Stefan Roulston is all about portraying a positive image of dairy farming.
He and his wife Holly set up a Facebook page for their Heriot-based farming business, Toropuke Dairies, in response to attending farmer gatherings such as Dairy Women’s Network and South Island Dairy Event events.
Advised to stop reacting to negative media, they were told to put their positive stories ‘‘out there’’, which is exactly what the couple did, sharing their highs and lows of working in the industry. They also featured profiles on their staff and it was a way of showing their business to potential employees.
They recently joined Farmer Time, an educational programme that connects farmers virtually with New Zealand primary and intermediate school pupils.
Stefan and Holly have been matched with a classroom of 11 and 12-year-olds in Hamilton who have been fascinated to learn about various aspects of dairy farming.
Stefan’s grandfather and great-grandfather bought the farm while his grandfather was at World War 2. His father later took it over, converting from sheep to dairy in 1992.
Stefan was initially devastated by the conversion, one of the first in West Otago and before the dairy farming boom, but his father did not see a future in sheep farming or a way for the next generation to get into farming.
After leaving school, Stefan headed overseas where he spent two years farming in the Alps in Switzerland and two in Australia. Returning to New Zealand, he ran a tailing gang and worked on sheep conveyor belts before returning to the family farm.
Stefan and Holly, who took the reins last year and also acquired the neighbouring farm, milk 800 cows with the help of a ‘‘really good team’’ of staff. That team included British-expat Nicole Barber, this year’s New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Southland and Otago dairy manager of the year.
Stefan, who was very proud of Nicole, said he liked to keep his core staff for at least four or five years. When it came to staff management, flexibility was key. If the weather was bad and they got their jobs done, then they could go home.
Staff worked a normal working week of five days on, two off. Stefan preferred to lead by example on the farm and did not expect workers to do anything that he would not do.
Stefan’s mother and mother-in-law were growing natives for the farm and, through the Pomahaka Catchment Group, the couple had done several kilometres of plantings.
Stefan is a member of the Heriot volunteer fire brigade and also coaches rugby. He is also a Work (West Otago Rural Kids) leader, which was similar to cubs. It was held every fortnight as well as an annual big day out and a camp.
Their children, aged 11, 9 and 7, also kept them busy and Holly, who has been fulltime calf rearing this month, is chairwoman of the board of trustees at Heriot School.
The family was surrounded by other young families and, while Holly did not come from a farming background, there was no way she would leave the community now, he said.
— Sally Rae
