BUSINESS DBOY 2020
Barns lift performance, reduce N & P losses High MS/ha, high EBIT, exceptional operating profit margin and return on total assets led a Kereone family to the finals of the 2020 Dairy Business of the Year Award. Elaine Fisher has the story. Photos by Emma McCarthy.
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itrogen and phosphorus leaching on Greenacres, the Kereone farm owned by Fiona and Graham Pickett and their son Brad, has dropped significantly, largely thanks to the new 2000m² composting barns completed earlier this year. “The barns were commissioned in January and the cows were housed from June 1st twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. As they calved, they went out to pasture,” says Brad, who with his parents, was a finalist in the 2020 Dairy Business of the Year (DBOY) Award. 24
The family farming business performed well in the awards even though the benefits of the barns were not recorded in the score sheet. Most significant was the achievement of 2110kg milksolids (MS) per hectare and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $9,159. Brad puts those figures down to the quality and volume of the milk from the Jersey herd, the farm’s irrigation system, the payout from Tatua Co-Operative Dairy Company, and the high value of the land. The DBOY report said Greenacres’ profit performance is in the top 25% quartile of the entrants:
“Your farming business achieved an exceptional Operating Profit Margin (49%), well done! This means you retain a high proportion of your income as profit, enhancing business resilience. “Your Return On Total Assets (5.5%) is strong, based on high production/ha combined with a high milk price, and good cost control. This is despite having a very large capital base due to your land and share value. “The very high homegrown feed/ ha (14.7t) on milking area is helped by irrigation.
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | November 2020
