Garth and Chris Shaw farm on 413 hectares at Wharetoa in South Otago.
As well as breeding and finishing sheep commercially, they have built up Wharetoa Genetics, which sells around 300 rams per annum, and is one of the country’s most renowned studs.
After 50 years Garth and Chris still find working daily with sheep the most enjoyable part of farming, while their interactions with clients inspire their genetics business.
“We have repeat buyers coming back to our ram sale every year. They tell us about their success, how they have lifted production and profitability, which gives us a great source of pleasure, and keeps us motivated,” says Garth.
Breeding Coopworth rams, which they started in 1975, taught them how to use performance recording to breed more profitable sheep. Aiming to breed superior genetics for greater profitability, today their 1600 ewes run in four flocks: Wharetoa maternals, a Coopworth-Texel cross; Suffolk-Texel terminals; Meatmakers, a stabilised Poll Dorset-Texel cross; and straight Texels. All their data is fully recorded on Sheep Improvement Limited.
“We aim to breed strong meat qualities into both the maternal and terminal breeds, while maintaining fertility, survival and resistance to internal parasites,” he says.
When Garth’s parents Alan and Gwen bought Wharetoa Farm in 1966 it struggled with productivity.
“Dad described it as running 1000 hungry sheep. One third of it was gorse. We’ve come a wee way since then. Dad bought a bulldozer to break it in, and the whole property has been cultivated two or three times since, along with intensive subdivision, a network of lanes, and water reticulation. Even when times are tight, we’d never skimp on fertiliser, and over the years we’ve continued to increase the capacity and update the covered yards, all driven by the ram business so that now when we auction rams it’s all incorporated within the purpose-built facility.”
Married in 1979, and living at Wharetoa throughout, Garth and Chris took the farm over on their own account in 1994, having farmed in partnership with Garth’s brother and parents for a few years prior. The couple share a passion for livestock, and now run a brucellosis accredited flock comprising 5500 stock units.
Wharetoa Genetics has held an on-farm two-tooth ram sale each December since 2000, selling 300-plus rams through the sale ring, all auctioned with full production data. Only the top 25 per cent of the Shaws’ rams are offered.
“We produce rams capable of breeding fast growing lambs with high meat yield. From our commercial ewes we consistently send 50 per cent of our lambs away at weaning weighing between 18.5 and 20 kilograms,” says Garth.
PGG Wrightson Livestock Genetics Representative in Otago and Southland Callum McDonald works alongside the Shaws, particularly to prepare and present their annual ram auction. He says Garth and Chris’s passion for genetics drives their success.
“They are always willing to embrace the cutting edge of technology to improve their sheep. Each year 200 to 300 people attend their ram sale, one of the largest events of its kind, where we sell their genetics to farmers throughout the country. Their expertise in and dedication to genetics rests on the standards they maintain on the farm. The performance and productivity of their stock comes from a combination of the two: high quality genetics on an outstanding farm, developed over two generations,” says Callum.
With adult children who now have families of their own living in Christchurch and Melbourne, the Shaws have decided to stop being ‘special occasion’ grandparents and become ‘old clothes and porridge’ grandparents, prompting a difficult decision to downsize and move to Canterbury.
Jason Rutter of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Balclutha is marketing Wharetoa Farm, which is located 41 kilometres north-west of Balclutha, 49 kilometres east of Gore, 55 kilometres west of Lawrence, and 118 kilometres west of Dunedin.
“This is an exceptional offering, extensively developed by the Shaw family who have continually and passionately striven for excellence in farming since purchasing Wharetoa Farm in 1966. Superior sheep genetics and stockmanship provide an outstanding level of livestock performance and production, making both the ram business and the commercial finishing property among the most admired in Otago. Those two sides are linked: without such a premium quality farm you would never be able to develop a business like Wharetoa Genetics, while the revenue the Shaws generate from their highly sought after rams has largely been reinvested to maintain and enhance their outstanding property.
“Attention to detail is evident in everything Garth and Chris do, which includes their family home, the Wharetoa homestead: a four-bedroom brick house built in 1968, set in a mature and lovingly managed north facing garden. Wharetoa also has a modern three-bedroom house, built in 2014 and set on a separate 2.4-hectare title, which presents various options to a new owner,” says Jason.
Presented for deadline sale, offers for either Wharetoa Farm alone, or with Wharetoa Genetics included, must be received no later than 13 December.
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