Melissa says the events they’ve been invited to thanks to their title have opened doors and introductions to people in the industry they were unlikely to have met otherwise.
They had initially looked to grow their business by moving to a larger sharemilking job but given the current dismal milk returns elected to stay put in their 520-cow job at Culverden.
“I think the title assured us of an interview whenever we looked at an opportunity and with the small number of jobs out there that’s a great bonus.
“But we decided that given the payout it was prudent to sit tight for a while longer, pay down some debt and be open to other opportunities that might come along to grow our equity,” Melissa says.
They sold a line of good quality cows they’d built up in anticipation of a larger sharemilking job and got a price they were happy with.
“We have our debt-to-equity ratio at a point where we can be ready to take advantage of opportunities.”
While it’s never great to sell cows as a sharemilker, Melissa says you can’t get too emotional about it.
They’ve worked closely with their farm owners, Norm and Sandra Williamson, to adjust the farm system and have dropped cow numbers from 550 to 520 this season.
Addressing the issue early and having a plan is definitely the best course of action and having a great line of communication with your farm owners definitely helps, Justin and Melissa say.
They’ve used fodder beet grown on the milking platform as an autumn supplement and will also winter 220 cows at home.
Winter grazing prices have dropped by up to 30% and they’ve made good savings to the budgeted costs overall.
Like others in the industry they say they’ll benefit from the lower farm cost structure they have now when milk prices rise again.
“There will definitely be opportunities out there, some that might not have come up otherwise and having the right cost structure and debt to equity ratio means we can be ready to take them.”
