NZ Dairy Summer 2020

| 67 nz dairy Rotorua Ph 348 0627 CERTIFYING PLUMBERS, GASFITTERS & DRAINLAYERS Water Tanks & Filtration Repairs & Maintenance Renovations New Homes office@plumbermanrotorua.co.nz 490 Te Ngae Road, Rotorua I 07 345 8560 Mike Rogers 021 998 819 I Tony Johnston 021 349 816 I Jamie Lamont 021 905 458 www.piakotractors.co.nz Thank you for being a Piako Tractors customer. Proud to support Tawa Ridge Farms. Meal Feeds - Molasses Liquid Feeding Improving Peoples Life Styles COROHAWK ® Corohawk Proud to be Suppliers of Automated Feeding Systems for Chris Stevens Tawa Farms e: chris@corohawk.co.nz www.corohawk.co.nz 0800 763 555 ON FARM » Chris Haworth & Chris Stevens business built on hard graft, plan ning the bottom-line. There is the additional benefit of being able to sell surplus high-quality dairy replace- ments. “We always look at the whole business holisti- cally and are very conscious of the sustainability of our dairy footprint. We want this to be a 100 plus year business and that means small meaningful sustainable steps. “We are just in the process of completing our farm environmental plans and will look to enhance our farms by increased native plantings on our already native forested land.” “Keeping abreast of the compliance requirements for each farm is a top priority,” Chris explains. It has worked well, in the past to have clear roles and responsibilities between the couple, with Chris Stevens taking care of HR, animal records, compliance and staff welfare, leaving Chris Haworth to concentrate on business finance, pasture, capital works and machinery. “If you talk to anyone, they will say a successful farming business needs both partners involved, and we have a complimentary skill sets.” Ahead, keeping an eye on the evolving environ- mental compliance and the technology advance- ments will become more and more important and Chris is convinced that improvement in productivity and performance will come directly from concen- trating in these areas. Each season a minimum 10% of pasture is renewed through direct drilling rather than turning over the soil, given the impact of heavy rainfall on soil run-off. Until four years ago Chris was working in rural banking and now, full-time on the farms, he still finds time to have an interest in Fonterra, who they have supplied from its inception. “I think Fonterra is in a strong position to build again with their new strategy given the greater awareness and importance of quality nutrition and our primary driven economy. Dairy farms in New Zealand produce excellent food.” Asked for an opinion as to what currently mat- ters the most for the dairying sector Chris says its critical farmers become strong advocates for their industry and adopt new technologies. “We need to demonstrate what a great op- portunity farming is as a career and attract the next generation. The industry is investing heavily both on farm and in downstream manufacturing in sustainability and we need to tell this story as it is great news.” The couple have two sons James and Mathew, with James and his family returning to become an active part of the farming business, heralding the next generation of new thinking, something Chris welcomes. Mathew who lives in London is also becoming more integrally involved in the business’s govern- ance and operation. “We’ve been talking about succession. A farming business needs fresh thinking and new ways of doing things and both Chris and I welcome this next new phase in the journey of our business.” “The goal in our farming has always been to just keep on advancing and increase the size of the business. When you start out it is important to set goals guiding you to the next outcome and it is very satisfying to achieve them. We didn’t inherit a farm to begin however we did receive family money so to preserve this and build a farming business has been a priority with years of hard work and planning.” PHOTOS: Chris Haworth and farm manager Mark Jeynes check pasture growth; Staff from all four farms on a farm visit to Okoroire farm.