How the Ramsays climbed the ladder to farm ownership

Everyone’s journey to buying a farm is unique. For Gregor and Lynne Ramsay, it’s come after more than a decade of hard work.

Arriving in New Zealand from Scotland for a working holiday back in 2010, Gregor Ramsay probably had no idea that journey would eventually lead to owning a farm near Gore, but one season spent working on dairy farms in Southland sparked a love for both the industry and the area.

“I went back to Scotland after that year was over and actually got very homesick for New Zealand,” Gregor says, so after a few years working for a dairy co-operative in Scotland, Gregor returned, this time with his soon-to-be wife, Lynne. The couple arrived in New Zealand in January 2015 and ended up managing a small farm while they both juggled fulltime jobs – Lynne as a meat inspector, and Gregor as an Area Manager for Fonterra.

They were both still in fulltime work when they took on their first sharemilking job on a small farm with 140 jersey cows. They juggled those day jobs and running the farm until Lynne was due to have their first child, choosing to then become fulltime farmers.

Seven seasons of sharemilking and two more children later, the couple are now getting ready to move from Riverton to just outside Gore – where a farm of their own awaits.

Making the numbers work

Gregor says he and Lynne made good use of the advisors around them on the road to becoming farm owners, including their accountant, their bank manager and their Fonterra support team. Tools like the Co-op’s Flexible Shareholding and Price Risk Management Service were also critical to the Ramsays’ path to farm ownership.

“Your first farm is always the most expensive, so you need to be able to lean on these tools and services that are available,” Gregor says. He says the Co-op’s new ‘3+3’ share transition path (where new Fonterra farmers begin with the minimum 1,000 shares and then have the flexibility to defer additional share purchases for the following two seasons) was appealing and the couple were weighing up whether to switch from their current transition option.

“Our first three years on our new farm, we have some pretty strict banking parameters to meet, so not having to shell out for any more than 1,000 shares to start with is going to be very attractive,” Gregor says.

“But we still want to be on that pathway to share up; it’s important to us – we’re not trying to kick the stone along the road.”

A Co-op tool the Ramsays have already made use of is the Price Risk Management Service, specifically the Fixed Milk Price for next season.

“We had to make sure that the numbers worked at a certain price point [to satisfy the bank],” Gregor says. “When the Fixed Milk Price for next season was well above that, we decided now would be a really good time to utilise being a Fonterra shareholder and apply this tool.”

The couple locked in a portion of their projected milk production for 2026/27 at a Fixed Milk Price, which Gregor said was fantastic as a new farm owner.

“I can sleep at night now knowing that for next season [that part of our milk production] is fixed at that price. If it goes above that, I'm even happier. I'm very pleased that Fonterra offers this; it's so straightforward. The bank’s happy, we’re happy and we’re definitely proud to be able to have Fonterra as a major component of our future success.”

Leaning on other support

Like most journeys to farm ownership, the Ramsays one has not been without its challenges. One of those was the choice to farm at a smaller scale. The Ramsays plan to run 200 cows on their new 70-hectare farm.

“We always wanted to stay in that smaller bracket. It allows us to both be on the farm, but also if one of us has to be away for a day or a weekend with the kids, then it's not too onerous on the other person.”

Gregor says he and Lynne have also been very prudent in how they operate, aiming to maximise production per cow.

“We might be smaller numbers, but we punch above our weight in terms of the overall production So that's how we've tried to overcome a few of these boundaries we've set ourselves.”

Another challenge comes from being on the other side of the world from their families. It means the Ramsays have had no extra help with their brood of boys, now aged five, four and two.

“We're trying to balance growing a farming business and growing a family at the same time,” Gregor says. But having worked for Fonterra before, Gregor knows he can lean on Farm Source for more than just supplies.

“Just being able to go and have a friendly chat and a cup of coffee when you’re in town and you’re exhausted – it’s a safe place to go,” Gregor says.

“You feel like it’s yours and that’s been quite important at times to have that.”

He says being involved with industry groups, like the Next Gen Farmer Forum, have been a great source of ideas and support, too.

Looking ahead

For now, the Ramsays are looking forward to establishing themselves on their new farm and building on their relationship with the Co-op.

“As soon as our farm was signed up officially, the first phone call I made was to Fonterra for our Area Manager to come out and sign us into the Co-op,” Gregor says.

“The farm purchase process didn't feel complete until we had signed with Fonterra. Our very first picture when Lynne and I went to the farm after we bought it was a selfie with the supply number, which says ‘It starts here’. That was the start of our farm purchase journey, and that sign will now forever be at the end of our farm.”