Marcus Smith was always going to be a farmer. He says growing up on a farm you are learning how to be a farmer right from the start. You are out with dad – in his shadow as soon as he will let you – learning the skills, craft and trade of farming.
“I just loved being out doors, working with livestock and the land. It’s hard to beat really – it’s in your blood. My boys are the same, they love being out with me. Sometimes it’s quite hard; you have to say, ‘sorry mate, you have to stay in, the weather is bad,’ and they will just cry at the door.”
He says it’s early days but there is a high chance they might go down that farming path; the same as he did and the same as his father did too. Beaufort Farm sits on the doorstep of Mount Taranaki.
It’s home to Marcus and Lisa and their four children; Pieta 9, Marnie 7, Kean 5 and Nate 3. Good summer safe farmland is complemented with native bush and the North Island’s Wild West Coast.
A large part of the Stratford farm has been in Marcus’ family for three generations now, purchased by his grandparents in the 1920’s when they emigrated from England.
Marcus purchased part of the farm in 2004, adding onto that when purchasing part of a neighbouring property in 2006.
A small lease block has since been added and today Marcus and Lisa’s stake in rural New Zealand stands at 130ha – 103ha if you take away native bush land and a great many riparian creeks. Sometimes Marcus asks himself why he does it.
Does the farming. What does drive farmers to farm? “When we were younger farming seemed a lot
easier. Maybe I’m wrong – but this day and age farming seems to be getting harder.
Farming is very much in the public eye, which can also be challenging. Compliance is massive with Regional Councils and national Government.
There are a lot of hurdles that you have to get through to even farm these days – which is not a bad thing and it’s good for the environment.”
He says generally the bigger farms get, the bigger the herds, the more staff issues to deal with and the debt can get pretty big. “So why am I doing it? There are some days I do wonder! However I have the drive.
I just lovefarming. A lot of it you do for the love of it. You can always improve yourself – there is always something to learn and get better at it.
“Being our own boss, making the decisions and working farming life around family is really important to us”. Marcus milks 350 predominantly friesian cross cows twice a day, shifting to all year round milking for the first time this season, a decision made easier with the right infrastructure including a feedpad.
With a good number of empty cows at the start of the season he took the bull by the horns, bought in a few more empties still milking and milked through the winter.
He says it’s gone very well and now has a contract with Fonterra, which makes it all the more worthwhile. “So we’ve gone split calving now and this year we’ve calved down 75 autumn calvers in total.
We’ll milk them plus any empties so we’re targeting 120 through the winter.” With traditionally wet ground, Marcus has put a winter crop of oats in this year, to be used as the sacrificial paddock and to milk off as well. “There is always a challenge in farming and that’s what I like about it.”
This article was brought to you in association with the following businesses…
- CMK Chartered Accountants
- Maurice Vickers Ltd
- DeLaval
