We are converting our farm to dairy and are looking for the right person to run it from day one.
· 1,070 cows in the first season, with plans to build towards 1,200 cows
· 328 ha milking platform, predominantly pivot irrigated
· New 64-bail rotary
· Four-bedroom family home with attached granny flat
· Sheffield, 45 minutes (55 km) west of Christchurch Airport
We are open to appointing either a Contract Milker or a Farm Manager, depending on the experience and preference of the right person. The successful applicant will be responsible for the herd, staff and milking platform.
The herd will be predominantly crossbred and milked through a new 64-bail rotary with a Read milking plant, Protrack, automatic cup removers and in-shed feeding. The platform is mainly pivot irrigated, with 30 ha under travelling irrigators. Production is budgeted to reach 575,000 kg MS (480 kg MS/cow) at full herd numbers. All cows are wintered and all heifers grown out on-farm.
The right person will have a proven track record managing a large herd and team, along with good communication and leadership skills. You will be honest, organised and reliable, look after your team and animals well, and take the same pride in the farm that we do.
Accommodation is a warm four-bedroom, two-bathroom family home with a self-contained granny flat, on a large private section with mature trees and garden. It is a two-minute drive from the dairy shed, and there are new-build cottages for staff. The school bus runs to both the primary school in Sheffield, 4 km away, and Darfield High School.
While we have a long farming background, we are new to dairy and keen to learn. We want to work in partnership with someone we can learn from and build the farm alongside. We live on-farm and manage the 160 ha of run-off ourselves and are willing to help and support across the dairy platform when required. We are looking for a long-term working relationship with someone who wants to grow with the farm.