| 47 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Todd and Natasha Imeson Adapting to volatile weather, farming for resilience Kim Newth As the Northland region dairy chair of Federated Farmers, Todd Imeson is a voice and advocate for local farmers. Having that grassroots perspective on what’s happening in the local area is particularly useful when adverse events like big storms hit the region. He and wife Natasha have had plenty of frontline experience as dairy farmers in the upper reaches of the Hikurangi. When they first started share milking at Whakapara in 2014, they went through three floods in succession. “While we haven’t had any on that scale since then, we are now seeing large rain events coming through much more frequently,” observes Todd. “For example, in 2022, we had upwards of 30 floods of more than five hectares. When flooding happens that often, it’s challenging.” Todd says Federated Farmers’ networks really come to the fore when farmers need help, for example by providing assistance to source feed from other parts of the country, or engaging groups like Farmy Army to lend a hand. Todd and Natasha moved into farm ownership in 2019, buying their first Hikurangi property (80ha effective) in Jordan Valley, where they farm 200 autumn-calving cows. Then in 2022 they purchased the Whakapara farm (145ha) where they had previously worked as sharemilkers. This is now their family’s home farm, where they milk 400 to 430 cows. Natasha has long had a passion for breeding, picking bulls that suit their higher input production system. Their A2/A2 herd is in the top 5% for New Zealand (LIC), based on breeding values and production values; theirs are well above the national average. “Overall, I tend to pick for health more than production with a focus on bringing on cows that will stay longer in the herd - that gives us more opportunity to sell cows and make some money that way too,” says Natasha, who targets robustness in selecting on traits like somatic cell counts, udder scores and capacity. “We’re trying to minimise culling – it’s much better if you can sell your lower performing animals and that’s what we’ve been able to do over the last two years.” While the 2022/23 season was incredibly wet in Northland, Todd says 2024/25 was mostly much drier with just enough rain coming at the right time. “We achieved record production on both our farms – 115,000kgMS in Jordan Valley and 235,000kgMS on the home farm,” says Todd. Federated Farmers’ networks really come to the fore when farmers need help, for example by providing assistance to source feed from other parts of the country. “Most local farmers I talked to had record production too or were close to it. We’re slightly under that this year – it all depends on the weather.” The 2024/25 dream run ended in April when an atmospheric river swept in from the tropics. www.northlandfarm.co.nz NORTHLAND FARM SERVICES LLTD DESIGN / SUPPLY / SERVICE SOLUTIONS GLOBAL PUMP 106 Jervois St, Dargaville - Ph 09 439 4005 8 Proctor Road, Whangarei - Ph 09 438 3844 Proud to be supporters of Todd and Natasha Imeson Northland Farm Services Limited - Your local farm partner. Suppliers of Waikato Milking Systems and can provide expert advice and service on Effluent and Water systems. “It never really stopped raining after that - we went from drought to flood to mud.” Meanwhile, the couple and their farm team push on through, come rain or shine, and have recently finished another round of calving. “We only calve a handful at this time of year and it has all gone pretty well.” Todd says their son Lakelin, 11, loves the local calf club and has already won a couple of champion calf prizes. The couple’s daughter, Aayla, may soon be joining him, having turned five this year.
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