| 83 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Red Bluff Farms: Matthew & Kortne Snedden • from page 82 Dairy awards open doors for couple Russell Fredric The age-old maxim of it’s not what you know, it’s who you know rings totally true for Kerikeri farmers Matthew and Kortne Snedden. Self-confessed as being goal driven, Matthew was the 2014 Northland Dairy Trainee of the Year while, as a couple he and Kortne achieved third place in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards 2019 Northland Share Farmer of the year as contract milkers. They are now in their third season 50/50 sharemilking for Kevin and Gillian Baxter and also lease a 150 hectare effective dairy grazing block nearby. The farm’s 190ha dairy platform peak milks 580 cows and has a small support block attached. Kortne is a local teacher and the farm’s calf rearer; the couple have two children, aged four and 11 months. Matthew says one of the most signi cant things gained from entering the awards was the ability to network with others in the wider industry and the opportunities that this created, including having mentor gures that he can speak to regularly to bounce ideas off. Prior to entering the share farmer of the year award, the couple did not think they were in the position to become 50/50 sharemilkers, but after going through the thorough presentation process and really digging into their numbers, decided they could make it work if the right opportunity appeared. Reinforcing the value of the grapevine, they were contacted by their accountant about their present position which was not advertised. The Baxter farm runs on a mixed-system and has two clearly de ned areas, of which one is steeper and requires walks of up to four kilometres to the milking shed. “We run all of our rst-calving heifers and any cows that need a little bit of TLC, they’re on oncea-day for the full season, I suppose a system 2 feeding level, then we run a high system 4/system 5 system with the rest of the cows. We’ve got about 190 odd cows on once-a-day and between 360 to 400 on a higher input twice-a-day system.” Operating this way makes it feasible to milk the part of the farm that is not suitable for twice-a-day milking. “Running the heifers separately for their rst year is really seeing bene ts, especially when they are milked once-a-day, they are a lot better on their own or with a handful of cows rather than having to compete.” “The hardest cows to get in-calf are your three year-old’s and we normally run at about three to ve percent empty by running them all once-a-day.” Production-wise, Matthew “is not necessarily too fussed” about year-on-year gains, but is more focused on stable production with reducing inputs. Because farmers are operating 10 to 12 months prior to the conclusion of their budget every year, the dif culty Matthew sees is the potential to be put into a “world of hurt” very quickly if the market conditions radically change in either the payout or input costs as happened in 2014. “You want to be in a position where you are making a margin regardless of any sensible swings in the payout.” Northland couple Matthew and Kortne Snedden are in their third season 50/50 sharemilking a herd of 580 cows. P: (09) 470 1060 E: admin@northvets.co.nz A: MAUNU: 16-18 Maunu Rd, Whangarei ONERAHI: 165 Onerahi Rd, Onerahi HIKURANGI: Cnr George & Parks Streets, Hikurangi Family Pets We look after all your furry friends! FarmAnimals From traditional livestock to the more exotic! Equine Care Shetlands or showjumpers, we can help you! Looking afterWhangarei’s Animals for over 50 years! 160 Hariru Rd, Ohaeawai RD2 Kaikohe office@tractorthomas.co.nz 021 813 421 • Round & Square Hay and Silage • Cultivation, Cropping & Drilling • Maize Planting & Harvesting • Bulk Haulage • Conventional Hay • Weighbridge Services • Lime and Fert Spreading Ryan and the team at RTA Contracting are proud to support Red Bluff Farms POST PEELINGS | WOODCHIP | SAW DUST PALM KERNEL | FERTILISER DELIVERIES | SILO DELIVERIES Proudly supporting Red Blu Farms She’s found the breeding side of dairy farming very satisfying, nurturing the traits she wants, culling what she doesn’t, and reaping the results in the herd’s performance. Last year they A I’d for four weeks and did natural mating for the remaining eight weeks, with a combined result of 6% empty. This year they A I’d for ve and used the bull for seven. “We’re hoping for the same empty rates this year, we were pretty happy with that result,” says Katrina. Katrina’s husband David is an electrician working mostly off-farm and they have two small children, Emily (7yrs) and Charlotte (6yrs), which means a lot of juggling. Katrina’s doing what she can to train them up, but in the meantime she needs two full time staff members for the farm to operate ef ciently. She found it stressful having a succession of workers who frequently proved to be unreliable so they made the call to invest in some technology with the purchase of Milktech NZ electronic cup-removers. “The main drive behind the install was ensuring the cows could be milked even when I was left on my own. Cup-removers are a big investment for us but knowing that we’re not up shxx-creek if someone doesn’t turn up, is really good for peace of mind. This can now be a oneperson operation, just for as long as it’s needed, and it also frees up staff hours to be spent outside the cowshed,” says Katrina. While the hope for the future would be to train someone up to manage the farm, in the meantime their newest recruit, 26-year-old Ben Shepherd, together with the new technology, has already made a big improvement to the Pearsons’ stress levels.
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