Many farmers have made their fortune from dairying and now have the task of leaving behind a sustainable industry for the next generation.
In some respects their offspring will have it a lot tougher. Future farm owners will have to farm within stricter environmental limits, with greater onfarm traceability and increasing compliance regulations.
While some farmers are planning to leave the industry, others want to help clear a path so their children can continue farming.
Waikato farmers Allan and Delwyn Knighton progressed through the industry from sharemilkers to farm owners and now have three daughters they are helping to set up in the dairy industry.
Stacey, 26, Hannah, 23, and Zoe, 20, have always had a passion for farming.
Stacey and her husband Tim Bennett are now 50:50 sharemilking 380 cows on the neighbour’s farm and Zoe Knighton works for them, while Hannah Knighton and her partner Cole Fisher manage the 500-cow home farm and employ Zoe’s partner, Reiden Reihana, as their farm assistant.
‘We’re always discussing everything and it can get really competitive, but at the end of the day we are family, everyone gets along really well.’
Allan is always on-hand with advice and makes sure everyone is capable of doing any task.
“I want all the girls to know how to do everything onfarm. I like to see them be able to do every aspect of farming, they can put strainers in, they can put a batten fence up, they can drive the tractors. They can do anything I can do.
“My role now is really advisory and doing the tractor work. The girls perch me up on the tractor and away I go.”
Located at Ngutunui, the Knighton’s 327ha operation is perched on a plateau under Mount Pirongia. The milking platform ranges between 150 and 195ha, with the remaining area used to rear replacements.
The milking platform and dairy grazing are interchangeable throughout the year depending on available feed.
Allan and Delwyn bought the original 196ha in 2003, bought another 34ha in 2007 and lease an adjoining 97ha.
Both raised in the township of Ngaruawahia, they had no farming experience until Allan entered the farm cadet scheme.
He worked for six years on two farms before they raised the capital to go sharemilking 135 cows at Taupiri.
When they got a 300-cow sharemilking job at Ngutunui they were so broke they couldn’t afford to truck their cows so they spent nine days walking the herd 110km.
“We drove them about 12km every day and then knocked on the nearest door and asked if we could put the cows in a paddock for the night. Nobody turned us down,” Allan says.
They later increased their herd to 450 cows when the farm owner bought a neighbouring farm. During their 13 years sharemilking, they leased neighbouring land to graze young stock and build their herd numbers. They also reared 150 Jersey bulls, which they leased as yearlings and sold as two-year-olds.
The bulls complemented the dairy farming well because they left in spring so the couple could shut the paddocks up for grass silage.
To help build up their equity they also bought a 130-cow farm, which they paid off and sold after six years, and then bought a 280-cow farm, which they sold to buy Ngutunui.
“We’ve always focused on paying off debt in the good years,” Allan says.
Since buying their farm they’ve planted more than 600 poplar and willow trees and are now working with Environment Waikato to fence and plant 3.3km of the Moakurarua Stream that runs along their boundary.
The two-stage process involves fencing the stream, removing the willow trees and replanting the banks with poplars and a variety of sterile willow trees. When the tree roots are established they will fill in the banks with native plants.
Hannah is an excellent advisor to have on-hand. She has a degree in Resource Management and Planning from the University of Waikato and worked for Environment Waikato on a three-month contract advising farmers on stop-bank management.
Three months living and working in town was enough, however, and she left with Cole to work in the Australian outback before they returned to manage the home farm. They are now in their third season and are buying cows to build up a herd of their own to eventually go sharemilking.
“I hated living in town. I might use my degree someday, but I’m definitely staying dairy farming,” she says.
Allan and Delwyn always encouraged the girls to pursue other career options outside the dairy industry.
The three sisters, Stacey Bennett, Zoe Knighton and Hannah Knighton.
With three daughters all interested in farming, Allan and Delwyn often get asked whether they have a succession plan, but it’s more about been in a position to help when the right opportunity comes along, Delwyn says.
“Opportunities always come up and it changes what the plan is. At this stage it’s early days, they might not always want to milk cows.”
The equity partnership with Stacey and Tim worked well and they will extend the same help to Hannah and Zoe, Allan says.
“If and when that comes along, we will help them into sharemilking if that’s what they want to do.”
Both the home farm and the sharemilking operation are System 2 and there is a friendly rivalry between the two businesses.
They work together, sharing labour, machinery and ideas.
“We see each other every day. If there is a silage stack to cover, everyone will get stuck in,” Stacey says.
“We’re always discussing everything and it can get really competitive, but at the end of the day we are family, everyone gets along really well.”
There are regular family dinners to catch up, and in spring Delwyn cooks meals for them to pick up on the way home.
When somebody has a particularly bad day they will get Thai takeaways from town and have a re-group session.
‘My role now is really advisory and doing the tractor work. The girls perch me up on the tractor and away I go.’
Having a good working environment with family is key. Luckily the girls have always got along well, Allan says.
The partners have also seamlessly stepped into the family and the farming operation.
While Tim grew up on a dairy farm, Cole and Reiden are both new to farming. Allan and Delwyn have encouraged them all to further their knowledge and skills through Primary ITO.
They are happy to fund the qualifications because it improves the skill base and brings value back into the farming operation.
Zoe is completing a Level 4 Modern Apprenticeship, and Tim has completed Levels 3 and 4 and last year entered the dairy trainee section of the Dairy Industry Awards.
Cole is halfway through his Level 4 Modern Apprenticeship and Reiden is doing Level 3 Modern Apprenticeship.
Modern apprenticeships are a government-sponsored scheme for 16-21 year olds in industry employment. Apprentices receive personalised support, training plans and goal-setting sessions to help them achieve their goals faster.
Key points:
Owners: Allan and Delwyn Knighton
Managers: Hannah Knighton and Cole Fisher
Location: Ngutunui
Area: 327ha, milking platform 195ha
Stock: 500 crossbred cows, 240 calves, 150 yearlings, 32 yearling bulls, 25 two-year-old bulls, 50 carry-over cows. BW 120, PW 156
2013-14 production: 185,000kg milksolids (MS) (480 cows)
2014-15 target production: 200,000kg MS (500 cows)
50:50 sharemilkers: Tim and Stacey Bennett (nee Knighton)
Cows: 300 crossbred, BW 114, PW 145
Milking platform: 100ha
Production: 111,000kg MS
