Horizons’ first SLUI Whole Farm Plan landowners to retire

The first landowners to complete work through Horizons Regional Council’s Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI), are retiring after more than 20 years of working to reduce hill country erosion on their farm.

Tony and Lynda Gray of Kinross Partnership in Utuwai, Āpiti have SLUI Whole Farm Plan number one of 954 in the region, and have been strong advocates for the sheep, beef and deer industries and SLUI in the Pohangina catchment.
 
But their start on the farm was far from smooth: they took over the 421-hectare property right after the 2004 storm which devastated the central and lower North Island.
 
“We bought the farm in November 2003, but took ownership in March 2004, following the February storm.
 
“The farm we bought was not exactly the farm we took over. The previous owners did a lot of clean-up work ahead of us coming in, but by March there was still a lot of work to be done,” says Mr Gray.
 
Horizons land and partnerships manager Grant Cooper says around the same time, Horizons began work on a programme to protect land in the region, which would become SLUI.
 
“Following the events of 2004, it was clear a regional approach was needed to address the increasing impact of weather events on our region’s soil and land resource.
 
“SLUI was created to keep soil on hills and out of waterways, so farmers get the best out of their land, water quality is maintained, and our rivers have enough capacity to contain floodwater, which protects our communities.”
 
Mr Cooper says the Grays approached Horizons following a community meeting to discuss how the region should address the effects of the 2004 storm.
 
“The Grays were keen to work with us to develop a plan for future-proofing their property. The initial development involved support from AgResearch and others.
 
“After many iterations, Kinross Partnership became the region’s first SLUI Whole Farm Plan.
 
Mr Cooper says learnings made through working with the Grays during the infancy of SLUI were invaluable.
 
“Working with the Grays on their farm plan meant we were able to put together a programme and apply for funding from the government, which has shaped SLUI as a regional erosion control programme.
 
“SLUI has now been running for nearly 20 years, through funding support from ratepayers and MPI’s Hill Country Erosion (HCE) Programme.
 
“During that time, Horizons and landowners have completed erosion control works on 62,334 hectares of land, including planting over 32 million trees, through SLUI.
 
“Today, 31% of the region (more than 680,000 hectares) has been mapped through Whole Farm Plans, helping us build a picture of our region’s soils.”
 
Mr Cooper says the Grays have completed a significant amount of work on-farm.
 
“In addition to treating 96% of their top-priority land since 2004, since 2008 they’ve planted 2,045 poplar poles, laid 2.1km of retirement fencing, and treated 157 of their total 421 hectares of land.
 
“It’s a tremendous amount of work, and a great achievement to end on,” he says.
 
“We’re immensely grateful to Tony and Lynda for helping us shape what was to become the largest erosion control programme in the country. They’ve been wonderful to work with over the years, and we wish them all the best in their retirement.”
 
The prospect of retirement is bittersweet, says Mr Gray.
 
“It’s going to be tough to leave. We’ve put a lot of ourselves into this place, but it’s the right time for us to move on.”
 
“We’re proud to be able to pass the property on to the new owners in a far better state than we received it, in large part thanks to SLUI.
 
“We really value the relationship we’ve built up with Horizons over the years and are grateful for the funding and technical support they’ve provided.
 
“In particular, we’d like to thank our land management advisors, Kevin Rooke who supported us for many years, and Courtney Skou who took over following Kevin’s retirement in 2020. They’ve both been instrumental in us achieving our goal of protecting our erosion-prone land.”
 
Watch a video on the Gray’s story with SLUI here: https://vimeo.com/1082677072
 
Find out more about Horizons’ Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) here: https://www.horizons.govt.nz/managing-natural-resources/land
 
Landowners interested in SLUI works can contact their land management advisor (LMA) on freephone 0508 800 800.