| 61 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Waitower Farms - Balmaine A year of firsts for young breeder Karen Phelps Proud to partner with Waitower Farms Office 06 278 0020 Steve Roylance 021 287 5335 Peter Laurence 027 252 2174 WilliamMoynihan 027 279 7099 CLAASHarvest Centre areproud tosupport Waitower Farms It’s been a year of ‘firsts’ for 19 year old Charlotte Stachurski: the first time she’s lived away from the dairy farm, the first time living in a city and the first time she didn’t show a pet Ayrshire calf at the shows. Charlotte’s in Palmerston North studying towards her Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree at Massey University before heading home to take the lead on the family farm. “It’s been hard for me to not be able to go to see the cows easily and give them a cuddle. But Mum and Dad are good at keeping me in the loop about what’s going on,” she says. The family’s farm is in Taranaki, owned by parents Robyn and Bernard. They are all staunch Ayrshire fans with the herd comprising around 200 Ayrshires and the balance 60 Holstein Friesians and 10 Milking Shorthorns. Charlotte has a handful of her own cows in the herd, which she plans to continue growing. Her cow Kiteroa Cream Perplex has had a couple of calves and she hopes to keep that line going, showing her daughter Persuade already. It was Charlotte who spearheaded the introduction of Milking Shorthorns into the herd: “When I was eight I had a Milking Shorthorn called Beatrice and she had a calf one year so I thought I may as well do a few more. About a year ago we bought half a dozen at the Milking Shorthorns dispersal sale. It’s more of an interest and we like longevity in our animals – 10-15 years – so the Shorthorns fit in with that. While a cow can pay itself off in five years you want a cow that can pay itself off and give a bit more. “The shorthorns also stick to the hills better and get on with it. They are good foragers on more marginal land. The Ayrshires at still the best though and we won’t shift from that belief,” she says with a laugh. Last year Charlotte went to Australia for the World Ayrshire Federation International Youth Tour and found she was one of many females on the tour with just one male participant signifying a strong next generation of female leaders in the industry. Charlotte was the youngest participant by about three years and says she learned a lot. “At high school I was always the weird girl who liked cows so it was nice to be with women who are just as committed to their animals and the industry as I am.” She says because the other participants had completed their degrees and were working on farms she has found them useful mentors, especially concerning breeding. “In the tour it was definitely cool seeing the different breeding ideas from other places in the world. Also quite often the bulls have been proven overseas first before the genetics get to New Zealand so I can ask them how things have gone in their countries to get an idea of what to use in my herd.” Charlotte has three siblings: Grace, 18, who is in her last year of high school; Joe, 16, who is looking at heading into the workforce and Sam, 15, who is also at high school. “Mum and Dad believe that we have to get a trade or degree before we come back to the farm as it future proofs us. It’s definitely motivating me as I study having the long term goal to come back home.” It’s been a year of ‘firsts’ for 19 year old Charlotte Stachurski.
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