Lilybank Station

Lilybank Station is a challenging Mackenzie high country run, with a focus on deer and development.

Rex Miles is the current manager of Lilybank. He grew up in Kaikoura and has worked around the high country for many years. He’s managed properties in Marlborough, Waipara in North Canterbury and on Banks Peninsula.

Lilybank Station is located at the head of Lake Tekapo between the Godley and Macaulay Rivers. The property is 2246 hectares of predominantly leasehold high country station, including 500 hectares of gently sloping land. 400 hectares have been cultivated and the remaining flats and hill country are typically grazed high country land. Lilybank currently runs approximately 5000 SU made up of approximately 70% deer, 25% beef cattle and 5% sheep.

Rex says the property is hard work over winter, with copious feeding-out required. The property grows crops to get them through winter. Rex says the climate can be extreme. It is not unusual to get days in winter with two feet of snow having fallen overnight. And the ground can stay frozen for months on end. Rex says the surplus feed they produce has to be high quality. The stocking rate is also critical, and Rex is careful not to over-stock. “If you’re conservative, you can do it well”.

Lilybank has had a chequered history with ownership. It was previously owned by Tommy Suharto, son of corrupt former Indonesian President Suharto. He turned Lilybank into a hunting lodge and playground. Tommy was subsequently accused of fraud, and later murder, by the Indonesian authorities. Suharto was famous for not liking the New Zealand tradition of public access to crown lease properties. He and his manager were reported to have burnt hunting huts on the property and generally made life unpleasant for hunters and trampers who wished to come through the property.

Suharto sold Lilybank in 1999 to a Singaporian businessman friend. The property has gone through several hands since that time. In early 2002 it was marketed for $7.2 m. Subsequently it was reported to have been bought by an Auckland property developer.

In June 2005 the NZ Herald reported that an investment company was planning on reviving Lilybank Station Lodge and linking it to a resort development, including an airstrip.

In 2007 a press release from a real estate company said that the station had been sold – although the sale price and identity of the owners would not be disclosed. A New Zealander currently owns it (who wishes to remain anonymous).

Rex says the stock weren’t in very good condition when he took over 6 years ago. The property used to keep cattle but he said they’ve largely gone out of them. He says they are hard to run and don’t really thrive in the harsh winters.

Stags are where Lilybank makes its money. Rex says the take them through to 50kgs “on the hook” at the meat works. He says they try to get some of the deer away by early October.

The success of the operation is largely dependant on growing grass and lucerne crops that are turned into baleage to get them through the winter.

The deer have come a long way in the last 6 years ago. Shortly after taking over the property, they decided to artificially inseminate (AI) 750 hinds. It was a massive operation but it has paid dividends. They still AI every two years to get their replacement stags. The genetics are from both red and eastern deer. Rex says although they’ve spent some money they are now getting payback.

All Lilybank deer go through Mountain River venison.

Rex says the AI programme has given them very good growth rates in the deer, particularly once the weather warms up. The AI has been a huge benefit to the property in general. Electronic ID tags came with the AI system and they’ve been using these since the programme began. The tags make weighing, drafting and record keeping easy. They do a lot of weighing during the growing season. Rex says the costs of the tags are well worth it.

Lilybank keeps a few thar (a type of mountain goat) on the property to breed for the hunting and game side of the business. They’re highly sought after as a trophy animal. DOC spent years culling them in the high country. They’re not allowed to be farmed and can only be kept in the “feral range” – an area designated by DOC. Lilybank also keeps some very rare white thar.

400 ha of the property are cultivated. The pasture renewal system is pretty straightforward. They spray out paddocks and put in a cultivar called Crusader, then follow that with permanent pasture.

They’ve experimented with a range of crops and have ended up with a grass and lucerne system. Rex says a lot of crops that thrive in warmer parts of the country don’t do well in the cold and snow.

Despite it’s many other positive qualities, lucerne can’t handle frost – which is a disadvantage in the Mackenzie country. In other parts of the country lucerne grows right through the year. At Lilybank they make baleage with it, using it to put condition on stock prior to mating. Rex says everything is baleage. They don’t make hay (as Rex says most of it would blow away). They do all their own cutting and baling work but get help with the carting. The farm has all its own contracting gear. He says making baleage for the winter keeps them busy for most of the summer. He estimates they need around 2000 bales to see them through winter.

There is a proposed irrigation development for 172 hectares within a command area of 400 hectares.

Under the irrigation development that’s planned for the station, water will be taken from the headwaters of Station Stream. Eventually the 400 hectares that is cultivated will have irrigation. The plan to use guns and centre pivots. Rex says water will keep the place sustainable. There’s plan for a dam and a micro hydro system.

The system also needs to be simple. Part of the challenge of farming through winter is to have constant waterflow, otherwise their systems shut down and freeze. Rex says water pumps can’t handle the cold and once something’s frozen it is very expensive to repair.

Rex says a really dry summer puts a lot of pressure on the property for the winter to come and irrigation gives them security. His says the process of consent has been lengthy and expensive but hopefully worth it. They have worked through many Risk and Farm Environmental Management Plans. There has also been a water quality study and a cultural impact assessment.