Eyes on the farm ownership prize

I definitely see farm ownership as a realistic goal for young people. Farm ownership is not a shortterm thing, you are in it for life. From building relationships with reps, neighbours and suppliers, to being involved in the local community, it all impacts on helping you make the right decisions to progress towards farm ownership.

Like many in the dairy industry, the seasonal June 1 Gypsy Day changeover has been a hectic time for James Davidson.

While not changing farms this year, he is changing roles – moving up from paid employee to contract milker – now responsible for his own staff.

It’s the latest step up the dairy ladder for Davidson, aged 26, towards his eventual goal of farm ownership.

Agriculture is in Davidson’s blood – he loves everything about it from driving tractors to trading stock and dairy farming. It has also provided a rapid pathway of opportunities and successes for the 2014 Young Farmer of the Year Aorangi region grand finalist and 2015 Dairy Industry Awards Dairy Trainee of the Year.

As a contract milker, he was now responsible for the management and milking of 1200 cows on the farm Toropuke, near Darfield owned by Warren and Annemieke Thomas. The 320 hectare property was fully irrigated with cows milked in a 70-bale rotary dairy.

He has employed five staff and will take on another in mid-July as calving nears and the busiest time of the year winds up. ‘‘I woke up on Monday (June 1) going from working for wages to running a full team of people. So it is quite exciting.’’

Brought up on a mixed sheep and cropping farm at Eiffelton, Mid-Canterbury, he was in his early teens when the property was sold. At high school and studying a Bachelor of Commerce in agriculture at Lincoln University he spent his summers driving hay rakes and milking cows. ‘‘I enjoyed it and it always came naturally.’’ His big OE included nine months working on a dairy farm in Ireland and driving machinery for successive harvests in Western Australia.

Returning to New Zealand, he spent two years on a dairy farm at Mayfield, Mid-Canterbury where cows were milked by robots. ‘‘It was a good way to learn the ins and outs of farming without having to spend six hours a day putting cups on cows.’’ Responsibilities included rearing calves and young stock and wintering cows.

He then shifted to the current property as second-in-charge for 50-50 sharemilkers, who moved on at the end of the 2014-15 season.

This opened up the opportunity for him to step up as a contract milker. Under this agreement with the farm owners he receives a fixed rate per kilogram of milksolids for managing the day-to-day dairy operation, supplying labour and vehicles including a tractor, silage wagon and motorbikes and milking shed expenses such as electricity, chemicals and rubberware. Unlike sharemilkers, he does not supply the herd. As he was paid a fixed amount for each milksolid, rather than a percentage of the milk cheque, he was not exposed to a lower payout. ‘‘The more milksolids we produce, the more we can earn. It is a good opportunity to get closer to a herdowning position, or similar.’’

Eventually Davidson and his fiance, Chloe Nicholson, a primary school teacher at nearby Kirwee, would like to work together onfarm. The couple own a 70ha dairy grazing and trading stock block inland at Glentunnel. While this includes young dairy stock, Davidson said their emphasis at present was on growing equity rather than holding onto animals to milk.

After the three-year contract, they will look at options, including staying on the current farm. ‘‘We want to go into a herd-owning job, whether 50-50 sharemilking, or equity partnership and continue growing our equity. There are so many options out there now.’’ The couple have earmarked 2025 as the year they would ideally like to buy their own farm.

‘‘I definitely see farm ownership as a realistic goal for young people. Farm ownership is not a short-term thing, you are in it for life. From building relationships with reps, neighbours and suppliers, to being involved in the local community, it all impacts on helping you make the right decisions to progress towards farm ownership. You create your own luck, through further educating yourself and finding positive opportunities. A heap of hard work and not being afraid to take a risk. I’d be the first to admit I’ve pushed boundaries along the way, but you learn from it and do it better next time.

‘‘You’ve got to think outside the box and be inventive when it comes to growing your equity. Don’t be afraid to stretch outside the normal avenues of getting there. You can learn a lot more from failing than not doing anything at all.

‘‘I’d love to be still travelling around the world and driving tractors. It was good fun, but longterm our goal is to own our own farm. As a youngster it was great being brought-up on a farm and we want that for our own family, longterm. Dairy is an awesome way to achieve it. I love farming, whether it is dairy, or driving tractors. I enjoy being outside and feeding the world.’’

Winning Dairy Trainee of the Year in his second attempt was an awesome experience. ‘‘I spent finals week with 11 other likeminded people who were progressive and asking questions during a study tour around Waikato. It’s a great way to network and get your name out there. It’s also a fantastic asset to have on your CV, as the dairy industry can be quite competitive when you apply for jobs.’’

While at Mayfield, he entered the Young Farmer of the Year competition, winning his way through to 2014 grand finalist for the Aorangi region. ‘‘As it was my first grand final I just tried to soak up as much as I could.’’ While unplaced, he won the agri-sports event and remains eligible to compete again until he turns 30. This year, he took a more behind-thescenes role in the competition, as convener of the Tasman regional final at Kirwee.

Now involved with Dunsandel YFC and its vice-chairman he admits he has ‘‘probably been a bit busy lately to put enough into those positions’’. However, he was keen to ‘‘give something back and encourage other young people to get into it’’.

A substantial prize list from both competitions has helped Davidson set up his farming operation. ‘‘A quad bike I won in the Dairy Trainee competition has come in very handy already.’’ It is the second motorbike he has won from Honda, also securing a twowheeler as YFC regional finalist.

‘‘I bought another five off them this season, so it’s good to pay them back and give the local Honda dealer some work.’’