NZ Dairy - Spring 2015

Spring 2015

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

The father of all dairy sheds

Don Chapman found Kiwis enjoyed milking in his sheds so much he has franchised his designs. Franchisees tell their stories: Pages 35-38.

INSIDE

Passion dulled by compliance - PAGE 5

First lady settles in top seat - PAGE 20

• Can apply rates below 7mm/per hr and depths down to 3mm, while still dealing with raw effluent • The GBMagnum has a mounted rain gun to provide twice the application area you would cover with a conventional travelling irrigator • Low Application rates, while cutting down the labour input

Effluent cleaner a way forward - PAGE 26

Getting the best from professionals - PAGE 57

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

DAIRY PEOPLE » Damian & Jane Roper

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NZ Dairy

Left: The new rotary dairy shed on Damian and Jane Roper’s South Taranaki farm. Right: The Roper family...from left, Jack, Adelaide, Harriet, Jane and Damian.

Best practice top of wish list Kelly Deeks

then the farm next door to that in 2008.

“We combined the two farms to improve efficiency right across the board,” says Damian Roper. “Also, we had two old herringbone dairy sheds, and with compliance costs creeping up and getting stricter and stricter, we could have thrown $100,000 at each shed and upgraded them.

“But we still would have been left with two old sheds, so we bit the bullet and spent $1.8 million.

We did the job properly and complied with all Fonterra regulations around milk quality and water quality, and environmental regulations.”

Damian and Jane Roper had best practice and efficiency in mind when they undertook a project to combine their two, small dairy farms into one 490-cow unit.

The new farm was operational in August last year and is now into its second season.

The Ropers are 50:50 sharemilkers milking 420 cows on Grahame and Diane Lance’s Waverley farm, where they have been for the past 16 years.

They bought their first farm, at Alton, in 2006,

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After building a new dairy shed, silage bunkers, and feedpad, he says he would tell anyone undertaking A similar project that a lot of things will happen that haven’t been anticipated, or budgeted for.

“Whether it’s the weather, or contractors not turning up, or just little issues, the project took a bit longer and went a bit over budget in a few areas.

But the overall end-result, we’re 110% happy with it.”

He attributes the highly satisfactory result to the 12 months of planning behind the project.

He and Jane looked at other dairy sheds and talked to the owners to find out what they would have done differently and why.

Then, unable to find a builder who would build their shed the way they wanted, they approached Waikato Milking Systems, and with the help of project manager Alan Moulder, got the shed they wanted.

“We’ve got a light, airy shed,” Damian Roper says. “I had to be able to swing a dead cat in every corner. I measured it out, but I didn’t use a proper cat.”

The pump room was also a priority, and Roper needed it to be comprehensive, dry, and sealed, with fuse boxes and pumps easy to find.

As improving efficiency was the drive behind the whole project, the yard needed an automated

washing system so that 30 minutes of hosing-down time could be saved after each milking.

The ‘vet area’ had to be user friendly, and the Ropers sought advice from the Hawera branch of Taranaki Veterinary on what their vet staff would like to see incorporated.

“They are a major part of our business, so making it easier for them to do their job makes them a happy business partner,” Roper says.

“The shed also had to be suitable for our sharemilkers, Dan and Michelle Payton. We wanted quick milkings, and we’ve got them down to an hour and a quarter. That’s one of the reasons we didn’t have to put a toilet in the shed.”

Farm efficiency has also been improved through new silage bunkers and a feedpad.

“Feeding in the paddocks, we used to lose between 15 and 20 per cent of our maize and grass silage,” Roper says. “That’s now down to 5% wastage, and it’s had a huge economic impact on our business.

“With our investment into our concrete, silage bunkers, our wastage is now very minimal – one to two per cent. With the old dirt sides, wastage could be 10% or 15%, and there was room for spores and bugs to grow.”

The Roper’s development project has also seen a 1.4ha wetland created on the farm, which they are gifting to the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust.

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Spring 2015

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

The father of all dairy sheds

Don Chapman found Kiwis enjoyed milking in his sheds so much he has franchised his designs. Franchisees tell their stories: Pages 35-38.

INSIDE

Passion dulled by compliance - PAGE 5

First lady settles in top seat - PAGE 20

• Can apply rates below 7mm/per hr and depths down to 3mm, while still dealing with raw effluent • The GBMagnum has a mounted rain gun to provide twice the application area you would cover with a conventional travelling irrigator • Low Application rates, while cutting down the labour input

Effluent cleaner a way forward - PAGE 26

Getting the best from professionals - PAGE 57

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

DAIRY PEOPLE » Bryce & Lee-Ann Hunger

NZ Dairy

|3

Off-roader in driving seat Sue Russell Bryce Hunger manages to pack a lot into his life – alongside running a 200-hectare (effective) dairy block.

He and brother-in-law David Smith are top national contenders in four-wheel-drive, off-road trialling.

“I got involved in the sport five years ago after going for a ride with my father-in-law,”says Bryce Hunger. “I straight away bought a Mitsi Pajero with a roll cage and teamed up with David as navigator.”

He bought a more capable truck three years ago, and the pair won the 2013-14 national title.

A typical competition day involves driving through 32 distinct hazards, and involves close teamwork between driver and co-driver to establish the best approach. There can be up to 70 vehicles of various classes competing, from standard Suzuki and Pajeros to highly modified specialised machines.

Hunger describes the sport as adrenalin-filled, with fantastic people: “We roll over a lot. Often the angles and gradient are very steep, right on the edge of what’s possible for the machine. We’re safely tied in with a five-point harness, but it makes for a real spectacle when the vehicles flip and struggle to get through the section.”

It’s an exhausting but very satisfying day, with the first hazard starting around 8am and sections held to 3pm or 4pm.

Now two of Bryce and Lee-Ann’s three children have taken up mini motocross, and Bryce wants to get more involved with that as well.

The Hungers farm right on the boundary of Inglewood, within a family partnership with LeeAnn’s parents, Nigel and Karen Smith. They have

We roll over a lot. Often the angles and gradient are very steep, right on the edge of what’s possible for the machine.

PHOTOS: Inglewood farmer Bryce Hunter and co-driver, brother-in-law David Smith, on a roll at an off-road trial. Bryce and Leigh-Anne Hunger (bottom left) with their motocross-mad children inside the new herd shelter. two full-time staff. Daryl Murphy and Andrew Deam.

The original 79ha farm has grown to 200ha... mainly flat with good, free-draining soil, and not prone to flooding despite two rivers flowing through it.

This winter every cow had a target dry period of six weeks. On the June 10 milkers were put on once a day, and calving began on July 20, quite early given the farm’s position on the slopes of Mt Taranaki. When the main milking season starts, the herd will be milked twice a day. This season’s target is 370,000 kilograms of milksolids, up from the 300,000kg of the previous two seasons but with 100 more milking cows and winter milking.

A new Redpath stand-off shelter has enabled a whole new approach to the farming system, something Bryce Hunger expects will bring solid gains in production and ultimately farm running costs. The Hungers did their due diligence, looking at various stock-housing options before settling on a Redpath model with a plastic roof to let light through.

“Our issue here is long cold wet winters, not long hot summers,” Bryce says.

Construction of the 50-metre x 111-metre structure went smoothly and was completed midMay. It housed 550 cows 24/7 for six weeks, and

was then used as a feedpad and for young stock.

It can accommodate up to 600 stock, and each cow is fed a 3kg x 3kg x 3kg combination of maize, grass silage and palm kernel.

“What has been interesting to observe with feeding inside is that the cows take their time munching their way through their quota,” says Bryce..”When we feed out, they don’t appear to be hungry and they’re piling on the weight; they love it and I love it!”

Adopting this new feeding system and housing the cows inside before calving has also produced a substantial improvement in cow-condition and no pasture damage leading into calving. The whole farm has been re-grassed – 100ha in permanent pasture, and the rest undersown with asset and shogun.

Seven years ago, the Hungers replaced their 18-a-side herringbone shed with a 50-bail Waikato rotary.It is equipped with automatic cup removers, a Protrack Vantage system, and a camera to detect when cows are in heat.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » John & Mary Washer

NZ Dairy

Diverse business spreads risk Karen Phelps Taranaki-based John and Mary Washer operate a unique and diverse farming business. The couple’s policy of spreading their farming interests has proved highly beneficial as different rural markets rise and fall.

Their operation has four components: 400 hectares of dairy farms at Rahotu, which peak-milk 1700 jersey cows; a bull sale and hire business; a 1200-calf-rearing business which also stock trades out females to the dairy industry; and an innovative farm land development.

“We are all about being risk averse even though it can make operating the business more challenging,” says John Washer.

He admits they have been fortunate to be part of the generation of farmers he terms “the lucky generation”.

His family arrived from England in 1873, initially farming leased land at Auckland near where the international airport now stands.

“The second generation ended up buying land at the peak of the market then nearly losing it during the depression,” he says.

“The third generation was involved in the war.

We’ve had nothing really to worry about.”

John farmed in partnership with his parents, Charlie and Beryl, for 40 years before he and Mary went out on their own.

They now run the original family farm at Rahotu, which has grown considerably with additional farm purchases and leases. They now have five dairy units producing a combined total of 550,000 kilograms of milksolids.

John Washer says a key to their business success has been selling when everyone wants to buy, and vice versa.

“We’ve been able to follow the grass curve

by selling 250-300 cows every year to new conversions at Christmas time. It helps us maximise turning grass into milk as that’s our dry period.

“I’m not sure if this will happen this year with the drop in payout. but that’s another key – moving with the market. Older heavier cows are worth more as meat value.”

Their commercial bull farming business, trading under the brand, 0800 Bull Hire, this year celebrates 30 years in business. It supplies around 15 per cent of the bull business in Taranaki.

The Washers carry all breeds of bulls and supply more than 1000 bulls, mainly jersey, each year to farmers all around the country.

An important point is that the bulls are spread over four geographic locations – Piopio, Te Kuiti, Mt Messenger and New Plymouth. It’s another aspect of the Washers’ focus on risk management.

“This means that if we get any health problems or a drought in one region, we are still able to supply and certainty of supply has become key for our clients,” says John Washer.

“Being on a trucking route has been a key to making this system work because we can get backloads to transport our stock between units.”

Their land development, Tapuae Country Estate, is another example of thinking outside the square.

Rather than subdivide land and sell it off as lifestyle blocks, the Washers recognised that townies often fancy the rural life but don’t really know what they are getting themselves into.

So, they have made it easy for them to have the best of both worlds.

Investors can select from the one-acre, coastal. freehold house sites and are able to build their house within the 4000 quare metre land area.

Residents automatically by title have an equal

John Washer and bull manager Sean Crowley with a herd of young jersey bulls.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Jens & Min Wulff

|5

PHOTOS: Development work on Jens and Min Wulff’s dairy operation at Pyes Pa, where native bush is a feature. Calves feeding and helping hands ... and paws.

Passion dulled by compliance Sue Russell Jens Wulff has pretty much been farming all his life and, while his circumstances have changed somewhat during the 30-plus-year journey, he is as passionate about the industry today as he was when he began as a 17-year-old farm cadet.

These days Jens and wife Min are happily settled on their 77-hectare run-off near Katikati, in the Bay of Plenty, while the main dairying operation is conducted out of a “very pretty” farm at Pyes Pa. “I have had several shifts,” Jens says, “mainly around the Waikato area, as I have progressed – sharemilking around Te Awamutu, five years in Cambridge at Whitehall before buying my first farm, a 99ha, 270-cow unit at Korakonui approximately halfway between Cambridge and Te Kuiti, which I farmed for 11 years.”

Track forward to today and, after a change in direction, he is very much a Bay of Plenty farmer and enjoying every moment. He owns a 217ha farm that carries a sizeable chunk of native bush –

something he and Min gain a great deal of pleasure from. A contract milker now works and lives on the property.

“We have just increased the farm by 12ha, having felled 15ha of pine trees. But the native bush is a real feature.”

While no longer living on the dairy unit, the couple enjoy their plot near Katikati and welcome the young stock on the run-off.

The dairy farm itself operates to a level 3-4 feeding system, bringing in additional feed during spring and autumn.

There is no intention to evolve to a level 5 system, given the additional farm infrastructure this would demand and, as Jens puts it, “a whole new mindset this would involve”.

The home dairy farm is positioned splendidly – 430 metres above sea-level and with views over Tauranga.

The area is bounded by the Mamaku/Kaimai range and can often get very cold in winter. Grass growth stops dead in its tracks in July.

Last season was the driest ever recorded on

“There is just so much administration of health and safety and other compliances, and this world is best suited to the younger farmer.

“I do worry about the fact the rules that apply, apply to everyone regardless of the size of their operation and their years in farming.

“I know instinctively, for instance, whether a paddock is safe to operate a tractor on.

“I’ve learnt this from experience, and I worry that there are now so many rules applying that younger farmers these days can’t take any, so called risks.”

While understanding the need for stringent health and safety rules on large-scale farms, which tend to employ new-to-the-industry farmers, he would wish that those who administer OSH compliances affecting farming practice could have some flexibility of approach within their structure.

“The bureaucrats are taking the enjoyment of farming away from us now.

“So much paperwork is demanded for compliance. We are now being forced to spend many more hours in the office on unproductive work.”

the farm, which resulted in production of 138,000 kilograms of milksolids rather than the usual 144,000kg or so.

“I would like to think we can attain 150,000kgplus kilograms over the next four to five years,” says Wulff. We have the farm fairly well tapped out and the additional 12 hectares are coming in to play.”

One hundred heifers, a mix of friesian and friesian cross, are being raised on the Katikati run-off, .

For Jens Wulff, his dedication and love of farming comes down to a simple love of working with animals and being his own boss.

He also gets a great deal of satisfaction from looking back and seeing the difference he has made to a property – tidying and prettying it up for the next owner.

It is this stewardship of the land he values and respects.

His only negative, he says, would be the lack of flexibility within the health and safety compliance side of life.

Diversity helps manage volatility • From page 4 1/30th part-share in the entire gated community, farm park farmlands and convenience amenities that cover about 57ha.

“It’s a unique concept, allowing for the benefits of a rural lifestyle but without the pressures and hassle of manual farm work,” says John Washer.

“Farmlands surrounding each house site will continue to be farmed as a commercial, dry-stock grazing block by a lessee professional farmer.

“The notion of a farm park is based on the premise that those who live there govern themselves and work together as members of a management committee within the estate community.”

Around half the sites have ! been sold and the

Washers lease the grazing block and run it on behalf of residents.

Both John and Mary Washer agree dairying has been good to them. But they also say it has taken attention to detail and the dedication of good staff to bring everything together.

“You can’t change the weather and you can’t change the payout, but you do the best you can on the day,” says John.

“We have different income streams, but I couldn’t tell you which one will be the best this year.

For example, I never thought I’d see bull beef that was 30% more per kilogram than a kilogram of milksolids.

But that’s farming – it can be unpredictable and diversifying helps us to manage that unpredictability and volatility.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Andrew McElroy

NZ Dairy

Andrew McElroy milks 525 cows at Tariki, between Stratford and Inglewood. Tucked into the slopes of Mt Taranaki, Tariki is 300 metres above sea level and has an average rainfall of 2.5m.

Gen4 takes care of family land Karen Phelps Andrew McElroy is in the process of becoming the fourth generation to own the family farm at Tariki, between Stratford and Inglewood. He is buying the original 38 hectares of the now 220ha effective unit.

His great grandfather bought the land in the late 1800s when he arrived in New Zealand from the Shetland Islands, and ran it as a dairy farm.

Andrew, who was raised on the property, has more over the years, adding to the scope of the farm. His parents have retained ownership of the original unit, and they run the business together in a partnership.

The farm milks 525 predominantly friesian cows through two sheds – a 36-bail rotary and 20-a-side herringbone. The two herds are formed according to herd-testing numbers.

Andrew is now concentrating on developing and improving the farm.

He says staffing – keeping staff motivated, interested and informed – is a huge challenge.

Responsibility is delegated to herd managers Mark Grigg and Gary Frank, both of whom have worked for the McElroys for many years.

The low payout will mean the emphasis this season will be on looking to cut costs without curbing production.

“It’s a hard one,” says Andrew McElroy. “You’ve got to keep the ball rolling so we’ll be doing more things ourselves on farm like maintenance and watching costings.”

My father was a man of the land. It’s about the land rather than money for us. You get attached to the land. We probably could have made more progress if we’d sold and moved, but this is our place. It’s often a dream to own land, and we’ve turned it into reality.

The farm is in its third season of using Livestock Improvement Corporation sexed semen. McElroy says it gives the business more cashflow as LIC buys the calves for $500 when they are four days

“Ongoing research & development results in superior products & performance advantages including; more yield, faster milking, no slip and no teat end damage.”

old, as long as they meet the LIC criteria. It also gives the farm a greater choice of heifer calves.

Tariki is 300 metres above sea level and has an annual rainfall of 2.5m. The farm is tucked right into

the slopes of Mt Taranaki. Two streams run through it, but there is no water irrigation.

• To page 7

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DAIRY PEOPLE Âť Darryl & Kim Jensen

|7

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tis the season for tightening belts Karen Phelps Darryl Jensen favours a mostly grass-based system on the 115-hectare unit he farms at Paengaroa, in the Bay of Plenty. In lower payout years, this helps him to manage risk and maintain better control of his budget. he says.

He has taken advantage of specials ($198 per tonne compared with the $277 a tonne he paid last season) at local field days to lock in 70 tonnes of palm kernel to fill in gaps.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a significant saving, and just one example of how farmers in the region will be looking to tighten their belts during the coming season and saving costs where they can, he says.

The farm that Darryl and wife, Kim, own was originally bought by his parents, Brian and Pat Jensen, in 1958.

Darryl says he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t interested in becoming a dairy farmer when he left school, so he headed to the King Country to work on sheep-and-beef units.

He and Kim bought their first farm, a 400ha sheep-and-beef unit, at Waimiha. They ran this for about 10 years before selling up and buying into the family dairy farm in 1999.

Part of the farm is still owned in a family trust, but Daryl and Kim now own the majority.

Although Darryl handles the day-to-day running of the farm with the assistance of two full-time staff, Brian continues to keep his hand in.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mum wanted to move to Mt Maunganui when they retired, but Dad wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leave the farm,â&#x20AC;? says Brian. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The compromise was that they built a new house here, so they live on the farm.â&#x20AC;?

The Jensens peak-milk a herd of 330 kiwicross cows through a 26-a-side herringbone shed. They are in the process of upgrading the shed with a new vat and a chiller unit to meet Fonterra regulations.

The property sits on two main plateaus with a rise of only about 15 metres between the two levels.

The soil type is split â&#x20AC;&#x201C; around 45ha is peaty loam, and the balance is sandy loam.

This means most of the farm tends to dry out over summer. To compensate, Darryl has been experimenting with planting 10 per cent of the farm in lucerne to combat dryness on the higher ground.

For the first time, the couple have wintered all their cows on farm this season.

Pasture management has been altered to cope and more palm kernel has been bought in. The stand-off pad will be used to help contain pasture damage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll do on-off grazing leaving residuals of 1200. We need to do everything we can to prevent damaging paddocks and to encourage more grass growth,â&#x20AC;? says Darryl.

Each season he sets targets for rounds. He aims for 30-day rounds from December 1, extending to 40 days by February 1 and 100 days by June 1.

The aim is to build up paddocks, always having

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll do on-off grazing leaving residuals of 1200. We need to do everything we can to prevent damaging paddocks and to encourage more grass growth. some cover in front of the cows, he says.

A new effluent irrigation system installed a year ago enables the Jensens to spread over 20ha of the farm, Darryl says it will help them make the most of the nutrients, and he plans to expand the system as finances allow.

Darryl Jensen is in his second year as Te Puke branch chairman of Federated Farmers and his first year as Bay of Plenty provincial vice-chairman.

He was prompted to take a role by frustration with escalating compliance costs for farmers. Some he agrees with, but says others can sometimes be prohibitive to smaller farms such as his own.

The local branch is working hard to give farmers

a voice in council changes to water allocation.

The region has recently been split into nine water-catchment zones and Jensen says farmers are not yet certain of the impact this could have on their businesses, as community groups are being formed in each catchment to set cultural, social and economic values for the waterways.

The Jensens also own a kiwifruit orchard at Pongakawa which has 7.2ha planted in fruit.

They are grateful for the diversity of their business because at the moment, that enterprise is helping to give them added certainty in a lowpayout season and an environment of ambiguity around water allocation.

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Feeding out hay on the McElroy farm at Tariki.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Old guyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; still out of bed at 4am There are two oxidation ponds for effluent, and the farm is still allowed to discharge the water. although council regulations mean this will change soon. McElroy will look at storage facilities and an irrigation system when the council makes a final decision.

Last season the farm produced 182,700 kilograms of milksolids. This seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s target is similar, and ultimate goal is around 200,000kg.

McElroy remains a very hands-on farmer and employs relief milkers as needed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I still roll out of bed at four in the morning. My

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It must run in the family: his parents milked until they were in their 70s. McElroy says things on the farm will continue much the same when he takes over, but the eventual goal is to streamline the business and have all the cows milked through a single dairy shed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My father was a man of the land. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about the land rather than the money for us. You get attached to the land. We probably could have made more progress if weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d sold and moved, but this is our place. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often a dream to own land, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve turned it into reality.â&#x20AC;?

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8|

DAIRY PEOPLE » John & Helen Hammond

NZ Dairy

Converting to dairy last spring has allowed Ohakune bull breeder John Hammond to bring another generation onto the family farm.

Dairy conversion ‘a golden opportunity’ Kim Newth Moving to dairy from beef last autumn provided all the impetus needed to bring the fourth generation onto the family farm, says Ohakune bull breeder John Hammond.

He and his wife, Helen, run the Ruaview Angus and Simmental beef cattle stud near Ohakune. His grandfather started the original Ruaview stud.

However, John Hammond realised that beef alone would not be enough to sustain the property through to the next generation. A dairy conversion was the obvious solution: “It was a golden opportunity. We just couldn’t generate enough income from beef to support two families.”

Their son, Michael, who had been working on a dairy farm up north, returned to the family farm last year as a 50:50 sharemilker, accompanied by his partner. Aniwa. and their young child. He becomes the fourth generation of the Hammond family to work on the 140-hectare Ohakune property.

Michael is managing 200 friesian cows through a 30-a-side herringbone dairy shed, with capacity for expansion. Production started around 80,000 kilograms of milksolids, and the target is to reach 100,000kg within the next couple of years.

“It will happen as conditions allow,” says John Hammond. “Even though things are set up pretty well with beef, you have to go to another level with dairying – in fact, two levels.

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“The dairying industry is quite different from beef, and the requirements are even more again.”

Adverse climate and market conditions combined to make the first year of the conversion fairly challenging. At this high-altitude property (600-metres plus), there is no pasture growth from mid-May to mid-August.

More than in other parts of the country, the Hammonds rely on a good supply of fodder, silage and hay to tide them through the winter.

Unfortunately, last year’s growing season was one of the worst ever.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Phil & Marlene Sherwood

|9

Winter milking proves cash cow Sue Russell Thirty-year-old Waikato dairy farmers Phil and Marlene Sherwood describes themselves as “born and bred to farming”, so it’s not surprising that in the 15 years since Phil’s farming mother died, they have taken several significant steps.

