Editorial: Having a rural voice
OPINION: The past few weeks have been tough on farms across the North Island: floods and storms have caused damage and disruption to families and businesses.
"I'll be very interested to see what bits they put in", admitted Wills, Federated Farmers president.
"I hope it will show how I juggle my day job as a farmer with my added responsibilities locally and nationally with Federated Farmers. Not to mention being a dad as well.
"I can honestly say I enjoyed working with the Hyundai Country Calendar team. They spent a fair amount of time with us at Trelinnoe on the Taupo-Napier Highway, as well as a bit of time at a Farm Open day in Wellington.
"I am also certain there'll be some comment in farmer circles because my brother and I do not tail our lambs. Many will say we are mad, but we are happy to test the status quo, try something different.
"We started leaving tails longer about five years ago, if we didn't see benefits in doing this we would simply go back to shorter tails. This year we will be leaving tails long again.
"As regular viewers of Hyundai Country Calendar will know, farming is no 'paint by numbers' operation. I guess our ethos at Trelinnoe is based on the specialness of location. That means preserving native bush as well as keeping the soil in place on our hills.
"We have placed 15% of the farm into QEII National Trust covenants and have over 300ha of regenerating bush and reserves. I am a strong advocate for poplars and willows.
"We plant more trees every year and now have some 15,000 trees scattered across our paddocks to give shade and shelter to our stock and stability to our hillsides.
"This costs money and time, in fact lots of both. Not just the initial outlay, but the cost of maintaining trees and protecting native bush from pest plants and animals. It is the unsung work of many a farmer and comes out of the realisation that to be truly green, you must be in the black.
"I am sure Hyundai Country Calendar will deliver their usual high quality and informative look at rural New Zealand.
"I hope you enjoy a bit of a look at my world," Wills says.
