| 47 Passion for dairy drives foundation supplier Richard Loader Michael Horne: “I love cows and I milk black and white friesians.” DAIRY INDUSTRY Oceania Dairy Michael Horne is one of Aotearoa’s very passionate dairy farmers. He is also a foundation supplier to Oceania Dairy Ltd (ODL). A fifth generation dairy farmer, Michael’s passion for farming started early, growing up on his parents’ small dairy farm in Geraldine. “Farming, you either love it or hate it and if you love it it’s your life. I love cows and I milk black and white friesians. “I used to be a pedigree breeder when I first bought my cows and my parents were pedigree friesian breeders as well. I don’t have registered friesians any more but I still have the friesian line and mainly use North American genetics.” From his parents’ paddocks Michael’s journey took him from contract milking to sharemilking to farm ownership in Morven, just north of Glenavy in the South Canterbury district of Waimate. “I actually came to Morven as a sharemilker in 2002. It was big farm, 280 hectares and self-contained. I went from milking 200 cows to 560, which was a bit of a learning curve. “The plan was always to buy the Morven farm when we could afford it and as a stepping stone we bought a 200-hectare property in Waianakarua in 2011.” That same year Michael added a second milking shed to the Morven farm and increased the herd to 750 cows. The cows were milked through both sheds in different parts of the farm, utilising a runoff that he had been leasing in Willowbridge since 2006 for young stock. In 2014 the farm owner sold 135 hectares of the farm, including the old shed, to a neighbour and Michael bought the remaining 145 hectares that included the new shed. Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? “We sold the cows that were being milked through the old shed, along with our Waianakarua farm to finance it. “That was also the first year that ODL was commissioned and I was one of the original suppliers. They were right on our doorstep and I didn’t have to outlay the capital to buy shares to supply them. “ODL numbers their suppliers from closest to the factory. “From the road I’m only five kilometres from the plant and Oceania Supplier #3.” Michael milks 460 cows. It’s a split calving system, supplying winter milk. When Michael first came to Morven as a sharemilker it was a seasonal supply farm. In 2015, a year after he bought the farm there was a significant down turn in the price of milk and the amount paid to dairy farmers dropped to $3.70 per kilogram of milk solids. Michael says despite the downturn Oceania guaranteed a payment of $4.50kgMS, which underlined the relationship the company has with its suppliers. to page 48 “That was also the first year that ODL was commissioned and I was one of the original suppliers. They were right on our doorstep and I didn’t have to outlay the capital to buy shares to supply them.” Call 0800 800 108 or 03 683 9060 or see www.fireandsafetytraining.co.nz 30 Holmglen Street, Washdyke, Timaru email: admin@fastltd.co.nz Fire & Safety Training Courses include: Fire Extinguisher Training / Fire Warden Training Breathing Apparatus Training / Confined Space & Gas Detection Training First Aid in the Workplace Training / Working at Height Training Permit to work & Haz ID / Elevated Work platforms Unit standard based NZQA approved Training Courses Proud to be the preferred refrigeration contractor to Oceania Dairy Limited Dedicated to Temperature Maintenance Email: office@atr.co.nz Address: 14 Norwood Street, Timaru Mobile: 027 2848 345 Telephone: 03 688 7311 - 24hr phone Andy Turner - Managing Director 85 Meadows Road, Washdyke, Timaru • All your Industrial and Commercial Refrigeration needs • Milk Silo refrigeration needs • Preventative Maintenance Programs • Industrial Commercial HVAC Maintenance Programs
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=