32 | Willis making considerable environmental gains Part of Robert and Cate’s legacy is the considerable environmental improvements they made. Russell Fredric DAIRY » Robert & Cate Willis Proud to support Robert and CateWillis Robert: 027 439 5096 Email: rivertonfarmdrainage@xtra.co.nz 027 823 9446 slurrysolutionssouth@gmail.com • Muck spreading • Umbilical System • Full Baling service • Tip Trailers The twists and turns of life circumstances have prompted some rethinking for dairy farmers Robert and Cate Willis about their future direction. In 2016 they moved off their 112 hectare Gummies Bush farm in Southland to a new house on a lifestyle block near Invercargill, leaving the farm to be run by a contract milker. The farm was converted in 2001 and is supported by a leased 120 hectare run-off and peak milks 340 cows. The move allowed Robert to pursue his dream of being a St John ambulance emergency medical technician and ultimately becoming a paramedic, however in late 2021 he was dismissed after choosing not to be covid-19 vaccinated. “That changed our life. We set ourselves up to move off the farm etcetera and then I lost my job.” Fortunately, due to a worker leaving the farm, a position became available for Robert, so he returned with the contract milker’s agreement. “It’s a self-contained farm so I slotted back into managing the run-off and supporting the contract milker. “This year we decided that we didn’t want to go back to where we had been; we still wanted to move forward with other options and opportunities, so we have put in Gregor and Lynne Ramsay as 50/50 sharemilkers for the coming season and that’s our leap into our next stage of life.” Part of Robert and Cate’s legacy is the considerable environmental improvements they made which were validated by being a finalist in the 2020 Ballance Farm Environment Awards. “We planted hundreds and thousands of trees every year to get the shelter and for beautification. Not that long ago I was standing in the middle of a paddock with all the gum trees around us; the amount of bellbirds was incredible. The noise of the bellbirds was almost deafening.” “Here we are 20 years on and the place looks a real picture because those trees have come into maturity and we are getting the benefits from the shelter.”From the time they converted the farm to dairy there was also a strong focus on enhancing production through regrassing and drainage improvements. “When we converted the farm, we regrassed 33% of it in the autumn before we were milking, and the plan was to get the rest of it done in a decade, which we did, and started back round again.” The result was “really obvious” because the pastures were 30 to 40 years old, while there were also no trees before the conversion. “Our production just grew and grew along with the genetic increase that we were getting through sire proving with LIC. Within 10 years we were really galloping along.” The best result in the vat was 195,000kgMS from 330 cows or 590kg per cow, about 10% more that their liveweight. “We’ve been with Livestock Improvement from the beginning, we joined their sire proving scheme where we test the new sires in our herd before they hit the market, so we are getting the early genetics before others. “We’ve certainly enjoyed that with our herd being in the top 10% for its genetic merit and its production in Southland.” With the farm in great shape and the unexpected turn of events created by covid, Robert and Cate are looking forward in a new chapter in their lives with Robert having taken on a dairy related position for a large corporate business.
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