Built on water

Marty (left) and Ollie Ashby, balancing experience with new approaches as the farm transitions through succession.

Marty and Jo Ashby have been farming at Alkington, just out of Fernside, long enough to see the industry change more than once.

What sits there now, a 172-hectare milking platform running around 600 cows, didn’t start out that way.

Like much of North Canterbury, the turning point came with water.

“When irrigation came in through Waimakariri Irrigation Ltd, that was the game changer,” Ashby says. “We couldn’t have been milking cows here without it.”

The block had been part of a wider operation, used as support land, before the decision was made to convert in 1999. It was the era when irrigation opened the door for dairy expansion across the region, and the Ashbys stepped through it.

More than two decades on, the system has grown into a fully integrated operation. The milking platform is backed by lease land and runoff blocks, with young stock and wintering all managed in-house.

“We ringfence the whole thing,” Ashby says. “It’s all part of the same system.”

The farm is now tracking toward the mid-300,000 kilograms of milksolids this season, but numbers aren’t what he talks about first. It’s the system behind them that matters.

Ollie Ashby on farm at Fernside, stepping into a greater role as the next generation takes shape.

Tech, but not at the expense of instinct

Ashby isn’t one for jumping on every new bit of tech, but he’s not ignoring it either.

“We’re not early adopters, but we don’t want to be last,” he says.

Allflex collars and auto-drafting have replaced the old routine of tail paint and walking rows to pick heats. Irrigation runs off the phone, backed by soil moisture monitoring.

But he’s clear it doesn’t replace judgement.

“It’s information that assists you,” Ashby says. “You still look at the paddock.”

That thinking runs through the whole place. Even pasture measurement is done in a way that forces staff to learn what they’re seeing, not just rely on a number.

“They’ll write it down,” he says. “So, they know what 3000 kilos of dry matter looks like, not just what the machine tells them.”

It’s a balance between technology and stockmanship, and one he’s deliberate about keeping.

Taking the guesswork out

Where tech has eased pressure in the shed, minerals have done the same at calving.

Ashby has been using Vitalise for several years now, delivered through a mineral dispenser attached to the grain auger, alongside calcium, magnesium and rumen support.

The decision came off the back of years dealing with the same issues most dairy farmers face.

“At calving time, things can get interesting if you haven’t got your magnesium and calcium right,” he says.

Weather plays a part, intake can vary, and traditional methods don’t always land where you want them to.

Since moving to an in-shed system using Vitalise, the difference has been noticeable.

“It’s very rare that we get down cows now,” Ashby says. “It just takes the guesswork out of it.”

Rain or shine, the cows are getting what they need every day. Later in the season, rumen support is added to keep things ticking over.

It’s not complicated, but it’s consistent. And that’s the point.

Allflex collars in use across the herd, part of a system that has reduced stress and improved decision-making at mating.

Family, and what comes next

The next shift at Alkington isn’t around infrastructure or production. It’s people.

Both of the Ashby’s sons are involved in the business. Ollie is now contract milking, with three staff, while Toby works alongside Jo with young stock and calves.

It’s the early stages of succession, though Ashby is quick to laugh off any suggestion he’s stepping away anytime soon.

“We’re talking about it,” he says.

Like most farming families, it’s happening gradually.

There are differences though, particularly in how the next generation views regulation.

“They just see it as another card you’ve got to play,” Ashby says.

Attention to animal health and consistency has been key, with in-shed mineral systems supporting the herd year-round.

Keeping perspective

After more than 30 years in dairy, Ashby has seen enough cycles to know not to get carried away.

That includes the recent Fonterra payout, often labelled a “windfall”.

“It’s not really that,” he says. “It’s a redistribution of capital.”

For the Ashbys, the decision was straightforward.

“We paid down debt.”

It’s a practical response, and one he suspects is common across the sector, regardless of how it’s portrayed.

“We’ve got no development plans right now but while there are no opportunities in front of us at the moment, you can’t stop looking for them. Sometimes you’ve just got to create an opportunity” he says.

That same grounded approach runs through everything at Alkington.

From irrigation through to the way technology is used to the shift into the next generation, it’s been about making decisions that stack up over time.