UDV scholarship: Stanhope’s Craig Emmett off to NZ

AT JUST 31 Craig Emmett is one busy fourth generation dairy farmer.

Organic plan: Stanhope farmer Craig Emmett is one of seven UDV scholarship holders who will head to New Zealand this month. Picture: Chloe Smith

AT  just 31 Craig Emmett is one busy fourth generation dairy farmer.

He is preparing to take over his family’s 100-year-old Stanhope farm in the next two years, and before then convert it to certified organic.

“The long-term goal is to run a successful, sustainable business,” he said. “The short-term goal is to get to our certified date — end of June next year. After that will be my parents’ retirement.”

Within two weeks Craig will be taking a Gardiner-funded study tour to New Zealand. He and six others on United Dairyfarmers of Victoria scholarships will tour the South Island midway through this month.

He looks forward to learning about the different crop varieties and pasture species New Zealand farmers use to maximise growth, and “how they handle transitioning of change of ownership and succession planning”.

“Chris Paynter, who’s ­organising the tour, rang me this week and is going to see if they have an organic farm to visit, for me,” he said. “Hopefully that all goes through, it would be brilliant.”

The decision to farm ­organically came from the desire to be more environmentally conscious, and there are also financial benefits.

“There’s a significant premium for organic milk and it’s a much more stable market,” he said.

“It doesn’t fluctuate anywhere near as much.

“It’s certainly the way it’s going, it’s a trend, people are more conscious of where their food comes from.”

Craig believes the biggest challenge will be dropping antibiotics from their animal health program.

“We would rather there were more industry research available,” he said. “There’s not a lot of industry-funded research in animal health.”

Craig began working full-time on his family’s farm after he finished school.

He left the farm when he was accepted into a Bachelor of Agriculture at Melbourne University.

He worked as an agronomist for two years before heading back to his dairy roots. “It’s what I know. I’ve always had a passion for it. I enjoy the lifestyle and working for myself,” Craig said.

He works the farm in partnership with his parents, Lynette and Gordon Emmett.

They milk 200 cows on their 100ha Shenstone Farm and have 50ha as an out block for heifer rearing.