Matthew is a proud dairy farmer, born and raised in the Waikato, and has lived on farms his entire life. Matthew says he “saw the light” ten years ago and moved to Canterbury to live the dairy farming dream. 

He says, “farming is what I was born to do, I love it and if I’m totally honest I would do it for free.”  

Together with his wife, Samantha, Matthew has a young son, Blake.  

“Work/life balance was pretty poor on my side for a long time, but once Blake was born, I really saw what was important and where I should be spending more time. We have an incredible slice of New Zealand, in Twizel, and get down there whenever we can,” he says. 

In 2015 Samantha and Matthew won the ANZ Young Farmer of the Year contest. This was a satisfying achievement as they had both put an incredible amount of time and effort into it.  

The couple currently contract milk 1,800 cows for the McBain family in Wakanui, just out of Ashburton, and employ a team of 12 staff at peak.  Matthew has a Bachelor of Applied Science majoring in Agriculture from Massey University.  

Bridie is currently contract milking 650 cows over two farms near Edgecumbe in the Bay of Plenty. She has been dairy farming for five years, after working in the agriculture industry for some time. 

Bridie gained a great deal of experience in the fertiliser and environmental space through her work at Ballance Agri-Nutrients, most recently as the North Island Team Leader for the Farm Sustainability Team.   

As if milking 650 cows over two farms wasn’t enough to keep her busy, Bridie is the Bay of Plenty Sharemilker Section Chair for Federated Farmers and a member of the National Executive for the Sharemilker Section. She is also actively involved with the Dairy Environmental Leaders Forum and the Bay of Plenty Dairy Industry Awards.  

“With a love for the environment and my cows, I am proud to be a dairy farmer. I strive to lessen our environmental footprint, while producing the highest quality milk”, says Bridie.  

Richard and his wife Amy farm 1,200 dairy cows and 200 beef cattle over four properties in the Bay of Plenty. 

In Richard’s own words, the couple have “cobbled the farms together through a combination of sharemilking, leasing and ownership with the aim of having a business that’s enjoyable to run and yet has the ability to grow.”  

Prior to farming hands-on, Richard worked for Landcorp as an Operations Manager for five years.  

In 2016, Richard embarked on a Nuffield scholarship to discover where the opportunities lie within the emerging world of ‘synthetic food’ for farmers and how the new technology could be integrated into a New Zealand farming model. He quickly realised that the opportunities were scarce, and said he ascertained that “farmers themselves were on the menu for most of the new companies!”  

Richard says the experience put things in context, and showed him where New Zealand fits into the global food system. This has guided Richard and Amy’s business since. 

Outside of the farm, Richard enjoys spending time with their three kids, hunting in the hills and “trying to surf”.