Business Rural Issue 2 - 2015

Winter 2015

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

A Barfoote original Aesthetics is now very much part of dairy-shed design, says builder Trevor Barfoote. “People want a dairy shed that is appealing to the eye as well as being robust, functional and low maintenance. A lot of farmers also want to a pleasant environment for their staff, so are spending more on things like smoko rooms, bathroom facilities, even barbecue areas with sheds.”

• More from the shed floor: Page 30.

INSIDE

‘Skin in the game’ hones skills - PAGE 5

Regulations stymie water restoration - PAGE 19

People, systems base for big scale - PAGE 44

Kiwi lifestyle ‘all we hoped for’ - PAGE 48

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RURAL PEOPLE » Appleby Fresh

Business Rural

Know your market, says grower Jo Bailey Not fully understanding market requirements is one of the biggest challenges facing vegetable-growers, says Nelson grower Mark O’Connor, who is also on the board of industry association Vegetables New Zealand Inc. “It’s critical for people growing anything to know what ratios they need to produce to meet their markets, and to also understand the true costs of production,” he says.

“It’s not profitable to simply keep growing the same amounts of the same stuff every year.”

Biosecurity is another issue for the industry in light of the arrival of the fruit fly in Auckland and great white butterfly problems in Nelson, he says.

“Everybody should be keeping an eye out for unusual pests, or those they haven’t seen before.

In light of the fruit fly’s arrival, Vegetables NZ is working closely with Horticulture NZ and the Government to revisit biosecurity systems and protocols.”

Mark O’Connor is managing director of Appleby Fresh, a family-owned enterprise of around 150 hectares, and one of Nelson’s bigger growers.

He has been on the Vegetable NZ board for the last four years, and enjoys playing his part to help other growers maximise their businesses.

“We help growers keep up to speed with the changing government legislation and consent requirements at local-body level, and try to fund projects that will help our members. Horticulture NZ is our umbrella organisation; our role is to be the voice of the grower.”

Team O’Connor: Michael, Kerry, Brendan, Oliver, Mark and Joseph O’Connor.

He is also on the board of the MG Marketing co-operative, which sells to retailers on behalf of its members, mostly small to medium-scale growers.

“It can be difficult to be involved in any primary industry as the elements are often against you.

Meeting these challenges, along with the increase in compliance requirements, can be tough, particularly

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for the dwindling numbers of small to medium growers. This is why I believe that now, more than ever, being part of a co-operative is a great way for smaller operations to bring critical mass to the market.”

Back at Appleby Fresh, he is the fourth generation of his family on the Nelson farm that was a sheep operation before his grandparents gradually converted it to market gardening.

“I went into the meat industry when I left school and came back around 16 years ago to help out in the business. I eventually bought a share and took over its management. My two brothers, two sons and a nephew are also involved. The business also provides the opportunity for family members to work during school holidays.”

Appleby Fresh specialises in green crops, such as cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, leeks, silver beet and spinach, and in recent years has diversified into niche lines such as kale, celeriac and fennel. It also grows corn and pumpkin.

“Diversification is essential to the business given we’re a country with a relatively small population.

We can spread the risk by not relying on just one crop.”

Appleby Fresh has a stable workforce of about 50 staff, which rises to around 80 over summer.

“A big percentage of our employees are Myanmar refugees or from Thailand. There is a strong Asian community with a good bunch of people here in Nelson who we can draw on right through the year. We also employ a few backpackers over summer.”

Irrigation helped mitigate the worst effects of the dry summer, he says.

“We’ve got good water here, which is a help. It’s always difficult during a drought, whether you are a grower or running stock. But these challenges often bring out the best in people.”

Despite fickle weather, changing marketing conditions and rising compliance costs, Mark O’Connor is happy to be part of the vegetable growing industry, both on the farm and in the boardroom.

“It’s challenging at times like every business.

But I enjoy it.”

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A Barfoote original Aesthetics is now very much part of dairy-shed design, says builder Trevor Barfoote. “People want a dairy shed that is appealing to the eye as well as being robust, functional and low maintenance. A lot of farmers also want to a pleasant environment for their staff, so are spending more on things like smoko rooms, bathroom facilities, even barbecue areas with sheds.”

• More from the shed floor: Page 30.

INSIDE

‘Skin in the game’ hones skills - PAGE 5

Regulations stymie water restoration - PAGE 19

People, systems base for big scale - PAGE 44

Irrigation brings big changes - PAGE 52

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

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- Independent Soil Fertility Consulting - Animal Mineral Balancing - Hair Testing - Precision Soil Mapping

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RURAL PEOPLE » Stuart Neill

Business Rural

|3

Investment in a range of technologies and a new pivot irrigator has helped this Culverden farm become more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Technology rules at The Mound Jo Bailey The uptake of a range of technologies and a new pivot irrigator has transformed a Culverden dairy farm, The Mound, from a low-cost, simple borderdyke operation into one that sits “in the middle zone” as far as farming systems go, says Stuart Neill.

“We’ve invested heavily in pivot irrigation, automation in the dairy shed, soil testing, and track mapping of our fertiliser applications over the last couple of years in a bid to be as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.”

He is a director and managing partner of Pukatea Dairy Farms, which owns the 200-hectare (198 effective) farm, milking 660 kiwicross cows.

The addition of Protrack, teat sprays and a heatdetection camera to the property’s 18-year-old, 50-bail rotary shed has made a big difference to the operation, he says.

“Our team has really taken the technology on board. It’s helpful to have access to the data and be able to track every cow when you want them. We couldn’t operate without it now.”

Neill says there is still more he wants to do with the systems, and is in talks with LIC about how to maximise the full potential.

One of the operation’s top priorities is to have minimal environmental impact.

We’ve invested heavily in pivot irrigation, automation in the dairy shed, soil testing, and track mapping of our fertiliser applications over the last couple of years, in a bid to be as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.

“We have been quite heavily involved in local environmental discussions, and we’re trying to lead, rather than be led. We already use the latest technology to ensure we are efficient with our fertiliser and water use.”

Aquaflex soil tapes (or sensors) have been buried in the ground at the root zone and provide real-time analysis of soil moisture.

“The information goes straight to the computer which generates graphs that enable our staff to determine when to turn the irrigation on or off.”

Stuart Neill says his staff are “quite excited” about the technology, and also soil-temperature monitoring, which has improved pasture management.

“We’ve also introduced computer mapping for proof of placement of fertiliser applications, which

has made a big difference and paid for itself in no time.”

The addition of a second pivot in September last year means 136 hectares of the farm is now irrigated using this method with the balance in k-line and sprinklers.

Last year’s total production of 300,000 kilograms of milksolids is “not particularly high” for Culverden.

However the farm is not typical of the area; it has “very heavy” clay soils that compact during a wet spring or autumn.

“Pasture persistence is a big issue. We’ve found the Aber ryegrasses work best for us as they have a larger root mass, are more persistent and take the pugging much better than other grasses.”

Neill and his farm manager, Aaron Jackson, have

also introduced changes to the feed regime over the last couple of years to maintain pasture.

“We’ve gone into fodder beet in quite a big way, growing about six hectares which we feed to the milking cows in spring and autumn. We also feed turnips in the summer and barley as a last option if we’re feed deficient.”

The personal growth of his four full-time staff is a priority.

He likes to employ people with the same sort of passion he has for the industry, and who are keen to learn and progress.

Providing them with a good work and life balance is also important, he says.

“Our staff have worked an average of 43 hours a week this season which is pretty good.”

Off farm he likes to mentor others, and, over the last 20 years, has had an interesting sideline providing project management expertise for dairy conversions.

“Designing and building dairies has been a real interest of mine. I’ve been involved in around 60 projects over the last 20 years and am currently giving advice on another new conversion.”

He says his priorities have changed greatly since his days as a sharemilker when he was chasing equity.

“Now I’m focused on looking after the people working with us; growing a sustainable business and being as environmentally friendly as possible.”

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RURAL PEOPLE » Henry & Erin Bolt

Business Rural

Farm ownership ‘pretty exciting’ step for couple Karen Phelps

Rangitata Island farmers Henry and Erin Bolt with children Cullen, Ashlee and Lance.

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“It’s pretty exciting,” say Henry and Erin Bolt, who have just bought their first farm. The couple took over the 194-hectare total (187ha effective) unit at Rangitata Island, South Canterbury on June 1 and plan to milk 670 cows in their first season.

They have been looking at farms for at least a year and, as young farmers, found the tender process quite challenging. They say they were fortunate to hear of a local farmer who was thinking of selling his farm and do a private deal with him.

Henry Bolt says the farm has excellent infrastructure and should run efficiently from the get -go. They plan to employ two full-time staff.

He comes off a dairy farm in South Waikato.

After leaving school he worked on a dairy farm at Morven, in South Canterbury, and then contract milked for a year before returning to the family farm at Putaruru to take on a contract-milking position for his parents.

He milked 300 cows for four years, and was introduced to Erin, who was working on another dairy farm as an assistant.

The couple took a 50:50 sharemilking position on his parents’ farm with 280 cows; they built the herd to 320 cows, and leased an additional 60 cows.

They were on the farm for four years before moving in 2011 to a 50:50 sharemilking job for Henry’s cousin, Brian Bolt, and his wife, Ingrid.

The 234ha (effective) farm between Geraldine and Temuka milks 870 cows through a 38-a-side herringbone shed.

We had never had irrigation in the Waikato, so it was all new to me.

Henry and Erin say they have learned a lot about water, irrigation and environmental compliance. They employed four full-time staff and learnt valuable staff-management skills as well.

“We had never had irrigation in the Waikato, so it was all new to me,” says Henry.

The farm is on the Opuha water scheme and also has a take from the Kakahu River, which runs through the property. Around 40ha is under centrepivot, 73ha under k-line, and the balance under hard-hose irrigation.

Henry says it’s an intensive irrigation system and it took them about five hours a day to shift everything.

“It’s not only labour intensive, but you have to be skilled and really know what you’re doing because things can easily break if you don’t set it up properly.

“You also have to make sure you’re pumping the right water at certain times.”

The couple were finalists in the 2015 Canterbury/North Otago Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year awards. As first-time entrants, they say they learned a lot by benchmarking themselves against other sharemilkers.

• To page 5

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The Bolt children enjoy the Canterbury lifestyle. From left, Cullen, Ashlee and Lance.

RURAL PEOPLE » Richard & Nicola Abbott

Business Rural

|5

Former rural bankers Richard and Nicola Abbott (with daughter and cows, left and below) are sharemilking 320 cows in Southland.

‘Skin in the game’ hones skills Kelly Deeks Former rural bankers Richard and Nicola Abbott are now firmly established in the dairy industry and, having progressed to 50:50 sharemilking, are looking for an opportunity to buy their own farm.

The Abbotts started dairy farming in 2011, went contract milking in 2012, then in 2013 started 50:50 sharemilking on Andre and Kim Zwagerman’s 110-hectare dairy farm at Otautau.

Nicola kept her banking position until July 2013 when she had the couple’s first daughter, who was followed 20 months later by their second.

Richard Abbott says the biggest changes from contract milking are having “skin in the game”, and the fact that the decisions made and the performance achieved have a big impact on not only their profitability, but on that of the farmowners as well.

The couple are milking 320 cows, and had a good start to their sharemilking tenure in the 201314 season, with amazing grass growth, a high pay-out, and a record production season, producing 147,400 kilograms of milksolids versus the previous best production of 125,000kg milksolids.

In the 2014-15 they have learned to take the rough with the smooth. Production was still looking good at 1363kg milksolids per hectare, but the

weather hit hard in spring with twice the amount of rainfall – and, of course, the pay-out plunged.

The Abbotts are now concentrating on running a lower-cost system, as well as improving the quality of their herd.

Although they have had to bring in 200 tonnes of palm kernel, compared with 140 tonnes the previous season, they bought 230 bales of hay at $55 a bale to feed to cows on fodder beet instead of using balage at $80 a bale.

They kept an eye on cow condition and from the beginning of February, went to 16-hour milkings.

They have also cut costs in animal health, using cheaper minerals and cutting use of rumensin altogether.

Animal health is still good and results were proven at mating, improving from last season’s 69 per cent in-calf at six weeks and 11% empty, with 77% in calf at six weeks and a 7% empty rate at the end of mating. No CIDRs used.

“We’ve decided if a cow doesn’t get in calf naturally, we don’t want her,” Richard Abbott says.

They are wintering 100 cows at home, the farm-owners are wintering 100 of the early-calvers on their farm at Opio, and 80 in-calf heifers and the remainder of the cows are being wintered off farm.

The Abbotts have one more year left on their contract and with the low pay-out this season, are hopeful a good opportunity may arise to buy their

Canterbury lifestyle wins out • From page 4 On their new farm they will milk their crossbred herd through a 44-bail rotary dairy shed. They plan to run all the young stock on the farm to give them greater certainty over costs.

Their top priority is to milk as much profit out of the property as possible, and they are targeting 300,000 kilograms of milksolids in their first season.

Erin will rear the calves and continue as a full-

time mum to their children – Cullen, 7, Lance 5 ½ and Ashlee 2 ½.

Henry says they looked all round New Zealand in their quest for a suitable farm to buy, but eventually the lifestyle they had become used to in Canterbury won out.

“It’s a place we wanted to stay.”

He says their aim for the next five years is to pay off debt, then develop their business again in some way, perhaps buy another dairy farm.

“We’re not sure what the next step will be yet.”

own farm, extend their current contract, or look for a larger sharemilking job.

They own a 46ha grass block at Rimu, which they bought in 2009, and sell the grass cut from it to a local dairy farmer.

The Abbotts entered the Dairy Industry Awards

this year for the first time, placing in the top six and gaining some good experience and feedback from the judges.

They have since tightened up their health and safety procedures and have enrolled in the Dairy New Zealand Mark and Measure course this winter.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Fleur & James Worker

Business Rural

Reviews two-way street Karen Phelps Using 360-degree performance reviews in their farming business has helped Fleur and James Worker improve their own performances as well as help their staff get further ahead.

“It’s not obligatory for staff to undertake these reviews, but it’s to their benefit to do so as it helps them improve their performance,” says Fleur Worker.

“During the reviews staff complete a selfevaluation, we review their performance and they also review our performance as employers. We’ve been employing staff for only five years and we’re still learning too, so getting feedback helps us do things better.”

The reviews are comprehensive and cover skills and personal traits.

Questions include” Does the employee feel appreciated by the Workers? Do the Workers have clearly defined roles that the staff member can easily recognise? Do the Workers remain levelheaded during times of stress on the farm?

These reviews are just one aspect of a farming business that saw the Workers gain third place in the 2015 Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year Awards for the Southland/Otago region. They won the human resources and hygiene merit awards.

Fleur was born and bred on dairy farms at Te Puke (Bay of Plenty) and Southland. James is a townie from Palmerston North but quickly realised he wanted a farming career and headed straight to Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre, in the Wairarapa, after leaving school.

He went on to complete a Diploma in Agriculture in farm management at Massey University. After a farm-assistant job in Manawatu, he moved to Southland to take up a similar position on the farm of a family friend.

A lower-order sharemilking job followed at Edendale where he met Fleur at a Young Farmers ball. She had done a commerce degree at Otago University, worked in the business world for four years, and then returned to farming.

A year later the pair took on their first job together, a lower-order sharemilking position in Southland milking 570 cows. Within six months they were approached about entering an equity

We’re big on progression and helping people through the industry. This is one of the ways we can attract the right people.

Mokoreta sharemilkers James and Fleur Worker with children Sam and Chloe. partnership by a neighbour who knew James from his days at Edendale.

“We couldn’t turn the opportunity down,” says Fleur. “It was a great group of partners and a beautiful farm waiting to be converted to dairy.”

The partners in the equity partnership are Steve and Jenny Bevins, who owned the farm, Matthew and Vanessa Richards, Richard and Mandy Jones,

The biggest challenge is the wet – 1.9 metres of rain has fallen in the last 12 months. They have to plan where to put the animals to avoid pugging as much as possible.

and Phil and Karne Stirling, builders from Winton who constructed the dairy shed on the farm.

The couples signed up to for five years, and the partnership is now in its third season. The Workers are lower-order sharemilkers on the 370-hectare effective (400ha) total unit at Mokoreta on the edge of the Catlins.

The property has a 64-bail rotary dairy with automatic cup removers and automatic drafting, winters a herd of 910 friesian and friesian-cross cows, and peak-milks 880.

Although the farm is just 35 minutes from Gore, it feels remote and has no cell-phone reception, says Fleur. This can make it challenging to find and retain good staff, hence the couple’s focus on

ensuring they are the best employers they can be.

They employ three full-time staff.

“We’re big on progression and helping people through the industry,” says Fleur, who cites this as one of the ways they can attract the right people.

“We make sure we have good systems in place to teach them as much as we can while they are here.”

The biggest challenge though is the wet, with 1.9 metres of rain falling in the last 12 months.

They have a stand-off pad and have to plan where to put the animals (and remain flexible) to prevent pugging as much as possible. It is rolling country, which eliminates the risk of floods.

“Safety is also important in wet conditions,” says Fleur. “We make sure, for example, that everyone knows how to deal with tractors and motorbikes in the wet. We do training on this each year to show people how to work safely in this climate.”

They also concentrate on keeping their shed meticulously clean, partly because of the equity partnership.

“One of our partners built the shed, so we have to keep it spotless,” jokes Fleur.

“Being in an equity partnership, the first place people go when they visit the farm is the shed; we don’t want to have to rush around cleaning it up before someone arrives, so we just keep it clean all the time. We want the shed to be something everyone can be proud of.”

The Workers have been grade-free for four consecutive years and have achieved low somatic cell count certificates from Fonterra every year since they started working together.

The farm produced 366,000 kilograms of milksolids in 2013-14, and was on target for 350,000kg in 2014-15 (the weather created the difference).

The Workers – who have two children: Sam, 3 and Chloe, 1 – have signed up for a second sharemilking position. It’s on a 600-cow farm next door, owned by Steve and Jenny Bevins.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Bevan & Jackie Jones

Business Rural

|7

Dairy conversion right move for sheep farmers Karen Phelps

Strip feeding on the Jones farm at Hedgehope. Thirty hectares of swede and kale was grown this year.

Since selling all the sheep on their family farm in 2012, Bevan and Jackie Jones haven’t looked back.

“We looked into dairying and decided to convert because the figures looked pretty good,” says Bevan Jones, who runs the farm at Hedgehope in an equity partnership with Jackie and his parents, George and Valerie Jones.

Bevan Jones grew up here and completed an engineering trade after leaving school. But, he says, he always knew he would return to the farm. Jackie coame off a sheep-and-beef property near Te Anau and trained as a chef.

In 2009 the couple returned to Bevan’s family farm and ran it for two years as a sheep farm before deciding to convert half the land – 150 hectares effective – into a dairy platform.

“I went down to a mate’s dairy farm and helped him for three weeks,” says Bevan. “That was my dairy farm training, so I had a lot to learn that first year.”

The unit is supported by a 110ha (effective) hill block and a 24ha lease block which they use as a run-off for young stock and wintering cows. They milk a herd of 400 predominantly Friesian cattle through a 54-bail rotary shed with automatic cup removers, Protrack in-shed feeding system and walk-over scales.

Their present aim is to lower their wintering

costs. For this year they grew 30ha of swede and kale, and bought in 290-300 tonnes of supplement.

Next season they will try to have of the cows on grass and balage, and the other half on crops.

Now the conversion is starting to hit its stride they are concentrating on bringing the run-off up to speed – putting in water troughs, moving fences, changing paddocks.

Bevan Jones says that with production increasing well, their main priority is keeping a handle on costs to pay down debt.

In their first season they produced 147,000 kilograms of milksolids; last season their target was 212,000kg after installing an in-shed feeding system, which has helped them to lift production and profit.