Nestled not far from the outskirts of Matamata is one of two farms the couple own in the heart of a strong dairying community.

“Our farm, just a five-minute drive from Matamata, is 60 effective hectares on which we milk 200 jersey cows,” says Phil Sherwood. “It’s an operational size we are very happy and settled with.”

He describes his jersey herd as “our little cream cans” and especially likes the fact that because they they are lighter on their feet, they cause less pasture damage during winter.

The farm is “gentle rolling” in nature with classic Waihou sandy loam soil. The pasture and its ability to produce grass very much suits the winter milk contract the Sherwoods has undertaken, supplying Open Country Dairies for the past seven seasons.

“The thinking behind choosing to go to winter milking was driven originally by the fact we wanted to dry the herd off during the tough times,” he says.

“We grow very good grass here in the winter.”

The benefit of producing milk through winter, given the way Open Country Dairy’s winter premium pays, has helped provide the ability to buy their other farm at Walton.

“The seasonal milk-supply schedule looks like a bell-curve. The payment structure is the opposite to that, so when the market is flooded with milk supply, we receive base rate; but on the shoulders, we receive premium, it certainly helps with cashflows.”

The couple have two children, two-and-halfyear-old Tommy and 10-month-old Locky. Looking after the bookwork is part of Marlene’s role in the business.

Recently she has started assisting farmers in getting back their farm fuel rebates and she also continues to work part-time from home for a local firm, Noble and Lee Chartered Accountants.

The farm is complemented by an 11-hectare run-off block they lease next door. The run-off has two chief purposes – additional grazing space for

The thinking behind choosing to go to winter milking was driven originally by the fact that we wanted to dry the herd off during the tough times.

PHOTOS: Above – Matamata farmer Phil Sherwood in the shed. Above right – Marlene Sherwood hoses down. Right – Phil and Scott Hudson in the feed shed. Far right – urea spreading on pastures; lower right – The 26-a-side DeLaval milking shed. the milking herd in winter, and running some of the young stock.

The 26-a-side DeLaval herringbone milking parlour has automatic cup removers, and Phil Sherwood says he’s happy with its simplicity.

“The shed on our other farm is similar in standard, with the idea people can transfer easily from milking in one shed to another if needed.”

The farm operates a feeding system 3, with about 160 tonnes of custom blend fed out each year. The beauty of the blended feed – currently DDG, PKE and soybean meal – is the ability you have to control what goes into it, says Phil Sherwood.

“If we want more protein or more energy, we can simply change the mix.”

The Matamata farm produces 90,000 to 96,000 kilograms of milksolids a season. While they are striving to crack 100,000kg this season, they are realistically expecting around 95,000kg..

While the Sherwoods concentrate on the Walton farm they bought two years ago, Scott Hudson and his wife, Kelly, manage the Matamata farm.

They are in their second year on the farm, which is providing Scott with his first experience of winter milking.

Given the cyclical nature of how the dairy industry tends to operate, Phil Sherwood says it’s important that farmers, and the businesses that serve them, act prudently in the good years to cushion the effect of the low payout.“In the current climate, everyone is hankering down, getting back to basics, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Herd sourced from higher altitude • From page 8 spring whatsoever – it was worse than winter. We had two or three good weeks in December and then we were into that hideous dry. The climate threw everything at us.”

Yet the family’s resilience remains strong and he is hoping this spring will bring a better growing season to set them up for 2016.

“It would be appreciated.”

Michael has been supplementing his income with off-farm work four days a week, and Aniwa has been working off farm to further supplement the farm income.

“Helen and I help where we can. He has had to look at ways of balancing his income – this is what has to happen when Fonterra doesn’t pay.

“People don’t realise that when your income drops by 50 per cent compared to where it was last year, which is not what we were expecting in that first year, it leaves an enormous hole.”

A positive part of the conversion has been the strength of the dairy herd, sourced from a higher-

People don’t realise that when your income drops by fifty per cent compared to where it was last year, which is not what we were expecting in that first year, it leaves an enormous hole. altitude farm on a forestry conversion block near Tokoroa.

The cows have proven resilient to conditions at Ohakune and have helped put the Hammonds’ new dairy operation on a firm footing.

For after hours service phone 888 4405 We have got you covered 10 Waharoa West Road, Matamata. Phone 07 888 4405

10 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Tony Coltman/Tony & Lona Sorenson

NZ Dairy

Environmental study brings swift return Kelly Deeks 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. 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 also a case-study farmer for Dairy NZ’s Tactics for Tight Times campaign, sharing his experiences of running a high-profit system.

Coltman has more than 20 years of dairyindustry experience, starting as a rural banker in the North Island, then moving to manage the development and extension team at Dexcel.

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

We wanted to get some true numbers around what our environmental footprint was . We had mixed reports from three supposedly reputable organisations that gave us our nitrate leaching losses, and there was quite a range. 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 and has raised the six-week, in-calf rate from 63 per cent in the year before he arrived to 70% last season and 73% this season. His strategy has centred around managing weight loss and cycling, and he will continue with this with the aim to get the six-week, in-calf rate up to 78 per cent.

Tony Coltman and Dana Carver...US experience taught him it’s a lot easier to farm in New Zealand.

Marlborough weaves magic on Danish couple 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

Tony found this farm for sale. He took one look and didn’t want to see any more than the driveway. It had all the tings we wanted.

Lona and Tony Sorenson: ‘It was too soon; the banks didn’t know us yet.’ 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.

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 54-bail, 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.”

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Andy Stewart

| 11

Sheep get flick in favour of heifer grazing Kelly Deeks

PHOTOS: Heifers feats on green feed oats (top) and grass and balage (above) at grazier Andy Stewart’s Marton farm.

Manawatu grazier Andy Stewart is lending his expertise to Dairy New Zealand’s Heifer Grazing Project. His Netherton Farm became a focus farm for the project last December.

Stewart is the third generation of his family to live on the Marton farm. His father used to run 3000 ewes and 400 steers, and grow 90 hectares of barley. When Andy Stewart and his brother, John, took over in the late 1990s, they cut the ewe numbers back and started grazing heifers for the Wanganui Veterinary Services VetCare grazing scheme.

In 2008 the brothers split the farm in half, and each now runs his own property. John and his wife, Brenda, have bought another block of hill country land, increased heifer numbers, and continue to run ewes.

Andy started in 2008 with 900 ewes, 200 heifers, and 90ha of barley. He now runs 465 heifers, 200 weaner heifers from November to May, 50 steers, and a few lambs and hoggets to help with grass-quality management, and grows 40ha of barley.

With no guarantee in sheep, he decided to run heifers because of a guaranteed dollars-perkilogram income, which last season averaged $530 a head, or $2.20 a kilogram of weight-gain.

Of the 465 heifers that came to his property in May this year and will go home R2 in-calf heifers next May, 101 belong to a farmer and 365 are for the Wanganui Veterinary Services VetCare scheme.

The scheme sources and places about 9000 heifers and 6000 weaners with graziers on good land to ensure they are well grown for dairy farmers.

Netherton Farm’s role with the DairyNZ is as a focus farm in a project aiming to improve the growth of young stock, in-calf rates, and the dairy farmer-grazier relationship.

The project was launched last December after a Livestock Improvement Corporation study of more than 105,000 animals showed that 73 per cent

You can’t reinvent the wheel, but as a grazier, the most important things to get right are grass quality, health programmes, and good water.

were more than five per cent under weight at 22 months of age.

Netherton Farm is one of six focus farms set up around New Zealand. The the aim is to find and demonstrate techniques of raising the number of young stock that achieve liveweight targets and improving the national six-week, in-calf rate.

The three field days have so far been held on the Stewart farm. These are open to anyone interested to investigate or find out more about growing dairy heifers.

“A better grown-out heifer produces more milk earlier, gets in calf earlier, and can handle being on a milking platform better than a poorly raised heifer,” says Stewart.

“You can’t reinvent the wheel, but as a grazier, the most important things to get right are grass quality, health programmes and good water.

Dairy farmers should have a commitment from graziers to do the job properly, whether it’s in a contract, on a weight-gain basis, or a straight headage basis. It’s a commitment by graziers to do what they can to take care of the stock as though they were their own.”

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12 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Scott Holdings

NZ Dairy

Aim: intensive, high production Jo Bailey Ian Scott is trying to remain philosophical about the significant investment he has made in a justcompleted, new herd shelter and cowshed on his mixed-enterprise farm at Tirau.

“Because of our high stocking rate, my overall aim for the development was to set up a very intensive and high producing dairy unit that would maintain itself within potential nutrient limits. We also wanted to make the farm more attractive should it be sold.”

With milk “not worth a toss” at present, this hasn’t proved the ideal time to make such a big investment.

“Like everyone else, we just have to respond to the current circumstances,” he says.

“However, I don’t believe this is just a minor blip. It’s hard to blame farmers for farming more intensively and cranking up production. Increased volume is part of the Fonterra strategy. We’ve been told there is an ever-increasing, world thirst for milk.”

Scott is the major shareholder in the 58-hectare (effective), 320-cow Scott Holdings dairy operation, which also involves Jacqueline Rowarth, professor of agribusiness at Waikato University, and Ian’s brother, Ces, a Hamilton-based architect.

It is a busy life for Ian, who oversees the dairy operation alongside deer and maize-growing enterprises. He farms 1200 deer and 50ha of maize, and continues to practise as a large-animal veterinarian, doing mainly dairy and deer work for farmers. He is also chairman of the Dairy Industry New Zealand Velvet Standards Body, which sets the welfare standards and audit programmes around deer velveting.

Around eight hectares of the 108ha home farm is in forestry, 42ha is in deer and the balance makes up the dairy unit.

The 50ha Lake Rd block supports the dairy business and includes the maize growing operation.

Oliver Farms, a 70ha deer farm, forms another part of the business.

The new herd shelter and dairy shed have been operational since early July and are now almost up to speed, he says.

The high-tech facilities include the latest energy-

• To page 14 The new herd shelter under construction at Tirau. A third of the 1000 cubic metres of woodchip flooring in the herd shelter will be removed twice a year and applied to a maize block as part of the fertiliser component.

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NZ Dairy

| 13

Investing wisely in the right dairy refrigeration and pre-cooling solutions Ian Scott has a pre-cooling and dairy refrigeration solution provided by Tru-Test DTS Milk Cooling & Tank Solutions.

On the pre-cooling end, the Okoroire shed has a new 8000L double bank plate cooler from Tru-Test installed at ground level in a support frame with a certificate of compliance. Ian uses farm water as the primary cooling to take the first wave of heating out of the milk going from 34°C down to about 20°C. A 12 horsepower water chiller unit cools 25,000L of standing water to 7°C and this is pumped through the closed loop of the plate cooler. The second wave of 7°C water pumped through the second stage of the plate cooler delivers milk into the vat at around 10°C. For the vat refrigeration, Ian has a 14,000L farm milk vat fitted with a DTS polar wrap to ensure

Ian receives optimum cost savings by reducing the temperature fluctuations caused by ambient weather conditions and therefore reducing power costs and lowering ongoing chiller running costs. Ian has made use of an existing 7 horsepower Patton unit for maintaining his vat milk temperature and has installed a Heatpro unit to use heat from milk cooling as a cost-effective method of preheating water entering his hot water cylinders during milking.

A new innovative vat controller was also installed on farm. Vat Manager has been designed specifically to meet proposed milk cooling regulation changes along with the capability to transmit and store data. Vat Manager has a large easily read display box with a built-in memory 30 day milk temperature log. It can be upgraded to Vat

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Scott Holdings

I don’t believe the current explosion of anaerobic ponds is the answer to our effluent problems. All we have done is swap nitrogen leaching for greenhouse gasses, which are trickier to measure, let alone capture. Farm trees for chipping may be a new, valuable resource

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NZ Dairy

Sustainability underpins farm philosophy • From page 12 saving LED lighting systems, cooling and heat recovery. A CCT camera system is being developed to allow cell-phone monitoring of calving cows.

The springing cows have been sheltered inside at night to reduce grass intake; all cows are fed inside for around four hours a day.

“During wet weather, grazing time on pasture for the herd can be greatly reduced to minimise pasture damage.”

A third of the 1000 cubic metres of wood chip flooring in the herd shelter will be removed twice a year and applied to the maize block as part of the fertiliser component.

This “nutrient cycle platform” will enable virtually all the herd-shelter nutrients to be recovered and recycled – reducing nitrogen loss on the milking platform, improving soil structure, organic matter and fertility on constantly cropped maize ground, and ultimately returning the nutrients back to the milking platform as feed.

“I don’t believe the current explosion of anaerobic ponds is the answer to our effluent problems. All we have done is swap nitrogen leaching for greenhouses gases, which are trickier to measure, let alone capture. Farm trees for chipping may be a new, valuable resource.”

Scott tries not to have any surplus of grass on the milking platform; no supplements are made on the deer or dairy platform. Chicory is used extensively.

“If the deer can’t keep up with maximum spring growth, then cow grazing extends into the deer farm and inputs are scaled back. We can also graze the deer on the cow paddocks as ‘diesel free’ toppers or to reduce parasite challenge to young deer.”

A small part of the maize produced is sold to other farmers, and the income used to buy extra supplements, such as low nitrogen/high energy palm kernel and tapioca, for the cows.

A fully sustainable operation is always on Scott’s mind, particularly around pasture,

1200 deer are farmed along with 50ha of maize and 320 cows on this mixed farming operation run by Tirau veterinarian Ian Scott. chemicals, effluent, fertiliser and grazing management.

“Sustainability goes much further than good environmental management,” he says. “It extends

to preserving diversity in everything we do.”

The farm includes Lake Okoroire, and for the

For after hours service phone 888 4405 We have got you covered 10 Waharoa West Road, Matamata. Phone 07 888 4405

• To page 15

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Jamie & Lu Lyons

| 15

Production rise follows shift from organics Sue Russell Tradition means a lot to Jamie Lyons. His family has farmed at Mangatawhiri Valley, 10 minutes away from Pokeno in the South Auckland area, since 1867, and carrying on this tradition is something he is very proud of.

Jamie and his wife, Lu, have now run the 90-hectare dairy unit – which is part of a sheepand-beef property that extends over a further 150 hectares – through nine seasons.

Their farm has become a rather special plot of land – it sits in the midst of what has become very much lifestyle-block territory, However, the couple – who now have three young children – have no thoughts of selling up for development.

“I was brought up on this farm and since 2005, I’ve leased it off my mum.,” says Jamie. “I hope that in time, my children can continue to carry on the mantle of farming here.”

Children, there’s plenty to keep the couple occupied on their rather special plot of land.

They have recently made some significant decisions about their dairy-farming system, moving away from strict, organic farming principles.

Their herd of 220 jersey and jersey-cross cows produced 62,000 kilograms of milksolids in their first season post-organic, justifying the decision to change.

“We struggled with the summer dry and lack of options to keep the cows’ condition up,” says Jamie. “In our final year organic we produced 45,000kg milksolids.”

Now, given the results of their first season post-organic. he believes 75,000kg milksolids is the achievable. He has also set a target of 100,000kg milksolids within the next five years.

The Lyons have chosen to retain some organic processes however.

“We are still a low-input farm and we still don’t spray the thistles. We’ve introduced Pennisilic for the treatment of mastitis and have stayed largely with the same ferts.”

Jamie first came into contact with organic farming methods while working in the United Kingdom on his OE, where he ended up on an

We struggled with the summer dry and lack of options to keep the cows’ condition up. In our final year organic we produced 45,000kg of milksolids. organic dairy farm that also had an organic meat company.

His plans include using 10ha to grow chicory this season and while the farm doesn’t have a feedpad, meal is sourced as supplement.

As an organic-milk producer the Lyons supplied Green Valley, but have now switched to Fonterra.

Calving dates are being moved forward, with calving now starting in the second week of June.

The herd is milked through a five-year-old herringbone shed (installed by Waikato Milking) with an air sweep to push milk through.

The Lyons have also decided to move away from milking twice a day to a 16 hour cycle. The change will take place in February.

And, while increasing per-cow milk production is a priority, the couple have also chosen to diversify into fattening lambs and rearing white-head calves to be sold as yearlings. .Jamie works closely with farm-hand Scott Martin. who is employed for six months a year.

They have worked together since 2007 when the farm was converted from dry stock to dairy.

In terms of major, farm-infrastructure development, some substantial projects lie ahead.

To meet ‘clean stream’ compliance, they will build a bridge to carry stock by 2017, and upgrade water systems.

Jamie finds a mixed bag of farming adds to his enjoyment of working on the land: “I like the variety of work lambing 600 ewes, fattening beef, milking. I also run a small, sideline, sausage business, selling at trail-running events we sponsor. Go to www. jimmys.co.nz. if you fancy a taste.

PHOTOS: Jamie and Lu Lyons with family (top) on their Mangatawhiri Valley, South Auckland farm which milks 220 jersey and jersey cross cows (above).

Plantings help protect waterways • From page 14 last few years Ian Scott and daughter Alana have been involved in a $120,000-plus project to restore the lake and associated wetlands, and improve the health of the waterways.

The work has included the removal of invasive trees and plants, riparian planting, and the installation of silt traps to reduce phosphate and sediment run-off.

“Alana and I have planted 20,000 native trees over the last five years with the support of numerous volunteers.”

In the current climate, he fears for young sharemilkers and farm-owners at the start of their careers: “I would hate to see a generation of young farmers disillusioned by the market conditions. One of the biggest risks facing the industry is that we lose a whole bunch of people who would otherwise have become the farmers of the future.”

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16 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Greg & Hannah Topless

NZ Dairy

Flooding and erosion come with territory Sue Russell Greg and Hannah Topless farm at Strathmore, 25 kilometres east of Stratford. For the enterprising pair, ownership of the 150 hectare (79ha milking platform) property is the result of solid commitment to progress.

“When I left school, I worked for Livestock Improvement and stayed with them for a decade, holding various roles,” says Greg Topless. “They were a great company to work for and I remember enjoying my roles most when I was visiting farms.”

He spent two years in the United Kingdom working for LIC in the north of England and Scotland. It was during this time he met Hannah who was halfway through a museums degree.

When they decided to marry and settle in New Zealand, her passion for things historical was replaced, to a degree, by a love-affair with farming.

“There is something really tangible and productive about a farming life,” she says. “I have such a sense of pride that we are providing a product, used in so many ways, all over the world.”

On returning to New Zealand, Greg completed another two years with LIC, then worked on his auntie and uncle’s farm, eventually buying the herd and going 50:50 sharemilking. Then came another move, to Toko near Stratford, followed by three years of sharemilking.

“In the end we were able to sell the herd and buy our first farm – 60 hectares farm at Mahoe on the slopes of Mt Taranaki, 500 metres above sea-level, milking 140 cows. We sold this last year, so we have completed our first season at Strathmore.”

The steeper land that is not part of the farm’s milking platform is not wasted; instead the couple run all their young stock on the 60ha hill block along with 100 sheep for weed control.

Because of the farm’s unique terrain, the Toplesses decided in their first season there to change to milking once a day. Not only does it provide a better lifestyle for the them and and their four children, but it also takes the stress off the cows, which is particularly important given the long walks involved on the property.

This season, the plan to keep with a low-cost system – grass-based with minimal input in the

Before we installed Protrack, it was a horrible feeling when you realised you were missing a cow. form of palm kernel should things get dry.

The couple have grazed 60 cows off farm for eight weeks over winter in an effort to reduce damage and get “some feet and mouths off the farm”.

Their 26-a-side herringbone shed has a Protrack drafting system installed over Christmas last year. Greg Topless says the technology really comes into its own at AB time.

And it has another really valuable use: “It gives us a cow count at the end of every milking, which means we can instantly go looking for any lost cows. On this property we occasionally have cows slip down banks or get stuck in odd places.

“It becomes an animal welfare issue really.

Before we installed Protrack. it was a horrible feeling when you realised you were missing a cow.”

In their first season on Strathmore, the farm produced 59,200 kilograms of milksolids, just shy of the 60,000kg hoped for.

“Last season though, one third of the herd were heifers,” says Greg. “We were never really sure of what would be achieved.”

There’s every expectation that by maintaining low input and continuing to improve the herd, more than 65,000kg milksolids will become the norm.

The farm is prone to flooding and pugging given a big river that flows through it. In a recent ‘one-in25-year event, 320 millilitres of rain fell over three days, damaging about 15 hectares.

It’s at times like this that the driving passion for farming might be tested, but both Greg and Hannah are philosophical about such events.

“There is nothing you can do about them other than get out there and clean things up and know that these things happen,” says Greg. “We still feel very blessed to have this lifestyle for ourselves and our children.”

PHOTOS: About 15 hectares of Greg and Hannah Topless’s Strathmore farm was damaged in a recent storm, but the couple remain upbeat about farming and the lifestyle it offers them and their children.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Denson Dale Jersey Stud

| 17

Quality of NZ herds queried Kim Newth Germany hosted the World Jersey Conference in June 2015, attracting jersey-cow breeders from around the world.

Lloyd and Anne Wilson, who run the Denson Dale Jersey Stud near Matamata, were among the delegates gaining first-hand insights into European best practice. The the programme including visits to jersey herds and studs in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark.

The Wilsons have travelled extensively to dairying regions, and Lloyd Wilson is impressed at how the jersey breed is becoming established internationally. The trend was reinforced by their recent European visit.

“It is the fastest growing breed in every country of the world – except in New Zealand,” he says.

“What concerns me is that while the rest of the world keeps improving all the time, New Zealand is going nowhere.”

In short, the take-home message from the World Jersey Conference was that there is no room for complacency.

Indeed, Wilson suggests it is time for New Zealand to take a good, hard look at the comparative quality of its dairy herds.

“Our experts say ‘We’re the best’ when it comes to genetics but the facts show we’re not. Other countries have a far better index system – their genomics work really well.”

The couple shared their perspective at a meeting of the newly-formed East Waikato Jersey Interest Discussion Group, which met at Denson Dale in early July.

Lloyd’s parents, Charlie and Betty Wilson, established the Denson Dale jersey pedigree many years ago. Its bulls and embryos are sought after

by Australian buyers.

Lloyd has made connections with breeders around the world to source the traits needed to enhance production and longevity. They looked to the United States for good production genetics, to Canada for longevity and to Denmark for sound health (where animals are selectively bred to reduce rates of mastitis).

“We also use a lot of Australian bulls – they are doing really well now. Their system is more open than ours.”

While they have tried using what is available through local breeders, he says it has not worked out well for them. “Unfortunately, the genetics were just not up to standard.”

Wilson is also saddened by what he sees as New Zealand’s over-reliance on the kiwi cross-bred

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Matamata Jersey breeders Lloyd and Anne Wilson attended the World Jersey Conference in Germany in June. Delegates visited farms in Friesland, The Netherlands (top) and Switzerland (left). which, he suggests, is to blame for a decline in genetic quality.

“And you can’t get back what you have lost,” he adds.

As well as the Denson Dale stud, Lloyd and Anne Wilson run a dairy unit milking 600 cows. A

sharemilker farms 420 cows, while the Wilsons have their separate pedigree herd of 180 cows. All are milked through the one shed.

