With a lifetime of experience behind him, Terry knows a thing or two about milk quality, and he's spent two decades helping farmers get the most from their herds.
- People and community
- Support Services
Article
Get to know Terry Playle - Milk Quality Manager
- People and community
- Support Services
15 Oct 2026
4 min read
I grew up on a dairy farm in Te Kawa in South Waikato, but Dad wasn't keen on us kids following in his footsteps because it was a tough time for farming with the loss of subsidies and EU market access. His thought was if you get a public service job you'll be set for life.
Dad eventually sold the farm, and I ended up working as a MAF meat inspector at the Horotiu freezing works where I stayed for 16 years. I still kept a connection to farming by doing relief milking and helping on my cousin's farm which I enjoyed and was good pocket money.
From there, a job came up as a dairy inspector at QCONZ, or MAF as it was back then, and I thought, "right, I could do that." So began my next nine-year stint.
Then in 2004, I moved into my current role which I've been in ever since.
Although I'm doing the same job, it's evolved so much over the years which has kept things interesting – I think you might go crazy if you were doing completely the same job for 20+ years.
Having that background in the industry has set me up well for this role because you can't fob your way through knowing something about farming. Yes, you can learn, but it's a heck of a lot easier, particularly in conversations with farmers, if you have some level of experience.
These days, I work with farmers across the Waikato region, alongside our Co-op Business Partners, Associates and Sustainable Dairying Advisors, helping them with consults on improving somatic cell counts and milking efficiency on farm.
Summer is usually a bit kinder when it comes to infections that drive cell counts up, unlike calving when mud and wet conditions can cause more problems. In saying that, with more unpredictable weather patterns happening, that's not always the case.
Aside from that, the challenges and opportunities are pretty consistent year-round and I like to take a holistic view across the whole season. That might mean checking the teat spray mix rate and coverage is right, making better use of herd test and milk sampling records already on farm, or looking at ways to reduce overmilking and improving teat condition.
I don't only work with farmers with problems either. Plenty of farmers already have low cell counts but still want to do better, and I'm happy to offer suggestions. In fact, I learn a lot from the progressive farmers out there too, so it's a two-way street.
In saying that, some farmers don't realise that these visits are available and they cost nothing, which is lucky for me because I could never be a salesman. I'd worry too much about the bill.
I am so lucky with the job I have. If someone told me 10 years ago that I'd be putting on an apron and a pair of overalls for milkings, and sitting down for consults with farmers, I'd have thought, "really?"
But I love it. I could never work in an office all day, so I enjoy getting out on-farm. More often than not, I'm simply offering suggestions for improvement. But every now and then, I'm able to pull a bunny out of a hat and say, "look I think we've really got something here that could be key to your problems."
For support improving your milk quality, pop into your local Farm Source store or book an on-farm visit at nzfarmsource.co.nz/milk
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