WORDS BY ANNIE STUDHOLME, IMAGES BY ANNIE STUDHOLME AND SUPPLIED
The Hart family have established a successful mixed cropping and lamb finishing operation using biological farming practices, a soil fertiliser business, and an aerial spraying business since purchasing Mid Canterbury’s historic Springfield Estate near Methven 40 years ago.
A series of bold decisions are at the heart of the Hart family’s success. Originally from Waimate, South Canterbury, when times were tough in the 1980s, Don Hart saw an opportunity to trade in the family farm for a larger property with rich soils, irrigation potential and a sizeable homestead for their growing family.
Don and his wife, Sandy Hart, purchased the historic 390-hectare Springfield Estate in 1985. Known as one of the two largest grain-growing properties in New Zealand in the 1890s, in its heyday the farm comprised of more than 30,000 acres, growing some 5,500 acres of wheat as well as oats, rape and turnips, running a flock of 19,000 sheep (besides lambs), employed 100 full-time men and kept more than 100 draught horses. The homestead itself was built in 1864 and was moved to its current site in 1878.
A few months after the Hart’s bought the property, the newly elected Labour Government embarked on a free-market reform programme known as ‘Rogernomics’. Farm subsidies were cut, and interest rates soared from single figures to about 20 per cent, or 36 per cent in some cases. On top of that, the share market collapsed in 1987, and the South Island’s east coast was hit by consecutive years of drought.
“It was a very tough time for farmers,” says Don. Even tougher when you’re the proud owner of a new farm and a new aerial top-dressing business, having bought his partner Col Bolger’s share following his death in a flying accident in 1985. Started by the pair in 1982 to provide aerial top dressing and spraying in Canterbury, Don became the sole owner in 1987. Still, despite haemorrhaging capital, Don pressed on.
Springfield Estate had limited irrigation when the Harts took over. But with water from the Ashburton-Lyndhurst Scheme, Don pushed to replace their old hard hose guns with lateral pivots. “We were the first to put in laterals (irrigators). It was considered a bold move at the time. Some people thought they were too expensive. I had to educate the local irrigation company on the efficiencies of laterals. A few years later, everyone had them.”
With added security around the water supply, Don started chasing higher yields, piling on synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, and fungicides. But it wasn’t long before he realised there had to be a better way of farming. He’d hit a brick wall as far as production was concerned. The yields had plateaued, but the margin was diminishing with rising costs.
“We couldn’t continue the way we were going,” he says. “To get bigger yields, we had to put more on, but when we did that, we found we got more diseases, but they had a chemical we could buy to fix that, so we put that on, and then we needed a straw shortener because the crops were falling over and then they had a chemical for that too. It was never-ending.”
Don started looking for alternatives. After attending conferences in the United States on biological farming, he became convinced looking after the soil was the key. He was introduced to the Kinsey-Albrecht system of soil fertility and biological farming, which focuses on balancing soil nutrients and renewing soils to enhance soil quality and productivity over time.
“We didn’t realise that over time, all those synthetic fertilisers were creating diseases. Farming practices deemed best practice at the ABOVE: Andrew and his partner, Lydia Broadbelt, live in the homestead which was built in 1864 and was moved to its current site in 1878 BELOW LEFT: Andrew returned to Springfield Estate when he was 23. He spent the first 12 years working for his father before entering into a 50/50 arrangement in 2009 Bold decisions behind farming family’s success10 REAL FARMER time were destroying the soil structure and wiping out all the natural biology in the soil. Slowly, we have removed all essential trace minerals.”
Using the Kinsey-Albrecht base saturation approach, Don first balanced the calcium and magnesium in their soil. He started incorporating the straw and producing and applying his own compost. “I needed to get places in a hurry. So, initially, I put on every source of calcium I could find. I did everything possible to bring it up as quickly as possible.”
“It’s not rocket science,” says Don. “Soils and nature operate on a simple system. I think it is just the human element that has complicated them over the years. We need to increase our understanding of what really happens in the soil and how it reacts to the plants and animals’ dependent upon it.”