Denson Dale’s most profitable cows are between six and 12 years of age.

The Wilsons were converted long ago to the

benefits of healthy soil as one of the building blocks for a healthy herd. They limit the use of soluble phosphate fertilisers and nitrogen conditioners, instead favouring a more balanced approach.

“If you look after the soil, then the soil looks after the cows,” Lloyd says.

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18 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Philip & Angela Hawes/Stephen & Becky Hubbard

NZ Dairy

Autumn calving move in train Kim Newth Waikato dairy farmer Philip Hawes started going to Dairy New Zealand’s Waharoa discussion group some 20 years ago, and he continues to find it a useful way to of sharing ideas with other local farmers.

More than 300 such discussion groups meet regularly around the country to link farmers with others in their area and with dairy-industry information.

It works through a host farm being selected for the discussion group; a DairyNZ consulting officer then meets with the host farmer to gather farm information and identify issues to discuss.

Attendees receive host-farm information and talk through key issues. The host farmer then receives an action-plan report with recommendations from group members and the consulting officer.

“Being involved in the discussion group is well worth it,” says Hawes, who recently hosted the Waharoa group at the farm he leases there, just north of Matamata.

“I go along to the majority of these group meetings. It is a great way to keep up with what everyone else is doing and to brainstorm solutions.”

He grew up on the farm he now leases from his parents, and began his farming career as a sharemilker on two Waikato farms, at Matamata and Te Awamutu.

He then sold the herd and went travelling overseas for four years – to Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom where he worked for a time as a builder in London. His travels also took him to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America before he decided to head home nine years’ ago.

Back in New Zealand, he resumed sharemilking for two years before taking over the lease of the family farm in 2008.

Before moving to Waharoa, Philip’s wife, Angela, had worked as an event co-ordinator in Auckland and as a caregiver for the elderly.

“Coming here was a big change for her – she

Philip and Angela Hawes are heading for a big change on their Waharoa farm as they switch to autumn calving. never thought she’d marry a farmer,” says Philip.

“Having said that though, she does know what’s involved, having grown up on a farm herself on the Hauraki Plains.”

The couple have a three-year-old daughter, Sophie.

The Hawes’ farm is 91 hectares in extent and its herd of 330 cows is milked through a 20-a-side herringbone shed. The projected milk solids target for the year is 190,000 kilograms of milksolids.

One of the big changes on the property is the shift they are making to autumn calving. The cows calved at the normal time this season, and Hawes plans to milk through next winter and on to the end of the following January.

“We will probably have 50 heifers and 30 cows coming in next March or April. We will switch to partial autumn calving before switching to full autumn calving the year after. I have been thinking about it for some time.”

He sees several advantages to autumn calving.

Firstly, he says it is easier calving at that time than in winter’s wet conditions. It also avoids having the farm over-stocked through summer droughts. And the winter-milk contract from Fonterra is “pretty attractive”.

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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 and are considering sire-proving with CRV Ambreed next season.

The Hubbards have been on Kerry Ryan’s 210-hectare Kowhitirangi dairy farm for five seasons. Both 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.

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Stephen and Becky Hubbard have a plan to deal with the lower pay-out.

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 had a

pretty good 2014-15 season, getting the balage 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.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Pat & Sue Crowe

| 19

PHOTOS: The new Kliptank effluent tank on Pat and Sue Crowe’s 400-cow farm near Cambridge.

Effluent tank proves worth in wet Kelly Deeks As one of the few dairy farmers spending money on development in this low milk-payout season, Pat Crowe is happy with his new Kliptank effluent tank and has made good use of it during a wet winter.

Pat and Sue Crowe, who own a 138-hectare (126ha effective), 400-cow farm near Cambridge, installed a new effluent system over winter. Pat does say that had he known what would happen to the payout, they could have waited another year.

“Still, a lot of people will be struggling to put in new effluent systems next season if they didn’t do it this year. We’re confident the new system will be a help this season, being compliant and stopping our environmental footprint being as large.”

After looking at the options, the Crowes decided on a Kliptank, having seen it at the National Fieldays and impressed with its innovative, stirring system.

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A particularly wet winter has seen the system prove its worth, particularly as staff calving about 18 calves a day don’t have time to shift the irrigator. which means there is no need for an extra stirring pump in the pond or in the tank, and the effluent is aerated as it is stirred,” he says. “This results in a better-quality fertiliser product to apply to our 28ha of effluent area, and also a reduction in odour.”

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The Crowes also had a valve installed, which turns the system off when there is more effluent being siphoned back from the tank to the sump than the pump can handle.

A particularly wet winter has seen the system prove its worth, particularly as staff calving about 18 calves a day don’t have time to shift the irrigator.

“We haven’t got really heavy soils, most of our country is free draining ash soil, but we’ve had really wet weather with more than half our herd in,” says Crowe. “This is the time we do really need the

effluent system or it can run off the paddocks and end up in the drains.” .

Jason Smith, last season’s manager and employee of five years, is now a contract milker and is employing the other employee, Sharon Mitchell, who has been working for the Crowes for 14 years.

Crowe says Smith has stepped up to the responsibility of his new position, is very optimistic, and communicates well.

“Things are slowly changing here, but we still work as a team, and Jason and Sharon are both important parts of that team,” Crowe says. “They work well together. We’ve got good staff and it’s important we look after them.”

Smith is following a record season on the Crowe farm with production of 176,490 kilograms of milksolids last season. Crowe says an extra month of milking from the previous year, and 11ha of chicory helped through the summer dry as it was a lot easier to manage than turnips.

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20 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Wendy & David Harker/Kieran Clough

NZ Dairy

PHOTOS: Wendy Harker (far left) is New Zealand’s first female president of the Holstein Friesian New Zealand. David Harker handles the day-to-day management of their Te Awamutu farm (lower left) and dabbles in motor racing, driving in the Honda Cup (left).

Te Awamutu breeder the first lady Jo Bailey Wendy Harker has made history by being elected the first female president in the Holstein Friesian New Zealand’s 105-year history.

“It is a big commitment, but I’m ready after serving as vice president for the last three years,” says the Te Awamutu breeder.

“With the head office in Hamilton, I was already tagging along to a lot of industry events, which gave me good grounding.”

She has taken over from Doug Courtman and says her main focus will be to lead the advancement of the breed; assist members to survive the current downturn, and pass on her passion for the breed to young farmers.

She is also a certified traits-other-thanproduction inspector and classifier for Holstein Friesian NZ, a member of the Waikato A&P Show executive, and a senior holstein friesian and milking shorthorn judge, and calf club judge.

“I like to do my part. It’s the way I was brought

up and it’s how rural areas operate. Things don’t happen without volunteers. I’m not the only one out there doing it.”

She says she couldn’t pursue all her off-farm interests without the support of husband David, with whom she milks the Westell herd of 470 cows on 240 hectares under Mount Kakepuku.

“David handles the day-to-day farm management and I do the calves and bookwork side of things. We’re a good team.”

She says the payout is having its challenges, especially since they added an extra 30ha to their self-contained farm last October.

“Every time we’ve bought land, the dairy payout has gone down. However, over the last few years we’ve been repaying debt, which has put us in a better position to expand and handle the lower payouts.”

David Harker says they are watching costs closely but not making any major changes to their farming regime.

“We might look at cutting back some supplementary feeding, but don’t want to do

anything that will ruin mating and cost us next year.”

He doesn’t blame Fonterra for the difficulties: “They may not be perfect, but I don’t think the dairy industry would be where it is without Fonterra. The press and the politicians like to yell blue murder, but these fluctuations are part of farming.”

However, he does believe the peaks and troughs have definitely been more extreme this time: “It has been harder to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but things always improve.”

Both David and Wendy have a long family history in farming. Their Westell stud name is a combination of Westgate and Ellerton, properties once owned by both sets of David’s grandparents, which continue to be farmed by his cousins.

Around 90 per cent of the herd is registered holstein freisian; the balance is a mix of crossbred cows and some milking shorthorns owned by Wendy’s father, Ken Baker, a retired dairy farmer.

“The shorthorns run with our herd and Ken makes all the mating decisions. It’s a good interest for him.”

Although it has added some financial pressure, buying the neighbouring 30ha has been a good move, says David Harker.

“It has made life far simpler as we are able to grow our own maize to get us through the summer period, and graze all of our young stock on farm.”

The Harkers have doubled the size of the farm since they bought it from David’s parents in 1990.

They run a split-herd milking regime through two cowsheds (12-a-side and 32-a-side herringbones).

“This gives us a lot of flexibility as we can draft up on condition, and shut one shed down earlier,” says David.

They have a herd manager looking after each shed and a second-in-command on the home farm.

Off-farm David has a passion for motor racing and drives in the Honda Cup. “I go to the track and pretend I’m a race car driver and have a complete break from the farm.

In these times I think it is critical farmers do something for themselves whether it’s fishing, bowls or clay bird shooting. It’s important to have an outlet.”

Young gun turns his eye Karen Phelps At 25, Taranaki-based Kieran Clough has already achieved a lot in his career. At 21 he was managing a farm. A year later took on a lower-order sharemilking position. He now owns a 41-hectare (effective) run-off and has his sights set on 50:50 sharemilking within two years.

“It hasn’t been easy,” he says.

“I took on big loan straight away and was also

learning how to run the farm in the early years.

It has been hard work and a matter of analysing everything to make sure the farm is operating as efficiently as possible.”

Clough is lower-order sharemilking a family farm. His parents, Stephen and Deborah, bought the property in 2009, the year Kieran completed a Diploma in Agriculture at Massey University.

“Dad said that if I didn’t want to come home, he’d move into town,: says Kieran. “So, I had to make my mind up.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Gary & Marie Hawken

| 21

Power, payout, floods pose headache Sue Russell Gary and Marie Hawken have seen through a number of significant changes on what was originally Gary’s family farm, on the coast about 20 kilometres north of Wanganui, He bought the farm from the estate in 1981 and continued to operate it as a sheep-and-beef property until 10 years ago. When the bottom started to fall out of sheep and beef, he and his brother, who shared the farm, converted to dairy.

“I bought my brother out about seven years ago and I remember the conversion was quite a stressful time,” says Gary.

Of the total 600-hectare predominantly rolling property, 400ha was set aside for the dairy unit, leaving about 180ha as the main farm’s support block.

The farm sits on land has a range of soil types, from quite heavy soil to deep sand; this results in a mixed-bag of pasture-rotation cycles, from 20 through to 60 days.

This season 1050 friesian/friesian-cross cows will be calved. “We’re trying to close the calving window down to six to eight weeks, but there are always a handful that come earlier,” says Gary.

About half of the herd calved in the first two weeks.

The 2014-15 season produced 332,000 kilograms of milk solids, falling 18,000kg below the goal set. Gary Hawken puts this down to not cranking up the in-shed feeding because of balancing the feed cost against the low pay-out.

“You can’t buy feed at a $4 pay-out, whereas at $5.25 to $5.50, I can afford to buy production.”

This season’s aspirations are to attain 375,000kg milksolids, which will put production on the national average of 370kg per cow.

The power-house of the farm is a 60-bail Waikato rotary installed by builder John Williamson.

Centre pivots on Gary and Marie Hawken’s South Taranaki farm.

It has a milking-hub feeding system designed to feed each cow according to its capacity to produce.

The new shed has had some teething problems because of fluctuations and spikes in power supply, something Hawken says can be crippling on sophisticated and subtle software/hardware technologies.

“Our power is very sporadic and the technology doesn’t like it. The infrastructure of our power supplier is getting worn out and the company isn’t doing a lot to enhance this, so I’ve made the decision to invest in my own power generation as many farmers in this area have done.”

Working alongside him on the farm is his daughter, Jenny, and her husband, Daniel, who is in his first year as farm manager. after having been second-in-command.

At the end of this season, the three will review how the new role has worked out. There are three other full-time workers and a part-time milker/ farmhand overseeing the operation.

The Hawkens also own a contracting company, which is run by their son, John. Since recent floods, demand for the diggers, bull-dozers and trucks has been at a premium.

As for the ‘big wet’ and the farm, Gary Hawken says a huge amount of damage was done to the irrigation systems supplying water to 300 hectares of the property.

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to 50:50 sharemilking The 121ha effective/156ha total farm at Eltham peak-milks a herd of 425 kiwicross cows. Clough already owns 100 of these cows and has his sights set on increasing this figure to bring him closer to his goal of 50:50 sharemilking.

In his first season there, the farm produced 127,000 kilograms of milksolids per hectare. While the cost of feed has remained constant, production has risen by around 60 per cent to 194,000 kilograms last season. This season the target is 210,000kg.

Clough says the increase comes down to managing things efficiently on the System 3 property. With the lower payout this season, he is concentrating even more intensely on making small changes across the board, He describes the farm as well developed. The Cloughs have already fenced off gullies and re-sized paddocks to make the farm run more efficiently.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned is the importance of good grazing management,” says Kieran. “ I like to stick to the guidelines on what I should be doing and do weekly walks with a pasture meter.

I graze paddocks between 2800-3100 kilograms of dry matter per hectare, grazing down to 1500kg/ ha.”

The herd is milked through a 40-a-side

herringbone shed with feeders. Around 11 to 18 per cent of the feed is bought in each year. Last season the Cloughs bought in 530kg of dry matter per cow to supplement around 180kg of dry matter of maize from the run-off and the farm.

Last season 9ha of maize was grown on the dairy platform as part of a pasture-renewal programme and 4ha on the run-off.

“We plant maize at the end of October until the end of March,” says Kieran Clough. “We then plant oats and an annual ryegrass for winter, then this is cut as silage before another lot of maize goes in.

“After this the area is put into permanent pasture, so it’s a two-year cropping rotation.”

Clough employs one staff member, who is around the same age as him. Stephen and Deborah Clough live on the run-off.

All replacements are grazed on the run-off – 90 heifers, 90 calves,15 holdovers and 10 beefies at interview time.

Half the herd is wintered on farm and the other half on contract grazing. Clough looks after the calves and heifers at the run-off and both parents help with the calving.

They’d better not get too comfortable though – Kieran Clough has plans to convert the run-off to a dairy farm within five years.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » John & Nikki Steens

22 |

NZ Dairy

Converts enjoy ‘the good life’ Kelly Deeks With three years of once-a-day milking now successfully completed on John and Nikki Steens’ South Waikato dairy farm, the couple are convinced in its viability and set to continue enjoying their more relaxed lifestyle.

The Steens – with their four children Hannah, 17, Connor, 15, Hunter, 12, and Anja, 10 – have gradually increased up to a 105-hectare (effective), 300-cow farm with a 40ha run off at Ngakuru.

Wanting to try once-a-day milking before they “got too old” to give it a go, and believing there wouldn’t be much in it production wise, they took the plunge three years ago and haven’t looked back.

“We thought that if it didn’t work out, we’d just go back to twice a day,” John Steens says. “But it turns out there is more to gain than lose.”

The Steens’ first season milking once a day was a drought year, and they took a big hit.

“We milked 256 cows that year on a 90ha milking platform with a 30ha run-off. At the start

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It turns out there is more to gain than lose. of the season, we were 20 per cent behind the previous year’s production. We ended up milking a bit longer that year because of cow condition and did 81,000 kilograms of milksolids.

The following year we did 96,000kg milksolids with 263 cows, then last year we did 106,000kg milksolids from 264 cows. This season, we’re aiming for 120,000kg milksolids with an additional 40ha and 300 cows.”

He says the production increase has come from a faster calving, with the cows now getting in calf easily and half the herd calved within 10 days, as well as milking for longer because of cow condition.

The empty rate was a bit higher this season increasing from 4% in the first year of once-a-day milking to 7.5% last year, but with no CIDRs, no interventions, a 10-week calving pattern, and an increasing herd, Steens is pretty happy.

He is herd-testing once a year, and says now that he has stopped increasing cow numbers and started to improve it instead, it might pay to test a bit more often.

The Steens family held a discussion group on the farm in May, to talk about their experiences of the past three years, and were surprised by the response.

“I was quite surprised there was not a lot said really, as I expected a bit more feedback so that I could challenge myself,” John Steens says. “There are quite a few once-a-day farmers around here, and everyone is quite keen on the idea.”

Once-a-day milking has taken the pressure off the cows and the couple, who work the farm with no staff and also carry all their young stock on.

With the boys off to motocross and the girls off to horse riding, it’s easy to get away early with the day’s milking completed in the morning.

And for John Steens, who used to be racing around all the time and flat out milking twice a day, it is now a lot more enjoyable and more relaxed.

He also has a bit more time to develop the latest addition to the farm, a 40ha block bought last December, which he says he will re-race, re-fence, and re-water once he has limped through the low payout.

PHOTOS: Top and middle: John Steens farms undulating country at Ngakuru, South Waikato. Below: Silage loading on the Steens farm.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Henry & Erin Bolt/David & Sue King

| 23

Ownership a ‘pretty exciting’ step Karen Phelps “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 are milking 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 us.

The Bolts 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 us,” says Henry Bolt.

The farm is on the Opuha water scheme and also has a take from the Kakahu River, which runs through the property.

Around 40ha of the property is under centrepivot, 73ha under k-line, and the balance under hard-hose irrigation.

He 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.

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

Long and winding road leads to Murchison farm Karen Phelps 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’.”

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 to Huntly as lower-order sharemilkers for a season. They sold their four hectares of land at Golden Bay to raise 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.”

• To page 5

Murchison farmer Dave King with dog Mac.

24 |

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NZ Dairy

Reid & Harrison’s new effluent system products include the shore mounted self priming multi-stage pump (top left) and the shore mounted stirrer (below).

Shore-mounted effluent systems popular With health and safety becoming a bigger focus on farms, two new shore- mounted effluent system products from Reid & Harrison are proving popular. The company’s Yardmaster® Self-Priming Multi Stage Pump was released at the Field Days in June to complement the Yardmaster® Shore Mounted Stirrer.

“The Yardmaster® Self-Priming Multi Stage Pump was designed in order to remove the risks from traditional floating frame options. The pump is mounted at the shore therefore making easy and safe access. It also incorporates the patented multi-stage design capable of passing fibre as well as small solids,” explains Reid & Harrison chief executive Keith Cooke.

He says that the combination of a high efficiency self-primed centrifugal pump is unique in the market. It provides suction lift of up to 5.5 meters and can handle particles up to 10-12mm in size. Cooke says the pump offers up to 40% efficiency increase over standard pumps meaning lower running costs. There is also the ability to easily upgrade with more stages if pumping requirements change. Cooke says that the company developed the product due to market demand.

“The style of irrigation is changing on farms with people operating larger farms, pumping higher volumes and wanting to pump further.

Farmers have been asking for a higher performing pump.”The Yardmaster® Shore Mounted Stirrer

incorporates a four-pole motor and runs through reduction pulleys to perform at approximately 400rpm at the propeller. Standard stirrer lengths are 7.8 metres and 10.5 metres.

The Yardmaster® Shore Mounted Stirrer used with the Yardmaster® Self-Priming Multi Stage Pump gives farmers a full shore mounted effluent pond solution, says Cooke.

Matamata based company Reid & Harrison designs, manufactures and supplies the Yardmaster® range of products, which also includes separators and accessories such as pump covers, automatic greasers, float control switches, chopper blades and non return valves. Cooke says Yardmaster® is the leading brand of effluent pumps in New Zealand and a key element of the success

of the range is that Yardmaster® is designed and manufactured in New Zealand for New Zealand conditions.

“This is important as conditions, feed types and the resulting effluent produced is different in New Zealand to other parts of the world. Yardmaster® pumps are known for being robust, reliable and hardworking.

“They are known for not clogging or breaking down unexpectedly as Yardmaster® pumps are designed specifically for effluent use in New Zealand,” he explains.

Reid & Harrison (1980) Ltd have been in the business of successfully pumping liquid/ solid slurries for over 50 years. Over 10,000 Yardmaster® pumps are now installed around New

Zealand. Company growth meant that Reid & Harrison moved to a large modern industrial complex at 1 Waihou Street, Matamata last year.

Cooke says that the move was part of a strategy to grow the service and capabilities, bringing another level of business professionalism to the operations. He says that the site has good road access and continues the high Matamata profile previously enjoyed by the company, which operates alongside sister company Reid & Harrison Engineering Ltd. Cooke says the new premises have allowed the company to increase its stock holdings, offer new products and develop a dedicated on-site testing facility enhancing product development.

Reid & Harrison now also manufactures and supplies the previously ISD range of stainless steel separators.

With over 60 dealerships around the country and growing Cooke says this makes access and support to the company’s product range even easier than ever before.

“Yardmaster® has now been in the New Zealand market for so many decades that our customers have the peace of mind that only tried and tested products can bring. With our new facility and dealership network Reid & Harrison now enters a new era of supporting the dairy and other industries with their effluent and solids management.”

NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT MANAGEMENT » Waikato Regional Council

| 25

Crucial time for water quality Don Harford Sound management of dairy-shed effluent is crucial for protecting the environment and maximising farm profitability.

And managing effluent well over winter and early spring can be particularly important when it comes to protecting water quality and avoiding loss of nutrients.

Spreading effluent to pasture when it’s too wet heightens the risk of excessive amounts of nutrients and other contaminants getting into waterways.

Most times, the best way to manage winter, dairy-shed effluent is to hold it in storage for spreading in the spring. So, adequate storage is essential and getting professional advice on

Don Harford is a sustainable agriculture adviser at the Waikato Regional Council. the right amount for individual properties is recommended.

Saturated soils in winter simply cannot hold either the dung or urine, and rainfall will quickly move the applied effluent across the paddock to rivers and streams. Also, lower contact time with the soil allows micro-organisms and nitrate to move to groundwater at a faster rate as biological processes are limited by lower soil temperatures during the winter.

So losses by both overland flow and faster

Saturated soils in winter simply cannot hold either the dung or urine, and rainfall will quickly move the applied effluent across the paddock to rivers and

transfer to groundwater in winter equate to both a risk of water contamination and waste of valuable nutrients, such as nitrogen, that the grass can use when soil temperatures are warmer.

Besides having sufficient storage to avoid effluent spreading at the wrong times, there are some things farmers can do: • Spread any dairy-shed, sand-trap effluent on paddocks before the wet weather arrives. This will reduce potential effluent contamination from spillovers around the sand-trap area • Regular use of water-diversion systems will reduce the volume of water from the yard entering the pond over winter. This will reduce storage requirements and extend the time the dairy-shed effluent can be stored before being applied to paddocks • Maintain regular cut-out channels to the paddock along the race. These will direct dung and urine run-off from the race to the paddock and prevent it moving towards drains and waterways • While 10-15 per cent of herd effluent is captured in the dairy shed, the other 85-90% is deposited in the paddock, so thought needs to be

given to paddock management of effluent during winter.

• A good riparian strip between grazing animals and waterways helps prevent run-off to water.

Stock should be fenced out of waterways and wet areas.

• Graze paddocks towards waterways rather than away from them. The greater the grass margin between grazing stock and waterways, the lower the sediment and phosphorus loss from paddocks.

