Looking north up the Ashgrove farm valley
Farm
Ashgrove is a 478 hectare sheep and beef property situated 55km west of Whangarei. The farm enjoys a long stream fed valley surrounded by 100 hectares of flats and easy to medium contour. The balance of the property runs up to some good hard hill country. The sheep stud is run alongside 700 commercial Coopworth ewes. Apart from mating and lambing, commercial ewes and the stud ewes are all run together. Consequently the stud sheep are not pampered, but farmed commercially and are well known for shifting anywhere. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the whole flock, including studs, scanned 187%, 183% and 190% respectively based on ewes to ram. Ashgrove also lambs and records hogget lambs.
Complementing the sheep operation, 150 Friesian bulls are finished each year and 60 breeding cows are calved to an Angus bull for pasture control.
Innovation and environmental stewardship are important elements of the Ashgrove ethos. In partnership with Ballance Agri-Nutrients, Ashgrove is one of ten demonstration farms nationwide that is pioneering smart fertiliser techniques with variable rate fertiliser application via a plane. Ashgrove is also working with the Northland Regional Council to improve waterways as part of the businesses focus on environmental stewardship.