| 19 nzdairy DAIRY AWARDS » Oliver and Lauren Badcock Russell Fredric Contract Milkers Oliver and Lauren Badcock have landed on their feet after a circuitous journey from Cornwall to Kaiwera. The couple arrived in New Zealand in 2018 after working in Australia then returning to the United Kingdom for a time, hoping they would be able to find a pathway to progress that was not available to them in their home country. “We went to a conference back in Ireland in 2015 that basically showed us the hierarchy and progression pathway (in New Zealand) from farm assistant through to sharemilking.” They are contract milkers at Nithdale Station, owned by Andrew and Heather Tripp, about 15 minutes from Gore, in what they describe as a great situation with excellent prospects and a clear pathway for them to move up in the industry. However, it was far from plain sailing to get there. Among their challenges was Oliver having a serious motorbike accident in South Otago on another farm, difficulty finding a position that was in line with their goals and non-negotiables, plus having to deal with limitations around residency Rocky road to ‘right where we want to be’ which limited them to managing position roles for three years. They are now in their second season at Nithdale. “The journey to get here hasn’t been a straightforward one, but we wouldn’t change the challenges we’ve grown through. Right now we are exactly where we want to be. “The whole time that we’ve been managing we’ve been rearing stock alongside our jobs as a way of building equity. That’s what’s given us the drive to keep growing and trying to setourselves up for a 50/50 [herd ownership] position.” Nithdale’s dairy unit milks 850 Kiwicross cows through a well-equipped 54 bale rotary shed. Oliver and Lauren were named the Share Farmer of the Year runner-up in the 2024 Southland/Otago Dairy Industry Awards. They also received a merit leadership award as well as a health and safety award and are delighted their junior assistant, Samuel Walsh, was Trainee of the Year runner-up. “For us, that is a very proud moment because he came across from the UK back in June not knowing a great deal about grass systems. To enter the awards and become runner up, I think is huge kudos to him.” Part of the health and safety focus is limiting their staff to 50 hours a week. “It’s a tough industry and you can burn out very, very quickly. Rostered time off is a big thing that we want to promote because we are basically in competition with nine-to-five people. With the perks that we can offer, I think it’s a huge advantage dairy farmers can offer to anybody without any experience.” “We want them to enjoy that lifestyle.” Oliver and Lauren expect to be 50% sharemilkers in the 2026/27 season. To date, they have bought 100 cows which they lease back to Nithdale and are investing all of their available surplus into building a herd. “For every 100 cows that we buy we get 33 heifer calves at weaning and we pay for the grazing of those until they’re back into the herd.” Highly productive Suftex sheep bred for growth, meat yield, meat quality and survival Ph. 027 418 3423 Russell White Lauren and Oliver Badcock at the awards (inset) and with the Nithdale team. We are committed to delivering cost-e ective, friendly and e cient service throughout Southland & Otago. ROUND BALING • SQUARE BALING • CULTIVATION • DRILLING 022 646 1959 www.hargestagri.com
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