Tomarata Sharemilkers prove Cream of the crop

The 2009 Northland Sharemilkers of the Year Greg and Phillippa Foster credit their win to “just rolling up our sleeves, getting stuck in and showing the judges how we run the farm on a daily basis”.

The Fosters were talked into entering the competition by their farm advisor and they thought participation would benefit their business.

“We wanted to win it, because we’re pretty competitive, but didn’t expect to at our first attempt,” said Greg, 36.

The couple is 50 percent sharemilking 650 cows for Gordon and Isobel Greenwood, in Tomarata. They moved to the farm last year.

“We had our eyes on this property, I’d always liked the thought of working here – you have to choose carefully and be on the lookout for the right opportunity,” Greg says.
He grew up on his parents’ dairy farm in Kaiwaka and attended Otamatea High School. He trained as an electrician then left for “an extended OE” not committing to farming until he was 30 and his father’s ill-health necessitated a return home to run the family farm. Phillippa’s “ a townie” from the Taranaki with a banking background, along with a natural affinity to the land – and hard work. She left school to take on two jobs, earning enough to buy her first home at age 18.

"I wouldn’t swap life in the country for the city now, this is where I belong,” she says. The couple aims to increase herd size and eventually own their own farm. They have two children, aged three and 16 months.

The national finals will be held in Wellington next month. Meanwhile, Greg and Phillippa are not resting on their laurels, having to prepare for on-farm presentations, a formal interview, and closer scrutiny of their knowledge of the industry.

“It’s an ongoing commitment, because if we did happen to win, then we’d be involved in organising next year’s contest,” Phillippa says.

Greg and Phillippa Foster, Northland sharemilkers of the year.