8 | ENVIRONMENT » Chris and Desiree Giles 2025 is looking positive for the family The farm currently operates on a grass-only system with all stock wintered on-farm. Karen Phelps With a good dairy payout and interest rates dropping 2025 is looking positive for the Giles family as they sell their dairy farm Waimumu Downs. Owned in an equity partnership, including Chris and wife Desiree, since 2014 the farm offers 268 hectares of effective area including a substantial 206-hectare milking platform. “We’ve streamlined operations to make it a turnkey property for the next owner,” says Chris. “Through strategic management and well-planned infrastructure, we’ve managed to keep our staffing lean with just one full-time employee and a calf rearer. We’ve invested heavily in pasture improvement, essentially re-grassing the entire property. When we started, we were milking 400 cows on 143 hectares. Now, we’ve added two extra blocks and increased our herd to 550 cows.” Chris says that getting staff, a common bugbear for farmers, has never been an issue due in part to the farm’s location: “We live close to town, just a 20-minute walk, so that helps secure good staff members. We also run really simple systems. Our previous staff member served for 13 years before recently departing,” explains Chris. The farm currently operates on a grass-only system with all stock wintered on-farm, achieving production levels of approximately 520-530 kilograms of milk solids per cow. Its infrastructure includes a 50-bail rotary shed equipped with DeLaval plant. The couple has also taken an environmental focus with the operation, which earned them recognition as finalists in the 2020 New Zealand Farm Environment Trust competition. Working with the local Runanga and Environment Southland, the Giles family has helped grow trees for local projects and schools. They have also developed a two-kilometre walking track on their property, hosting school visits so children can learn about things such as pest management, trapping techniques and water quality. The family has plans for additional environmental work through their local catchment group, including making settlement ponds on neighbouring farms and organising community planting days. The local catchment group in conjunction with Thriving Southland has organised the 2025 Southern AgriTech and Innovation Day on 1 May with a variety of speakers. “I helped set up the local Gore catchment group, I’m a sucker for saying yes to everything,” jokes Chris. The sale of their farm represents not an exit from farming, but rather a strategic transition. The couple has already identified a smaller 135-hectare property nearby, which aligns with their goal of direct farm ownership and pursuing new agricultural projects with continued environmental focus. The Giles family includes children Danielle, 14, and Andrew, 11 and the family has the support of Chris’s parents, Alan and Debbie, who have also been involved in the farming operation. Off farm work is also important. Chris maintains significant community involvement as vice- chairman of the Southern Field Days for the past decade, an event that last year saw record attendance with 40,000 visitors and 20,000 in a single day. “It’s about giving back to the community. There are a number of volunteer groups who come to help and most of the money generated by the event heads back into the community,” says Chris. As preparations begin for the next Field Days, he advises potential exhibitors to get in early to get the position they want as “sites tend to fill up fast.” 0800 SGTDAN (748326) Gorton Street, GORE Ph: 208 3965 E: admin@sgtdan.co.nz Fert Wholesale Direct Ltd Farmers, are you concerned about improving your fertiliser efficiency and environmental footprint? Then Fert Wholesale Direct Ltd can help, as we have helped Gladvale Farms Ltd The ONE System which through independent trials shows a doubling of response to N. And more recently, our Revolutionary Compound Urea/SOA product where every granule contains both forms of N. Contact Shane Harold on 021 0235 6491 or shane@fertwholesale.co.nz
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