Farming with nature in mind

DANA CARTER - Motueka Catchment Collective

Pete and Susan Fenemor with their son Jonathan farm a beautiful 247-hectare piece of land in the Tadmor Valley that abuts the Motueka River. They currently have 2,400 ewes, 25 Angus beef, most of which get exported, and a small amount of forestry.

Pete is a third-generation farmer on this land – he grew up in the house they’re still living in. He enjoys the climate – the finest in NZ according to him. Their son Jonathan, who’s in his early 30’s, is now in partnership with them with the farm. He went off to be a chef but came back to the land after chef work.

When new rules looked like they were going to be introduced requiring farmers to do more to address water quality issues, Susan got proactive and started looking around for ways to look after the waterways on their farm.

She attended meetings of an upper catchment group that was forming of motivated farmers. Annette Litherland, from NZ Landcare Trust, came to their farm and provided advice. Annette suggested protecting a small stream in a gully from releasing sediment to the Motueka River.

“We followed Annette’s advice. We made a sizeable sediment trap near the bottom of the gully and then fenced along a stream. We then had an open day where community members helped us plant 450 natives which were funded. We then realised “heck” we’re going to need a heap more. Kate Radloff knew there were a number of farmers needing more trees so she started up a group to learn how to do all the steps associated with propagating plants – learn the names of plants, how to gather seed, how to grow seed, prick out, plant the plants, weed, which plant guards to use, and how to look after them once planted. This learning has been invaluable for me,” Susan explains.

Then, being the enthusiastic, action-focused person she is, she jumped in boots and all and joined the Tapawera Propogaters group which was set up to help people to grow natives, organised by Kate Radloff - Chair of the Biodiversity and Restoration Thematic Group of the Motueka Catchment Collective.

After attending the propagation group regularly and being given several plants from that nursery, Susan decided she’d like to grow her own plants. She asked for a seed shed for her birthday, so Pete and Jonathan built one for her to her strict specifications.  Since then, they’ve planted another about 2,500 plants.

They also have a sizeable area of original native bush on their land, which includes several rare native plants, all home to a lot of visible bird life.

Jonathan has come along to some of the MCC Biodiversity and Restoration (B&R) events. Susan had to twist his arm to start with, but he sees the value in it now. One of the workshops was how to set up nets to collect seeds so Susan’s taken that on too, and has now set up nets under their native trees.

The Fenemors aren’t stopping there. They want to continue the impressive work they’ve already done to look after the environment which benefits both their farm and the wider catchment. They plan to keep planting further up their gully, manage weeds, keep collecting seed, and keep the nursery thriving .... all the time learning along the way.