That’s because water moves sediment and its attached phosphorus off paddocks, so any means to slow the water-flow allows the sediment to settle better on paddocks. Give thought to constructing sediment dams and containment bunds where possible for next summer’s groundworks. However, ensure that construction does not impound water for more than three days, as grass areas underneath can be lost.

Getting on top of effluent management now will simplify farm management during the very busy winter/spring period. Ensure that the nutrients in effluent are used to boost profitability and protect streams from contamination.

streams.

YOUR RURAL SPECIALISTS

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The Waikato Regional Council’s three sustainable agriculture advisers are helping farmers reach new targets to protect water quality in the Waikato and Waipa river catchments. With land-based activities in the catchments facing new targets and limits to protect water quality, farmers are being encouraged to be on the front foot over environment-related changes to their operations. The advisers are working with individual farmers on identifying the best options for reducing the impact of their operations on water quality and to help put their properties in the best possible position to operate under any new targets and limits.

• Can apply rates below 7mm/per hr and depths down to 3mm, while still dealing with raw effluent • The GBMagnum has a mounted rain gun to provide twice the application area you would cover with a conventional travelling irrigator • Low Application rates, while cutting down the labour input

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26 |

EFFLUENT » Forsi Innovations

NZ Dairy

Recycling effluent cleaner way forward Kim Newth Forsi Innovations’ effluent recycling system at work (left). The plant transforms effluent into dry compostable solids for fertiliser and clear water for irrigation.

Depend on a quality partnership for all your effluent needs.

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The phone hasn’t stopped ringing at Forsi Innovations since June, which is when the company launched its effluent-recycling system at the National Fieldays at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton.

The system promises to transform dairy effluent into two clean resources – dry compostible solids for fertiliser, and clear water for irrigation or re-use in the dairy shed.

Forsi Innovations’ operations and marketing manager, Craig Hawes, says the company has been bombarded with enquiries from farmers keen to find out more.

“It has really taken off.”

His father, Terry, founded the business in 2005 after seeing potential for a product that would help dairy farmers manage effluent in a more sustainable way. Craig’s brother, Darren, a filtration engineer, heads the design-and-build side of the business.

Forsi has been trialling the system on a farm where the farmer is using recycled effluent water to wash down the yard.

“In a drought he could choose to send that water to his animals to drink or use it to irrigate pasture,” says Craig Hawes. “The processed water is clear and clean – free of pathogens and nutrients. He’s excited to have this new resource. The bonus lies in not having to dispose of unprocessed effluent; he can feel good about doing something positive for the environment.”

Work on developing the effluent recycling system began in 2005, alongside the company’s Aquifer IM system which can be customised to remove iron and manganese, or nitrate.

Hawes says it can be used for removing iron and manganese from home and dairy-shed water supplies and stockwater. If iron is left in the water, it can clog up hot-water cylinders, stain whiteware and clothes, and suppress cows’ desire to drink,

Darren, Terry and Craig Hawes. and affect their ability to absorb minerals.

Farmers are not the only ones showing interest in this system. Hawes says a system has been installed at a golf course north of Auckland, filtering bore water used for irrigation, and systems are being used to filter water for horse swimming pools, a practice seen as beneficial to the health and wellbeing of both horses and trainers.

The vehicle-wash industry is also using the system to reuse wastewater before it is cleaned up and discharged. This reduces the amount of contaminants and the associated council charges, says Hawes.

“We have installed our first full carwash recycling system in Papamoa and this will be followed in Christchurch and another couple in Auckland.”

Some of New Zealand’s small townships are also waking up to the potential to have their wastewater treated this way, he says.

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Savings to be made on fuel Tougher times for farmers mean keeping a tighter rein on costs. Fuel is one significant, yet necessary on-farm cost where Don Harvey, managing director of RD Petroleum, believes many farmers could make savings.

Firstly, he recommends farmers ensure that their fuel provider is timing fuel deliveries and volumes to suit their particular requirements.

“Often, fuel deliveries are at times to suit the supplier rather than the customer. At RD Petroleum customers can choose to order fuel at a time and volume that suits them.

“Operators can ensure their stock is managed at the right level so they don’t have too much fuel sitting around, which ties up their capital. We also send customers a text or email confirming the date, time and volume immediately following delivery, which helps them to manage their fuel stocks more effectively.

“Customers can also choose automatic delivery if that is a more convenient solution. It all depends on their farming operation as every farm is slightly different.”

He also advises farmers to ensure they are being provided with quarterly petrol usage reports, which enables them to claim tax rebates for farm petrol usage. RD Petroleum’s electronic scheduling process ensures a complete overview of the entire fleet during the day to ensure customers orders are fulfilled in a timely manner as well as providing clients with the data and reports they require.

Once scheduling is under control farmers should then perform a physical check of their fuel storage system. “Check to ensure that the fuel storage facility shows no sign of leakage. Simply having a hose or nozzle changed can save money.

Make sure a fuel filter is installed and that it is replaced at appropriate times. This will ensure that the farm machinery is receiving clean fuel, increasing efficiency and reducing maintenance costs,” he advises.

RD Petroleum commenced operating under its present ownership in 2005 and has experienced consistent growth over the past decade. Harvey says that the company was established to provide professional, competitive and service-driven distribution of fuel and oil products throughout

RD Petroleum provides fuel and support to rural and commercial customers. the South Island. The company provides fuel and support to rural and commercial customers as well as being a local supplier of community service stations.

Harvey says that the service capability of the fuel provider is another important aspect that farmers need to consider. RD Petroleum has fleet located throughout the South Island with depots in Nelson, Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin and Invercargill. As BP is a major shareholder in the company, RD Petroleum has a guaranteed supply of fuel.

“There is limited storage of bulk diesel in the South Island at the various terminals. This can result in shortages and when this happens fuel deliveries can be restricted. In times like these we can access fuel from other locations and ensure that customers who are in restricted areas continue to have supply.”

Harvey also advises that farmers take advantage of the RD Petroleum fuel card, which represents savings and can also assist with their cash flow.

The card, which does not have any annual card fees, provides discounts to clients including discounted fuel prices at BP and Gasoline Alley service stations. As the fuel card also enables farmers to purchase fuel on credit, this can assist their cash flow, says Harvey.

With the combination of BP, Gasoline Alley and RD Petroleum sites Harvey says that there is no better coverage in the South Island. The company is also focused on expansion. A new site has just opened at Domett, North Canterbury, and the company is currently working on a new site in Arrowtown due to open later this year.

NZ Dairy

BULK FUEL

| 27

ENSOL – A TANK FOR LIFE Ensol understand how tough the dairy industry is right now; after all they are dairy farmers too. The Team at Ensol have thought long and hard about how they can make it easier for farmers to have an Ensol ‘tank for life.’ You can either purchase the tank you need outright; or you can lease and talk to the helpful sales staff about Ensol’s finance options. Or you can put your Ensol tank on your Farmsource account.

Talk to your local Farmsource store or sales representative. Payment can also be made through Ensol with your Farmlands card.

They will make it easier for you.

The Ensol Story began in 2006 when the

owners realised that customers needed a better fuel storage solution. Nine years and thousands of satisfied customers later, innovative Ensol Tanks continue to lead the market.

Tanks are constructed from high-spec marine grade aluminium. Ensol tanks are engineered for harsh conditions: coastal sea spray, 40-degree summer heat to below zero winters, and high winds. Where conventional mild steel tanks rust out quickly, Ensol tanks last and last. Even the fittings use highest-quality aluminium or stainless steel, so there is simply nothing to rust.

Every Ensol tank is carefully designed for easy use and security, exceeding Dangerous Goods, HSNO and EPA requirements.

Ensol’s National Sales and Distribution Manager, Shane Parlato says: “Today we make a full range of tanks, from handy 250 or 420 litre versions that fit snugly on utes, to single or dual fuel Above-Ground or On-Ground tanks from 700 to 4500 litres plus 3 sizes of trailer tanks, 700 litre, 1000 litre and 1900 litre, all built to exacting standards”. Manufactured in Palmerston North, Ensol also custom designs tanks and fittings to clients’ specific requirements.

This trailblazing New Zealand Company

continues to engineer the highest quality, longest lasting and best-designed farm fuel tanks in New Zealand — and it’s more than just a vague promise, Ensol gives a ten-year guarantee on all static farm fuel tanks.

You can call Ensol on 0800 800 221 to discuss the best tank option for you or visit the Ensol website www.ensol.co.nz

28 |

ANIMAL HEALTH

NZ Dairy

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Contamination cover negates mastitis risk AMP has launched three new milk insurance packages that gather together key policy features required by dairy farmers making the process simpler and more cost effective.

“AMP’s Agriplan has made protecting milk easy with a choice of milk packages that cover nearly anything that can happen to the milk. They also include a number of new benefits,” says AMP’s Head of General Insurance Rob Dibley.

The new milk package under AMP’s Agriplan now also covers accidental failure to turn on the refrigeration, a new feature for the New Zealand market place.

According to Dibley though the biggest risk farmers often have with regards to their milk is the treatment of mastitis. The policy offers cover when milk (whether collected or not) is contaminated with antibiotics for the value of the milk had it not been contaminated.

“We understand the impact that the cost of contamination can have on the pay-out for the milk. The demerit points can result is a large deduction to the amount a farmer receives. “ The contamination cover provides for up to 100% of the value of the milk. Farmers can also choose to take out additional insurance to cover them for penalties in excess of the milk value.

Dibley says that recent weather incidents have made some farmers around the country more aware of how fragile their income can be when the unexpected

Milk contamination cover from AMP provides for up to 100 per cent of the value of the milk. AMP policies now also cover accidental failure to turn on the refrigeration.

happens and their milk cannot be collected.

For example AMP has recently been assisting farmers when they could not get their milk to the factory in time due to road closures. The policy covers farmers if milk fails to be collected due to accidental loss or damage to property used by the dairy company and/or blockage of a transport route between the dairy company and the farmer’s milk storage facility. The policy not only provides cover for the milk but also its disposal.

Additional costs are also covered under AMP’s Agriplan Policy following damage to farm buildings, plant and machinery,

which prevent normal farm operations.

“For example, say there is a switchboard fire in you milking shed. You know the cows must be milked and you need to use the neighbour’s shed. We cover the additional costs for transport, handling and feed,” explains Dibley.

The new milk packages mean farmers receive cover for additional costs and failure to collect. These covers are included for no extra cost when they take out an AMP Agriplan policy with the milk package.

AMP has been operating in the insurance market in New Zealand since 1854. AMP

advisers are located around the country.

“Our advisers know their region and they know farming. They can offer expert and professional advice,” says Dibley.

While he says that most farmers have some sort of milk cover they may not have all the cover they need, which is where the new AMP milk packages aim to fill a gap in the market so that farmers are never left exposed to unnecessary risk.

Contact your AMP Adviser for details or locate an adviser near you by our locator on amp.co.nz

NZ Dairy

CALVING

| 29

NEED A SHED? WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED NEED A LOCK UP?

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DESIGN & BUILD TO YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR WE CAN SUPPLY A KITSET FOR YOU TO BUILD Complementing our shed offer, PlaceMakers stock a comprehensive range of farm & fence supplies including full, half & quarter round posts, battens, rails, wire & fastenings. With 58 branches nationwide & access to over 100,000 products, if we don’t have what you require in stock we can easily & quickly order it in for you! Your local branch details can be found at WWW.PLACEMAKERS.CO.NZ

Williams Engineering goes from strength to strength.

The steel supplied for componentry includes pipes, plates, box sections and flat bars, as well as some indent work, all as non-coated bare steel to be galvanised at manufacture.

Williams Engineering will be a name familiar to many within the dairy sector – as the country’s leader in dairy farm effluent machinery manufacture.

Based 30 minutes north of Thames in the upper North Island, the company produces travelling irrigators, effluent systems, pontoons, mole ploughs, PTO pumps and stirrers, Zero-O loss hydrants and filters.

Company director, Andrew Williams, says the business has an eye on developing innovative products within the specialist effluent industry, which accounts for over 95% of its revenue.

Fletcher Easysteel has supplied Williams since it began business in the late eighties. “It’s been a regular supply agreement that has increased each year as the company continues to grow,” says Easysteel’s Business Development Manager, Ken Hainsworth.

“We’re now a fully-accredited farm dairy effluent system designer, one of just 20 accredited companies in New Zealand,” says Andrew.

“Through attaining this qualification, our current and future clients can be certain we have what it takes to

design and install a fully compliant effluent system from start to finish.”

Set up by Dairy NZ in conjunction with Irrigation New Zealand, the purpose of the accreditation programme is to raise the quality of effluent systems designed and installed throughout the country.

Specialising in effluent compliance has seen Andrew Williams and his team of 12 become increasingly busy over the past couple of years in the domestic market, while still servicing his international markets in North America, South America (Chile) and Australia.

Williams and now his son Andrew for over 25 years and for him, their ongoing good relationship is hugely important.

“To see a family business grow from its infancy in a shed to what Neville and now his son Andrew have achieved is another show of New Zealand’s ‘Number 8 wire’ philosophy,” says Ken. “It’s a credit to both these men what this company has become and I feel privileged to have been part of their supply growth over the years.”

Ken Hainsworth says he has worked closely with company founder Neville

Helping you compete on the local and international stage www.easysteel.co.nz

0800EASYSTEEL

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DAIRY SERVICES» Dannevirke Dairy Supplies

NZ Dairy

| 31

Rural thrust at heart of growth Kim Newth Dannevirke Dairy Supplies specialises in providing and maintaining milking systems and related services for farmers in the area from Eketahuna to Wairoa.

Co-owners Paul Andersen and Lance Gundersen, who have run the business in partnership for more than a decade, have expanded the customer base considerably in that time – from around 30 to 1250.

They agree it is customer service that sets them apart.

The growth of the business growth prompted a move to new premises on Dannevirke’s High Street in 2013. Thee new premises are large enough for customers to drive inside and load up under cover.

And last year the company added an electrical division to cater for farming and domestic electrical needs.

This division employs two staff, John Metcalfe and Josh Harward, who handle domestic, commercial and industrial electrical services. They carry out a variety of work, big and small jobs, from wiring new homes to wiring up pumps on farms.

The company’s recent major contracts include: a 60-bail rotary shed at Te Rehunga to replace two herringbone sheds; an 80-bail rotary shed is being installed at Himatangi; a new 350-cow, free-stall barn – believed to be the first of its kind in the area – to winter cows inside.

Work on the barn included tank and stormwater installation, the provision of water and effluent systems, purpose-built stainless steel troughs and a hydrant and flood wash system, and a a finebubble, aeration system with a blower and diffuser.

“We do lots of other work for farmers too,” says Paul Anderson.

“As well as supplying and installing new milking systems and in-shed feed systems, we can install a range of water, irrigation and effluent disposal systems.

“People know they can rely on us to get the job done – and done well. We’ve been flat out. In spite of the current volatility in the dairy sector, there is still plenty of demand for our services.”

Dannevirke Dairy Supplies is the local agent for Waikato Milking Systems, Davey Pumps and other major brands.

The company has an experienced group of farmers, engineers, electricians and qualified machine-testers, and employs nine full-time staff, including the owners, plus several part-timers during the busy winter months.

While the dairy sector remains the company’s primary focus, its broad sweep of services means it can cater to a diverse range of needs across the rural sector.

Most of its business comes from the Tararua district, but it also works in Central Hawke’s Bay and as far north as Patoka and Wairoa.

Dannevirke Dairy Supplies’ new premises in High Street allows customers to drive inside and load up under cover.

The company is also involved with the community, sponsoring various clubs, schools and organisations such as the rescue helicopter. Last year, it donated around $10,000 to community projects.

A new, 350-cow, free-stall cow barn is believed to the first of its kind in the area.

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32 |

DAIRY SERVICES » Spreading Northland

NZ Dairy

Spreading Northland’s fleet of spreaders includes a specialised mini-spreader for lighter soils and crop work.

Accuracy key to spreading Karen Phelps Jason Williamson was a complete novice in spreading when he went into business with a single spreader in 1991. It was a bold career move for an ex-panelbeater who had grown up on a dairy farm.

In 2002 his business, Williamson Contracting Ltd, entered into a joint-venture agreement with Ravensdown to form Spreading Northland Ltd. The move was part of Ravensdown’s policy of partnering with local ground and aerial spreading businesses to become the largest spreading operator in New Zealand.

Based out of Ravensdown’s Dargaville store, Spreading Northland now has four full-time spreaders and a specialised mini-spreader for lighter soils and crop work. The larger units all tow trailers and have been fitted with Ravensdown’s proof-of-placement technology.

Spreading Northland – which works the area to Kaikohe and across to Whangarei and Mata – is complemented by Williamson Contracting Ltd, which provides bulk cartage services and bulk lime from a limestone quarry he operates from his parents’ dairy farm.

Williamson says a big part of the company’s success is its reliance on Ravensdown technology and Spreadmark, a voluntary quality-assurance scheme administered by Federated Farmers through the Fertiliser Quality Council to ensure fertiliser is applied accurately.

“All spreading equipment is tested to ensure it meets prescribed standards. Spreadmark also covers operator registration – the overall management of the spreading operation – and training to ensure drivers have the skills and knowledge to apply fertiliser accurately in accordance with the code of practice.”

He says that this is more important than farmers realise because, if spreading is not done correctly, it can result in huge financial losses.

“There are two machine variables that affect how accurately and evenly fertilisers are applied by groundspreading equipment – the accuracy of the application rate. and the transverse (at right angles to the direction of travel) variation in the application rate. Spreadmark defines how these variables are to be measured and sets tolerance levels.

“For example, the transverse coefficient of variation must be less than 15 per cent for nitrogen fertilisers and 25% for non-nitrogen fertilisers.

A study on fertiliser spreading patterns and their effect on farm production concluded that up to 50% of fertiliser is spread unevenly.

“This results in estimated production losses of $5 to $30 per hectare on pasture, and $30 to $300/ ha on high-value crops such as grass seed, wheat and onions.

“This does not take into account losses resulting from other effects of uneven spread, such as variations in maturity of seed and hay crops, luxury uptake and leaching.”

Spreading Northland offers proof-of-placement certificates. Farmers can also log onto their account and access spreading maps.

Spreading Northland offers proof-of-placement certificates as soon as a job is finished. Farmers can also log onto their account on the Ravensdown website and access information such as spreading maps.

Williamson says farm paddocks used to be managed as single units with farmers using estimates of average soil attributes across the whole paddock. But Spreading Northland now

offers precision management that looks at the variability within the paddock and addresses this to minimise inputs and maximise outputs.

Ravensdown products and services also include intensive soil sampling, laboratory testing and analysis, detailed and differential fertiliser plans, and the ability to apply fertiliser at variable rates in paddocks using GPS technology in spreaders.

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DAIRY SERVICES » Trotter Contracting

| 33

New gear keeps old firm truckin’ Karen Phelps Trotter Contracting’s continued investment in new machinery, including a Western Star truck for cartage and a Webbline bale wrapper, is part of the company’s drive to service customers – which the company has been doing for more than 90 years.

The Trotter family has been contracting in the Horowhenua region since 1924. The business was started by Bill Trotter, who pioneered contracting in the region by ploughing for the Chinese market gardeners in the Ohau area.

After World War 2, much of the land in the Horowhenua was being broken in and Bill and his son, Peter, did a lot of the early development work in the region.

Peter Trotter, 81, is still actively involved in the business and he still drives alongside his sons, Garry and Tony. More recently, grandson Rowan, a qualified diesel mechanic, has joined the business, and three generations are now working side by side.

The Levin-based firm’s services include bulk top-dressing of all types of fertilisers and fertiliser mixes, as well as lime, which is transported from Hatuma Lime Co at Waipukurau.

Trotter Contracting operates three fertiliser spreaders and has a Ravensdown consignment store and weighbridge at Koputaroa, near Levin.

The company also does spreading work out of the Ballance store at Shannon, largely for Landcorp.

Trotter Contracting does the spreading for all eight of the Landcorp dairy farms at Moutoa as well as a number of large, family-owned dairy farms. It also spreads for commercial growers and lifestylers.

In the summer months the company is involved with round and square hay balage, hay and grass silage. In the autumn the focus shifts to maize silage.

Ploughing, cultivation work, drilling and transportation are other services offered by Trotter Contracting.

The business runs a fleet of 13 trucks, including two high-tippers that feed into the spreaders. It has four trucks on maize silage and two tractor-trailers for use in wet conditions. The company also has two truck-and-trailer units to cart all bulk fertilisers.

Trotter Contracting’s clients range from dairy farmers to companies such as Tegel. Trotter Contracting carts live pullets – sometimes 11,00012,000 at a time – around the North Island for Tegel. It also cleans out some of Tegel’s sheds, removing chicken manure and spreading it on dairy farms.

Garry Trotter, a qualified mechanic like his son, Rowan, says that offering a good service on demand has been the key to the firm’s longevity.

“Customers don’t have to wait long, weather permitting, for us to come and do their job for them.”

Dairy farms make up about half of the company’s workload and Trotter Contracting continues to invest in larger gear to speed up the job, which helps cut costs for dairy farmers – which will be important this season, says Garry.

He expects dairy farmers may cut back on maintenance fertiliser dressings this season, but remains pragmatic.

We’ve seen low payouts before and we’ve got through it. It’s the diverse nature of our work that keeps us going no matter what the market.

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“We’ve seen low payouts before and we’ve got through it. It’s the diverse nature of our work that keeps us going, no matter what the market.

“Because it’s a family business, we all work in together. We’ve been around a long time, which gives our customers security. In fact, some of our customers have been with us for years and we’re proud to have sometimes helped generations of farmers.”

PHOTOS Top: Four generations of Trotters – Father Peter, grandson Rowan, great grandson Levi (in front) and sons Tony and Garry Trotter – with the company’s new Western Star truck. Above: Company founder and ploughing pioneer Bill Trotter with an early tractor. Lower left: Maize harvesting. Bottom left: A Case tractor and New Holland baler busy during the summer harvest.

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34 |

DAIRY SERVICES » Mike Kettle Contracting

NZ Dairy

SECTION » Feature

Mike Kettle Contracting has been providing Hawke’s Bay farmers with cultivation, hay and silage services for 25 years. The business runs 13 late-model John Deere tractors, ranging from 100hp to 300hp.

Mike does the lot...lock, stock and barrel Kelly Deeks For many clients, the fewer people they have to talk to, the better, says Hawke’s Bay contractor Mike Kettle. With this in mind, he aims to offer a complete service for hay, silage and cultivation.

“We want to be able to do the whole job. We can plough the paddock, plant it, harvest it and put it in a stack, then go back and re-sow the paddock back into grass. One phone call is all it takes.”

“With us, they talk to one person, and decide how and when they’re going to do the job. Let us use our knowledge, expertise, equipment, and experienced workforce to maximise the productivity of your agribusiness.”

Mike Kettle Contracting has been providing Bay sheep, beef, and dairy farmers with cultivation, hay and silage services for more than 25 years.

From its base in St Georges Rd, Hastings, the company runs a large fleet of late-model John Deere tractors, Claas silage and hay equipment, and cultivation and ground-engagement machinery.

Kettle, who comes from a farming background, trained as a diesel mechanic and marine engineer before buying the hay business he worked for in 1989. He has diversified into cultivation, silage and orchard development work.

