Fonterra farmers place paramount importance on the health and wellbeing of their cows. After all, the milk they produce provides farmers’ livelihoods.
That philosophy is certainly at the heart of Shayne Carlson and Debbie van Asch’s 500ha Norsewood farm, where they milk 450 cows once a day.
“The more you care about your cows, the happier they are and the more milk they produce, which in turn means more profit,” says Debbie. “It’s a no brainer and it’s why we prioritise their wellbeing above everything else. We are passionate about what we do and dedicated to providing our customers with the best quality product.”
Before farming Debbie worked as an Artistic Stylist and managed hairdressing salons but she says the farming lifestyle can’t be beaten. “I love animals so to be surrounded by them and be outside is amazing. It’s hard work but it’s not a hard environment. It’s rewarding and if you do what you do well it’s enjoyable.”
Debbie’s main roles on farm are coordinating the running of the farm with her partner, Shane, working through the paperwork required to run a successful business and caring for calves through to weaning.
“We are careful to make sure all our animals, especially the little ones, don’t get stressed. For example, I don’t use dogs with the calves and they are reared in large paddocks with purpose-built shelters that face north to be warmer and provide shelter from the wind and the rain and shade from the sun when needed. Our calf paddocks are straight out from the farmhouse so I can easily keep an eye on them all. Any non-replacements Wagyu go to beef finishers when they are seven or eight days old. This way we don’t have bobby calves in our farming system and it’s a more ethical way to farm.”
Improving the image of farming is another priority for the couple and Debbie has started a farming blog and website to make it easier for people who are not from a farming background to understand what they do and why they do it.
“I want to make people more aware of how animals are looked after on a farm and what we do to also look after the environment. We minimise our waste, recycle what we can and stay aware of the things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. We have fenced off waterways and it’s important our water quality is excellent as it’s what we drink and our stock drink,” Debbie says. “We don’t buy in any feed and during winter, the cows are fed on silage, swede and kale. We know exactly what our cows are getting because we produce it on farm. All of our paddocks are regularly soil tested so we know just the right amount of nutrients the pasture needs. We just try to recreate what nature does better than we do and we’re actually outperforming some local organic farms in terms of sustainability.
“Our cows have an exceptionally low Somatic Cell Count and we rank in the top 4% for lowest cell count with Fonterra. This shows how happy and content our cows are and the great condition they are in. I made cheeses a few years ago and it was easy to make great tasting Brie, Mozzarella and Feta with our cows’ milk.”
Shayne and Debbie employ two full time staff and two more in spring, working on a five-days on, two-days off roster.
“We try hard to keep our staff happy and healthy. Farming can be draining physically and mentally so it’s important to give them a break and give regular feedback. A sense of humour helps too so we can have a laugh from time to time. Happy staff are hard-working staff.”
Debbie says one of the most vital parts of running a farm is to be proactive and not have “your head in the sand.”
“We do any required maintenance in winter and before spring go through and make sure we are set up with everything we need. Keeping the farm tidy is also important. We try to run the farm so we could have a shed inspection at the drop of a hat and it’s no problem.”
Find out more about their approach and read the Debbie’s blog at betterfarmingnz.com