James Davidson is just as positive now as he was back then despite making the huge step up from 2IC to contract milking on a 1200-cow operation near Darfield in Canterbury, in what has to be one of the most difficult seasons for years.
He admits it’s been tough – not only did the payout crash, one of the wells on the spray-irrigated farm ran dry mid-season which has meant silage being fed out since February.
“Because we’re contract milking we’ve been sheltered a bit from the payout drop but we did have to work with our farm owners (Warren and Annemieke Thomas) and alter our system a bit so production is back about 40,000kg milksolids on what we’d initially budgeted,” James says.
They peak-milked 1140 cows but cut out bought-in supplement after mating and culled empties as soon as they had pregnancy scan results.
“It’ll probably mean it takes us a couple of years longer to get where we want to go but it’s all part of it and in the end you’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing along the way.”
Along with the responsibilities of being self-employed as a contract milker, he also became an employer.
He has five full-time staff as well as casuals and says he’s learnt a lot about people and running your own business in the past year.
Adding to the year’s eventful moments was also a wedding – his own. James and his fiancé Chloe Nicholson were married in January.
James says he and Chloe are looking forward to the next couple of seasons in the contract milking job and using them to refine the farming system and skill set.
As always he has a glass-half-full attitude and says for those wanting to grow, a downturn like this season’s can mean opportunities as well as challenges.
