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Profound results for Action Group focused on benchmarking and lifting performance

“Rather than regularly bringing subject matter experts in, our members opted to put their resources into the use of FARMAX. It has worked very well for them. There is so much horsepower in this group. The group has used its RMPP funding and they have decided to continue with the group and are now funding it themselves.”Group member Matt Buckley, who farms sheep, beef, and dairy, across five units and a total of 2,400 ha at Te Kuiti, says the impact of the group on his farm business has been ...

A resilient drystock farm in a piece of paradise

The Avery family is well known in agricultural communities in New Zealand for their positive, pragmatic and successful approach to farming through adversity. Doug and Wendy Avery run Resilient Farmer, comprising of books, workshops and seminars detailing their own journey battling the black dog, tough climatic conditions and industry regulations, whilst inspiring other farmers to grow the right mindset to run successful farms and healthy lives.Their son Fraser Avery now runs the family farm Bona...

Getting back in the game and coming home to the farm

Waikato dairy farmer Wayne Dickey came home to manage his family’s 90 hectare Manawaru dairy farm in 2010 after working as a builder for 18 years.It wasn’t the easiest transition having been ‘out of the game’ for a while, but four years on, Wayne is now the third generation Dickey to farm the land.Wayne said that while there is a lot to learn from family who have gone before him, it’s definitely not business as usual on the pretty farm nestled in the lush pastures beneath Mount Te Aroh...

FARMAX Accreditation leads to in-depth investigation

Laura Bunning is a farm systems consultant at Water Strategies based in Rangiora. Her role is all about supporting farmers, businesses and local government to protect their land and water and future-proof these assets.Being a FARMAX Elite Accredited Consultant certainly helps when it comes to getting a holistic picture of each farm and figuring out potential future pathways.Laura asserts that being Elite Accredited has been hugely beneficial, as it not only deepened her understanding of FARMAX b...

FARMAX contributes to sheep and beef business growth

For more than 100 years the Buddo family have run sheep and beef at Poukawa, south of Hastings at Kinburn Farm - profiting from quality soils and an intimate knowledge of summer dry farmingSince his great grandfather bought 232ha in 1912, Rob Buddo and his family have increased the farming business to its current 825 hectares (effective), wintering 13,000 hoggets and 900 cattle over five blocks, including three full-time staff.Growing the farmLooking back only six or seven years ago and Kinburn ...

Winning combination for continuous improvement

Putaruru dairy farmer Martin Bennett has been farming for 37 years. The Bennetts’ South Waikato farm comprises 128 effective hectares milking 390 cows producing 160,000kgMS per year.The farm employs a contract milker which is just as well because Bennett is also a farm consultant to seven dairy farmers located throughout the greater Waikato region. Bennett started consulting around four years ago when he was able to step back from some of the day-to-day responsibilities of his own farm.With mo...

Putting a farm on paper

AgResearch scientist Ronaldo Vibart is part of the organisation’s ‘Land and Environment’ group and works in a team called ‘Sustainable land use and global change.’The scientists in his group work across a number of disciplines including soil and land use, nutrient management, water quality, greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation, climate changes and adaptation, and environmental foot printing.“We analyse pastoral land use and land management in relation to environmental impacts and ...