Janine Broekhuizen, coordinator of the scheme Dairy Connect, says people are more likely to try a new initiative or successfully troubleshoot a problem if they have talked it over with someone who has been there before.
“It helps farmers make good, well-informed farming or business decisions,” says Broekhuizen.
The new DairyNZ initiative aims to support a broader range of farmers than may, for instance attend the usual workshops, by linking them up with others that could help.
“It’s very much a one-to-one short-term connection over a particular topic,” Broekhuizen says.
“We have a lot of farmers that are more than willing to have a chat about what they have been through, something special they have on their farm or something new they have instigated.
“Or they may just help out in a business decision or the structure of their career path planning.”
The Dairy Connect support or “buddy” farmers have areas of particular strength or recent experience, through development on their farm. These vary greatly and include topics like animal welfare, on farm facilities, work/life stress balance management, business management tools, on farm accidents, or pasture and crop management.
Illustrating the reach of the scheme, some farmers who have rung up to go on the support data base have turned around and said “well actually while we’re here I’d like a boost in another area”.
“One support farmer has enquired about feed pad design, another has gained help with staff recruitment systems.” The Patersons of Patetonga gave immediate feedback saying “what a great service and great help so thanks Dairy Connect, and we can’t wait to help others out who could benefit our knowledge”.
So while DairyNZ initially thought the scheme would mainly be used by newer farmers, this has not entirely been the case.
“Some people are getting into dairy farming as mid life career changes. So Dairy Connect is benefiting a wide range of people from those newer to the industry to others from generations of farmers looking to improve their business in some way.”
Of the three top topics of interest in the North Waikato so far, supplementary feeding and putting in feedpad infrastructure is also likely to be a hot topic in Taranaki. Career progression is also a key topic on which farmers are seeking advice, with other routes to advancement now available rather than the traditional sharemilking, equity to farm ownership.
“Some are going into management positions or equity partnerships without buying cows, it’s about career progression, lifestyle and the best way of building equity for the individual.”
The third one, is recruitment and staff mentoring with support people happy to pass on the resources they use to help others get some good robust systems in place.
Budgeting and getting cashflow systems working is another topic relevant to all.
“We also have people who are happy to help others get that work life balance and deal with stress,” Broekhuizen says.
“Some people would rather talk to another anonymous farmer who has been there, done that, than go to a GP or their mate down the road at the pub, and we can cover that side of it. Other people prefer to talk to someone they know”
People can also be referred to trained support organisations if the situation warrants it.
Dairy Connect is a resource for people at all business and career levels. To get involved or make an enquiry, visit www.dairynz.co.nz, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 0800 4 DairyNZ (0800 4 324 7969).
