| 63 nzdairy making the most of every opportunity DAIRY PEOPLE » Tania and John Burrows: Alpine Dairies The Canterbury couple are 50:50 sharemilkers on the 211-hectare Bealey Farm near Kirwee. For Tania and Johno Burrows winning the 2026 Fonterra and ASB First Farm Award is about much more than recognition for years of hard work. The Alpine Dairies owners see the award as another important step towards their ultimate goal of owning their own farm within the next 24 months. The Canterbury couple are 50:50 sharemilkers on the 211-hectare Bealey Farm near Kirwee where they are now in their third season. With a herd of 750 predominantly Friesian cows they produced just under 530kg of milksolids per cow last season and are aiming to match or better that result this season. For Johno, who has spent 23 years in the dairy industry and is dairy chair of North Canterbury Federated Farmers, the path to ownership has been about getting the basics right and making the most of every opportunity. “Winning this award is another tool that will help us get to where we want to go,” he says. “From where we are to farm ownership is a big leap so this will help us bridge a gap to get in. Also the networking and mentoring that’s come from it has been incredible.” The First Farm Award is a collaboration between ASB, Fonterra and the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Trust designed to help remove some of the barriers facing farmers wanting to make the transition into ownership. Each winner receives access to up to $1 million of ASB Business Term Lending fixed at 1 per cent per annum for three years and a Fonterra launch package including $20,000 of Farm Source account credit, mentoring and ongoing support. Johno comes from a long line of sheep and beef farmers but there was no family farm waiting for him to take over. He and Tania have instead built their position from scratch. The couple’s approach has been to concentrate on what they can control, developing a strong farming operation and steadily building equity and their experience. “We’ve built a fair bit of equity behind us with the current dairy boom,” explains Johno. FERTILISER SPREADING | FARM MAPPING GPS TRACKING | VARIABLE RATE SPREADING LIVESTOCK CARTAGE | DAILY FREIGHT CONCRETE SUPPLIES | GRAIN CARTAGE SHINGLE SUPPLIES | FERTILISER SUPPLIES Leeston: 03 3248 070 | Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz )((' 7+(,5 327(17,$/ 0LQHUDOV DQG IHHG IRU RQ IDUP KHDOWK DQG SHUIRUPDQFH 0,1(5$/6 :DWHU VROXEOH LQ IHHG PLQHUDOV 0LQHUDO SHOOHWV ORRVH OLFN 7UDQVLWLRQ PLQHUDO IRUPXODWLRQV )((' 4XDOLW\ SURGXFWV &RPSHWLWLYH SULFHV %DFNHG E\ VFLHQFH %OHQGHG IHHG GDLU\ SHOOHWV &RPPRGLWLHV VWUDLJKWV &$/) 1875,7,21 &DOI VWDUWHUV FDOI SHOOHWV &DOI PHDO PRUH %RRN \RXU )5(( RQ IDUP FRQVXOWDWLRQ RIILFH#KHDUWODQGIHHGV FR Q] www.heartlandfeeds.co.nz “Our herd has almost doubled in value. It’s just now about finding the right opportunity, the right farm to buy.” The farm’s unusual layout, resembling two squares meeting at a point, also requires good management. At Bealey Farm utilising technology is part of the couple’s strategy. The herd has Allflex collars. Johno oversees the day-to-day operation with a team of four. Tania also works on the farm and is contributing to the future of the wider dairy industry through her work with Dairy Training and the NextGen Dairy Farmers Programme. Their journey has not always been about reaching ownership as quickly as possible. Ten years ago, with three daughters growing up, the couple chose to prioritise family time over pursuing ownership at all costs. Their two older daughters are now studying at Lincoln University with only their youngest still at home. With the next stage of their journey firmly in sight, the couple are determined to extract as much value as possible from the award and already thinking about how to give back by creating stability in their own business, which will hopefully provide opportunities for others to reach their goal of farm ownership too. Karen Phelps
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