Last season, a Whakatāne dairy farmer was so fed up with the ever-changing rules and regulations that he was ready to quit.
As a proactive and keen industry participant, Alan Law sat on enough committees to know that environmental regulations were on the cusp of tightening – again – and without drastic action, most farmers would not be able to maintain a profitable business for much longer.
“At 62 I thought, ‘was dairy farming even worth the effort and stress anymore’?” Alan says.
“As we grew our business and increased our mortgage, we found ourselves putting on more and more nitrogen, but we knew that wasn’t sustainable.”
The crunch came when Minister for the Environment David Parker released the National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management in September 2019.
“It really upset us,” Alan says.
“It made us realise that our whole business, which is dairying and a bit of beef, was at risk from governmental intervention and restrictions, with no recognition of good stewardship whatsoever.”
But Alan’s proactive nature meant he didn’t sit on his laurels.
Over the past 12 months, a whole system overhaul has been implemented that has the whole family buzzing about dairy farming again.
The Law family has a rich farming history in the Whakatāne region. In 2019, the family celebrated 100 years on their Thornton farm.
Alan bought his first 60-hectare in 1981 and started milking 200 cows.
“I thought that was me, that would be my career,” he laughed.
“In the 1980s we really struggled through Rogernomics, with the high debt, but we reared a lot of beef calves and got through that period reasonably well.
“In 1991, after looking at several different business growth opportunities, we decided to purchase a second farm.”
They have continued to grow their farming business and the family now milks 850 cows on a 260ha milking platform split into three farms – the 89ha home farm, Wyndlea, 55ha Robins Road and 120ha Oriini, which was purchased six years ago.
Alan acts as overseer across all three properties and runs the Robins Road farm himself.
Alan’s wife Wendy works full-time for the Fonterra Global Sourcing Team, and as administration manager and calf rearer on the home farm.
Pasture is supplemented with maize silage, palm kernel, chicory and grain to achieve pasture covers and production targets are met. Maize is grown on all three farms and fed throughout autumn, winter and spring.
“This system is a lot less stressful and a lot more interesting. And, I think we’ve only just started to see the benefits.
“We believe biological farming is going to be the future of farming in New Zealand.”
Old girl still going
The Law family reckon they should enrol their 18-year-old to vote.
But there’s just one problem, you can’t tick a box with a hoof.
Felicity, or Fliss, an 18-year-old Red Factor Friesian has the dignified title of the oldest cow on-farm.
Brandon Law first took Fliss to Calf Club as a 10-year-old, where she did well, winning several awards for type.
But she’s not just a pretty face; she has only been empty two times in her illustrious career.
“Her udder attachments and loins are still really good,” Alan says.
“The only giveaway that she is 18 are her grey eyelashes”
Empty this year, Fliss spends her days relaxing with the yearlings, and will be a cherished member of the herd until her time comes.
Farm Facts
Owners: Alan and Wendy Law
Location: Whakatāne, Bay of Plenty
Farm Size: 260ha
Cows: 850 Holstein Friesian cows
Production: 2019-2020: Wyndlea: 133,000kg MS; Oriini: 205,300kg MS
Target: 2020-2021: Wyndlea 150,000kg MS; Oriini 210,000kg MS
