| 91 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Zarnie Ferguson and Richard Willis Business partner William Richards (top), Zarnie Fergusson (below). A business that thrives under pressure Kim Bowden On her grandfather’s farm on the northern fringe of Auckland, Zarnie Fergusson and business partner William Richards run a 50/50 sharemilking business that thrives under pressure. As big-city developers edge closer, the farm’s days are numbered, forcing the pair to adopt a lean, smart approach. But they’re proving there’s still room for innovation – and profit - on land with an uncertain future. The arrangement began in a scramble three years ago, just two months before the start of the season, when Zarnie’s grandfather Keith Willis had no one lined up to milk on the family farm. “There was a huge panic for my grandfather,” Zarnie says. “Will was sharemilking on his father’s place up in Northland, in Hikurangi, with a small herd, and I was beef breeding on my own down in Kaukapakapa. I gave him a ring and said, ‘How do you fancy doubling your herd and adding on a breeding block for beef and joining me down here?’.” It was, she says, a “very, very hectic start”. “We had two months to organise everything and pull it all together.” Today, they’re running or leasing 460 hectares in total, with 124 hectares making up the dairy platform. They milk 300 predominantly Friesian cows and use the rest for wintering calves and beef rearing. “We keep all the white-face calves out of our herd and take them through to finishing,” Zarnie says. “That’s around 300 to 400 calves a year, which we either use as replacements or send to the works ourselves. We buy in some extras as well.” She still finds time for breeding too – focusing on low birth weight, easy-calving Hereford bulls. “We mate our own bulls over our dairy herd.” Zarnie’s great-grandparents broke in the land. She’s proud of that legacy, but realistic about what’s ahead. With property prices soaring and subdivisions pushing closer, farming here isn’t sustainable in the long term. For now, though, her 91-year-old grandfather is holding the line. “He tells me, ‘As long as I’m breathing, you’ll be milking,’” she says. The business operates on a shoestring. They started without overdrafts and avoid contractors where possible. “There’s a lot of DIY going on,” Zarnie says. “A lot of building our own loading ramps after Northland Farm Services Limited - Your local farm partner. Suppliers of Waikato Milking Systems and can provide expert advice and service on Effluent and Water systems. www.northlandfarm.co.nz NORTHLAND NORTHLAND FARM SERVICES LTD 106 Jervois St, Dargaville - Ph 09 439 4005 8 Proctor Road, Whangarei - Ph 09 438 3844 DESIGN / SUPPLY / SERVICE SOLUTIONS GLOBAL PUMP Proud to be supporters of Zarnie Ferguson and Richard Williams ripping down another shed to get materials - bits and pieces like that.” Their sharemilking contract is year-to-year, so they prioritise flexibility and stock value. “We work to always have the highest-value animals at any point in case we need to sell them suddenly.” Despite the pressure, they’re thriving - running a strategic, hands-on business they’re proud of. “We love what we do,” Zarnie says. “We may only have one more season ahead of us on this land, but that doesn’t take away from the joy of working it. We still have pet cows, and glorious days of sunshine after a week of cursing the rain - all the normal stuff you love about the place.” Zarnie sees their arrangement as a strong example of the kind of equity farming becoming more common across the country - where ownership looks less like inheritance and more like collaboration. “Neither of us could’ve afforded a step up like this on our own,” she says. “But we pooled what we had - our assets, our skills, our experience - and even if we split the company, we’ll both walk away in a better position than when we started.”
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