Tell us about your farm business?
I’ve
been dairy farming on my family farm for six seasons now. Three years ago (my wife)
Wendy and I purchased the herd and went into a sharemilking arrangement with my
parents, Andrew and Caroline.
We milk 420 predominantly Friesians on a 209 ha milking platform between Palmerston North and Ashhurst. We operate seasonally, a system 2-3, and winter all cows and young stock on farm.
The purpose of the business is to be both financially and environmentally sustainable through the production of milk. Equally important is to make sure we enjoy it as we go, creating a nice lifestyle for both us and the people that work on our farm.
Why are you on LIC’s shareholder council?
I see this role as an opportunity to get involved in the dairy community and advocate firstly for the Manawatu/Rangitikei ward and secondly for entry level shareholders (such as myself and Wendy).
A driver of success for our business is herd improvement which naturally lead to a keen interest in LIC. I also have a strong interest in agribusiness, which is why I enjoy the councillor role so much. If you are from the Manawatu/Rangitikei ward and want to chat about anything LIC or otherwise, contact me.
What does a co-op mean to you?
Through the combined resources of shareholders involved, our business is able to obtain vast value we would not be able to have as a single entity. Specifically, with LIC, it means we can have the best possible genetics bred for, and proved in, our farm environment.
What are your key interests in LIC?
I have an interest in most parts of LIC as they all can add value to our business in terms of cow efficiencies and labour/management efficiencies.
Currently
I would say my strongest interest is in the technology behind genetics; genomic
selection and sexed semen. I think these two things could rapidly add value to
the industry.
I am also interested, and think it is most important, to understand how LIC is governed so we can survive in what is a rapidly changing environment.
What are the strengths of your area/community – what makes it so special?
A strength of the Manawatu/Rangitikei is its ability to maintain a low cost system. We are central and have many different land uses within the region which work with each other. The 4 day calf sales are some of the strongest in the country and access to grazing is easily attainable. We have easy access to services and industry leaders, as well as to Massey University.
Our farm in particular has been in our family for 100 years which is special, and I really enjoy being able to work alongside my mother, father, and wife.
Off-farm, what else are you involved with?
At this stage in our career any spare time is spent with family, especially with my wife and our one-year-old son, George. I look forward to being more involved with our community in future years.