Science is only just beginning to unravel how the intricate ecosystems of microorganisms in the soil influence life above ground. Building up the humus content provides an environment for microbiological activity. Once they had achieved that, they started noticing dramatic improvements.
In the early days, the benefits were more noticeable in the animals and grain they produced, says Don. “The stock agents could see the difference or truck drivers couldn’t fit as much grain in the truck without being penalised for being overweight.”
Back then, many farmers were sceptical. “I could see people’s eyes rolling when I’d mention it. There was a lot of talk of making ‘snake oil’. It felt a bit like witchcraft. Perhaps some of my neighbours thought I had latched onto an idea, but I was always absolutely confident in my way. We just had to develop the farming practices to do it.”
Over time, Don’s ideas have gained traction. Having started advising other farmers as a hobby, Top Soils has become a much bigger business than he even anticipated. It now has three experienced soil fertility consultants and two capable personnel mixing and blending fertiliser for their clients. He now advises farmers across all types of farms, educating them on the benefits of incorporating biological or regenerative systems.
Don remains realistic, though. “Sustainable soil needs to be profitable. No matter how desirable a sustainable programme might be, it must be tempered with the realities of making a total commercial agriculture programme work economically.”
Today, Springfield Estate remains ground zero for the Hart’s businesses. While Don and Sandy now reside in Wanaka, Don is still busy working as a consultant and CEO of Top Soils, which continues to be operated from the farm. Meanwhile, Andrew and his partner, Lydia Broadbelt, live in the homestead and run the arable and lamb finishing operation, with Duncan operating Skyfarmers, the aerial top-dressing business.
From the outset, Don was keen for his sons to follow in his footsteps. Admittedly, considerable increases in land prices in Mid Canterbury, primarily due to the rise in dairying, have made family succession more difficult. For it to happen successfully, certain concessions must be made, or the only option is selling. “You can’t pull a son back and then sell it from underneath him,” says Don.
After four years working on cattle stations in Australia’s Northern Territory, Andrew returned to Springfield Estate when he was 23. He spent the first 12 years working for his father before entering into a 50/50 arrangement in 2009, looking after most of the day-to-day running. He leased the 390-hectare farm about six years ago and took over 100 per cent of the farming operation, with Lydia doing the books and maintaining the grounds. Until last year, they also leased a further 165 hectares from a neighbour.
Andrew intensively crops the whole farm each season, as well as fattening up to 7,000 lambs each year, wintering on average 5,000 to 6,000. The maximum they’ve done in one year was 10,500. About 75 per cent of the lambs they fatten are crossbreds, with the remainder halfbreds. “Generally, we try to buy them from the same place each year. About 30 per cent come from Double Hill Station’s on-farm sale. We try to do it a bit more specialised selling lambs from April right through to November. It’s never worried me about what we have to pay for them. The breeders need to make money, and the people that buy them need to make money. It’s the margin in the middle that’s the main thing.”
Each spring, he puts about a third of the farm into cereals (wheat and barley) and ryegrass, with the other third in brassicas, including peas, radish, Chinese cabbage, and plantain. After harvest, about a third of the farm is planted in cover crops for winter lamb feed. Nothing is planted in the autumn or winter. They use a minimum tillage system and, where possible, direct drilling.
The farm is fully irrigated with three lateral pivot irrigators run by diesel generators and two hard hose guns. “I would love to be able to drive out the gate and do it with the phone, but the property suits laterals better than centre pivots,” explains Andrew.
Though Andrew uses an independent agronomist for chemical and fertiliser advice, he continues to follow most biological principles his father has been championing for almost two decades. “It’s not strictly regenerative; it’s not biological. It’s somewhere between the two,” says Andrew.
Their focus has been resetting the balance of soil minerals, enhancing photosynthesis and carbon management, and raising the microbiology of the soil. It’s about understanding the importance of biology, learning how the plants and soil interact, and fostering the invisible ecosystem that lies just beneath the soil, he explains.
