Jared Crawford – the sharemilker who bought a brewery | EP 99

Running a 2000-cow dairy operation across 524 hectares is a big enough challenge, but Jared Crawford and his wife Sara decided to add another by buying a craft brewery and restaurant.

As lower-order sharemilkers for FarmRight near Geraldine, Jared and Sara have built a high-performing dairy business with a strong focus on people, earning a reputation for developing and retaining great staff. 

Beyond the farm gate, Jared also represents sharefarmers with Federated Farmers at both the South Canterbury and national level, giving him a unique perspective on the issues facing the sector.

In this episode, we talk about building a successful dairy business, the importance of backing your team, why advocacy matters, and the story of how a few drinks over dinner somehow turned into owning a brewery. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

G'day everybody and welcome back to the Federated Farmers Podcast. This is episode 99, which means we're about to hit a pretty cool milestone next week. To celebrate our 100th episode, our friends at Gallagher have generously provided us with three of their fault finders worth nearly 300 bucks a pop. Now if you'd like to get your hands on one, you just need to do the following by 5pm this Friday, 6th of August. Firstly, make sure you've subscribed to the Federated Farmers Podcast on your preferred app. Then send us an email to podcast at fedfarm.org.nz to tell us your favourite episode so far. And thirdly, in that email, also tell us a topic you'd like us to cover or a guest who you'd like us to interview. And we'll be announcing the winners on episode 100, so tune in to find out. Now back to this episode. A Fed Farmers told me recently that I should interview an interesting bloke from Canterbury called Jared Crawford. Jared and his wife Sarah are lower order share milkers near Gerald Dean, milking a couple of thousand cows for FarmRite. They've built a reputation for running a highly productive business while at the same time placing a huge emphasis on looking after their people, and that's seen them retain some of their stuff for a long time. Jared also represents share farmers for feds both in South Canterbury and nationally, so we're going to talk to him about why he got involved in advocacy. And you'll also hear how he, over dinner and a few drinks, somehow ended up buying a craft brewery and restaurant. We're gonna have a bit of a yarn about that. Let's get into it. Hey Jared, mate, thanks so much for coming onto the podcast. I'm really stoked that you've made the time to do this. I know you're really busy. Uh to get us started, can you just paint a bit of a picture for us about where you're farming, what the operation looks like, and tell us a bit about your family as well.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Oh yeah, hey, thanks, Ben. No worries. Um Lamorna, this farm we are on, 2,000 cows, a big beast. We're just out of Geraldine, which is basically halfway between Ashburton and Timaru, really. I yeah, farm there with eight full-time staff. And yeah, along with my wife Sarah and two kids, Harper, which is who's she's 11, and then Lennox is 13. So yeah, that's sort of um a little bit about us. Um the farm's owned by New Zealand Superfund and managed by FarmRights. So yeah, we're in our fourth year um with them, which is yeah, going along pretty nicely.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

So 10 staff, two kids, a couple thousand cows. You'd be a little bit busy right now.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Yeah, three days away from um our plan started carving, and yeah, I think we just ticked over 150 carved already. So yeah, just over 30 today. So um, yeah, pretty, pretty busy at the moment.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Uh it's good of you to make this time, man. I appreciate it. Um, Gerard, let's just go back a little bit. Did you grow up on a farm or was farming something that you found later in life?

