Business South March 2021

44 | Enjoying the farming challenges on the Coast The Volckmans have supplied Westland Milk Products for many years. T from page 42 DAIRY INDUSTRY Westland Milk Products “I think that Coast farmers supply the best milk really and that’s something you have to remind yourself that you’re doing.” While it is good country for growing good grass and utilising that to get a good product, Frano says that the Coast’s weather dictates what can be done and that his family farms within the limits that Mother Nature throws their way, conscious of the environmental boundaries. “The summers can get a bit dry and it doesn’t take long for the ground to dry out, especially the northern Coastal properties with the lighter soils. “While there are some farms in the area that have K-line irrigation, we don’t have irriga- tion here.” The Volckman’s milking platform actually contains two dairy farms. He, Kylie and his parents look after one, milking 600 cows, while his sister and her husband look after a smaller unit sharemilking 220 cows. Last season was a good one and the Volckman’s achieved 430kgMS/cow or about 1000kgMS/ha, but Frano reckons this year will closer to 410kgMS/cow. “We milk twice a day for the majority of the season and towards the mid to end of Febru- ary consider going to 16 hour milking which is easier on people and allows the cows to retain good condition as they head into the winter.” The Volckman’s have supplied Westland Milk Products for as long as Frano can re- member and he is now the Chairman of the Suppliers Committee. Established as a conduit between suppliers and Westland, the committee is comprised of four other farmer representative and four members from Westland. Meeting four times a year the committee is a sounding board that discusses concerns, ideas and improvements, providing general feedback up and down. Frano says the system works very well and while it has really been business as usual since Westland transitioned from a cooperative to Yili’s ownership there have been significant benefits in terms of supplier certainty. “Our payout is now aligned with Fonterra and that has certainly been on the healthy side of the spectrum recently and made farm- ing more enjoyable, taking the worry out of it to a certain extent. “It has given West Coast dairy farmers a lot of confidence to make investment decisions and farm without a cloud of what the state of the company was when it was a cooperative. “Yili have given us certainty by matching Fonterra’s payout for 10 yeas from the date they took the business over. “From the farmers I speak to there is trust and confidence in Yili to look after us and be around for a very long time.” “Our payout is now aligned with Fonterra and that has certainly been on the healthy side of the spectrum recently and made farming more enjoyable, taking the worry out of it to a certain extent.” T Export opportunities - page 46 03 684 9100 www.coolpak.co.nz “Coolpak Coolstores Ltd are a Proud Supplier to Westland Milk Products” Cold Chain Storage Solutions & Service, With You In Mind. PURCHASING, OPERATING LEASES, FORKLIFT SERVICING & PARTS SUPPLY support@iforklift.co.nz Raising Expectations Exceeding promises by delivering outstanding service to customers, suppliers & our company. “Proudly supporting Westland Dairy with their forklift requirements and ongoing service & maintenance needs” SALES |SERVICE | RENTAL | LEASING 24 hour breakdown service 0800 688 11 44 www.iforklift.co.nz