Waikato Federated Farmers Sharefarmer Chair Danielle Hovmand has won the Primary Industries New Zealand Emerging Leader Award for the advocacy she has driven with her work in Young Farmers and Federated Farmers.
“I really enjoy working alongside my peers, and it’s problems that we all have and discuss that I’ve been able to bring forward,” she says.
Hovmand, who is 50/50 sharemilking near Morrinsville, says she hosted Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on the farm a few years ago when he wanted to understand the pressures facing the next generation.
“Something that has been discussed a lot within Young Farmers for a long time is not being able to utilise your KiwiSaver, as it was only able to purchase a home that you were going to live in,” she says.
The government has since reformed the scheme to allow the use of KiwiSaver accounts to buy a first farm.
“Young farmers are clever, and if you can have access to that money you’ve put away, and you utilise it wisely, then it’s really going to benefit your business in the long run.
“Potentially down the line, it would be able to help you purchase livestock.”
She says the sheer cost of a herd is the hurdle for young people trying to break into sharemilking.
“Three grand per head is being used as a bit of an average,” she says, well above what she paid when she bought her own herd four years ago.
“While the industry is so positive and so strong, I think it’s really important that our older farm owners or people who are at the other end of their careers are looking for ways that they can support younger farmers into herd ownership.
“No one’s looking for a handout, but support and guidance can really go a long way with getting the next generation in there.
“We have a very strong payout that supports that high livestock cost, as well as a strong beef price, so if you can get in there, then you’re going to go a long way.”
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