| 41 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Howard Family: Lanseair Farm Howard family cows on plantain. Benjamin and Renee’s gradual upgrades Richard Loader Much has happened since Benjamin and Renee Howard returned to the family’s 94-hectare farm in Whakatane at the start of the 2020 season. For one thing the birth of their daughter Hailee Amelia in 2021 heralded a fifth generation on the land that Benjamin’s great-grandparents bought in 1961. The addition of a new soul on the farm highlighted the couple’s passion for what they do. Yes, it is about caring for the cows and giving back to the land, but it is also about the lifestyle that it affords farming families. Renee sums it up saying it is a lifestyle, not a job. While Benjamin looks after all the day time work on the farm, Renee does the majority of the milking, morning and afternoon, and says when that is all done, she has put in her eight hours on the farm and the rest of the time is hers to spend with Hailee. “Hailee is almost two now and she is with at least one of us full time,’ says Benjamin. “Being able to get a full day’s worth of work done, but have time with the family is very special. Hailee loves coming out on the farm with us and we love having her with us.” When the couple returned to the farm, they entered into an equity partnership with Benjamin’s parents with the objective that over the next 10 – 15 years they would progressively increase the shareholding, so that by the end of that period they would at least be majority shareholders. In addition to the home farm, a 44-hectare run-off block a few minutes down the road forms an increasingly important part of the farming operation. “The run-off is used for all of our young stock, including heifers and calves,” says Renee. “The intention is when we’ve finished weaning calves off milk on the home farm they will go straight to the run-off, freeing up more of the home farm paddocks for the cows, giving them better milk production, and better growth for the calves enjoying new fresh growth on the run-off.” The intention is also to make supplement off the run-off, though this year it has gone underwater seven times. Part of the run-off was recently purchased from a neighbour and had been in maize for twenty 11 Te Tahi Street, Whakatane | Phone: 07 307 0704 Email: o ce@milkingandwater.co.nz Dairy plant Installation, Upgrades & Maintenance. Water & Pumping systems, Design, Installation & Maintenance. Licenced NZMPTA ISO milking machine testers ON SITEWORKINGWITH YOU WE SPECIALISE IN: AUTHORISED DEALER OF years. It is now in a redevelopment stage, getting more nutrients into the soil to make it more productive. A recent upgrade of the farm’s effluent system included the installation of a large stone trap in the tailings bunker designed to separate the majority of the heavy solids. Walls were also put around the existing sump, effectively increasing capacity to two full days’ worth of effluent storage, without needing to pump anything, providing a back-up emergency storage. “We also put in a Flexi Tanks bladder with half a million litres of effluent storage, along with a new pump and variable speed drive, and effluent monitoring system,” says Benjamin. “That will provide greater flexibility in terms of storage and irrigation.”
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