Couple who never gave up farm ownership dream
Atiamuri farmers Paul and Lesley Grey never gave up their dream of owning their own farm – and in 2020, that dream came true.
Glenn and Georgie van Heuven, currently 50:50 sharemilkers just out of Matamata in the Waikato, are working hard to achieve their goal.
Glenn van Heuven has always wanted to go dairy farming.
“Growing up on the farm it is probably ingrained in you. I’ve always enjoyed farm life, driving tractors, the cows, I enjoy milking – it is quite therapeutic.”
The couple are milking a split-calving herd of 420 Friesian/Friesian cross cows in a system 5 on 100ha owned by Sid and Dellas Anderton. They run their young stock off farm on a lease block, along with some dairy grazers. Georgie works off farm at Rabobank which helps to support the farm business.
“What’s next for us is buying some land,” says van Heuven.
“We’d like to do something for ourselves, that is our end goal. We’ve diversified by purchasing two investment properties. They have helped us to build equity, which will hopefully help us on our path towards farm ownership.”
Alongside their own investments, they are thinking about an equity partnership structure when the time for purchasing a farm arrives.
Van Heuven is also a believer in the benefits of learning from and connecting with the wider industry, through attending off-farm events like those run by Smaller Milk and Supply Herds (SMASH), to grow their knowledge and build their chances of success.
“It is worth going to SMASH events as they are something different to the events run by other organisations, the speakers are different, and if one doesn’t fit your needs, the next one might,” he says.
“And there is a bloody good lunch at the end. The networking is another benefit; someone might know someone with a job. It is good to get out and about and see what other people are doing on farm.”
The van Heuvens would like a large enough property to justify hiring a worker and to have the option of running bull beef. Their preference is to stay on the smaller milking herd end of the spectrum.
“If you stay smaller you know your cows individually, they are not just a number,” says van Heuven.
“You know their personality, they have their own identities. The largest herd I milked was around 750 cows, and I didn’t enjoy being tied to the shed for hours in the morning and afternoon – there’s more to farming than being stuck in the cow shed.”
Van Heuven is not discouraged by the compliance challenges the industry is facing, and is prepared to adjust the way he farms to cope. Being a system 5, he may need to make some changes.
He believes most farmers take pride in their land, and appreciate the value of adding planting in areas like riparian zones, for practical and aesthetic reasons.
“It is a bit of an unknown, but we have to do what is needed to keep operating. I think it is harder for the older generation who don’t want to deal with the paperwork. We just want to do the best with what we have. Most farmers want to do the right thing.”
In the meantime, the van Heuvens are keeping a close eye on the farms coming onto the market, so when the time comes, they will be ready to open the next chapter in their farming career.