“We were 20 per cent ahead of last year and it cost us 13% more in terms of feed to achieve that,” says Bevan.

Typically the farm has employed one full-time staff member, but the Joneses are employing a second staff member this season. Bevan Jones and his father (George) also have a balage run in the area to bring extra cash flow into the family business; this is run by George.

The Joneses have three children: Charlie, 3, Max, 2 and Isla, 7 months.

Buying another dairy farm as part of the family business is on their plan, says Bevan: “The dairy industry is in a bit of a lull, but it will bounce back. I still believe the future for dairy is looking bright.”

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8|

RURAL PEOPLE » Station Peak Dairy

Business Rural

Second dairy shed helps Jo Bailey

Clan Pavletich: From left, Olivia and Michael, Julie and Kieran, Matthew (far right) and his fiancée, Alex (second from right). Olivia holds Elise, the latest addition to the family, while Julie holds her other two grandchildren, Sophie and Jack.

Waitaki Valley dairy farmers Michael and Olivia Pavletich have reached the end of a busy period of development Following significant irrigation works and the introduction of a whole-herd, DNA-testing programme in 2013, the couple have added a new 60-bail rotary cowshed to the dairy platform. This has allowed them to dramatically increase the size of their herd – from 1400 to 2100 cows.

They have also added around 200 hectares to the milking platform (which is now around 630ha effective) following restructuring of the family farming business.

The dairy platform and support block are now being farmed under one entity, and Michael’s parents, Kieran and Julie Pavletich, are taking more of a back seat when it comes to daily management.

“My parents are still directors and very much involved with the budgeting and bigger-picture decisions,” says Michael, who is a fourthgeneration farmer at Station Peak. “However, they leave the day to day running to us,” As operations manager, he works closely with his two managers and senior staff, and is currently training a long-standing Filipino staff member towards a management role.

“We are also assisting two of our Filipino staff with their New Zealand residency, which is quite a big process,” says Olivia Pavletich, who manages the administration side of the business.

Other family members involved in the operation are Michael’s brother, Matthew, who works on the farm, and his fiancée, Alex, who supports Olivia in the office.

Michael says the addition of a second shed has made a big difference to the management of what is a long, narrow property”: “We’ve been able to shorten the walk considerably for the cows and staff. It has taken a lot of pressure off.”

The new shed, which has Waikato plant and DAL technology, was operative for the tail-end of last season, which gave the workers a good opportunity to bed it in, and train the cows on the rotary platform, which runs in the opposite direction to their old shed.

“We’ve built what is really a pretty basic milking shed with no additional infrastructure at

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RURAL PEOPLE » Station Peak Dairy

Business Rural

|9

power up production the new site,” says Michael. “We will keep calving everything down at the old shed, and gradually move them up to the new shed as the season progresses.”

This regime worked well last season, particularly for grading, as the cows were already milkers by the time they were moved, so there was no risk of colostrum entering the vats.

The couple aim for annual production of around 450 kilograms of milksolids per cow. However, last season the target fell a little short at just over 430kg milksolids per cow – grasses were still developing on the new platform and some cows were sold early in the season, which brought numbers down for a period.

“With the low payout, we’ve also kept it really simple as far as inputs are concerned, and have dropped grain right back to nothing since mating.

Going back to a pasture-based system and not being too highly stocked means we can manage it quite easily.”

Well set up irrigation systems helped stave off the worst impacts of the dry summer, so there were no major feed issues or cows having to be dried off early.

In addition to the milking platform, Station Peak has 600ha of hill country where the cows go straight after dry-off. They are left there for as long as possible before coming down for calving. Young stock is sent off farm in November or December.

“The ultimate goal is to have everything on farm and be fully self contained,” says Michael.

“This winter we’re shutting up around 60ha of the milking platform, as well as using the hill block, 75ha of unirrigated kale of varying quality which we’ve developed on the hills for the first time, and a 53ha silage block at the top of the farm.

“We hope we can sneak through the winter,

A new 60-bail rotary cowshed has allowed the Pavletich family to increase the size of their herd from 1400 to 2100 cows on their farm in South Canterbury. although a lot will depend on the hill country.”

Palm kernel, straw and silage (90 per cent of it made on farm) will also be fed to the cows.

Michael and Olivia have also been through a very busy time personally.

They lived with Michael’s parents while their new house was being built on the farm, and four months ago welcomed a third child into their young family.

Although the farm has moved into a

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Leo & Maricel Pekar/Richard Pearse & Susan Geddes

Business Rural

When the going gets tough...

Neil Grant “People who have been in dairying for a long time know that if you look at your goals for the next 10 years, you are bound to have a hiccup in the middle,” says Leo Pekar. “You have to look at the big picture.”

As dairy prices remain stubbornly low, pessimism can be an understandable reaction, especially for newer farmers with big debts. Pekar’s view is bolstered by a Dairy New Zealand initiative to help farmers get through.

Tactics for Tight Times is a campaign providing theory, tactics and practical examples of what farmers can do to keep their businesses going, and come through the tough period intact.

Pekar and his wife, Maricel, are equity sharemilkers on a farm near Balfour, in Southland.

They are Argentinians who came to New Zealand 13 years ago.

“DairyNZ picked farmers they thought had financial knowledge to be case-study farmers,” says Leo Pekar. “ I thought, ‘Great. Just the thing for us to learn more.’

“You survive from the profit of any enterprise, and it has been challenging.

“The whole structure has changed dramatically after the 2008 crisis. Fixed costs have almost doubled, so it’s hard to lower the cost structure of farms. Electricity, grazing costs, wages – it’s hard to get away from them.

“There is always tweaking and optimisation, but it’s challenging.”

Preparing for their first DairyNZ field day required

Balfour equity farmer Leo Pekar and daughter Ailin are lapping it up down on the farm. the Pekars to do a lot of homework and analysing farm data. They identified a number of areas to target.

“Have your cows fit and well, and don’t overstock,” he emphasises.

Improvements they made, such as installing a proper teat spraying unit, have reduced the

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incidence of mastitis.

“The drugs might cost you $160, plus you have to dump the milk. If you then have to cull the cow later, for a cow worth $1800 you might get $500.

And if one cow has mastitis, it’s going to be passed on to others.”

Doing the figures, he could see his losses might add up to $70,000. A $15,000 upgrade made sense.

Optimising stock numbers is vital, he reckons.

His farm has heavy soils and is prone to drought from December to February. Working a feed cycle of 30 days with the cows on smaller breaks for longer than had been the case allows feed to build up ahead of them. It provides a buffer and doesn’t cost anything.

Signing up for the programme has been a twoway thing.

“I haven’t signed up to show off. I thought I

would do the most learning by comparing ourselves with others “I don’t want to lecture anyone, but if someone takes something out of what we do to try on their property, I’m really pleased.”

About 30 farmers came to their first field day, and two more are planned over the next 18 months.

Monthly updates for participants, and others can be found on the DairyNZ website.

Another tactic Pekar thinks is vital to keep in focus over the long term has nothing to do with milksolids or teat sprays.

It is spending time enjoying the simple but important things in life.

“We have two daughters; Ailin, who is 10, and Iara, who is eight. They love it here. They’re the Kiwis, we’re the migants. They love doing things like climbing hay bales and wandering around the farm with torches at night. It’s great fun.”

Doing the small things Karen Phelps

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Last season contract milkers Richard Pearse and partner Susan Geddes were listed as the 25th best supplier to Fonterra across all its farms with a season average somatic cell count of 57,000. They put their success down to simply doing the basics well.

“The rest flows on from this,” says Richard Pearse.

The couple, who have an 18-month-old daughter, Lily, have now moved to their first 50:50 sharemilking position on a 1050-cow farm near Rangiora, in North Canterbury.

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There are plans for a second shed to be built on the unit and they hope that when this happens, they may be able to milk an additional 1000 cows if they prove themselves in their first season.

It will be a significant step up for them, but they feel ready for the challenge and have farm ownership as their ultimate goal.

They have spent three seasons on a 238-hectare effective (250ha total) unit at Hinds, in Mid Canterbury. They used MilkHub technology in the shed and rapid-mastitis-test all the colostrum cows before they re-enter the herd as well as teat-seal and selective-dry all cows in the herd. Susan Geddes’s expertise as a vet also obviously comes in handy in taking care of animal-health issues.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Michael Pelesco

Business Rural

| 11

Fortuna Group like big family, says manager Sue Russell

Iron Bridge farm manager Michael Pelesco has made giant steps working for the Fortuna Group.

well central to success Pearse, who comes from Dunedin, grew up on a deer and sheep farm and took on his first farmassistant job on an 800-cow unit at Balclutha in 2007 after leaving school.

A couple of years later he headed to Mid Canterbury, working for three years as a herd manager on a 1000-cow farm. He then took on a 1200-cow farm as second-in-charge before moving to the present contract milking position. Geddes was raised on a cropping and sheep farm, and works as a large-animal vet in Ashburton.

The couple were peak-milking a herd of 970 predominantly friesian cows.

They say that during their time on the property, they managed to sustain a good six-week in-calf rate of around 75 per cent, as well as a low empty rate, with only 10 weeks of artificial insemination.

Production has also increased since they came to the farm – from 1866 kilograms of milksolids per hectare in their first season (using 750kg of supplement per cow) to 2050kg (using 1250kg of

supplement per cow) in 2013-14. Their target last season was 2200kg (using 1000kg of supplement per cow).

As the farm was a fourth-year conversion, the couple were very focused on their grass.

“Growing more grass is the cheapest form of feed, especially important with the low pay-out,” says Pearse.

“We monitored the grass closely with constant pasture drives and made sure we used as much as possible. We body-condition-scored cows every month to make sure we knew where they were at.

Young stock were weighed to make sure they were on target.

“All the little things add up. It’s about attention to detail.”

They employed four full-time staff. The farm owners have a 125ha run-off nearby, which they live on and use for wintering and running young stock. The owners also have a lease block at Mt Somers for running young stock.

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Michael Pelesco, who comes from the Philippines, is in his eighth year of farming in New Zealand.

In that time he has progressed from being a farm-hand to a fully fledged manager, something he says would not have been possible without the support of those he has worked alongside.

Iron Bridge Farm, near Wallacetown on the outskirts of Invercargill, is the third property he has worked on and he is now in his fourth season there.

“Last season was tough, not only because of the pay-out but because the weather from last August through to November was rough and cold,” he says.

The farm he manages, along with three other Filipinos, is owned by the Fortuna Group Ltd. For Michael, being part of a corporation with significant holdings has brought many benefits.

Iron Bridge itself has an effective milking platform of 285 hectares. It winters 850 cows and at its peak, milks around 820 cows through a 54bail rotary, complete with automatic cup-removers and teat spraying.

Pelesco’s farming diligence has been recognised by the Fortuna Group, and he has received the Cows Award, the Staff Excellence award and the Leadership Award. Iron Bridge farm was once again an entrant in the Otago-Southland region of the New Zealand Dairy Awards.

“Every two months we have a farm evaluation covering lots of criteria like cleanliness, farm presentation, weed control and cow condition to name a few. It is a very rigorous process.” he says.

The farm is positioned close to a river and the soil near this can become water-logged easily if there is too much rain, as happened during last spring.

The frustration for Pelesco is that when pasture gets to this state. he can’t access it to add fertiliser or to cut it. The answer, he says, lies in being highly selective and patient, mowing what can be mown and leaving the rest to dry out.

Outside managing the farm he is upskilling his qualifications and has just completed level 5 through Primary AgITO. His next goal is to start a Diploma in Business Agriculture.

He and his wife, Suc, have two children – Sophia, who is three years old, and six-month-old Shameka.

Being part of a well-established farming corporate brings not only the benefit of support through discussion groups and on-farm advisers but also creates opportunities, he says.

One of his key aspirations is to take up a farm supervisor position within the company.

“Fortuna is like a big family. They really try to help us get on, and one way they do this is to offer employees a business scheme, the opportunity to invest money in company.”

Iron Bridge Farm is managed as two herds, each with a manager; there is also a full-time cowshed manager. It’s a structure that works well, says Pelesco.

“With a herd of this size and the resources we have, it is the ideal way to operate the farm. It also means I can communicate directly with the person responsible.”

The 2013-14 season’s milksolids total of 388,000 kilograms was the highest the farm has posted. The 2014-15 target was somewhat more modest though close to his expectation of 343,000kg milksolids.

Supplements, in the form of palm kernel and a little molasses are the main additional feed, though lat this stage in the season, the cows are being entirely grass-fed.

“We’ve been using supplements wisely,” he says.

What impresses him most about being part of Fortuna Group is the willingness of the hierarchy to share their knowledge for free – “teaching us the tricks” – as he puts it.

“Especially now with the season being so tight, their input is so important and valuable. They teach us how to be comfortable thinking ‘This is my farm.

I feel like it is my farm’.”

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12 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Mt Aspiring Station

Business Rural

Five generations at Mt Aspiring Neil Grant The Matukituki Valley is a beautiful place. The road into its heart winds past Lake Wanaka, skirts old glacial land forms, and follows a river that can change from pounamu green to chocolate brown at the whim of the weather. The visitor, tramper, hunter or climber is treated to a landscape that varies from farmed flats to beech forest, tussock grasslands and waterfalls to perpetual icefields. And, always, the mountains. And the river.

Imaginative early visitors named its features.

There’s Mt Aspiring, of course; Mt Avalanche; Rob Roy Peak; and perhaps most descriptive of all, Gloomy Gorge, a high hanging valley so sheer and narrow and ominous you wonder that anyone could ever get into it. Or want to.

Four generations of the Aspinall family have shared their high-country station with tens of thousands of visitors.

Jack and Amy Aspinall took possession in 1920, Jerry and Phyllis took over in 1942. Their son, John, and his wife, Sue, took over in 1977, and now their son, Randall, and his wife, Allison, are continuing the tradition, having assumed the mantle in 2011. They have two lads, Johnny, three, and Josh, 18 months. There may well be a fifth generation of Aspinalls farming Mt Aspiring.

On taking over the station, Randall Aspinall said, “I think I’ll just refine it round the edges.”

This was a sensible attitude to take to a farm on which almost everything is dominated by the weather and the environment. What had been successful for the last 95 years needs a cautious approach if change is to be made.

Of course, many things are different. What could be a nightmare trip from the homestead to town is now not much more than a half-hour car ride.

Planes top-dress the inaccessible higher pastures.

“We’ve been carrying on the development that had been going on beforehand. Dad broke in a lot of land on the native flats. Most of what could be done has been done.

“We’ve done a lot of fencing, mainly on the flats, targeting the better paddocks. We hope to get a better return for what is spent by making them smaller and more manageable with fertiliser and pasture renewal.”

This is sheep and beef country. There are 4150 romdale ewes and 1050 hoggets. Lambing percentage has been about 112 per cent for the last couple of years.

“It should be better,” says Randall Aspinall. “It should improve now we can feed the ewes better at the right time.”

The cattle are hereford/angus cross. There are 520 in-calf cows, 120 rising-two-year dry heifers, 120 rising-one-year heifers, 95 rising-one-year steers and 196 mixed-age steers.

A couple of higher blocks were surrendered under the tenure review. They had been useful for grazing steers on native tucker for 10 to 11 months of the year. Although the animals kept good condition, they did not grow quickly. Bringing them down means they can be used for pasture control, and grow more quickly.

Year by year, more people use the road into the valley, so health and safety concerns need consideration.

“We have more responsibility to keep everyone safe. Moving stock up and down the road can be difficult. We never used to think about it – we just

We’ve done a lot fencing, mainly on the flats, targeting the better paddocks. We hope to get a better return for what is spent by making them smaller and more manageable.

A river runs through it: The Matukituki valley (top), part of Mt Aspiring Station, which runs 4150 romdale ewes and 1050 hoggets (above left), John ad Johnny, the next generation of the Aspinall family (above right). did it. Now we have to plan a bit if we are moving lambs for instance, and do it when there is less traffic, like in the morning.

“Actually, most tourists quite like to see it, I think.”

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RURAL PEOPLE » Peter & Joc Kinney

Business Rural

| 13

Peter Kinney (left) with Willy Harris (centre), the manager of the Kinneys’ beef finishing farm, and English farm worker Dave Barry.

Nitrate leaching research starts Jo Bailey Peter and Joc Kinney’s Culverden dairy operation is one of nine Canterbury farms chosen to participate in the Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching programme. The six-year programme aims to develop profitable pasture and forage crops to reduce nitrate leaching losses by 20 per cent.

“We hope this programme will prove it is possible to maintain the low cost of production and competitive advantage of New Zealand’s pastoral grazing system, and reduce leaching through the use of alternative pasture species with lower nitrogen content,” says Peter Kinney.

“I believe this is a far better alternative than putting cows in barns, which comes with huge costs and profitability issues.”

The nine farms involved in the programme are monitoring their current practices in the first year to establish base data.

Information collected includes daily grazing and supplementary feed records, application levels of irrigation, effluent and fertiliser, and stock and feed movements on and off the property.

This helps determine the effect of management on crop and pasture yield and quality.

Experimental research is also under way on crop

This is a far better alternative than putting cows in barns, which comes with huge costs and profitability issues. and pasture species currently available to farmers.

Initial results are expected within a year.

“Being part of the programme is quite a commitment,” says Kinney. “But nitrogen leaching is one of the bigger topics in the industry, so it’s good to be involved.”

The Kinneys’ 327-hectare home farm and 221ha support farm have escaped the worst of the drought that has hit North Canterbury this season – both properties have ready access to irrigation.

“We take water from both the Waiau and Hurunui rivers, which have been exceptional as far as reliability goes considering the drought conditions.”

After nearly 20 years in the dairy industry, Peter says he and Joc are philosophical about the low dairy pay-out and are finding the positives from the situation – as he says, it encourages

them to keep a closer eye on their business.

“Our focus is on being a low-cost producer with robust systems. We are lucky having our support farm as it gives us control over feed prices, enabling us to lower farm working expenses.”

The home farm was converted by Joc’s parents, Dougal and Diane Norrie, around 30 years ago. The Kinneys started sharemilking for the Norries around 15 years ago, bought shares in the property soon after, and have since bought it outright.

During that time they have converted from borderdyke to spray irrigation and have increased cow numbers from around 500 to 1200. They have six employees, including four core staff, three of whom have been with them for several years.

The Norries still live on the home farm, and Dougal runs a machinery syndicate for his farming families who, between them, own a number of farms in the Culverden area.

The Kinneys’ operation has been self contained since they bought a 221ha support block around 10 years ago, and converted it to spray irrigation.

Feed-wise they have used fodder beet for about seven years, mainly in the winter and sometimes at the shoulders of the season.

“The cows reliably gain condition on fodder beet, an energy dense crop which has high yields and good utilisation regardless of weather conditions,” says Peter Kinney. “It is also a low nitrate-leacher which makes it environmentally sound.”

Six months ago he and Joc bought another 275ha farm adjacent to the support farm, which they are running as a beef-finishing property.

“We have an effluent consent and we have set it up with laneways, irrigation and stockwater,” he says. “We are running it as a beef-finishing farm as we like the diversification it brings to our business.

Although he has been dairy farming for 20 years, he says he still has a passion for sheep and beef farming.

“I grew up on a sheep and beef farm in Central Otago and my end-goal has always been to buy a hill-country farm.”

Cattle on the Kinneys’ beef finishing unit.

Peter Kinney says he has been a dairy farmer for 20 years, but still has a passion for sheep and beef farming.

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14 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Mark & Jess Cudmore

Business Rural

The dairy platform on the terraces of the Hurunui River, developed by farm-owners Nick Ensor and Deanna Baldwin.

Opportunity knocks for couple Neil Grant The Hurunui River’s last big bend before it meets the sea has flat, terraced land on its south bank, backed by hill country. On the terraces, a 152-hectare dairy farm has been developed out of 500ha owned by Nick Ensor and Deanna Baldwin.