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Yeah, so I actually grew up on dairy farms. Um, you know, I started Waihee up in the Thames Valley, Tyro, um eventually Cambridge, um, following around with my parents um when they yeah purchased farms and and moved around a bit like like we did. Funny enough, I I didn't really fall in love with farming straight away. It wasn't my go-to. Never really, you know, I helped, helped on the farm a lot, but yeah, it wasn't something that I dreamed of of wanting to do and make a career out of it. When school finished, I was in a bit of a not sure what to do. And yeah, went dairy farming for a couple years, found that my priorities were probably a bit different then. You know, I was more probably top of the list, playing sport, rugby, um, hanging out with friends, um, girls and and all that sort of stuff. Probably ranked well ahead of head of cows when you're 18 to 20. Um, so you know, farming in the wake of that stage. I think I was on a 28 and two roster, the old one one weekend off a month. And yeah, she was it was just just tough. So um, yeah, decided to move away and move to the big smoker, Wellington. Um, and with down there for a couple years. Yeah, and actually that's where I decided better get a real profession and got a trade, so decided to go plumbing. So yeah, started plumbing, did that for two years in Wellington, and then decided mum and dad had retired at the time and built a big house in Mount Wonganui. So I thought, yeah, it's a pretty cool place to maybe go back to. So um, yeah, decided to move back to the mount. Um, a few mates are over there at that stage and and family there as well. So um, yeah, carried on plumbing there for five years and until I I was qualified. So um it was a cool profession and uh and a cool job.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Man, so that's quite an interesting um journey you took. Uh why did you go to Wellington? Did you know people down there?

SPEAKER_00 5:20

A few mates had gone down for uni. Um my cousin had moved down there for work as well. So um being down a few times, um, yeah, to check the nightlife out and it and it seemed like a pretty cool place to live. So um, yeah, just something different, you know, always being and growing up in a rural, rural environment and and on the farm and bit of an experience, really. The the big smoke. So um, yeah, didn't really do an OE. So that was sort of my my away time, really, off off, you know, out of the the rural rural side of it.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Yeah, so you so you're plumbing in the mount, working on your tan. You're probably a bit of a boy racer, I'm picking. Um, so how how did how did you end up farming?

SPEAKER_00 6:04

During that time, we I met Sarah again. So, yeah, it was a bit of a funny story. We went to school together. Um, so I first sort of saw Sarah when we were in third form um at Pearl College, um, or year nine, I think it is this in these time uh, you know, day and age. Um yeah, she was sort of the bit of the popular kid, so probably didn't really know I existed. And then I moved away to Cambridge and finished my my schooling, uh, schooling there. So um she was, yeah, just another girl, um, you know, out there and and someone that I was like, oh, you know, back in the day she was probably all right, pretty good on the eye. And but um, yeah, moved away, so I wasn't meant to be. And then, you know, years later in the mount, cross paths again, and um must have made an impression that time because I managed to, you know, get her number, and and that was probably the rest is history, really. You know, we are where we are now. So um that was is probably where it sort of all started from. We were in a crossroad of where we were gonna go um in our careers. Um, I'd just been qualified. So I was thinking, do I go up by myself and start my own plumbing career? Um at that stage, our plumbing had gone. When I started, there was four of us. It went up to like 30 staff, and then back had dropped right back to like six when I I think I left. So yeah, that real building turn, downturn had hit. Um, and Sarah was a um in-house um childcare person. So yeah, she she did that, and you know, that wasn't uh what she dreamed of doing and wanted something different. So, you know, after uh being together for a while and and speaking to mum and dad again, they sort of said, you know, why don't you give it a crack as a as a couple? So yeah, I guess that's we decided to do that. Um and yeah, sort of started interviewing really.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

So when was that?

SPEAKER_00 8:15

So that would have been 2010.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

GFC kind of time, which is why you the plot plumbing work was drawing up.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yep, exactly. So um jumped on um fence post at the time and and got a few interviews and yeah, ended up settling on a 670 cal farm just out of out of Hamilton, which was only five minutes down the road from Sarah's mum at the time, which was yeah, pretty handy. I guess that's sort of what what's got us into it again. So, what was the role that you went into? So I was uh 2IC and Sarah was farm assistant. Yeah, so she had no experience, and I sort of jumped back in on you know my experience of when I left school two years full-time as well as growing up, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

How did it feel different for you this time or or did it not feel any different to when you left?

