Sheryl Haitana
Not going on to the family dairy farm has proven to be the biggest advantage in getting ahead on their own, Ethan and Sarah Koch say.
Both grew up on dairy farms in the Waikato, but the couple have gone out on their own to progress in the dairy industry.
The couple, both 28, are now sharemilking 200 cows at Onewhero and are the 2019 Auckland/Hauraki Share Farmers of the Year.
Ethan always wanted to be a dairy farmer but his parents encouraged him to get a trade first, so he trained and worked as a builder when he left school.
During the recession it was difficult to find work so as soon as he was qualified Ethan took a job as 2IC in 2012 milking 400 cows. He then managed 210 cows at Paeroa, where the couple saved Sarah’s entire salary for three years to be able to go sharemilking and skip the contract milking step.
“We have a combination of Swiss and Dutch genetics between us – we tightly manage our personal expenditure, to make faster equity gain, it’s a sacrifice but it’s worth it,” Ethan says.
Sarah studied a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in history, with a minor in agriculture through Waikato University.
With more job opportunities as an agriculture teacher Sarah has worked as an agriculture and horticulture secondary school teacher until having their first child, Levi, 20 months ago.
She now rears calves on the farm and works part time for NZQA writing and marking examinations. The couple are expecting their second child later this year.
They are still strict on their drawings and try to pay a lump sum off their debt every year on top of regular payments.
“We are both on the same page, that’s one of our strengths, we both know what’s going on in our business and both have the same goals,” Sarah says.
When they went sharemilking in 2016/17 it was a good year to buy cows because of the bleak payout forecast – which ended up at a good milk price. They bought the herd that was already on the farm. The large Holstein Friesians are good milk producers, but Ethan and Sarah are hoping to breed a slightly smaller-framed Friesian crossbred.
“We are very passionate about our cows and focused on genetic gain. We want to keep Friesians, but use some Kiwicross for some hybrid vigour,” Sarah says.
They only breed from their top cows and put the bottom 25% of the herd to short-gestation Herefords. They also have a zero bobby calf operation at the moment and make good money off their white-face Hereford calves and Friesian bulls, which they want to continue, she says.
“We make significant money off our calves which is an advantage as sharemilkers, and we have no bobby calves.”
Working for other farm owners rather than just with family has helped Ethan learn other ways of farming.
“We still have lots to learn, everyone does things differently, I found that an advantage rather than going on to the family farm,” he says.
Their long-term goal is farm ownership and one possibility would be to buy into one of their family farms.
“There is the option of buying into the family farm, but we don’t want to be close minded and think that’s our only option. It’s a possibility but it’s not definite.”
Their short-term goal is to get a larger 50/50 sharemilking position to grow equity.
“It’s about making the most of the opportunities that come our way,” Sarah says.
“We are both the oldest in our families – so we’re both a bit conservative. We are trying to put ourselves out there and take risks, to a certain extent,” Ethan says.
Ethan entered the award as a dairy trainee without placing and then the
couple were runners up in the share farmer competition last year.
They see entering and succeeding in the awards is a big part of improving their skills and helping them achieve their goals in the industry.
“It’s made us put ourselves out there – outside our comfort zones, we’ve identified our strengths and weaknesses and we’ve had external eyes
looking at our business.”
Having that independent critique of your business is invaluable, the couple say.
“The judges give you feedback on what’s realistic and what’s achievable. We now have a deeper understanding of our business,” Sarah says.
It helps to put a timeline on your progression plan rather than just having an idea of where you want to go. It helps to have a critiqued business plan to take to your bank manager or farm consultant to help you achieve your goals, Sarah says.
“We know what equity we need to have to get to where we want to be.”
Through the awards process they’ve also learnt to be better stewards of the land and have worked to fence off marginal land and plant riparian strips on their lease farm near to the milking platform.
The couple have come from developed, flatter land in the Waikato to a more difficult topography where they are farming. They have learnt more about effluent application on the flat to steep farm and about different soils.
They recycle all their silage wrap and anything they can from the farm dairy so were happy to win the Farm Environment Award.
“We like to think we will leave land in a better way than we found it,” Ethan says.
Ethan and Sarah were also happy to pick up the Farm Dairy Hygiene Award considering they milk in a 17-aside herringbone that was built in the 1970s.
The couple also picked up the Pasture Performance Award, the LIC Recording and Productivity Award and the Leadership Award. They are conveners for their local DairyNZ discussion group, are involved
with their local church, and charity events around the area.
SHARE FARMER MERIT AWARDS:
- DairyNZ Human Resources Award – Carl and Tracey Van Hellemond
- Ecolab Farm Dairy Hygiene Award – Ethan and Sarah Koch
- Federated Farmers Leadership Award – Ethan and Sarah Koch
- Honda Farm Safety, Health and Biosecurity Award – Carl and Tracey Van Hellemond
- LIC Recording and Productivity Award – Ethan and Sarah Koch
- Meridian Farm Environment Award – Ethan and Sarah Koch
- Ravensdown Pasture Performance Award – Ethan and Sarah Koch
- Westpac Business Performance Award – Carl and Tracey Van Hellemond
