The practical farm work was a far cry from the senior management positions she’d held with organisations such as Housing New Zealand and the Rural Bank but her capable, can-do attitude meant she got on with it, using those organisational skills to help run the business.
The shift to the Coast was a tactical one as it offered her a way to help son Aaron onto his own farm. The scale of farms was right to get a foot in the door but growth opportunities abounded.
“There was no way we could have achieved what we have here if we’d stayed in the Waikato,” she said. “And what’s exciting is those opportunities are still here. It’s a fabulous place for young people, for those looking for that next step.”
Although she put all the capital into the 127ha farm, the business was structured so that Aaron owned 50% of the shares, allowing him to share in any capital gain as production improved and the farm was developed further.
Next generation
The view down the valley from the runoff where Raelyn and Malcolm intend to build their new home.
The review will look at governance and representation, checking the ward and company-wide system still provides the co-op with the best governance and representation for today’s situation. It will also review the $1.50 share standard but that’s not to say Westland will be heading towards any complicated capital structure or any fair value share system.
“We already have the message farmers want to see their value in the company reflected in the farm,” she said. “The $1.50 share allows them to grow their own farming businesses and we don’t want to create anything that will stifle that.”
After all it was the co-op’s size, its great potential and cost of entry to become a member of the Westland family that were part of enticing Raelyn to the area in the first place.
But the cooperative company has big aspirations and wants to grow so farmers will have to have the discussion over how that that growth can be supported – whether a nominal share value is the right way, what value that should be and whether it needs to be accompanied by some other structure.
“Maybe nothing needs to change but we need to do the review and have the discussions with farmers, hear what they think and what they want from their co-op,” Raelyn said.
Easiyo started out as a joint venture and it may be that structure offers further opportunities to the co-op.
“It’s a fantastic company with so much more potential. We’re already looking at expanding the building at Albany, in Auckland,” she said.
Last season it added 4.5c/kg MS to farmers’ payouts but Raelyn believes it too is just getting started. The board has just appointed a new chief executive, Brian Dewar, who starts in March with the company’s current chief executive Paul O’Brien focussing on the company’s opportunities in Asia.
One thing’s for sure – the co-op is targeting a strategy of adding value to milk.
“We’re always compared with Fonterra on payout and we have to achieve payout parity. The only way we’re going to do that is to continue to build on adding value to our milk and continue to grow,” she said.
Westland’s move across the Southern Alps to Canterbury has been part of that, along with expansions at Hokitika to produce nutritional products.
Raelyn’s appointment as deputy chair late last year has her even more focussed and dedicated to the co-op. She sees part of her role as supporting chair Matt O’Regan by being very active in the shareholder base, listening to what farmers are saying and communicating to them the company’s activities and strategy.
But she’s also adamant Westland must have a wider profile in the dairy industry and at a political level. Networking with other industry players is essential so Westland isn’t seen as a small, separatist group but an integral part of the greater industry.
“The days when we could stand apart are gone; we have to work together and be one voice, be proactive in what we’re doing,” she said.
New venture
On the home front Raelyn is also busy, developing a new farming business with her partner and fiancé Malcolm Hyde. Their joint venture, Mark Dairies – a combination of M A from Malcolm and R K from Raelyn’s initials – is a 187ha property just five minutes from Aaron and Sarah’s farm at Kowhitirangi.
It’s been a lot of hard work regrassing and fertilising the rundown block that’s milking 450 cows but in the first season (2011/12) they were rewarded with a 43% hike in production. This season they’re 11% up to date on last year and will do 180,000kg MS; they expect to do 200,000kg MS ultimately.
Raelyn’s interest in daily farming activities extends to genetics, aiming to breed a true crossbreed animal to capture hybrid vigour and get an animal suited to Coast conditions.
The Rotoflow 40-bail rotary dairy took a little getting used to with not only the cows rotating. The concrete apron, where milking staff stand, also floats on water and rotates with the platform so staff have to shuffle back to the right position at cups on or off.
This year they’ve also bought a 65ha runoff close by where they’ll winter Mark Dairies’ cows and rear youngstock. It too has required plenty of development but will eventually be where Raelyn and Malcolm build their own home. It will be a great vantage point for the new deputy chair, with sweeping views out over the valley down towards Hokitika and the heart of Westland Milk Product’s operation.
The decision to move to the West Coast was certainly one of the best ones Raelyn said she’s ever made.
The same goes, she said, for her decision to accept the challenge and become involved in the running of the co-op. It’s rewarding and exciting and a role that she urges more women to strive towards.
But, she warns, don’t expect it to just happen.
“If you’re interested in governance and getting involved at an industry level you have to set yourself on the path.”
The New Zealand Institute of Directors courses, the Agri-Women’s Development Trust and the Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) all offer opportunities for women to actively gain skills.
Then it’s a matter of gaining experience whether it be in the farm business, school boards, farm supply companies, cooperatives or industry organisations.
“NZ has a relatively small pool of directors and that’s where companies or co-ops will look first.
“Be proactive.”