SPEAKER_00 9:12

The first first job was pretty tough actually. So it was like, well, what are we doing? But um that definitely taught us a lot and sort of did get us involved in industry awards um as well. So that yeah, I did the training of the year. Um, and that was the first must really knew about that. I think having someone there going through it with you, you know, having the quick naps on the couch for breakfast and lunch and and stuff like that, um, yeah, it was probably a bit easier and and especially not going out every weekend and and stuff like that when you're when you're younger um helped a lot as well.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

I I read that you had to teach Sarah how to ride a motorbike the day before or the night before you actually started the job. Is that is that true?

SPEAKER_00 10:01

You know, as you get in in your interview and you sort of probably push the truth a little bit, and we probably said that she can ride a bike. She could ride a pushbike, but um, yeah, so we got this technically true. Technically true, yeah. So we we got uh an AG 100 delivered that night before before work and um yeah, we'd moved in all our stuff, and yeah, it might have been eight, nine o'clock at night, you know, teaching her how to kick start this bike and and ride around the paddock um yeah, before our first day of work the next day. So um definitely interesting, and probably the first bloody um real test of our relationship that night, teaching her how to how to ride that.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Gosh, I wonder how many Kiwis have learned to ride a motorbike on an AG 100.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Yeah, pretty sure that was meter. Yep, yeah, I'm pretty sure there's a few of them. Yeah, they were good little bikes.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

So, how did you go from um farming in the Waikato to becoming so established on the South Island?

SPEAKER_00 11:02

Yeah, so after that that role, we um the second year we took on a 370 cal job in just out of matter matter. We were both managed, um, there was a management role, just a couple, sole charge. Um we got married that year, and then we were sort of just looking for, you know, we were working every day, all day, just ourselves. Um, and we knew we wanted to go find something bigger and better. Um we loved when I was plumbing, I love working in teams and stuff like that. Mum and dad had a they had an equity partnership um previously down in Southland that they were involved in, um, and then yeah, later sold up. So they had a bit of knowledge down there as well. And they sort of said, hey, um, have a crack, have a look down there and see what you think. So jumped on a plane, organized a few interviews and and went down there and had a look around and settled on an 800 cow job just out of Gore, um, just up in Waimumu, by sort of not far from where the field days are. And um yeah, sort of made that home really. It just South Island has attracted us just because the bigger opportunities, um, newer infrastructure, technology, been able to work with teams. Yeah, you know, coming from Waikato, older, uh older farms and and all that. We sort of just love them, the modern stuff really.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

So you I think when you were down there, that's when you won the Dairy Industry Awards Manager of the Year, right? That was 2014. So that would have been around about when you moved down there.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

So that was our second year. Um, we'd taken on a new role, um, stepped up to a thousand cows, and it was a brand new conversion. So yeah, we got onto the farm 1st of June. We had just had our son Lennox, who was three months old. Yeah, there was no cow shed, no fences, no lanes, nothing. Um, so yeah, it was a bit of a nervous few months. Um, I think we ended up the first 50 cows went to the neighbours um that had carved that year until the shed was finally finished and we got going. But yeah, I guess what helped us to win that and enter that um manager of the year, the industry awards, was you know, we had to go and we had to create all our SOPs and just everything from scratch. The farm owners were ex-sheep farmers that converted, so had no dairy knowledge whatsoever. So, you know, we were involved with everything from, you know, we helped doing some of the, you know, with what with the conversions, we had to hire staff, we had to, you know, create all the ads, we had to, yeah, do everything. So, you know, being involved with that and um, yeah, it's probably what helped us. We were already doing a lot of that stuff and had it already out and planned when we decided to enter. So it wasn't too hard to, you know, show the judges what we had what we had done because it was there um right in front of them.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

That's a pretty cool experience and reasonably unique one to be able to set up a dairy farm from scratch. That was that's pretty cool. Intimidating, but I guess also exciting.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

100%, yeah. Like when we interviewed, we were like, oh yeah, this is gonna be there, and and it never never happens on time. So yeah, when we did finally that first of June move in and still, we were like, Whoa, it was a bit of a oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Was that quite like winning winning the Manager of the Year award? Was that quite um was that a big confidence boost for you?

