It was a complete break from financial services, adventure sports and the wine industry but the couple decided to make the break while their eldest son Joshua was just two years old.
“We had to borrow money for a car when we arrived so – not much money,” Elri says, previously an office administrator and public relations officer in the wine industry.
The prospect of farming in New Zealand was inspired by Elri’s Kiwi brother-in-law who was sharemilking 200 cows at the time. They worked alongside him on a Morrinsville farm for two months until they found their own farm position.
“We started looking for work straight away. I was lucky to start that first season (in June) as a dairy assistant,” Nathan says, who has an economics degree and had worked for a bank in the United Kingdom and investment companies in South Africa.
“We then worked our way through to farm managing for some years and then contract milking for the last three years on this farm.”
“We sit down and draw up a plan for the year and put it on a spreadsheet for each month the things that we have to do,” Nathan says.
“It’s very clear the direction that’s set and we are people who pay attention to detail so if a plan is set in place we will follow it – and if it’s not working the way we planned then we should definitely analyse the reasons.”
Nathan says the farm management award also recognised their attention to detail “and record keeping essential to a lot of farm management”.
Reporoa contract milkers Reece Williams and Jessica Berry placed second in the farm manager contest and third place went to Matt and Chloe Walker, who are also contract milkers in Reporoa.
