Winners show keen aptitude

The farm is the workplace of Manawatu Share Farmers of the Year award winners Jarrod and Nikki Greenwood.

The 109ha (eff) property runs 320 Kiwi cross cows and this year the couple are targeting 160,000kgMS. Tile drains and a feed pad help them cope with wet seasons.

Neither of the Greenwoods has a farming background: Jarrod is from Palmerston North city but has farmed since he left school at 16; Nikki was raised on a lifestyle block near Wellington before her folks moved to Manawatu during her teens.

But their passion for dairying and determination to succeed and develop a sustainable business has compensated for their lack of early farming experience. They contribute different skills: Nikki is the behind-the-scenes numbers person; Jarrod has great practical farming skills. Nikki also has her hands full looking after their four children but next season when their worker leaves she will also work on the farm.

“I wanted us to enter the awards because I think Jarrod has a lot of potential. And because we are not from a farming background it is a way of us getting our name out there to get recognition. It was also the way to allow us to assess our business and find areas we can improve on. It has definitely been worthwhile: we have learned much and the judges’ feedback has been good,” she says.

Their focus is on doing the basics right and building a business that is sustainable environmentally and financially.

Jarrod says a key philosophy is to value everything and everyone involved -- staff, advisors and cows.

“If we can make the cows happy coming into the shed they will produce more milk so we make sure everybody is happy and enjoys what we and they are doing,” he says.

He is now dedicated to measuring things on the farm, although he hasn’t always been a numbers man.

“I failed my school certificate maths miserably but when we hired Paul, our farm worker, he was very figures-orientated. I had all the practical knowledge of dairy farming -- basic knowledge to work out the pasture side of things. But Paul has taught me a lot about how to do the calculations and have some fun setting up all the scenarios.”

Nikki says all their efforts are paying off because they are doing things properly -- keeping costs down and growing as much pasture as possible. Jarrod agrees, saying that to make the business sustainable they need to know they are feeding the cows correctly and making sure fertiliser use is appropriate, not excessive, and that leaching levels are minimised.

The Greenwoods hope to move to a 50/50 share milking arrangement as a stepping stone to farm ownership. Jarrod admits Nikki pushes him along, but he sees this as positive in helping them achieve their goals sooner.