36 | nzdairy Four farms in Riverton-Tuatapere area Each farm has its own manager handling day-to-day operations. Sue Russell Michael Omega, originally from the Philippines, transitioned successfully into dairy farming in New Zealand, despite his background in accountancy and working in a corporate world for several years with Almarai Company in Saudi Arabia. In August 2007, he began working as a dairy farm assistant with John and Valerie Ellis in Otautau, Western Southland, aiming to succeed in agriculture. In 2008, he was among the Top 5 finalists for Dairy Trainee of the Year in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards and by June 2010, he had moved to Balfour as an Assistant Farm Manager with Kent and Denise Pease. In June 2012, Michael joined Rosehill Farm in Gore, progressing to Farm Manager. The following year, he competed in the Farm Manager of the Year, which provided him with further motivation. Thanks to a strong relationship with farm owners Kenny and Jo Baynes in 2017 Michael became a contract milker on the same farm. He values and maintains good relationships with his previous and current employers. By 2022, Michael and his brother-in-law, Gie Tolentino, expanded their business through an equity partnership. Gie, who holds a degree in animal husbandry with a major in animal science, is one of the first Filipinos to farm in Southland. Together, they oversee four dairy farms in the Riverton-Tuatapere area as equity partners and contract milkers. The farms collectively milk 3,600 cows, with herds of varying sizes. The Gore farm spans 410 hectares and milks 1,000 cows in a 64-bail rotary shed, producing 444,593 kgs MS and aiming for 460,000 kgs MS in the upcoming season. The Riverton-Tuatapere area farms, spanning 1,000 hectares, milk 2,600 cows in two rotary and two herringbone sheds, predominantly Jersey cross. They produced 898,166 kgs MS and are targeting 980,000 kgs MS this season. “As the business we grew more staff including migrants from overseas have been employed looking for greener pastures, just as I did,” Michael says. He supervises 17 staff across these farms. Each farm has its own manager handling dayto-day operations, allowing Michael to focus on DAIRY PEOPLE » Omega Milk Ltd BALING SPECIALISTS 027 222 0991 Proud to support Omega Milk Ltd For all your agricultural aviation needs Call Sam on 027 367 3658 AVIATION FOR AGRICULTURE PHONE CRAIG: 027 210 4590 GENERAL EXCAVATING | LANE MAINTENANCE | TIP TRUCKS MUCK SPREADING | DRAINAGE AND SITE WORKS
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