Generating more from less. This has been the philosophy behind the evolution of Blueridge Farms’ intensive bull finishing operation at Te Pahu in the Waikato.
Over the past three years, Blueridge Farms, which is farmed by Elliot Kent, Heather Gilbert and farm manager Mark Pollard, has undergone a transformation with the development of an intensive cell-based bull finishing system on challenging terrain.
Through this development, Elliot and Heather’s aim was to have their business sitting amongst the top 10 percent by production, profit and environmental stewardship and within just three years they have achieved these goals.
Their hill country development has been part of their vision to grow their business to be able to farm more land in the most profitable way possible while being at the forefront of environmental and climate change practices.
The transformation has occurred with the guidance – and under the scrutiny – of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s levy-funded Monitor Farm programme and associated steering committee and the outcomes have been compelling.
The Bluebridge Farms business has generated an impressive 44 percent return on their investment and increased production to 284kg CW/ha, up from 171kgCW/ha in 2022-23. They have also reduced their greenhouse gas emissions from 4.60 tonnes per hectare in 2023-24 to 3.90 tonnes per hectare in 2025-26, due largely to reduced nitrogen use.
Pasture quality and productivity have improved significantly under the intensive grazing- which is reflected in the significant lift in kilograms of carcase weight produced per hectare.
Elliot and Heather have also been able to retire and plant over 120ha of sensitive land- with more land ear-marked for retirement in the near future.
While the outcomes of the intensification have been transformative for both their business and the environment, the process has not been without its challenges, with fluctuating schedules, dry seasons and one major flood event all testing the system.
In his report, B+LNZ Monitor Farm committee chair Philip Weir said a key lesson throughout was the importance of flexibility and the value of not just having a Plan A, but also a Plan B and C.
Prior to joining the Monitor Farm programme, the couple ran a beef finishing operation on their 500ha but were frustrated by poor returns.
It was Elliot who saw the potential of the intensive cell-type beef finishing system on their hill country at a field day, although Heather, who also works as a farm consultant specialising in environmental management, was initially reticent about the proposal. She was primarily concerned about the environmental impact R2 bulls would have on their hill country, but her fears have proved to be unfounded.
“In fact, quite the opposite has happened – the hills are in better condition than when they were farmed extensively,” says Heather.
The couple initially converted 100ha into 15 cell systems, but they have increased the development over the past two years and now Elliot, Heather and Mark are operating 36 systems.
Eventually, there will only be 50ha of the couple’s total effective area not under an intensive cell grazing system.
Each system is six hectares which is further divided into ten 0.6-hectare cells. Water is supplied through micro-troughs.
Elliot, Heather and Mark have been tweaking their winter grazing rotation and this year they have experimented with only cutting the cells in half for the R2’s (previously they had cut them into quarters) and leaving them in paddocks for five days rather than two and a half days.
For the R1’s, they’ve doubled the mob size and the cattle graze two 6ha systems (they don’t split any of the cells).
“This has been really effective so far and something we trialled after talking with steering committee members and bull farm mentors. I think the fact that we have higher covers has helped with this,” says Heather.
The bulls go onto their winter rotation on 1 May and they aim to have pasture covers at 2,500kgDM/ha on this date. Total stocking rates over winter are 1200kg/ha for the R2’s and 1000kh/ha for the R1’s
The stock on the grazing system are primarily Friesian bulls with a small proportion of beef cross and kiwicross bulls. The couple buy the majority of their 300 bull calves from neighbours and rear them to weaning. They are then run onto the cell area under a lax grazing regime over summer and autumn, with a focus on reducing worm burden
Over their three years as B+LNZ Monitor Farmers, they have gone from establishing the infrastructure and management framework through to system optimisation and refinement- with significant expansion along the way. The current focus is on lifting soil fertility to optimum levels over the whole farm.
Right from the outset, they have followed a risk-averse stocking policy, running R2 bulls on easier, more stable country while the lighter R1s were on more challenging country. They have also set maximum number of R2’s per system and if they don’t reach the 1200kg/ha, they we will add some R1s to the mob. This allows them to limit the size of the animals while still maintaining the overall per hectare weight.
This has allowed them to maintain stocking rates while reducing the risk of erosion and soil damage.
In year two of the Monitor Farm programme, the management team installed HiLo water monitoring, allowing them to monitor tank levels, ensuring the reliability of the reticulated water system that is so essential for cattle, particularly at high stock rates.
As part of the system refinements carried out in their final year, Elliot, Heather and Mark moved to a “whole system” sales strategy.
It was the Monitor Farm committee that challenged their practices of drafting individual bulls once they had reached a 600kg LW threshold, as this left behind small, inefficient mobs.
Their whole system strategy means selling all the bulls at the same time. While around 20 percent of the bulls may be slightly below target, an extra 30 days of grazing optimises the whole mob’s carcase weights and simplifies logistics.
This has shifted the primary sale window to December- January.
The use of technology
Technologies such as advanced mapping systems and real-time water monitoring systems have played an important role in the transformation of the Blueridge Farms business, alongside Farmax modelling, the Resolution App and Farm Focus which is used for financial management, tracking and reports.
Farmax modelling
Farmax modelling was used throughout the planning process, enabling the team to evaluate different stock policies (R1 versus R2 mixes). The data then supported the transition to the 36-system model as a way to carry the business forward. Farmax was also used to test how land outside the cell grazing systems could be used to help the R2 cattle meet their liveweight targets while managing financial and environmental risk.
Resolution App
The Resolution App is a total farm management tool and for the team at Blueridge Farms, it’s been invaluable as a management tool to track stock movements, animal health, fertiliser applications and other inputs. It is also used for compliance, particularly around environmental stewardship and balancing top production with environmental protection.
The App has been used for photo-point monitoring to track erosion and sediment control. This gives them objective data in their efforts to reduce erosion by 25 percent while maintaining a high-intensity bull beef finishing system.
Paddock Traffic Light System
A traffic light system, developed by Heather, priortises interventions- such as fencing, planting and management adjustments – based on risk and impact. Several photo point monitoring sites have been established to track erosion and recovery. Heather also uses B+LNZ’s in-stream health check to monitor their two main waterways, measuring at the head of the stream and again where it leaves the property.
Other benefits of the farm system change
Apart from the increase in productivity, profitability and environmental protection, the intensification programme enabled them to upgrade to new set of Te Pari steel cattle yards for one of the blocks.
Heather says this has made a massive difference to their management and to how much enjoyment they get out of handling their cattle.
Elliot and Heather also managed to get off farm this year doing an eight-day offroad motorbike tour around the mountains of Vietnam.