Hay-related services include mowing and raking, baling with one of the company’s six balers – small conventional bales, round bales of hay or balage,

We want to be able to do the whole job. We can plough the paddock, plant it, harvest it and put it in a stack, then go back and re-sow the paddock back into grass.

One phone call is all it takes. medium-sized square bales for hay, balage or straw.

The company buys surplus grass to make into hay, balage or silage, and sells it around the central North Island.

The firm has two Claas forage harvesters to deal with local demand for grass, maize, and cereal silage “Most grass is grown on farm, whereas maize is often grown off farm under contract and delivered in March and April,” says Kettle. “All crops delivered to the farm are weighed on portable scales that can be set up in the paddock.”

Drilling and cultivation services are a big part of his business. He says that with six drills available, he can make sure the crop is in the ground on time, and can plant a wide variety of grasses, lucerne, brassicas and clovers.

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cultivator drill, we can cut the number of passes over the paddock and cut costs for farmers,” he says.

The business runs 13 John Deere tractors, ranging from 100hp to 300hp. The tractors are equipped with GPS, which, he says, leads to better results with cultivation and drilling, and saves farmers money.

With cultivation and ploughing starting at the end of July, silage work beginning in September, and then straight into balage and hay in October, the contracting season now runs pretty much yearround, he says.

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DAIRY SERVICES »Chapman Dairy: Rural Building Solutions

| 35

Three examples of Rural Building Solutions’ dairy-shed work: Right, a herringbone at Springfield; lower right, a 60-bail rotary at Mt Somers; bottom, a 60-bail rotary at Oxford.

Every dairy shed built as if it’s a ‘show shed’ Kelly Deeks The customised design service provides a choice of options in shed style, yard layout. plantroom design, and pipework configuration. years of commercial-construction experience.

Before he and his wife, Ruth, started Rural Building Solutions, he was a foreman in Christchurch’s commercial building sector, and had gained experience as a structural concrete specialist.

He is a licensed building practitioner, and his business is a registered master builder with the Master Builders’ Federation.

He says he wanted to use his skills to provide a better level of service to rural areas, and, in 2007, began building dairy sheds and other associated buildings.

His Darfield-based business now operates across the greater Canterbury region.

Hodges says that at the heart of any competitive and profitable dairy farm is a well designed, efficient, and low-maintenance milking parlour.

Most of the company’s customers now come from repeat business or referrals, says Hodges, who maintains word of mouth is the best advertising he can get.

The company’s reputation for quality is a result of building every dairy shed as though it were a “show shed”.

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Rural Building Solutions is the first company in the South Island to become a licence-holder to build Chapman Dairy-branded sheds.

And, says Nigel Hodges, they are built to exactly the parent company’s design and construction standards.

“Chapman Dairy has huge practical experience and technical expertise in all aspects of milking parlour design and build,” he says.

“The partnership between Rural Building Solutions and Chapman Dairy provides a service to design and construct a new facility from scratch, to meet what is required, no matter what.”

Also on offer, he says, is a wide range of ready-to-go options that can be built around a shed layout, saving farmers time and design and compliance costs.

Hodges says the Chapman Dairy designs produce high cow-flow efficiency, durable, lowmaintenance herringbone or rotary sheds that are easy to integrate with modern technology, and have easy-to-clean surfaces.

The customised design service provides a choice of options in shed styles, yard layout, plant room design, and pipework configuration.

The partnership between Rural Building Solutions and Chapman Dairy brings many advantages to those looking for a one-stop shop for a wide range of dairy farm structural projects, he says.

Hodges provides the project management himself, allowing customers to deal directly with their builder.

He says the partnership is also very well connected, and brings large-scale buying power to any size of project. And Rural Building Solutions and Chapman Dairy share a reputation for innovation and quality in design and construction.

Hodges’ building career includes more than 25

DAIRY SERVICES » Chapman Dairy: Quintin Oakes Builders

36 |

NZ Dairy

Parlours ‘sell themselves’

We don’t just build milking parlours and farm buildings, we also have years of Kelly Deeks professional experience in As the Chapman Dairy agent for Taranaki, dairy residential construction. parlour construction business at Quintin Oakes

Call Paul for all your

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Builders has been on the increase for the past couple of years. Indeed, says Quintin Oakes, Chapman Dairy parlours “sell themselves”.

He set up his family-run business, Quintin Oakes Builders, in 2001 with a focus on dairy-based construction and other farm buildings, coupled with his experience in residential construction and renovation.

“We don’t just build milking parlours and farm buildings, we also have years of professional experience in residential construction,” Oakes says.

“So if our farmer clients need to balance the ‘domestic-bliss’ scale when they decide the girls need a new milking parlour, we can build the wife a new kitchen. It’s a win-win situation,” Quintin Oakes Builders built its first Chapman Dairy in 2011, for a dairy farmer client who liked the Chapman design and chose Oakes to construct it.

“It was the first Chapman Dairy-branded parlour built in Taranaki. Don Chapman came to check it out and liked a couple of herringbone sheds I had built under my own design,” Oakes says.

“He came quite a few times, was very hands on and offered a lot of advice. Halfway through the build he offered me the licence to build Chapman Dairy parlours in Taranaki. It has gone from strength to strength.”

• To page 37

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DAIRY SERVICES » Chapman Dairy: Don Chapman Waikato

| 37

PHOTOS: A Don Chapman Waikato herringbone shed (left) and a shed interior (below).

Chapman products ‘a winner’ Kelly Deeks After contracting to Don Chapman Builders since 2007 with his company, High Calibre Construction, Morrinsville builder Shanan White bought out Don Chapman Builders in February 2014 and set up Don Chapman Waikato.

It’s a move that has quadrupled the size of his business, he says.

White has built many Chapman dairy parlours since 2007, getting involved when the company was under the pump and constructing 22 Chapman Dairy parlours for Carter Holt Harvey’s forestry-tofarm conversions near Tokoroa.

In 2009 White built the dairy complex for Tokanui Ag Research – two rotary sheds (one 60bail, the other 20-bail) under the same roof, a large laboratory/computer room, a covered veterinary area with a herringbone pit and fold-down platform, a silage bunker, a feedpad with flood wash, an effluent drying area, and a large sand wedge.

White says he has found the Chapman Dairy product to be a winner: “The product is cost effective and great value for money. The customers have all been happy with everything – the product, the finishing, our time frames, the whole process.

They all seem pretty rapt.”

Don Chapman Waikato has been flat out since February last year, building eight rotaries, four herringbones, and doing three alterations to sheds, including new yards and extensions.

Now with an 18-staff company, White is no longer doing everything on his own. He has a construction manager who has been with the company for 22 years, a quantity surveyor who has been with the company for 16 years, an office administrator, and a few of his builders who have been with the company for more than 10 years.

“Over the years, the hallmark of Don Chapman Builders, which continues with Don Chapman Waikato, has been the quality and finish of our workmanship,” White says.

“With our own high building and finishing

standards, we simply won’t compromise, and neither should our clients. Our style is to work closely with our clients on their building projects, ensuring the final product is exactly what they expected and contracted us for.”

White says Don Chapman Waikato is qualified and experienced to work on a wide variety of projects, including residential house-building, renovations and extensions, industrial and commercial construction, cool rooms and cold stores, specialized milking and dairy parlours, farm buildings, and concrete structures, such as effluent systems and feed storage.

The company also provides a range of ancillary services including design and plan drawing.

“Wwhether you want us to build a house, an industrial or commercial facility, a farm building, a cool room, a Chapman Dairy parlour, or just to carry out some renovations or extensions, we have the experience, staff, and skills to provide you with a cost effective and professional construction job,” he says.

Agency builds firm’s growth • From page 36 For the first couple of years as an agent, Quintin Oakes Builders built one Chapman Dairy parlour a year, and had about 70 per cent of its workload in the residential market.

By last year, the firm three Chapman Dairy parlours to build, and the company workload is now split 50:50 between residential and rural construction.

“Chapman Dairy are a brilliant design,” says Oakes.

“There is plenty of airflow and plenty of light, and they’re spacious. One of their biggest features is the vented roof that goes through the middle that lets in the light and provides ventilation.”

The designs see every bit of area used to fit in everything needed to get milk out of cows, he says.

This means no extra rooms are required.

However, the basic square parlour can be modified to personal preferences and requirements.

One he built recently has a four-metre-wide addon running the length of the building and providing an office, a break room, and storeroom space.

Another recently completed build has a coveredin verandah opposite the holding pens, providing roof cover for people to work under outside.

The designs see every bit of area used to fit in everything needed to get milk out of cows. No extra rooms are required.

The Chapman Dairy agency has also helped to Quintin Oakes Builders develop – building staff numbers have risen from six to 10 in the last four years, and there is now an office administrator on board as well.

Oakes says none of this would have been possible without the support of his wife, Tracey.

“Behind every good man there’s a good woman,” he says. Tracey used to help out in the business, but now has her own job as a health and safety advisoer which is still enormous help to Quintin Oakes Builders.

“WorkSafe New Zealand came to one of our jobs and in the feedback told us they hadn’t seen anything like our health and safety standards in other smaller businesses,” Oakes says.

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38 |

DAIRY SERVICES » Chapman Dairy: Built Wright Construction

NZ Dairy

Builder enjoys ease of construction Kelly Deeks Built Wright Construction is the only contractor in the Central North Island building Chapman Dairy parlours. And, as well as the dairy sheds, the Taupo-based business can build any type of structure required on a farm.

Wright, a builder with 15 years of experience in residential, commercial, and civil construction, started his apprenticeship in Putaruru in 2000. He was working in a diverse business and gathered experience in industrial and residential construction and maintenance services.

In 2002 he moved to Taupo and finished his apprenticeship with a residential and lightcommercial building company, working on high spec residential builds and multi-storey apartment buildings.

His training completed, Wright spent a few years doing contract housing before subcontracting in the light-commercial market, where he says he found his niche.

“That’s where I really enjoyed building.

Residential work can become quite repetitive unless you’re doing really high-end houses, but the light-commercial work is different, varied and interesting.”

Having been brought up on a farm, he started looking for an opportunity in the rural market that would allow him to follow his passions.

He got involved with Chapman Dairy back in 2008 when that company was under the pump constructing 26 Chapman Dairy sheds for Carter Holt Harvey’s forestry-to-farm conversions near Tokoroa.

After completing a Chapman Dairy build he was offered the licence for Taupo, and has since built more than 20 Chapman Dairy parlours.

He says the sheds are not only popular with farmers, but also offer ease and efficiency of construction.

“Don Chapman has streamlined the design of the sheds for construction, using materials for fast and easy erection, as well as longevity of the product.”

The years of knowledge and experience in design and construction that have gone into the

Chapman process produce facilities that help farmers optimise labour resources and provide a great workplace environment, Wright says. The stock also benefit from free-flowing yard and handling areas though less stress during milking and feeding.

As well as holding the Chapman Dairy licence,

Built Wright Construction is experienced in all manner of rural construction, from feedpads to effluent storage, to farmhouses.

Wright’s goal for his business is to become the turn-key contractor capable of taking its Taupo farmer-clients through all the stages of construction of their farm building projects – from pump sheds,

to calf sheds, to dairy sheds, to houses.

“We want to offer a turn-key package where we can take away all the stress and worry of constructing multiple buildings, by dealing with one contractor,” he says.

“We have done it all, and we can do it all on one job site.”

A Chapman Dairy shed under construction

by Built Wright Construction (above) and a couple of the finished articles (left)

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR» Huntly Road Dairies

| 39

Outram farmers Duncan and Anne-Marie Wells, supreme winners at the 2015 Dairy Business of the Year awards.

Strong partnerships key to success Jo Bailey Outram farmers Duncan and Anne-Marie Wells say it was a huge surprise and “very exciting” to be named supreme winners at the Dairy Business of the Year Awards.

“We nearly didn’t go to the awards as we were wondering who was going to look after our three children,” says Anne-Marie Wells. “In the end, Duncan’s parents kindly flew down from Nelson and we were able to attend. We were so pleased to be in Hamilton for the presentation and it was amazing and very unexpected to win.”

The couple, who farm a 181-hectare (effective) property peak-milking around 620 cows, also won best Otago Dairy Business of the Year, and an Environmental Performance award.

They were judged on their 2013-14 figures, returning 477 kilograms of milksolids per cow, 1672 milksolids/ha operating profit, and a 12.9 per cent return on capital.

The couple’s business performance and management were described as “outstanding” by the competition judges, who also praised their pasture management, which resulted in the high milk production per cow, and per hectare.

Anne-Marie says the couple were encouraged to enter the competition after their DairyBase data put them in the top 10% of dairy operations in the Otago region.

“We didn’t know much about the competition, but thought the feedback and analysis we would get from entering made it worthwhile.”

Duncan Wells says relationships are a critical factor in the success of their operation, starting with the strong partnership he and Anne-Marie enjoy.

“We’re a good team given my farming experience and Anne-Marie’s background in

2015 Dairy Business of The Year The Dairy Business of the Year competition is open to dairy farmers anywhere in New Zealand. The competition is run by NZ Dairy Business of the Year Ltd, which is 100 per cent owned by farm consultancy firm Intelact Ltd. Seventy per cent of entrant farms’ performance is judged on their profit, 15% on environmental management, and 15% on people management. The judges do not visit the farms. Entrants receive a report on their business performance.

The winner of the 2015 competition (judging was based on the business. We also have strong relationships with our bank, accountant, and business partner/ shareholders, all sharing a similar philosophy.”

The couple moved through the sharemilking ranks, then four years ago formed Huntly Road Dairies with other equity partners, buying and upgrading their farm.

“Before we purchased the farm it was a small, self-contained dairy unit with a 20-a-side

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2013-14 season) was Huntly Road Dairies Ltd (Duncan and AnneMarie Wells), Outram, Otago. The runner-up was Dipton Dairies Ltd (Tim Dawkins and John Ferris), Dipton, Southland.

Butterworth Enterprises (Rex and Sharon Butterworth), Walton, Waikato, won the Waikato regional award and the business resilience award for the lowest cost of production. Stolte Dairy Farm Ltd (Clarence and Elise Stolte), Carterton, Wairarapa, received a recognition of excellence award.

Other regional winners were: Northland – McNat Farms Ltd

(Michael and Natalie Coyne), Whangarei; Wairarapa/Hawke’s Bay – Daniel and Rochelle Cammock, Dannevirke; Manawatu – Landcorp Ruapehu (Brian Wilkinson), Foxton; Canterbury – Lismore Dairy Ltd (Dave Mavor and John McCarthy), Ashburton.

Other finalists were: Merino Downs (Richard and Maree Gardner), Gore, Southland; McLarnon Road Farm (Tim Montgomerie), Cambridge, Waikato; Anna Kalma (Waitoa, Waikato).

herringbone shed and 250 cows,” says Duncan Wells. “We elected to use it more as a milking platform, buying in feed and grazing young stock off. The previous owners are really good people who let us come in early and start building a new 54-bail rotary shed before settlement.”

The couple are pretty much left to run the farm, but meet formally with the other shareholders three or four times a year to ensure they are all on the

same page, he says.

“We also send monthly farm reports with statistical details and budget reviews, which helps us to keep a close eye on costs.”

Huntly Road Dairies is a medium-input operation, with its herd of crossbred cows supplemented with grain in the shed and grass

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• NZDairy profiles some of the winning farms: p41-55.

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40 |

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Huntly Road Dairies

NZ Dairy

Award win`confidence boost’ • From page 39 silage from late summer through autumn.

With no run-off, all young stock are sent to a grazier at weaning and around 90% of the cows during winter, returning on August 1.

“We’ve had a good couple of seasons weatherwise, and although it got pretty tough during the summer dry this year, we came through okay and weren’t as hard hit as a lot of other farmers.”

Duncan says they elected to feed out and try to keep production going, a strategy which saw them increase total production to just under 300,000kg milksolids last season, slightly ahead of their award-winning year.

The low payout will have an impact although, using a sailing analogy, Wells says they intend to “sail the ship at the same speed” in the meantime.

“At this stage we’re trimming the sails where we can to make things more efficient without losing boat speed. “ We will keep making subtle changes in line with the current market conditions, but don’t expect them to be too drastic in the short term.”

The farm’s stocking rate has been pretty static for the last three years, and he doesn’t anticipate PHOTOS: Above: Duncan Wells and children surrounded by fodder beet on their Outram farm. Top right: The 54-bail rotary dairy shed.

making any adjustments yet. They are also fortunate they don’t have to make any major capital upgrades on the farm, he says.

On the environmental side of things, Anne-Marie Wells says they have some large storage ponds with some “traffic lights” Duncan has invented to let them know how full the pond is.

“He’s always tinkering with stuff,” she says.

Every paddock on the farm is regularly soiltested, including twice during summer to enable them to be selective about nitrogen application.

“Careful monitoring and management adds up to savings as we’re not paying for fertiliser on a paddock that doesn’t need it. The environmental benefits are important too.”

The couple are supported on the farm by two full-time staff and other part-time and seasonal staff..

They say that winning the awards has been a “big confidence boost”.

“We got some really good feedback and benchmarking on what we are doing from the competition and feel we are pretty fortunate not to have to do too much fine tuning to get through these lower payouts.”

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DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Clarence & Elise Stolte

| 41

Strengths in planning, strategy Kelly Deeks For Clarence and Elise Stolte, rewarded with the Recognition of Excellence award at the 2015 Dairy Business of the Year competition, the most valuable hours they spend on their two Wairarapa 50:50 sharemilking jobs are those they spend strategising, planning and analysing.

The Stoltes are big believers in keeping their finger on the pulse in terms of their dairy business, rather than just running the farms.

Their philosophy dates back to their first year sharemilking, when they were on a 16 per cent contract in the 2008-09 season.

“We started in a tough year, although when I look at this season, it actually wasn’t so tough,” says Clarence Stolte. “Our contract was based on a milk payout of around $7, but it wound up to be around $5 by the end of the season. We went into that season without any debt, but we had to very quickly figure out how to come out of it without going into debt. That was our biggest and steepest learning curve.”

He says it came down to getting in behind the numbers, and monitoring and understanding the costs.

“We involved the people around us, our accountant, our bank manager, and other farmers,” he says. “We’ve always been quite heavily networked, and that’s been useful. Now we’re running two 50:50 sharemilking jobs, it’s really the sort of thing that’s going to help us make the most of the opportunity.”

The Stoltes are 50:50 sharemilking on a 165-hectare, 500-cow farm owned by his parents, Wim and Roelie Stolte, near Masterton. This season they have started another 50:50 sharemilking job on a 140ha, 500-cow farm on the other side of Masterton.

“Our new farm-owners have seen what we do and wanted us to do it on their farm,” Stolte says.

“We won Hawke’s Bay Wairarapa Sharemilker of the Year in 2010, and last year we won the regional Dairy Business of the Year. We’ve been putting ourselves out there and it has reaped benefits.”

He says he and his wife have always tried to push their belief that sharemilking is still a good option for farm-owners.

“The financial results can be really good,” he says. “Farm-owners can make a better return on their capital by having a 50:50 sharemilker rather than a farm manager.”

As well as profitability, the Dairy Business of the Year competition was also judged on people management and environmental management.

The Stoltes aim to offer their staff the same opportunities they have had themselves through their developing careers.

“We work hard to give them the opportunity to understand our business, and not just the farms,” Clarence Stolte says. “We spend time with them in the dairy office explaining where we’re at and where we’re going, what our cost of production is, and where we’re above or below targets. It’s a good way to motivate the staff.”

The couple don’t hesitate to put their staff

Above: Wairarapa sharemilkers Clarence and Elise Stolte receive their Recognition of Excellence award at the Dairy Business of the Year competition.

Left: The Stoltes on the 165-hectare, 500-cow farm they sharemilk near Masterton. This season they have also started another 50:50 sharemilking job on a 140ha, 500 cow farm on the other side of Masterton. through extra training, believing any investment in their staff results in well-developed and good contributors.

On environmental management, the Stoltes work on protecting waterways and managing their nitrate and phosphate losses, believing that is what will determine their right to farm. Just like managing the financial success of their business, managing the environment is very much a numbers game which needs consistent monitoring and analysis.

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42 |

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Dipton Dairies

NZ Dairy

People main factor in winning Karen Phelps

Dipton Dairies staff celebrate their Southland regional and overall runner-up success in the 2013-14 New Zealand Dairy Business of the Year competition.

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Being named the Southland regional winners and overall runners-up in the New Zealand Dairy Business of the Year Awards has reinforced the fact that Dipton Dairies is operating at a very high level, says managing director John Ferris.

The business, which includes two farms (a total of 637 hectares) milking 2500 cows, is an equity partnership, which includes operations manager Tim Dawkins. The business has had a steep growth period for the past eight years.

The original property was bought and converted into a 1200-cow farm in 2008. In 2012, the partnership bought a 120ha, neighbouring farm, which was also converted to dairy, including a new dairy shed and two new houses. Cow numbers increased to 2500, run in four herds across the two farms.

The business employs a total of 12 full-time staff, including two farm managers. Ferris says people are the number one factor driving the business forward. Dipton Dairies also won the best people management and leadership award.

“The biggest thing for us running a large team is people,” he says. “If you haven’t got the ability to put the right person in the right place at the right time to make the right decision, your ability to execute will be limited.” says Ferris.

The business has a staff turnover of 17 per cent. Ferris says emphasis is placed on developing company culture and staff dynamics. Culture starts at the top, leading by example and people working together, he says.

“It’s all very well telling someone what to do,but for real success you’ve also got to get people to buy into the farm system and business model. If you suggest something, you have to back it up with a strong outcome. Seeing the outcome helps drive

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DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Dipton Dairies

| 43

dairy business people to do things to your expectations.”

Dipton Dairies also stresses the importance of efficiency and having the correct structures in place.

For example, Ferris points out that with 12 staff, a one-hour meeting is equivalent to a day’s work. The farm milks 265 cows for every full-time equivalent staff member, compared with the average of 150, underlining the need to plan efficiently.

Part of this drive towards efficiency has been working on improving health and safety policies, and Ferris says there has been improvement on five years ago. For example, staff are now good at slowing down on motorbikes. And, as a result, the amount of maintenance has dropped.

However, he considers this the second layer of the farm’s efficiency model. Efficiency starts with infrastructure and farm layout, he says Both farms both have central, 60-bail rotary cowsheds. Technology – such as automatic drafting and automatic cup removers – reduces labour.

The farms calve down together, then farm managers are responsible for their own properties.

It is an exception to the rule for farm managers

to go outside their farm, which helps maintain accountability, says Ferris.

The farm is supported by Sirref Ltd, a farming management company Ferris is involved in. Its services include the introduction of its culture and vision across the farm.

Dipton Dairies also won the best low-input award in the competition. The farm runs on a predominantly all-grass systems and produces 1624 kilograms of milksolids per hectare at a cost of $3.89 per kilogram. The farm has a 12.1% return on capital.

Ferris says that after rapid growth, there is now a focus on operational excellence and cows.

The farm’s empty rate is getting better year by year through better management around drying cows off, keeping body condition more even through the season, running a once-a-day herd when needed, and easier and quicker availability and access to bulls now that the company is more established in the market.

