Interview with Matt and Claire Whittaker

Position: Contract Milkers

Location: Tatuanui, New Zealand

Date: November 13th, 2019

This week, I have the opportunity to see the ins and outs of a dairy farm in New Zealand. Dairy is a major part of the New Zealand economy. . It is also an extremely interesting time to be talking to farmers in New Zealand given the recent Zero Carbon Bill that passed a couple of weeks ago. Dinner table conversations range from farm policy and the future of their farm to daily life in New Zealand.

Why do you choose to be dairy farmers?

The outdoors, lifestyle, good for the family, and love of cows. We are contract milkers which means that we get paid a set rate per milk solid. So rather than getting paid based on how many liters the cows produce, we get paid for the quality based on the amount of protein and fat content in the milk. We are also lucky because we get to supply Tatua, a dairy co-op that makes specialty dairy ingredients and pays a higher price than other dairy co-ops.

What is your average day as a dairy farmer?

We are up at 4am for morning milking and then also milk in the evenings starting at around 3pm. Besides milking morning and evening, we are also feeding the cows, doing pasture maintenance, calving and more. The days are quite varied based on time of year. One day we will be fixing fences, the next applying fertilizer, and the next cleaning out the feeding pad.

What are the most important skills you have to have to be a dairy farmer in New Zealand?

The biggest thing with farming is understanding pasture management. You have to understand how to make the grass grow optimally. People think that farmers just put cows into a paddock and that is it, but there is a lot more to it. It’s based on weather, soil types and input management. You also have to know a fair bit about animal husbandry and how a cow works. A lot of the knowledge and skills you can learn as you go. 

Tell me more about your farm management and how you make sure that your farm is managed in the best way possible.

As dairy farmers, we have what is called a Farm Environment Plan that identifies ways to minimize environmental hazards on the farm. There are a number of practices that we employ to make sure that we are managing the land in the best way possible. Everything is fenced off so that there are never stock (cows) in the waterways. We also do riparian planting, which is planting along waterways to improve water quality and reduce runoff into streams and rivers. Additionally, we have an irrigation management plant to make sure that the irrigator is only spraying into paddocks. I spend, on average, about 30 minutes a day recording everything that is happening on the farm.

What will the new Zero Carbon Bill legislation in New Zealand mean for your dairy farm? 

Ultimately it will mean less cows, less feed and less money. We are all for sustainability but as farmers, we need an achievable plan. For example dropping the stocking rate by 10% is achievable but we need to be provided tools to help us implement changes to meet the targets set by legislation. We need actionable goals. It will be interesting to see where this goes. A lot of farms aren’t equipped to meet the goals outlined in the legislation. There is a lot of uncertainty. The legislation is making us change everything all at once instead of gradually. We just want actionable and achievable goals that we can implement on the farm. 

What do you want the urban consumer to know about dairy farming in New Zealand?

Like I said before we actually do care. We are doing everything on this farm that we can do to take care of the land, waterways and animals. The animals are my mates. I mean, you have to really enjoy this lifestyle and work to actually do it. You have to be passionate about it and love your moos. If you like cream, ice cream, yoghurt, milk then you need dairy farming.