KEY POINTS:
Name: Nathan Bluett
Age: 22
Job title: Dairy Farm Operations Manager
Working hours: 5.30am - 6.30pm daily, one weekend off a month
Employer: Dairy farmers
Pay: $50,000 plus, as equity partner, 20 per cent of farm profit
Qualifications needed: Herd management experience, helpful to have AgIto level 4 certificate of agriculture and attend farm discussion groups
Career prospects: Contract milker, herd manager, sharemilker, farm manager, farm owner
Describe your job
I milk the cows. I plan where the cows go [to graze], usually three days ahead, working out how much feed I've got on the farm to make sure they are getting looked after. I also have to plan jobs for our worker. Sometimes I'll give him a week's worth of work and he plans how he'll spend each day himself.
We do weeds and now the young stock are bigger I've taken over organising their feed, getting in meal and milk. I do two milkings a day, have an hour for breakfast and an hour for lunch; though in summer we might have two hours for lunch to avoid the heat of day.
On the weekends I just do the two milkings and, in season, feed calves and the rest of the day is mine to go to town or whatever. Working seven days a week with one weekend a month off is a lot for a 22-year-old but I don't mind as I'm getting ahead. It may be a different story for someone who just does it for a job.
Why did you choose the job?
It was the next big step for me. I'd been a herd manager on a 700-cow farm and I managed half that herd. I was also the tractor driver. There are 700 cows on this farm and I do all the management of both herds. And you have to worry about effluent treatment. Over calving you are even more flat out with all the different mobs.
What's the best part of the job?
I like working with animals. You watch them calve and then they come into milk. It's probably in your nature whether you like animals and want to help them and see that they are looked after properly. The worst part is looking after the effluent system, shifting it and making sure it's running right takes time.
What are your strengths?
I notice animals that are not quite right and sort out how to fix it, such as picking up mastitis [infections]. Being a leader is important - encouraging staff and trying to be organised so that when you see things that need to be done they get done.
I could work on paperwork. Instead of having it all in my head I need to write things down so the staff can see it.
Where do you want to be in five years?
In three years I want to own my own farm. Farms cost heaps but it is my goal and I'm on my way there. From the start when I was just a farm assistant I bought 20 calves each year and paid for grazing out of my wages. In four years I had $100,000 worth of animals. I sold them to invest in this farm. It's a way for young people to get ahead and it wasn't much out of my pay packet.
What are the essential qualities of an operations manager?
Someone who listens to what the staff are saying and what the owners of the property want done. It's not good to be stressed out because you are not good to work with. You need to have a willingness to work, to get out and do it and be prepared to take responsibility and the consequences.
What's your job hunting advice?
If you are on a farm training is important and going to local [farm] discussion groups and Fonterra field days. They are helpful because they give you ideas.
So does talking to other farmers and your neighbours. If job hunters are not on a farm already they'd need to start as a farm worker to see if they enjoy it. You've got to be good with stock, willing to work, ask lots of questions and be able to learn from your mistakes.
