Kepler farm strikes the right balance
Te Anau farmers Travis Leslie and Catriona Cunningham have been named the supreme winners in the 2019 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
The couple received the award at a function at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill attended by more than 200 people.
Travis and Catriona manage Kepler Farm, a 1640 hectare (1503ha effective) sheep and beef farm situated between Te Anau and Manapouri.
Owned by Landcorp, the property has a glowing reputation relating to its environmental awareness and genetics programme.
Travis and Catriona have managed Kepler since 2012 and together they have taken the operation from strength-tostrength, striking the challenging balance between being dedicated parents and professionals.
In both capacities, they rise to the occasion with passion and pride.
Kepler carries about 7300 sheep and 1650 cattle and the main focus of the operation is the terminal sire sheep flock, FocusPrime.
Through this programme, 500 rams are sold each December, both in-house to other Landcorp properties, and on the public market.
The commercial ewes are currently lambing at 150 per cent and a large number of cattle are also traded on the property.
The genetics programme, undertaken in association with Landcorp, is a significant focus for Travis, Catriona and their extended team.
The judges were impressed by the farm’s extensive commitment to biodiversity.
More than 10,000 trees, plants and shrubs have been planted during the past two years in riparian zones and as shelter for stock.
The trees protect the stock from the prevailing winds and provide shade on hot summer days.
Since arriving at the farm, Fescue has been introduced and now totals 600ha.
The introduction of fescue has been a gamechanger for Kepler Farm, enabling all the cattle to be grass wintered, with the focus now on grass wintering a portion of the sheep flock.
Travis has inspiring ambitions for the future of the farm and the wider primary sector.
‘‘We’ve always done the environmental work, but it got to a stage where we wanted to share what we have achieved.
‘‘Farms belong to New Zealand and it is nice to think that one day farmland could be seen in the way national parks are,’’ he said.
The judges said Kepler Farm was an amazing example of a large-scale farm where highproductivity farming and environmental sustainability have been achieved.
An extremely high level of biodiversity exists across the whole property.
Travis and Catriona also won the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award, the Massey University Innovation Award, the Environment Southland Water Quality and Biodiversity Award and the Predator Free NZ Trust Predator Free Farm Award.
Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards chairman Bruce Allan also paid tribute during the awards ceremony to the late Shane Gibbons who died in a jetboating accident in early April.
Gibbons and his partner Bridget Speight, who farmed Whare Creek, near Te Anau, won the supreme award in the Southland Balance Farm Environment Awards three years ago.
A field day will be held on Kepler Farm on Thursday May 9 starting at 10am.
Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award: Travis Leslie and Catriona Cunningham Massey University Innovation Award: Travis Leslie and Catriona Cunningham Predator Free NZ Trust Predator Free Farm Award: Travis Leslie and Catriona Cunningham Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award: Michael Bashford Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award: Michael Bashford DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award: Dean and Sarah Rabbidge Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award: Dean and Sarah Rabbidge Norwood Agri-Business Management Award: Dean and Sarah Rabbidge Waterforce Integrated Management Award: Duncan and Kerralie Falconer The Plant Store Farm Planting and Design Award: Duncan and Kerralie Falconer