aspects means there is the potential for two springs' worth of stock feed compared with one now. Tagasaste also provides shade and shelter. We know quite a lot about the plant's nutritional value, and how to establish and manage it, but not to a practical animal production stage on hill country. So we'll build on what we already know, do more work on how to manage it at a farm near Wairoa and package the information for other farmers. To broaden the project so that it is not solely focused on Hawke's Bay, we'll work with Mike and Sharon Barton as a case study farm on summer -dry pumice country near Taupo. As a farmer-led project team, we will share our practical experience on how to establish and manage tagasaste and findings based on measurements of existing stands - not only through a tagasaste handbook and at field days held on one of the team's farms, but also through podcasts hosted on the Beef+LambNZ website. We'll also work with Federated Farmers and Regional Councils, who'll share our story via elect ronic and hard copy media, so as to reach hill country farmers throughout New Zealand.
Problem or Opportunity
Our families, Nick Broad's and Dave Read's, have farmed the hill country of northern Hawke's Bay, Gisborne and the East Cape area for generations. Webelieve that there is still huge potential growth for the sheep and beef sector specifically in our region and for hill country in general. Around 6 million ha of hill country is too steep to cultivate but it represents 54% of the land area on which sheep and beef farming is done in New Zealand, adding over $4 billion p.a. of export revenue to our economy. But we are the first to acknowledge the fragility of our soils as our families farmed through the aftermath of Cyclone Bola and other mo re recent 'adverse events'. Our land is largely soft bedrock with erosion-prone soils and, in many districts, is subject to periodic high- intensity rainfall events. Our topsoil is our principal 'natural capital' of our business and its erosion and loss represent a huge reduction in the productive potential of our farms. The consequences of erosion are that the depleted soil is more prone to drought, more easily invaded by woody weeds, and the stored carbon is lost from the slopes. Around 1.14 million ha of hill country are classified as erosion-prone and it is estimated to cost $100-150 million per annum in loss of nutrients, production, and damage to infrastructure and waterways. Our soils need more than just pasture to hold them in place but, too much vegetation, as in forestry, can also cause problems. Pinus radiata can be grown but for many farmers, it can be very difficult to manage long-term - funding the needed thinning and pruning can be a problem, and often the plantings are at scales too small to make any significant profit. And for medium size farms (400 - 500 ha) it is difficult to take land out of pastoral production. There are some farmers who have managed and marketed their stands well enough to justify their efforts but this is exceptionally hard work and a rarity. Most farmers are concerned that plantations are too long a term investment with the uncertainty of an eventual profit, the difficulty of re-establishing pasture if needed, and real concern about

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