Glenn and Georgie’s story
Glenn van Heuven has always wanted to go dairy farming. “Growing up on the farm it is probably ingrained in you. I’ve always enjoyed farm life, driving tractors, the cows. I enjoy milking, it is quite therapeutic.”
His end goal is farm ownership, and he and his wife Georgie are working hard to meet this aim. They are currently 50:50 sharemilking a split-calving herd of 420 Friesian/Friesian cross cows in a system 5 on 100 hectares owned by Sid and Dellas Anderton. They run their youngstock off-farm on a lease block, along with some dairy grazers. Georgie works off farm at Rabobank which helps to support the farm business.
“What’s next for us is buying some land,” says Glenn. “We’d like to do something for ourselves, that is our end goal. We’ve diversified by purchasing two investment properties. They have helped us to build equity, which will hopefully help us on our path towards farm ownership.” Alongside their own investments, they are thinking about an equity partnership structure when the time for purchasing a farm arrives.
Why a smaller herd?
The van Heuvens would like a large enough property where they can milk enough cows to support a labour unit; they would also like to have the option of running bull beef, and their preference is to stay on the smaller milking herd end of the spectrum.
“If you stay smaller you know your cows individually, they are not just a number, you know their personality, they have their own identities.” Says Glenn. “The largest herd I milked was around 750 cows, and I didn’t enjoy being tied to the shed for hours in the morning and afternoon, there’s more to farming than being stuck in the cow shed.”
What have they gained from SMASH events?
Glenn is also a believer in the benefits of learning from and connecting with the wider industry, through attending off-farm events, like those run by SMASH, to grow their knowledge and build their chances of success. “It is worth going to SMASH events as they are something different to the events run by other organisations, the speakers are different, and if one doesn’t fit your needs the next one might. And there is a bloody good lunch at the end. The networking is another benefit, someone might know someone with a job. It is good to get out and about and see what other people are doing on farm; not every farm is the same and it is good to see what other people are up to.”
As they build up their experience, knowledge, and financial resources, the van Heuvens are keeping a close eye on the farms coming onto the market, so when the time comes they will be ready to move on to the next stage in their farming career.