It was a rare moment for the consultant who travels some 80,000km each year to more than 70 full-time clients and half as many again casual clients in Marlborough, Nelson and Buller.
Known for his ability to think outside the square and not afraid of a bit of controversy when his ideas differ from mainstream science, he has created numerous management tools over the years that are now being used by dairy farmers around the country.
They include the FarmWise Systems Optimiser Programme that he created and designed to gauge the profitability of various options for a farm by analysing both the physical and financial data between systems. He has recently updated the programme to include the full financial data of a farm. There’s also the three-in-two milkings that replaced the 16-hour milkings to better suit an individual farm. About 20 years ago he was the first to promote the little-and-often concept for fertiliser when he was working for Ravensdown, and was the first to mix nitrogen, potassium and sulphur.
Numerous clients have adopted his advice on strategic mowing, which includes mowing pasture in front of the cows when there’s surplus. Others are now growing chicory under irrigation where it has usually been a dryland crop in the past.
Most of his clients farm without irrigation, although they often move to “my dear friend three milkings in two days” after Christmas to overcome, in his words, the five farming facets of heat, feet, meat, teat and bleat (tough climate, logistics, cow condition, production and profit) and then go to once-a-day milking for the last round.
Following that regime, he has clients with fewer than 500 milkings achieving 500kg MS/cow on grass-based systems and it’s often done by tweaking aspects of the system. Pasture quality is his strong point and is the basis for much of his advice.
“I’ve always been and always will be a pasture-based consultant, but I’m also prepared to put the lollies in when it’s profitable.”
When you drive 80,000km a year, you have lots of time to think, he points out. Regardless of all his innovative ideas though, he says the key to advice is working with farmers’ own goals and objectives.
“Everyone’s goals and objectives change as they go through life’s journey,” he says.
“I’ve never told a farmer what to do, but I’ve made a helluva lot of suggestions. I’m their coach and I work with the talent skill set in front of me and work to their ability to tweak their business all the time – generally farmers want options, not just answers.
“It’s all about building relationships and keeping relationships, but you can’t be a consultant to everyone because you don’t get on with everybody.”
It’s important to build up trust with clients and clients need to be honest about their business and situation, he says. In return, he will give them the truth.
“Sometimes they don’t want to hear it. I’ve been asked to sit down and counsel couples on their relationship or how they handle staff or their stock or how they relate with other people in the community. You have to read the situation and the people and help them on their journey.
“If I go there and see they are not getting on – family or business partners – I have to confront it because it can put the business at risk and their relationship at risk. Sometimes it may be they should not be working together, but it needs to be said out loud and instead of a problem, you find a solution.
‘You can have that objectivity as a consultant because when it’s your own business you can get a bit too close to it.’
“Sometimes it is possible to help and sometimes you can’t. The important thing is to get further help if needed. The same as when farmers and their families are under mental stress. You need to hold the discussion.”
He always aims to include partners in the discussion, regardless of whether they are working on the farm, because they usually know what is going on.
“I always make sure I get the opinion of all those involved in the business and tease the information out about what they want to do. Then I go and see the farm and confirm with them what they told you is what they are doing. After that you can write a plan together for the next few months.”
At all times, the goal of a consultant
should be to leave the client enthused and positive as much as possible, he says.
Even the most switched-on dairy farmers can benefit from getting a consultant in to brainstorm ideas and look at where they can push the boundaries as well as their beliefs, he says.
Others benefit from a second opinion to make sure they are on the right path or if there are other options they hadn’t considered. Some want regular coaching and others seek guidance just once a year a bit like a warrant of fitness, he says.
Brent has had a diverse agricultural career that gives him ample fodder for his consultant’s role. He grew up on a sheep, beef, deer and cropping farm and then spent time as a “yuppie” in Wellington as well as in farming roles, getting a degree in farm management at Lincoln University along the way. He’s worked as a lecturer at Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre, worked for Ravensdown and been a consultant for Agriculture New Zealand before joining FarmWise in 2000. He even took time out of the latter to be the general manager of New Zealand Farm Systems in Uruguay for 18 months.
Recently he developed the Systems Optimiser programme, and with the financial aspects added he’s talking with banks to show how it works and how they can use that information.
It can show the effects of a complete system change on a farm down to the effect of a subtle tweak by adding in all the variables of a particular farm. With a lower breakeven milk price, it can show the best pathway for the business.
“I can say here’s your farm and here are the financial aspects the bank is looking at. What if we did this, this and this and put all the options up. It can be a systems change or a subtle tweak and a subtle tweak could be tens of thousands of dollars and a system change could be hundreds of thousands.”
Brent Boyce at a strategic mowing field day.
He says most of his clients are in a good financial position to survive a downturn after using the high payout to make their business robust for a payout drop. Robust businesses can be agile to look for opportunities and while it is sad there will be casualties in the dairy industry because of the low payout, it would create opportunities for others, he says.
A Golden Bay client, Tony Reilly, who is also a director of Landcorp, says Boyce’s strength as a consultant is innovation with a strong science background, while delivering his advice to the level of each client and engendering confidence. Working with Boyce has led to his business adopting three-in two-day milkings after Christmas, growing chicory under irrigation, strategic mowing, including pre-graze mowing if there is surplus grass, and feeding fodder beet in early March to put weight on the cows before they dry off.
“We’re chasing profit per hectare in an environmental and sustainable way and Brent gets that,” he says.
“He’s able to tailor the delivery of his advice and it’s always good, sound advice with scientific background. And he’s not afraid of innovation.”
Corrigan Sowman has a reputation as a progressive farmer in the Top of the South and gets Boyce on to the farm two or three times a year. He’s also on the phone to him every month and sometimes more frequently.
“I’ll call him for an opinion or to find out what is happening because there’s a chance it’s not just happening on your own farm.”
Mostly though, he engages a consultant because he values another point of view from someone he respects and can look at the business objectively.
“You can have that objectivity as a consultant because when it’s your own business you can get a bit too close to it.”
He says Boyce has a skill that not all consultants have, where he can talk science in terms farmers can apply readily to their business and be motivational in the process.
“He can talk science with the best of scientists, but talk cows and grass with farmers and that’s quite a skill.”
“A good consultant visit will be one where you want another visit, because this visit added so much value and positivity that you know that continuing the relationship will help you and your business flourish.”
Boyce was one of six finalists from around the country in the dairy category of the award, which this year was open to all rural professionals.
How to get the most from your consultant
1. Be prepared for the visit with all the information ready.
2. Have an agenda written down or thought about.
3. Be prepared to question them and also be prepared to work on a relationship with them.
4. Have an idea of your goals and objectives and how the consultant can help you meet them.
5. Be honest in what you want and your current situation and be prepared to be told the truth.
