Business Rural Autumn 2021

50 | ‘Our goal - more contract milking’ Photos: Niranjal Gamlath and Ruwan Wijayasena with daughters Senuli and Methuli. The couple celebrate their Share Farmer of the Year title in the 2019 Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Industry Awards – this year they are regional managers for the awards. Karen Phelps A s practicing Buddhists, Ruwan Wijayasena and his wife Niranjal Gamlath do not want to own cows and make decisions to kill them. This has led them to find their own unique way to grow their dairy business without following the traditional pathway. This has centred on expand- ing their contract milking business, proving there are other options for those wishing to have a suc- cessful and profitable career in the dairy industry. Both hail from Sri Lanka, where they met at university. Ruwan has a BSc Agri Sciences degree from Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, majoring in livestock production. Niranjal’s studies specialised in agribusiness management making their career pathways extremely complementary. Political unrest in Sri Lanka at the time led them to look at options offshore to grow a farming business. Ruwan landed in New Zealand in 2005, starting off as a farm assistant owned by Synlait (now Theland Farm Group Ltd). Niranjal joined him a year later. They stayed in that job for two years before a management opportunity came up on a Synlait owned 500 cow farm nearby. Two years later they moved to the 280ha farm at Darfield milking 1000 DAIRY » Ruwan Wijayasena cows they are now on. He managed it for three years before taking on a contract milking posi- tion. In 2016 the contract milking contract on the 260ha, 950 cow farm next door became available so they took that on as well. “Our goal is to take on more contract milking jobs. We have good staff and we’re also thinking about how they can progress and grow in our business as well,” says Ruwan. They have also invested off farm and until recently had the lease on a motel in Christchurch, which Niranjal operated. They sold this to fund their way into a 4ha lifestyle block in Tai Tapu on the outskirts of Christchurch where Niranjal is based with their children: Senuli, 11 and Methuli, 9. Ruwan moves between this home and a home on the contract milking jobs. The couple, who won the Share Farmer of the Year title in the 2019 Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Industry Awards, says their goal is to farm sustainably – looking after people, pasture, cows and environment. “It’s about getting the basics right. We operate lean systems – something we learned from Toyota • to page 51 “It’s about getting the basics right. We operate lean systems – something we learned from Toyota – which sees us eliminate waste in all its forms including time, milk, people etc.” BMW | Suzuki | Mahindra | Used Motorcycles | Services Proud to support Ruwan Wijayasena Avon City Motorcycles Phone 03 341 3490 Email sales@avoncity.co.nz Hours: Mon - Fri 8:00am-5:00pm Sat 9:00am-1:00pm www.avoncity.co.nz The preferred milking systems partner for Dairy Farmers Ph 0800 577 583 | www.morrisonagri.co.nz Proud to support Ruwan Wijayasena RD2 Leeston 027 534 9161 e: chris@chrisswanson.nz CULTIVATION & EXCAVATION CONTRACTORS • Cow Track Lime Supply & Lay • All Shingle Supplies • Truck & Trailer Hire • Direct Drilling • Hedge & Stump Removal • Farm Tracks & Driveways • Fodderbeet Planting • Cultivation • Pivot Rut Filling • Grader & Digger Work • Reversible Ploughing • Supply & Installation of Irrigation Pipe