The last of the sheep are gone and Mark and Vicki O’Neill are calling time on farming on the Strath Taieri.
The O’Neill family sold their more than 2000ha farm Mount Highlay in Hyde to Oceana Gold to expand its Macraes mine.
At the Mount Highlay Lamb Sale in Palmerston last week, the family offered the last of their sheep born on the Hyde farm, about 1200 Romney ewe lambs, which sold for between $191 and $204 each.
Another 3600 store lambs from across Otago had been bought by the O’Neills from February to fatten and offer at the sale.
All of the store lambs sold for between $154 and $223 each.
PGG Wrightson agent Jed Cuthbertson said most of the buyers of Mount Highlay lambs were from Canterbury.
Mrs O’Neill said they were "pretty chuffed" with the full clearance of lambs and the price fetched.
His confidence was buoyed by strong demand for lambs at the Maniototo Last Muster Sale in Waipiata last month.
The O’Neills offered nearly 1000 lambs at the Maniototo sale.
"We got well paid for them," Mr O’Neill said.
Prices paid for their lambs at Maniototo was on par with Palmerston, he said.
The store lambs had exceeded the $40 margin put in their budget, he said.
"It is worthwhile doing."
The O’Neills sold their capital flock on-farm in Hyde, about 90% of their lambs in February and ewes in March.
"These trucks wouldn’t be sitting here waiting in Hyde," Mr O’Neill said looking at a fleet of empty stock trucks at the saleyards.
Mrs O’Neill agreed.
"It was a good idea to bring it down here."
Mr O’Neill’s parents moved from the Maniototo to farm Mount Highlay in the late 1970s.
About three years ago, the family thought they had sold Mount Highlay.
Consequently, the O’Neill family, including children Fred, Billy and Annie moved to a nearly 380ha farm they bought in Poolburn South in autumn 2023.
The sale of Mount Highlay fell through and it was put back on the market.
"We couldn’t have done it without him. He has done a great job with the land," Mrs O’Neill said.
The family sold Mount Highlay because the time was right to sort succession, she said.
A search for a new farm ranged between South Canterbury and Tuatapere.
Poolburn appealed because it had access to a great water scheme, livestock thrived there and it had a great community, Mrs O’Neill said.
The Poolburn farm was flat and Mount Highlay was hill-country.
"Mount Highlay wasn’t the easiest place to farm up there. Some years you made money and other years you didn’t."
In Poolburn, they ran an all-beef system including about 800 Friesian bulls, a mix of rising 1- and 2-year-olds.
"We are really happy there."
Mrs O’Neill said they doubted they would breed sheep again but they might trade them.
"Mark is a trader, he loves it."
They had never considered exiting farming, she said.
"It is a great way to raise your family. It’s not always easy but it is pretty good."
Oceana Gold was leasing some of Mount Highlay for farming.
The O’Neills had a fleeting consideration of submitting an offer to lease Mount Highlay but decided a better option was to sell their capital flock and use the funds to improve their farm in Poolburn, Mrs O’Neill said.
"We are doing a few things, putting in some new cattle yards and fencing. It is all exciting stuff."
