Close to a decade after a momentous move from the Hoban’s traditional stomping ground in Culverden, the Hoban’s Corriedales are just one component of an enterprising business at Glenafric, Waipara.
It’s not the first time the Hobans have run with an opportunity.
Founders James and Sarah Hoban moved to Culverden in 1909 and James was the closest thing Culverden had to a vet for a number of years, particularly valued for his work with horses.
James had previously been working at Horsely Downs, Mt Parnassus, Molesworth and Rotoiti near Scargill. Even after they moved to Culverden James was retained in an advisory role at Rotoiti for a few years.
It’s unclear exactly when James and Sarah started with Corriedales but it was at least several years before the Parham Hill stud was officially registered in 1925. And so it continued down the generations, with William (Bill) and Margaret Hoban taking over the stud in the 1930s before Pat and Judith in the 1970s.
Their son James and his wife Maria got involved in 2007 when they started their own Gargustan flock which merged with the stud a few years later.
“We are not enjoying the same level of demand that Corriedale breeders had in their heyday. The wool market decline has been disastrous for our breed and there are few studs left but we still enjoy Corriedales,” James says.
They fit the business and stack up well with their ability to handle a drought. “They are easy on people, dogs and fences. We are extremely proud to continue a family sheep breeding legacy.”
Daughter Alice (13) started her own Corriedale stud a couple of years ago and now William (11) is breeding English Leicesters. “If he’s not the youngest stud sheep breeder in NZ he’ll be close to it,” Dad says.
People who have moved away from Corriedales don’t always realise the gains the breed has made in recent years, he adds. These days the Hoban’s main wool line sits around 25-26 microns.
“Stud breeding is a fun part of our work. It’s labour intensive and not for everyone but it spins our wheels. I’ve been lucky to travel to Australia several times and Peru last year through breed commitments and we enjoy international fellowship, built over generations, that I doubt any other sheep breed can match.”
Glenafric Farm
Nearly a decade ago, the Hobans decided their time at Culverden was up. After a careful search they found Glenafric, a 770ha coastal sheep and beef farm near Waipara.
It’s here they run Corriedale and South Suffolk stud sheep flocks as well as commercial Corriedales and Hereford cattle.
Every year there’s an on-farm ram sale. James admits the move from Culverden was a tear at the time, but the old home block needed irrigation development and it was clear that older-style sheep and beef management would no longer stack up there.
When they sized up Glenafric they could immediately see good rainfall, soil and scale in a lower intensity dryland system. The combination means they can focus on sheep – both stud and commercial – in combination with beef breeding and finishing.
“It is a special farm and we are extremely lucky to be here. The Mackintosh family had done a great job looking after this property for nearly a century before our tenure started.”
A fair bit of sweat has gone into tuning up Glenafric to suit the Hobans’ requirements. Improvements have included re-fencing, planting poplars, native shelter and fencing waterways. On a bigger scale, they’ve retired 65ha of native bush, put in a stock water scheme and built a new woolshed and covered yards.
As he told one journo, “We’ve swung a hell of a lot of gates”.
The farm’s a four-person operation with James and Maria and Pat and Judith closely involved in all the admin and hands-on farm work. When work gets extra heavy, they often bring in a casual worker too.
The farm also has a beach frontage and it gives the Hobans a lifestyle they cherish, blending work with play. Maria has learnt to fish and the family enjoys regular deer hunting. The kids Alice and William take a keen interest in farming too.
Last year at the Christchurch Show Alice won the dual purpose Super Ewe competition, the ewe class in the youth exhibitor section, the supreme champion in the youth section and young exhibitor of the year.
William, competing for the first time, went well with his English Leicesters, taking second place ewe hogget in the youth section. Naturally, he wants to grow his flock and beat his sister in future shows.
James says while the showing focus is starting to shift to the next generation, they were still proud as a family to win the Supreme South Suffolk for the third year in a row as well as most points for the first time.
Farm Tours
Now well settled in Waipara, the extended Hoban clan continue to be open to new ventures.
Last year they partnered with Geoff Venning of Real New Zealand Tours to bring in busloads of tourists for a farm experience. A lookout lends itself nicely to picnic lunches while a tractor shed has been converted to a museum “which completely justifies all previous and future vintage tractor purchases. After every group leaves, I tell Maria that their highlight was the museum”.
James says the family have been fortunate to find a great business partner to work with.
“Geoff and his team can do the things we can’t like marketing, driving a bus and taking bookings. We can host a farm visit but we needed someone to help turn that into a business. Geoff came to us with the idea and has invested in getting this running. He brings years of tourism industry experience.”
Explaining farming to tour groups has helped the family reflect on their business and lifestyle choices.
“Visitors are amazed at the way Kiwi’s farm on properties like this. They see the work involved and how much we care about our land, our stock and the pride we have in our products.”
James always tells the guests that anyone wanting to be rich would be mad to go into sheep farming.
“We need to make enough money to be able to keep farming and bring our children up in this amazing place. We have to work hard to make it work but we are our own bosses, we can be flexible on work days and we have a pretty unique office.”
The addition of most of the remaining Campbell Island sheep and some adopted Finns add to the interest for visitors.
The business relies on three generations of family involvement to keep the wheels turning. James and Maria are grateful to farm with Pat and Judith. James says family farming brings challenges and tension on a bad day but is immensely rewarding.
“Dad and Maria are extremely patient which helps. We all work well together. Dad has over 65 years farming experience behind him and he has taught us a lot.”
James explains that Alice and William both work hard on weekends too. Whether it is mowing lawns, grubbing tussock, feeding dogs or helping with sheep work.
“I look at how hard three generations before us worked to give us this opportunity and I like to think that if James and Sarah are watching they’d be proud of what we are doing.”