In 2012, the conversion was managed by Mark Cudmore, previously a pasture and forage technical field rep for PGG Wrightson.

He then took on managing the farm. Neither he nor the owners had any real dairying experience, so they went into it determined to make the farm fit the environment they had.

“I had the most dairying experience. Dad is a dairy farmer, and I worked for him in the holidays,” Mark Cudmore says. “But it was a leap of faith for all of us. Nick is a very good farmer, and we

We certainly had a bit of learning to do. I taught myself from the Dairy NZ website. There’s not much you can’t find there.

surrounded ourselves with really good people.

“We certainly had a bit of learning to do. I taught myself from the Dairy NZ website. There’s not much you can’t find there. If you use systems so that the place can run and adapt to what you’ve got

around you, if you are feeding your cows properly, things work.”

The basic premise was they were running a grass factory. Because of his previous work, the pastures were up to scratch, so all they needed were some cows.

“Nick went with 90-95 per cent carry-over cows, bought from all over. They were good in terms of production and produced plenty of milk, but threw up issues on the reproductive side.

“In the first year, the six-week, in-calf ratio was 67% (the average is 76-78%). In the second year it dropped to 57%. Introducing a big line of heifers has brought it up to 70% this year.

Our whole system is based around feeding and pasture, and working on the cows’ body condition.”

Mark Cudmore, a former pasture and forage technical rep, manages a 152ha dairy farm on the terraced flats of the Hurunui River near Cheviot.

• To page 15

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RURAL PEOPLE » Cam & Anna Edgecombe

Business Rural

| 15

‘Best spring ever’ major boost Jo Bailey Fantastic autumn growth followed by the “best spring ever” set Cam and Anna Edgecombe up for record production on their 450-cow dairy unit near Outram.

At the end of April, production was ahead of last season’s previous best of 195,000 kilograms of milksolids, and on target 200,000kg.

He keeps a close eye on the ratios of grass growth to production and was blown away by last year’s autumn growth.

“Normally we have just over 14 tonnes of pasture per hectare going down the cows’ throats, but last year it was well over 17 tonnes. The only pity was that we couldn’t get it all into the vats.”

He says the farm did get hit with dry conditions through February and March, but had just enough moisture to capitalise on the autumn growth and near perfect spring conditions.

“Coming from down south, it was a wonder how it worked out. North Otago was too dry and Southland was too wet, but we managed to be in just the right area. We also had a lot more supplement on hand, so didn’t have to make as much this season. This meant we could feed the cows a bit better through spring.”

The Edgecombes trade as Canaan Dairy, and for the last five seasons, have been 50:50 sharemilkers on a 159-hectare (132ha effective) property owned

by Mike and Philippa Lord, south of Dunedin.

The flat farm has “very heavy” flood plains, so a couple of relatively dry winters with no major rain events have been a big help.

Grass grub can be a problem for the unirrigated farm, says Cam Edgecombe.

“The grass grub is actually holding us back more than the dry conditions. We get it pretty much every dry autumn. It goes in cycles and seems to come right when it rains.”

The friesian kiwicross herd is milked through a standard 40-a-side herringbone cowshed.

“We don’t do too much out of the ordinary, running a low-cost, grass-based system. The only bought-in feed is some hay and balage for the winter at this stage.”

Half the herd is wintered on farm, and half on a lease block about 15 minutes away.

The cows are manually drenched every milking through the season with basic minerals, including magnesium and bloat oil, and added vitamins A, D and E from the start of calving through spring.

“Although it is a reasonably expensive exercise, the drenching programme is very effective during

The grass grub is actually holding us back more than the dry conditions. We get it pretty much every dry autumn.

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Cam and Anna Edgecombe host a visit by schoolchildren. the first part of spring. The cows clean up well after calving and bounce back pretty well with it. I like to think prevention is always better than cure.”

The Edgecombes also use Loose Licks, a vitamin and mineral supplement, through winter, which delivers “fairly good results”, he says.

Cam Edgecombe grew up on a dairy farm and after finishing school, took on a few dairying jobs between Christchurch and Edendale, before settling on the Taieri Plains in a manager’s role. He and Anna have since progressed through contractmilking to their first 50:50 sharemilking job.

Anna looks after the calf rearing and does all the bookwork. They have two full-time staff.

With an improvement in the dairy pay-ut looking “further down the track than we anticipated”, they intend to sit on surplus stock until things improve.

“There is no point stressing as there is nothing you can do about it,” says Cam. “We’re not making any capital purchases and cutting costs where we can, but not at the expense of the future of our young stock or AB. We always endeavour to get the best bang for our buck and don’t want to compromise on the quality of our bull team.”

He has been involved with local discussion groups for several years, and says they are growing

Repaying owners paramount • From page 14 Pasture management uses GPS to establish the feeding breaks based on what feed is available in any given area. Maintaining quality grass is vital.

Turnips have been grown for supplement each year, and fodder beet grown this year. Supplement is fed in spring to rest pasture, and again in autumn to extend lactation. The very hot summers slow grass growth, so supplement is fed then, too.

A reduced stocking rate has led to more milk from fewer cows, and a reduced nitrogen rate.

Two centre pivots irrigate the farm. The current drought saw one pivot shut down for a month because of restrictions, so the on-farm supplement saw them through that period too.

In 2014, Cudmore won the Canterbury/North Otago most promising farm manager award. This year, he won the region’s farm manager of the year, and was the runner up in the national competition.

“You go into these awards to meet like-minded people and learn about yourself. It’s a brilliant event.

You can’t do what we’ve managed to do without good staff and good owners. We’ve been given an outstanding opportunity here.”

Repaying the owners for that opportunity, and providing encouragement for their young staff are paramount.

Cudmore’s wife, Jess, has joined the farm fulltime. He reckons this is a brilliant move as now they can work together as a family to set their sights on

more popular: “We used to get half a dozen farmers turn up, now we’re getting 20 or 30. It’s a great way to share information, make KPI comparisons, and see how other farmers are dealing with market or climate challenges.”

Although farm ownership is a “nice idea”, he and Anna aren’t sure whether this will be their end goal.

“At this stage we’re not sure if the realities of compliance are worth it, so we’re happy to continue what we’re doing and embrace any opportunities.”

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“It will be based around the family side of things.

Dairy is a big beast, with opportunities for young people. I see a positive future.”

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16 |

RURAL SERVICES » AUSTREX NZ Ltd

Business Rural

Vietnam Jo Bailey

AUSTREX NZ exported 33,000 friesian cattle and jersey heifers to China last year.

Vietnam was the destination for the latest shipment of live dairy cattle sent off-shore by livestock exporters AUSTREX NZ. Paul Tippett, general manager of the New Zealand branch of the Australian-based firm, says the shipment of 3200 pregnant, crossbred cows arrived in mid-April.

“We are continuing to work in Vietnam to provide training and technical support to our partners in this market,” he says.

“Farms in Vietnam have been audited both pre- and post-shipping to ensure their readiness and capability to provide nutrition, water quality and housing to AUSTREX standards.

“It is critical we invest this time and resources to ensure our clients are ready and have the capacity to receive the livestock into appropriate conditions.”

Last year AUSTREX NZ exported 33,000 friesian and jersey heifers to China, which is its main market.

The stock was sourced from around New Zealand, and shipped from PrimePort Timaru and Napier Port.

Tippett says the firm is committed to meeting the stringent export protocols governed by China.

“We have forged excellent relationships with our working partners and the Chinese government and believe open communication, trust and a mutual respect for the protocol requirements is critical to delivering a great result.”

AUSTREX has bi-lingual staff focused on safe and efficient procuring, assembling, health testing, quarantining, loading and shipping of livestock, he says.

“Our staff are well trained to offer advice at every stage of the supply chain,” says Tippett, “They listen to customer needs and provide expert selection and delivery of livestock alongside world-best practice animal welfare practices.”

The live cattle trade is a “complex business” which is why AUSTREX NZ offers pre- and postshipment consultancy services to ensure the best

We are continuing to work in Vietnam to provide training and technical support to our partners in this market. Farms in Vietnam have been audited both pre- and post-shipping to ensure their readiness and capability to provide nutrition, water quality and housing to AUSTREX standards,

AUSTREX has 48 years history of procurement and exporting from both Australia and New Zealand.

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RURAL SERVICES » AUSTREX NZ Ltd

Business Rural

| 17

emerging market for cattle export outcomes for the livestock, Tippett says.

“We know that unless we do it well, look after our livestock and require our customers to do the same, our economic future is very much at risk.

Our consultancy services continue well after the stock are received.”

He says systems are tailored to individual client requirements, ranging from “the provision of a full turnkey, technology-transfer implementation, to providing brief technical inputs on nutrition, animal husbandry, traceability and farm-management programmes.”

AUSTREX NZ can also assist clients with the design, development and operation of feedlots, dairy farms and cattle breeding operations.

During the export process, the firm uses an on-line integrated livestock-management system, which provides monitoring and traceability.

“This system allows us to track the health and well-being of every animal from the point of purchase through to delivery to the customer,” says Tippett.

Livestock can be identified from the property of origin to slaughter. The system also captures relevant breeding information for further integration to the destination country breeding management programme.

He says that since its establishment in 1973, Australian Rural Exports Pty Ltd (AUSTREX) has been regarded as a pioneer of the livestock-export trade, and a leader in the safe and humane export of breeder and feeder cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, goats, horses, buffalo and genetics.

“As a group, AUSTREX is continually developing supply-chain alliances with targeted producers. By dealing with suppliers directly, the company has greater control over the supply chain, which means our customers can count on the delivery of highquality livestock to their specifications.”

From 1977 to 1992, AUSTREX had a joint venture company in New Zealand, known as NZ Agricultural Exports, exporting dairy cattle, sheep and lambs. This venture was sold in 1992.

The New Zealand operation was re-established in 2002 as AUSTREX NZ. “The New Zealand business continues to support a strong dairy cattle export business into China, and we look forward to the ongoing development of the Vietnam market and other new markets for New Zealand farmers around the world,” says Tippett.

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18 |

RURAL SERVICES » Pankhurst Contracting

Business Rural

Contracting firm a family affair Karen Phelps It started with one square baler and it was one of the first companies to offer this service in the Amberley district. Pankhurst Contracting has continued to grow steadily and, 25 years on, continues to see itself as a specialise rural contractor.

“Contracting is all we do,” says Ben Pankhurst.

“We offer a focused, professional, dedicated service.”

Pankhurst Contracting was started by Ben’s parents, David and Diane Pankhurst. David, who came off a sheep, beef and cropping farm in the Omihi Valley, leased and managed a couple of farms before deciding it was time for something different. He and Diane ran their company alone until 10 years ago when Ben joined the business.

Pankhurst Contracting’s services include square balage and wrapping, direct drilling and cultivation services, and post-driving. The company’s array of modern plant includes three tractors, a custom drill, a roller drill, plough and disc equipment, and an individual-bale wrapper.

“We are constantly keeping the plant up to date,” says Ben Pankhurst. “The latest purchases are a new set of Farmchief multi-discs and a new v-rake.”

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The company is also a balage-wrap recycling collection point for Agpac’s Plasback recycling programme. Plasback is accredited by the Ministry for the Environment under the Waste Minimisation Act. Wrap that can be recycled under the programme includes silage wrap, silage covers, grain bags, polypropylene bags, twines, large drum recovery, vine nets and irrigation pipe.

Ben Pankhurst says the Plasback scheme is part of offering customers a comprehensive service.

“The scheme is growing in popularity and awareness. It’s a good option for people to keep their farms tidy and protect the environment.”

He says the company’s history and longevity in the industry is hard to beat.

“When we say we are going to do something, we get it done. Dad has been contracting for a long time in the region and I’ve grown up doing it. That local knowledge and expertise is important. Part of this is familiarity with local soil types and which equipment will be best suited to get the job done.”

Pankhurst Contracting employs casuals as needed but Ben, David and Diane are the port of call for customers. Ben and David are out on the job, with Diane providing support in the office and with administration.

“Our customers talk to the person doing the job – me and dad,” says Ben. “We do all the driving, and our customers deal with us from start to finish.

If we are on a job and we notice that something needs to be done slightly differently, we can call the customer and discuss it quickly, then get on with their job.”

The Pankhursts work mostly in the area from

Greta Valley to Motunau and up to the back of Hawarden and Amberley. Around 80 per cent of their clients are long-term, which is a point of pride for the family who take great pleasure in getting to know and assisting clients.

Keeping up with farmers’ changing needs has been one of the keys to the company’s longevity, says Ben. As an example, Pankhurst Contracting is

looking at buying a precision planter after noticing the trend towards fodder beet in the region.

“More farmers are planting fodder beet and it’s really starting to take off in the district,” he says.

“We have a couple of clients who have requested this service and we know there will be more. It’s about always staying one step ahead of our clients’ needs.”

PHOTOS Ben Pankhurst says Pankhurst Contracting is constantly keeping its plant up to date so that it can keep up with up with farmers’ needs. The company’s latest purchases were a new set of multi-discs and a new v-rake. and its looking at buying a precision planter because of the trend towards fodder beet in the region.

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Business Rural

RURAL SERVICES » NZ Waterways Restoration

| 19

Before and after pictures of Lake Omapere, in Northland, after grass carp were released to control prolific weed growth that had triggered a toxic algal bloom.

Regulations stymie restoration decade of good results and no problems, its tough stance is no longer necessary.

“I don’t believe DOC should be involved in regulating man-made waterways and I’ve been Farmers are among the groups being denied easy, lobbying to government to this effect for years. affordable access to grass carp (white amur) as Although I’ve had a good hearing from many a weed control agent in man-made waterways, ministers, some who have even started a process because of out-of-date legislation, says Gray towards change, the status quo remains.”

Jamieson, director of New Zealand Waterways He finds this particularly frustrating given that Restoration. the Government and Fish and Game approved grass “When the Department of Conservation was carp for the purpose of weed control around 20 formed in 1987, the regulations gave it control over years ago; and in 2011 MFish released a report that lakes, rivers and streams,” he says.

“In subsequent years the department also began stated grass carp should be the preferred method for aquatic weed control ahead of herbicides and to regulate man-made waterways, which included mechanical removal methods. clicking the ticket for grass carp approvals. This “The main proviso of this report was that the has made the cost prohibitive for a lot of smaller fish should be contained within the approved site, customers.” which is what everybody wants anyway.”

With compliance fees of up to $3000 for just a Gray says people sometimes confuse the grass few hundred dollars worth of fish, many customers carp with the omnivorous koi carp, a pest fish that have decided against using grass carp – despite breeds millions of babies, degrades water quality, it being a proven, sustainable and environmentally and displaces all other species of fish. friendly method of ridding the freshwater “People often assume environment of aquatic pest the worst when they hear the weeds and toxic algae. word carp, which is why MPI Gray says the length of approved the name change to time it takes to get approval for white amur. Unlike koi carp, the use of grass carp is also a grass carp cannot breed in concern – some applications the wild, so numbers are take years to process. easily controlled; they eat “By the time we have only aquatic vegetation, are gained approval to introduce disease free, and pose no a certain number of fish, the risk, which has been proven weed problem in a waterway by numerous trials and has often gotten worse, which studies.” means we have to reapply Despite the regulatory to increase fish numbers. It challenges, NZ Waterways doesn’t make sense.”

The white amur, or grass carp.

Restoration has had a lot Grass carp are an exotic of success using grass species that was introduced to carp for weed control, particularly cleaning up New Zealand in the mid-1960s by the University of lakes in Northland, and Hawke’s Bay where it has Auckland to trial as a weed-control agent.

“It worked really well. They wanted to go further, eradicated hydrilla, he says.

One of the company’s flagship projects is Lake but had trouble establishing a breeding programme Omapere, in Northland, which was restored for the in the early days.”

Northland Regional Council.

Gray has been farming grass carp since the The 1200-hectare lake had gone through cyclic early 1990s, after buying 2000 fish from the eutrophication and reached a point where prolific Government. He established a successful hatchery weed growth triggered a toxic algal bloom that breeding programme with the help of an expert poisoned food and water sources. from Florida, who was engaged for the first few On the recommendation of NIWA ,a two-year breeding seasons. programme saw 60,000 juvenile grass carp NZ Waterways Restoration now sells fish to introduced into the lake in 2000. the Ministry of Primary Industry, the Government, By 2002 weed was eradicated from most of the regional, district and city councils, and private lake, with a NIWA (National Institute of Water and clients.

Atmospheric Research) survey in 2004 finding no Grass carp has been classified by the Egeria densa plants left at all.

Department of Conservation as a ‘restricted’ “The lake was returned to what it was prior to species, which means it is illegal to possess live 1968, which was a great success. carp outside an approved release site.

“However lengthy delays through the approval Gray agrees it was wise for DOC to err on the process saw the cost of the restoration project rise side of caution when grass carp was introduced from $180,000 to $2 million. A government select to New Zealand waterways, but after more than a

Jo Bailey

committee had to step in to approve the use of grass carp. It was a waste of public money and an embarrassment for DOC.” Gray says irrigation is a growing market.

“Irrigation schemes and individual farms can benefit from grass carp, given dams and irrigation ponds are susceptible to exotic weed coming out of river systems. We believe there is a big future in this market for us in terms of weed control.”

He is hopeful legislation could change “in the near future” so that DOC is no longer involved in man-made waterways, which could even open the door for farmers to “farm” grass carp in their dams

and ponds.

“Grass carp is the only freshwater fish species showing any real potential other than salmon, as a cheap, reliable protein source.”

As a former oyster and mussel farmer, Gray says New Zealand should be leading the world in freshwater aquaculture. However, its progress continues to be stymied by DOC. “A change in legislation removing DOC’s control over man-made waterways is the biggest breakthrough we need to boost freshwater aquaculture in New Zealand.”

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20 |

SERVICES » East Otago Transport

Business Rural

Driver Randy Tupaea with East Otago Transport’s new Freightliner stock truck.

Additions boost stockcartage horsepower Kelly Deeks East Otago Transport has put a 2015 FRL Argosy Freightliner stock-truck on the road, with managing director Kevin Byrne describing it as a big step up for the general, bulk and stock-cartage company.

The new truck is the most economical and fuel efficient of the firm’s fleet of six.

And stock driver Randy Tupaea, who is well known in the district and has a good knowledge of the local farming community, has returned to East Otago Transport after time away. He is one of four full-time drivers, plus casuals.

Late September will see two more additions to the fleet – a 2015 Argosy Freightliner focusing on bulk cartage, and a 530-horsepower Isuzu combination unit.

The company’s operations manager, Nathan Butler, says the stock side of the business has increased, and the purchase of the new Freightliner, followed not long after by the completion of new crates, gives the company two dedicated stock units.

Ground-spreading is another growth area for the

• To page 22

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22 |

RURAL SERVICES » Southern Trenching & Excavating

Business Rural

Lanes Kelly Deeks

PHOTOS Left: On site refuelling keeps the Southern Trenching and Excavating wheels turning.

Below: Construction of farm lanes is a niche market for the Wintonbased firm.

Winton-based contracting company Southern Trenching and Excavating has expanded its range of services over the past 12 months through the acquisition of two more businesses.

This sets the company up to handle earthworks, lane construction and maintenance, says the owner, Ben Brunell.

Brunell, who was Winton’s milkman for eight years before setting up his contracting business in 2008, says he has built up a staff of highly experienced operators over the past seven years.

With the recent growth, the business will take 15 staff through this winter.

To begin with, the firm provided water-systems services, including effluent and irrigation. Brunell formed formed an earthworks division last winter with a 20-tonne digger and one operator.

There was no shortage of work and by September he had employed another operator.

In December he had the opportunity to buy earthworks business IGS Contracting; its founder now works for Southern Trenching and Excavating.

Another opportunity presented itself this

• To page 23

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company, which will have two ground-spreading trucks on board next season, doubling its capacity in that area.