SPEAKER_00 14:54

Yeah, it was. It was massive. Um we only did it to go out and and meet like-minded people and and you know, get ourselves out there. Um, because we were only in our second year down in Southland. We had no family, we knew no one. So um, you know, our main goal was to meet meet people and we've met a heap of amazing people down there that were involved. But yeah, just having the that acknowledgement that, hey, you know, we are up there and and we're getting acknowledged for the hard hard work that we are putting in. It's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

When was the point at which you and Sierra kind of felt like you were all in this was you guys from now on?

SPEAKER_00 15:40

Probably right from the the get-go, really. You know, we were we just decided once we went farming then and we got through that sort of first year, that was us. If we could get through the first year, then manage, you know, so um sole charges, us two, then get through those couple of, you know, those first few real tough years. Um then yeah, once we moved down to South Island, it was, yeah, where this is what we want to do and and this is where we want to be.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

And so how did you end up at Lamorna on I guess and what you know, milking through one of the country's biggest rotaries?

SPEAKER_00 16:20

I guess it was right place, right time. We were sort of just looking for our next step. And I remember seeing the farm be advertised, the role been advertised and sort of saying to Sarah, you know, she's look at this 2,000 cows, lower order, canterbury, like 100 bar rotary. She looks amazing. And then we sort of just well, you know, laughed it off a little bit. A week or so later, I was like, hey, why don't we just should we just give it a crack? Sort of, let's just go for it. By the time we'd figured that out, it had closed and they were already interviewing. Um, so Sarah being her, she jumped on the phone, contacted the consultant, and um yeah, managed to wrangle us, wrangle us and interview. And I guess we went went through the interview process, um, you know, having things that were being involved in industry rewards, all that sort of stuff behind us, um, yeah, got us to the top of the pile and eventually got us there, the the job offered to us. So yeah, we still sort of pinch ourselves sometimes because it's an incredible farm. Um and yeah, even now, you know, the with the previous owners and now um Sue Fund and Farmright, um, you know, we're pretty grateful that we can work on a farm like this. Um yeah, I don't think there's much many other farms out there that can compare. So yeah, pretty, pretty lucky actually.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

I read that you're quite known for embracing technology, you guys. Can you tell us about some of the innovations, some of the tech you guys have adopted and what difference that's made?

SPEAKER_00 18:07

The big one in the last year or last couple years is um now all flex collars. Um so yeah, we really pushed for that and sort of had to put a proposal together to put that forward in front of the group to be okay. So um, yeah, once we got that, we, you know, it's been nothing but amazing. Um just the benefits that collars have on a large-scale farm, um, you know, through mating, that's probably the biggest one that everyone sort of knows about. Um, but yeah, allowing time for staff and myself just not be stuck in the shed that that whole time. Um I always said that mating is probably harder than carving, um, because you're just there for those big hours and it's just constant um focus for you know four or five hours a morning when you're sitting on those vet stands, plus pre-matings and and that as well. So, you know, having collars, seeing your pre-mating heats already, which allows you to intervene or um focus on those cows that aren't performing, it's just it's huge, um, especially in a large-scale herd. Um, being able to have cows, you know, drafting, drafting by themselves in the morning. Um, and then we just have to make sure that yes, they are on, um, not sit there for four hours, you know, allows flexibility around rosters and stuff a bit more. Um, in the past, we just have up to 60 bulls on farm when we tailed. So, you know, that that for one is massive health and safety issue with staff having to deal with all those bulls every day and and stuff like that. So not having bulls now and just AI right the way through is a huge bonus as well. You know, we also now use it for rumination, you know, from carving from this end. So, you know, have cows on once a day, and and once they're ruminating properly, then they can go into the twice-a-day herd. Um, and that's minimized those cows that come back into, you know, you see a sick cow sort of two weeks later, um, and you have to bring her back and treat her and see what's wrong because you think she was okay to go in. She's done her days in the classroom, so they just sort of go back out and mingle in the twice-a-day herd. So, you know, having all that information and being able to go back and see and track um, you know, activities and rumination and and animal health is yeah is is really beneficial.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

I also read that you're quite known for taking quite a sustainable approach to farming. Can you talk about that? How you, you know, what sort of changes you've made to balance uh environmental improvements um at the same time as trying to run a profitable business?

