62 | nzdairy Now the next generation of farmers are coming through. The company has some size in the industry which gives it economies of scale. “We definitely put our best foot forward, our reputation is hugely important.” “Fonterra has asked information from us and now they can present that to the markets and let them know we are top of class, Terry said. “It was work we were already doing so it was an added bonus,” Travis said. The first company, Camden Dairy Farms Ltd was formed in 1994 by brothers Leo and John Donkers to purchase and develop a dairy unit near Dunsandel. Milking began in August 1994 with 500 cows. Fast forward to 2025 Camden Group has four irrigated dairy units, two irrigated dairy support farms and have interests in two further dairy farms and a cultivation contractor. Alongside their people Terry believes the governance of the company is hugely important. “We the Directors are focused on having great people who are like minded and travelling in the same direction. They will question things and make sure solutions are fit for purpose. “We haven’t grown for the sake of growth. We will look review many options before we make the decision to buy a property and convert them. In one case, we looked at 25 properties before purchasing one.” The company has some size in the industry which gives them economies of scale. Travis is a firm believer in decision making that is going to be backed up by data. “You can get quite excited looking at a farm but it has to be calculated decision. “We always take a • from page 60 FERTILISER SPREADING | FARM MAPPING GPS TRACKING | VARIABLE RATE SPREADING LIVESTOCK CARTAGE | DAILY FREIGHT CONCRETE SUPPLIES | GRAIN CARTAGE SHINGLE SUPPLIES | FERTILISER SUPPLIES Leeston: 03 3248 070 | Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz 03 365 0881 admin@brownglass.co.nz www.brownglass.co.nz 1 i r l . . . r l . . Your Focus: Your Business... Our Focus: Your Business... Proudly supporting Camden Group Brown Glassford have a long history of providing specialist farm accounting and business advice to the rural community through a combination of experience, expertise, and a team of high quality staff. r l f r l i t r f r i i i li t f r ti si i t t r r l it t r i ti f ri , rti , t f i lit t ff. DAIRY PEOPLE » Camden Group cautious approach.” Farmers are very collaborative, Travis said. “Our fellow farmer isn’t a competitor. The information flow is there. If we can pass on knowledge or learn from them we definitely do.” Now the next generation of farmers are coming through, Travis said. “Our farmers are quite multi-cultural and after all these years we have partners that now have children who want to enter the workforce, so we have the next generation coming through “My own teenage children are looking at careers in the industry,” Terry added.
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