Friday, March 29, 2024

Heritage provides the edge

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James and Melissa Barbour joke it is their Irish and Dutch heritage that makes them scrimp and save in order to buy their own dairy farm.
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The Waikato Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year are 50:50 sharemilking 355 cows for Joan De Renzy at Matamata. Both 28, their goal is to secure an 800-cow sharemilking position for the 2015-16 season and be in a position to buy their own farm by 2020.

“We think that is achievable,” James said.

They put a lot of focus on their spending and not wasting money on things like new tractors or utes.

“We enjoy working hard and seeing the benefits as we grow our farm business, and want to be able to offer our children the same opportunities that we had.”

James, former head boy at Matamata College, and Melissa, head girl at Reporoa College, both grew up on dairy farms so farming was in their blood.

James won a DairyNZ and Ballance Agri-Nutrients scholarship to attend Massey University where he gained a Bachelor of Applied Science, majoring in agriculture and agribusiness.

Their farm assistant, Hayden Thompson, has been with them for two seasons and leaves this year for a contract milker position. They encouraged him to study Primary ITO courses and attend discussion groups, and exposed him to a full range of jobs on the farm to give him more responsibility, James said.

“It’s been great to watch him grow and he has been a huge asset to our business.”

James and Melissa won the DairyNZ Human Resources Award, Ravensdown Pasture Performance Award and the Triplejump Risk Management Award. Second place went to Morrinsville 50:50 sharemilker, Aaron Price, who won the Honda Farm Safety and Health Award and the Westpac Business Performance Award.

Cambridge 50:50 sharemilkers, Louise and Paul Nelson, were third and picked up the LIC Recording and Productivity Award and the Meridian Energy Farm Environment Award. Otorohanga 50:50 sharemilkers, Robyn and Greg Boswell, won the Ecolab Farm Dairy Hygiene Award and Arohena 22% sharemilkers, Katie and Hamish Fleet, won the Federated Farmers Leadership Award.

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