No regrets choosing cows over boardroom
Winning the 2025 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year still hasn't sunk in for Thomas and Fiona Langford.
The winners of the 2019 Southland-Otago Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmer of the Year competition believe strong relationships and networks are the key to their successful business.
Cameron and Nicola van Dorsten, aged 33 and 31 respectively, are 50/50 sharemilking 575 cows on Ray Parker and Sharon Corcoran’s 204ha farm in Outram.
Cameron and Nicola both come from dairy farming backgrounds and enjoy the different challenges the industry offers.
“There are always new advances in research and technology. The dairy industry has a good career path which allows for equity growth and the chance for us to progress young people through.”
The 2009 economic downturn challenged them. “We lost our equity and had to build it back up to where we are now.”
The van Dorstens say they have learnt the importance of working with people with similar values and goals. “Our staff and network all work together.
“We continually analyse facets of our business to maximise profit and production for ourselves and our farm owners.”
Cameron and Nicola are first-time entrants to the awards and say they wanted to fine-tune their business and to lead by example for their staff. “We’ve stepped outside our comfort zone and would like to begin to give back to the industry.”
The couple forsee farm ownership or an equity partnership in their future, with people who share the same values and aspirations as themselves.
“We’re proud of our outright herd ownership and seeing our staff go on to management roles.”
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…