“We had 60% equity growth for three years before our current 50:50 job which was just unreal and even with the downturn we’ve got 11% equity growth this year so we’re still going ahead even though things are tough,” Callum says.
The couple have been married for two-and-a-half years and their daughter, year-old Ella, has just started walking in her first pair of Red Bands.
The couple 50:50 sharemilk 675 Friesian-cross cows for Ben and Bev Verhoeven.
They have a three-year contract and are just finishing their second season, and they have a few ideas about what to do next.
“One option is to consolidate our debt where we are for a few more seasons so we are well set-up for the next opportunity,” Callum says.
“Our ideal goal is to get into an equity partnership on a good farm that we can continue to 50:50 sharemilk to grow our equity in the farm.”
Land ownership is also still on the horizon and with farm prices dropping it could become more achievable.
Callum, 32, and Hanna, 30, already lease 60ha at Colac Bay where they run the young stock, with the farm owner’s 50:50 contribution helping to pay the costs.
“We’re using it to grow our young stock numbers and although values are down at the moment we believe there will always be the need for good-quality dairy stock.
“In a year’s time there could be a real demand for them with farmers culling so many cows at the moment. They’ll want to rebuild their herds,” he says.
“When trading in this environment you just have to be smarter on your margins.”
Their herd just makes it into the top 25% of PW in the country with a PW of 145 and a BW of 115. Getting them into the top 10% is another of the couple’s goals.
Callum grew up on a sheep and beef farm near Mossburn in northern Southland and when he was 21 bought a crutching trailer and started his own business, crutching about 450,000 sheep a year and employing a team of a five to seven people.
After six years of constantly working in woolsheds around the lower South Island he was looking for a change.
One of the farmers he was crutching for suggested dairy farming at smoko, and knew of a job.
He started as the “boy milking cows”, working the last three months of the season for Chris and Charleen Withy, then stepped up on the same 450-cow farm as 2IC after winter.
With Hanna, he went contract milking 550 cows at Woodlands for two years, as well as leasing a 200ha drystock block which enabled them to grow stock numbers before taking on the 50:50.
“We learnt how to work our butts off with everything going into stock purchases and running both farms.
But it was all worthwhile, especially because it enabled them to put down roots.
“After travelling so much with the crutching business it was good to stay put and the lifestyle is so much better for a young family,” he says.
“Plus with dairying you can really challenge yourself as you know how much you’re producing every day when the tanker comes.
“On a sheep farm you only know how well you’re doing when you get the kill sheet for the lambs.”
Wintering off this year will be for a short six weeks instead of the usual nine, with fodder beet grown on the milking platform to bring the cows home early to.
“It’s one way we’re cutting costs. We’ve grown all the supplement onfarm as well.”
However, the Stalkers will still be buying in palm kernel because they can feed it in the 44-bail rotary dairy.
“This season we will feed about 350 tonnes of palm kernel. It gets pretty cold and wet here in spring and we don’t have any ability to stand cows off so by feeding palm kernel we know every cow is getting some.
“It works out about 25c/kg DM which is a lot more profitable than trying to feed out silage on a wet farm.”
Rainfall averages 1100mm but the last two seasons have been even wetter, close to 1300mm, although last spring treated them better than the one before.
“As well, that first year we were here we had 22% of the farm being regrassed and lots of drainage work being done. We were being really careful not to damage the new grass.
“The second year is always easier than the first as well and we’re going to be 10,000kg MS up on last year.”
The 223ha effective farm, which supplies Fonterra, was converted 17 years ago in what was then a valley full of sheep farms.
“It’s all cows now. It’s a great community. We’re into rugby, tennis and squash and as well Hanna has her horses and is a member of the Birchwood Hunt and is president of Eventing Southland.”
The couple have two full-time staff and a weekend relief milker. Their 2IC, Damien Field, has been with them for five years, Jason Turner two years, and relief milker Doug Wilson almost three years.
“They’ve proved themselves an adaptable team. Damien stepped up with us from contract milking 550 cows to 675 where we are now.
“They’ve grown with us, upskilling along with us and now that we’re in a position to grow again hopefully they’ll stay with us.”
Hanna, originally “a townie from Christchurch”, was working as a farm technician for Landcorp in Te Anau, when she met Callum and then took on the role as a district manager for LIC in Southland before going contract milking.
She has a BSc/BBS in agriculture and marketing from Massey University and was back there after their win completing the Intermediate Sustainable Nutrient Management Course as part of gaining her Nutrient Management accreditation.
It was the second time the Stalkers had entered the Dairy Industry Awards awards, being runners-up in the 2014 Otago-Southland Farm Manager of the Year.
“We didn’t expect to win this year, it was a big surprise,” Callum says, although after taking three of the eight merit awards earlier in the evening for health and safety, environment and pasture performance they had some idea they might be getting up on the stage again.
South Otago lower order sharemilkers Mathew Korteweg and Catherine Tate were runners-up and Seaward Downs lower order sharemilker Mike Henderson was third.
