“But we don’t have tunnel vision or just the one goal,” Raewyn told a business session at the recent Dairy Women’s Network Conference.
The couple were runners-up in the Dairy Industry Awards Farm Manager of the year competition last year after winning the Manawatu/Horowhenua/Rangitikei title. The competition allowed them to get advice on what they were doing and re-affirmed they were on track. Having overseas visitors come to look at their operation also added new perspectives and knowledge.
They manage 690 cows on a 300ha property at Colyton, near Feilding, owned by Michael’s parents, aunt and uncle. The 85% Friesian and 15% Jersey herd is run under a System 4 operation with 100 autumn-calving cows.
They came back to the property in 2008, five years after Michael spent three weeks in a coma after a car accident and subsequent stroke. But that didn’t stop them buying their first investment property in 2005 and building up their own herd of cows before coming to the farm.
While they had wanted a 50% equity share in the property that wasn’t viable as between the two brothers there were a total of seven children and two step-brothers.
The solution, after lengthy succession planning, was for the farm to be leased to Burnside Farms, of which Raewyn and Michael own 35%. As well as the dairying operation bull beef are run meaning an extra income stream, but she said they wouldn’t want to move too far from dairying as “it’s our hobby”.
“It’s important to keep family separate from business. We’ve got to keep growing in case we need to move aside to move forward. It works well.”
