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DAIRY PEOPLE » Waibury Farms
NZ Dairy
Strong business model for Waibury working well • From page 59 average 476 milk solids per cow and approximately 1700 milk solids peer effective ha. An achievement Mark and the team at Waibury are very proud of given the reduction in inputs due to the current economic climate. Mark’s roles as managing director of the group is to maintain constant communication and give support to each farm’s equity manager, drawing on his own farminwwg background, and to report to his fellow board members and also to the wider 11 owner groups. It’s a role he relishes, visiting each farm monthly to discuss current performance and identify future issues that may impact on productivity and economic performance. “When I visit each farm my discussion are at a higher level than the day to day operation issues but I do drill down to cover off specific situations as required. “These managers are all highly successful operators in their own right. “By virtue of the fact that the manager has a financial stake in the farm they consider the farm is theirs as well and this makes a huge difference in terms of how we engage with each other,” says Mark. It is remarkable that a group of unrelated farming investors have stuck together for over 16 years. “It is all about our investment philosophy of dealing with investors and with the farm operators fairly and with integrity to settle anxiety and maintain alignment of what we are here for. The board ultimately makes the call as to how and when it will invest further in any single farm, or in another property, but there is a huge amount of transparency in our reporting to investors and in our communication with our equity managers.” The operational management of Waibury is run through Total Management Services Limited made up of Mark Holland and Bill Donaldson, who has also been involved with Waibury sinces its formation. The purpose of this vehicle is to not only maintain the operational excellent of Waibury but also assist operations that hold similar aspirations as Waibury. Their collective expertise can assist other farmers in New Zealand to improve profitability, join venture options, through to succession planning.
Waibury’s farms are all situated in the flat and highly fertile Amuri basin and range in size from 243 to 358 hectares, with herds ranging from 830 to 1180 cows.
Waibury Farms.
Phone Johnny 027 446 1318
OPEN 10AM — 9PM 7 DAYS Proud to support Waibury Farms 150 Ashworths Road, Amberley, New Zealand claire@copperroad.co.nz | +64 (0) 3 314 8030
03 374 9999 | info@tp.co.nz | www.tp.co.nz
ur expertise is national