increase font size
Local Heiniger shearing equipment rep, Geoff Holmes, pitches in during the 24-hour Shearathon raising money for suicide prevention and mental health promotion in the shearing industry.
The Herlihy family’s 24-hour charity Shearathon, raising money for mental health and suicide prevention in the shearing industry, could become an annual fixture following the success of the recent North Canterbury event.
Organiser Mark Herlihy said it raised a provisional $44,000 for Lifeline, Christchurch’s He Waka Tapu, Through the Other Side Trust and the Taranaki Retreat Trust.
The Shearathon started at 10am on Friday March 23 and ended with an auction of donated goods and services on the Saturday morning. They tallied 3222 sheep shorn for local farmers Tim Hawke and Duncan McIntosh. Hawke’s Okuku woolshed was the venue.
Herlihy said the $44,000 was made up of the shearing fees plus just over $17,800 from the auction, $4000 from a Givealittle page, cash donations and sponsorship.
The Taranaki Herlihy family is well known in shearing circles, veteran shearer John having been joined in the industry by all six of his sons. They were only a couple of weeks away from attempting a unique brothers’ shearing record in early 2016 when the youngest, Michael (20) took his own life.
The family responded by organising their first Shearathon, in Taranaki in 2017, raising $23,000 for charity.
“This was our second and everyone’s asked when we are doing the next one so definitely we’ll be doing another one,” said Mark Herlihy.
“We might do some more in another district and get them involved and get behind us.”
He said at least 50 machine shearers and at least seven or eight blade shearers took part. Along with wool handlers and pressers, cooks and others there were well over 100 volunteers.
“Even getting the sheep in,” said Herlihy.
“We had the trucks there in the middle of the night chucking sheep in for us.
“There were probably 10 people out there loading and unloading trucks.”
OPINION: In the 1980s, concern was expressed in West Germany about the falling birth rate. Some simple analysis was performed by Professor Helmut Sies, physician and biochemist at Dusseldorf University. His letter ‘A new parameter for sex education’ was published in Nature in 1988:
Celebrating 50 years in the rural landscape of Central Canterbury and beyond, Ashburton-based Carrfields, has been the exemplar for all aspects of modern agriculture via its extensive range of services including supply, growing, agronomic advice and marketing.
OPINION: Confidence in the wool sector is rebounding as prices hit levels not seen in more than 15 years.
The recently signed free trade agreement with India is an invitation to strengthen relationships between the New Zealand and Indian strong wool industries, says Wool Impact chief executive Andy Caughey.
Strong competition and tightening supply have seen wool reach its highest prices paid at auction since 2011.
Ballance Agrinutrients chief executive Kelvin Wickham says despite a tough year, he is pleased the business has returned to profit.
When Northland farmer Mark Cameron entered parliament six years ago, the Beehive was a lonely place.
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
I think it's going to greatly weaken National at the election. That's the view of a former senior National MP on the recent attempted coup against Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Despite political shenanigans in Wellington, farmers are confident that Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms will get over the line in this term of Parliament.
New Zealand's pest problem has reached crisis point, according to Federated Farmers' second National Pests Survey, which shows farmers are spending more money and effort on control — yet pest numbers keep climbing faster than they were two years ago.
OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…
