Business Rural Winter 2021

| 51 Equity partnership a step closer to ownership goal Moa Flat farmers Liz and Sam Barton are now in their fifth season in an equity partnership with Phil and Jenny McGimpsey. Karen Phelps A s it gets increasingly more challenging for the next generation of farmers to attain farm ownership, Sam and Liz Barton’s story is inspiring. The couple, from non-farming families, have entered an equity partnership with farm ownership as their overall goal. So how on earth did they do it? When Sam and Liz began farming they say they gave it everything in order to achieve their goals. They started off as shepherds and by hard work, drive and passion for the farming industry they moved up the ladder rapidly. When Sam got an opportunity to work at Awatere Station, an18,000 stock unit property in Waikaia owned by James and Denise Anderson, he jumped at the chance. Fortunately the property next door had a vacancy for Liz and together they made some real momentum towards farm ownership. The Andersons encouraged Sam and Liz to set their sights high, forget about high-end manager roles and focus on farm ownership. Then they helped pave the way for the Bartons to be in a position to enter an equity partnership. James and Denise allowed time off farm to develop all the necessary skills in order to successfully run their own business – for example the Rabobank farm managers program, financial management papers, accounting, including cash manager software courses and EP seminars. As trust and the relationship grew the Andersons allowed Sam and Liz to run some sheep and cattle of their own on Awatere. The eight calves initially grew to approximately 150 breeding cows and R2 cattle. Sam and Liz were also able to secure a cattle share farming agreement in West Otago increasing their herd by another 85 cows. After several years at Awatere Sam and Liz had built enough equity to start actively seeking farming partners and op- portunities. Eventually after doing business plans and cash flow forecasts for many potential partnerships Sam and Liz found the perfect opportunity – an equity partnership in West Otago with Phil and Jenny McGimpsey. The Bartons are now in their fifth sea- son of the equity partnership on Montana Pastoral in West Otago at Moa Flat and farm 4,200 sheep and 100 beef on the property. “Our relationship with our equity partners is built on mutual respect, honesty and trust and has grown very strong. It’s really neat and is going fantastically well,” says Sam. The Bartons’ meticulous approach to farm man- agement has also led to strong production, excellent stock and pasture performance and impressive environmental practices. In 2020 this led to them winning three awards in the Ballance Farm Environ- ment Awards, which they entered as they saw it as a way of enhancing their vision and strengthening MEAT & WOOL » Sam & Liz Barton their already clear goals for the property: to produce to a very high standard while minimising environ- mental impact. The awards they won were the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award, Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award and Otago Regional Council Quality Water Management Award. Judges noted how the Bartons use monitoring and measuring to improve their farming practice, with extensive recording of stock health and movements, plus a close eye kept on soil and nutrient management. Nutrient requirements are adjusted annually based on soil tests and the analysis of stock output, while further testing informs grass production and health. Critical source areas are identified on the farm cropping regime and are left in grass, which acts as a filter. Straw bales are incorporated in crop paddocks as a sediment trap, assisting in reducing soil loss and therefore improve water quality. There is also shelter and shade in most paddocks and 42ha is planted in large trees – part of an on-going tree planting and harvesting programme. Troughs are in most paddocks and there are plans to reticulate water to every paddock within three years along with putting culverts through every crossing within five years so stock do not have to travel through waterways. Equally important is achieving a work-life bal- ance so the couple place a big focus on spending quality time with friends and family. The Bartons have two young children, Harriet, 15 months and Angus, 4 ½. Sam makes spending every morning playing with the kids and having breakfast as a family a priority. Farm ownership is the goal and they plan to pay down the recent investment they have made buying into the farm, setting them up well to make further investment in the equity partnership as opportunity arises. “Our relationship with our equity partners is built on mutual respect, honesty and trust and has grown very strong.”