The Ageing Infrastructure – 50% of Farmers
George Moss is a Waikato dairy farmer at Tokoroa. He examines the issue of ageing infrastructure through the lens of an ageing population of farm owners who must devise a successful succession plan.
This is my first column following the merger of Country-Wide with the Dairy Exporter. When we started farming, the Dairy Exporter went to every mailbox; it was our bible for dairying. We and our peers were hungry for knowledge. Farmer conferences at Ruakura could be standing room only. Maize was just entering the scene and farms were mostly low-input systems. Vehicles and machinery were very basic, with money in iron frowned upon.
Our cohort was primarily sharemilkers, first farm owners and some farm managers. We were driven; some to shake that debt monkey, others to secure that first 50–50 position and either to retain the job or grow to the next. Our focus was how to be the sharemilker or manager of choice. How to demonstrate that we could deliver a better outcome for the employer than the other guy. The house was the house, the boss the boss and the farm the farm – you worked with it and if you didn’t, somebody else would. It was good. Probably 50% plus of our sharemilking cohort achieved farm ownership.
“I am one of half of all New Zealand farmers who are ‘aged infrastructure’ that needs replacing soon.” – George Moss, Waikato dairy farmer
With fewer sharemilking positions – and even fewer people seeking them – where to for the succession puzzle?
Rabobank says I am one of half of all New Zealand farmers who are ‘aged infrastructure’ that needs replacing soon. The issue of ageing infrastructure has me pondering the changes here on our farm with a farm succession challenge that did not exist when we started.
Landowners want to release capital as they approach retirement. Many are keen to see the next generation pick up the baton. Options exist, whether it’s owners leaving money in, leasing the farm, equity partnerships or milkers using salaries to purchase shares in business. But in each case we need to find that indispensable person of choice.
You need to be hungrier for knowledge than toys, need to operate in the top 25% for financial performance, be prepared to trade lifestyle costs for investments and most importantly, demonstrate that you can add value. Then I and others are interested in you.
For ourselves, we have consciously kept the two dairy farms separate so that they are more affordable for the next generation and allow us an ‘easier’ transition. We want to engage in conversations with people who are hungry to perform, conversations that we started to embark on last season and hopefully will complete this year.
