Part 2 Problems developing a neglected property – too little money and too much work Dorothy – 13/10/03 Signs of neglect When Ron took over the farm it was running 500 ewes and they were starving from lack of feed as the place was so run down. The problems facing Ron and Judith included dilapidated…
Part 3 Improvements well established, but problems insuperable – expensive electricity and labour costs and sudden government policy changes Dorothy – 13/10/03 Irrigation The dry conditions in the land between Rakaia and the sea made farming very difficult. The light topsoil would be blown away in the strong winds. However, talking about the need did…
Part 4 Farming changes in Dorie since 1990 – problems with water, new dairy farms Judith Armstrong – 13/10/03 In the fifteen years since Ron and I farmed our land at Dorie a whole raft of developments have progressed together to form a completely new and different farming picture in mid-Canterbury. In the most recent…
Part 1 Farm training, farm purchase, and marriage Dorothy – 13/10/03 To those who know little about the problems faced by the farmers who developed the land, the Mid-Canterbury plains look like an easy place to farm. In reality Ron and Judith Armstrong were faced with serious problems as they toiled to upgrade a neglected…
Dorothy – 18/6/99 Taking action to resolve rural challenges Changes affecting marketing of products and the rural way of life have meant additional challenges for New Zealand farmers and their families ever since Britain entered the Common Market in 1973. When the Labour Government removed subsidies from agricultural products in 1985 and greatly increased interest…
Dorothy – 11/12/98 Farm improvements become well established, but problems become insuperable. Irrigation In the mid fifties a Government scheme was proposed to bring water from the Rakaia River near Barrhill to just west of the Rakaia township. Border dyking was the proposed method to irrigate farmers’ land from Rakaia to the sea. If the…
Dorothy – 4/12/98 If you haven’t already, you may like to read Part 1 of this series. Signs of neglect The house at the time of purchase When Ron took over the farm it was running 500 ewes and they were starving from lack of feed as the place was so run down. It had…
Dorothy – 27/11/98 The story of two Mid-Canterbury farmers working together to build a productive farm from a neglected property at Dorie An interview with Ron and Judith Armstrong Judith and Ron Armstrong Part 1 The years before Dorie Ron and Judith Armstrong gave their best energies and dedication for most of their working lives…
Dorothy – 18/4/98 Resilient and resourceful people have maintained their farms through economic and personal crises. Every day cars speed across the Clarence River Bridge, and most take little notice of the valley and the roads leading inland, but that valley has been divided up for sheep farming since 1860 and there farming families led…
Dorothy – 3/4/98 An interview with Thomas John Hunt – Thomas 4 – known as John Highfield has been farmed for 125 years and John can say with pride that John and Dorothy Hunt at the Highfield entrance the farm has been passed directly down the Hunt family to this day. Currently John and his…
