| 43 DAIRY PEOPLE » Michael and Shahn Smith / Silver Spring Farm The Smith’s in Smithill - Christopher, Margaret, Peter, Shahn and Michael. Sustainable longevity Training, pasture focus Kim Newth Karen Phelps Farm succession is a challenging process that involves careful planning and good communication. It is a journey of many steps, but in Southland, the Smith family is making great strides in the right direction. After decades in dairy farming, Peter and Margaret Smith are savouring semi-retirement as the next generation now builds on their legacy through a consolidated family farm business, Smithill Ltd. “Mum and Dad have recently had a month in India and are spending time caravanning around,” says the couple’s son Michael, who oversees the original 187ha family farm at Ermedale, running 600 cows. “In winter they’re here though as it’s a busy period for us, and they’re here for calf rearing too. It’s pretty ideal as they have the freedom to go travelling but are here for the key times that are critical for us as well.” Michael and wife Shahn, who launched Milky Whey Enterprises Ltd in 2017, were previously award-winning sharemilkers on the Ermedale family farm, now called Thornhill. They have two sons, William, 7 and Jack, 18 months, and lead a busy family life. Shahn takes care of administration and accounts for Smithill while working as head of the x-ray department at Southland Hospital. They have a farm manager on another nearby lease farm running 150 cows, while Michael manages a newly acquired 80ha lease run-off block in the area that will be used to winter R1 calves off both farms and the family’s other cut and carry block in Otautau. His brother, Chris, took on a sharemilking contract at farm 46 South, running 670 cows on 220ha, and oversees an adjacent farm purchased recently called Moanui, running 630 cows on 202ha. As Michael observes, now that the family dairy business has some 2050 cows in total, one of the challenges is finding enough area for wintering stock. That was a big motivation for acquiring the additional lease block near Thornhill. “Of course, When operations manager Andrew Hazlett arrived at Silver Spring Farm, one of Otago and Southland’s most substantial dairy operations, he admits he tried to change too many things at once. “I came in trying to change lots of things rather than focusing on the immediate areas where I could see the quickest improvement,” he explains. “Now I’m focusing on a couple of key areas at a time.” The 583-hectare farm, which milks around 1,700 cows, is owned by Te Wae Wae Dairies and operated by FarmRight, an investment management company specialising exclusively in agribusiness. It has a 54-bail rotary shed and a 44-aside herringbone shed, each with dedicated managers and support staff. The farm also includes a 90-hectare run-off block used for raising young stock and producing baleage. Andrew’s current target areas for improvement are staff training and pasture quality. “I’m focusing on picking up on things early rather than an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff approach. For example keeping on top of feed quality to avoid production drops,” he says. One of his immediate priorities has been transforming the health and safety culture across the farm. “We were bottom ranking within FarmRight when I got here and now we’re fourth, but we should be top as this is FarmRight’s biggest farm in one unit, so that’s my aim.” Using the Onside health and safety reporting platform, the farm has introduced digital sign-in systems at entry points with QR codes, monitored staff arrival and departure times, and systematically recorded all hazards, incidents and health and safety discussions. “It’s been more about getting the team involved in using Onside and making it become second nature,” says Andrew. “It’s also been leading by example. We’re definitely having the right conversa2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 LOOKING FOR PRECISION FERTILISER SPREADING? Reduce your fertiliser wastage and make the most of our on-board features like section control, auto calibration, border control and GPS. Saving you time and money! - Proof of application - Get your fertiliser on earlier with our reduced compaction and footprint protecting valuable pasture or crop - Spreading reports with heatmaps available -Savings of up to 9% on fertiliser 027 201 2774 BALING SPECIALISTS 027 222 0991 STOCK / BULK • FERTILISER • GRAVEL CONTRACTING • TRANSPORTING 03 225 5899 Pukemaori 0800 22 5899 admin@kingsrural.co.nz kingsrural.co.nz with growth comes pressure but that’s fine. It just means there’s a lot to be getting on with.” Rounding out the family farm portfolio is a 280ha wintering farm called Kaimata Downs in Otahu Flat. Peter and Margaret’s daughter Bethanne and her partner Jonathon, who recently returned from travels overseas, have relished getting stuck in as managers at Kaimata Downs, which is now in great shape. The couple is soon expecting their first child. As the family farm business continues to evolve, Michael says a key goal is to ensure there is consistency and cohesiveness across all the farming operations and budgets. “It’s about having the right conversations, making sure everyone knows what’s going on, and having clear lines of decision-making and responsibility. There’s still lots to learn and we can see the value in getting a bit of mentorship and guidance as part of that. With our staff, we also need to make sure there are good development roles, along with good training, and good record keeping.” Meanwhile, with grass growth holding up well through mid-summer, he says the feed outlook is positive and production is on target for the season. tions now.” Staff development is central to Hazlett’s approach. He says that he is now doing more one-on-one conversations and regular job checks to ensure staff are confident and capable in all areas, including operating tractors and moving baleage. “We deal with around 1,700 bales for a cut and 3,500 for the season and there were only two people who could do that. So the more people who are trained to do this, the easier this job will become.” Andrew is also preparing the farm for seasonal challenges, particularly the wet months of September, October, April and May. “It’s a matter of getting winter feed done then cutting paddocks earlier to get the right quality baleage,” he says. Andrew has also sought to innovate with alternative markets for Friesian and Hereford calves that traditionally would have gone to bobby trucks. “I brought in extra income last season and have more people interested for this season so we should be able to sell even more. We sold 130 last year and I’m anticipating closer to 300 this year. We get around three times what we’d get if we sent them to the works,” he says. Andrew, who was the 2024 Dairy Farm Manager of the Year for Otago/Southland, says he is thriving at Te Wae Wae Dairies: “I’m still loving the role, it’s a great challenge, and I feel we’re definitely making progress in key areas, which is very rewarding.”
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