“Operating a farm with such a large number of cows is difficult. So doing it to such a high level is a real achievement. It has been a team effort and every year we aim to keep lifting the bar.”

It’s all very well telling someone what to do, but for real success you’ve also got to get people to buy into the farm system and business model. If you suggest something, you have to back it up with a strong outcome. Seeing the outcome helps drive people to do things to your expectations.

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44 |

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Daniel and Rochelle Cammock

NZ Dairy

Couple ready for challenging Jo Bailey

Rochelle and Daniel Cammock, Wairarapa/Hawke’s Bay regional winners at the Dairy Business of the Year Awards.

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First-time entrants Daniel and Rochelle Cammock say it was a “bit of a surprise” to be named Wairarapa/Hawke’s Bay regional winners at the Dairy Business of the Year Awards.

“Our bank had been wanting us to have a go for a few years but we weren’t that keen,” says Daniel Cammock. “We use the DairyBase package to record our business information, so at the 11th hour decided to put together some facts and figures along with the bank, and ended up as regional winners. It was a great result.” .

The couple farm a 170-hectare (effective) milking platform at Oringi, about 15 minutes south of Dannevirke.

Their 2013-14 farm performance figures were presented as part of their entry to the Dairy Business of the Year Awards, showing an impressive 11.4 per cent return on capital, and $5242/ha operating profit.

Production was 375 kilograms of milksolids per cow, or 1061/ha.

Daniel Cammock says a workshop for the regional winners was one of the highlights of the two-day event and awards ceremony at Hamilton in June.

“We met some really interesting, like-minded people, and thrashed out a few ideas. It was great to talk about the industry as a whole, some environmental stuff, and all sorts of other things.”

He says they have had good production results from the 2014-15 season – another 8%.

However he accepts the upward trend is unlikely to continue given the falling dairy payout.

“We have a reasonably well set-up, low-cost structure which is insulating us to a certain degree, although we are no more immune to the pain than the next guy.”

This season the Cammocks are calving 480 cows and hope to peak-milk around 470.

Like all dairy farmers, they are watching costs closely.

“We’re analysing everything harder again this season, but I don’t know how much harder we can go. We’ve cut discretionary spending and will make no capital expenditure. We applied more fertiliser last season in anticipation of reducing our inputs this season.”

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DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Daniel & Rochelle Cammock | 45

times He says they have accepted they won’t make any money this year, but want to minimise any loss as much as possible by “controlling the controllables without making silly cut-backs”.

“It’s important not to make cuts that affect productive capacity and ultimately the bottom line.”

When asked the secret to their success, Daniel says they have a simple philosophy of converting as much grass into milk as they can.

“We try and harvest every blade of grass we grow, and be as efficient as we can. We put in all our crops ourselves and conserve any extra grass as balage.”

The “dead flat” farm has a good balance of soils, with heavier country that hangs on longer during summer; and lighter, stonier ground, which allows them to minimise pugging damage during the winter months.

“We don’t have a high stocking rate, which gives us a buffer and doesn’t put us under the same sort of pressure other guys might face.”

The Cammocks are sticking to a mainly grassbased feed regime this season after stopping the small amount of palm kernel they had been supplementing.

“We irrigate around 80ha of the milking platform, which helps to get us through, as well as a crop of turnips and balage imported from our 45ha run-off across the road.”

Around 300 cows and the young stock are wintered for around seven to eight weeks on the run-off.

Daniel Cammock grew up on a family dairy farm, but went building for six years after leaving school, before he and Rochelle, who worked in retail, headed off on their OE. They came home to the farm and started on wages, gradually progressing to sharemilking. In

Daniel and Rochelle Cammock farm a 170-hectare property at Oringi, near Dannevirke.

2006 they started a company with Daniel’s parents, Malcolm and Pam, to farm the home farm and other land that had been acquired.

Over the next five years they slowly bought Daniel’s parents out, and by 2011, were farming in their own right.

“We still lease some land from Mum and Dad who have been right behind us the whole way and made the transition really easy. They’re semi-

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retired, but still have some quite diverse business interests including a motorbike shop and an upholstery shop.”

Daniel and Rochelle employ two full-time staff – “really good guys who are great with our gear and stock,” – and run a split herd, milking 360 cows twice a day and 110 heifers once a day.

“It works really well with an empty rate of around 0.5%. We obviously don’t produce as much

milk, but it takes the pressure of the cows.”

Rochelle does the bookwork and the calf-raising, and both she and Daniel are busy with their four children, aged from 12 to four years of age.

“This season is challenging but we both still believe in the industry,” says Daniel.

“It’s just a matter of activating some levers to reduce spending a little more and riding out the wave.” .

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46 |

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Richard & Maree Gardner

NZ Dairy

Efficiency gains paying off Kim Newth Southland farmers Richard and Maree Gardner are chuffed they made the finals of the 2015 Dairy Business of the Year competition, having made significant efficiency gains since last entering two years ago.

Their decision to start wintering cows at home, rather than grazing off, has proved a big saving, says Richard Gardner..

“You haven’t got any trucking costs for a start, plus the rates we pay per cow are much lower. We also find the cows are a lot more content and are easier to control.”

The couple sharemilk 448 cows for Merino Downs Ltd (owned by Peter and Pauline Vause, of New Plymouth) on a 156-hectare investment farm near Gore. The property was bought for the Vauses

by Greg O’Byrne, of High Performance Farming Ltd. In the 2013-14 season, they achieved a return on capital of 13 per cent and an operating profit of $6455/ha. Their cost of production was $4.19 per kilogram of milksolid and their production was 512kg of milksolids per cow.

“Everything clicked for us during that season.

It was our third year of being on this land,” says Gardner.. “The cows had a good year, we had a good pay out – everything fell into place.”

They are heading for another set of good results this year and expect to reach their target of 500kg of milksolids per cow.

Both Richard and Maree grew up on farms and Richard has milked all his life. Maree worked as a travel agent before they married in 1994. Richard started off contract milking 125 cows on his parents’ Taranaki farm.

The Merino Downs connection: From left, Peter and Pauline Vause (owners), Greg O’Byrne and Chris Butler (High Performance Farming), Maree and Richard Gardner (sharemilkers), and Kevin Landrigan (farm accountant, BDO Spicers Taranaki).

• To page 47

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DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Mike & Natalie Coyne

| 47

Winning team: Northland Dairy Business of the Year winners Mike and Natalie Coyne (right) with son Kyro and staff.

Vision, hard graft winning combination Sue Russell Northland couple Michael and Natalie Coyne have been rewarded for their vision, hard work and farmmanagement skills by winning the Northland region of the Dairy Business of the Year Awards.

The Coynes, trading as McNat Farms Ltd, milked 323 cows on 143 hectares in the 1013-14 season.

Their production of 405 kilograms of milksolids per cow translates to 916kg per hectare. Their cost of production was $3.59/kg milksolid.

They returned 16.6 per cent on capital, had an operating profit of $4521/ha and an operating profit margin on 53.1% The couple have aimed high and worked hard to get to farm ownership at a young age. Since 2009, when Michael let go of his earlier career as a mechanic and Natalie left nursing, they have had three moves in as many seasons gathering sufficient resources to buye the farm they now call home at Hukerenui, just north of Whangarei.

“We started on a low input coastal farm with 550 spring calving jersey cows where we also winter milked the empties,” says Michael Coyne.

“In 2010, we took on a high-input farm at Hikurangi with 370 autumn-calving, friesian cows, then in 2011 we bought where we are now.”

Their 161-hectare (effective) property is a mix of flats (with a soil type of silt loam) and hills (with a soil type of pipe clay) that had been run along semiorganic lines for 15-20 years.

The farm was covered in rushes, but the Coynes could see its potential. After applying fertiliser, increasing the herd size, topping, weed wiping and with 30 per cent of the farm now in new pastures the farm has started to come together.

With his mechanical skills, Michael is able to take care of all servicing of machinery.

And there has been constant activity improving the farm infrastructure, including two new effluent ponds, capping every race, building new races, improving water supply and ensuring compliance with all regulations.

In May last year the dairy shed was been upgraded from a 21- a-side to a 24-a-side herringbone, and the pit was made deeper to help prevent sore backs.

Their farm is split by the state highway and train tracks, something Michael Coyne says is not the best situation. However, an agreement has been reached with Transit which will use approximately one hectare of the farm as part of the highways development. The process is expected to take about three years.

The Coynes put together several groups of cows to make a herd. The herd was below average for breeding worth and production worth, but milkproduction figures have increased signficantly.

The Coynes believe in feeding their cows and they are achieving very good production from the herd.

“We’re operating between a feeding system three and four, giving each cow approximately a tonne of palm kernel,” says Michael.

“We’ve looked at the advantages and also

trialled chicory verses turnips. We’ve found that chicory works best for our system. The aim is to be on a constant 21-day round.”

Last season they peak-milked 323 jersey/jerseycross cows. They are targeting 400 kilograms of milksolids per cow and are increasing their stocking rate as the farm improves.

With a 10-months-old son, Kyro, Natalie has had to pull out of full-time work on the farm. She still does the office work, pays the wages, helps when she can on the farm, and covers workers’ time off.

In their first season they ran the farm themselves. These days they employ a full-time farm assistant along with a casual.

Intelact consultant Paul Martin has worked with the Coynes since they bought the farm and has contributed to the decision-making.

The Coynes’ advice to those at the start of their dairying career is not to let people tell you that you can’t do things when you know you can.

“Aim high, work hard, strive to succeed and you will get there,” they say.

Farm ownership tantalisingly close for Southland farmers • From page 46 “I did only one year of contract milking and then bought the herd,” he says, Eventually he built the herd up to 250 cows.

The couple started looking at a move to

Southland after a neighbour began talking about wanting to invest in a farm there.

That led to them sharemilking for four years for a Taranaki couple on a Southland farm located on the Morton Mains, near Invercargill.

They then started sharemilking at Merino Downs

(not with the present owners), near Gore The Gardners have two sons, aged 18 and 13 years, and the younger is showing an interest in farming.

Maree has a big hand in running the farm and assisting Richard, as well as taking care of the accounts.

Milking is done in a 40-a-side herringbone shed: “It is nothing flash – there are no bells and whistles –but it does the job,” says Richard, “It is a nice shed to milk in.”

Waikiwi soils predominate on the property.

It is a silty soil type found over many thousands of hectares on the high terraces of the southern Southland plain between the Mataura and Aparima rivers. There is also some clay underneath it, which helps with water retention, says Richard Gardner

A small creek that runs through the farm has been fenced off and enhanced with riparian planting.

“We’re always looking at ways to improve the land and so we’ve done a lot of tree planting to provide good shelter belts,” he says.

“We’ve also given the sheds a good tidy-up.”

Farm ownership continues to be their ultimate goal.

In 2008 they invested in a farm and now have a 25% share in a Southland farm, milking 800 cows.

Richard is 47 and Maree is 43, and they hope to reach their ownership goal within the next two years.

It would be the best possible 50th birthday present for Richard, who has worked hard all his life to achieve the farm ownership dream.

A small creek that runs through the farm has been fenced off and enhanced with riparian planting.

We’re always looking at ways to improve the land and so we’ve done a lot of tree planting to provide good shelter belts. We’ve also given the sheds a good tidy-up.

48 |

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Landcorp Ruapehu

NZ Dairy

Multiple awards rate as ‘real Karen Phelps Strong attention to safety, on protecting the environment and on developing people has seen Landcorp’s Ruapehu Farm win several awards in the 2015 Dairy Business of the Year contest.

The farm was entered in the competition with the aim of benchmarking it, says Landcorp’s business manager, Brian Wilkinson, who looks after all nine of the organisation’s farms at Moutoa, near Foxton, with farm managers from each property reporting to him, “We knew we were going well, but we thought we’d enter to mainly see where we could improve,” he says.

The 260-hectare (effective) Ruapehu Farm milks a herd of 880 mainly kiwicross cows through a 60-bail rotary shed.

It used to be the lowest performing farm in the Moutoa group, which makes the awards a real coup for the staff, says Wilkinson.

Ruapehu Farm won the Manawatu regional award, had the best return on capital and was the best high-input dairy farm of entrants from the region.

One big change over the past 18 months has been the importance placed on safety. Wilkinson says it has been recognised that the farm industry has not traditionally done enough in this area.

“We want our staff to go home to their families safe. It has also been statistically proven that a safe farm is a profitable farm.”

Visitors are now signed in when they enter and leave the farm. Speed limits have been set on the farm, quads are being replaced with safer sideby-sides, signs around the farm emphasise safety messages and weekly meetings are held with staff to identify hazards and the like.

“We think that if people are talking about safety, it is at front of their minds and people are more aware,” says Wilkinson. “It’s a continual conversation and we’ve got a long way to go. But I believe we can change attitudes.”

And it is the changing of entrenched attitudes that is often the hardest thing when it comes to safety, he says.

He acknowledges that safety is also good for business – staff time off hits the bottom line. He says reaction has been positive from staff.

“It has taken a while. but in the past year safety has gone from the bottom of our agendas to the top. It’s the first thing they talk about now. There has definitely been a shift in mindset.”

Another major priority, which garnered praise

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DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Landcorp Ruapehu

| 49

coup’ at the competition, was the importance the organisation places on developing people.

The farm runs its own internal training courses on practical aspects of farming to complement outside training.

As the Moutoa group also includes a number of smaller farms with fewer than 250 cows, Wilkinson sees these courses as a good stepping stone for staff wanting to progress. They can tackle a smaller unit first.

Protecting the environment was another aspect of the farming operation praised by judges.

Ruapehu Farm has a new effluent system and storage pond. Constructed about 12 months ago. it is comprised of a large stone trap and sump pumped over a slope screen.

Liquid is stored in a large, lined storage pond and pumped over the farm, as well as being used to wash the feedpad. Solids are kept in a concrete bunker. The effluent dispersal area has been increased from 40ha to 80ha.

Wilkinson says the system gives them greater control over how and when they apply effluent on the farm.

“We never have to worry now whereas before, we’d be up in the middle of the night shifting the irrigator if it rained. The nutrient loading is spread more widely and we can use less urea.”

One of the farm’s goals is to lower nitrogen leaching, says Wilkinson. Figures are down to 12 whereas before they sat around 20.

Other environmentally friendly initiatives include retiring 1ha of the farm and planting natives. Not only does this make the farm more aesthetically pleasing, but it also encourages wildlife, such as bees, which are a not often recognised yet necessary part of the farming operation and needed to pollinate the clover.

The farm has also started a conversation with environmental activists to help them understand how the farm works.

“There are a lot of misconceptions,” says Wilkinson. “We’re improving things and showing we are mindful of what we are doing here. Overall reaction has been good.”

Landcorp entered its Ruapehu farm in the Dairy Business of the Year competition with the intention of benchmarking. ‘We knew we were going well, but we thought we’d enter to mainly see where we could improve,” says Brian Wilkinson, who oversees nine Landcorp dairy farms in Moutoa group at Foxton. The result was the farm won three awards.

It has taken a while but in the past year safety has gone from the bottom of our agendas to the top. It’s the first thing they talk about now. There has definitely been a shift in mindset.

At Moutoa 4700 cows are spread around the nine farms. All of the farms are on one title, but they are run separately.

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Wilkinson says the farms started life as a swamp, became beef farms, then finishing farms, and became dairy farms about 16 years ago.

The return on capital for Ruapehu Farm for the 2013-14 season on which the competition was judged was 11.8 per cent and the profit per hectare $6694. At that time around 65% of the cows’ feed was farm pasture and 35% supplementary feed – mainly maize silage, grass silage and palm kernel..

Wilkinson says there is now emphasis on more pasture through better efficiency. Last season the farm produced 415,000 kilograms of milksolids and this season is targeting 430,000kg.

“We’re always trying to think innovatively and find better ways of doing things. It’s about keeping an open mind and constantly questioning the system and whether it is the best it can be.”

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50 |

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Rex & Sharon Butterworth

| 51

Attention to detail rewarded Kim Newth Spending money wisely and keeping up with maintenance are key factors that have contributed to the success of Waikato farmers Rex and Sharon Butterworth.

The couple won the national award for business resilience in the 2015 Dairy Business of the Year competition (judged on 2013-14 results) and was rated the best dairy business in the Waikato region.

The Butterworths they have twice been finalists in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

On their 106-hectare farm at Walton, near Matamata, they milk 450 friesian and friesiancross cows with a cost of production of $3.13 per kilogram of milksolids. In the 2013-14 season they achieved a 10.9 per cent return on capital and an operating profit of $10,344/ha.

Rex Butterworth, who grew up on a farm at Te Pahu, gained overseas experience of farming and dairying in Europe as a young adult before returning to the family farm to contract milking and then 50:50 sharemilking. He and Sharon later went into partnership with his parents, Peter and Barbara, on the farm at Walton.

“Since we have been here, Sharon and I bought another property that we run in conjunction with this one.”

Sharon’s background is in banking and personal training. Rex says her career in farming began 17 years ago when she met him, and she plays a big part in the success of their business. Their daughter, Nicole, is still at home and involved with four or five sports teams. Sharon is often busy keeping up with after-school commitments.

The couple decided to enter the competition after being encouraged to do so by agribusiness consultant Alison Dewes, of Headlands.

“We saw it as a great way of benchmarking ourselves against other farmers and looking at ways to improve,” says Rex. Attention to detail is central to the Butterworths’ approach to farming. They endeavour to keep running costs low by not wasting feed and staying up to date with farm maintenance. Feeding the right type of feed at the right time allows the cows to convert what they are eating into milk efficiently.

The Butterworths run a closed, in-house system that involves growing their own maize on a neighbouring 55ha block and making their own grass silage so that they do not need to rely on expensive imported feed. They also use chicken litter as a cost-efficient fertiliser.

• To page 52

Waikato’s Sharon and Rex Butterworth won the national award for business resilience and were the Waikato regional winners in the 2015 Dairy Business of the Year competition.

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52 |

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Rex & Sharon Butterworth

NZ Dairy

Eye for detail earns reward • From page 51 To ensure they get it right with feed, they use a nutritionist, Sue Mackay, and call in other specialists as required to check their practices.

Three seasons back the Butterworths invested in two 250-cow Herd Homes® animal shelters, equipped with a built-in and sustainable effluent system. It has made a significant impact on reducing nutrient leaching levels and boosting production.

“We’re more intensive than most farms but our “n” leaching is sitting at 25, quite a bit lower than most conventionally run farms,” says Rex Butterworth. “That’s because we can take the stock off the paddocks in wet conditions. If it’s raining, generally all the stock are inside and then all that captured effluent is exported off the milking platform to the maize-growing area.”

The shelters also provide much needed respite from the heat of the sun over summer, which means the cows are less stressed and in better condition going into winter.

When the shelters were built, the Butterworths were hoping for a 20% increase in production. They would have accepted 10%. They ended up with a 32% rise in the first year, then 17% the next year.

This year they are budgeting for a 12% increase.

“Putting in these shelters was a big expense, but it has been well worth it,” says Rex. A married couple, Vern and Barbara, manage the herd and the day-to-day running of the farm.

The Butterworths rate them as key to the farm’s success They also use contractors to do grass silage and harvest maize. They do their own cultivation and mowing to help keep costs down.

Rex Butterworth says they will continue to look at ways of farming “to get the most from the least”.

They plan to review cow numbers to ensure they are not milking marginal animals.

Building two herd shelters has made a big impact on nutrient leaching levels and production for Waikato farmers Rex and Sharon Butterworth.

We’re more intensive than most farms but our “n” leaching is sitting at twenty five, quite a bit lower than most conventionally run farms. That’s because we can take the stock off the paddocks in wet conditions. If it is raining, generally all the stock are inside and then all that captured effluent is exported off the milking platform to the maize growing area.

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DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR » Tim Montgomerie & Jo Brown

| 53

Robust systems form bedrock Karen Phelps 2015 Dairy Business of the Year finalists for the Waikato region, Tim Montgomerie and Jo Brown, are targeting the same milk production on the farm they sharemilk on McLarnon Road, Cambridge, this season despite making a number of changes to their system to cut costs. They have dropped half a labour unit, have reduced their herd by 20 cows and are growing 8ha of maize on farm this year.

“We think we can produce similar solids at a lower cost. A leaner system will mean good things when the payout rises again, so in the long run, it may not be such a bad thing to review and critique what we are doing,” says Tim. The couple have an unusual take on their business, which includes a number of farms. They are happy to be sharemilkers and are even absentee sharemilkers on the McLarnon Road unit, which was the farm they entered in the Dairy Business of the Year competition: “The tradition in New Zealand is for the sharemilker to be on the farm. But the return on capital for a 50:50 sharemilking position is actually superior to being a farm owner in our opinion,” says Montgomerie.

Tim is a born-and-bred Waikato dairy farmer and often jokes that he saved Aucklander Jo from the rat race. Tim, who has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and a Diploma of Agricultural Science from Massey University, gained early experience on his family’s farm at Cambridge.

With family assistance he quickly bought his own farm in the Mamaku Ranges in 1997. The 120-hectare farm milking 400 cows was run by a farm manager and was sold in 2004. Meanwhile Tim was working his way up from farm assistant to 50:50 sharemilker on his parents’ 80ha effective/84ha total unit, which now milks 380 cows through a 36-bail rotary shed.

In 2004 he also took on a 50:50 sharemilker position for owner John Newman on the McLarnon Road farm, which this year will milk a herd of 440 cows.

The couple have also established an equity partnership in Gore on a 280ha (effective) farm milking 720 cows operated by an equity manager, and since 2007, have been busy converting 1042ha to dairy in Uruguay. This South American farm, which milks 1000 cows, is now leased out and the couple are in the process of selling it.

To make their business work the couple say they rely on robust systems, procedures and good staff.

Montgomerie says the key is good communication with the farm managers on the equity partnership

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Although they take an absentee sharemilker role on McLarnon Road, the farm performs at a high level. Return on capital for the competition season was 9 per cent compared with an average of 7.2% for the district. Return on equity was 9.2% (district average 6.1%) and operating profit

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Montgomerie says increases such as these are an indication of the high calibre of staff on the unit and systems in place.

Montgomerie and Brown say these two fundamental aspects underlie their business and took them through to the finals of the 2015 Dairy Business of the Year. As first-time entrants, they saw the competition as an opportunity to benchmark themselves against elite dairy-industry performers.

They stress that the year they were judged on was an $8.40 payout. This year things will be markedly different, but they are confident they can maintain their production levels through the changes they are initiating.

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54 |

DAIRY PEOPLE» John Hayward & Susan O’Regan

NZ Dairy

Te Awamutu farmers John Hayward and Susan O’Regan receiving their award (left) and down on the farm (right).

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Jo Bailey Intensive environmental protection works on their Te Awamutu dairy farm have led to award-winning results for John Hayward and Susan O’Regan.

The couple picked up dairying and water protection awards at the 2015 Waikato Farm Environmental Awards in April.

“It was great to be rewarded for something we are passionate about and we hope other famers might be inspired by what can be achieved with a bit of time and effort,” says Hayward.

They have put in three years of hard graft, planting thousands of native trees on marginal land and protecting wetlands on their 245-hectare (140 effective) farm.

