After a standout first season, Milking It is back for round two, and it’s been taken up a notch.
Dairy Women’s Network (DWN), CMK Chartered Accountants (CMK), Figured, Mediaworks and REX are continuing to be the ultimate ‘off-farm’ team. Providing financial advice, tools and support to a farming family as they navigate the ups and downs of the season and establish best-practice financial management to achieve their goals of running a profitable farming business.
This season, the team is putting a major focus on producing content that hits home for you. That means more bite-sized learning moments, more day-in-the-life snapshots, and more short-form video content across social media platforms.
Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) says, “We want you to see yourselves in this journey, whether you’re in your first season contract milking, heading toward equity, or trying to wrap your head around budgeting for next season’s feed. You’ll still get your regular dose of podcasts, blogs, and full-length videos, but Milking It 2.0 is all about making sure you learn, laugh, and grow with us in real-time.”
Milking It full circle: Addie and Kip reflect on a season of growth
When Addie and Kip Nolan signed on as the faces of DWN’s Milking It project, they opened the gates (literally and figuratively) to their lives as first- year farm owners on the West Coast. One season, countless learnings, and more than a few curveballs later, they’re reflecting on a journey that’s transformed the way they think about their business, their finances, and themselves.
“Coming into Milking It, we wanted help figuring out the direction of our business and how to make good financial decisions. Now, we’ve not only built a plan, but we’ve also built confidence,” Addie says.
Supported by their ‘off-farm team’ of experts from CMK, Figured, and DWN, Addie and Kip tackled the tough questions head-on: What does our budget really look like? Are we spending money in the right places? What do we want from this life on the land?
And the answers? Often surprising, but always useful.
“Working with our off-farm team helped us realise that being profitable doesn’t always mean spending less. It’s about understanding your numbers and backing the decisions that make sense for your farm and your family,” says Kip.
Throughout the season, the couple kept things real. Sharing insights, learnings, and challenges via blogs, podcasts, videos, and social media. Their honesty resonated with farmers across the country, especially those who’ve felt overwhelmed by financial management. Addie admits the hardest part was seeing how quickly money disappears: “The bills come in fast, and it can feel like the dollars just vanish. But by working with CMK and Figured, we learned to take the emotion out of it and make decisions based on the data.”
As their time on the Milking It project wraps up, the Nolans are walking away with more than just a business plan. They’ve gained clarity, resilience, and a support system they know they can lean on.
“We’d absolutely encourage other farmers to build their own off-farm team,” says Addie. “It’s not about having all the answers, it’s about being willing to ask the questions and take the steps. We feel like we’re finally farming with purpose.”
From setting financial goals to making time for family and community, Addie and Kip have shown that with the right support, first-time farm ownership doesn’t have to feel like guesswork. It can feel like growth.
