Matt Ross and wife Julie farm in a well-balanced region and community where the social, economic and environmental values are held in equal regard.
They recognise the value of water to the wider community and as irrigators they are well aware they have an obligation to get it right.
With a sound technical knowledge of agricultural production systems and the use of irrigation, Ross openly acknowledged water was a high priority in their farming business.
As they intensified every part of the property they worked on the philosophy of keeping ahead of their irrigation consents, ensuring their water take was meeting all social, economic and environmental requirements.
“Water is high priority for us in the faming business but at the same time we acknowledge our obligations to the surrounding water.
“While core to the running of a high-performing farm, we recognise the importance of attention to detail in respect to environmental issues. It’s not all about the dollars and cents in farming,” Ross said.
Growing up on a Hawke’s Bay pipfruit orchard then moving to Auckland for his secondary schooling, Ross was not from a farming background.
In the late 1990s, Ross, now 40, would never have believed two decades on he would be the owner of a highly productive dairy farm in the picturesque rolling hills of Duntroon.
With an applied science degree, Ross beat an unconventional path to dairy farming that came about from a break in his studies at Massey University when he spent a practical year on a north Otago dairy farm.
“I enjoyed that year but I wasn’t 100% sure and I went back and finished my degree then I was offered a manager position (in 1998) and I took it up.”
After he and Julie married the couple took on 50:50 sharemilking in 2001.
They held several positions that took them the width and breadth of north Otago and in 2007 they won Sharemilker of the Year title.
Their first chance to buy land came in 2005 when they bought a 318ha dryland sheep and beef property with the plan to develop and convert to dairy.
“It was rabbit country. A loud noise would send a wave of rabbits across the hillside.
“We intended to have a relaxed conversion but with the Fonterra share prices back then things were getting pretty hectic so we made the decision to get up and running,” Ross said.
The original shed was finished in three months, in June 2006.
“We started off with 400 Kiwi-cross cows the first year and 800 in year two as we developed the platform.
“We have since milked 900 cows twice daily on this property on the original 60-bale rotary.”
In October 2012 the couple bought a neighbouring 253ha dryland farm, again developed irrigation and converted the farm, building an eye-catching 54-bale rotary shed.
They also leased a 75ha irrigated run-off that provided winter crop and wintered all the cows.
Between the farms the operation now milked 1730 cows at peak and in the past financial year produced 886,000kg of milksolids.
They had had some good years but the current market meant business was tough.
They were “pretty exposed” but they had pushed as hard as they could and it was a cycle they would be able to ride out because of the reliability irrigation provided, Ross said.
Over the past 11 years they had developed land on the back of reliable Waitaki water.
“It wouldn’t have been possible to be so exposed to borrowing and development without the reliability that water brings,” he said.
“You just couldn’t do it without the guarantee. Debt is sustainable when you have reliable outcomes.”
Water for the property came from private consents and was triple pumped from the Waitaki River to a high point of 280m above sea level.
While it was a big energy cost it was the only way to put water on the property.
“Our story is about development and for me this wouldn't be possible without reliable water. For us to make the types of decisions we’ve made, reliable water supply is absolutely critical.”
Ross had involved himself in a number of key irrigation and community governance roles as he acknowledged how water in the lower Waitaki had built the community in which he farmed and lived.
He was passionate about irrigation development and the need to get it right.
“When we put water on we want the best outcome possible. With a top end performing farm I am happy to put money back into it.
“But I would never bang a peg in the ground and say I am finished, well not when it comes to water.”
A former chairman of the Maerewhenua District Water Resource Company he was instrumental in the company’s development that had expanded to more than double its initial command area to now irrigate 2000ha around Duntroon.
Originally a border-dyke, open-race scheme, its intake and headrace were destroyed during high flows in the Waitaki River in 2012.
That provided the chance for the scheme to increase its rate of take to provide water for more spray irrigation.
It also meant reliable Waitaki water could be provided to farmers who surrendered their takes from the over-allocated Maerewhenua River, allowing the allocation limit to be reduced.
“This was a high level of expense and investment for the farmers involved but it represents a real win-win for both the irrigators, who have improved the reliability of supply, and the health of the Maerewhenua River,” Ross said.
Irrigation development on the hills had been challenging but new technology had enabled maximum efficiency and use of available water.
A self-confessed early adopter who strived to do technology well, Ross said water and technology had been the game-changer for the region.
How water was used was high priority and Ross was constantly looking for better outcomes.
He was acutely aware of the farm’s environmental footprint and part of the early development was a 4ha wetland boasting more than 10,000 native plants.
The farm was also involved in a number of technology-for-farmer trials.
“For us, it’s a combination of not just performance, although I don't make any apologies for chasing some top-end results. But we won’t put anything (bad) into the environment that is providing for us,” he said.
“We look to labour efficiency, health and safety and water efficiency and then build the farm around that.
“It’s also important to have an environment where people are happy.”
