Southbridge dairy farmer Jason McKenzie and his wife Jade began their journey in the industry as 50/50 sharemilkers, progressing to farm ownership with the purchase of their first farm in 2007.

McKenzie said that while climbing the dairy ladder isn’t as easy as it once was, it remains a viable path for newcomers to the industry.

“It is much harder now – the 50/50 jobs were really good for getting ahead.

“Land prices were a bit cheaper, and it was more doable.

“It’s still possible, you just have to be a bit more creative.”

The McKenzie’s continued sharemilking until 2012, when they purchased a second conversion and made the move to Southbridge.

Today, their 388-hectare operation spans two adjoining properties, each with its own shed, milking a combined average of 1280 cows.

“We have been buying run-offs that are quite handy, so we are all self-contained now – we do our own wintering.”

The couple operates on a traditional twice-a-day milking schedule but adapts as needed.

“We take cows down to once a day when condition dictates,” McKenzie said, noting that flexible milking is appealing to some.

“I can see why people would do flexible milking as it frees up time in the weekends.

But we have a roster that gives everyone the time off they need, and I quite like the routine.”

Seven full-time staff are employed on the farm: three per shed, with one team member rotating between both. Well-equipped sheds help streamline operations.

“The sheds are well set up – they are 54 bale rotaries with cup removers and drafting systems, so we don’t have huge milking times.”

The McKenzie’s supply Fonterra, which McKenzie says is performing well.

“They are doing a good job most of the time.”

In a recent step towards tech adoption, the farm introduced cow collars, opting for the Allflex system.

Staff are currently being trained to make the most of the technology.

“We really want to use it for pre-mating heats.

We have had some excellent results with mating in the past, and then we dropped off a couple of years ago, so we are trying to get it back to the compact calving patterns we used to do half a dozen years ago.

“We think we will be able to get a good handle on that using the collar data.”

McKenzie also supplements the herd with Vitalise pellets in the shed and says the farm has seen a notable reduction in metabolic issues since doing so.

“It took us about a month to get the rate right, but once we got it up to 100 grams per day, the metabolic problems dropped dramatically.

“It’s definitely made a difference to be able to get that consistently into each cow.”

It’s all comes down to the delivery method, he says.

“If you want to get calcium or magnesium into your cows another way – how do you do it? In water, which they don’t drink as much of when it rains, or if it’s dust it gets windy, and you lose half of it.

“We find the Vitalise pellets just drop in front of them every day, and we know it’s working.”

McKenzie’s for advice to the next generation of dairy farmers? Work hard and spend your money wisely.

“If you are good at your job, you will always get the better job.

“Find a good job, work hard at it and put your money into some sort of property, whether it’s a house in town or land or building for investment – long term it will probably work out for you.

“New cars and boats are not what you should be looking for.”