NZ Dairy
DAIRY PEOPLE » Jens & Min Wulff
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PHOTOS: Development work on Jens and Min Wulff’s dairy operation at Pyes Pa, where native bush is a feature. Calves feeding and helping hands ... and paws.
Passion dulled by compliance Sue Russell Jens Wulff has pretty much been farming all his life and, while his circumstances have changed somewhat during the 30-plus-year journey, he is as passionate about the industry today as he was when he began as a 17-year-old farm cadet. These days Jens and wife Min are happily settled on their 77-hectare run-off near Katikati, in the Bay of Plenty, while the main dairying operation is conducted out of a “very pretty” farm at Pyes Pa. “I have had several shifts,” Jens says, “mainly around the Waikato area, as I have progressed – sharemilking around Te Awamutu, five years in Cambridge at Whitehall before buying my first farm, a 99ha, 270-cow unit at Korakonui approximately halfway between Cambridge and Te Kuiti, which I farmed for 11 years.” Track forward to today and, after a change in direction, he is very much a Bay of Plenty farmer and enjoying every moment. He owns a 217ha farm that carries a sizeable chunk of native bush –
something he and Min gain a great deal of pleasure from. A contract milker now works and lives on the property. “We have just increased the farm by 12ha, having felled 15ha of pine trees. But the native bush is a real feature.” While no longer living on the dairy unit, the couple enjoy their plot near Katikati and welcome the young stock on the run-off. The dairy farm itself operates to a level 3-4 feeding system, bringing in additional feed during spring and autumn. There is no intention to evolve to a level 5 system, given the additional farm infrastructure this would demand and, as Jens puts it, “a whole new mindset this would involve”. The home dairy farm is positioned splendidly – 430 metres above sea-level and with views over Tauranga. The area is bounded by the Mamaku/Kaimai range and can often get very cold in winter. Grass growth stops dead in its tracks in July. Last season was the driest ever recorded on
“There is just so much administration of health and safety and other compliances, and this world is best suited to the younger farmer. “I do worry about the fact the rules that apply, apply to everyone regardless of the size of their operation and their years in farming. “I know instinctively, for instance, whether a paddock is safe to operate a tractor on. “I’ve learnt this from experience, and I worry that there are now so many rules applying that younger farmers these days can’t take any, so called risks.” While understanding the need for stringent health and safety rules on large-scale farms, which tend to employ new-to-the-industry farmers, he would wish that those who administer OSH compliances affecting farming practice could have some flexibility of approach within their structure. “The bureaucrats are taking the enjoyment of farming away from us now. “So much paperwork is demanded for compliance. We are now being forced to spend many more hours in the office on unproductive work.”
the farm, which resulted in production of 138,000 kilograms of milksolids rather than the usual 144,000kg or so. “I would like to think we can attain 150,000kgplus kilograms over the next four to five years,” says Wulff. We have the farm fairly well tapped out and the additional 12 hectares are coming in to play.” One hundred heifers, a mix of friesian and friesian cross, are being raised on the Katikati run-off, . For Jens Wulff, his dedication and love of farming comes down to a simple love of working with animals and being his own boss. He also gets a great deal of satisfaction from looking back and seeing the difference he has made to a property – tidying and prettying it up for the next owner. It is this stewardship of the land he values and respects. His only negative, he says, would be the lack of flexibility within the health and safety compliance side of life.
Diversity helps manage volatility • From page 4 1/30th part-share in the entire gated community, farm park farmlands and convenience amenities that cover about 57ha. “It’s a unique concept, allowing for the benefits of a rural lifestyle but without the pressures and hassle of manual farm work,” says John Washer. “Farmlands surrounding each house site will continue to be farmed as a commercial, dry-stock grazing block by a lessee professional farmer. “The notion of a farm park is based on the premise that those who live there govern themselves and work together as members of a management committee within the estate community.” Around half the sites have ! been sold and the
Washers lease the grazing block and run it on behalf of residents. Both John and Mary Washer agree dairying has been good to them. But they also say it has taken attention to detail and the dedication of good staff to bring everything together. “You can’t change the weather and you can’t change the payout, but you do the best you can on the day,” says John. “We have different income streams, but I couldn’t tell you which one will be the best this year. For example, I never thought I’d see bull beef that was 30% more per kilogram than a kilogram of milksolids. But that’s farming – it can be unpredictable and diversifying helps us to manage that unpredictability and volatility.”
John & Mary Washer Proud to be Ravensdown Working together Nutrient know-how for New Zealand 0800 100 123 www.ravensdown.co.nz
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