A recent partnership between the couple and Comvita will see an additional 20ha of high-potency manuka planted over the next two years.

Most of the environmental work has been devoted to the land outside the milking platform, which is a mix of native bush, retired land and a heifer-grazing block.

“The focus this year has been on the wetlands, as well as riparian areas and fencing drains,” says Hayward. “Our boys and I spent the last school holidays planting 1500 natives and 5000-odd manuka went in August/September this month, which is the first step with Comvita.”

The arrangement will enable Hayward and O’Regan to retire more marginal land, drop nitrogen leaching over the whole farm, and make some income off it. They will get 30 per cent of the honey flow when the operation is fully established in around six years.

Otherwise, they will continue to retire lots of fingers of native bush; they have already established 11 wetlands on the farm.

Along with the environmental benefits, they get a lot of “joy and pleasure” from seeing the results of their hard work, says John Hayward.

“To be living in your workplace and see it changing, developing and growing right in front of you is pretty cool.”

Susan O’Regan says the farm already had an impressive diversity of birdlife, but this has been enhanced since the environmental protection works started.

“There are a lot more birds around the place, and with the help of Waikato Regional Council, we’ve even discovered bats in our native bush. The streams also contain big healthy eels and koura (freshwater crayfish) that the boys like to catch.”

Most of the tree planting has been done within the family to save the $1.50 average cost per tree if planted by a contractor.

The couple have found other innovative ways to save time and money, with Comvita supplying the labour and covering the costs to plant the manuka, and the Waikato Regional Council paying a 34% subsidy to plant the farm’s marginal land.

“The subsidies on offer can be even higher in other catchments,” says O’Regan. “People need to be aware this funding is out there and grab hold of it.”

The impetus for the environmental works came from their son, Ben, who in 2011 was one of 1500 delegates to attend an international Kids Teaching Kids conference in Australia, where he spoke about New Zealand’s approach to waterway protection.

“We were already conscious of our environmental responsibilities, but Ben’s involvement in the programme really opened our eyes and inspired us take it to the next step,” says Hayward.

The couple bought the first half of their farm six years ago, and three years ago added a neighbouring dry-stock unit, which they converted.

They run a self-contained operation, and milk year-round with 50:50 split calving in autumn and spring.

“By September we’ll be peak-milking around 500 cows, then will dry off one herd over January.

When the cows are tapering off lactation, we can pull the land out and grow all our own maize on the dairy platform. This effectively enables us to recycle our effluent, turn it into feed and deliver the feed consistently over winter. It’s a big, old merry go-round of nutrients.”

Although they are running the cowshed every day of the year, the system has still proved environmentally friendly, he says.

“Just because it is intensive doesn’t mean it has to be bad for the environment.”

They employ one staff member and they believe their low-cost structure is helping them weather the low payout: “We’re still relatively comfortable.”

The couple have five children, including a oneyear-old, and four siblings all at different schools, so life is never dull.

“We believe we have at least another three years of environmental works ahead of us,” says John Hayward. “It is a lot of hard work, but great to think we are leaving something positive behind for the next generations.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Rhys & Rachel Watkins

| 55

High-input not for us – Rhys Sue Russell Over the last decade Rhys Watkins has pursued his farming career with solid significant steps.These days he and wife, Rachel, and their two children, enjoy life on their 174-hectare property near Thornton, north along the coast from Whakatane.

“I remember absolutely loving my time at Lincoln Uni 10 years ago while I studied a BCom in Agriculture,” Rhys Watkins says. “Good fun is how I would describe it.”

Following the formal study he obtained a managing position on a developing dairy farm near Te Awamutu where he remained for two years. This was followed by a contract-milking role, also in the Te Awamutu district, before embarking on a lowerorder sharemilking position on the family farm at Thornton. He is going into his fourth season there.

“It’s a good place to bring up our children, Flynn who is two and a half, and five-month-old Georgia.”

At peak they will milk 500 mainly friesian cows; the plan is to tweak numbers up to about 520 in time. The farm is organised to a system 3 feeding regime, with 125 cows wintered off while additional supplements are bought in to support lactation.

About 220 tonnes of palm kernel forms the bulk of additional feed.

“We used to feed maize out, but we’ve gone away from this for various reasons, including it is hard to feed when wet, while PK is really easy to feed.”

At 225,000 kilograms of milksolids, last season’s production was down a little on what he had hoped. While the farm responds well with pasture growth in dry conditions, milk fever took its toll.

“We’ve taken a few preventative measures, calving on higher paddocks. Milk fever is easily treated if caught in the early stages.”

Rachel, a qualified accountant, looks after the accounts. A second-in-command and a full-time farm assistant, who lives in the cottage on the property, help run the farm day to day.

The regular two days off every second weekend,

PHOTOS Left: Rachel Watkins, with children Flynn and Georgia.

Below: Rhys Watkins and Flynn man to man in the shed.

which operates right through the season, works well between the three, Rhys says.“It’s good to stick to a routine throughout the season. Staff know they’ve got guaranteed regular breaks.”

The 30-a-side herringbone shed is operating efficiently for the current production volume, though Watkins says he may look at extending the shed.

It’s a good life for a young family working hard to advance.

I love the outdoors, the animals and the abundant opportunities with all the stepping stones farming brings.

“I’m happy with the technologies in the shed, with the variable-speed-drive pumps, and I’ll be looking closely at the economic forecast for the value of milk powder.”

He belongs to a young farmers’ discussion group which meets about every six weeks. Recent conversations have turned to enhancing cow condition, analysing reproductive performance from mating, and studying the pros and cons of a high-input farm.

“High-input isn’t for us,” Rhys Watkins says.

It’s a good life for a young family working hard to advance in the industry. And Watkins can pinpoint why, for him, a farming life is so good.

“I love the outdoors, the animals and the abundant opportunities with all the stepping stones farming brings.

“It’s also a great experience for a family because you get to be together throughout the day.”

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56 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Lance & Stephanie Oliver

NZ Dairy

PHOTOS: Northland farmers Lance and Stephanie Oliver run two dairy operations and a dry-stock business. The couple farm a home dairy unit at Umawera, in northern Hokianga, and a sharemilking operation at Ohaewai, in the Bay Of Islands.

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Like most dairy farmers, Lance Oliver say it is surprising “how far south” the dairy payout has gone, but he still has confidence in the industry.

“We might be grinding for a bit longer than we initially thought, but things will eventually come right. We’re not going to do anything drastic. Any changes will be made with a long-term view.”

Although the drop in dairy payout is getting the most air in the media, he says the “folding up” of the export heifer market is also having an impact.

“It has been a double whammy, particularly for sharemilkers, as this was quite a lucrative market and another means of dropping off a few surplus head of stock.”

Lance and wife Stephanie Oliver run two dairy operations and a drystock business, with the home dairy unit at Umawera in northern Hokianga, and a sharemilking operation 35 kilometres away at Ohaewai in the Bay of Islands area.

In 2014 they were named Northland Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year for their 50:50 operation, milking 480 cows for John and Jocelyn Bayly, with whom they have struck up a “very good relationship” over the last three years.

We’re not going to do anything drastic. Any changes will be made with a longterm view.

Lance Oliver says entering the awards put the microscope over the operation, which has been beneficial coming into tougher times.

“We already had good systems and datarecording in place, but really pored over our budgets and financial results before entering the awards. This gave us a good idea where we were making money and where we were exposed.”

The Olivers took on the sharemilking job in 2012 with the Baylys, who had bought the farm to add diversity to their sheep-and-beef operation.

“The farm had been out of dairying for a few years and needed a reboot,” says Oliver.

“We signed the agreement on May 18, had acquired most of the herd by June 1, and before calving, managed to rebuild the shed and set up an effluent system.

“Some of the pastures were pretty untidy, so it has taken a bit of work.”

He employs a manager and says he puts in more “brainpower than physical labour”, these days apart from the associated dry-stock work.

He is based at the family farm, where he and Stephanie are equity managers with Lance’s parents, Harvey and Delwyn Oliver, milking 440 cows off a 220ha dairy platform.

The home farm totals 350ha, and the Olivers also run a 200ha run-off/dry-stock unit a few kilometres away.

“We’re completely self contained, wintering our own cows and raising our own heifers and friesian bulls. When the cows are about to come home to calve, we start buying in finishing cattle and do a bit of stock trading in a small way.”

Harvey Oliver is still “heavily involved” in the family farming business: “Dad isn’t one of those guys who wants to slow down or retire.”

There are some differences between the two dairy operations – the home farm is low to moderate input, while the sharemilking farm is on

• To page 57

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RURAL PROFESSIONALS

| 57

Why use a rural professional?

Julia Jones

Ever watched a rugby game and seen where a try should have been scored, but those playing the game

I work with KPMG as a consultant helping farmers take their business from good to great. Before this I worked in agri-banking. Over this time I have observed the difference between a good and a bad rural professional. I have also observed those who didn’t help themselves when it came to using rural professionals.

It’s important to not only understand what you should expect from rural professionals, but also to understand what you need to do to get the best out of working with them.

What should you expect?

• Trust, respect and integrity.

• Someone prepared to first seek to understand, then to be understood.

• Someone to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

• Someone to challenge your thinking.

• Someone to provide context without raining on your dreams.

• Someone who sees you, as the customer, as the most important person – their purpose, not an interruption to their work.

This may seem like pointing out the obvious, but if rural professionals are not doing at least this, you are probably not getting best value. Some people, however, don’t see the value in using a rural professional at all. So, what value is there?

Ever watched a rugby game and seen where a

completely missed it? When you are working in your business, it can be hard to take a cold view of the game and see where the try should be scored.

The writer, Julia Jones, works with KPMG as a farm enterprise specialist. try should have been scored, but those playing the game completely missed it? When you are working in your business, it can be hard to take a cold view of the game and see where the try should be scored.

A rural professional – whether an accountant, a banker or a farm consultant – is on the outside looking in. While no one will ever fully understand your business as well as you do, an outside person sees it through a different lens and may see things you are missing.

Rural professionals also experience many

farming businesses. They see what works and what doesn’t, and can share this knowledge and experience. During difficult financial times, the use of rural professionals can diminish. But it’s in such times that you need help more than ever.

Stressful times make it difficult for farmers to make the best decisions and rural professionals can be a great sounding board and voice of reason.

Rural professionals have a great deal of responsibility to ensure they work hard for you, but, as in any relationship, both parties have responsibility.

Here are a few things you can do :

*

Be prepared If you’re meeting with a rural banker, accountant, lawyer etc, have all the information you need to make the meeting efficient. If you’re not sure what you need, make contact a few days before to find out. If you’re going to a bank for an extension on lending, take the time to understand exactly how

much you need, and when. Plan ahead as much as possible – don’t go the day before you need the money.

* Listen and understand suggested changes

A rural professional may suggest changes you don’t like, but before you say no, listen all the information. Suggestions are simply suggestions about what this person thinks is best for your business; they are not a judgement on you or your performance, but a suggestion for change/

*

Keep advice as independent as possible This is particularly important when it comes to financial advice. If rural professionals, and this includes accountants, suggests investing in farming businesses in which they have ownership, seek external independent advice before agreeing.

* Be responsible for your decisions

Rural professionals are there to provide

• To page 58

Wake-up due on conformation • From page 56 better soils and has a higher stocking rate.

“We grow a bit of maize silage and bring in palm kernel on the sharemilking farm, but the thought of the cost of planting maize this year is a hard pill to swallow.”

The couple’s general approach to surviving the downturn will be pretty similar across both farms – harvest more grass, take a hard look at all their costs, and trim cow numbers if necessary.

Lance Oliver grew up on the family farm, studied at Lincoln University for four years and was recruited to the University of Illinois to do a Masters in Agricultural Economics – a worthwhile qualification given the current market conditions.

While in Illinois he met Stephanie, a “go-getter”

from the suburbs of Chicago who came back to New Zealand with him in 2004.

He has a strong interest in animal breeding, and believes the breeding-worth system should be rejigged to recognise conformation traits in cattle.

“We are one of the few prominent dairy countries that doesn’t include conformation traits such as udder scores and capacity in animals in the animal evaluation index. Everyone is incentivised to breed for the highest possible BW without regard for what the rest of the animal looks like. Cows are being bred smaller and narrower, with greater propensity for frailty and lameness.”

He is also not impressed by some of the “pretty poor quality” sires being put on the market: “The rest of the world has woken up to conformation traits and I think it’s time we did too.”

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RURAL PROFESSIONALS

NZ Dairy

What you should expect from your rural professional • From page 57 information so that you can make well-informed decisions. They are not there to make decisions on your behalf.

* Drive for proactive service

You pay the bills, you call the shots. You should set the expectation that you want a rural professional to be proactive, to keep you informed.

If you are always the one making the calls, the rural professional is not doing the job effectively. You should expect your accountant to be checking when you need your annual accounts, not telling you when they will be ready; you should expect to be chased for cashflows for the new season.

* Get rural professionals involved early

If you are buying a new farm or making significant changes to your farming business, get your consultants in early to help you with planning and decision-making. The most efficient thing to do is to get them all together so that everyone hears the same story and everyone understands the likely impact of their advice.

A rural professional should be a partner in your business – a balance of energy (the personal side ) and structure (the business side). The professional’s objective should be to empower you, and expand your knowledge and skill so that you need them less and less.

* Do they yield value?

Think about the rural professionals working with you, and ask yourself: Did my last bit of communication with them make a positive difference to my business? Would I recommend them to a friend?

A rural professional – whether its an accountant, a banker or a farm consultant – is on the outside looking in. While no one will ever fully understand your business as well as you do, an outside person sees it through a different lens and may see things you are missing.

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RURAL PROFESSIONALS

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PROPERTY INVESTMENT

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Invest in a transportable Low interest rates, high rental returns and strong capital gains has made property investment a viable option for dairy farmers wanting to generate another income stream, says Barry Walker, area manager of Keith Hay Homes.

“With the low dairy payout we believe it is a great time for farmers to consider investing in the rental market, by utilising their own land, or buying in a region that is generating good rental returns and capital gains.”

Walker says a rental investment can help farmers to spread risk, with especially good returns if they develop a home on their own land, which could be rented to farm workers, workers from nearby farms, or anyone wanting a rural lifestyle.

“There is strong demand from the rental market, and with the rising cost of living, returns can be as high as 10 percent of the cost to build. The return is still good if the farmer uses the bank’s money, given the low interest rate.”

He says Keith Hay Homes’ range of transportable homes provide a convenient, cost effective option for farmers looking at property investment.

“A Keith Hay Home is a great solution for farmers, as we have several homes already built, ready for sale and delivery. Our business model can save clients a considerable amount of time compared to the standard construction process.”

If the ready-built homes aren’t suitable, farmers can choose from one of the firm’s standard plans and specifications, then simply “get on with running their farm,” he says. “With the transportable house constructed off-site, the farmer’s land can be utilised right up until the last minute, with no health and safety, fencing or stock issues to deal with. The building then turns up on a truck, is hooked up to the utilities and is ready to go with minimum inconvenience to the client.”

Although modifications to the plans are possible, Walker says this adds some time and cost to the design and construction process: “Having standard plans helps us to maintain affordability and deliver the buildings in a shorter time frame.”

The brand also provides flexibility as needs change, with the transportable homes able to be easily moved to a new location, he says.

“The home can be moved to another property if the land use changes, or even to the beach to use as a bach. We have one client who has moved her Keith Hay Home four times in the last 15 years and still loves it.”

Keith Hay Homes has a long history of more than 77 years serving the New Zealand market, and has developed strong relationships with the dairy and farming sectors in that time, he says.

“Our homes work equally well as comfortable, affordable homes; living quarters for farm workers; or rental investments.”

More than 22,000 New Zealanders have built Keith Hay Homes since 1938 when the company was established.

The firm’s First Choice Range and Classic Collection are both well suited to investment properties, with its Coastal and Architectural ranges also popular.

Keith Hay Homes also has a range of commercial and educational designs, suitable for on-site offices, medical rooms, sports club rooms, store buildings, workshops, re-locatable classrooms, early childhood centres and other educational buildings such as libraries, staff rooms, halls and utility rooms.

“We are very proud the company remains family owned and operated after all this time, and has built a strong reputation for integrity and honesty.

“We believe our high quality, economic homes are a great fit for the property investment market, and look forward to assisting more dairy farmers with their developments.”

Left: ‘The Horizon’ – the latest design in Keith Hay Homes Architectural Series.

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Rural broadband service `massive success’ A Smartfarm service which delivers broadband services to dairy farmers’ homes, cowsheds and farm workers’ cottages under one connection has been a “massive success” for internet provider Ultimate Broadband, says director Mike Smith.

“We have a large number of dairy farms connected to the service already. With one independent wireless or fibre connection to the property, the broadband can be distributed to all areas of the farm at a small cost. Farm workers can move into their accommodation, start paying one of our flexible plans and access broadband immediately without having to get their own connection.”

The service has been particularly popular in Mid, South and Central Canterbury where Ultimate Broadband has established its own Ruralnet network.

Ruralnet is made up of a mix of hill-based high sites that cover large areas, and flat land wireless micro sites, that are limited to smaller areas due to natural obstacles.

“Our network is generally a line of sight service, meaning if the site can be seen from a home, farm or business, it is likely we will be able to connect them. We can even provide coverage right into the high country via several smaller repeater sites and have already connected up homes in the Canterbury gorges where no service was previously available.”

Ultimate Broadband also delivers broadband services to rural clients nationwide, mainly via Ruralnet and the RBI wireless network.

“Between these two networks we can deliver solutions to farmers nationwide easily and affordably, particularly now that 4G is available on the RBI network. We have also developed partnership relationships with other providers to serve customers where we don’t have services.”

Broadband can be distributed to all areas of the farm with just one wireless or fibre connection to the property.

The firm is able to offer the greatest value to customers through Ruralnet, which Mike says is a “great alternative” to other current wireless broadband options.

“Because it is our own network in a defined area, we have really good cost control and can deploy services quite cheaply. This means we can offer a better value proposition than we can on other networks.

“With total access to the Ruralnet network we can also provide faster service if there is a problem, which are fixed remotely more often than not.”

Ruralnet offers broad coverage in Mid Canterbury and northern South Canterbury and Ultimate Broadband has plans to extend its reach into the wider Canterbury region, including North Canterbury and the greater Christchurch area.

Mike says Mid Canterbury clients currently have the best range of services at their disposal

from Ultimate Broadband, as they can also access fibre solutions in some areas.

“Wherever our clients are located, we always aim to provide the best package in terms of service and price. There is no one size fits all solution.”

The company has also looked at ways to enhance its delivery under the RBI network, and has come up with a ‘DIY’ service where a connection kit is sent to the customer with set-up instructions, saving them installation costs.

“The gear is not ultra-complicated to set up so customers don’t necessarily need a technician like they do for our Ruralnet network. Around 25 to 30 per cent of our rural customers on the RBI network choose the DIY option. On Great Barrier Island we have around 25 clients who have become connected using this method.”

Mike says by asking customers a few ‘leading questions’ at initial contact, the Ultimate Broadband team can generally figure out if the

DIY option is suitable.

“It depends on location and whether a decent mobile connection is available. It comes down to asking the right questions. We get very few returns.”

Prior to establishing Ultimate Broadband, Mike worked in the telecommunications industry for many years, specialising in cellular technology.

“I always wanted to get into broadband because I knew from clients there was a real demand for a more reliable, cost effective service offering.”

He now has nine staff at the firm’s Christchurch office, with a mix of customer service, technical and engineering expertise.

Mike says technology is changing at a rapid rate, and the value Ultimate Broadband can offer customers today is already “miles better” than it was two or three years ago.

“The cost of delivery has always been the biggest hurdle with broadband. However new technologies have made a massive difference to economies of scale.”

The firm’s latest project is to upgrade over 50 of its repeater sites across its entire network to support more customers and produce even faster speeds.

“This upgrade is already allowing us to offer peak speeds of 10Mbps on a large number of sites. We aim to increase our speed right across the network to 20Mbps by mid 2016. Three years ago this project would have cost 10 times what it is today.”

He says, “not being a huge telco” is a big advantage for Ultimate Broadband’s customers.

“Our team prides itself on being customer service focused, and delivering the best and most affordable solutions for our clients.”

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Waikato Rural internet provider delivers high speed service Lightwire, a Hamilton-based provider of internet services to rural Waikato, is helping transform the way that rural communities communicate by providing reliable, affordable internet services at speeds that allow them to stream video such as Skype, watch TV on demand, work from home and run a business.

Dr Murray Pearson, founder and Rural Development Manager of Lightwire, knows first-hand the frustration of having an unreliable rural internet service. “Living in Ngahinapouri, just outside of Hamilton, I was constantly battling against a poor internet connection,” he recalls. “So I decided to build my own.”

A senior lecturer in computer science at the University of Waikato at the time, Dr Pearson secured a government funded research project and developed a broadband platform for rural communities. “It wasn’t just a

faster internet service I wanted but a reliable one and that’s what we deliver to our customers at Lightwire,” he says.

Community support and knowledge is an important part of Lightwire’s success with local communities often providing leads as to hilltop locations suitable for new wireless towers.

“It is through building new towers that we can provide rural broadband to more and more Waikato homes. By listening to the community we can make sure more people have access to the Lightwire network, especially in areas where people didn’t think it was possible to get coverage,” explains Dr Pearson.

Call 0800 12 13 14 to enquire about a Lightwire connection today.

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System puts farmers in control Current accounting systems on the market usually require farmers to still do a lot of detailed accounting input. A new Palmerston North based accountancy firm called Cloudfarm aims to change that by combining a financials system and service, to minimise farmer inputs, eliminate paperwork and keep farmers in control with simple approval processes.

Cloudfarm was formed a year ago when company director Larry Ellison, who is involved in equity partnerships on a number of dairy farms, was frustrated that there was no easy system to let him see through the mix of cash and accrual accounting so he could understand each Jamie Macintosh (left), the Southland Stags rugby captain, and his farm’s performance. A successful, award- dad, Alistair are stoked with their Netspeed connection at Waimahaka. winning entrepreneur and businessman, Larry has taken agri-service companies such as scanning and attaching invoices to transactions in Xero Rural Fuel, Ensol and Levno from start-ups to so paper copies do not need to be kept by farmers, business success so he saw great potential in creating and claiming back fuel excise duties on the client’s Cloudfarm, says Cloudfarm CEO Paul Fifield. behalf. Every change is automatically updated showing “We provide the farmer relevant information online farmers their profit and loss in real time compared with in real time,” explains Fifield. “Cloudfarm looks the current dairy pay out. Fifield says that as banks are after the daily processing of all income and expenses now starting to demand more detailed and up to date and creates accurate monthly reports and year-end information from farmers Cloudfarm can easily and financials including payroll reports, PAYE and GST. quickly provide this.

All the farmer has to do is provide staff timesheets for “We charge a set fee for our services because this casual workers and approve invoices and payments. encourages farmers to talk to us without worrying For a simple monthly fee, Cloudfarm takes the best of about the cost.

Xero and Figured software to give total transparency “They deal with the same person every time so and puts the farmer in control enabling them to make we can build a real relationships with them and really informed decisions and easily provide accurate data to understand their business,” explains Fifield. others who need it.”

