62 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Gary and Jess Omlo Tania and John Burrows: Alpine Dairies Emma Bailey Offer on the table Tania and John Karen Phelps Jess and Gary Omlo. Johno and Tania Burrows are the perfect recipients for the 2026 Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award. The preferred milking systems partner for Dairy Farmers Ph 0800 577 583 | www.morrisonagri.co.nz Proud to support Tania & Johno Burrows Milking Machines Rotary Platforms Engineering Pumping & Plumbing Chemical FERTILISER SPREADING | FARM MAPPING GPS TRACKING | VARIABLE RATE SPREADING LIVESTOCK CARTAGE | DAILY FREIGHT CONCRETE SUPPLIES | GRAIN CARTAGE SHINGLE SUPPLIES | FERTILISER SUPPLIES Leeston: 03 3248 070 | Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz TRANSPORT LIMITED • Stock Feed - PKE, Cereal grains, baleage, hay • Lime / Fertiliser • General Freight for a competitive quote! Contact Guy 027 297 7455 Proudly Supporting Gary and Jess Omlo P: 03 547 3276 • Servicing all types of milking systems • Mobile Shop 24 HOUR SALES & SERVICE The production target is 160,000kg of milk solids with technology playing an increasingly important role in achieving production from its demanding landscape. Halter and virtual fencing allow the couple to manage cows across the hills and make better use of available feed. The farm also has a 54bale rotary shed with a new plant and ACRs. A nearby run-off block, about 300m from the main farm, has also helped increase the property’s potential, while 70ha is currently irrigated from a dam built when the property was first converted to dairy. The farm owners are looking at installing 20ha of fixed-grid irrigation to make water use more efficient. “With fixed grid we can know every square inch of the paddock will get water. It should be help us grow more grass and use the water we have better,” says Gary. That precision will be particularly valuable on a farm where the hills can dry out quickly. The strategy is to grow and conserve as much feed as possible from September through to Christmas and irrigating as efficiently as conditions allow. Both Gary and Jess work full-time on the farm, supported by full-time staff member Talia Manson, who they credit their milk quality and exceptional start to the season, and casual farmworker Aileigh Barker. Local teenager Ben Stokes, 14, has also become a valued member of the team after approaching the couple for work experience before they even took over the contract. “He become a valuable member of the team,” says Gary. “He’s a really hard worker, which is good to see. Jess and I believe the key to success is having a great team behind us in Talia, Ben and Aileigh. Gary, who is the Federated Farmers Dairy rep for the region, began his working life as a butcher before spending several years in forestry, eventually following his ambition of becoming a dairy farmer. He spent 13 seasons at Sherry Farm, beginning as a junior assistant. Jess grew up around her family’s sheep-shearing business before making the transition to dairy farming and completing her AI apprenticeship. “We’ve been very lucky to have great proactive farm owners to work for throughout our careers,” says Gary, “who want to see their farms reach their full potential.” Having worked their way up from nothing to farm ownership without any financial assistance, Johno and Tania Burrows are the perfect recipients for the 2026 Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award. Their win was announced on May 9, in Rotorua at the 2026 NZ Dairy Industry Awards. The couple were one of three winning farming couples. Each winner receives up to $1 million of ASB business term lending fixed at 1 per cent per annum for three years, along with a Fonterra launch package that includes $20,000 of Farm Source account credit and mentoring to help them successfully transition into ownership. Judges said the winners were an example to everyone of what can be achieved in the dairy industry. “All of the finalists are first-generation farmers with no family farm backing and they are all on the verge of being able to buy their own dairy farm.” The Burrows were “stoked” with the win. “We were really happy; the competition was pretty tight with the other people that were there. Going into the awards we weren’t confident,” Johno said. “We had to show how we had got to a position where we could buy a farm.” Tania added. The couple embody the spirit of the award having started from the bottom with nothing and working their way up. “I’ve been farming since I was 17 and I’m 40 now,” Johno said. “We have slowly worked our way up through the different categories. The first farm I worked on was as a relief milker in the Waikato, I ended up going to Aussie for four years then back to the Waikato for six years managing.” The couple then moved down to Oamaru into an equity partnership. They are currently based in Kirwee, west of Christchurch. “We share milk 750 cows on 211 hectares on a 40 aside herringbone. We employ four full time staff with extra labour over spring,” Tania said. “It’s quite a labour intensive farm and we are always pushing to get higher production.” The couple look forward to the sense of stability owning a farm will offer them and their three children who are 20, 17 and 13. “The farm sales market is pretty crazy right now with dairy and agriculture on a high,” Johno said. “It will just be amazing to be in our own house and have our own space. The two eldest are off finding their way in the world but it will be great to create a family base. It has been a long term dream to get here. ” Tania looks forward to being permanently in one area and to get to know the community. The couple are thankful for the lifestyle they have had farming. “What we always say about dairy farming is there is a lot of flexibility around time, we’ve never missed a school camp and we have always been able to be home after school every day for the kids. “We haven’t been fortunate enough to have a family farm to build on so we have had to make farm ownership happen ourselves.” For Gary and Jess Omlo the cows they are milking on a challenging Dovedale dairy farm could become the key to taking the next step towards farm ownership. The couple took over the contract milking job in March 2025 and are now considering the opportunity to buy the herd with the longer-term prospect of progressing to share farming. The offer is on the table, provided both the Omlos and farm owners Dave and Bronnie Hardy are happy to take that next step. “Cows are a pathway to farm ownership,” says Gary. “To buy the cows we are essentially buying an asset and equity to enable us to take the next step after that as well.” The 156ha effective property is no ordinary dairy operation. Roughly a third is flat, a third rolling and a third very steep, making pasture management and stock handling particularly important. “When you show people this place they think, ‘do you really milk cows off that?’” says Gary with a laugh. Gary had watched the property operate as a dairy farm when it was owned by the farm owners Gary worked for at a previous contract milking position. It was then sold to the Hardys, who are stock agents, and operated as a drystock property for two seasons. The Hardys then converted it back to dairy and it is now in its second season as a dairy farm. “They saw it had potential as a dairy farm and have been very proactive about putting the right tools in place so it can be productive,” explains Gary. The Omlos are wintering about 400 cows and are aiming to peak milk around 390. With the steep terrain limiting the size of animals that can be comfortably managed, the couple is working towards a crossbred herd.
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