This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Jack Devlin, 2IC of Bonavaree, Marlborough NZ.

Jack spent several years working around New Zealand working on several notable stations after completing his degree- and putting it into practice was something he really enjoyed. In 2020 he headed over to Japan to work as a ski instructor, which Covid quickly put a halt to.

Jack decided to give Fraser Avery a ring to see if he could help with tailing for a while. Roll forward two years and Jack is now working as 2IC on the Bonavaree station.

Bon Avery runs up to 20,000 stock units on 2,500ha of 530ml of rainfall a year. Farming next to one of the largest salt flats in New Zealand has led to a concise farming system with lots of calculated decisions. The mix of sheep and beef breeding/finishing, bull beef and dairy grazing allows for flexibility through the seasons. 

They currently have around 350ha of lucerne at the moment, and put in around 60ha of new Lucerne in a year. This crop is what transformed the Bonavaree farm and is a huge driver to their system, using it year round. 

Mark and Jack met through the Growing Ewe Masterclass. Jacks commitment to the course, questions and his "little book of numbers", really stood out. The industry is lucky to have such passionate and enthusiastic individuals working in the sector and this really shows in the way Jack discusses his career and his future.

We will be running our third cohort of the Growing Ewe Masterclass in March, 2022. If you would like to find out more, contact us on [email protected]

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