WAIKATO | SHARE FARMER OF THE YEAR
dairy farming was made possible by the support and sharing of knowledge in the dairy industry. Their local DairyNZ discussion group was a huge help and farmers Janet and Richard Waswo were fantastic mentors and were hugely encouraging, they say. Reuben, 29 and Deb, 28, have built their business up over the following eight years while having four daughters, Laura, 6, Vanessa, 4, Zoe, 3, and Isla, 1. The couple say one of their strengths is they work well together. “You have to support each other, it’s not always easy and you’ve got to have a good network of people around you,” Deb says. Reuben’s father had a heart attack a few years ago and they talked to John and Fiona about selling the farm at Cambridge and buying in as equity partners on a bigger farm closer to the family farm. “We wanted to be closer to Reuben’s father so we could help him, so we put a proposition to John and Fiona to go equity partners. ” The land was cheaper in Otorohanga so they could get more land and milk more cows and it has worked out for all parties, Deb says. “They could see the benefits and we made sure we are all on the same page and that it was fair to everyone.” They lease the 320ha effectively off Reuben’s parents, which is a good support block for the dairy business. “It was a win: win for everyone,” Deb says.
Winners are grinners: Waikato Share Farmers of the Year Reuben and Deb Connolly.
Steep learning curve pays off WORDS BY SHERYL HAITANA PHOTOS BY EMMA MCCARTHY
T
he 2021 Waikato Share Farmers of the Year entered the dairy industry with minimum experience, but have achieved equity partnership in their 20s while also having four young children. Reuben and Deb Connolly are 50/50 sharemilkers and 20% equity partners with Deb’s aunt and uncle, John and Fiona Worsnop. Reuben’s childhood was spent on a sheep and beef farm in Otorohanga and he spent six years working as a block manager in the drystock industry after leaving school. Deb grew up on a dairy farm in Ohaupo and 44
BREEDING SUCCESS
holds a Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) from Waikato University. In 2013, they were given the opportunity to go 50/50 sharemilking for the Worsnops on a farm at Cambridge. “They took a huge leap of faith and put their trust in us and we have tried to live up to this,” Deb says. “It was a very steep learning curve, there were long hours, but we just got on and did it,” Reuben says. They were able to get the money to go sharemilking with Reuben’s savings. Deb had won a scholarship for her degree so she came out of university with no debt. The couple were able to go to the bank and get approved for a loan. Being sharemilkers in their first season,
Woolly Farm Ltd north of Otorohanga, is a 110ha farm of mixed contour with some good flats, but challenging hills. They milk 280 cows, which are mostly all wintered off on the runoff as the flats on the milking platform get quite wet in winter. During the milking season they are able to bring carryover cows down from the runoff to go behind the cows to keep good quality on the hill country. The runoff allows them to run a closed herd which has become ever more important since Mycoplasma bovis. They have 30 Hereford breeding cows which they use to breed bulls to tail off the end of mating. They predominantly milk Friesian, and Friesian crossbreds cows, but have a few Jerseys, which they use to breed Jersey bulls
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | April 2021
