bideford

Mangarata is a 518 hectare breeding and finishing farm situated eight minutes north east of Masterton. Comprising a mix of rolling to medium hill country and 50 hectares of flat land, the mix of topography allows for a broad range of on-farm learner experiences. Mangarata runs just over 7500 stock units.The policy has changed to a maternal system where replacements will be reared, surplus lambs finished and hoggets will be mated.

Glenside, Gladstone

Glenside is 1076 effective hectares and has just under 15,000 stock units. The property is classified as intensive medium hill country and is in a summer dry environment. It has a variety of roles to play for Taratahi. Glensides policies have also transitioned over the last 24 months from supporting the Taratahi dairy farm, providing grazing for replacement heifers and cows (over winter), to a more robust sheep and beef focused policy where ewe numbers have been increased, the change to a maternal breeding system with hoggets mated, and focusing on finishing in excess of 100 R1 stags in the deer block. Glenside currently carries approximately 4800 ewes and 2 tooths, 950 hoggets, 350 MA cows and R2 heifers and 350 Breeding hinds and associated replacement young stock. Summer cropping is a key component with over 7400 lambs finished to the works since 30th November 2009 to 1 May 2010 at 16.4kg carcass weight average and a further 700 sold store. In addition to this, steers and R1 stags are finished

Koromiko, Gladstone

Koromiko is the amalgamation of two lease farms that boundary each other between the Kourarau Dam and the Admiral Road. Koromiko is 840ha’s consisting of a combination of flat, rolling and steep land crossing over the Maungaraki range with the intension of being run as a traditional breeding unit with hoggets and R2 heifers being mated. Koromiko is running approximately 10,000 stock units. Koromiko also has the advantage of neighbouring Glenside, creating a sizeable 2000ha of land situated in the Gladstone District.

Riverslea, Rangitumau

Taratahi have taken on the role of Contract Milker at Riverslea, a 175 dairy farm, situated 10 minutes north of Masterton. The property has a 50 bale rotary cowshed with automatic cup removers, automatic teat spraying, protract animal identification system, walk over weighing, Total Mixed Ration (TMR) feeding system with 500 cow feed pad, Supreme mixer wagon and in-shed feeding of barley. The farm has a 250kg milk solid per day winter milk quota over May-July. This is made up of 70-80 winter milkers (autumn calvers) and milking late calving spring cows. Approximately 500 cows are expected to calve in spring.

Backvale Farms, Stratford

Backvale Farms comprise of a 94ha dairy farm situated at Midhirst, 17km north east of the Stratford campus and a 600ha drystock and dairy support farm 25 minutes east of the campus at Tututawa. Taratahi contract milks on the dairy unit, which has a herringbone shed milking 260 cows and rears replacement heifers through to weaning. We achieved 371kgMS/cow in our first season on farm (a total of 96,640kgMS) being a 14.9% increase on previous season. The drystock block, which Taratahi manages, is used to graze replacement heifers, dry cows over winter, finish heifers and steers, as well as running approximately 1,400 ewes with lambs finished and traded as required.

Grassmere, Egmont Village

Taratahi contract milks on a 397ha farm, situated at the edge of Egmont Village 10 minutes south of New Plymouth city. The farm is 75% flat and 25% hill; 281ha’s make up the milking platform with 116ha support land. Grassmere has excellent facilities including a 54 bale rotary cow shed with Protrack automated drafting systems and in-shed feeding. Attached to the shed is a covered vet/animal management facility and opposite is a 300 cow concrete feed pad. The farm milked 720 in the 2011/12 season and is targeting 800 in the 2012/13 season. Herd numbers are managed by operating three herds and all stock are wintered on farm.

Hawke's Bay farmland

The Hawke’s Bay Campus farmland comprises of three blocks totalling 65.5ha on which Taratahi currently runs 600 stock units of sheep and beef. The farmland is a combination of well sub-divided flat, to larger steep paddocks. The EIT farm has access to a woolshed and covered yards.

Taratahi also leases a 80ha grazing and cropping block 10 minutes from Taradale. In addition to weaner bull grazing contracts, cattle are brought in at weaning and targeted to be sold by the following winter (April).

Tautane Station, Southern Hawke's Bay

The Kahungunu Asset Holding Company on behalf of its shareholder Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated purchase Tautane Station in May 2013. Taratahi has leased it from Ngāti Kahungunu.

Tautane is located on the East Coast of the North Island, close to Herbertville and approximately 50 minutes from Dannevirke. The farm totals 3,375ha and carries around 30,000 stock units.

Farming Operations

Taratahi Dairy Unit