Farm ownership the long-term aim

Rachael Foy is the epitome of the new generation of farmers – she’s well educated, hardworking, disciplined, tech savvy and a natural leader.

The 24-year-old Lincoln graduate is working on Bert and Merle Coster’s 178 hectare dairy farm near Te Kauwhata, as assistant manager for the 500-cow herd for sharemilker Matt Young.

This is Rachael’s second season on the farm – and under Matt’s oversight she is responsible for two staff and most of the day-to-day running of the herd and the property.

Entering the paddock with the herd of young cows, Rachael’s attention is immediately drawn to the behaviour of a small group of cows around a bull. She records their details, using an app on her phone, into the LIC MINDA herd record programme for later reference as to natural breeding.

Earlier, walking up the race to the cows, Matt called Rachael on the Radio Telephone, asking her to prepare a report on the herd’s current and past performance – something she’ll do later back at the office in the dairy.

“Cellphone coverage isn’t that reliable on all parts of the farm, so the RT is the best way to keep in touch,” says Rachael, who also answered RT queries from other farm staff about their roles that day.

Online information

The cellphone, however, is a vital information and recording tool that Rachael uses as naturally as earlier farmers may have used a notebook.

Unlike an old-fashioned notebook – the cellphone, of course, gives access to a host of online information from weather forecasts to daily reports from Fonterra on the herd’s milk production.


Rachael Foy’s cellphone is an integral part of her role as assistant manager on a Waikato farm.

It’s a mixed herd. The breed, says Rachael, is not as important as how the cows perform. Last season they produced on average 370 kg/ms.

The cows in the young herd are in good condition. “We are pleased with how well the whole herd has come through the winter and spring, which was very wet.”

A break in the weather in early-November allowed silage to be made from paddocks, which had been retired for that purpose, and preparation had begun for sowing turnips for summer feed close to the dairy.

Lincoln degree

Matt also grows maize on the runoff block he owns, and palm kernel was fed to the cows during spring.

Rachael grew up on a 28ha lifestyle block and from an early age enjoyed managing the animals her parents grazed. A neighbouring farmer taught Rachael how to milk cows when she was 12, and there was never any doubt that she would go farming.

In fact she continued to help on that farm at weekends and after-school, studying agriculture by correspondence while at Huntly College, going on to complete a three-year degree in agriculture at Lincoln University. Rachael was awarded a DairyNZ scholarship for her second and third years at university, and a Landcorp scholarship for her final year.

Being the only woman on the farm’s staff doesn’t concern Rachael. “There are more women coming into farming now. It’s not as physically demanding as it was, but you still have to be strong and fit and prepared to work hard.”

Young farmers

Farming can, however, be socially isolating especially during calving when time off is limited.

The North Waikato Young Farmers Club is important in providing the opportunity to socialise with like-minded people and Rachael has just stepped down as its chairperson. For a change of pace, she also plays netball in Te Kauwhata.

Contract milking, leading to sharemilking and eventual farm ownership are among Rachael’s plans. Whatever she does in future, Rachael has more than demonstrated she was worthy of the ER Hudson prize she won in 2013 for the student who showed the greatest promise of becoming a successful farmer.


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