| 35 With 10 staff, four at River Terrace and six at Ealing Pastures, Rebecca hopes this learning, when put into practice will help build even stronger connections with them. “For us its all about, connection, collaboration and community.” Milk IQ committed to the dairy sector Cows grazing at River Terrace. Sue Russell Life is full-on for Brent and Rebecca Miller, who, through hard-work and a solid commitment to the dairy sector, have progressed their farming business Milk IQ Ltd. The couple are equity partners at River Terrace Dairy Farm, near Geraldine, with Andrew and Rachele Morris. It’s a lovely property with an effective milking platform of 336ha and is home to 1150 cows. The couple know the farm well, having worked on it for 8 years prior to seizing the opportunity to gain equity in the property in 2022. “We received a lot of support from Andrew and Rachele, who could see our commitment to farming and that we wanted to progress not only ourselves but to help others begin their journeys as well,” Rebecca explains. For many, that would be enough, however Brent and Rebecca also contract milk at Ealing Pastures, another farm owned by the Morris’s comprising 435ha, milking 1385 cows. It’s been nearly a year since Rural South spoke with the couple and Rebecca acknowledges it’s been at times pretty tough, dealing with her own health issues, and one of her sons who is home schooled. “We’re fortunate that we have a full complement of staff and when two left to go to Canada just before May we were able to manage with the existing team through June and July. Now we have two new team members, one referred to us by word of mouth and the other was a team decision to bring one family member in from the Philippines.” Both believe in the living philosophy that to succeed in farming, everyone in the team needs to feel empowered, listened to, and supported to be their best. Enabling this is a platform called Farmily™ which offers guidance and grounds the strategic pillars that together form a profitable, healthy, sustainable farming ‘community’. Listening carefully to staff underpins everything. “It’s about being available for them. We treat the team as fundamental to the success of our faming business and part of this is providing them with opportunities to grow and learn. That way, everyone progresses and its much more secure for all,” says Rebecca. Giving back in other ways continues to be the focus. Recently Rebecca spent time researching and developing an online tool farmers can easily access through their dashboards. “Over the last couple of years we have developed Landeve, a platform for all of Primary Industry to connect, collaborate and communicate events. It is currently a minimum viable product that we are launching to get feedback, and to quickly change or improve. We will quickly be adding events, and a job portal. Landeve will eventually be a one stop shop for information for industry.” DAIRY » Milk IQ Limited Brent and Rebecca are interested in developing tools for industry and love the way technology is progressing. It’s breaking down the barriers to communication so clear informed decisions can be made quickly. The dairy sector, indeed, agriculture generally in its various forms, is increasingly under pressure to evidence compliance. As Brent and Rebecca explain, the impact of having to find the time to do justice to three or four audits every year, is something many farmers struggle with. “Each audit is about 50 hours of work, if you take into account all the data entry as well. You have to have all the correct data, systems, documentation at hand to complete each one and a lot of farmers don’t have the aptitude. It means a lot more time in the office and away from the farm. That’s the nature of farming now – ticking all the boxes in a more strategic sense. There used to be a dry-off period when a farm manager, for instance, could take time off away from the farm, but today there are so many demands outside of the day to day activities that the whole season blends into a busy and hectic environment,” says Rebecca. The staff roster of 6 on and 2 off, with weekend work kept to a minimum, is something that really supports the mental health and well-being of the team. For Rebecca, the next challenge and opportunity to give back comes in the form of undertaking a Life Coaching and nutrition Diploma, through the Mind Body Food Institute in Australia. “I think this coaching diploma will really solidify what we’re aiming to achieve and expand our business again in new directions.” Two years ago Rebecca applied for a scholarship and was asked to explain how she listens. Her response was this: “I listen to the words they don’t say. I listen to how they say it, the words they are using, where they are looking, how they are placed within the room. All these things give me a good picture of where the person in the team is at.” “Each audit is about 50 hours of work, if you take into account all the data entry as well. You have to have all the correct data, systems, documentation at hand to complete each one and a lot of farmers don’t have the aptitude.” ROBERT WILSON - 027 249 1767 | 03 303 7999 Main South Rd, Hinds 7747 | jo.allfarm@xtra.co.nz | www.allfarmengineering.co.nz AGENTS FOR: PROUDLY SUPPORTING MILK IQ LIMITED ALL ANIMAL EFFLUENT SAUCERS, PUMP CHAMBERS, STONE TRAPS,WEDGES, LARGE SETTLING PONDS 20,000 & 30,000 LITRE TRACTOR DRAWN TANKERS 8 METER PROP STIRRER AND STORTH LAGOON MIXER LOADER HIRE / DRY MUCK SPREADERS BEEN IN THE BUSINESS FOR OVER 45 YEARS EMAIL: robsonenviro@xtra.co.nz www.robsonenvironmental.co.nz PHONE 0800 372 003 Charlies Liquid Waste Rakaia
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