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Big thing was we upgraded um our irrigation systems. Um, you know, um that was driven from farm right quite early on, getting rid of long line and K-lines um and putting in fixed grid, um, which just improved our efficiency and also, you know, helped us grow grow a heap more grass, um, and also, you know, minimize our labor time that we were shifting them as well. You know, effluent system upgrades, all those sort of little things to help benefit um, you know, and make things easier on labor as as well as the environment. Um we also, you know, have a big focus on our systems um and training teams. So, you know, maximizing our past utilization is a big one on this farm as well. Um, you know, we're growing about 18 tons a hectare currently, so um, which we're pretty proud of. Um, and you know, this this season we're actually Recognized from as one of the top performers for Fonterra for Homegrown Feed. So yeah, it just it's quite good getting that bit of recognition that the little you know extra time that the guys and myself put in to make sure cows are, you know, eating as much as they can and and efficiently producing and and making that milk is is yeah is being rewarded really and and we're we're sort of getting a bit of few accolades for it.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Jared, talk about your team, because I believe you've got some some crew on your team that have been there for quite a while, right?

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Out of our eight full-timers, um two of the our Fijian guys have been with us basically since the start. So seven years they've been with us. Um couple other guys have been five. Um and this year we've replaced uh higher-up staff member with a manager. Um so he's yeah, started this year, but yeah, everyone else is into their third season or or more. So we're pretty lucky to have a well um set team. It might definitely make running a big farm a lot easier. We focus on really trying to find the person that's gonna fit the team, um, not just having someone with all the ticks, all the boxes. They they really, you know, when we do our interview process, it's probably more about the person and and how they're gonna fit in. And um, yeah, and you know, we can train someone um for our system, but yeah, it's just that attitude and and the way they're gonna they're gonna mesh with the rest of the guys is probably the biggest factor.

SPEAKER_01 23:46

How do you actually ascertain that? Like, how do you find out someone's values? What kind of questions do you ask?

SPEAKER_00 23:53

Oh, well, Sarah's a big one for just picking people. Um, so a lot of the time I'll be like, oh yeah, it seems pretty good, and she's just like, yeah, no straight away that they're not gonna work. So yeah, she's a real good one at picking characters. But um, yeah, it's just sort of asking, you know, a lot of things of not even involved around sort of that farm. It's it's it's you know, family, um, what their values are, what they do outside of farming, you know, and even taking them on the farm, meeting the guys, just to see how they react for a little bit. Um, so all that sort of stuff is just, yeah, you can tell pretty quickly um how someone's gonna fit in and gel with the guys.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

So your recruitment's obviously really good, but what else are you doing to keep these people working for you for so long? Because we're constantly hearing about stuff turnover. You don't seem to have that problem. Why?

SPEAKER_00 24:53

I guess we just, you know, value and respect the guys that we have working for us. Um, you know, and it's just all the little things. We do a lot of dinners, you know, we celebrate birthdays, um, we go up to Christchurch, do stuff off um, you know, when we're working in the yards or we've got big days, buying lunches, um, shutting stuff like that, taking them to out to for burgers at the at the brewery, um, just little things like that. So, you know, it might not be much, but it just shows that we do do respect them, we do care about them, and and yeah, we just don't take them for granted. So um allowing them to grow and allowing them to all be who they want to be, having a large-scale farm is quite good for really putting people in roles that they want to be in, so they don't have to do everything. Um, you know, we've got a young fellow who just loves working on his in the workshop and and welding and and doing vehicle stuff. So, you know, any anything like that, he's he's just in there, um, which is yeah, which is great. So, you know, that's probably another good thing about being on a being on a large-scale farm because there's a lot of different roles and not everyone has to do the the whole whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

Have you got any other sort of um staff success stories that you're particularly proud of from over the last seven years?

