Switch from mechanic to dairy farmer
Steve Gillies and Amy Johnson entered the Waikato Dairy Industry Awards to benchmark their farm business.
It was the first time they had entered the competition and it came as a huge surprise when they were named Share Farmer of the Year for the region on March 12.
‘‘Once we got through to the top five we hoped we would get in the top three but we never imagined for a minute that we would take out the top place,’’ Gillies said.
The couple also won merit awards for human resources and the environment and take away $13,750 in prizes.
Both are aged 31 and are contract milking 470 cows for Peter and Marian van der Heyden near Putaruru. They will host a field day on April 5.
Their goals are to continue to progress through the industry by obtaining sharemilking positions, and they believe the strengths of their operation lie in the people.
Gillies has been in the industry for eight years, and was working as a mechanic before moving to New Zealand from Scotland in 2010 and making the career change.
Johnson grew up on a farm and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science, majoring in agriculture. She worked as a DairyNZ consulting officer and is now an agri-manager with ANZ, as well as working with Gillies on the farm.
Gillies said attention to detail was the main driver in their farm business.
Johnson’s off-farm job at ANZ complemented their different skill set. He took care of the day-to-day running of the farm while she oversaw its business management side.
‘‘We complement each other. I don’t question the business decisions and she doesn’t question what I’m doing on the farm, so it works.’’
Johnson said they also had supportive farm owners, plus great staff that made the farm an enjoyable work environment.
The pair have been offered a 50:50 sharemilking job on the farm they are currently at for the 2019-20 season and are using the runoff they own near Te Awamutu to build up their stock numbers so they can take that next step in their careers.
‘‘That was the key goal when we started, was to use it to build equity and for some capital gain,’’ Steve said.
They bought young cattle off their farm owners this season and will do it again next season so they will have young stock ready to go into the herd when they decide to buy the herd off the farm owners.
The other big winners for Waikato were Chelsea Smith, who was named Waikato Dairy Manager of the Year award, and Aaron Courage, the Waikato Dairy Trainee of the Year, both from Otorohanga.
Smith is farm manager for Steven and Amy Van Der Poel’s 250ha farm, milking 1180 cows.
She said she loved the variation in dairy farming.
‘‘I love the support, the growth potential and that everyone wants to help and share their information.
‘‘I treat the cows like they are my own – they are the most important part of the business and need to be looked after and cared for. They all have their own personalities.’’
Courage works as a farm assistant for Stewart and Kathryn Anderson on their 146ha, 430-cow property. The 19-year-old grew up on a dairy farm on the West Coast of the South Island and has been working full-time in the industry since age 16.