Mid Canterbury brothers Simon and Roger Bonifant farm one of the most respected farms in a district that boasts the country’s richest arable soils, running their 550 hectare fully irrigated properties at Wakanui and Seafield, east of Ashburton, as a mixed cropping arable unit. That incorporates finishing 10,000 to 15,000 lambs, selling them at between 23 and 30 kilograms deadweight.

Simon says the 50-50 partnership he and Roger established in 1986 has been a very good farming formula. “Comfortable relationships, clarity around roles and complementary skills mean decision making is a whole lot easier,” he says.

Cropping accounts for around 75 per cent of their income, with livestock making up the balance. In a good year, Simon says wool provides a useful contribution.

“We produce around 200 bales of wool per annum. When wool is good, it gives us a handsome bonus at the end of the year. Recently, that has only been enough to cover the shearing costs, though this year we should do better, and a wool price recovery would go straight onto our bottom line. 

“Those years when wool is not so good, we regard shearing as a management tool. With the processing companies now prepared to take heavier lambs or hoggets and meat schedules up, we run smaller mobs, keep the stock longer, shearing them in August and into early September,” he says.

PGG Wrightson Wool Mid Canterbury representative Doug McKay has been part of the Bonifant’s successful formula for many years.

“It’s a good relationship, built on trust and proven performance. We have sold through PGG Wrightson for a long time. These days our wool all goes to auction, and we tell Doug to sell if the price is right,” says Simon.

Doug usually takes the best price the auction offers, as he explains.

“Simon and Roger are 100 per cent behind the auction system. It is an open market, which provides the best value every time. However, if their wool goes up and doesn’t achieve what we see as its potential value, we make the call, pass it in, and offer it again later.

“Every year they buy up to 2000 halfbred lambs, which allows them to hold the stock longer on-farm. They then take their wool off before sending them away. It is an astute way to add value, and characterises the innovative approach they take to making the most of their farm,” says Doug.

PGG Wrightson Livestock Mid Canterbury sheep and beef manager Greg Cook also plays an important part in the management of the Bonifant properties, guiding Simon and Roger through their livestock transactions for the past 29 years.

“They like to buy in good quality stock, at the better end of the range, then in the spring what they turn out is always excellent. Now the market is there for bigger lambs they are able to grow stock out to full potential. They do everything properly, with no corners cut, which shows in the results they achieve for their livestock. They are good farmers, and they do it very well,” says Greg.