Sustainability part of day-to-day farming

The couple are in an equity partnership on a 124ha farm near Te Awamutu with Dave's parents, Phil and Deb, milking 410 cross breed cows and producing 190,000 kgMS per season.

Over the years, they have planted over 4,000 plants on their farm. Two years ago, they decided to help other farmers by sharing their planting knowledge.

In 2021, Alice, a former senior catchment management officer at Waikato Regional Council, launched The Native Dairy Farmer, a nursery to serve the community.

The family tennis court was converted into a nursery: over 45,000 plants have been sold over the last two seasons to farmers, schools, and lifestyle block owners. Dave runs the farm while Alice manages the nursery.

Dave points out they're "still newbies" in the nursery business - this is their second growing season.

But the couple love having diversification of their income and work on farm.

Dave says in her role at WRC, Alice developed her passion for natives, with a large part of her role focused on helping farmers undertake native planting projects.

"So we started The Native Dairy Farmer with the aim of sharing our day-to-day activities, both on farm and in the nursery," Dave told Dairy News.

"We wanted to show what happens on farm to produce the milk for your morning coffee, as well as show the awesome work that farmers are doing in the environmental space."

He says the response from farmers, customers and their social media followers has been positive.

"We really enjoy meeting our customers and have been lucky to have been invited onto their farms to see their plantings.

"We aim to provide farmers with top quality, affordable plants.

"We want to see farmers plantinf projects thrive and aim to provide site specific advice including species selection, site preparation and site maintenance."

This year, the coule were asked by friends to trial biodegradable paper pots, named Ellepots.

Dave says they are excited as this will reduce the amount of plastic associated with native planting.

"Some friends of ours who own nurseries in Taupo and Rotorua got together and formed a company called 4Regen Limited to purchase an Ellepot machine which was being used in part of a research programme at Scion.

"We feel lucky to have been asked if we wanted to trial the pots with them this year. We are really excited about the research behind the paper pots.

"Not only do they reduce the amount of plastic associated with native planting, the pots also enhance plant physiology.

"Ellepots are engineered to deliver healthier and faster root development, and also reduce the incidence of transplant shock."

The feedback received from customers on Ellepots has been great.

Dave points out that it's only their first season using the pots, so there is lots of learning to be done.

"But we have received great feedback from our customers so far: the most common comment we get is how quickly they were able to complete their planting.

"No need to take the plant out of the pot - and no rubbish to pick up at the end!"

Dave and Alice employ two full time staff with a couple of relief milkers helping during busy periods.

With a 10-month old son and another baby on the way, Dave says work-life balance is really important to them.

But it is something they need to work on, he adds.

"We have recently switched our staff from a 12 and 2 roster to a 5 and 2, 6 and 1 roster which seems to be working well, however we haven't quite managed to get ourselves into that roster yet.

"We are constantly talking about how we can do better in this space, whether that be through farm system changes or changes to the roster or both."

He says dairying is a great career and as they show, sustainability and profitable dairying can go hand-in-hand.

More Workers Needed

The dairy sector urgently needs 2,000 to 2,500 people on-farm.

DairyNZ lead advisor for people Jane Muir says DairyNZ is helping connect Kiwis with farm vacancies available nationwide through GoDairy.

"There are plenty of farm assistant roles available nationwide - a great way to start a dairy career," says Muir.

"Dairy is a unque career, where no two days are the same. No prior experience is needed and any ages are welcome to join. You learn on the job and pick up a wide range of skills including milking, calf rearing and operating heavy machinery."

Promotion and growth opportunities are available, with farm managers able to earn over $100,000. Many farms offer reasonably priced on-farm accommodation, which means no commute to work or daily travel costs, helping people save more for their future goals.

To get a career in dairy and apply for jobs, visit: godairy.co.nz/gonow