Johnny and Jane Harrison have been farming Temora Downs in the Mayfield foothills for the past 12 years, transforming it into a productive, multi-faceted operation. They also took up the lease on the neighbouring 260-ha property five years ago.
Today, the Harrison’s 7500 stock units across sheep, cattle and velveting stags as well as growing 20ha of barley and 35ha of wintering dairy cows. Temora Downs finishes all their stock and buys in more to finish as well.
Early on, they focused on re-grassing, predominantly using ryegrass bases with the addition of plantain, red and white clover, and, at times, chicory, with the aim of being able to finish all their own stock, as well as improving lambing percentages.
However, with high fertility and an average 1200mm rainfall, thistles have become a major problem. Not a fan of using chemicals, the couple has relied on weed-wiping and topping as the preferred option, but it’s slow and expensive. “Thistles thrive on this place. They’re taking up so much room. I am not a machinery man. Spending all day in a tractor topping thistles is not my favourite place to be,” says Johnny.
Jane first suggested that the couple invest in goats as a natural solution for weed control. So, when New Zealand Cashmere (NZC) and AgFirstNZ called for interested farmers to take part in a two-year project to showcase the productivity, profitability, and environmental benefits of diversifying into cashmere goats, the Harrison’s jumped at the opportunity.
The project is part of NZC’s continued efforts to rejuvenate the country’s cashmere industry following its spectacular boom and bust of the 1980s. Having partnered with Woolyarns, NZC is ideally placed to capitalise on producing a premium, traceable and sustainable local cashmere for the lucrative world market, worth USD 3.2 billion out of the total market of USD 60 billion. China is the world’s largest producer. Cashmere fibre is currently worth up to $150 per kilo, while goat meat is the world’s most consumed meat.
The Harrisons welcomed their first goats to Temora Downs last September. After kidding on the deer block, 127 mixed-age does entered the 30.75 ha trial site in January, where they’ve been rotated to help thistle control.
“So far, what they’ve done to the thistles is quite amazing,” says Johnny. “I don’t know what I was thinking. It hasn’t affected our stocking rate at all, they’re just working in with everything else going on on-farm. I thought they would eat the grass but didn’t touch it. They’re just eating thistles and everything else other stock doesn’t want to eat. Green grass is growing under them. Meanwhile, they are eating the thistles from the top down.”
Though Johnny had heard the negatives about worm problems, containment issues and handling, he’d been pleasantly surprised. “As long as you have half-decent fences, they’re pretty easy to keep in, and if they do get out, they only head to the next patch of thistles. If they’re fed, they’re pretty cruisey and easily moved using a heading dog. They’re very intelligent. The worm thing also doesn’t seem to be so much of a big deal. They share the same worms as sheep but you can manage the worms successfully through the use different stock passes.”
Getting through the winter was the next hurdle, he says. Being able to tap into South Otago farmer David Shaw’s wealth of knowledge had put Johnny’s mind at ease. David runs Hēpara Cashmere and has been farming goats for almost 40 years as part of his sheep and beef system. His farm’s goats now boast impressive fibre quality from 12-18 microns, comparable with the best in the world. He is one of the main drivers behind local cashmere’s rejuvenation.
New Zealand-grown cashmere is in such demand that NZC will take every gram of fibre produced locally. For four years, Woolyarns has collected and stockpiled cashmere from existing growers. It’s also invested heavily in a state-of-the-art scouring and dehiring facility in Lower Hutt.
At the recent field day at Temora Downs, Woolyarns CEO Andy Hay explained it already had leading luxury fashion houses banging on their door, but the sustainability of the industry hinged on its ability to deliver consistent quality and supply. “The biggest challenge was getting the numbers up. All the groundwork has been done; we just need the volume.”
NZC business development manager Olivia Sanders hoped once more farmers, like the Harrisons, see the goats and heard farmers talk about them, more might see how integrating them into their farming operation could diversify revenue streams with minimal labor and low impact on existing systems. These goats also serve as a natural solution for biological weed control and offered valuable pasture quality management while exhibiting impressive drought tolerance, making them a crucial asset in the agricultural toolkit during uncertain times.
All in all, six months into the two-year-long project, the Harrisons are excited about the future. “Though still very early days, it’s all positive. It would be great for the industry if cashmere does take off,” says Johnny.