Wintering 'poster boy' walking the talk on Riverton dairy farm
Good practice isn’t the only thing you’ll find if you visit Luke Templeton’s Riverton dairy farm.
Luke is no stranger to publicity through his many accomplishments in the farming industry, but he has been thrust further into the spotlight starring in a series of videos discussing the finer points of wintering cows in Southland.
He’s just as comfortable as a media frontman or showcasing his farm as part of a catchment group wintering tour, as he is in the dairy shed when discussing the use of portable troughs and planning for wet weather events, on camera.
The results and feedback have been positive, though Luke admits his friends have taken full advantage of him being elevated to the unofficial position of dairy farming’s poster boy.
“For six years now I have been part of the DairyNZ farm environment leaders programme,” Luke says.
“I have been the Southland chair for about five years and I have got to meet a lot of the DairyNZ staff.”
“One of those guys said they were going to do some winter educational videos, and asked whether I would be available.
“My friends find it a great joke to print it out and put it on their fridge."
“It has been two winters now where I have been DairyNZ’s wintering poster boy.
But the flipside is, I can definitely tell across Southland over the past four years that practices have improved.
Given he is promoting good environmental practices, it is no surprise that Luke is passionate about the farming industry.
“We were fairly confident that we were doing things right before we went and did the videos, so I asked a few trusted people around me to have a drive around and see what they thought.”
It was a really constructive exercise getting honest feedback from farming colleagues, he says.
Luke’s great-great grandfather bought 2000 acres in the region in 1911.
The family are now in their sixth generation in the area, with the recent addition of Luke and his wife Jen’s daughter, Isla.
You won’t just find a regular dairy farm when visiting the family’s 260ha property.
There is a 105-year-old working flax mill, complete with its own museum. The mill, maintained by The Templeton Flax Mill Heritage Trust, is the only working flax mill left in the country.
With Foveaux Strait as one of the farm boundaries and whitebaiters and eelers keen to access streams on the farm, there are no shortage of visitors.
This means Luke is used to having his operation in the eyes of the public.
So, showing off the farm and his wintering practices is hardly a step in a different direction.
“We have the public coming through to use the beach entrance quite a lot. It has been in our head for a long time that we can’t screen ourselves off and hide away.”
The theory has always been to be as good as they can be and keep trying to think of ways they can improve, Luke says.
“That has actually been quite exciting for us.”
Though Luke is the front man for wintering, he believes the opposite approach is best.
By getting together and talking about their practices and challenges, the sharing of knowledge helps farmers develop new ideas and new skills, he says.
“I am part of a catchment group out our way that is coming up to our sixth or seventh wintering tour that we do every year. It is a fairly social way to have a look at a few farms.
“It has been a really good way to bring people out and discuss what works and what makes things better.
“I am reasonably passionate about this stuff and this tour was a reaction to some of the negative stuff that has been out there, if I am being honest.”
As far as putting his ideas into practice, Luke believes planning is a key element for a successful winter ahead, while also being adaptable.
“For us it is the pre-planning, which is key.
“We start putting baleage on crop in summer, so you have got to think about where could be wet in six or eight months’ time.
“Being well pre-planned, you are really grateful for that when you get to winter.
“Having a plan about what the paddock might look like at the start and then being prepared to change if things aren’t up to your standards.”
Luke’s advice for dairy farmers on winter grazing practices can be found on the DairyNZ website and social channels.