East Otago Transport also continues to cart and sell landscaping supplies and firewood from the Waikouaiti yard it shares with sister companies East Coast Couriers and Southern Waterblasting. The latter company provides ultra-high-pressure water blasting for industrial applications with one of the biggest (40,000psi) water blasters available in New Zealand.

Waikouaiti Auto and Engineering, another of Byrne’s businesses, is based next door at 128 Main Rd, Waikouaiti.

It expanded its capacity two years ago when it bought two Tadano cranes – a new, 60-tonner and a 10-year-old, 30-tonne model – to add to its original 45-tonne unit.

“We can be a lot more competitive when we have our own gear,” says Kevin Byrne.

“It gives us the ability to design, build, and install.”

The firm has been involved with mining services and technologies company Outotec in the $2.5 million upgrade at Oceana Gold and was also heavily involved in the Tahuna wastewater treatment plant upgrade.

Waikouaiti Auto and Engineering – known for specialising in mechanical design, fabrication, project management, and site and plant maintenance – has developed a strong relationship

We can be a lot more competitive with pur own gear. It gives us the ability to design, built, and install...Having a workshop in Dunedin gives us a lot more scope in the region. We have a lot more area to work in – around 12 of our 30 staff work out of here. with these two companies and is now a preferred contractor for both of them.

The Waikouaiti firm opened an engineering workshop at 63 Sturdee St, Dunedin in February last year. The Dunedin workshop does truck-body and trailer manufacturing as well as general and structural engineering.

“Having a workshop in Dunedin gives us a lot more scope in the region,” says Byrne. “We have a lot more area to work in - around 12 of our 30 staff work out of here.”

Business Rural

RURAL SERVICES » Southern Trenching & Excavating

| 23

supplement earthworks

• From page 22 year when Lane Care came up for sale. Brunell recognised that lane construction and maintenance is a niche market and hard to get into, and saw that this work would get Southern Trenching and Excavating into a few more gates around Southland.

Lane Care’s founder, Marius Geluk, started the business about 19 years ago and is now nearing retirement. He is staying on at Southern Trenching

and Excavating for 12 months, and he and Brunell have started calling in on Lane Care clients to bring them up to speed with the developments.

“The time I’ve spent with Marius over the past few weeks has been invaluable,” says Ben Brunell.

“We’re getting around to all his clients to let them know he’s not just packing up and leaving. We’re going to have him for a year, and all the knowledge he has built up over the past 20 years.”

Southern Trenching and Excavating has bought

Ben Brunell loves getting out on farmers and getting in the machines, but with the recent expansion, it has been about a year since he did any serious operating: ‘I’m more of the fillin boy now. I’m always more than happy to fill in for a day to get a job completed, but now I’m more focused on pricing jobs and running the business.’

Winton-based Southern Trenching and Excavating originally provided water system services, including irrigation and effluent. all of Lane Care’s equipment apart from three tip-trucks, which have been bought by Brunell’s brother-in-law, Tim McDowell, who is going to run them as an owner-driver.

With a turnkey package now available in house, Southern Trenching and Excavating tackled its first full dairy conversion this year, doing everything on the job apart from building the dairy shed and erecting the fencing.

Brunell says he loves getting out on farms

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and getting in the machines, but with the recent expansion. it has been about a year since he did any serious operating.

“I’m more of the fill-in boy now. I’m always more than happy to fill in for a day to get a job completed, but now I’m more focused on pricing jobs and running the business.”

He says Winton is a great community with really productive land, and lots of dairy and sheep-andbeef farms.

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24 |

RURAL SERVICES » Groundspreading

Business Rural

Safety a key topic for conference Jo Bailey

Roll-over prevention and health and safety will be key agenda items at the 59th Groundspread Fertiliser Association annual conference in New Plymouth.

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Delegates to the 59th New Zealand Groundspread Fertiliser Association’s annual conference can expect an interesting programme, says executive director Kevin Geddes.

“The conference will feature a good mix of industry sessions, indoor and outdoor trade displays, and, of course, some recreation – which is what these events are all about.”

The theme – Working for Tomorrow – was chosen by the NZGFA’s Taranaki branch, which is hosting the event from July 5-7 at the Devon Hotel, in New Plymouth.

Some “quite serious” issues will be covered at the conference, says Geddes. These include: truck roll-over prevention; health and safety and environmental issues; New Zealand Transport Authority rules and regulations and ageing in the workplace.

“Safety is a major preoccupation for the association. At the conference we will be presenting reports on our nationwide driver safety training courses, which wrap up during the winter months when trucks and drivers are less busy.”

A Rural Contractors’ Association of New Zealand representative will discuss the safe use of agricultural vehicles, and a speaker from the Taranaki Regional Council will cover the issue of nutrient management to prevent leaching into acquifers and waterways.

The NZGFA has close links with the Australian Fertiliser Services Association, and its chairman, Rod Abbot, will bring the conference up to speed with the Australian industry. Speakers from Worksafe New Zealand and the NZTA will update delegates on rules and regulations, and a ‘state of the nation’ address from an ANZ Bank rural economist is expected to provoke discussion.

A tour of the Taranaki energy scene, including a trip to the Motonui synthetic petrol plant, is expected to be popular. Delegates’ partners and children also have their own programmes, and a babysitting service is on offer.

The NZGFA was formed in 1956 to protect the interests of the industry and to represent it to local and central government and industry organisations.

It has seven branches, each of which elects a delegate to the national council.

Around 18 years ago, the association set up the Spreadmark quality-assurance programme with the objective of forming a code of practice that operators can follow to ensure the correct placement of fertilisers in locations where they can be of the most agricultural benefit and cause the least environmental harm.

Like the farming sector, health and safety in the groundspread fertiliser industry can definitely be improved. We have operators driving heavy, 4WD vehicles in offroad conditions, which take quite a lot of skill to manage safely “The majority of our members are registered spreading companies,” says Geddes. “They must have certified spreading machinery, trained operators and an appropriate quality management system. All are regularly audited by an independent Spreadmark auditor to ensure conditions are being complied with.”

While Spreadmark is now administered by the Fertiliser Quality Council, the NZGFA has retained a “great interest” in the scheme, he says.

More recently, the NZGFA has developed healthand-safety and hazard-management manuals in line with new regulations facing the industry.

“Like the farming sector, health and safety in the groundspread fertiliser industry can definitely be improved,” says Geddes. “We have operators driving heavy. four-wheel-drive vehicles in off-road conditions, which take quite a lot of skill to manage safely.

He says the manuals assist members with the three broad requirements under the Health and Safety and Employment Act – to provide a safe workplace; to identify hazards; to manage risk around those hazards.

“It is critical operators understand their vehicle and what happens when it travels on different surfaces and slopes with different loads.”

The manuals also look at how incidents should be reported, and encourage companies to hold regular safety meetings so that drivers and despatchers understand what is required of one another on an ongoing basis.

“The manuals are a great example of how the NZGFA identifies an industry need and assists members to meet it,” says Geddes.

Serving the rural community since 1917 Always proud to support Groundspreading 114 Allandale Road, Fairlie Ph (03) 685 8583 Fax (03) 685 8543 Email barwoodmotors@xtra.co.nz

NZ’s Finest Magnesium Fertiliser The application of Dolomite presents true value for pasture growth & animal health

Phone: 03 525 9843 Email: sales@goldenbaydolomite.co.nz

• Precision Nitrogen Application • Lime & Super Spreading • Advanced GPS technology • Mapping capability Our modern fleet of Scania and Isuzu spreaders are fitted with the latest Topcon and Trimble computers and guidance systems to deliver precision placement for each and every application.

Call 03 302 8650 | Fax 03 302 8672 44 Methven Chertsey Road, Methven, Canterbury 7730

RURAL SERVICES » Crosstech Engineering

Business Rural

| 25

Generating electricity from gravity-fed irrigation systems such as this one can provide income and offset electricity costs for farmers.

Electricity spin-off from irrigation Kelly Deeks Water-turbine and engineering consultancy Crosstech Engineering has a new method for farmers with gravity-fed irrigation systems to put the infrastructure to work during winter to generate electricity.

For the past 18 months, Crosstech Engineering’s work has been focused mainly on Central Otago, where Graeme Martin – the engineer who started the business – says there has been a lot of irrigation development and a good number of gravity-fed irrigation systems have been or are being installed.

“During winter time these systems aren’t used for irrigation, but we can use the same pipe and water source, put a turbine on the end of it, and generate electricity,” he says.

“This is an adaption, putting turbines into irrigation systems using the same equipment and technology.

“There is the possibility of making use of these systems to generate electricity when they are not being used for irrigation during winter when electricity use is higher.”

Farmers taking up the Crosstech Engineering electricity generation system are generating income and offsetting their electricity costs at a time of year when they would normally be spending the most on electricity, he says.

Martin believes Crosstech Engineering is the only company doing irrigation and electricity schemes using plant designed and manufactured in New Zealand, which means maintenance and replacement parts should be readily available.

“Using turbines, generators and control equipment from overseas may be cheaper initially, but in terms of overall costs, they don’t represent a huge saving. You have this problem of replacement parts being several weeks off.”

Crosstech Engineering has done a number of feasibility studies for people who think they have a resource to generate power for their own needs or export it back to the national grid. Generating electricity by itself is often not economic, but if it is tied in with existing infrastructure, the dollars stack up, says Martin, who sees his ongoing work being involved in electricity generation, He established Crosstech Engineering in response to the increasing number of Canterbury Plains farmers in the old, large, open-race community schemes who were converting from border-dyke to spray irrigation.

Crosstech began making water turbines to use the race waterflow to directly drive pumps to feed the irrigators, or feed back into the national grid.

The idea is to capitalise on the steady flow of water and on steady rate of fall to divert water from the race, channel and divert it to a point 3.5 metres and 7.2m lower, pass it through the turbine, and then return it to the race.

There is no loss of irrigating water from the system, and pumps can be powered without using electricity from the national grid, or diesel.

Crosstech Engineering then diversified into small electricity generating plants for remote properties such as high-country stations, which either face a huge capital outlay to connect to the national grid, or use diesel generators or photovoltaic cells and banks of storage batteries.

Water intake and turbine installed

by Crosstech Engineering.

Brent Jones Earth Moving, Scraper, Digger, Grader Hire, Boarder Dyking & Track Work etc B. R. Jones Contracting, RD 5, Ashburton

Ph / Fax: (03) 303 6304 Mob: 027 438 3596 Email: contract1995@hotmail.com

Proud to be associated with Crosstech Engineering

Phone: 03 377 0025 Fax: 03 377 0086 Website: www.rrfisher.co.nz

More than 60 years of supplying power transmission and materials handling products.

Ager Riley & Cocks

www.agers.co.nz

At Ager Riley & Cocks we pride ourselves in being friendly, accessible accounting specialists who make it our business to help you make your business successful.

Proud to support Crosstech Engineering 5 Newnham Terrace, Riccarton, Christchurch Phone 03 348 8119 | Fax 03 348 8126 | Email accountant@agers.co.nz

26 |

RURAL SERVICES » Canterbury Woodchip Supplies

Business Rural

PHOTOS Left – Log hog: Canterbury Woodchip Supplies uses this Morebark 6600 Wood Hog in processing whole logs into woodchip to be used in cow bedding, fuel for biomass boilers and landscaping.

Below: Premium-grade screen wood.

Niche value found in waste wood Karen Phelps A growing dairy industry as well as a decline in wood processing in the region led Geraldine-based couple Brad and Nicky Coleman to start Canterbury Woodchip Supplies.

The company is now a fully accredited supplier to the bio-energy industry and processes wood chips into a range of products, including cow/ calf bedding, biofuel and certified woodchip for children’s playgrounds, and landscaping projects.

Canterbury Woodchip Supplies produces products from lower-grade wood not suitable for timber products. By processing the wood through its wood chipping machines, the company has managed to carve a niche in a number of markets, including the rural sector.

“When we started the business in 2011 we did a bit of research and discovered a limited range of quality products available for calf bedding,” says Brad Coleman. “We bought a machine to process whole logs from the forestry industry to fill that gap in the market.”

Wood is sourced from three main suppliers:

Blakely Pacific, Forest Management New Zealand, and Laurie Forestry.

How the woodchips are screened and dried is an important aspect of meeting the differing market specifications for products, says Coleman.

For example, because of the company’s processing methods, its cow-bedding product is freer draining than others in the market. This reduces animal-health problems and labour demands for farmers, and, most importantly, results in more comfortable, contented cows, he says.

Using the woodchips as fuel for biomass boilers is a newer idea that has taken off quickly, he says.

Several large-scale contracts have been secured.

Canterbury Woodchip Supplies is based at Arundel, near Geraldine, in the same yard as sister company Coleman Ag Ltd. This arrangement provides synergies, such as allowing the Colemans to offer a service where cow-bedding product can be removed from sheds at the end of the season, spread on the client’s paddocks, and fresh product laid the following year. A tree-removal service is also available.

Brad Coleman says that because the company

doesn’t have to rely on a waste stream or secondary supply chain to obtain raw materials, it can provide consistent delivery and quality.

He believes the business also has environmental benefits because as products are manufactured from a renewable resource: “Our products create value from the waste wood in a forest.”

He is a qualified diesel mechanic who grew up on a farm. After leaving school he operated tractors in the United Kingdom and Australia. Back in New Zealand, he did development work on a large farm in 2006. It was at this time he and Nicky formed Coleman Ag Ltd. The Colemans now employ 10 staff, up to 15 at peak times, over both companies. The diverse nature of the businesses allows them to offer steady employment to staff.

Canterbury Woodchip Supplies is a member of the Bio-energy Association of New Zealand.

“It’s always hard work establishing a new business,” says Brad Coleman. “But we’re keeping up with the needs of our diverse customer range and believe there is substantial potential for growth.”

R T B L A K E LY P O COMPANIES

150 YEARS AND GROWING

We are delighted to support Canterbury Woodchip Supplies Ltd. As a key supplier, we see the benefit of working with a vibrant go ahead company as a means to maximising returns for forest growers.

www.laurieforestry.co.nz Waimate Address 22 Shearman Street Waimate 7924, South Canterbury

LY L PACIFIC PA PAC ACIFIC LTD BLAKELY Blakely Pacific for all your Harvesting and Marketing needs.

South Canterbury’s Leading Forest Company Sustainably managing 28,000 hectares in the South Island PO Box 139, Timaru, New Zealand Phone: (03) 688 2173 • Fax: (03) 688 2176

Christchurch Address Unit 3, 337 Harewood Road Bishopdale, 8053 Christchurch

Proudly supporting Canterbury Woodchip Supplies

Your total solution for Customs clearance NZ wide and importing/exporting freight internationally.

From the smallest of parcels to the largest cargo each will receive the same personal attention.

Over 40 years of combined experience and a wealth of knowledge will ensure that you receive hassle free expert service and advice at very competitive rates.

Proud to assist Canterbury Woodchip Supplies with the import of their Machinery

• Consultants • Managers • Harvesting • Carbon Credits

David Dunn – (027) 228 9635 Email: david@forestmanagement.co.nz

Evan MacClure - (027) 433 0038 Email: evan@forestmanagement.co.nz

www.forestmanagement.co.nz | PO Box 377 Timaru

Corner Hayman & Dawson Streets, Timaru | Phone 03 6844160 Email admin@aorangicustoms.co.nz | www.aorangicustoms.co.nz

RURAL SERVICES » Coleman Ag

Business Rural

| 27

Timing is everything – contractor Karen Phelps A decision to specialise in specific contracting services has led to consistent growth for Coleman Ag Ltd “We believe specialising enables us to do the job well,” says Brad Coleman who, with wife Nicky, formed the company in 2006.

“It’s about delivering a quality result on time every time, and in this business, timing is everything.”

They started the business after noticing there was room for another contractor to service the needs of farmers in the region. Brad is a qualified diesel mechanic with farm upbringing.

After leaving school he worked with tractors in the United Kingdom and Australia,. Back in New Zealand, he was involved in development work on a large farm in 2006 before forming Coleman Ag Ltd. The couple says the business hasn’t looked back – growth has been steady ever since.

“That’s been the key to our success,” says Brad, “growing slowly but steadily.”

Coleman Ag offers a full range of cultivation and drilling services, but does have a focus on specialist drilling services such as direct drilling, fodder beet and maize planting, and precision drilling.

Although many farmers are just starting to see the benefits of growing fodder beet, he has been working with a group who have been using fodder beet for five years.

This has given Coleman Ag experience in planting and harvesting what is sometimes a tricky crop.

“Seedbed preparation is the key to success, also weed and pest control,” he says. “ We have a diverse range of cultivation equipment to suit the many soil types of the Mid/ South Canterbury region. No two paddocks are the same here.”

Technology is an important part of the business, he says. The company’s equipment includes a land leveller, a direct drill, a roller drill, a disc arable drill, a maize planter and three fodder-beet planters.

“Planting fodder beet is a slow job, so to deliver a quality result, we have invested in three planters.

It’s quite a bit of capital outlay, but it’s the only way to deliver good, consistent results.”

PHOTOS Above: Coleman Ag’s Amazon EDX9000 precision air seeder at work behind a John Deere 7280R tractor.

Left: A 7280R with a Gregoire Besson eight-furrow reversible plough in tow.

• To page 28

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Offer is based on 20% deposit, GST back and 36 month term. Fees and charges apply. If not amended or withdrawn earlier, the promotion expires on www.gordonhandy.co.nz enquiries@gordonhandy.co.nz 31/07/2015. Other terms and rates are available.

Quantum Advantage Ltd - helping cultivate successful businesses.

Proud to support Coleman Ag 4c Sefton Street, East, Timaru Phone 03 687 1222 enquiry@qaltd.co.nz

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28 |

RURAL SERVICES » Coleman Ag/Great Southern Group

Business Rural

Merger proves Kelly Deeks Agricultural products supplier Great Southern Group has brought five long-standing companies together.

The amalgamation of Waiareka Industries, Odlins, Mac’s Timber, Pooles Timber, and Hallidays Timber into Great Southern Group has created a company with more than 40 years of experience in farm fencing, timber and timber products, farm buildings, and concrete products.

The company operates in most of the South Island, with branches in Ashburton, Temuka, Waimate, Oamaru, Ranfurly, Cromwell, Milton, Gore and Invercargill.

Great Southern Group business manager Roy

Duffell says the company’s selection of timber would be one of the most comprehensive available.

“Because of our manufacturing base, we are able to produce a product we believe to be of exceptional value and superior in quality to any other timber in the market,” he says.

Great Southern Group has manufactured treated wooden fenceposts and timber since the introduction of treatment chemicals in the early 1960s.

“We have a very rigid, quality-control programme in place, which ensures a high standard of graded dimensions, straightness, and a smooth finish across all our products.”

The company treats timber with pure oxide chemicals, which leaves much less residue on the

A Monosem precision drill on the job with a Hogn Deere 7530 tractor. All of Coleman Ag’s implements are equipped with GPS and self-steering technology.

‘No good without the right gear’ • From page 27 All Coleman Ag tractors and equipment uses GPS and self-steering technology to increase efficiency and accuracy on jobs.

“This means every implement is driven to its maximum width, so all planting is extremely accurate,” says Coleman. “A company like ours is no good without the right gear.”

The company’s other services include muck spreading and pivot rut filling.

Coleman Ag is based at Arundel, near Geraldine, and works in the area from Timaru to Ashburton, from the coast to the hills.

The company employs 10 staff, which rises to

15 at peak times. It operates seven days a week for nine months of the year.

Its clientele includes many who have been with the company since it started.

The Colemans lease a farm in the Mayfield area where they winter cows for the dairy industry on contract. They believe this gives them a valuable insight into the needs of their clients: “We aim to keep up with our customers’ needs, sometimes challenging them, but always endeavouring to over-deliver,” says Brad Coleman. “ With the work we do, the difference between achieving an average result and a great result is as little as three or four days. That’s why, when a farmer needs us, we’re there.”

