After six years of milking in the south, the Whangarei boy made it to his first 50:50 sharemilking contract on June 1 but it’s not any old 50:50. This one is 1150 cows in Central Otago under pivot irrigation.
At the awards celebration in Tauranga on June 13 Reid, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, said Maori had many key attributes that made them successful farmers.
“We have a good sense of humour, make light of any situation no matter how stressful, we have an easy-going attitude where we give anything a go and also hardness to stick it out and get the job done.”
And getting the job done will be important in the cold springs of Ranfurly and the hot, dry summers.
He and partner Bettina Tolich packed up their bags at the end of May from a lower-order position milking 650 cows at Otapiri near Winton with their two children William, 5, and Manu, 1½ , and Reid’s parents Kate and Bill, and headed to Central.
“We’ve had five shifts in six years so we’re looking forward to staying put here for a while,” Tolich said.
They’ve built up their crossbred herd slowly, buying and leasing them out until now. They are owned by Reid in partnership with Tolich and a family trust made up of Reid’s four siblings. In Ranfurly they are being wintered on several properties in the district before coming back to the dairy platform for calving.
Rodney Humphries’ 355ha effective Ranfurly farm attracted them not only because of its size but also because of its scope.
“There are always 50 or 60 people applying for sharemilking jobs with 600 to 800 cows. Not many apply for positions over 1000 cows. Mum and Dad have milked over 1000 cows before so they have got the experience. All we have got to do is fulfil expectations.”
The couple have been visiting the farm about once a week since they got the position in early March.
“We’ve done a lot of preparation to make the transition as smooth as possible, so we know what to expect. It’s also allowed us to put our stamp on things as the farm was only converted two years ago and work is still being done. It’s all go here at the moment with trucks coming and going.”
With the herd’s Breeding Worth (BW) about 150, they hope to do 400kg milksolids (MS)/cow in their first season. Two pivots, one being built during the winter, will irrigate about two-thirds of the farm with K-lines keeping the grass green on the rest.
“When we first came up here we thought we were in the wrong place. There was no way there was anyone dairy farming here, there was no green grass. Then we finally arrived and it was green. You need water to grow grass here.”
They appreciate the Central Otago environment and are not missing the mud of Southland.
“We haven’t had to put overalls on yet. We may have to give them away,” Reid said.
“It’s beautiful here. You make sure you go the extra distance so it stays that way.”
But the isolated area has made finding staff hard. They have two Filipinos arriving for milking and have been advertising for more workers since February.
Grain and molasses can be fed in the 70-bail rotary although Reid wants to stay grass-based.
“It’s what we’re good at. I like the stock work and making grass grow. That’s my thing.”
The couple are also keen to take the next step to further their business.
“Sharemilking also allows us to do stock trading, if we can make that work without it affecting production,” Tolich said.
“There’s always going to be demand for good cows so we want to raise as many as we can and if we have a surplus then we can sell them,” Reid said.
As well as Mum and Dad, who are living in the large farm house with them providing support, extra labour units, and help looking after the kids, the young couple have grown a network of business associates.
“Jack Ballam in Southland has been our consultant since I was 19 and even though we’ve left Southland he still gave me a ring the other day to see how we were going.”
But for the young couple, life is not all about cows. Reid is a keen surfer, and usually takes a week off when the roar is on to hunt in Fiordland.
“We also go back to Whangarei once a year for one or two weeks. We still have a big family bach there and everyone comes,” Reid said.
They heard about the Ahuwhenua Trophy through past winner, Tangaroa Walker (Ranginui/Pukenga), who was a farm manager at the time near Invercargill.
“We bought his ute off him. When we asked him about the competition he said to go for it. It’s been great for him.”
Sponsored by Primary ITO, Te Tumu Paeroa, Te Puni Kokiri, and Allflex, the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer Award was established in 2012. It alternates each year between dairy and sheep-and-beef farming.
Applicants are assessed on a range of skills and attributes including their commitment to farming, training and education, expertise relative to their positions, community involvement, plans for the future, and personal attributes.
North and south
The two runners up in the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer Award were Joshua MacDonald of Karaka, south of Auckland, and James Matheson of Waipahi in Otago.
MacDonald (Ngati Makino) has finished his first season 50:50 sharemilking with his wife Aleshia, meeting their target of 64,000kg MS from 180 cows (355kg MS/cow).
The 22-year-old started building his herd while working on his parent’s farm in Huntly and in 2011 was second in the Dairy Trainee of the Year competition for the Auckland-Hauraki region. They have another two years at the Cloverdowns property at Karaka and then they hope to step up to milking 350 to 500 cows.
“If you are able to do well in a competition it shows that you are someone who is motivated and willing to put in the hard yards,” MacDonald said.
Matheson (Waitaha) has been on the 208ha effective Wapahi farm, between Clinton and Gore, since he left Gore High School. Last season, as herd manager, the 21-year-old achieved 510kg MS/cow with only 500kg/cow of wheat added to the system.
This spring there will be 650 Friesian/Friesian-cross cows to calve but he hopes the higher stocking rate of 3.1 cows/ha will not stop production figures of at least 500kg MS/cow.
As well as excelling in the dairy, he’s reached prominence on the rugby and rugby league fields – he was in the New Zealand Maori under-17 league team – and still plays both codes.
“It’s good to keep playing sport, if not just for the social side,” he said.
“A lot of the guys I play with are farming so we talk a lot about what we’re doing and bounce ideas around. I learn a lot that way.”
