Is the
Bureaucracy and Frustration of Dairy Farming
getting to you?
• Would you like to sleep in a bit more?
• Would you like to go on holiday when it’s calving time?
“H
emp farming is quite
easily integrated into
any current cropping
farm and many drystock/
dairy farms. Returns wise, hemp
farming can be comparable to milking,”
explains Tom Welch.
biggest thing holding New Zealand back is the
product’s high retail cost, which is simply due
to the poor yield of seed and heart per hectare.
Currently in New Zealand we are averaging 1
tonne per hectare. We need to get that up to
ten tonne per hectare.”
“ Mack, (the ‘Godfather’ of NZ Hemp – see Oct
issue) has previously achieved nine tonnes per
“Currently traditional farmers are not making a hectare and it was growing the plant a different
lot. There is income, but the costs to maintain
way. We have adopted his plan and we intend
that income are massive, and rising all the
to scale it. Sure, it’s a gamble, but if we can
time. For example: this year we all have to
pull off four tonnes per hectare in the first year,
update our milk cooling systems at a cost of up I’ll be absolutely over the moon.”
to $40k, even though milk is currently chilled
“We have a new better-spaced regime that
just fine.”
should force more flower and seed production.
Tom & Mellisa's farm is called Cannock Harvest. Our stems will be too thick and hard for
Tom works 150 effective rolling hectares near
combine harvesters, which hemp farmers are
Marton in the Rangitikei. It is his second hemp- currently using. We’ll be using an adapted
growing season and like a lot of New Zealand
grape harvester, which will straddle and shake
farmers, he is keen to exit the dairy industry.
the plants until the seeds fall out. We won’t be
“We would totally exit right now, only the
pulling any plants through machinery, which is
reality is the dairy farm business is paying for
one of the current issues. Another issue with
the hemp business. However, we are winding
hemp is its ripening period, which can last for
down the dairy and charging up the hemp side several weeks; we also see an opportunity to
of things, with an ambitious time frame of five
harvest twice in an attempt to beat the birds.”
years to totally phase out dairy.”
Tom concludes, “In my opinion, we as a country
Tom goes on, “In New Zealand, hemp is
are currently growing the wrong cultivars (for
not going to replace dairy, or beef & sheep
seed), in the wrong way. Sure I’ve only been
farming, but it will take a good chunk out of it.
growing for one year but I can see what the
You could say that hemp has come along at an
plant wants to do.“
opportune time.”
“For everyone, one of the biggest concerns
Tom & Melissa Welch
right now is starting a business on the
[email protected]
unknown. So, you need to get your ‘due
06 327 7676
diligence’ done and then basically take a
cannockharvest.nz
leap of faith. In terms of the market, the
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