Sheds galore: Great Southern Group makes a variety of small, multi-purpose buildings, from animal shelters to hen-houses.

State Highway 72 Mayfield, R.D.8, Ashburton

 Repairs and Maintenance  WOF Repairs  Bulk Fuel and Oils

Email: mayfield.serv@xtra.co.nz thomasad@xtra.co.nz Phone: 03 303 6315 Fax: 03 303 6571

Proudly supporting Coleman AG

WALKER INDUSTRIES (NZ) LTD

Manufacturers, Distributors and Engineers to the Farming and Hardware Industry

Walker Industries NZ Ltd are proud to be suppliers of Gate Hardware to Great Southern Call 0800 44 00 14 www.rdp.co.nz lyndon@rdp.co.nz

Proudly supporting Coleman AG

Cultivation and Drilling Specialists Sam Lees - 027 555 9893 sam.l@canterburywoodchip.co.nz Bridge St, Arundel, RD22, Geraldine Premium Livestock Bedding & Wood Fuel

Brad Coleman 0275445669 Email: brad@colemanag.co.nz Bridge St, Arundel, RD22, Geraldine

QUALITY GATE HARDWARE FROM NEW ZEALAND MANUFACTURERS OF

T +64 3 366 9966 F +64 3 366 9901 6 Hanworth Ave, Hornby, Christchurch, 8042 PO Box 3950, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand

Ask for Mitchell Bros timber at your nearest timber store For more information, contact us E: info@mitchellbros.co.nz Ph: 03 318 8414 www.mitchellbros.co.nz

RURAL SERVICES » Great Southern Group

Business Rural

| 29

that five will go into one wood surface and makes the product cleaner and safer to handle, and less corrosive on wire and staples, he says.

“We’re finding that in this range, people are coming to us because of our grading,” Duffell says.

“Our posts are what we say they are or more.

That’s really important for fencing contractors. They want to be using something they know can be put in the ground and the job is done. They like using good-quality products.”

A wide range of wooden posts, poles, and piles is available, treated with a chromated copper arsenate (CCA) preservative, and backed by a no-questions-asked, 50-year guarantee against rot, fungal decay, and insect attack.

Great Southern Group is a member of the New Zealand WOODmark quality assurance programme.

All its treated timber meets New Zealand treatment standards and conforms to the standards and tests imposed by WOODmark.

Duffell says the company is quickly becoming known as the one-stop-fencing shop, stocking everything needed to build any-sized permanent or electric fence. It stocks netting, wire, steel standards, droppers, and insulators, and makes wooden gates to customers’ specifications.

It also produces small, multi-purpose buildings, which are relocatable, skid-mounted, and come in kitset form. These come in various sizes and designs, and are used as stables, animal shelters, woodsheds, toolsheds, vehicle sheds, garden sheds, calf-rearing sheds, greenhouses, and henhouses.

The company has also designed and manufactures its own line of five-star dog motels,

Great Southern Group’s dog-shelters (left) come in single, double or triple options, while troughs Lower left) are made from high-strength, 35-40 MPA concrete.

Profile your business with Business Rural with an iron roof and an extra-large, galvanised, wooden-lined kennel. These come in single, double, and triple options.

The concrete division is known for producing one of the most extensive ranges of concrete products available, says Duffell. All of these products are made from high-strength 35-40 MPA concrete, reinforced with fibre or steel, or both.

“Our very popular, 1500-litre, round cattle trough, with a separate trough chamber, is one of the best designed around,” he says.

Other concrete products include single and double-sided cattle-feed troughs, fuel bunds, septic tanks, pavers, and concrete posts.

We have a very rigid, quality-control programme in place, which ensures a high standard of graded dimensions, straightness, and a smooth finish across all our products.

Phone: 03 983 5500 Fax: 03 983 5552

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

Specialist manufacturer of a large variety of nails and staples.

• • • •

General Nails Specialty Nails Bracket & Product Nails Stainless Steel Nails - 316

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Phone. 03 389 4769 - Email. mail@arrownail.co.nz

30 |

RURAL SERVICES » Barfoote Construction

Business Rural

Firm nails it home and away Jo Bailey “Farmers who enjoy building and providing infrastructure for other farmers”, is how Trevor Barfoote describes his company, Barfoote Construction.

He founded the Whangarei-based firm in 1989 when it made its name building cowsheds, calf sheds, feedpads and cattle underpasses.

The business has grown into a sizeable operation, employing 65 staff. It is also involved in commercial and industrial-infrastructure projects, and has its own precast concrete and structural steel manufacturing operations.

Trevor Barfoote has lived and worked around farms all his life; he owns dairy farms in New Zealand and Missouri, United States.

“Having a farm in the States has given me an insight into different styles of dairy farming,” he says.

“The Americans typically feed supplements and not grass, which is quite different from the New Zealand system.”

His background in farming also gives him an insight into what farmers are looking for with their building projects, he says.

“Our claim to fame is that we custom-design and build what farmers want – we don’t tell them what they want. That’s the difference between us and a lot of dairy-shed builders.”

The company’s in-house designers come up with designs for Barfoote rotary and herringbone cowsheds.

Trevor Barfoote: ‘We’re not reliant on other sub-contractors and can deliver the project from start to finish, monitoring quality all the way.’

“We try and put a bit of flair into the sheds to ensure they will look as good in 50 or 80 years as they do today,” says Barfoote. The firm is known for the modern-looking, curved, concrete, arch-roof option, which, he says, helps the sheds blend into the their surrounds.

Supporting the regions growth with the supply of Readymix Concrete for over 50 years, Nationally.

0800 266 273

“Aesthetics is much bigger now than it once was. People want a dairy shed that is appealing to the eye as well as being robust, functional and lowmaintenance. A lot of farmers also want to create a pleasant environment for their staff, so are spending more on things like smoko rooms, bathroom facilities, even barbecue areas with the sheds.”

Barfootes has built milking sheds around New Zealand, and has two gangs based permanently in the South Island – in North Otago and in South Canterbury.

Since the 1990s the company has been building dairy sheds overseas – in Australia, the USA, Chile, France and Germany.

“We’ve got projects due to get under way shortly in Texas and California, and we’re looking at potential projects in Tasmania where we have already built some sheds,” says Barfoote. “We usually do a couple of projects overseas each year, which provides a great opportunity for our staff to travel.”

Around eight years ago the company got into the weeping-wall market, which is another growing part of the business alongside covered feedpads.

Having its own precast and structural-steel operations allows Barfoote to supply its clients with the “whole package”, he says. “We’re not reliant on other sub-contractors and can deliver the project from start to finish, monitoring quality all the way.”

The company’s commercial and industrial projects usually make up 40 to 60 per cent of its portfolio.

Current projects include the construction of a carbon dioxide plant for BOC Gas, a floodgate for the Kaipara District Council, a transformer project for NorthPower; a geothermal power plant for Ngawhia Geothermal, and the manufacture of a bulk lot of pre-cast balconies for an apartment building in Auckland.

Trevor Barfoote says a big part of the firm philosophy is “to remain friends with those we work with.”

Farmers get chance for a Farmers were queueing up to measure their health in Farmstrong rural well-being programme at the National Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek, Hamilton.

Seventy took advantage of the free health check on offer, and 376 testing their physical health with the Fit4Farming bike challenge.

Farmstrong, which takes a positive and preventative approach to well-being, has been built on research, plus farmers’ personal advice and experiences.

“We found farmers were competitive and enjoyed the challenge and were quite shocked at how tough cycling for two minutes was,” says Farmstrong’s Fit4Farming project lead, Ian Handcock. “Most acknowledged that they could be fitter and thought the challenge was a great idea - an eye-opener around their own physical well-being.

“Many commented that they used to get more exercise before family and work commitments increased, and said exercise was a good time to clear the head and manage stress. The challenge certainly got people thinking about how fit they are and what they may need to do to improve their personal well-being.”

The health checks done by doctor Tom Mulholland revealed: • Two people were diagnosed with diabetes 14 people were at high risk of developing diabetes unless they made changes to their lifestyle; • Nine people had high blood pressure – with one showing as dangerously high • Nineteen people were found to have high cholesterol levels • Only two identified themselves as smokers

All of those who came through the clinic were given a copy of their results to pass on to their doctor.

“Over all, the feedback and support Farmstrong received from farmers and the agri-business sector was overwhelmingly positive” says Farmstrong’s Gerard Vaughan. “We were inundated with people who wanted to know more, who wanted to pledge kilometres, who wanted to get involved, or just tell us they fully supported the positive approach we’re taking.

He says it is “incredibly humbling to hear these comments from the very people we’re trying to support”.

“It shows we’re on the right track to achieving our overall aim of making a positive difference to the lives of farmers and growers across the country.”

Farmstrong is also collecting pledges for its Fit4Farming cycle tour next March. Farmers can commit to cycle, walk or run a certain number of kilometres – the collective target is 4 million kilometres.

Farmers can sign up as individuals, as families, or form a team by challenging their neighbours or friends.

Pledging: www.farmstrong.co.nz The tour itinerary is: March 18: Ngatea-Cambridge-Te Awamutu March 19: Waikato farmers’ event, Te Awamutu March 20: Te Awamutu-New Plymouth March 21: Taranaki farmers event, New Plymouth-Whanganui March 22: Whanganui-Palmerston North March 23: Manawatu farmers’ event, Palmerston North

RURAL SERVICES » Point Lumber

Business Rural

| 31

Quest for the ‘perfect post’ Kelly Deeks

Point Lumber has its own mechanised forestry gang, transporter and logging trucks (top). Prime logs are exported and smaller logs are cut into posts at the company’s Washdyke yard (below).

With a fully mechanised forestry gang, a transporter and logging trucks, South Canterbury timber and post supply specialist Point Lumber provides a full service for local farmers with forestry blocks to fell.

The firm was originally known as Teradale Timber, when it was established by David and Glenys Sloper on their Mid Canterbury farm in the 1980s. The couple cut down their own trees and produced fence posts, sawn timber and firewood on their farm.

When the farm was sold 18 years ago, the Slopers’ son, Sean, took over the business, moved it to Pleasant Point, and renamed it Point Lumber.

The company has expanded to a production and salesyard based in Washdyke and the treatment plant and storage yard at Pleasant Point.

It provides fenceposts, timber and associated products to fencing contractors, farmers and agricultural-supply businesses such as PGG Wrightson, CRT Farmlands, and RD1.

It also provides a custom-milling and treating service for logs felled by clients or the company.

These are cut to any size.

“We have a dedicated forestry crew, which is despatched to locations around South Canterbury to fell blocks of trees,” Sean Sloper says.

“These are then graded, first into export quality logs which are sent to Prime Port Timaru, and then into post-material, and firewood logs.”

The smaller straight logs are taken back to the

Washdyke yard where they are cut into posts of various lengths and diameters, bundled and steamdried, and then transported to the Pleasant Point yard for treatment.

Offcuts are sold as split firewood and the rest as firewood logs. Shavings from the logs produced as posts are sold as woodchip for use on dairy farms, gardens and burning as a fuel source in some circumstances.

“Every part of the tree is used,” Sloper says.

Point Lumber also has two Hiab trucks and operators available for hire. The company has around 25 staff, including three truck-drivers and a treatment-plant operator at Pleasant Point.

It also has a builder who makes custom wooden gates, macrocarpa tables and bench seats, play houses, planter boxes, chook houses and other products.

Company foreman Paddy Jones, who has been with the firm for the last 10 years, has a hand in all aspects of the business apart from truck driving. He is currently training one of Point Lumber’s workers to take over the operation of the timber-treatment plant at Pleasant Point.

This year Point Lumber bought a new Sinton lathe from Australia for removing bark from the logs. It is one of only a couple of its type used in New Zealand, and the only one in use in the South Island.

The new lathe complements the Morbark peeler and produces uniform untapered posts of exact diameter and dead straight.

“If you want the perfect product, that’s the only way you can do it,” Sloper says.

McVICAR TIMBER GROUP LTD 550 Johns Road, Harewood, PO Box 5028 Papanui, Christchurch, New Zealand

check-up, fitness test

Proud to be associated with Point Lumber Phone: 03 359 8144 Fax: 03359 7946 Some of our clients are saying...

“Marriotts give us the best of both worlds” With a diverse client base, from rural to manufacturing and civil works, our firm takes a special interest in those “who need help and who are open to help.” Pick up the phone and call us now for a chat.

We are large enough to provide expertise, but small enough to provide personal service.

Christine Johnston, Director christine@marriotts.co.nz See our website for full client testimonials.

Laura Fischer (left) and Andrew Pollock test themselves in the Fit4Farming bike challenge at the National Agricultural Fieldays.

March 24: Palmerston North-Wellington March 25: Picton-Blenheim March 26: Rest day, Blenheim March 27: Blenheim-Hanmer Springs, via Molesworth Station March 28: Canterbury farmers’ event – Hanmer Springs-Ashburton March 29: Ashburton-Tekapo-Twizel March 30: Twizel-Cromwell March 31: Cromwell-Invercargill

April 1: Southland farmers’ event, Invercargill Farmstrong is a non-commercial rural well-being programme established by rural insurer FMG and the Mental Health Foundation.

The programme aims to help shift the focus of mental health in rural communities from illness and depression to well-being.

The programme promotes the importance of farmers seeing themselves as the most important asset on the farm.

www.marriotts.co.nz

Tel: 03 379 0829 | 2nd Floor, 137 Victoria St., Christchurch

32 |

RURAL SERVICES » Fencing Contractors ; Association of NZ

Business Rural

Fencers face battle to get Jo Bailey

Fencing is a great career path for young people who prefer working in the great outdoors, says Fencing Contractors’ Association of New Zealand president Simon Fuller.

Serious about Fencing!

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Recruitment remains one of the biggest issues facing the fencing industry, says Fencing Contractors’ Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) president Simon Fuller.

“Most contractors are pretty busy, with many struggling to find good staff. It’s an issue we’ll definitely be discussing at our upcoming FCANZ annual conference in Nelson in the last week of July.”

He says FCANZ is talking to New Zealand Young Farmers about including fencing in the group’s Get Ahead programme, which presents a range of career opportunities to young people interested in the farming sector.

“Fencing is a great career path for young people who prefer working in the outdoors rather than sitting in an office or warehouse. It can provide them with a broad range of skills, as well as apprenticeships and training towards a New Zealand Qualifications Authority qualification.”

Health and safety reforms will be another “hot topic” at the conference, he says.

“The new regulations are definitely having an impact on small businesses. FCANZ is trying to help alleviate some of the fear around the issue by acting as a conduit to get the right information out to members, to ensure they understand the requirements, and don’t stick their heads in the sand.”

The association has also been working with the Primary Industry Training Organisation and the NZQA to develop new unit standards for industrial fencing, which includes fencing for commercial and industrial premises, security, pool, sports and Corrections Department facilities.

“These are the first formal qualifications for industrial fencing and we hope they will be in place by the end of the year. This is something

Our accredited fencing contractors have to provide evidence of their professional skills and company policies in the same way builders apply to become master builders. that wouldn’t have happened without input from FCANZ.” Fuller, who owns Fuller Fencing, was on the steering committee when FCANZ was founded in 2006 by a group of fencing contractors and strategic partner Wiremark to encourage and develop professionalism and high standards of fencing in New Zealand.

“Our accredited fencing contractors have to provide evidence of their professional skills and company policies in the same way builders apply to become master builders. Dealing with an accredited fencing contractor provides similar sorts of guarantees around quality and workmanship.”

FCANZ provides a range of training and information to members through regular regional meetings, resources such as fencing technical fact sheets and legal fact sheets, and advice on running a successful business.

It can also investigate and resolve disputes.

The association is keen to attract new members and, more widely, promote the benefits of dealing with accredited fencing contractors, says Fuller.

“It has taken time to gain traction, but we’re starting to make some good progress. We’ve

Business Rural

RURAL SERVICES » Fencing Contractors’ Association of NZ

| 33

staff recently engaged a new business development manager, Jane Butterick, to help cement the direction of the association and put some positive things in place to promote the benefits of FCANZ and dealing with accredited fencing contractors.”

She took on the role last December, which is operational as well as strategic.

“There is a lot of administrative work to be done as well as looking at new opportunities for the association, which is really exciting,” she says, Butterick is also involved with putting together the conference programme, which will have a balance of practical and classroom elements.

“A lot of fencing contractors would rather be out there doing the work than thinking about their administration, or their legal or health-and-safety obligations,” she says.

“However, these are important aspects of running a small business.

“Although it’s great to look at best practice from a practical perspective, best practice in the office drives the business as well.”

She says communication between the association and its members – and the members and their staff – is crucial when it comes to getting the health and safety message out there.

“It’s not enough to have a manual and put it on the shelf. We want our members to look at the ways they do things, think about their company culture, and consider regular toolbox meetings.”

She says one of the biggest advantages of being a member of FCANZ and taking part in its conferences is the opportunity to network.

“Networking gets people involved in a circle of knowledge with similar people in the same industry.

It doesn’t matter how long they’ve been in business or how big their business is, the challenges are the same.”

Although it’s great to look at best practice from a practical perspective, best practice in the office drives the business as well.

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RURAL SERVICES » Renner Fencing

Business Rural

Fencing contractor stands the

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Long-standing fencing contracting firm Renner Fencing has moved into new hands with company founder Terry Renner’s sons, Brad and Michael, having taken over the business over the past 12 months.

The firm is based in Seddon and its work takes it from Clarence to Rai Valley, and anywhere and everywhere in between.

Terry Renner has been fencing around Marlborough since 1968. He started the business with a range of handheld equipment that included shovels, crowbars, rammers, crescent pliers, sledge hammers, wire strainers, wire jennies, axes, and grubbers.

Forty-seven years on, Renner Fencing runs a automated equipment that includes three John Deere tractors, two Taege post-drivers, a Revolution 180 driver, a four-wheel motorbike, trailers, a wire jenny, motorised borers, rock drills, waratah drivers, motorised drills, batteries, grinders, drills, a generator, and five trucks.

“When I started, I didn’t have all the stuff we are carrying around now,” Terry Renner says.

We’ve had to diversify to keep up with the grape industry.

It’s just another fencing technique, but also the advance of the grape industry has seen all the good land put into grapes, so areas we’re putting new fences into now are hard, tough areas. Two years ago, we bought a larger driver to get through this land.

“I got my experience in fencing by hand, but the machinery we’re using now makes the job more efficient. We always have to evolve with the industry, and we’re now working for the third generation of farmers.

“My original customers’ sons and grandsons have come on to run the family farms, and when they see a new idea at one of these big field days, the young fellows are keen to try it.

“Also a lot of the companies supplying fencing materials are working on new technology.”

He says his market has also evolved,

particularly in the past 10 years.

In the early days his customers were mainly sheep farmers, but today he says, the grape industry has taken over.

“We’ve had to diversify to keep up with the grape industry,” he says.

“It’s just another fencing technique but also the advance of the grape industry has seen all the good land put into grapes, so areas we’re putting new fences into now are hard, tough areas. Two years ago we bought a larger driver to get through this land.”

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Business Rural

RURAL SERVICES » High Country Fencing

test of time

These guys go where angels fear to tread Jo Bailey As its name suggests, High Country Fencing specialises in some of the more challenging fencing projects that other contractors might shy away from, says owner Geoff Rogers.

“There aren’t a lot of guys who want to take on some of the harder jobs we get involved with.”

The Kirwee-based firm is currently involved with 14 kilometres of steep fencing work on a highcountry station near Arthur’s Pass, a tender review project under a government contract.

“We started at Christmas time. but had to knock off during the unusually hot and dry summer conditions during January and February because of the extreme fire risk,” says Rogers.

Workers did manage to get back onto the site over autumn, flying fencing equipment to the top

| 35

of the hills by helicopter. But when winter started to bite and conditions became too dangerous, they had to pull out again, and won’t finish the project until later in the year.

