4 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Shortland Farms: Rachel & Kenneth Short Organic farming a Rachel Short is an equity partnership with her parents and husband Kenneth on two generational dairy units, 13 kilometres apart, near Opunake. Richard Loader Having commenced the three-year journey to organic certi cation in 2015 coastal Taranaki farmers Rachel and Kenneth Short are now reaping the bene ts, saying they farm comparatively stress-free. “You do feel as though you’re ahead of the game,’ says Rachel. “We don’t have all the environmental compliance issues coming at us. We did our farm environment plan that we’re required to do through Fonterra but it was a tick box exercise for us because we were already doing so much as part of organic certi cation. “Social justice also comes into organic certi cation, so there’s the whole human resources side that’s all part of what we are doing. Right now, I don’t feel as though we have compliance issues coming at us, compared to many of our conventional counterparts.” Rachel and Kenneth are in equity partnership with Rachel’s parents on two generational dairy units 13 kilometres apart, near the small rural township of Opunake. Rachel and Kenneth are variable order sharemilkers on the 168-hectare farm, milking 400 cows while another variable sharemilker looks after the smaller 68-hectare farm, milking 200 cows. Both totally self-contained system one farms, Rachel says the transition to organic was more incremental from what they were already doing, but has delivered signi cant bene ts. “In 2017 Kenneth and I went to America on an organic study tour with Fonterra and that really connected us with organic farmers both in New Zealand and America. “There’s quite a good group of certi ed organic farmers around coastal Taranaki and many of them converted to organics twenty years ago. We started looking at some of those farms and how they were farming. It really aligned with our values and what we were trying to do. “ There were a few small changes to a few products and obviously we had to switch to biological fertilisers, but all-in-all the conversion wasn’t a major leap. The biggest change has been to our soil. We used to farm above ground and knew very little about the soils.” Farming organically, biologically or regeneratively, is about farming from the soils up to really understand the soil, Rachel explains. “We’re out on the farm digging holes and doing all sorts of soil/microbial/herbage testing so that we know what’s going on underneath the ground. As soon as you get that soil biology humming it lters straight through into the pasture, into the animals and the farms, which are looking magic now. “Regenerative farming and organic farming complement each other. You can be certi ed as an organic farmer and still farm ryegrass and clover. Whereas going regenerative is adding in the multispecies pastures and really understanding that biology going on beneath the ground. So, it has been a really positive journey for us.” Re ecting on the above ground bene ts of organic farming Rachel says animal health has been outstanding and a signi cant bene t. “We weighed the calves yesterday and I’ve never been able to put weight on calves like we can now, just with the multi-species pastures. The cows have never looked better. “When you’re organic, people ask what you treat your animals with. But you don’t actually have that many animals to treat because you’re in this totally preventative mode and once you get into that everything becomes so much easier. “There are challenges being organic certi ed though and you really have to throw yourself in at the deep end. We’re certifying to all our export markets so you have to understand what all those organic standards are. “We went to every organic discussion group there was, because there’s a huge amount to get your head around to start with. We’re starting to get into the permaculture side now and have someone coming around next week to help us draw a tree plan for the farm. We want to grow vertical fodder that doubles as shelter and feed.” A passionate farmer and a land girl by selfde nition, Rachel grew up in a family that lived and breathed farming and was positive about the industry. “It was probably very infectious. If you enjoy what you’re doing when you get up in the morning, it’s not a challenge. I think that success builds success too. When things start going well, you keep going in that upwards spiral.” “We’re out on the farm digging holes and doing all sorts of soil/ microbial/herbage testing so that we know what’s going on underneath the ground. As soon as you get that soil biology humming it lters straight through into the pasture, into the animals and the farms, which are looking magic now.” Proudtosupply&service ShortlandFarm’s equipment • Generators • Water Pumps • LawnCare • Bikes • Power equipment • Marine 169Gill Street, NewPlymouth 06 757 3612 www.hondahub.co.nz
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