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Our main guys, you know, they've come through, they've gained their residencies. We've got two guys that have have had now got their gain their residencies, they've brought their families over. So they've been able to be involved with that is is pretty humbling, and and we're pretty, you know, it's yeah, incredibly rewarding really to see their wives and and their kids come over that they haven't really been a part of their lives, they've been over in another country, you know, working to support them. So yeah, having seeing their seeing their families come and actually them living in a home and and being together is yeah, is is quite rewarding. Um, you know, seeing that sort of stuff. So I guess, and another another thing, you know, the guys that move on as well, you know, we can't keep everyone here. They they want to grow and they want to go bigger and better. So, you know, one of my um previous two ICs is now on the Waikito um contract milking. He's sort of stepped up from managing and and looking at going 50-50. So, you know, seeing people like that as well, that you sort of started as a you know junior herd manager and and has gone up and and keep progressing, it's it's pretty cool as well.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

Yeah, it must be so rewarding. Um, you've spoken up publicly about immigration settings. Um, why is that issue so important from your perspective?

SPEAKER_00 27:48

When it comes down to, you know, that huge part of the industry is built on migrant workers. Um, without them, that'd be very difficult to farm. So um, you know, in our farm, all but two um are migrants, um, and they pay a huge role, you know, in the success of our farm and our business. You know, they make massive sacrifices coming over here, like I said before, you know, leaving their families and not being involved with in their children's lives because they want to come over and and, you know, earn better money and help support their family back home. Um, so they're, you know, real committed and loyal people. I guess the biggest challenge though is the uncertainty and the continual rule changes that always happens um around immigration, you know, whether it's visa length, the the criteria, accredited employer requirements, pay rates, um, the goalposts, it just they're always moving. So, you know, it's hard on us, but it's even harder on the on the workers as well that you know don't know if they're here to stay or they're gonna get shipped off next next time they have to go go and do a visa. Um so yeah, I guess uncertainty is is yeah, very stressful for the guys.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

So so would you like to see as the answer to that to have some sort of bipartisanship agreement on immigration settings rather than it being a political football every three years?

SPEAKER_00 29:17

Yeah, 100%. You know, have something in place that, you know, it just rolls through. They can all all agree on, you know, make it what we have uh working to for a residency and stuff like that. But yeah, have a good plan that they can stick to and people can come over and know that this is what they need to do to get to residency instead of yeah, just chopping and changing, changing all the time, really.

SPEAKER_01 29:46

Hey, you mentioned before, um, very briefly about how you take your staff uh to the brewery. Now, what's that brewery, Jared? Because this is this is this is getting into a whole usually I ask people what do you do outside of work, but you've got another job.

SPEAKER_00 30:02

The House of Hot brewery and restaurant just out of uh Geraldine. We own that. Um I guess we're pretty lucky to have that, you know, not far away from us. Um the idea sort of come about. We were in well in Monica winter holidays um with Sarah's family and having a few drinks. And yeah, we saw this flicker through the paper, and this brewery was up for sale just down the road from where we live. And I guess like many good ideas after a few bears. Um, the what if conversation became to, yeah, let's do it. By Christmas that year, we were opening, opening the restaurant and brewery. You know, we did massive renovations for three months, I think, previously, completely changing the way it was and creating something that you know we're pretty, pretty proud of. So yeah, I guess in the early days, it was a big family effort. Um, myself, my wife, um, and Sarah's sisters, um and my brother-in-law and Sarah's mum are all involved with it in the early days. Um, Sarah's sister was front of house. Sarah is a qualified chef by trade, so she was in the out back in the kitchen doing the hard yards and and setting that sort of side up. It was just uh a cool, cool experience to to be involved with outside of Daring, um, especially with all the family and and sort of having having something that the community got involved in and well, and seeing what it brought brought the community and somewhere where where they could actually go and and actually um enjoy and then you know being places and just talking to people and you know having people come up and and from all over New Zealand hearing about it and and saying how amazing it is. It's it's a it's a pretty cool thing um to be a part of, really.