“It’s just the way it goes with these sort of jobs.

You can only get in there when the conditions are right,” says Rogers.

Rural projects make up around 90 per cent of the company’s work. High-country projects make up around half of its work, mostly involving a Komatsu bulldozer with a side-mounted post-driver that can fence steep hills where a tractor cannot get safely.

“We are extraction-industry qualified, so can use explosives to move rock for fencelines if need be,” says Rogers. “And we have other specialist equipment for this sort of work such as a rock drill

• To page 36

Karen and Terry Renner take time out with their grandchildren While fencing styles have changed over the last 47 years, Renner says it still comes down to good materials, good workmanship, and good staff doing the job properly.

One farm-owner had a No. 8-wire fence with iron standards every eight feet and a cement post every 32 feet installed 45 years ago on his farm. It is still going strong.

Renner Fencing has been a member of the Fencing Contractors’ Association of New Zealand for the past nine years.

Renner says the company is only as good as its hydraulic team, its mechanical team, or its

transport providers. who will all work in to the night to ensure the fencers can be back on site fencing the next day.

“They know we’ve got to be there, and the support we get from all of these people is really good.”

Brad and Michael Renner have been involved in the company for more than 10 years. Brad is now running the fencing side of the business, and Michael the administration, while their mother, Karen Renner, works in the office. Terry could be considered to be nearing retirement age, but says he has a few good working years left in him.

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36 |

RURAL SERVICES/ON FARM » James & Ceri Bourke

Business Rural

Accreditation seen as assurance for clients • From page 35 and a pneumatic picket post-driver. which operate well in hard and rocky ground.”

The firm also does a significant amount of “down country” work, with three crews operating tractors fitted with specialist hydraulic post drivers.

“Dairy conversions are a big part of our business, with other agricultural work such as stock yards; sheep, cattle, horse and deer fencing; post and rail, electric fencing; and vineyards.”

Rogers says High Country Fencing uses the best quality fencing materials, which meet current New Zealand standards, on all of its projects.

“This is particularly important when we’re purchasing materials for bulk jobs such as government contracts.

“We are using McAlpine posts, sourced from PGG Darfield, for the current tenure review project because they are of consistently high quality, can withstand the harshest of climates and come with a 50-year guarantee. The high-quality wire for this project has come from Hamish, at NZF Products.”

Milestones for High Country Fencing have included setting up its website (www. highcountryfencing.co.nz) and becoming an accredited fencing contractor with the Fencing Contractors’ Association New Zealand, one of only a handful in Canterbury to achieve this.

Rogers is proud of this accreditation, as he says it provides clients with assurance they are dealing with a company with knowledge in design, material selection and workmanship, backed by the appropriate qualifications.

“People know they are in good hands with an FCANZ-accredited contractor, and will end up with a fence that will stand the test of time.”

Culverden sharemilkers James and Ceri Bourke and children Cate, Charlotte and Kara.

High Country Fencing’s Komatsu bulldozer deals with a steep challenge in North Canterbury.

His partner, Debbie, manages the administration side and has developed health and safety policies.

“We are committed to protecting the safety of our staff, especially given the sort of terrain we work on,”says Geoff Rogers. “We have experienced crews and the gear to tackle pretty much any project.”

Second shed reaps results Karen Phelps A second shed has brought benefits for sharemilkers, staff, cows and farm-owner, say James and Ceri Bourke, who sharemilk on the property near Culverden.

“It has allowed us to create more senior roles on the farm for staff to move into,” says James. “It has also helped the farm-owner add more value to the property while allowing us to expand our business.

“The cows have benefited by having less distance to walk, which has helped feet and lameness issues.”

Staff member Damien Anderson, who had never milked cows until three seasons ago when he joined the Bourkes, has grown into the role of block manager and is in charge of one of the sheds.

The other shed is run by Roger Paragas, leaving James Bourke free to oversee the operation. Ceri Bourke rears the calves, looks after the financials, and fills in as needed. James is in charge of the other shed. The farm employs four full-time staff.

James Bpurke comes off a dairy farm in Taranaki. After leaving school, he went to attended Telford for a year before heading into the workforce as a dairy assistant, working his way through the system on farms between Ashburton and Rangiora.

Ceri Bourke, who is originally from Wales, had no farming experience when the couple met.

A pivotal moment in their farming careers came while working for Mike and Anne Prattley as second-in-charge on a 1250-cow unit at Rangiora.

“They encouraged us to pursue sharemilking,” says James.

The couple’s next move was indeed a sharemilking job, between Lincoln and Lake Ellesmere.

They bought 200 cows and formed a sharemilking company with James’s parents, Rick and Dianna.

The farm milked 470 cows on a three-year contract.

They are now in their third season with Pete and Ruth Mossman, at Culverden. The Bourkes 50:50 sharemilk 800 cows and contract-milk a further 300 on a 520-hectare (515ha effective) property.

The herd is predominantly crossbred (a third of the herd are jerseys) and is milked through a new, 54-bail, rotary shed and a 50-bail rotary. Cows are all wintered on the property, with fodder beet a growing part of their autumn/winter feed.

“Compared with kale, fodder beet helps us to lower the total nitrogen output during autumn/ winter.,” says James Bourke. “It also brings feed costs down and increases cow body-condition quicker. We planted 14ha last year to feed 300 cows. This season we moved fully to fodder beet.”

The primary focus has been on converting to spray irrigation from a border-dyke system – 45ha

• To page 37

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ON FARM » Clayton Station

Business Rural

| 37

‘Glad I’m not in dairying’ Neil Grant Hamlet talked about the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. More recently, fairground owners would claim that what you lose on the swings you make up on the roundabouts. Either can be thought of as metaphors for high-country, sheep-and-beef farmers coping with the recent drought.

Clayton Station runs from the flats of the Fairlie Basin into true tussocky high country. This year’s dry has seen Lake Opuha down the road practically disappear; the dairy and other farms dependent on it have really struggled to cope. Clayton is not irrigated, so the tried and tested methods used by high-country farmers to deal with those slings and arrows have been put to the test.

Hamish Orbell and his wife, Anna, are the runholders. Two years ago, they had snow waist deep at the homestead. Getting feed to the stock was, to say the least, trying.

“This season is the driest on record,” Hamish Orbell says. “We’ve had to get rid of a lot of stock.

At weaning in January, we exited all the lambs over a three-week period. Then 2300 ewes and all the hoggets went to Southland. The ewes came back in June and the hoggets will return in September.

We weaned the calves and deer early.”

Then, In May, the rains came.

“We had 70mm. It changed things hugely, although there was still 120 days till the end of winter.”

They had not been able to make enough silage or balage for a normal winter, let alone cope with another decent dollop of snow, so selling early and sending stock away for grazing were part of their insurance policies.

The rain meant they gained enough pasture to

Through this extremely dry season our staff have been a godsend. We’ve bounced back, but there’s a heap who haven’t. We do some dairy grazing, bit I’m glad I’m not in dairying like a lot in this district.

Cattle flats at Clayton Station, in the Fairlie Basin. flush their ewes. Fodder beet has struggled, so they bought extra straw to tide them over. Grazing the maize they had put in has been a lifesaver for the young cattle.

Since taking over the farm, Orbell has been keen to continue a development and monitoring

programme started by his parents. This has included fencing rivers and nutrient catch areas, and monitoring conception and growth rates with the sheep and deer. These have been put on hold while they concentrated on keeping capital stock in good condition and selling off the trading stock.

Using the swings and roundabouts theory, when the next few good seasons come along, those development and monitoring programmes will be back on the agenda.

“Through this extremely dry season our staff have been a godsend. We’ve bounced back, but there’s a heap who haven’t.

“We do some dairy grazing, but I’m glad I’m not in dairying like a lot in this district. They’re a huge part of our community.”

Orbell reckons the hardest thing in farming is that farm costs have gone sky high – diesel, crops, fertiliser have all gone up. Things get low, then remarkably, it picks up again and everyone goes quiet and keeps their heads down.

“In the Fonterra model, those farmers can budget forward. They know what they will be getting next year. In sheep and beef, our costs go in pre-Christmas with our not knowing what returns we will get. They budget – we do our best guess.

“That’s farming.”

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Spray irrigation a priority • From page 36 is now under long laterals and k-line, with the balance of the farm irrigated by centre pivots.

The change has not only lifted production on the farm but also reduced the environmental footprint of the operation, he James. The Bpurkes were on target to produce 650,000 kilograms of milksolids in the 2014-15 season – up from 420,000kg when they came to the farm.

They have been taking part in the Dairy New Zealand ‘Tactics for Tight Times’ field days, and James says they have found it beneficial. “It has been good to share ideas, especially with the lower pay-out this season. We’ve found it a good way to help focus our business and financials.”

Over the last three seasons they have concentrated on consolidating their herd and have been culling hard on productivity. The herd has an average production worth of 137.

The Bourkes have three children: Kara, 10; Cate, 9; and Charlotte, 5.

“We’re really enjoying where we are at the moment,” says James. “Our ultimate aim is to buy a 500-cow farm – we believe that financially, that will be possible in three years.”

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38 |

ON FARM » Stephen & Becky Hubbard

Business Rural

West Coast sharemilkers Stephen and Becky Hubbard say that when you’re breeding for a good cow, you want to make sure on paper she’s what you want: ‘With four tests a year we have good records of each cow’s production. Some of the old girls drop in production as they get older, so it helps with culling decisions. And it helps identify a somatic problem, which we don’t have.”

Herd testing goes west with pay-out Kelly Deeks In looking for ways to cut costs in this low, milk pay-out season, West Coast 50:50 sharemilkers Stephen and Becky Hubbard have decided to forgo herd testing this season, and are considering sireproving with CRV Ambreed next season.

The Hubbards have been on Kerry Ryan’s 210-hectare Kowhitirangi dairy farm for the past five seasons. Both of them work full-time on the farm with one staff member and they milk 430 cows.

While the Hubbards are very focused on

breeding, mating management comes at a huge cost and they realise there are savings to be made in this area, says Becky.

They bought their original herd of 330 jersey cows from the Waikato and sourced a further 100 heifers locally. They have since been crossbreeding for a medium-sized, high producing cow with longevity.

They have herd-tested for the previous three seasons and, with good records on hand, have been able to see that their new girls are living up to their potential. This allows them to make good decisions around culling.

“When you’re breeding for a good cow, you

want to make sure on paper she’s what you want,” she says. “With four tests a year we have good records of each cow’s production. Some of the old girls drop in production as they get older, so it helps with culling decisions. And it helps identify a somatic problem, which we don’t have.”

The Hubbards will be back to herd testing next season, and if they do decide to go ahead with sireproving, that’s a given.

The low milk pay-out aside, the Hubbards have had a pretty good season so far at Kowhitirangi, getting the balege off fairly early after a really good summer.

Becky Hubbard says the farm contour includes

humps and hollows, and those hollows were areas to be avoided this year as an extremely wet autumn made pasture management a bit more of a challenge.

The farm had 380 millilitres of rainfall in March, compared to the normal 130mls, and 467mls in April.

“We’ve had to be very careful,” she says.

“We’ve got a feedpad and have been feeding the cows on that during the day before the cows go into their night paddock.”

However, as is standard with West Coast weather, a couple of days after it clears up, it’s hard to tell it has even been raining.

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ON FARM » Cole & Ginny Groves

Business Rural

| 39

Tough season proves testing Sue Russell Virginia (Ginny) and Cole Groves hace found their third season the toughest yet as they 50:50 sharemilk on Maze Farm (owned by Ginny’s parents, David and Jayne Timperly) at Pleasant Point, 19 kilometres inland from Timaru.

As well as managing on a reduced cashflow during the season, they had to cope with managing the impact of drought and lack of water for irrigation from the farm’s historical water source, Lake Opuha.

Without a 67-hectare irrigated support block – which is also used for wintering 630 cows – and earlier investment in a grain system. things would be even tougher.

But Cole Groves’ attitude is positive and philosophical when it comes to seeing tough times through.

“You just have to maintain a positive outlook, knowing you’re doing the best you can.

“It is also a reality that we’re not alone with the current stresses and it is good to see initiatives like DairyNZ’s Tactics for Tight Times campaign that we are a part of.”

Before coming to Pleasant Point, the Groves had been lower-order sharemilking for three seasons for Marv Pangborn at Dunsandel, near Christchurch.

In their second season there, they also took on another lower-order position at Oxford, which became a 50:50 for a season the following year where they leased the cows.

“Carrying only a small amount of debt back then was significant in managing through those years,” says Cole Groves. “But progressing up through the industry has meant taking on more significant debt.”

Their involvement in Tactics for Tight Times has meant grounding the non-negotiables of the couple’s business.

These are centred on maintaining relationships and not breaking contracts, retaining at least four full-time staff (including Cole), which the farm requires to operate effectively, and seeing through the commitment to re-grassing on the basis they have recognised that the pasture is one of their key limiting factors.

The Tactics for Tight Times initiative has created an opportunity for farmers to rub shoulders, step on one another’s soil, and start thinking outside their square about their farming practice.

“Our whole farm really is open,” says Cole Groves.

“It is around what we are doing, and everyone

Cole Groves with his daughter... riding out the twin setbacks of low payout and drought. can see our budget for this year and how we are measuring up.”

The Groves operate to a system 4, feeding about 800 kilograms of supplement per cow – 420kg of that in grain, with the balance made up of palm kernel, balage and fodder beet.

They have a three-year, fixed-price, grain-supply contract with a local supplier, which has meant reconsideration of introducing more grain into the system.

Despite the financial and environmental stresses their production came in around 365,000kg milksolids from 930 cows in the peak and 750 after March 1.

A new in-shed feeding system was introduced during the season; the cows have been slow to take to it fully, but Cole expects they will adjust well before long.

It has been quite a journey for him as he acknowledges that, despite doing honours in plant science at Lincoln, he was pretty green when it came to knowing much about farming not that many years ago.

The Groves’ plans include looking at shifting next season and reducing the herd from the current

Carrying only a small amount of debt back then was significant in managing through those years. But progressing up through the industry has meant taking on more significant debt.

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900 to 700 (although depends on finding a farm to move to).

“We’ve got about 800 really good cows that we could probably get the same milk production from.”

One thing’s for certain though: With their family now all settled in the Canterbury area, Cole and Ginny Groves are committed to not moving any further south.

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40 |

ON FARM » Dave King

Business Rural

Long and winding road leads to Murchison farm Karen Phelps

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Murchison farmer Dave King with dog Mac.

From the time he was five David King knew he wanted to be a farmer – despite not having a direct link with the industry.

“I’m not sure where it came from, but I always knew that was what I wanted to do,” he says.

He had an uncle who owned a beef farm, and so as David got older, he worked there during holidays.

A variety of careers followed – carpenter, working for Ravensdown, commercial diver, even managing a butcher shop – before he could no longer deny his ambition.

He and wife Sue, who also has no farming background, decided to take the plunge.

“We got to the point where we thought – if we’re going to go farming, we’d better do something about it,” says David.

He was initially attracted to sheep-and-beef farming, but quickly found that without family backing, it was difficult to get into. The Kings identified dairy farming as their path to farm ownership. David worked for wages on a dairy farm in Golden Bay for a year, then as a herd manager on a farm in Richmond for two and a half years.

The couple headed to the Waikato and their first contract-milking job for a season, then shifted to Huntly as lower-order sharemilkers for a season.

They sold the four hectares of land they owned at Golden Bay to give them the deposit for a herd for their first 50:50 sharemilking position at Bombay, south of Auckland.

After three years, they bought their first farm – an 80-hectare unit in South Westland milking 114 cows. They built the herd up to 220 cows over 13 years, then bought into an equity partnership to convert a farm.

The 180ha (effective) unit milked 380 cows and the Kings were 21 per cent sharemilkers for the

company. After five years, they bought their own farm at Murchison where they are now about to start their eighth season.

The property – a dairy unit and an adjoining drystock farm – needed development. They converted the dry-stock property to dairy, and the 126ha effective (365ha total) unit now milks 420 cows through a 24-a-side herringbone shed.

“The summer dry is our biggest challenge here,” says Dave King.

“The plan is to calve earlier, on August 1, run a slightly lower stocking rate, and milk twice a day to maximise production before it gets too dry. If we get tight for feed at any stage, we can drop back to 400 cows and go to once-a day.”.

They added a snap chiller to the shed last season – pre-empting the imminent, new milkcooling regulations. They also installed a new effluent system – changing from a travelling irrigator with a small sump, to an 800,000 cubic litre storage tank.

The new system has an agitator on a pontoon that runs one hour on, one off. It also includes a 23,000-litre sump and pre-cast gravel trap with drainage pads. Two maxi-pods pump out to the paddocks and the effluent pumps are connected to a timer switch. King says the new system has already made a huge difference to their management of effluent.

“We know exactly how much we’re putting on in a given area. It’s a very easy system to operate and shift. We are now able to spread effluent over a larger area and it’s helping us to grow more grass.”

The Kings have just put their first contract milkers on this season and are enjoying the changes this has brought to their lives.

“It’s allowed us to step back and look at our business rather than just always working in it.

We’ve been tied to the cows for 30-odd years so now we can step back and have a life.”

Sharemilker learns what Sue Russell Now in their third season 50:50 sharemilking at Waipahi, near Gore, Bryden and Vanessa Rufford have risen through the farming ranks through a series of successive and significant steps.

Bryden began relief milking as a high-school student. Five years later, once that part of his education was over, he obtained an assistant position, followed three years later by farm management.

“My attitude then was very much to go to where I could upskill myself, learn what I could, and then take any opportunity that came along to advance.

From my three former farm employers, I have learnt what progression is all about,” He points to the fact that with the right attitude

and a willingness to access information on dairying careers, there are plenty of opportunities.

The Waipahi property has a milking platform of 160 hectares from a total of 175, and a rolling to flat landscape. It also has quite heavy soils, which Bryden Rufford says can be prone to water-logging because of a high water table and river flats.

There are plans to reduce the 430 friesian-cross herd to 400 because he wants to see each cow perform better. He sees reduced numbers reducing stress levels for the cows and helping achieve this improvement.

“I just worked off a gut feeling because we’ve had a really hard year through environmental factors. The owners were happy to drop too, and now I am trying to convince them to winter our stock on the farm, growing our own supplement in the form of fodder beet.”

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ON FARM » Tony & Lona Sorenson

Business Rural

| 41

Marlborough weaves its magic on pair Kelly Deeks Tony and Lona Sorenson have expansion plans for one of their two Marlborough dairy farms, but are waiting for a more favourable milk pay-out so that they can upgrade their dairy shed and increase cow numbers.

The Sorensons’ love affair with Marlborough started in 1989, before they were a couple, when they came to the region from Denmark for a world jersey conference. Tony, a jersey breeder from one side of Denmark, and Lona, a farm adviser from the other side of the country, fell in love with each other and New Zealand. By 1992, they had a two-year-old son, Fredrick, and decided to head back to New Zealand.

“We wanted to buy a farm in Marlborough, but we couldn’t find one that suited,” Lona says. “So, like all good settlers, we decided to go west and we bought a dairy farm in the Buller Gorge. It had a mix of friesian-crossbreds and jerseys, and we eventually bred our way back to a jersey herd.”

The Sorensons were some of New Zealand’s first farmers to import Danish semen.

“We did that in 1993. We thought it could be quite a novelty,” she says. “We produced slightly bigger cows with slightly better udders. Some haven’t really coped under the New Zealand system, and now we have a bit of a mix of both.”

Although the Sorensons enjoyed working the West Coast land after “flat and boring” Denmark, they got sick of the rain, their family expanded with another son (Johnathon), and after four years or so, they again started looking for a farm in Marlborough.

“Tony found this farm for sale, Long Valley. He took one look and didn’t want to see any more than the driveway. It had all the things we wanted, but it was a bit too small, milking only 150 cows.