As a point of difference Cloudfarm doesn’t operate Fifield says that the advantage of Cloudfarm from offices preferring instead to meet farmers on is that real, qualified people oversee each farm’s their farm sitting with them around the kitchen table to accounts. This service is combined with the efficiency discuss their financials. of electronic input of all invoices, returns, and bank Based in Palmerston North Fifield says that statements, which are approved online, keeping the Cloudfarm is unique in New Zealand and perhaps farmer informed. the world, combining leading cloud based software, He says that the Cloudfarm team works with the a highly developed system, and qualified personal farmer to develop cash flows and production and service. The company aims to go national and is capital expenditure budgets, so performance can be already providing services to farmers further afield measured against targets as each month’s management than Palmerston North. accounts are produced by the system. And if farm “Our service is designed to make life easier for investors are involved the budgets can be approved farmers and farm investors and to improve productivity online. by providing better information. We want farmers to be Other services offered by Cloudfarm include able to spend less time in the office.”

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NetSpeed rural broadband specialists With cost cutting at the forefront of dairy farmers’ minds, Stan Rivett, director of NetSpeed NZ, says there is no better time to review their current internet set-up.

“Many farmers are paying a lot of money to access broadband via satellite. With the rollout of the government’s Rural Broadband Initiative, (RBI) they may now have a cheaper, and much faster alternative.”

Although the RBI will never reach all the remote parts of New Zealand, “a good chunk of the country” is now covered, providing better options for farmers.

“We’ve been able to switch clients from satellite to the RBI and save them quite a bit of money.”

Rivett says rural communities are enjoying improved internet connections and faster speeds under the RBI, especially since 4G was enabled on the network. “We’ve noticed a big change, especially for people who are switching to 4G. They are getting really good speeds, in some cases better than people in town.”

Since it was established in 2003, Netspeed NZ has provided personalised broadband, internet and phone services to rural clients.

“When people call us, they are talking to people who have carried out installations and understand how things work on the ground, which is quite different to ringing a call centre.”

This provides a significant advantage to its clients, as setting up a rural connection “takes a fair bit of expertise”, says Rivett.

Location is the biggest influence to which broadband services a rural community can access, which is why dealing with a rural specialist, such as NetSpeed is vital, he says.

“The New Zealand rural coverage maps are not 100 per cent accurate, and we can often achieve a connection where the map says it is not possible. This is due to our experience of interpreting the maps, and a few specialist tools

we can use onsite to see if coverage is possible.

If people give us a call, we can figure out the best option for them.”

When farms are located more than 20 kilometres away from a transmitter, antennas usually need to be installed at rural sites, another process requiring specialist expertise, he says.

NetSpeed NZ can transfer existing phone lines across to VOIP phone services for just $15 a month, including features such as call waiting, call minder and call forwarding.

“Our aim is to provide cost effective solutions across the board. We are a small business and understand that cost efficiency is important in good times and bad.” Other services provided by Netspeed include hotspots, domain names, email, web hosting and web design.

Netspeed NZ started back in 2003 with its own wireless networks in Wanaka, Dunedin, Christchurch and Oamaru.

Since the launch of the RBI its business has extended throughout New Zealand, with franchises in the South Island and preferred installers covering the rest of the country.

“We got involved with the RBI right from the start, and have seen dramatic changes in that short time. The rollout has also given us a lot of growth in our business, and we are now doing installs from Northland to Southland.”

With millions being spent by the government on more new transmission sites and upgrades to existing sites, the outlook for rural broadband is brighter, “Every week there is an upgrade happening somewhere; farmers use of technologies such as cloud based accounting and herd management programmes, mean it is critical they have a good strong internet connection. Netspeed is proud to support farmers with RBI, and are pleased to assist with our suite of professional, cost effective, and easy to navigate web-based solutions.”

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More time on the land, less on books Got a spare few minutes while you’re out in the paddock? Why not pull out your mobile phone and complete your bookwork so that when you get home at night you can relax.

Xero on-line accounting software makes this scenario more than possible slicing hours each month off the time farmers need to spend on their bookwork giving them more free time for family and friends, says Xero rural strategy lead and head of sales New Zealand Ben Richmond.

“The feedback we most often get from customers is how fun and easy the software is to use. It really does save farmers a lot of time as well as offering them a number of other key benefits,” he says.

Although fun is not often a word associated with the accounting Richmond says Xero makes accounting just that. The fully online platform has been specifically designed to be easy-to-use on the go.

Apps designed for use on smartphones and iPads allow farmers to complete their bookwork whenever suits them. Xero also means that farmers can pick and choose which aspects of their bookwork they want to complete.

“They might choose to do it all themselves or just do part to reduce their accounting costs,” explains Richmond.

With the drop in dairy payout it is even more important that farmers know their true financial position at all times, says Richmond.

Xero not only connects to the farmer’s bank account so their bank statements are imported and categorised automatically but it also matches statement lines from their bank account with transactions they can create in Xero and just click OK to reconcile.

Xero also works hand-in-hand with farming business applications, like Figured and iAgri, to provide online accounting, livestock reporting

Ben Richmond, Xero rural strategy lead and head of sales New Zealand and budgeting.

“This means that farmers, accountants, advisers and banks can all see the same ledger online so they know the financial, livestock and equity position. Xero allows the farmer’s team to work together with the same information in real-time. It also means that farmers can get a true picture of their business which is especially important in times like these,” explains Richmond.

He says that Figured also includes a fully automated milk tracker, which instantly updates to the latest milk prices.

Xero automatically uses this information to show farmers how this will affect their budgets and bottom line allowing farmers to respond more rapidly to changes in their business, says Richmond.

“They may not be able to control the milk price but they can control other aspects of their

business if they can instantly see how the effect the milk price is having. This helps farmers to plan and helps alleviate stress as they are automatically able to see where their finances are at all times.”

PGG Wrightson, Farmlands and Farm Source account holders can have their transactions seamlessly fed directly to Xero.

Xero also allows for bank feeds from all major banks. Bank statements from the farmer’s bank account can be fed into Xero automatically allowing farmers to see their financial position every morning and reduce double handling.

Some paper receipts though are unavoidable when running a farming business. Xero allows farmers to upload paper invoices and receipts into the system easily.

With the trend towards larger farms the Xero payroll feature is becoming increasingly important, says Richmond. The feature allows farmers to easily complete payroll, track leave and complete timesheets.

Xero is the emerging leader in online accounting software, providing business owners with real-time visibility of their financial position in a way that’s simple, smart and secure.

Xero has offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. There are 150,000 Xero users in New Zealand alone.

Richmond says that the software is constantly being developed and improved and last year 500 new releases improved the product for users.

Users are also able to vote online for new features they would like to see included.

Xero offers farmers a free trial and there are no setup or upgrade fees or a lock-in contract.

“Bookwork is not the reason somebody decides to be a farmer. All farmers really want to know is that Xero allows them to spend more time on the land and less time on the books.”

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UDC there to help farmers Whilst many of its dairy farmer customers are faced with challenges in the current economic climate UDC Finance is there to help, says National Sales Manager Equipment Dealer John Wragg.

“We acknowledge dairy farmers are facing tougher times and we are here to help our customers as best we can. If our customers have concerns we suggest they come to talk to us as soon as possible. It’s easier to restructure loans earlier rather than later,” he advises.

In order to help farmers remain on top of their loans Wragg says that UDC Finance asset specialists located throughout the country are on hand to discuss with its customers how best UDC can support their business. There are various options available to farmers and quite often extending the loan term may not be necessary.

“We have to be mindful not to stretch the loan term beyond the usable life of the asset. It’s about matching loan payments to the farmer’s cash flow. This means their repayments might be lower in tougher times and then lifted in 18 to 24 months when the cycle improves. But the challenge is always that when things get difficult people sometimes find it difficult to talk. We understand that it can be hard to ask for help but every situation is a little different; just talk to us.”

He says UDC Finance is starting to see an increased level of enquiry to restructure loans and has been assisting customers through the process both directly and through its dealer network throughout the country. UDC also acknowledges that farmers still need to purchase new equipment to maintain production and efficiency even during tougher financial times and says the company is still busy doing plenty of deals in the dairy sector.

Although the dairy market might be quieter in

John Wragg some areas at the moment Wragg points out that there is still growth in sectors such as kiwifruit, arable, beef and sheep. He says that UDC Finance is well used to the cyclical nature of farming and understands farmers need the right support no matter what the market conditions: “There are always cyclical events affecting the market such as lower dairy pay outs, droughts and floods. We’ve seen it all before and we’ll see it again. There’s no reason to panic; it’s just business as usual and helping to manage our clients through the cycle and restructuring their loans differently. At UDC Finance our customers are always the main priority and we’re here to support them for the long term.”

UDC Finance’s core rural business is funding loans for agri equipment. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited and has been operating in the New Zealand market for over 75 years and services customers throughout the country.

UDC Finance offers a range of products for its commercial customers including term loans, credit sale agreements, finance leases and preapproved credit arrangements.

68 |

NZ Dairy

A CAREER IN REAL ESTATE

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Farmers make transition to real estate Selling real estate and being a farmer might not seem like they have much in common. However there are a growing number of farmers becoming successful real estate agents and Simon Anderson, Bayleys national country manager, says the skills a farmer brings to the job are a good fit for selling rural property.

“To be a successful rural real estate salesperson you need to understand process and have a passion for farming and people which qualities many farmers have,” he says.

Anderson says there are many reasons a farmer might turn to a career in real estate, including health or simply seeking a new challenge. Ex-farmer and dairy veterinarian Nicky Reid was one such person who converted to real estate three years ago leaving a twentyyear career as a dairy veterinarian.

“Dairy veterinary work was becoming more and more physically challenging (the herds were getting bigger and I was getting older) and I wasn’t so keen on getting stuck in the clinic working with pets. So I started thinking about what I could do that would allow me to continue to work for farmers.

“I did my real estate training online from home, studied the market, and away I went. I love farms, farmers and farming so I’m lucky to have found a way to carry on working in the dairy industry,” she says.

Reid says the thing she likes best about being a real estate salesperson is that she is helping like-minded people to achieve their goals.

“Even when times are tough there are still people out there thinking about their next move and how they can make it happen, whether they are buying or selling, growing their business or looking for a change in lifestyle. When I’m able to do a good job for people, I’m helping them in a really significant way.”

Reid says that the reason she chose Bayleys to build her new career with was that about ten years ago she sold two of her own farms through Bayleys.

“The first farm was 600 hectares of steep drought-prone hill country in Northern Wairarapa. In order to buy the farm I had sold my veterinary practice, our dairy herd and about 300 beef cattle that we had reared from calves. Even though we had spent a lot of money improving the farm, a year or two later we received a tax bill of $100,000 and decided it was time to make another move. I signed three general agencies with three real estate companies. Not knowing anything about selling property I didn’t know that this was the surest way to achieve nothing,” she says with a laugh.

“A few months later, Bayleys came back to me with a plan for an auction campaign and within a few weeks I was a very happy vendor, all cashed up and hunting for the next farm.

When it came time to sell the second farm it was an easy decision to list with Bayleys.”

Simon Anderson

She says that good marketing increases the chance of putting a vendor in a stronger position by creating competition for their property.

“Generally the better I can market a property, the better the chances are of a good result. I tend to run fewer listings and put more effort into each one as I find it’s more satisfying that way.”

Another ex-farmer, Dean File, who also made the leap to a career in real estate, says it only took him just over a year to ditch his job as a stock agent and become a full time rural real estate agent. File is now the country manager for Bayleys for the Manawatu, Horowhenua, Rangitikei and Wanganui regions “When I entered real estate I still had an interest in the land and I was also a stock agent so it seemed like a good fit. I took on a role with Bayleys in 2008 and 18 months later was able to end my career as a stock agent to focus solely on rural real estate.

“It’s about building relationships and you need to be dedicated and committed. But if you are prepared for that it can be a very challenging and rewarding career. The good thing I don’t

Nicky Reid

Dean File

have to chase those cows around the paddock any more; now I can just look at them as I drive past,” he says with a smile.

File says that he focuses not just on the sale but also on helping the client beyond.

“When people sell their farm it is a big thing.

For example I’m dealing with a sale right now where the farm has been in the family for 100 years. So at Bayleys we also often offer advice and referrals to assist clients post sale as the client will typically come out of the sale with a lot of money.”

Anderson says that Bayleys has a strategy this year on growing its rural sales team around the country. Recognizing that the time it takes to get a new career in real estate going was sometimes a barrier to talented rural people coming into the industry Bayleys has launched the Bayleys Country Salesperson Scholarship programme.

“The Bayleys Country Salesperson Scholarship is designed to give the successful recipients the skills, knowledge, tools, and support they need to make it to the top in the rural real estate industry. The scholarship is

open to people who want to transition into rural real estate or are looking to move from another agency, to one where training and personal development are treated with the utmost importance and resource commitment,” explains Anderson.

Two scholarships are being offered and each scholarship includes a generous $50,000 retainer in the first year, a four day intensive training course with the Bayleys Property College team in Auckland and one on one mentoring with Anderson who says he will share his 13 years experience in real estate and his 10 years experience in rural banking.

“We are looking for candidates with the ability to build customer relationships, those who are motivated to achieve great results and are passionate about the rural industry. Our objective is to help people to progress as quickly as possible.”

Anderson says that Bayleys is currently the number one rural real estate brand due to its continual focus on finding innovative ways to market properties to maximise value for vendors.

He says demand remains strong for lifestyle blocks, orchards and sheep and beef units with a particular shortage on the market for farms of 6,000-12,000 stock units. He expects that with the lower dairy pay-out dairy farm prices may be affected but at the moment demand is still strong.

“Obviously cash flow will be affected this year, which could impact on the market. It depends how long it takes the cycle to turn around. But land is a limited resource and so it will always be sought after and farmers invest for the long term.”

• The Bayleys Country Salesperson Scholarship is open to anyone in New Zealand who is already working in the industry or to those who are new to the industry. Entries close the end of September and an application form can be downloaded from the Bayleys website.

READY FOR YOUR

NEXT STEP?

IN 2015 WE ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND OUR COUNTRY TEAM EVEN FURTHER, OFFERING TWO SCHOLARSHIPS TO INDIVIDUALS LOCATED THROUGHOUT NEW ZEALAND. BAYLEYS COUNTRY SALESPERSON SCHOLARSHIP 2015/2016 What’s on offer?

• A generous $50,000 retainer to support you in your first year • A four day intensive training course with the Bayleys Property College team in Auckland • One on one mentoring by Bayleys National Country manager • Personal profiling support to help build your presence in the market • Leadership/personal development course

NZ’S NO.1 RURAL REAL ESTATE BRAND Licensed under the REA Act 2008

Who are we looking for?

If you are good with people, motivated to achieve great results and passionate about the rural industry, then we want you!

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If you are ready for your next step and would like to find out more about this excellent career opportunity with the Bayleys Country team, please contact Carol Henry on 0800 BAYLEYS or carol.henry@bayleys.co.nz

70 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Mark & Jess Cudmore/Richard & Sarah Paver/Tapatoru Dairies

NZ Dairy

‘Grass factory’ approach works 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,” Cudmore says. “But it was a leap of faith for all of us. Nick is a very good farmer, and we 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

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. 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.”

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.

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

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 the next steps. Lower-order sharemilking beckons, leading towards ownership. Where that might be will be determined by suitable secondary schooling for their four sons – Cooper, Flynn, Archie and Nate – as much as anything.

Kiwi lifestyle ‘all that we hoped for’ Neil Grant Sharemilker Richard Paver reckons there’s 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 converted the Otaio, South

Canterbury 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 start with 850 this season and cull the less productive cows.

The system is largely grass-based with a little silage and grain. Irrigation is good. Sixty hectares are watered with K Line, and the rest is under pivot.

Being close to the coast, 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. The 50-bail rotary shed has Milfos plant.

Paver put in an in-shed feeding, but it doesn’t have Protrack.”

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 oppor-

Richard and Sarah Paver, and their family say they’re lucky to be living in rural New Zealand. tunities 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.

Sarah does the calf rearing 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,” says Richard Paver, “Because the kids live in a rural area there are more things they can do. We are happy in New Zealand.”

Sharemilkers earn their 50:50 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 spent a hectic 2014-15 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: “It was a tough season as we had a few irrigation issues left from the big wind storm a year before,” says Michael.

“Production was average and was tracking about five per cent down on the previous year when we finished a month before the end of the season.”

Michael and Susie Woodward with Tapatoru Dairies staff Over at Tapatoru Dairies, around 1020 cows were peak-milked on the 297-hectare (effective) farm last season, achieving production of around 445,000 kilograms of milksolids.

This season the newly minted 50:50 sharemilkers have taken over from the manager and replaced two of the five staff members they had previously employed on the dairy unit. .

“Susie and I are going back full-time on farm

to relieve some expenses,” says Michael. “ We’re big on staff engagement, so we’re looking forward to getting in the shed once milking starts. For the last few years we’ve been in more of management type roles, so it’s good to have the opportunity to give hands-on farming a crack again and see if it’s where we want to end up.”

The couple have hand-picked staff from those they worked with at Tapatoru and Robindale last season.

“We know everybody we’re working 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 programme, which has a small financial reward for suppliers who achieve dairy farming best practice and demonstrate industry leadership in food safety and sustainability.

“Everything is looked at from milk quality and following industry best practice guidelines and consent requirements; to social responsibility around looking after people, animals and the environment. The programme gives us the chance to look closely at our operating procedures and increase the engagement of our team as they become more aware of how things run and why we do what we do.”

Michael Woodward is into his 13th season with Purata. “It’s good to know that committing to a single employer can pay off. We have been able to continually grow and have been aligned with how they want to run the business. We’ve always made sure we’re in a position to take opportunities and have not sat back and waited for them..”

The Woodwards have three children under fiveand-a-half which was another reason they wanted a change of lifestyle: “The kids are a big priority.

We’re trying to figure out how we can spend more time with them and at the same time take on more risk, and, we hope, more reward.”

NZ Dairy

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES » Succession Planning| 71

Succession planning – understand the rules of engagement • From page 72 what experiences you would like your family and business to have along the way. Establishing goals takes energy, honesty and understanding, and it’s best to have someone else facilitate this process – that person will be able to ask the questions that need answers but which you don’t want to ask. At this stage, the main purpose of a facilitator should be to help you establish your goals, not how to achieve them.

It’s best to use someone who doesn’t know too much about your business/family or the personalities within it. The intent is to work out what you all really want, and communicate this and help you understand this as a family.

This is the hard part because few people want to share their dreams and desires. But if there are six in your family, you can virtually guarantee there will be more than one dream/desire; once you know this, you can understand and make it work for all involved, rather than be forced to deal with it at a bad time.

RaboBank has a specialist who helps facilitate discussions in business planning – his sole purpose is to facilitate discussions so that families and individuals can understand what is wanted. He listens and leads everyone to have their say, and provides a detailed report.

This person recalls one case where the parents discussed how badly their parents had completed succession, and they didn’t want their kids saying the same about them. The only problem was they were doing just what their parents did, but expected a different outcome.

•The collective body of those who manage and direct an enterprise There is no greater collective body than a family. There is also no greater dysfunctional

Like a family heirloom, good or bad succession will be passed through generations. body than a divided family running a business without guidelines. Once the goals are understood, the process moves to outlining the “rules of engagement” for making decisions, such as meetings and individual roles.

Outline descriptions of responsibilities for each person. You may have a few passive “benefactors” but that doesn’t mean they don’t care about what happens in the business, and they still have a role, albeit small. Dad might step down from running things day to day, but works on projects, he gets the run-off up to what he always wanted, or gets the new shed built to perfect specs on Farm 2.

The rules will not remove conflict, disagreements or challenge to the status quo, nor should they, as individuals will have different ideas. But you need a framework that helps guide you through these moments, helps make them constructive and, most importantly, allows the family to still be a family.

The last generation were entrepreneurs who got things to where they are now; the next generation’s role is to manage and create a business for the subsequent generation to work on. This is a lot of work, but as Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree – I will spend four sharpening the axe”.

A group I dealt with changed their business

and governance was not. The farm was heavily borrowed against for interests outside farming that didn’t work out, and no assets were left to pass to the next generation. None of this was done with ill intent, but with an absence of good governance – there were no controls and processes to assess the risks.

Like a family heirloom, good or bad succession will be passed through generations. In my time in banking, I saw too many times where it had gone wrong and created terrible stress and unnecessarily divides in families.

When I was discussing succession with a farmer one day, he said: “Don’t ask me about my family succession, it’s a mess.” Think about your farm and family. Are you focused on ownership or management? Have you created a structure that divides fairly if you die? Have you created the legacy of a sustainable business that will go on for generations?

structure to make it more tax effective, thinking this would also take care of the succession thing, but that didn’t take into account the business’s other needs, such as the ability to lend to grow. Yes, the owners would have a tax-effective structure, but if the business wasn’t well managed and couldn’t grow, then tax probably wasn’t going to be a big concern anyway.

It’s not about isolating focus, it’s about integration. There is no true succession without good management, and good management requires governance. You will have nothing to manage if you can’t produce effectively, and future generations with have nothing to own if you don’t make it sustainable. Chances are that within your family, there are strengths in all these areas; if not, bring expertise in to work within your rules of engagement with the family keeping control.

I heard of a situation where the succession plan was deemed effective, but the management

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72 |

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES » Succession Planning

NZ Dairy

Succession – sharpening the axe Succession planning in the rural sector is one of the most talked about, reported on, researched issues in farming. Yet, year after year, it remains an issue.

The word succession implies ownership transfer to the kids, with mum and dad pursuing other interests or retiring. It’s an intriguing concept. Why remove the experience and historical knowledge from the farm?

The flip side is: Does your son/daughter have the skills to develop someone else’s business?

Why do we always start with looking at how to transfer ownership? In reality, if the management hasn’t evolved and governance isn’t in place, what value are you transferring?

New Zealand is among the best in the world at farming, but are we among the best at managing our farming business? We put farming practice, business management, governance and succession into individual compartments as if they are mutually exclusive; we pull the most applicable aspect out when we think we need it, if at all. To ensure we continue to build prosperity in New Zealand farming, we need to learn how to integrate the past with present capability, and plan for potential. The best place to start succession is with management, not ownership.

Management is: the act or art of managing, conducting or supervising something (as a business); judicious use of means to accomplish an end; the collective body of those who manage or direct an enterprise.

Establishing goals takes energy, honesty and understanding, and it’s best to have someone else facilitate this process – that person will be able to ask the questions that need answers but which you don’t want to ask. your business, family and future generations? Are you creating an asset for your grandchildren and their grandchildren? Or do you just want to sell up and have a blinder of a retirement.

There are no right or wrong answers, but it’s good to have an idea of where you want to go and

•Means to accomplish an end What “end” is in mind? What are the goals for

Writer Julia Jones has a background in rural banking and now works as a farm enterprise specialist for KPMG in Hamilton.

• To page 71

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Specialising in Rural Transactions & Farm Succession Planning Alison Green, L.L.B Alison is married to a farmer and lives on a rural property in the Kairanga District near Palmerston North Professional interests include Trusts and Asset Planning particularly Farm Succession Planning as well as Business and Property Transactions.

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