NZ Dairy Winter 2021

| 37 nz dairy DAIRY AWARDS » Reuben & Deb Connolly • from page 36 Discussion groups a key tool 2IC Leah Connolly with a new calf after a successfully assisted breech birth. Young Zoe Connolly helps out at calving. OTOROHANGA 9 Wahanui Crescent | 07 873 7089 24 / 7 EMERGENCY - PHONE 0800 843 838 OPENING HOURS: Mon - Fri 8am to 5pm Sat 9am to Midday Gallie Miles has built a reputation for the excellence of its legal services and its professional integrity. Agriculture is the backbone of New Zealand’s economy. We provide expert legal advice on all aspects of the rural sector. Gallie Miles are proud to congratulate Reuben & Deb Connolly on their continued success. 0800 872 0560 office@galliemiles.co.nz www.galliemiles.co.nz Kurt Dunn Director M 027 4436 878 | E kurt@kdelectrical.info 7 Lawrence St, Otorohanga | PO Box 42, T.A 3840 ELECTRICAL C O MM E R C I A L / R E S I D E N T I A L / R U R A L Farm Maintenance / Cowsheds New Homes / Alterations / Rewires “With the awards and networking opportunities we’ve gained we hope to find our next position for the 1st of June 2022. We’re looking for a sharemilk- ing position, lease farm, equity partnership or a combination of the above.” The couple’s dairy farming life together has been quite extraordinary. While Deb grew up on a dairy farm and is a quali- fied Early Childhood teacher, Reuben’s background was sheep and beef. Initially working on a drystock farm, when the couple looked at progression they could see there wasn’t the same ladder opportunities that existed for dairy. The Worsnops, Deb’s Uncle and Auntie, had just sold a dairy farm in Northland and invited Reuben and Deb to be 50/50 sharemilkers on a small 170- cow farm they had bought in Cambridge. “They took a huge leap of faith in us and pretty much left us to it,” says Deb. “It was hugely trust- ing and we really appreciate that. Reuben is a very good sheep and beef farmer and knew about pasture and animal health. But a lot of our dairy farm knowledge came from the DairyNZ discussion groups.” “We joined the Te Miro/Whitehall discussion group straight away,” adds Reuben. ”They’re a great bunch of people and gave us a huge amount of encouragement. Realistically it wasn’t easy and it was a huge learning curve. We worked a lot of long hard hours to make it happen.” After three years the Cambridge farm was sold and the couple went into equity partnership on the 110-hectare Otorohanga property milking 280 cows with the support of a full time 2IC. Both passionate about farming, the couple also leases Reuben’s parent’s sheep and beef farm 30 minutes down the road. “For us, we want to see more collaboration between the two industries,” says Reuben. Excited about the future of dairy farming, Deb says a lot of the progression now is around sustain- ability and profitability rather than making things more intensive. “It’s more around sustainability, the environment, the cows and the welfare of the people. For us it’s really exciting. There is a huge amount of advice freely available and DairyNZ is really onboard.” 40 Turongo St, Otorohanga 07 873 8673 www.pumpn.co.nz I am impressed with Pumpn’s Torpedo as it has a very low application rate which suits our heavy clay soils. We also nd it a hassle free and user friendly product Andrew Fraser - Dungraven Farms www.pumpn.co.nz