“We thought that sooner or later, the neighbouring dairy farm may come up for sale, and that’s what happened the first year we were there. It was too soon for us, the banks didn’t know us yet. But eight years later, it came up for sale again.”

In the meantime, in 1999, they bought another dairy farm, about four kilometres from Long Valley; they moved there and established their stud farm, New Creek Jerseys.

We wanted to buy a farm in Marlborough, but we couldn’t find one that suited. So, like all good settlers, we decided to go west and we bought a dairy farm in the Buller Gorge. It had a mix of friesian-crossbreds and jerseys, and we eventually bred our way back to a jersey herd.

The Long Valley farm has since expanded enormously. They employed a manager to run it when they moved to their second farm, and their son, Fredrick, has taken it over this season.

It now totals 600ha, and includes a 240ha sheep-and-beef unit and a 60ha run-off block.

It is milking 460 cows, and when the new 54bail, rotary shed is built, cow numbers will increase to 600.

The breeding herd is at New Creek Jerseys, which has 330 cows on 100ha. The herd on Long Valley has been under the sire-proving scheme for a few years.

New Creek Jerseys’ cows average 445 kilograms of milksolids, while the cows at Long Valley do 385kg milksolids.

“The herd at Long Valley is being built up at the moment, so it’s not as high breeding or production worth as the New Creek herd, which has been bred since we’ve been in New Zealand,” Lona Sorenson says.

“We don’t like to buy in stock, so we haven’t culled for production, and that’s going to continue for a few years yet.”

progression is all about

Lona and Tony Sorenson.

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Bryden and Vanessa Rufford...confident growing fodder beet is a sensible strategy.

Last season’s production was down significantly on the couple’s first season on the farm – the result of the devastation caused by a swede toxicity epidemic that killed 25 cows, followed by a very wet spring, and then a very dry summer.

He is confident his decision to grow fodder beet is a sensible strategy.

“It’s a higher yielding plant packed with carbohydrates. Cow nutrition needs boosting.”

The farm is one of 18 supplying to a small factory in Clydevale.

Connar Christie, “a great all-rounder”, is fulltime on the farm. The two have worked together for four years and talk through a lot of the management decisions together. This year Connar is taking on the management role on farm and Bryden will be a supervising assistant.

“He also loves the tractor and I don’t, whereas I’m into animal health and pasture management. We are a good team.”

With three boys, aged five, four and one, Vanessa Rufford is busy, but still rears the calves

and stands in to help at times. The former primary school teacher is about to add Primary Industry Training Organisation adviser to her list of roles.

“You need to be a very good people-skills person and, with her tertiary qualifications, Vanessa is ideal for this role,” says Bryden.

The property has been a host farm for Tactics For Tight Times, with the first discussion group held on the property in March. It was a good event, especially because those there did not feel alone in what they were going through, says Bryden.

“You might be having a really bad year, but you’re certainly not alone.”

On a positive note, he encourages farmers to enter the dairy awards. The Ruffords came third in the 2010 Southland Farm Manager of the Year competition and received a merit award of excellence for their financial planning and management.

“A lot of jobs are about reputation, and having that award in our history certainly helped with bank funding,” he says.

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ON FARM » Dipton Dairies

42 |

Business Rural

Time to fine-tune big operation Kelly Deeks Now that the very steep growth period of the past seven years has slowed at Dipton Dairies, equity partner Tim Dawkins is concentrating on running his business at a high level of operational excellence.

Dawkins and his wife, Rebecca, are one of the partners with John Ferris in the two-farm, 2500cow unit. They have been involved since the original property was bought and converted into a 1200cow farm in 2008.

“We’ve grown very quickly, and after converting the perfect farm for 1200 cows, we increased cow numbers to 1800 almost straight away,” says Tim Dawkins.

“Every 100 cows you increase over 1000 puts a lot more pressure on things like time management, with longer milking times and running more herds.”

In 2012, the partnership bought a 120-hectare, neighbouring farm, which was also converted to dairy, including construction of a new dairy shed and two new houses. Cow numbers increased to 2500, run in four herds across the two farms.

Two farm managers were employed to work with Dawkins on the farms, while Ferris, who had been on the ground every day, took a step back to concentrate on other properties managed by Sirref, the management company he is involved in.

“We’ve scaled down the growth, and the big thing now is to focus on improvements and running a large-scale farm at a high level,” Dawkins says.

“While things have slowed down in a growth aspect, every year we keep lifting the bar. We’re now putting a drive into operational excellence, and focusing on the cows.”

He has already been working on improving health and safety policies, and says he can already see an improvement on five years ago.

• To page 43

Every 100 cows you increase over 1000 puts a lot more pressure on things like time management, with longer milking times and running more herds.

PHOTOS: Equity partner Tim Dawkins (standing second from left) with some of the large team at Dipton Dairies (top).

Cow numbers increased to 2500, run in four herds, with the conversion of a neighbouring farm and new cowshed in 2012 (left).

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ON FARM » Glenn and Lynne Johnstone

Business Rural

| 43

PHOTOS: Left: Glenn and Lynne Johnstone with children Braedon, Maia, Alena and Jake. Centre: Farm workers Ben Thompson and Paul Scholten. Right: Cows enjoy proliq, a whey by-product.

City slickers now equity partners Sue Russell This year marks the first season for Southland dairy farmers Glenn and Lynne Johnstone as equity partners on a 200-effective-hectare farm near Outram.

Achieving 30 per cent equity partnership status has been the result of taking up opportunities and being adaptable to change during the previous dozen years. It began with Glenn as a farm assistant at Five Rivers, in Southland, then moving through management roles and on to 50:50 sharemilking.

“It’s best to say we’ve had a very, very, very wet spring followed, within two weeks, by very dry,” says Lynne Johnstone,. “This, coupled with commodity prices, means we have some challenges to face. But it is good to be here.”

An 85ha (effective) run-off four kilometres away supports the main property. All but 10 per cent of

the farm is flat, and it carries 560 crossbred cows.

There are plans to increase capacity by another 20 head for the coming season.

“We have a 40-a-side herringbone, a very basic model, which is 20 years old and it will be able to handle the increase.”

The shareholder board has eight members, with the Johnstones owning the greatest chunk of shares. To support governance and keep the stakeholders up to date, a farm consultant is employed to report regularly.

“We have a formal agenda and we follow it at our meetings. Any matters that come up for attention are thoroughly reviewed and the structure works very well,” says Lynne Johnstone.

Roles within the board have been clearly defined, with Glenn and the farm consultant on the management team. Lynne is the board’s health and safety officer and also carries responsibilities towards the board’s banking and legal requirements. She also rears the calves.

‘You don’t have to move on to move up’ • From page 42 “I’m even seeing how improving our health and safety brings improvements in efficiency.

For example, the guys are getting really good at slowing down on the motorbikes and, as a result, I’ve just had to send one to town for repairs and maintenance for the first time in six months.”

There have been improvements in the herd as well. Dipton Dairies hit its best empty rate yet this season (nine per cent) through better management around drying cows off, keeping body condition more even through the season, running a oncea-day herd when needed, and easier and quicker availability and access to bulls now that the company is more established in the market.

The company has 12 staff, including relief milkers. Dawkins says there is a big emphasis on using technology – such as automatic drafting, automatic cup removers, and Protrack in the dairy sheds – in the right places to reduce labour, He says Sirref, which has been his sole employer since he entered the dairy industry in 2002, works hard on developing staff. With interests in several farms around New Zealand, it can provide opportunities to climb the ranks and get

Tim Dawkins with son Jack. into an equity position, as Dawkins has done.

“You don’t have to move on to move up,” he says. “There are opportunities for full progression for the right people. In a lot of ways it’s a good position to be 20% sharemilking on a 1000-cow farm rather than milking 250 cows by yourself.”

The farm operates a fairly basic feeding system; it is grass based with additional silage as needed.

Supplementing this is proliq, a whey by-product of cheese production which is fed to the stock year round.

“We winter almost all our cows on the farm as well and I’m planning to introduce more palm kernel next season to support cow condition,” says Glenn Johnstone.

The farm is also a monitor farm for the Otago Regional Council in terms of assessing nitrate leaching levels. Tests on the performance of the new effluent system have come back very positively.

“At the moment the council want farmers to do all their own water testing and, in total, there are five monitor farms in Otago.”

While Glenn is in the shed milking for the first half of the season, he tends to do more development and management related work in the second part.

Meanwhile Lynne has taken on the role of Otago convener for the Dairy Women’s Network.

“We are just getting activity going again,” she says. “The first step is that I’m collaborating with RD1 in Balclutha and a rep from Fonterra to take some workshops. There’s also the social aspect, so once we’re tracking towards the end of calving, we might meet at a café.

“Coming from the city life, I’ve become really aware of the amazing progress in the dairy industry and all the opportunities that now present. A farming career has become a real profession.”

Before getting into farming, both Lynne and Glenn had working lives in Dunedin. It was through

talking to dairy farming friends that they began to consider a big change in lifestyle – one they describe as very satisfying.

“When you consider we started our first farm job with negative equity, to be where we are now is all about the hard work and the savings we have made,” she says. It is also a good life for our four children.”

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ON FARM » Russell & Janeen Drummond

Business Rural

‘Good staff, systems’ key for Neil Grant Owning more than one farm is not restricted to dairying. Russell and Janeen Drummond have three sheep and beef farms in Southland. All are run as separate entities, although they do a bit of swapping around of the fattening cattle, and it makes sense to combine shearing drenching and vaccinating at around the same time.

Two farms are just east of the Aparima River, south of Mossburn, and the other, 30 kilometres away, is near Five Rivers.

All three have breeding cows. Home Farm has 150 shorthorns, nearby Middle Farm has 80 risslington composites, and on Dilston, 370 angus, simmental or charolais sires are put over the cows.

Heifers are fattened on each farm, and the bull calves are all fattened on Middle Farm.

The Drummonds took part in a monitor farm programme for four years.

“We learnt from things that didn’t go so well as well as the things that did go well,” says Russell Drummond. “We improved areas that needed to make gains.”

Among the things learnt was the importance of having good systems, especially as the business has got bigger.

“While we had systems at a good level for two farms the challenge we have is getting systems to the next level in an environment that has been difficult for sheep and beef farmers, especially with a fair share debt like us, to spend time working on their business instead of in their business,” says Drummond.

“Good staff are key, and as it’s now around eight years since the monitor farm programme. My challenge is passing on that institutional memory to new staff. Planning meetings are held – a good time to consider what has worked, or not worked, and what we could do better and build this into our systems.

Appointing new staff is an interesting exercise.

PHOTOS: Heavy artillery. Big gear at work on one of the three sheep-and-beef farms owned by Southland couple Russell and Janeen Drummond.

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We need a model people will get in behind so that we can shift from shortterm procurement focus to a longer-term market focus model.

“Ideally you want a balance of skills. Some good young farmers want to learn all they can and then move on. Others are not so aggressive, yet can prove to be more beneficial in the long run. Either can work well, and you work out which skills you should aim for.”

Dilston, the closest property to the mountains, gets the most rain, and is more exposed to the nor’westers. Home and Middle farms can be summer dry, so Dilston as it’s developed should often be able be a backstop if necessary. All three cop snow.

Wet autumns can lead to pugging, so shutting off pastures and feeding silage, swedes or kale to the cattle, and putting sheep into beef unit paddocks to tidy them up is part of the system.

Sheep are now tefrom, a mix of half romney, quarter east friesian and quarter texel. Home Farm has 5200 ewes, Middle has 2700, and Dilston runs 3400.

“They are high yielding, milk well, and the lambs have high growth rates,” says Drummond. “They don’t have as quite as much wool as the romneys did, but it is a bit finer, so we are not significantly back on where we were (with the romneys.) The meat is better and the lamb growth rate is better.”

He was recently elected to the Alliance Group board after standing on a platform promoting

ON FARM » Davin & Rachel Heaps

Business Rural

| 45

multiple farms Dairy conversion proves that yes, good things can take some time Neil Grant

Discing and harrowing on rolling farmland owned by Southland couple Russell and Janeen Drummond. improved returns, improved co-operation and better governance.

How is he finding this new challenge? “Not too many surprises. You get a range of views and try to find a constructive way forward. There has to be more collective working together of farmers. We need a model people will get in behind so that we can shift from short-term procurement focus to a longer-term market focus model.

“Most companies are not in a strong position because of a shrinking sheep supply base. We have to get plants more efficient.

“But a big issue is labour. If people haven’t got other jobs, it’s hard to get them to work for just

three months or less. Ideally, companies could put more technology into the best plants and doubleshift them, but many companies’ plants are not close enough to shift labour to others. It’s difficult for companies to address this issue on their own.

“To drive change, people need to plan ahead for three to five years, but we’re short-term focused.

“Investing takes time to get a return. Competing for throughput and not making much of a return makes it hard to invest.”

The Drummonds have one daughter studying veterinary science at Massey, and a teenage son and daughter at high schools.

“Our key is good staff and systems.”

Dairy conversion does not have to be a dramatic event with everything happening in a short space of time. Davin Heaps, and his wife, Rachel, who farm near Wyndham, had been sheep farming on the property for 10 years when they decided to make the change.

The farm is long and skinny, and straddles a road. It is about 50:50 flat and rolling country. As usual, the process involved re-fencing, putting in laneways, building a milking shed and all the other paraphernalia.

To start off with, Heaps thought they would combine sheep with the dairying, but, “I soon realised I could make more money from cows than sheep”.

As soon as they were able, they got shot of the sheep and bought or leased 300 of the cheapest milking cows they could find.

Eight years ago the herd was a bit of a mixture, but they gradually built up their own share in the herd, using Livestock Improvement Corporation kiwicross semen. In 2014, for the first time since the conversion, they owned the complete herd.

The 40-bail rotary shed has De Laval plant.

It requires only one person in the shed to put through the herd, which now numbers 500. Until now staffing has been the Heapses and one other worker, working a seven days on two off roster.

During that time generally there have been four days when everybody was on deck.

The day starts at 4-4.30am. Cups-on is at five, and the milking takes about two and a half hours.

In the new season, they have signed up another worker to ease up the roster and shorten the days.

Over the years, putting in tracks has continued with associated fencing. Perhaps the most helpful job as far as daily management is concerned was building an underpass linking the sections on either side of the road.

“It’s been a godsend,” Heaps says. “To start off with, I thought I could do it myself, because I’ve got my own digger, but there’s a lot more in it than I thought. They closed half the road and dug it out, then closed the other half. Not too much drama. I concreted the sides.”

Pasture renewal has been an annual event, so

effectively they now have all new grass. Maize and soft turnips have been grown as supplementary feed and to minimise pasture damage. The farm has three soil types: gravels, clay, and loamy hill slopes.

“We’re pushing the pasture up the hill, so we can pick where we put the cows.”

As a sideline to farming, Heaps continues his successful career in rugby. Formerly a Southland, Hurricanes and Blues hooker, he has coached the Wyndham seniors for the last four years.

“I said I would do it for a year. Then it stretched out to four. Last year I went to Bermuda to the World Rugby Classic. While I was away the Wyndham team had their AGM and when I got back home, I found I had been voted back in for another year.”

The continuing free-fall of milk prices is an obvious topic of conversation. “It has been a challenge,” he says, philosophically. “It’s head down and arse up. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

Like the conversion, it’s a continuing saga.

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RURAL PEOPLE » Edwin & Fungai Mabonga

Business Rural

PHOTOS Left: Edwin Mabonga oversees the milking in the new 54-bail rotary shed. Right: The Mabonga family at home in Otautau, Southland. Below: Edwin with his friesian-cross herd.

Brave new world on Kiwi soil Neil Grant It takes courage to emigrate from tropical Zimbabwe to New Zealand, and finish up on a dairy farm in Southland.

“It is best if you don’t think too much about it,” says Edwin Mabonga. “If you don’t analyse it, you don’t realise what you’ve done till you’ve done it.

We didn’t have preset expectations so everything was a positive.

“Apart from the snow.”

Mabonga and his wife, Fungai, came to New Zealand 12 years ago. He had been dairying in Zimbabwe since 1983, and Fungai was an acting school principal.

“Looking for a better life for our children brought us to New Zealand. I couldn’t give my children the lifestyle I wanted for them.”

When first here, he had a farm labourer’s job in Taranaki for a year, then went contracting for three years. Shifting to Riversdale in Southland,

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he was sharemilking for four years, then set up an equity partnership near Otautau. The Mabongas are sharemilkers for that partnership.

The partnership now owns 204 hectares of what were previously sheep farms, and leases a further 70ha. Eight hundred friesian-cross cows pass through the 54-bail rotary milking shed equipped with Waikato plant, Protrack, and in-shed feeding system.

Mabonga, who oversaw the six-month conversion, says: “I designed it so that I can run the farm, and the kids can bring the cows to me.”

However, they have three staff, only one of whom is needed in the shed for milking.

The farm is all flat, a 50:50 split of free draining old riverbed and peat. They renew about 10 per cent of the pasture each year – sometimes grass to grass, sometimes summer turnips to grass, depending on how much the pasture has been damaged or what particular needs are.

Farming is certainly a bit different for the Mabongas.

“In Zimbabwe, grass is a supplement. What New Zealanders call supplement was the main diet.

“We fed maize, grain and cottonseed. Most of it we grew, but we bought some. We grew a bit of pasture, but it cannot handle the dry periods. Wild grass grows in the rainy season, and we could harvest that.

“Coming to New Zealand, I did a lot of learning.

I had the theory of farming and the basics, but I had to pick up a lot of things to translate to the New Zealand system.

“I did the practical work and learned from farmers, and went to theoretical courses. They were helpful.

“The communities we have lived in have been brilliant. They make up for the cold weather.”

The Mabongas hace put that learning to good effect. They have entered Southland-Otago Sharemilker of the Year contests, and were runners-

up in 2008, as well as wining some other awards.

“Fungai does our accounts and some relief teaching,” says Edwin. “She found the change hard.

She has done a lot more adjusting than I have. “ But she is happy now and likes the lifestyle.”

Their children – a 16-year-old daughter, and 13-year-old and eight-year-old sons – are all good at athletics and keen on other sports.

“It keeps them out of trouble,” says Edwin. “I was an athlete, but I believe they take after their mother. They make me proud.”

Skype and social media keep them in touch with family back in Zimbabwe, and the “vibrant” African community in New Zealand stops them from getting too homesick.

“My only regret is that we should have done it sooner,” he says And a final piece of advice: “If you think too much about something, you’ll never do it.”

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Edwin Mabonga left Zimbabwe 12 years ago in search of a better life for his family. He now sharemilks 800 cows for an equity partnership near Otautau.

Business Rural

RURAL PEOPLE » Tony Coltman

| 47

Environmental study delivers swift return Kelly Deeks

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Canterbury dairy farmer Tony Coltman is assisting with Dairy New Zealand’s Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching programme this year – and he is already seeing the benefits of being involved in what he learned about his own farm’s environmental footprint.

Coltman is in his third season as equity manager on the 335-hectare (effective), 1400-cow farm at Dunsandel in Central Canterbury He says that, as a monitor farm for the Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching programme he is able to bring himself up to speed with environmental issues, which he didn’t see as one of his strengths.

“We also wanted to get some true numbers around what our environmental footprint was,” he says. “We had mixed reports from three supposedly reputable organisations that gave us our nitrate leaching losses, and there was quite a range in those. This is going to be instrumental in our business.”

Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching – a sixyear programme that has begun this year – aims to reduce the environmental footprint by improving nitrogen efficiency of the animals and/or plants used in dairy farming.

Coltman says the initial monitoring stage will lead on to implementation of cost-effective forage and crop measures intended to increase nitrogen efficiency.

He is a case-study farmer for Dairy NZ’s Tactics for Tight Times campaign, sharing his experiences of running a high-profit system to help other Kiwi farmers.

