New lad on the dairy block(s)

 Mark Julian has, for some time, been seen as a talented young executive. He has a Bachelor of Applied Science with a major in agriculture from Massey University, followed by a postgraduate year focused on dairy production and farm management. In the final year of his degree he was awarded the prestigious William Gerrish Memorial Prize in Farm Management. After leaving university he worked as consulting officer for DairyNZ and then joined Landcorp over six years ago as a business manager in Wellington.

His rise to the top has been quick. In 2013, Julian was named as the young business executive of the year. Since taking up his new role as general manager dairy operations for Landcorp, late last year, Julian has already started to make his presence felt. 

He is very much focused on the future and is setting up systems and strategies to take Landcorp’s dairy operation forward. Julian says in 10 years’ time he expects its dairy farming systems to be quite different from what they are today. He believes one of the key changes in the future will be on environmental issues. He adds there will also be systems in place to recruit and retain good people to run their business. 

“All our business plans we put together have a section on sustainable management, which talks about the nutrient budget, where things are heading and where they are going to go to and options about mitigating loss,” he tells Rural News. 

“So within areas of a farm we are looking at some of the key sensitivities about environment. In some cases it might be erosion control and others it might be sensitive waterways. So there will be goals for that,” he explains.

Julian says his role as head of Landcorp’s dairy operations is to look at what the industry as a whole is doing and what research projects are underway. One idea he is looking at is setting up a ‘future focus farm’.

“This would involve looking at how we get profitable systems with half the nitrogen leaching footprint. It may involve taking some risks so we would bring in some of the best people in the industry – not just Landcorp,” he explains. 

“The aim would be to define what environmentally sustainable farming systems look like and what this might involve such as stocking rates, inputs and infrastructure.”

Julian says the idea is very much in the embryonic stage and no concrete plans are in place, but it fits quite neatly into an industry leadership role that Landcorp by its nature assumes.

“A lot of the things we’re going to be doing will have flow on effects for the industry. But they are going to be for our own business as well because we are a big business.” 

Julian says Landcorp is now engaging much more with stakeholders including iwi, farmers and the wider community. For example, the company is hoping to work with a group of Upper Waikato dairy farmers who are pushing the environment space and thinking about what their farm systems can do.

“We are trying to open up our business. For example, if we go with a focus farm we’d be building an online capacity so people can see what we are doing and hold field days and that sort of thing.” 

Julian says Landcorp looks at the Maori concept of kaitiakitanga and how this links in with Landcorp’s goals, which is to ‘rejuvenate’ the environment – not just manage within the limits of the law. He says this philosophy is embedded in their environmental plans. 

Julian believes one of the keys to good environmental management and making a profit is having good quality data. The state farmer is renowned for collecting a lot of data from the milking shed right through to the paddock and beyond -- information which can be shared by all in the company.

Julian says the company is constantly evaluating new systems, which are being developed for the dairy industry. 

“I have seen some farms in the Waikato where they grow their own maize and they have a herd home and that provides 95% of their fertiliser. They are just putting on minerals and they are getting away from using fertiliser and imported feed and becoming almost like a closed system. If they could keep their young stock on the property it could almost become a totally closed system.” 

In the meantime, Julian says Landcorp will continue to scope out ideas and look at new and innovative ways to run their dairy farms. Along with his focus on innovation he remains passionate about the dairy industry.

“I like cows and love farming – it’s what I have grown up with. The few times when I haven’t been directly involved in farming it’s something I have always wanted to get back to. I love the dairy industry. it’s where I have spent my career and it’s a fantastic place.”