Pip & Dean Pye

Molloy Agriculture • August 30, 2018

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Pip and Dean Pye live with their four children at Dorie, Mid Canterbury, where they farm 1600ha in process vegetables and vegetable seed crops. Their main crop is potatoes (which are mostly processed into French fries) and onions, with other areas sown in wheat, grass seed, clover and specialty vegetable seed multiplication crops. They have been farming at Dorie for 20 years, and the silty loam and free-draining soil is ideal for growing vegetables.

The property is spray irrigated by a combination of groundwater and surface water delivered by the Acton Irrigation Scheme. Dean was part of the farmer group in the area that got the Acton scheme up and running. It draws water from the Rakaia River, under a consent held by the Barrhill Chertsey Irrigation Scheme, and delivers it to around 50 farmers in the Acton and Dorie areas via specially-widened Ashburton District Council stockwater races. The whole project cost $16 million, was initially funded by Rooney Earthmoving, and eventually bought out by farmers. Dean says the surface water is a top-up for many farmers, and helps take pressure off precious underground aquifers. He is proud of the scheme and his involvement and says the community has been both united and strengthened by it.

The biggest challenge on-farm right now is how to make their whole operation more sustainable, and more importantly meet new nitrate discharge limits being imposed by the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan. Dean is already far down this track. He regularly sends soil samples to the United States for testing, and is trying to improve the health of the soil he farms intensively. The farm already operates under global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) standards so onions can be exported to Europe. The property is audited annually to ensure the produce that will be sold in supermarkets throughout the Continent and UK meets sustainable farming requirements.

The couple employs seven full-time staff who are fully indoctrinated in the process of meticulously recording crop health, inputs, and weather conditions ensuring the traceability timeline is complete and transparent. Molloy Agriculture Ltd has one full-time staff member and spray truck stationed permanently at the Pye property to meet the year-round demands of the mixed operation. A big part of that job is the management and control of the potato psyllid, a pest spreading throughout New Zealand since 2006 with the potential to cause serious crop losses. The potato industry is worth about $500 million to the country’s economy and research into psyllid control is being conducted by Potatoes New Zealand, an organisation representing growers, producers and processors. Dean was elected to its national board in early 2012.

Dean’s passion for the land is obvious and while he sees himself growing potatoes for a long time yet, he’s open to the possibility of growing other specialty crops. Watch this space.

Clibborn Farms

By Molloy Agriculture • August 30, 2018
For father-in-law and son-in-law team Rod Clibborn and Dale Palmer, modernising their Lyndhurst mixed cropping farm from its traditional roots and converting it from borderdyke irrigation to spray irrigation was an investment in future generations. The family’s operation is one of the earliest clients of Molloys when it started 30 years ago. The 355-hectare property is run as a mixed cropping farm with crop as its main income source with cereals and small seeds grown. Ryegrass is an important crop grown due to its versatility and for the stock operation. Fodder beet and Kale are grown for the 1500 cows that are wintered. There are also up to 6000 store lambs depending on crop rotation. "This was a very traditional farm and like most farms around here, we have tweaked it a little bit over the last couple of years." "We've had to intensify it, Sus & I need to justify why we're here.” They carry out the work between the two of them, assisted by a permanent casual staff member, with contractors playing an important role in managing the workload. Dale's wife Sus, Rod's daughter, takes care of the administration side of the business. Rod's father was placed on the property as a returned serviceman from World War II through the Government’s rehabilitation scheme. In the beginning he ran straight sheep stock. The farm is where Rod grew up and once he took over the reins he introduced cropping. Then, it was 134 hectares which has since been added to four or five times. Cropping was a way to increase the bottom line, growing wheat, barley and peas, he said. Cropping had its ups and downs and required a high capital input, such as tractors and combine harvesters. It was also vulnerable to hail storms and other climatic disasters. “Crops are so exposed to the elements.” Dale and Sus met while living in Southland, Dale in the banking industry and Sus a teacher. “We got involved and put our savings into it,” purchasing the next door dryland block." “That’s how we started into it.” The couple decided to move to the farm “for a couple of years” but never left. They now have three children – Jack, 5, Sam, 4, and Ali, 2. Until a few years ago the farm was mainly border dyke irrigation with a dryland block. Wanting to modernise and intensify the operation they have invested in spray irrigation, installing a centre pivot and building a pond, enabling them to fully utilise their water allocation and irrigate an extra 100 hectares of dryland. Soon 250 hectares of the property will be under spray irrigation using the Ashburton-Lyndhurst scheme. While spray Irrigation has been used in the area for at least 30 years, recent times have seen a big shift from borderdyke, with efficiencies constantly improving. Dale said he was looking forward to the management efficiencies spray irrigation would bring. “With borderdyke irrigation you are reliant on rainfall to get fertiliser in.” “It’s going to be great to get to big flat paddocks and use machinery more efficiently. We’ll be able to grow more small seeds like clover … than what we’re doing now.” They plan to reduce cattle numbers and increase store lambs. The men agree they are on a good patch of land. “We’ve got good enough soils to produce good quality crops. When you rotate it with the stock it does work very well here.” Rod agrees, saying it lent itself well to dairy grazing in the winter with its lighter soils. “The soil type’s pretty versatile. You can grow good grass and grow good crops. “The crucial thing is water of course. You can’t farm without irrigation on this soil type.” The investment in converting the farm was a big ask, but the gains were great, Dale said. “We’ve gained 16 to 20 hectares with irrigation. That’s a lot of ground gained for our size operation. “We’re quite excited about what’s coming up in the next few years.” The men have seen big changes in the area, most visibly noticeable are fewer trees. There are not many ewe flocks left as most are grazing lambs or offering dairy support. “Those of us who didn’t convert to dairy, had to intensify our production to justify the land here,” Dale said. They plan to re-plant the property and are committed to environmental plans and nutrient budgeting. “We are guardians of the land so need to be looking after it.” They want to leave it in good stead for the next generation if they should choose to stay on the farm. “We don’t expect our kids to go farming but we’ve got to start putting things in place that are sustainable and profitable so they’ve got a chance to, just like we’ve had the chance.”