Newspaper Article 1989 – Typical hill-country property

Typical hill-country property

Donald Macdonald farms a 980-hectare property on the hill country just east of Waipukurau.

Easy to steep hill country, an average 800mm rainfall, mild winters but summer dry periods make it a typical Hawke’s Bay hill country property.

Donald previously farmed a 336-hectare property at Wakarara until 1980.

In 1980 he and wife Judy and children Hamish (then three years old) and Kate (then one-year-old) moved to Mangatarata Station, which they had bought in partnership with Mr Charlie Anderton.

The original Mangatarata Station reached a total of 13,000 hectares by 1907.

Donald’s great-grandfather, Mr J. Macdonald, leased 1860-hectares from 1908 to 1920.

In 1950/51 Miss J. Macdonald and Messrs W. & J. Macdonald bought 1440 hectares, 460 hectares of which were sold in 1954, bringing the property to its present size.

The property was managed by Donald’s uncle (Mr Norman Macdonald) until 1974. It was during this period most of the development work was carried out.

Today it is a fully developed unit, wintering between 11,500 and 12, 000 stock units, with a fairly high ratio of cattle to sheep for Hawke’s Bay.

Good lambing performance and wool production and flexible cattle and lamb management polices are features of the present management systems.

These with all other aspects of the properties management will be fully discussed at the open field day on June 1.

Photo Caption – Farmer of The Year Donald Macdonald, left, his wife Judy, son Hamish and daughter Kate.