SPEAKER_01 32:01

What kind of beers are you brewing?

SPEAKER_00 32:04

All sorts of things. We got 14 taps at the moment. So yeah, your hazy's, your IPAs, your stouts, your pilsners, your your Power Ales, your yeah, pretty much everything. Um, yeah, she's a real real craft brewery. So um, yeah, it's quite fun.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

That's so that's so cool. Hey, is there anything else that you guys enjoy outside of uh the farm?

SPEAKER_00 32:31

Having an 11 and 13 year old. Um our kids consume a lot of the lot of the time that we're we are, we can get off farms. So whether it's you know weekends away and and doing stuff with them, um, sports, um, yeah, we're it's um yeah, it's pretty busy. Um, you know, summer trying to get to the lakes, um, doing that, winter skiing, it's always tough right in the middle of calving. So uh maybe a few half days. Um and then yeah, personally I've sort of got into cycling, sort of mountain and road. So yeah, that sort of keeps me busy and and keeps me fit as well. So, you know, done the talpa round the lake talpa a couple times, and to do the coast to coast this year as well, or yeah, next February. So that's sort of uh another bucket lease this thing on ticking off. So um yeah, that's probably the main things.

SPEAKER_01 33:34

How did you get involved in Federated Farmers?

SPEAKER_00 33:38

You know, we've always sort of had Federated Farmers with us. Um, I think we won a membership when we won the industry awards. It was quite a cool way to get into it then. Um, but you know, like most people back then, we used it for contracts and any, you know, speaking to the lawyers, any disagreements or something that we needed a bit of advice on. Um so it wasn't till sort of lately talking to Jimmy Emmett um a bit more about it and yeah, sort of got me involved on on the council side and yeah, got me really sort of folks or knowing a bit more exactly what federated farmers do. Having Jimmy as a sounding board and and seeing what what he's become been able to do with feds is yeah, is probably a a wicked little um learning and the taking away where you know what what else you could do in the industry to help, you know, give back.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

What do you like about the work that Feds does?

SPEAKER_00 34:44

They have a great voice. Um a lot of stuff they do, a lot of people wouldn't even know that they're doing. Um they just it just happens in the background. So, you know, yeah, I think that that's a big thing. They are for a small sort of part, they are a massive um a voice in our industry. And we yeah, we definitely need to need to you know help them in and having a lot more people be and become involved and and um bring feds you know to the forefront and and be more vocal and just be out there really. Um yeah, but I think the big focus is just just build those numbers and and you know, more numbers, bigger, lot louder voices, really.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

You're the share farmer chair for your um for South Canterbury now. What's that involved for you as a as a leader? What what what do you see your role as being when you come together uh with the other leaders from South Canterbury?

SPEAKER_00 35:46

I've actually just recently the vice chair of the national share farming share farmer as well. So that's a another role that I've just taken on. So yeah, yeah. When did that happen? Uh at the last um AGM.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

Gee, I missed that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:03

Yeah, yeah. So I got sort of roped into that one. So that'll be that'll be interesting and a lot of learnings coming from that. But yeah, as of as a local rep, just trying to be more out in the community and get more share farmers knowing what Feds is, um, and building more membership. So that's a big focus that we're really putting on this sort of term is is yeah, get out there, um, get more share farmers along, um, just so they know what Feds has to offer and um what we're sort of doing in the background, really. Um, you know, it's also just reporting back on what's involved with the share farming um at the moment. Um, you know, a couple of massive things in the works um that we're sort of doing as a as a national um side of it as well, you know, with the Chef Farming Act. You know, so yeah, there's some some big things coming. So just being that voice back to our um local guys on that side of it as well.

