Dairy converters: We're in it for keeps.

Some viewers have voiced the concern that the rapid change to dairying, has seen agriculture rushing to a monoculture of land use,  and I too share this concern. So the question arises why has this been so and this research by an outside academic looks to put reasons for this change.

Maybe we should ask policy makers in the meat industry why they haven't been asking similar questions as they strive to compete for land use.

Understanding the issues may give rise to developing different systems which alay fears of poor opportunties for succession, and lack of recognition of good farming qualities.

Is the industry doing enough in these areas, and share with us why you converted to dairy?

It was not just for the moolah. Shawn McAvinue talks to a Swiss academic about his study into the reasons why Southland sheep and beef farmers chose to convert to dairy.  Swiss academic Jeremie Forney, 35, returned to his small Swiss town Treyvaux in March after spending 18 months doing postdoctoral research into the non-economic motivators that made families in Southland convert their sheep and beef farms to dairy reports The Southland Times.

The social anthropologist, who worked from Otago University in Dunedin, travelled across Southland to conduct 31 two-hour interviews. The 23 dairy farmers he interviewed, who converted the family sheep and beef farm, were spread across Southland. Some of the dairy farmers were the conversion "pioneers" from the early 90s, others were still in the process of converting, he said. The four sheep and beef farmers he interviewed, all had flat farms suitable for conversion, and helped him find out why a farmer would not convert. The other interviewees were a stock agent, farm consultant and Environment Southland staff.

All farmers were welcoming and willing to talk, unlike the stereotype of farmers being the silent types, he said. The research was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and Dr Forney's 96-page case study says the two big non-economic motivators to convert the family sheep and beef farm to dairy were farm succession and recognition of good farming.

Farm succession

The interviewees cited long-term survival and farm succession as the main non-economic motivator to convert. Sheep farmers wanted opportunities for the next generation of the family, and they generally saw no way of doing this within the sheep industry. High land prices, based on the potential inherent in dairy, making farm succession difficult on a sheep farm, and keeping the farm in the family was important to farmers, the study says. Dairy farming allowed many staggered employment options for workers to progress, and both sons and daughters were often employed in several of the farms Dr Forney visited. The increased involvement in dairy farms allowed more than one successor, and the larger capital growth made it easier to pay out siblings who were not interested in working on the farm, the study says.

Recognition of good farming

In the sheep industry, farmers talked about their incapacity to demonstrate their skills through good performance and be rewarded for it, the study says. Good sheep farmers felt limited, cornered, and deprived of the ability to develop their business in the way they would have liked. The new conversion was the stimulating challenge they were longing for. Dairy farming rewarded a farmer's effort and performance more than sheep farming. Many farmers talked about the unity of the dairy industry, compared to the conflicts between meat companies in sheep and beef.

Challenges of sheep versus cows

Even though both farming methods involved growing grass, several farmers found dairy farming "easier" to run than a sheep farm, because dairying was more technical and science based than sheep farming. The dairy system is based on precise schedules and specific measurements, providing regular feedback to adjust the farm management. Whereas sheep farming relies on intuitive knowledge, with feedback being scarce until stock is sent to the meat works, or wool sent to the stores.

Because of the high capital investment in a dairy conversion, with usually borrowed money, there was increased pressure on the productivity and profitability of the farm. Managerial skills were more important for new dairy farmers, as many became employers for the first time and had to learn about staff management. The farmers talked about the challenge of learning how to delegate tasks. Finding the balance between being people friendly, and ensuring the effectiveness of the staff was not always easy, Dr Forney said.