Using fish and seaweed products also provides extra benefits. Each year, Andrew applies their own ‘KFC’ special secret brew over the entire farm, at least once, if not twice or three times, depending on the season. While there was an increase in costs when they first started down the Kinsey-Albrecht track, Andrew says they’re reaping the benefits now.
“People thought we were crazy at the start. They are so set on doing something the same way just because; just because your great-grandfather had a red tractor doesn’t mean you have to have a red tractor. Many tried it once and thought it would fix all their problems, but it’s a long-term game. We are putting less fertiliser on now than five or six years ago. It’s more about maintenance now. Whatever we are doing, we are not going backwards.”
Springfield Estate produced a feed wheat crop that averaged 16.1 tonne per hectare two years ago. Though the yield was significant in its own right, what was more important was the cost of production. It was achieved by using half the standard nitrogen applications, with fewer fungicides and herbicides and minimal cultivations. The previous crop was Daikon radish seed, directly drilled into a grass-seed/grazing with a balanced nutritional status. The soil provided half the nitrogen and mineral requirements for the crop, with the balance made up of synthetic N applications protected with humates.
At the end of the day, Andrew says the business has to be viable. He’s switched the emphasis to looking at the gross margin rather than at the yield monitor. They still use chemicals and small amounts of synthetic fertiliser. And although they try to use minimal cultivation, if they have to plough, they do. While the future of the farming side of Springfield Estate falls on Andrew, having inherited his father’s love of flying, it was only natural that Duncan took over the top-dressing arm, Skyfarmers Aviation. “We spent much time loading aeroplanes, driving tractors and trucks, and in the back of top-dressing planes when we were young. That’s where it stemmed from,” explains Duncan.
Intent on getting his pilot’s licence, Duncan worked as a tractor driver in Western Australia to raise the necessary funds. He was just 23 when he started agricultural flying for his father. Thanks to his father’s industry contacts, Duncan was lucky to spend two autumns flying in Gore and two in the North Island.
Over time, he gradually built up his hours and experience in the Air Tractor. Hand-built in Texas (USA), the Air Tractors are purpose-built for agricultural work and firefighting. Don was the first to bring one into New Zealand in 1995. Powered by a 750 hp turbine engine, its payload is 1470kg. They bought a second one in 2012, which has since been sold.
Early on, Don realised that the quality of their job depended on providing precision, ensuring accuracy and evenness of spread when flying on chemicals or fertiliser. He was the first in the country to have differential GPS, which the latest Satloc G4 GPS and Satloc Intelliflow flow control have now replaced.
Though Don continues to fly, his days as a full-time agricultural pilot are gone. Having purchased the loaders and leased the planes, Duncan purchased the business in 2003. “I was very lucky, but he certainly made me work for it,” says Duncan. “Most people would give their right arm for the opportunity, but it certainly wasn’t easy. There is nothing like a lot of debt to make you get up and go to work in the morning.”
Duncan says that agricultural top-dressing and spraying work for SkyFarmers remains seasonal, with the busiest time from October to March, but it is hugely varied. “You can be up high country top-dressing one day, and then the next day, you are spraying potatoes at Pendarves. Potatoes are a huge part of our business, with some crops requiring spraying every 7–10 days for four months.”
When he’s not flying, Duncan is happy to help out on the farm where needed, especially at harvest time. “There is always something to do,” he says. Though lately, Duncan’s had more time on his hands as the ‘perfect storm’ of high interest rates and high fertiliser costs starts to bite farmers’ wallets. “The second quarter of this year was 60 per cent back on previous years. It will recover, but it will take time. We’ve ridden out the downturns before and will ride them out again.”
But while he believes there will always be a place for the plane, the job is changing. Much of the previously grazed land they used to top-dress for run holders has now been retired through the Tenure Review process. He is also concerned about increased restrictions and compliance affecting their ability to undertake their job.
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