Farmers who’ve stepped into contract milking for the first time this season should take time to celebrate the achievement and be wary of spending every waking minute on the farm.
That’s the advice from Danielle Hovmand and Sam Ebbett, two young Federated Farmers leaders with plenty of experience in contract milking. Danielle, who is Federated Farmers’ Waikato sharefarmer chair, says she’d get off the farm more often if she could re-do her first six months in contract milking.
“I took on a contract milking role that was reasonably far from my nearest town. You get really busy with calving and mating, and it’s easy to become consumed by what’s happening on the farm,” she says. “I finally got off the farm in November, going to Young Farmers’ events and discussion groups, and I thought to myself, ‘it would have been so much better if I’d done this earlier on’.”
Now 50/50 sharemilking near Morrinsville, Danielle says part of becoming self- employed as a contract milker means learning how to look after yourself. “You’re the boss now, so you have to be able to manage your time and know when to call it quits. That was quite a big learning curve for me.”
Sam, who is Federated Farmers’ national sharefarmer chair, says learning how to take a break was a challenge for him, too.
“Even though I had staff, I worked every day. You need to take time off-farm and not work every hour the sun is up.” Sam is contract milking near Inglewood in Taranaki and encourages new contract milkers to pat themselves on the back for ticking off a major career goal.
“If I could go back, after that first week, I’d probably sit back and congratulate myself because becoming a self-employed contract milker is a big step in your career. You’ve done all the hard work with your budgets and getting advice, and now you’re finally a contract milker come June 1. Stop and enjoy it – you’ve done it,” he says.
Both farmer leaders agree that learning to communicate well is crucial for new contract milkers.
“Communication is key. If something arises and you’re not happy with it, have a calm discussion and figure out a way to come to some sort of agreement and get through it,” Danielle says.
“Don’t let issues become a bigger problem because, when you do that, it starts to affect your day-to-day work.”
The pair also emphasise the importance of going into contract milking with a crystal-clear understanding of all the income and expense numbers.
“You have to make sure it’s viable. I recommend people use the DairyNZ Contract Milker Calculator. That will set you up really well and can prevent conflict and disappointment in the future,” Danielle says.
Sam encourages contract milkers – or any other farmers – to join Federated Farmers to gain heavily discounted industry-leading agreements.
“The Federated Farmers contract milking, sharefarming and employment agreements are the best you can get on the market.”
He says having access to the free advice line (0800 327 646) as a member is also really helpful once you’re employing people as a contract milker.
Article supplied by Federated Farmers.