60 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Paul Franklin / Peter and Lucy Smithson Good fortune, hard Sue Russell Nestled on one of New Zealand’s most iconic roads Taranaki’s ‘Forgotten World Highway’ is Cornerstone East Farm, operated by Peter and Lucy Smithson, just 5 minutes from Stratford. Peter says it was through a series of fortunate opportunities that presented that meant the couple now own a sizeable herd, spread over separate properties. They own, lease and 50:50 sharemilk and make that dynamic work for their business. “This season we’re milking about 850 cows all up. For the most part the herd has grown naturally as we’ve had more land available to farm on. It’s been a fairly simple growth model,” Peter says. The Smithson’s lower order on Lucy’s parents farm. When they first started farming the property Peter says he hadn’t had much experience but took every opportunity to learn how best to run a dairy unit. “Then we bought the neighbour’s property and my father-in-law built a new rotary cowshed, so we increased the herd from 370 up to 500 plus cows. Then my mate two years ago bought the farm next door so we lease his farm. That leased area was about 200 acres and the block we bought was approximately 112 acres,” Peter explains. Holding over cows, not culling as hard as they might have and having plenty of heifer replacements meant they didn’t have the cost of buying in new cows to extend the herd’s size. The couple have six children aged 17 through to 8. The children all do their share to help on the farm, with the eldest, James, the farms’ No. 1 tractor driver and No. 1 fencer. On the leased block the couple are 50:50 sharemilking. The way the couple can make the large herd size over several properties work is to each work on the farm, often on different properties. Live exports an opportunity • from page 59 “All of a sudden there are people looking for jobs. Bringing in staff from the Philippines has freed us up. They are great, hard-workers and contribute very positively to the running of the farms.” Paul is also keen to see the new Government look seriously at reintroducing live exporting. In his opinion, its a no-brainer to create a rolls-royce live export model. “Instead of closing things down following the sinking of the ship carrying stock, we had a great opportunity to turn this disaster into a real positive for our industry, setting us apart from any other country.” Selling stock live to China provided Paul with an important income stream in the past and he’s keen to see it open up again. Paul acknowledges that the fertility rate has also improved and good attention also to feeding calves well. “Instead of closing things down following the sinking of the ship carrying stock, we had a great opportunity to turn this disaster into a real positive for our industry, setting us apart from any other country.” “I’ve been milking over on the leased block and my wife does the milking on the home farm.” Peter says his father-in-law has always put Friesian genetics over the herd and while there are no longer Ayrshire in the mix, there is still Ayrshire genetics in the herd. “The bigger, stronger Friesian has always appealed. The herd we bought from next door is very much a mixed bag.” The main farm’s milking shed is a 54 bail rotary – De Laval plant, complete with in-shed feeding. Providing the cows with additional supplement is important and the farm has two silos for storage of grain as well as a molasses tank. Cows are given 2kg grain per day and mollases to keep energy and production up. “It also has Protrac and an automated wash system which makes the shed really efficient.” In the mornings Lucy milks 500 cows at the home farm and Peter milks 180 through the herringbone cowshed at Grey Rock. The staff and children help with the afternoon milkings. Two staff assist on the farm, both relatively young and doing well, 20 year old Jordan and 18 year old Mark. The farm, Peter says, is 40% flatish and 60% rolling. For the past two years Peter and Lucy have been home-schooling their children; something Peter says is going very well. “That’s the thing about living and working on a farm; there are so many practical ways to teach all sorts of things. Because they’re learning in this practical way, I think it carries more meaning and relevance for them.” Peter says he’s very happy with the situation of their farming business and sees a very positive future ahead. “The herd is in very good condition and between all of us we’re making a good go of this opportunity.” Power Farming Hawkes Bay | 06 879 9998 Paul Franklin Are proud to support [a] 49-51 Takapau Road, Waipukurau [w] www.millshonda.co.nz [p] 06 858 9109 k f Ma ing li e on the farm easier “I want everything to be tidy on the farm.” The lease property is between two of the dairy units and Paul admits to being keen to buy it if the opportunity were to present. A substantial storage dam was built several years ago, giving the operation water security, though Paul says he hasn’t needed to draw down on it for three years. Asked where he is with his farming journey Paul candidly says that after 20 years of expansion he’s now at a point of just wanting to consolidate. One development ahead is in the appointment of an overall operations manager, who will link with each of the farm’s managers, enabling Paul to step back more toward a governance role. “I think it’s about the right time to be moving in this direction. I want to do a bit of travel but I want to know I’ve left the farm’s in the best possible situation for the managers to oversee.” “Ongoing research & development results in superior products & performance advantages including; more yield, faster milking, no slip and no teat end damage.”
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