Coltman has more than 20 years of dairyindustry experience, starting as a rural banker in the North Island, then moving on to manage the development and extension team at Dexcel.

From there he wanted to go farming, and ended up joining a group of shareholders with three dairy farms in Missouri. in the Midwestern United States.

He spent five years there helping to develop the farms, and then managing them. He came home to a one-year management position on a dairy farm at Mitcham, Mid Canterbury, before moving to Dunsandel.

He says his experiences of dairy farming in the US taught him it is a lot easier to farm in New Zealand than there.

“I don’t think Kiwi farmers really appreciate all the support they get,” he says. “There are just as many compliance and cost issues in the States, but there is a lot more support to deal with those issues here.”

At Dunsandel, he had a record season in 201415 – a kind spring and an incredible autumn leading to good grass growth which has been well used.

A calf-shed and a feedpad is under construction to improve feed use.

He has been concentrating on improving reproductive performance for the past two years

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48 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Richard & Sarah Paver

Business Rural

Kiwi lifestyle ‘all that we hoped for’ Neil Grant Climbing the dairy ladder is only one way to improve your life.

For Richard Paver, a sharemilker at Otaio, south of Timaru, there is more to life than seeing how far up the system you can get. He, his wife, Sarah, and their two children, then four and one, moved to New Zealand from Zimbabwe 13 years ago.

They considered Canada because it has a tobacco-farming industry (which they had been involved in), but decided the climate and other environmental factors were too different.

Australia, they felt, was on a much bigger scale than they were used to. New Zealand was about the right size and the people had the same sort of expectations of life they had.

For the first four years they were on a sheepand-cropping farm near Temuka, working for a “patient boss” who gave them a good grounding as they adjusted from a life where they managed a large workforce who did all the manual work.

Becoming hands-on and doing the labour themselves was quite a change.

Their move to sharemilking opened another door.

Rod Hayman, the owner, converted the farm to dairying in 2005. It has a 220-hectare (effective) milking platform and 80ha of pine trees on the steep country. Last season they milked 810 cows at peak.

The plan is to milk 850 this season, then cull the less productive cows later in the season.

Farming is largely grass-based with a little silage and grain when needed. Irrigation is good. Sixty hectares are watered with K Line, and the rest is under pivot.

Being close to the coast, Paver reckons, there is a fair bit of hydraulic pressure, so their bore continues to meet their needs even when others nearby are suffering in dry times.

The herd is a bit of a mixture, but is heading towards fully kiwicross with a 70 oer cent friesian base.

“They are hardier and more adaptive,” Paver says. “They are better on the hills than friesians.

“The shed is a 50-bail rotary with Milfos plant.

It’s a simple system. Rod put in an in-shed feeding later on, but we don’t have Protrack.”

• To page 49

PHOTOS – Top: Richard and Sarah Paver and family. Above: A view across the Otaio farm that owner Rod Hayman converted to dairying in 2005.

Former Zimbabwean tobacco farmer Richard Paver feels right at home sharemilking on a 220-hectare farm in South Canterbury..

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Business Rural

RURAL PEOPLE » Billy & Sharn Roskam

| 49

Equity partnership next step on ladder while our owners have upgraded the effluent system.”

Consideration is being given to a teat sprayer and an Easy Heat automatic drafting system that separates cows on heat.

Through the spring, up to five staff are employed, with two on reduced hours because of the changes in scale next season. Two full-time staff will remain.

“It’s so much more labour-efficient going down to 600. We’re looking forward to that,” says Sharn.

Milksolids production in 2014-15 eclipsed that of the previous season by 18,000kg.The Roskams put this down to being on the farm for a second season after learning a great deal about the property in their first year.

They plan to reduce the amount of palm kernel fed through the shed in the new season as part of a move toward a more grass-based feeding regime.

“We are also dropping our stocking rate because we’re targeting higher production per cow” Reflecting on that success in the dairy awards three years ago, Sharn says one of the key benefits was that it made her sit down with Billy and talk about the business.

“It was a great experience and we learnt so much, it’s just a bit of a shame you can’t re-enter when you’ve been a winner.”

Sue Russell Southland dairy couple Billy and Sharn Roskam have had a busy few years progressing through the industry to the place where an equity partnership is the most immediate goal.

The couple, from the Waikato, met in 2007 when Billy was managing a 600-cow farm and Sharn was consulting for Dexcel (now DairyNZ) as well as leasing a 250-cow farm at Waiuku.

Within months of meeting they had bought their first 250 high-breeding-worth jersey cows; the following year they progressed to 50:50 sharemilking on a farm at Winton; another move followed quickly to Tussock Creek and a substantial increase in herd size, eventually milking 910 cows in the 2011-12 season.

The hard work and attention to their farming business was recognised by the industry when they were the Southland-Otago regional Sharemillker/ Equity Farmer of the Year in the 2012 New Zealand Dairy Industry awards.

Track forward to today. Following another move, the couple are at the business end of their second season on a 225-hectare (effective) property at Centre Bush, 10 kilometres north of Winton, where they are peak-milking 725 cows.

Their aspirations are to go into an equity partnership arrangement, though Billy says if that isn’t suitable, they would look at sharemilking in Central Southland.

“Management of pasture here in Southland is critical because, compared to the Waikato, once winter strikes, grass is at a standstill.

“So the herd winters on crops. We send our cows off farm where they are fed crops and balage to maintain condition.”

The Roskam’s have decided to reduce the scale

Dairy awards winners Billy and Sharn Roskam. of the land they lease and drop cow numbers. They sense that the current system is ‘being pushed a bit too hard while being less efficient than it could be’, says Billy.

“We are going to reduce to a 191ha (effective) milking platform and calve down to 600. We arrived at this decision by working with our accountant, consultant and bank manager and our farm-owners who are not hands-on. We explained to them that we didn’t think what we had was the right mix.”

Sharn Roskam says is took four months to work

through all the ins and outs of the shift in system size, and she described the outcome as a “win, win for everybody”.

While one neighbour is also dairying, the majority of farming in the Centre Bush area is sheep.

The 39-a-side herringbone, which initially had no automation, has been upgraded with new pulsation and cup removers, Protrack drafting and walk-over weighing, and a scraper and yard-washer.

“We also put in rubber matting for cow comfort

Hunting and fishing popular with sharemilker • From page 48

There are three full-time staff, plus Paver. The amount of time he spends on the farm depends on how often he can get away hunting and fishing.

He reckons some people he knows have shown they can live contented lives as sharemilkers of various orders and pursue other things that make their lives worth living.

“We’re on the look-out for advancement opportunities without being bullish (excuse the pun) during this lull in the industry. It helps that I have a very understanding wife who lets me go and play.

wratt Fencing

We’re on the look-out for advancement opportunities without being bullish during this lull in the industry. It helps that I have a very understanding wife who lets me go and play.

Sarah does the calf rearing on the farm and has a part-time job as a doctor’s receptionist. The children are at Timaru high schools and involved in the local sports scene.

“I think we are lucky. Because the kids live in a rural area there are more things they can do.

“We are happy in New Zealand. It is all that we had hoped for, and more.”

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50 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Mike & Susie Woodward/William & Janice du Plessis

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Business Rural

Sharemilkers earn stripes Jo Bailey Michael and Susie Woodward are happy to have simplified their farming business after progressing to a 50:50 sharemilking position at Tapatoru Dairies, a 1050-cow dairy farm near Dunsandel.

They have just spent a hectic season sharemilking this Purata Farming (formerly Synlait Farms) property, as well as contract-milking Robindale, the group’s largest farm at Te Pirita, south of Darfield, where they had farmed for several seasons.

“Part of the agreement for us getting the 50:50 opportunity was that we spent one more season at Robindale to help introduce a new 60-bail rotary shed to the milking platform and induct a new manager,” says Michael. “It’s what you do to add value and create these sort of large-scale opportunities. Jobs like this don’t hit the papers any more.”

The Woodwards finished at Robindale on May 1 after peak-milking 2050 cows.

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alongside and we’re looking forward to a good season without the stress of managing two large-scale farms.”

The new regime will also give the Woodwards better control over costs, he says.

“We’ve relied on our managers, but being more actively involved will give us a much better feel for what’s going on. We can also ensure preventative maintenance spending happens when it should for everything from machinery to animal health.”

Tapatoru Dairies is accredited to Synlait Milk’s Lead with Pride Michael and Susie Woodward with Tapatoru Dairies staff programme, which recognises and has a small financial reward for suppliers “It was a tough season as we had a few who achieve dairy farming best practice and irrigation issues left over from the big wind storm a demonstrate industry leadership in food safety and year before,” he says. sustainability.

“Production was average and was tracking “Everything is looked at from milk quality and about five per cent down on the previous year when following industry best practice guidelines and we finished a month before the end of the season.” consent requirements; to social responsibility Over at Tapatoru Dairies, around 1020 cows around looking after people, animals and the were peak-milked on the 297-hectare (effective) environment. The programme gives us the chance farm last season, achieving production of around to look closely at our operating procedures and 445,000 kilograms of milksolids.

The new season will see the newly minted 50:50 increase the engagement of our team as they become more aware of how things run and why we sharemilkers taking over from the manager they do what we do.” previously employed at the dairy unit and replacing Michael Woodward is about to begin his two of the five staff members they had previously thirteenth season with Purata. “It’s good to know employed. . that committing to a single employer can pay “Susie and I are going back full-time on farm to off. We have been able to continually grow and relieve some expenses,” says Michael. have been aligned with how they want to run the “ We’re big on staff engagement, so we’re business. We’ve always made sure we’re in a looking forward to getting in the shed once milking position to take opportunities and have not sat back starts. For the last few years we’ve been in more and waited for them to land in our laps.” of management type roles, so it’s good to have the The Woodwards have three children under fiveopportunity to give hands-on farming a crack again and-a-half which was another reason they wanted and see if it’s where we want to end up.” a change of lifestyle: “The kids are a big priority.

The couple have hand-picked their staff from We’re trying to figure out how we can spend more those they worked with at Tapatoru and Robindale time with them and at the same time take on more last season. risk, and, we hope, more reward.”

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The Oreti River plains near Winton have become typical Southland dairy country. Warmer and drier than much of the province, its rich soils have made it prime agricultural country since the nineteenth century.

South Hillend, a few kilometres north-west of the town, has the dairy farm owned by Mike and Maree Horgan, and sharemilked by South African migrants William and Janice du Plessis.

“This is our third season on this farm,” says William du Plessis.

“We were in dairying in South Africa, managed a farm for a year when we came to New Zealand, then were lower-order sharemilkers on another farm before we came to this farm.”

In the Transvaal, they had 300 dairy cows and 1500 beef cattle. Cash cropping of maize and soya beans was part of what was a much

We’ve learnt the hard way.

Now, whenever we get challenged, we’ve been through the hard times. bigger business than their current one.

They were much more managerial there with a large labour force, and much less equipment than New Zealand farms have. Here, they are hands on, doing hard physical work with just one other staff member. It’s quite a change, he says.

“My sister was here, and my father, although he died not long ago. We decided to join them and make it happen.

“First we managed a 1500-cow herd, then had a 450-cow herd with a 50-a-side herringbone shed for four years. Kees van

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RURAL PEOPLE » Kelvin & Heather McKay

Business Rural

| 51

W Coast couple take top step Kelly Deeks When West Coast dairy farmers Kelvin and Heather McKay won this year’s West Coast/Top of the South Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year title, it was a natural progression – they were third in 2013 and runners-up last year.

The couple also collected regional merit awards for dairy hygiene, farm environment, health and safety, and human resources, and two national merit awards for dairy hygiene, and recording and productivity.

The McKays have been equity farm managers milking 185 cows for New River Farming at Camerons, near Greymouth, for three seasons.

While Heather works off farm as a milk-supply manager for Westland Milk Products, she is involved in the financial and planning aspects of the farm.

Kelvin has been in the dairy industry since he left school, and his key passions are the well-being of his herd, milk quality, and the overall farming systems.

“We combine our skills and experience quite well, and learn a lot from one another,” says Heather McKay. “We complement one another, and we work together to strive towards achieving our goals. We like to challenge ourselves and we seek continual improvement.”

This was reinforced by their success in wining the human resources merit award, despite having had no full-time staff until they took on one person until December to get them through calving.

“It’s about managing ourselves as a resource, and our own learning and development,” she says.

“We’ve been involved in a Dairy New Zealand Progression Group, and this year we completed the

We complement one another and we work together...We like to challenge ourselves and we seek continual improvement.

Dairy NZ Mark and Measure course over the winter.

We go to all the discussion groups we can, and we develop our learning that way.”

The McKays have also been developing the farm. When they arrived there three years ago, it had a cowshed and some roughly developed pastures.

“It was a working dairy farm, but it hadn’t been taken to its optimal level,” Heather McKay says.

“We got to work building a house and calf sheds, improving the pastures, and upgrading the lane ways.”

Now they are concentrating on fine-tuning their system. They have installed and commissioned a meal-feeding system in the cowshed in August last year. Having started to feed palm kernel in troughs over the past season, they are now enjoying the ability to put higher-quality feed blends through the system and preferentially feed individual cows or groups of cows with the flick of a switch.

McKay says the in-shed feeding system was not about moving to a high-input system, rather being able to balance the peaks and troughs of the season. With a lot of land on the farm still to be redeveloped, it can be hard to keep control of grass

learning the hard way Zeestraten, the owner, taught us important things about low-cost farming. We had no automation so it was pretty intense – a real change for us from South Africa. He and the Horgans have taught us the ropes “We’ve learnt the hard way. Now, whenever we get challenged, we’ve been through the hard times.”

Any two of the three of them can manage the 640-cow herd through the 54-bail rotary shed, which has auto cup removers and teat sprayers.

Jonathon, a staff member, comes from the Philippines. All three of them work together doing whatever is required and all get their hands dirty.

Pasture management has been a big change. from South Africa. du Plessis would usually have had a 10-day round with his stock. Now it varies from 20 days at peak to 32 days at present. The only irrigation here is effluent disposal rather than the centre-pivot irrigators he had needed to water his paddocks.

The addition of some nitrogen, and six to 10 per cent annual pasture renewal has been very beneficial. The year before they came, annual production was 282 kilograms of milksolids per cow. In their three seasons here, that has risen to 286, 302 and now 308, with the same number of cows.

In the new season the couple will run a neighbouring farm as well, looked after by a second-in-charge. This is part of a strategy to move up in the dairying world, leading next, they hope, to 50:50 sharemilking.

Working for the Horgans has been good for the family, du Plessis says. The Horgans came to Southland from the North Island in 1994, converted a sheep and beef farm to dairy, and now have seven farms and thousands of cows

in their business. Clearly, they have plenty of ideas to pass on.

“We think we have quite a bit of scope working for the Horgans. They are really sincere farm owners. We’re lucky to be with them.

“Coming to New Zealand has been a good move for us. Our son, Anthony, went back to South Africa, but is hoping to come back with his partner to see if she likes it here.”

Amy, their 15-year-old daughter, is prominent in touch rugby, sevens, girls’ rugby, athletics and netball.

Kelvin and Heather McKay, winners of this year’s West Coast/Top of the South Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year title. quality without the ability to top some paddocks, she says.

The McKays have improved production from just over 52,000 kilograms of milksolids in their first season, which was one of the West Coast’s rare

drought years, to 66,300kg milksolids in 2013-14 and around 70,000kg last season.

They are now aiming to push per cow production to above 400kg milksolids while continuing to reduce costs.

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52 |

RURAL PEOPLE » Spennymoor

Business Rural

New irrigation scheme touts ‘huge benefits’ Karen Phelps

PHOTOS – Top:G eorge and Ross Naylor and farmhand Damon Middlemass in front of the new irrigation dam which holds 48,500 cubic metres. Middle: Heifers graze on an area irrigator by a pivot, Above: George Naylor, Damon Middlemass and Ross Naylor at the centre of pivot.

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The Naylor family is reaching the end of a two-year irrigation project that will see the productivity of their Central Otago farm increase and future-proof the land for subsequent generations, says Ross Naylor, with wife Honey, owns the farm.

The project will see the farm move from a predominantly flood to a gravity-fed irrigation system. Since last season they have been using a new, 12-span, gravity-fed centre pivot. Under construction is a 10-span centre pivot. The project has also involved the construction of a 48,500 cubic metre irrigation dam.

When completed, the project will see 163 hectares of their farm under centre-pivot irrigation while the remainder remains under flood irrigation.

“This new irrigation system will give us greater control over water use – when and where we apply it,” says Ross Naylor. “It will help us to be more compliant as well as make the farm more productive and profitable.”

The new irrigation already allowed the Naylors to increase the stock capacity on the farm from 8500 to 10,000 stock units, and they will be looking for further increases, he says. The farm has also been able to grow more winter crops.

“Typically a dryland cropping farm in this area would yield 3-4 tonnes of dry matter per hectare,” says Scot Pollard, CRT Farmlands field officer for Central Otago who is helping the Naylors with the their cropping. “The Naylors’ farm is yielding 12-20 tonnes under the new, centre-pivot irrigation.”

They have developed a very structured approach to their feed and have planted 8ha of fodder beet and 60ha of kale for dairy grazing and winter feed, 36ha of annual ryegrass and turnip mix, 14ha of annual ryegrass and winter rape, 9ha of kale to feed hoggets over winter, and 20ha of rye corn for hoggets at shearing time from about winter to early November.

Ross Naylor is the fifth generation of the family to farm in the Matakanui area; his family settled there in 1875 and started farming in 1878. The original sections of the property where Naylor grew up and now farms, called Spennymoor, were bought in 1910. The property was named after the birthplace of his great great grandmother in Durham, England.

Spennymoor is a valley floor property of 1012ha with three private water rights. These historic rights hail from the gold-mining days and are very valuable in Central Otago. The farm also has two quotas from the Omakau Irrigation Company.

The new system has allowed the Naylors to do dairy grazing on the farm, and they are in their second season of this.

Ross’s son, George, 27, the farm second-in-

Typically a dryland cropping farm in this area would yield 3-4 tonnes of dry matter per hectare. The Naylors’ farm is yielding 12-20 tonnes under the new, centre-pivot irrigation. charge, says that in the first year they grazed a mix of dairy and beef stock, but this year are focussing solely on dairy.

“We don’t have to own the stock outright with dairy whereas with beef, we have to buy it, which means a lot of capital tied up. With dairy stock we also know the date they will arrive and leave, which gives us greater control over feed budgets.”

In addition to beef cattle, the Naylors run 50 hereford breeding cows, keeping their calves to fatten, and a fine-wool flock of quarterbred sheep.

This strong merino breed achieves wool averaging 22.5 microns. Naylor runs 3,200 quarterbred ewes and winters 2,800 hoggets of which 1600 go to the works as winter hoggets and the remainder in the spring/summer period. They keep around 1,100 replacement hoggets for breeding.

Honey Naylor assists with paperwork and provides hands-on help on the farm hands when needed.

In his spare time Ross Naylor is a keen writer.

He has written books on the Matakanui Rugby Club and the history of education in the Manuherikia Valley, and is helping with a book about the tenure of Matakanui Station from its beginnings in 1857 when John Turnbull Thompson surveyed the area, until 2014. The Naylor property was part of this station before being sub-divided off in 2010.

Although a number of farms in the area are converting to dairy, the Naylors remain firmly dedicated to sheep and beef.

“Although we’re now in a position because of the irrigation where we could convert, we are still committed to sheep and beef,” says George.

“The irrigation project has been long and stressful, and caused disturbance to our stock as we’ve had a lot of grass out of productivity. But it will have huge, long-term benefits – reliability of water, drought resistance, guaranteed feed – and will add enormous value to the property. It’s really future-proofed the farm and now it’s a matter of making it pay for itself. We think we can eventually raise stock levels to 14,500. That’s the aim.”