48 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Scott and Ann Henderson ‘When it went unconditional; it was a dream come true’ Virginia Wright Scott and Ann Henderson have had the clear goal of owning their own farm since they started their first job as dairy workers 14 years ago. By 2023 they were 50/50 sharemilking 800 cows on the 490-hectare effective farm just out of Milton where they spent nine years, and last year that goal became an active search for the right farm to buy. “We knew what we were looking for,” says Scott. “We wanted something that ticked at least three of our five boxes and thought we’d have a go but we knew the market was hot and we couldn’t do it ourselves so it wouldn’t be easy. We’d been working with Jackie Jones from Aspire Agribusiness for a few years and with her help we found two equity investors to go into partnership with to make it happen.” Location was key: they wanted a farm where they could milk at least 500 cows, in Southland with its consistently annual rainfall of a metre or more, and which offered easier terrain than the rolling to steep they’d been working with previously; somewhere close to good schools which had good housing. Just as importantly they wanted “a farm well enough set up that it was ready to go but also where we could add our own stamp when we got there,” says Ann. They weren’t particularly confident when they put their first offer on the 249 h/a farm that ticked the boxes in Hedgehope, then everything happened at once. “When it went unconditional it was a dream come true,” says Ann. “It was an extremely busy week, our son Blake was born six days later.” In June 2026 the Henderson family moved from Milton, where they started as two and left as four, to their new farm about 15 minutes north of Winton in Southland. It’s a self-contained 54-bale rotary dairy farm with different soil types. The farm has lots of character to it, we didn’t want a flat farm so this is perfect with a gentle roll all over it,” Scott says. Our herd is fully A2 so we decided to supply our milk to Mataura Valley. They pay a premium for A2 milk so it made sense.” The couple have taken one staff member and his family from Milton to the new farm with them and have employed one new one as well. “We are very excited to have our team on farm with us” says Scott. They’re budgeting on 510kgs milk solids per cow a year. They’re going to feed them around a ton of dry matter per cow in the shed and Southland grows a lot more grass then on their previous farm so they believe all these factors will help them to reach their production goals. It’s a dream come true for the Hendersons, after years of hard work. www . w i l k i n s f a rmi ng . c o . n z FOR MORE INFO For pricing & contracts: 03 201 6246 or 027 249 9317 GRAIN, BLENDS AND CUSTOM STOCKFEED PROUDLY SUPPORTING SCOTT & ANN HENDERSON Covering Otago & Southland 0800 227 226 www.advance-agriculture.co.nz Proud to support Scott & Ann Henderson Specialist Suppliers of Agricultural Chemical, Seed, Spray Equipment & GPS Precision Ag They plan over the coming years to add more infrastructure to enable them to milk for longer in the season, increase production, and put their own stamp on the farm. For now they’re taking it day by day as they start to understand the farm. In the meantime seven month-old baby Blake is keeping them busy as they settle into their new home in good time for their almost four-year old daughter Mackenzie to start at the local primary school next year. It’s a dream come true for the Hendersons. After years of hard work they’re establishing themselves on farm knowing they have somewhere they can really call home. “We’d been working with Jackie Jones from Aspire Agribusiness for a few years and with her help we found two equity investors to go into partnership with to make it happen.”
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