| 51 nzdairy Proud history in Toko Fisher legacy lives on Nicki Woodlock Randall Johnston GFJ Farms Ltd. dairy farm - currently owned by Greg and Fiona Jones has been awarded a Century Farm Award. The Century Farm and Station Awards programme, aims to capture and preserve rural history in New Zealand, which might otherwise be lost over the generations. New Zealand farming families who have owned and worked their land for 100 years or more, can apply for a Century Farm award. Greg and Fiona Jones applied for a Century Farm Award to acknowledge and celebrate over a century of the Jones family’s farm ownership and achievements. The original intention was to celebrate this milestone with Greg’s father, Colin, but unfortunately, that was not to be. GFJ Farms Ltd., situated in Toko near Stratford, New Zealand, has a rich history dating back to its founding in 1909 by Evan Jones. The farm has remained within the Jones family for generations, with stewardship passing from Evan to William (known as Jack), then to Colin, and currently to Greg Jones. Greg’s second-eldest daughter, Jessica, is actively involved in the farm’s operations and is poised to continue the family’s legacy in the future. In 2008, Greg and Fiona acquired the family farm from Greg’s parents, Colin and Trish. Located in Toko, just outside of Stratford in central Taranaki, the farm spans 87 effective hectares. It is home to a herd of Jersey cows, along with some Friesian crosses. The farm winters approximately 290 cows, Cambridge-based dairy farmers John and Margaret Fisher of J&M Fisher Trust and his forebears were recognised at the Century Farms Awards in Lawrence in May. They travelled to Otago along with John’s sister Suzanne and her husband Peter for the occasion. “It’s a pretty great thing for us to be around to witness, the amount of work that gone in before my time is pretty incredible.” John himself has been on the farm since he was four years old, when his father took over from his grandfather. “It was a dairy farm back then too so while things have evolved a lot over the years the main focus of the business has remained the same really,” he explains. “It was actually two properties but we purchased my parents part in 2001 and then the other part we added on just a couple of years ago and that brought up to 140ha effective. It’s all pretty flat too so most of it is productive land.” Water is sourced from a number of wells and a spring at the rear of the farm that provides good clean water. The herd now consists of about 420 Friesiancross dairy cows. They produce about 205,000 kgs/MS per year, twice a day milking in a 30-aside Herringbone. “My father was running a Friesian-Jersey cross, I’ve steered it more towards the Friesian-dominant traits over the years I would say.” There is a contract milkier in place on the dairy farm, who also has a full timer and a part-timer assisting. They grow 10ha of maize and some chicory as well, which helps to bring the brought-in feed costs down. John and Margaret have two sons who are both based overseas and work as accountants and a daughter, who lives on farm and is passionate about breeding horses (and does that on part of the farm) and show jumping. John and Margaret (who also works as an accountant) now also have a 160ha dry-stock property about 30 kilometers away with dry cows, some dairy beef bulls and about 700 deer and they have a dedicated manager in place there. They supply their beef produce to AFFCO. “We got into the deer for the first time about 2015. We are predominantly velveting, so there was Greg’s dad Colin and Daughter Jessica enjoying a day off farm. The homestead. and the milk produced is supplied to Fonterra, contributing to dairy products distributed in global markets. When Evan Jones first acquired the land in 1909, it was largely swampy, covered in native bush and undeveloped. To transform it into productive farmland, he drained the soil and cleared native trees to create open paddocks suitable for agriculture. Each subsequent generation of the Jones family has built upon this, continually enhancing and improving the farm’s productivity and sustainability. The farm has transformed over the century.The original property was 149 acres with a walk-through dairy shed that was updated to a 22bale rotary in 1971. When Jack inherited the property, his brother also acquired an adjacent farm. In the late 1990s, Greg’s father, Colin, purchased this neighboring land from his cousin, expanding the original farm’s footprint. This expansion facilitated further modernization, leading to the construction of a 36-bale rotary shed with cup removers in 2004, enhancing milking processes and productivity. Greg states: “When my parents first married they had 120 cows on 59 hectares in 1965. We now have 300 cows on 87 hectares. We’ve grown and improved the farm, improved production and lowered costs. We’ve made it more productive and profitable”. Over the years the Jones family farm has produced more than dairy. In 1933, Evan won the World’s Record Crop of Mangolds as well as awards for swedes in 1927 and 1930, and Jack won an award for mangolds in 1935. Regarding what the Jones’ love about farming Greg states: “I love the fact that I don’t need to answer to too many people. I’m my own boss”. Fiona states: “We see what we do. We’re looking after the animals and the land. It’s very tangible. We’re making something”. Looking forward Greg muses: “I’m trying to step back from milking cows. We’re trying to set things up for Jessica to continue the family tradition and legacy. She’s quite an animal lover and has names for the cows”. New Zealand Century Farm and Station Awards » GFJ Farms / J&M Fisher Trust FARMSOURCE STRATFORD 3872B Mountain Road, Stratford 06 765 5348 027 376 1371 Nzfss.stratford@fonterra.com Weekdays: 8.00am - 5.00pm Saturdays: 9.00am - 12.00pm nzfarmsource.co.nz “Ongoing research & development results in superior products & performance advantages including; more yield, faster milking, no slip and no teat end damage.” Modern, energetic & locally connected Specialises in: • Trusts, estates & succession planning • Property, subdivision & rural law • Agricultural leasing & disputes With deep roots in the farming sector, we deliver trusted, practical advice tailored to the needs of rural New Zealand. Experience you can rely on. Legal Experts for Rural Communities Call us now on 07 838 3109 www.osheaslaw.co.nz a bit to learn initially,” John explains. The Fishers are also equity partners in Koromiko Grazing situated in the Waipa valley where their replacement Dairy heifers are grown. History The Fisher family arrived from Ayrshire, Scotland aboard the Lord Burleigh in 1856. The Honourable John Fisher purchased 430 acres at Monavale, Cambridge in 1891 with the intent that his two eldest sons, John Scott and Robert Dugald would break in the land and farm it. The land was later sold to the brothers and five generations of the Fisher family have lived and worked this land to the present date. The land was covered in tea tree, fern and bush. The first crops grown were oats for grain which was sold to Winstones and barged down the Waikato River to Auckland. Wheat was stacked into beehive type stacks designed to allow the moisture to run off. Chaff from the grain was used to feed the sixhorse team that ploughed and cleared the land. The family ran house dairy cows along with raising pigs and poultry in the early years. In the early 1900s the farm transitioned to Shorthorn cattle as a dual-purpose breed producing milk and meat. The farm focus had changed from growing oats due partly to problems with weeds and fire blight disease in those crops. Milk was transported to the Monavale Dairy factory in cream cans. The cows were hand milked until the Fishers became one of the first in the district to purchase a milking machine. 1951 saw the first milk tanker collection. The next generation worked in partnership, with Ian (John Scott’s second son) passing the baton on to his son, Peter with his son, John continuing the family legacy. The farm over the years transitioned to Jersey dairy cattle with current dairy farm stocked with Friesian Cross cows. The farm now works on a split calving system with Autumn and Spring calving running 440 cows. The farm is run by John and owned by a family trust.
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