Jim van der Poel Honoured for 40 Years of Service to Dairy Industry
Dairy industry leader Jim van der Poel didn't make much of the invitation he received to the recent New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards in Rotorua.
Despite being forced to sell cows to survive, the Johnsons bounced back and were this month crowned 2025 West Coast/Top of the South share farmers of the year. They won $7,600 and five merit awards.
The Johnsons were runners-up in the same category last year and say the awards programme enabled them to learn more about their business and fine tune it.
Warric and Rachel are contract milkers for Phil and Jocelyn Riley on their 375ha,1100-cow Tapawera property. They employ four staff and a tractor driver. Most of the Johnsons' farming career has been in mid-Canterbury, but the last six years have been spent in Tasman.
Warric recalls that they were lower order sharemilkers buying in-calf heifers to build their herd when the payout crashed.
"Sometimes things happen outside our control, there is nothing wrong with having to start over again. You will be wiser for it," Warric told Dairy News.
He says that they still enjoy what they do, even in the tougher times.
"That's when you build character and learn the most," he says.
"I'm very much a numbers man and am constantly diving into the financial side of the business," he says.
"I have an endless curiosity for analysing which I'm passionate about and like to find out meanings and answers for any problem presented."
The Johnsons supply Synlait and are proud to achieve the processor's Lead with Pride certification while running two large scale dairy farms.
Future farming goals include farm ownership.
Warric thanked current farm owners Phil and Jocelyn Riley, mentors Gary Ashton and Murray Johnson and previous employers Stuart Brander and Hans Fikken for their support.
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors ASB, CowManager, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda, LIC, and Trelleborg, along with industry partner DairyNZ.
The runners-up in the share farmer category are Kaisa Sadowska and Sam Riley who are 50/50 sharemilkers on Brent Riley's 200ha, 500-cow Collingwood property. They won $4,300 in prizes.
