Published by Rural Life, 10 July 2024
Canterbury farmers who were part of a Hinds and Selwyn project to come up with ways to reduce nitrogen leaching on their farms expect it will be more difficult to make progress in future.
Published by Otago Daily Times, June 2022
Dynamic is a great word to describe New Zealand’s dairy farmers in 2022, South Island Dairy Event committee chairwoman Anna Wakelin says.
Published by Dairy Exporter, February 2022
A shift to the South Island, contract milking, has led a couple to an equity management role, with the prospect of growing ownership. Anne Lee reports.
Applications close 24 August 2024
Start Date Negotiable
The Camden Group has an exciting new opportunity for someone to join our highly motivated team as our full time Accounts Assistant.
Reporting to the Business Manager, we’re on the search for someone with an excellent attitude, honesty, reliability, self-organisation and has a desire to work as part of a team. The purpose of the role is to coordinate the administration of financial information and other data for eight Camden Group businesses. The Accounts Assistant will also have working relationships with the General Manager, Farm Manager, Maintenance Manager and Consultant.
Does this sound like you?
Camden Group owns and operates large-scale dairy farms on the Central Canterbury Plains with highly experienced teams operating across 2,300 hectares. Being part of the Group means being part of a unique history – while helping to realise the potential of farming for generations to come.
We’re a high-performing team, lucky enough to work in a great environment. There’s talent, ambition and support at every level of the Camden Group along with opportunities to expand your knowledge and skills with an eye to the next step in your career. It’s all part of the Camden Way.
This role would suit a graduate or similar, and can be for 30 to 40 hours per week Mon-Fri depending on candidate requirements. The role will be based at our office in Dunsandel but flexible working arrangements are available.
We offer a competitive salary based on experience and skill level, health and life insurance, and time off for training. There are also opportunities for further growth within the Camden Group in seasons to come.
Sound like this would suit you? Email your CV and cover letter outlining why you’d be a perfect fit for this role to Travis Gordon, travis@camdengroup.co.nz by 16 April 2024. We will be reviewing applications as soon as we receive them.
Published by Dairy Exporter, August 2021
Canterbury sharemilkers Glenn Jones and Sarah Brett are embracing sustainability while making a profit.
Highveld Pastures was purchased in June 2021 as an existing dairy platform. The property is 230ha and aims to milk 850 cows.
Irrigation is by centre pivots and a linear irrigator, with connection to the Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Scheme.
The business is a joint venture between the Camden Group, Waterton Agricultural Ltd, the Kilday, Maw and Coetzee families, John Donkers and Steffan Vermeer, who have all been involved with Camden Group businesses past or present.
Equity Managers Flo and Jen Coetzee run the day-to-day operations with support from the management teams at Camden Group and Waterton Agricultural.
Reynolds Road, Methven
Established 2021
850 cows
213 ha
Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Scheme
54-bail rotary shed
5 staff
Published by Inside Dairy, February 2021
Changing how they farm has already enabled the Willsden Farm team to reduce their farming footprint while maintaining profit.
Te Pirita Enterprises is a contracting group of which Camden Group owns a portion. Their headquarters is situated on the northern end of Willsden Farm.
Services include:
Two machines available when time is critical. Suitable for establishing all crops into all conditions. Provides hydraulic down pressure for consistent seed placement. Fertiliser and insecticide options with small seeds. Slug bait spreading.
Bio drill utilised for broadcasting of small seeds or planting two crops at once. Cultivation elements for reducing the number of passes pre-drilling. Fertiliser option available.
Two 12 row Tempo planters available for fodder beet, maize and all other precision planted crops with section control. Fertiliser option available.
We have the ability to supply straw delivered on-farm. Quality product. Competitive pricing.
Utilised for intensive mixing and breadking down of clods after winter grazing, re-grassing and cereal stubble incorporation. A great all-round machine suitable for all soil types.
Suitable for chopping, mixing and incorporating of crop residue. Utilised for breaking down of clods and turf and provides a high daily output.
8m cultivator used for finishing. Can be used with Vaderstad cambridge roller.
Versatile cultivator with four elements that can be fine-tuned to adapt to a variety of conditions. Consisting of two rows of discs, staggered subsoiler legs providing full-width lift and pan shatter, two more rows of discs and roller. Up to 400mm working depth.
The independent four-track design delivers maximum traction with minimum soil compaction. 500hp to guarantee cultivators can be pulled at correct depth.
Versatile plough for high output performance.
8m wide for high daily output while also leaving a level and consolidated finish ready to drill or plant on. For use after the plough or Topdown. Folding fully adjustable leveller towing a Vaderstad cambridge roller with levelling boards.
Sharlands Road, Te Pirita
027 922 3843
Alto Holdings Ltd was set up in 2009 as a joint venture with Tony and Anna Wakelin. 50/50 sharemilking began in West Eyreton, with 1,050 cows on 340ha.
After 10 years of sharemilking, 2019 saw Camden Dairy Farms and Tony and Anna Wakelin co-purchase a 501ha dryland dairy farm in South Canterbury, renaming the company to Kohika Downs Ltd.
The property is self-contained with adjacent land leased for dairy support.
Kohika achieved their target of 420,722kgMS in their first season of 2019/20, and exceeded their 2020/21 target by achieving 458,241kgMS in their second season.
Back Line Road, Otaio
Established 2009
1,050 cows
436kgMS per cow
501ha
Dryland
80 bail rotary shed
6 staff
Highbury Farm was originally a dryland sheep farm.
Camden Group purchased the property in 2015 to run as the winter/silage support land for Chiswick, Prairie and Willsden farms.
An extra 80ha is also leased from Willsden Farm as the winter/silage support land for Camden Farm.
It was connected to the CPWL irrigation scheme in 2015 and the property was reconfigured to a dairy platform – removing 8km of mature pine shelter belts, relocating the house, garage and hay shed, installing new access lanes, installing irrigation and stockwater system and increasing base fertility.
The property is irrigated by 4 centre pivots for 222ha and set sprinklers in corners covering 25ha.
Sharlands Road, Te Pirita
Purchased 2015
Winter grazing
Support land
254ha
CPWL supply water
