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Newsmaker
FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – April 4, 2022
Farming for the next generation The winners of the inaugural Wairere Central Districts Red Meat Farm Business of the Year competition want to help tell positive stories about New Zealand agriculture, while at the same time build their family business so it’s in an even better place for their children in the future. Colin Williscroft spoke to Manawatū farmers Ian and Steph Strahan.
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LTHOUGH you don’t enter a enter a competition to lose it, Ian and Steph Strahan say their primary motivation in putting their business forward for the award wasn’t the prizes or the recognition, it was more about promoting positive messages about the red meat sector. “First and foremost we wanted to support the competition because it’s a positive thing for agriculture,” Ian said. “Over the last five or 10 years there’s been a lot of negativity out there and there’s not been a lot of good stories coming out about farming and the red meat sector, so we thought this was an initiative that needed supporting.” He said entering the competition was also a great way of taking stock and having a look at their own business. “The judging was a good exercise for us because it gave us a good opportunity to have a good look at everything we’re doing here,” he said. “And it’s great to know that our goals and results line up with our peers in the sector.” Ian said he and Steph were surprised to hear their names called out as winners because they hadn’t expected to get past the first round of judging, let alone claim the award. The Strahan Land Company is a Kiwitea finishing operation that produces around 700kg/ha carcase weight a year. The main farm is 442ha (400ha effective), with another 54ha (35ha effective) block. In 2021 they finished 16,000 lambs, 1100 steers and bulls, along with dairy and hogget grazers. A cropping component in the business, 40ha winter wheat and 20ha peas, spreads the risk of farm gate price volatility and adds to their pasture renewal programme. One of the competition judges, rural business adviser Sean Stafford, said the Strahans’ operation is a great example of how sustainable farming principles can lead to high profits. “They operate a simple farm system that is uniquely structured to capture market opportunities,” he said. “There is high attention to detail and they make great use of data and tools to achieve excellent
WINNERS: Steph and Ian Strahan with the trophy they received at the Orlando Country Club, just out of Palmerston North, for winning the inaugural Wairere Central Districts Red Meat Farm Business of the Year competition. Their $20,000 prize pool included $10,000 cash and the same value in sponsors’ products.
performance outcomes.” Ian said one of the principles he and Steph follow is that every farm is unique. “Even between you and the neighbours things are different, everyone’s got different soils, climate and management skill sets,” he said. “It’s all about developing a plan that suits those resources and suits your management. “Every farm needs its own plan based on those factors to get out what you want and what suits the farm best.” He said in their own business the focus includes measuring what is happening on-farm, which is something that can get overlooked. “It might be a bit of a cliché but if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” he said. “You need to know what different types of forage yield at different times of year, what growth rates you get on those forages. What goes on and when it happens. “Without that information, you can’t really plan properly. “The old days of ripping along to the sale, working out whether you can get a margin out of something, if you’re doing that you’re going to be left well behind.
“Those days are gone. You’ve got to work out what you can do when and then plan it, otherwise you’re not going to get the full benefit out of your efforts.” Steph said Ian loves a spreadsheet and puts that to good use. “He’s really good at knowing what makes money,” Steph said.
It might be a bit of a cliché but if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Ian Strahan Farmer “But instead of just saying ‘that’s how it makes money’, he re-evaluates it all the time, has a look and questions everything to see whether it is still the best use or the best time to be doing something. “It’s about crunching your numbers, looking to see what’s going to be the best option.” Achieving that without putting pressure on themselves and the environment is important. “We don’t expect to grow grass in February and we don’t expect
to winter heavy cattle in the middle of winter,” Ian said “The whole plan is designed around the physical resources and our goals, when we want to go away occasionally. It’s designed so that it flows and we’re not fighting anything.” Working with the environment is important to them. The farm has a focus on soil preservation and has been no till for about 15 years, while three years ago they helped establish a local stream catchment group and have also fenced off their waterways during the past few years. Being open to new ideas is another of the principles that helps guide the business. “There’s always someone doing something better than you,” he said. “There’s all sorts of disciplines involved in farming, so you can’t be expected to know everything and be able to do everything. “The advice is there, most of the time it’s free, you’ve just got to find it, take it on board and apply it to your own situation.” The couple have been on the farm for about 20 years, the initial 80ha block bought by his grandfather in 1956 and then farmed by Ian’s late father Sam,
before Ian came back full-time after pursuing other avenues to help his dad. During that 20 years, the farm size has grown to its current size and the couple have surrounded themselves with what they see as the right team. That includes not only their full-time employee but also outside expertise. “We’ve got the best accountant we’ve ever had, I call on two or three agronomists and there’s one vet in particular that I ring to get the information that I need,” he said. “There’s no point mucking around, it all goes back to knowing where to get the best information.” As to the future, the couple have three girls between the ages of 11 and 14, and they want to make sure farming is an option for them in what is a constantly changing landscape. “One of our goals and plans is for it to be a viable option for our children to farm in the future,” Steph said. “That’s what we’re trying to instil and build here. “Part of that is telling the story and having it (farming) as an option because I’m not sure it’s going to be that easy for the next generation.”
