| 41 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Premier Dairies Ltd Carefully planned journey towards ownership Karen Phelps When Mandeep Kaur and husband Janamjot Singh Ghuman placed second in the sharefarmers category at the Southland/ Otago Share Farmer of the Year 2025 awards, it marked another milestone in their carefully planned journey towards farm ownership. But what sets this couple apart is not just their competitive success; it’s their complementary skills and shared vision for a future where both their professional ambitions can flourish. “Mandeep just loves cows, is passionate about farming and her goal is to have a farm,” says Janamjot. “She had pet cows in the last herd and misses the cows from that job. We kept some calves from those favourite cows and want to use them as the basis for the herd we plan to grow using sexed semen.” On their current contract milking role for Premier Dairies, 15 minutes from Invercargill, they’ve divided responsibilities to play to each other’s strengths. Mandeep manages the cows and dairy shed operations, including animal health and plant hygiene, and Janamjot oversees feed management and the farm’s overall operations across the 250-hectare effective property running 800 predominantly Friesian cows. With the farm achieving 413,000 kilograms of milk solids last year they’re aiming for 424,000 kilograms this season. The herd is milked through a 44-bail rotary with automatic cup removers. The division of labour reflects both current needs and future aspirations. “Our goal is for Mandeep to take more of a leading role on the farm. My goal is to do financial advising consulting, starting this year,” explains Janamjot. “It’s something I’ve always been passionate about. Premier Dairies is 15 minutes from Invercargill. I like to do numbers and plan and it’s something I thought I could really help people with.” His pathway towards financial consulting emerged from an unexpected source. Halfway through a psychology degree, Janamjot realised financial challenges were a major factor holding people back. This insight, combined with his analytical nature, has shaped his future business plans. The couple’s success at the awards wasn’t limited to their runner-up placing. They also claimed two merit awards: the Ecolab Total Farm Hygiene & Innovation Award and the LIC Animal Wellbeing, Recording and Productivity Award. “Mandeep keeps everything spotless in the shed and we try and find ways to make her job easier,” says Janamjot. “We are also in the process of creating an app where staff can access teaching videos we’ve recorded. The aim is to create efficiencies so we can plan to do a thorough training then staff can have it to review whenever they want.” The animal wellbeing award recognised their cow-centric approach. “We like to work around the cows and accommodate them in any way we can. For example, milking them at the times they are happy to be milked,” explains Janamjot. “We aim for ten hours between morning and afternoon milking to ensure adequate rest, with cows staying around the shed to avoid unnecessarily long walks.” Before he married Mandeep Janamjot won the 2019 Bay of Plenty Dairy Manager of the Year competition while working for Rex and Lesley Brown on their 65-hectare Te Puke farm milking 280 cows. After a year there, the couple moved to Southland, where they contract milked 450 cows for four years before taking on their current role. For all your Agricultural Engineering Needs Specialising in Dairy Shed & Yard Maintenance and Design Both bring international farming heritage to New Zealand dairying. Janamjot came from a cropping farm in India and holds qualifications including a Diploma in Applied Technology from the Wairakai Institute of Technology and Primary ITO National Certificates in Agriculture Level 4 and 5. Mandeep, whose parents were farmers in India, holds a Master’s Degree in Information Technology. The couple already own all machinery on the farm. Their next step is purchasing the herd, followed by buying a farm Mandeep can run while Janamjot pursues full-time financial advising and consulting.
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