Northland sharemilkers Dan and Gina Duncan from the Pouto Peninsula have won the top dairy industry award, more than 20 years after Northland farmers last won the national honours.
They were named as national winners out of 11 regional finalists at the Dairy Industry Awards on Saturday, May 12, in Invercargill.
The previous time that was done by Northland entrants was in 1996 by Bruce and Julie Paton, of Mata, just south of Whangarei when the contest was named the Sharemilker of the Year.
The Patons gave advice to Dan and Gina before the national event.
Gerard Boerjan from Hawke’s Bay-Wairarapa is Dairy Manager of the Year and Simone Smail from Southland-Otago is Dairy Trainee of the Year.
Wynn and Tracy Brown, of Matamata, won the inaugural Responsible Dairying Award, sponsored by Fonterra.
Perhaps that is no coincidence given the Browns’ industry standing and environmental achievements the Matamata farm was Dan Duncan’s first dairying job in 2012-13 as a trainee after a career change aged 26 from rural valuation.
The Browns have a reputation for giving young people an excellent start in dairying, which the Duncan family knew about.
Six years on Dan and Gina, also a qualified rural valuer, have two young sons, Lachie, 3, and Brock, 4 months, three employees and 1020 cows run in three herds milked through two dairies.
Their ascent to the national title has been spectacular and the judges attributed that to passion, professionalism and commitment.
“They are a friendly, outgoing couple who are working on an exceptionally challenging farm,” head judge Kevin McKinley, from DairyNZ, said.
“They epitomise living the dream. They left secure jobs as registered valuers and made the career change to dairy farming and they’re excelling at it. They’re the complete package.
“Nothing has come easy for them. They’ve had to work hard,” McKinley said.
“When they first began their career they sought out employers they thought would be good mentors and role models for them. They’ve looked for opportunities where people are considered important.”
After a start in the industry with the Browns, the Duncans moved to a 620-cow contract milking position in Tokoroa for three seasons though Gina continued to work as a valuer in addition to farm work.
Against plenty of well-meaning advice they decided in 2016 to apply for and take the large Pouto sharemilking job on the remote 460ha farm 50km south of Dargaville on a no-exit road.
“This job in Northland offered an opportunity that the Waikato couldn’t in terms of growth,” Dan said.
The farm is owned by Pouto Topu A Trust, which has 2868ha in three farms and forestry.
They were warned not to take cows north because of theileria so they bought two herds already on the farm, owned by the trust and the previous sharemilker, and built the numbers up from 960 to 1020.
Cow values were subdued following two low milk payout years and the sharemilking job has spanned two $6-plus seasons since, plus the prospect of a third to come.
Milk production in the first season was 285kg/cow milksolids, pasture eaten 9.35 tonnes DM/ha and supplements 235kg/cow DM of palm kernel.
This year milk output has been 311,000kg MS, compared with 275,000kg.
One of their herds containing 280 heifers, late calvers and special needs cows is milked once-a-day all season and the remaining cows went OAD for the mating period, then twice-a-day until Christmas, then back to OAD.
Isolation is a big challenge with long car trips even to get Lachie to pre-school. Fortunately, the employees all have long associations with Pouto and are housed on the properties.
The Duncans also won three sectional awards: The PrimaryITO Interview Award, the Ravensdown Pasture Performance Award and the Westpac Business Performance Award.
The Browns run 700 cows on their 360ha farm plus 30ha leased land near Matamata.
They are past supreme winners of the Waikato Farm Environment Awards, in 2010, and have been involved with that award series as well as the dairy industry awards for many years.
The new responsible dairying award recognises dairy farmers who are demonstrating leadership in their approach to dairying, have proven results and are respected by their farming peers and their community.
Dairy Industry Awards chairwoman Rachel Baker said the Browns met all the criteria for the award through their vision, guiding principles and actions.
“Responsible dairying is a way of conducting a farm business where actions and results demonstrate responsibility and sustainability.”
“The management and performance of people, farming system, finances, animal care and ecosystem are all important pillars of responsible dairying and Wynn and Tracy demonstrate these through their actions on a daily basis.”
The Browns have proven results in leading and managing their teams with three Share Farmer of the Year finalists from the past two years coming from their farm.
The couple aim to improve, contribute, add value and give back to their community and are involved in various ways with Wynn the deputy chairman for the Piako Catchment Farmer Engagement Group and a LIC Shareholders councillor.
Tracy is chairwoman of the DairyNZ Dairy Environment Leaders Forum, a trustee of Dairy Women’s Network, a farmer rep for the Dairy Environment Leadership Group and a member of the Dairy Industry Strategy Dairy Tomorrow Working Group.
“We lead by example. We are passionate about industry and are involved with lots of different aspects of it and encourage our staff to do the same,” the Browns said.
“Sustainable farming is about walking the walk not just talking the talk. It’s about what you do when no-one is looking.
“It’s also about not just living for the here and now but about thinking for the future and those that will come after you.”
Runners-up in the Share Farmer national honours were Chris and Sally Guy, of Papakura, South Auckland and third were Steve Gillies and Amy Johnson, of Putaruru.
Runner-up in the Dairy Manager section was Will Green of Canterbury and Jamie McCrostie of Southland was third.
Donna McKinley from Central Plateau was Trainee runner-up and Quinn Youngman, from Mercer, North Waikato was third.
