Hawke's Bay couple win Australasian farm award

Personal and business performance benchmarking has been the key to success for Sherenden farmer Mark Watson, who has been presented with Rabobank's 2011 Farm Managers Programme business development award, heading off 30 contenders from throughout Australasia.
Recognised for his "Improvement Plan", which has been executed across all levels of the farming operation at Highland View, Flag Range Rd, Mr Watson has driven results into his farm business, resulting in higher productivity gains.
Originally from Northern Southland - with a hint of a rolled "R" in his speech - he farms the property with wife Amanda and parents Neil and Judy.
It could have been something quite different for the 37-year-old, who spent the first half of his life growing up on a farm at Garston - "at the bottom of Lake Wakatipu", he says, although I'm sure he meant south of Lake Wakatipu.
Garston is 19km south of Kingston and 13km northeast of Athol, or more somewhere just about in the middle of nowhere, on State Highway 6 about 122km northeast of Invercargill.
When he went to Otago Boys' High School in Dunedin he wanted to leave at the age of 15 and get back to the farm. The shortest route was 255km, or more than three hours.
His mother wouldn't wear the idea so he stuck it out, studied chemistry at the University of Otago and eventually headed for a career in banking and finance, in which he worked for several years in London.
It was after relocating to Sydney that he started wondering: "Do I really want to still be doing this in 50 years?"
It seems the answer was a no-brainer as he leapt at the chance to return to farming, albeit in Hawke's Bay where his parents had bought a farm during his years abroad. He'd never heard of Sherenden, and he'd been to the Bay only once in his life.
Now he finds himself running 750ha of rolling-to-medium steep dry country, comprising about 420ha of main farm and another leased property near Sherenden School.
With his parents still actively involved, he manages an operation that winters 9000 stock units, which includes 80 dairy carryover cows, 500 2-year-old bulls and steers, 200 yearling stags and finishing about 8500 lambs/hoggets.
It includes grazing cows from his brother, Donald, sharemilking between Taupo and Benneydale.
Helping, of course, is his wife, who works in town as a casual staff for Unison.
While he concedes feeling an occasional yearning for the south, felt mostly when Southland had the Ranfurly Shield, he says the Hawke's Bay climate is definitely the attraction of the north.
It's ideal for his training for events such as marathons and the Triple Peaks. Despite a pulled calf muscle he still has his eyes on the 36km Abel Tasman Coastal Classic, from Awaroa to Marahau in the South Island in September.
Receiving the Rabobank award at a dinner in Brisbane last month, Mr Watson said the programme "far exceeded" his expectations.
"It blew me away how professional the course is," he said. "It goes beyond farming and delves into business and personality assessments so you get a very well-rounded assessment of how to run your enterprise."
His farm manager project was focused on his personal improvement plan which explored leadership style, emotional intelligence, time management and communication.
The second part was his business improvement plan, which involved the development of a strategic business plan in which the whole family had an input. "It's astounding to see how small changes can really make a big difference to your business, both personally, and professionally," he said. "Big changes don't happen overnight but the little things you nudge away at will make a positive difference in a big way."
The Rabobank Farm Managers Programme is in its sixth year and is a business-management course designed to develop the operational and strategic business skills of young farmers who represent the next generation of leading farm business owners.
The 30 participants were from the North and South Islands and Australia.
Mr Watson said one of the "big plusses" was the chance to network, which means he can feel comfortable about visiting others and learning from their experience with the wide range of agricultural commodities which they represented, and the environments in which their enterprises were based - in extremes ranging from harsh Southland winters to the heat and aridity of the winterless Northern Territory.
Examples were fellow finalists Jason Hann, who is into mixed cropping around Darfield in Canterbury, and Jay Mohr-Bell, who farms 650sq km (three paddocks) an hour from Katherine, a town about 320km southeast of Darwin.
The course comprises a series of indoor lectures and studies during a week in Brisbane, and a field trip to a pineapple and macadamia nut operation.
Rabobank Farm Managers Programme director Angus Taylor, who was also one of the award judges, said Mr Watson's personal and business productivity plan had a positive impact on his business by "weeding out certain behaviour traits".
"This has helped influence his business productivity for the better," Mr Taylor said.
The programme is designed for farm business managers who will be running and taking ownership of a leading agribusiness.
Applications for the 2012 programme will open in early next year but advance inquiries are welcome.
"Anyone who's thinking of doing it, I strongly recommend they do," said Mr Watson.