SPEAKER_01 37:11

What are your goals, you know, you and Sarah for the next five to ten years? Obviously, the in five years the kids will be nearly leaving home. Crazy. Where do you see yourself?

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Our goal, it was quite refreshing listening to um Jimmy on his podcast. And ours is sort of similar. You know, we don't have that big goal of just owning a farm. Um, we want to be set up financially that we can, you know, jump at any opportunity that comes along. Um, so whether it's a farm, whether it's something else down the road, um, then you know that that's what we're that's what our our end goal is. But yeah, I guess, you know, we'd always love to own a large-scale farm and have something of your own that you know you're proud of and you can do what you what you want to do without asking anyone else for permission. So that's sort of the the the main ones anyway.

SPEAKER_01 38:12

Yeah, a lot of people have commented on Jimmy's podcast actually that they found that really refreshing to hear somebody say that farm ownership wasn't necessarily the goal. Um, there's other ways to to get there. Uh it's cool to hear you say that too. Um finally, Jared, as a farmer and a leader, who are some of the people that have influenced you the most uh throughout your career?

SPEAKER_00 38:35

When we first entered and moved to Southland and met um a couple of people, Don and Jess Moore, um Tony Miles, you know, a few of those really big industry leaders, they've had a big sort of seeing what they could do at such a young age and um progress through the industry um has been quite a pusher us as well. Um so yeah, they're they are a big, big influence on sort of our early, you know, career and and pushing for, you know, where we're where we're at now and putting ourselves out there, um, as well as you know, amazing farm owners uh previously to farm right Dave Ellis, who basically converted Lamorna, having someone like Dave um showing you the ropes and you know, having expectate high expectations and teaching you the way things should be done, um no cutting corners is um yeah, is a and having a big work ethic, you know, seeing that from him is is you know someone we really look up to as well and what he's been able to achieve. Um and then just you know, lastly, mum and dad, um, you know, they came up like uh the old school typical way of shear milking, farm owners, um, and then you know, retired and living at Fangamatar at 45, 50 years old. Um, you know, they retired early and have just spent the last sort of 15 years um living the dream, fishing. So, you know, having them um showing that, you know, putting in the hard yards early on um pays off in the future.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

Hey Jared, as you know, we always finish up here with a quick fire around what are your three things? Uh you you know, what do you think farmers should uh stop doing, keep doing and start doing?

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Stop thinking you have to do everything for yourself. You know, we learned that on a large scale, uh, farming is a team sport, and you just there's no way you can you can do it. So you sort of do have to let go. Start doing, you know, get in our farm more, keep learning, build good relationships, and some of the best opportunities come from you know the people you meet. Um, and keep doing investing in yourself, keep learning, keep upskilling, keep putting yourself out there. Um, because yeah, I guess that's where the opportunities are gonna arise.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

Jared, you're a top man. Um, I'm sorry that someone shoulder tapped you to come on this podcast. I can't remember who it was who told me I had to interview. It's probably Jimmy. Once they told me a bit about you, I was like, yeah, we've got to get that guy on. He's he he sounds interesting and you you are very interesting. Thanks for a really cool chat, man. Um, that's a great one. I'm stoked that we're gonna have this in our podcast library. People enjoy it a lot. Hey, no worries. Hey, just quickly, if anyone wants to um head along to House of Hop, where can they find it?

SPEAKER_00 41:39

Uh so it's just about five minutes um out of Geraldine on the Fairley Highway.

SPEAKER_01 41:46

Awesome, mate, and uh good luck for the rest of the season. Hey Chair, thanks very much. Thanks for listening to the Federated Farmers Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcast and leave us a rating or review that really helps others to find the show. We'll be back soon with another conversation about the people issues and ideas shaping rural New Zealand. Thanks for listening to the