| 27 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Jono Ardern Jono’s wife Amy is a vet and has recently set up her own practice. Frustration grows over ‘Idealogy’ driven compliance Sue Russell Dairy farmer Jono Ardern recalls one piece of advice his father Shane gave him when considering his future: ‘Do anything else but don’t go farming’. Experiencing the chaos and uncertainty that the GFC brought to Europe however, led Jono to feel that working in agriculture back in New Zealand wasn’t a terribly bad thing after all. “So, I rang my brother Cameron up at the time. He was working in Perth and we decided to go farming together. We went lower order sharemilking for three seasons on the home farm and increased the farm’s production by about 20,000 milk solids in the first year. This increase allowed us to buy a small block of land together to use as a run off,” Jono explains. Then in 2014, with a record pay-out year the opportunity for farm ownership became available in Awatuna. The farm is home to 350 cows and sits at altitude under the mountain. Jono says getting the cows through the cold of winter is the biggest challenge. Aside from that, it’s summer safe and operates really well. To compensate for the ‘Southland-like’ conditions at times the farm has two herd homes. “The cows love being inside, they’ll walk to a paddock, but they run to the herd homes.” Additional nutrition comes in the form of maize, grown on 10 hectares and fed out in late lactation to extend days in milk. Heifers are wintered separately from the main herd to maximise feed intake. Summer time is managed with brassica crops of turnips and rape. Jono originally bought 97ha and has since added 34ha when the neighbour approached him in the middle of the $4 pay-out. This was only achieved by partnership with extended family to purchase the property and subdivide. The farm operates to a system three and Jono says that works well for him, being able to adjust inputs up or down. This season farm production is tracking about 5% behind average. “This year the grass has been stop-start the whole time. Cows are creatures of habit and they like things to be steady and consistent, so they have struggled. During the spring it was a lack of quality in the grass that impacted on their energy levels, so I added molasses to boost them a bit.” Mating gets underway on the 22 October, giving Jono a calving start of 1 August. “The farm soils and pastures are very dated. Every year I have cropped paddocks that have brought up unexpected ‘finds’ in the form of horseshoes and glass bottles.” Jono puts about 13% of the farm each year into crops and longer terms plans are to do less cropping as the better pasture species mature. Off-farm, Jono is involved in Federated Farmers with the Taranaki Executive. It helps keep him informed of what is happening at regional and central Government policy level. A frustration for Jono is the incessant demands on dairy farmers to improve their environmental footprint. “When you look at our situation as a small Pacific Island nation, completely reliant on producing food for ourselves and the world, you find our farming practices and methods of production are first class” When governments introduce ideology driven compliance and regulation on New Zealand farmers making them less efficient this only leads to food production being moved off shore where it has a higher environmental emission cost than here at home. Its all-good shouting that 49% of New Zealand greenhouse gases come from agriculture. But if you move that agriculture to anywhere else on the planet those greenhouse gas emissions get drastically worse. He’s also concerned though about attracting the next generation into farming, given how the sector is often projected. “It’s vital that we find new ways to engage with young people and show them the reality of what farming is actually all about. I’m very proud to be a farmer, producing some of the highest quality food in the world.” He also understands just how vital the sector is and its place in the economy. “It’s vital that we find new ways to engage with young people and show them the reality of what farming is actually all about. I’m very proud to be a farmer, producing some of the highest quality food in the world.” “You know I’m just an average farmer in Taranaki and there must be more than 100 service people that I interact with on my farming business. So, any attack on the industry is also an attack on their livelihoods as well.” Jono’s wife Amy is a vet and has recently set up her own practice, something he says has been a really positive step for her. “Anyone going out on their own is to be admired. Amy’s worked her heart out and I’m really looking forward to the future here with her and our daughter Athena. Email: admin@aakland.co.nz Website: www.aakland-chemicals.co.nz 88 Treffers Road, PO Box 323, Sockburn Free On-Farm Delivery Free On-Farm Service
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