‘Profitable and sustainable’ makes for a winning approach

Being the third generation on the farm has shaped Brendan’s approach.

“I was lucky to have very supportive parents and grandparents – my grandfather was a great farmer.

“We may own the farm, but in reality we are caretakers. If we want it to remain viable for future generations, we need to make sure it’s sustainable across all key areas, from cows and pastures to animal welfare and biodiversity.”

Brendan has been on the farm for 24 years and says his journey to where he is today began several years into farming the property, when he realised the high stocking rate and tight residual system he had at the time were unsuitable.

He and Susan examined all their farm systems – cow production, pasture management, feed utilisation – and re-shaped their business.

Guiding their decisions was Professor Colin Holmes, who kept the idea of profitable milk from pasture front of mind.

Brendan paid close attention to the cows, pasture and soils, and adjusted his approach as needed. He reduced cow numbers from 410 to 350 and saw an immediate improvement in percow production.

“We really synced into what Colin was re-enforcing at the time. Pastures can be profitable and they can achieve high per-cow production, you just have to match supply and demand.

“That improved our enduring profitability, which in turn gave us the capacity to really move forward with sustainability projects on the farm. And the Taranaki Regional Council has been a great partner in that, helping us out with subsidised trees for riparian planting.”

Over 15 years, they allocated $20,000– $40,000 each year to environmental projects on the property.

They started with simple tasks, like fencing off waterways and creating a riparian planting plan with native species – a project that continues today, as they gradually replace some plants with larger timbered natives as the originals reach the end of their life cycle.

He also soil tested all of the paddocks, which was a “lightbulb moment” as it allowed him to minimise fertiliser usage on high nutrient paddocks and concentrate it on those areas with suboptimal fertility.

The entire farm was also soil mapped, which found there are 17 different types of soil on the property. This helped identify the best areas for applying effluent irrigation.

Other actions include retiring wetlands, which the Attrills did with advice from wetland expert Sophie Arnoux, and identifying and remedying areas of the farm prone to sediment and stormwater leakage into waterways.

Brendan also credits the Taranaki Regional Council, DairyNZ and Fonterra as being pivotal with advice and guidance over the years.

Honouring farmers with an excellent story to tell

The Ballance Farm Environment Awards – including the DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award – celebrate farmers leading the way in environmental care.

For farmers and growers, the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA) offer more than recognition – they’re a chance to see how your hard work measures up, pick up fresh ideas, and keep your business moving forward.

DairyNZ sponsors the Sustainability and Stewardship Award which recognises dairy farmers who demonstrate a strong commitment to managing, protecting and enhancing their environment.

Facilitated by the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust, the awards celebrate excellence and innovation. Judges take a big-picture view, looking at every aspect of your farm – from water and soil management to climate action, biodiversity, waste, team and community wellbeing, business health, biosecurity and animal care.

You can enter at any stage of your sustainability journey. Taking part is a great way to get feedback, see what’s working well, and learn from others passionate about the food and fibre sector.

Entries are open now. Visit bfea.org.nz for more information.

Working towards happy, healthy waterways

Looking after the waterways on his family’s 300 hectare dairy farm is something Tor Pedersen is hugely proud of.

Broomore Farm near Raglan has 250 dairy cows that graze 100ha, with 50ha used as support land for calves and beef stock, and the rest split between exotic trees and virgin and regenerating native bush.

“We put a big investment in keeping the waterways clean, because we rely on water for everything,” says Tor, who participated in the Hill Country Erosion Project and was the Waikato Regional Supreme Winner of the Ballance Farm Environment Awards 2025.

“In our main tributary that runs through the farm, we’ve got some freshwater mussels and kōura (freshwater crayfish). So that’s another big part of us looking after the waterways, because there’s life in there, and we want to ensure that they’re happy and healthy and are there for generations to come.”

Enhancing water quality is the overriding goal for all management decisions on the farm, which participates in a NIWA water quality monitoring initiative.

The work has included increased riparian setbacks and relocating the main race, and the farm is achieving excellent stream health as a result.

For herd health, they changed their breeding programme to crossbreeds a few years ago as they’re better suited than Friesians to the challenging topography.

Tor’s parents, Tony and Shona Pedersen, own Broomore Farm, with Tor having worked on the farm since 2018 and contract milked since 2022.

Tor’s commitment to implementing improvements to enhance production and the wider environment continues his family’s strong legacy of prioritising environmental stewardship alongside profitability.

Fine-tuning the ratio of water to grass

On their Culverden farm, Stuart and Tracey Neill’s focus on caring for the environment has resulted in better water quality.

The couple, who milk 630 cows on 200 hectares, have invested in drainage systems, sediment traps and riparian planting to reduce nutrient and sediment loss into waterways.

The irrigation on the farm is supplied with water by the Amuri Irrigation Scheme out of the Waiau Uwha and Hurunui rivers.

“It was piped a few years ago, so it’s a very efficient system, and water losses are very low,” Stuart says.

“We have worked really hard to make our system very waterefficient to use the minimum amount of water to grow grass.”

Stuart and Tracey, Canterbury Regional Supreme Winners in the 2025 Ballance Farm Environment Awards, have removed or replaced an original tile drain system and instead created open drains.

They’ve also implemented extensive planting and have a strong commitment to soil health, with meticulous testing and nutrient management.

“Monitoring is showing we are removing nearly 100% of the nitrates on its journey through the farm. We have shown that we can run a profitable farm without those negative environmental impacts which sometimes occur.”

To prioritise the wellbeing of both animals and people, the couple reduced milking from twice a day to 10-in-7 (milking 10 times in seven days).

They also matched inputs to soil types and crops, helping the farm run more efficiently while caring for the environment.

Their approach demonstrates commitment to environmental stewardship, while maintaining the farm’s profitability and contributing to the health and sustainability of the local ecosystem.