'Duke' reckons it's time to hang up his irons

SHIRLEY WHYTE/150514

A TAIL TALE: Orawia farmer Greg (Duke) Diack with more than 8000 lambs tails.

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Hanging up his irons after more than 20 years of tailing lambs in the Tuatapere area has been a hard decision for "the Duke".

Orawia farmer Greg ("Duke") Diack said he reckoned sheep were getting faster and he was getting slower. "It's been great but the time is fast approaching for me to start winding down a bit.

"We have had a heap of fun over the years as working with different personalities always has its own rewards. We would have had more than 100 people working with us in that time."

The tailing gang works for about six weeks of the year for seven days a week, weather permitting. "We are still waiting for the perfect weather (this year) and if we got it our tailing season would be a lot shorter."

Mr Diack's clients farm within a 90-minute drive of his Orawia farm.

"We have had a lot of fun over the years. One day Mr Whippy stopped when he saw us working. I wandered over and bought an ice cream for everybody," he said.

While his team worked on farms close to the side of the road on the Otahu Flat, tourists had often stopped, climbed the fence and taken photos.

"We have had people from all over the world stop and take an interest in what we are doing," Mr Diack said.

"Some have even got into the pens with the lambs and helped load them into the tailing cradles for us."

- © Fairfax NZ News

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