GIPPSLAND REGION
Tom and Gemma Otton with daughters Sophia and baby Madelyn.
Moving south to pursue dream STEPHEN COOKE
A FIERCE desire to grow their equity, and the unpredictability of the Bega seasons, has seen Tom and Gemma Otton take up a sharefarming role with Peter and Jeanette Clark at Kongwak. They trucked their herd of 180 cows (in four loads) from Bega to their new Gippsland home, and have since expanded it to 300 head. Mr Otton is a fifth generation beef farmer from Bega, while Mrs Otton is from a fishing family, having moved to Bega from Nowra. They met while working for the herd manage-
ment information company, Dairy Express, and their interest in dairy grew as they became involved with good farmers in their two years in the job. Mr Otton was offered a job with Glencraig Jerseys, which essentially saw him managing the farm after three months. It was a steep learning curve, but it instilled in them both a passion for Jerseys and genetics. After three years the young couple was given an opportunity to lease a friend’s farm, and bought the herd and machinery. Securing finance to purchase the herd of 180 cows proved frustrating.
“We went to 10 banks. NAB was the 10th bank and they said, ‘no worries’.” As a result, their advice to other farmers is to keep trying. “You’ll get there eventually,” Mr Otton said. “Once we had the loan, because we made repayments and paid NAB back, it was easier to get a loan for our next cows.” He described their time at Bega as the “toughest of our lives”. On top of the milk price collapse, “the spring and summer was the worst in Bega for at least 10 years. We received 30 mm in five months, and were using 2 Ml a day to irrigate.” They were milking 140 cows and realised it would require better seasons to expand, some-
thing that couldn’t be guaranteed in Bega. “It was a 200-cow farm with reliable rain but we went six months without rain and in Bega you can get your annual rainfall all at once,” Mr Otton said. “The irrigation bills were extreme and the $30 000 irrigation bill in February was the killer for me. We realised, we’re not going to make a profit from this.” They made the decision to move to an area that would help them achieve their goals. After seeking advice and visiting several areas, they signed a 50:50 sharefarmer agreement with the Clarks, and trucked their cattle down. Continued page 3 >