Sheep and beef breeding farmers Greg and Dansy Coppell take on The Country Fast Five

Howard Valley sheep and beef breeding farmers Dansy and Greg Coppell and their family.

New Zealanders often hear about farmers being the backbone of the country but do we really know what makes the primary industries tick?

With that in mind, The Country’s Kem Ormond has compiled a list of questions for everyday Kiwis in agriculture.

This week it’s the turn of Greg and Dansy Coppell, sheep and beef breeding farmers in the Howard Valley, South Island.

They are also the owners of Repost, a company that repurposes old posts from vineyards and turns them into useable fence posts and battens.

If you would like to be part of The Country Fast Five series you can get in touch with Kem at kem.ormond@nzme.co.nz. Or you can fill in the form here.

Greg and Dansy Coppell

What’s in your shed?

The farm shed has a large pile of wool as we no longer sell it, we compost it to use back on-farm.

As well as a broken side by side and tractor that needs repairing (when Greg gets around to it).

In the Repost shed is a rip saw which allows us to uniform shorter lengths of timber into battens … diverting more shorter timber lengths from landfill.

As well as a broken lawn mower, bikes with punctures, and Greg’s old building tools (as he was a builder for 20 years).

What does being a farmer mean to you?

It holds huge value in who we are, to be able to provide excellent quality meat for the market as you can visually see the fruits of your labour.

To sell recycled fenceposts means we are helping other farmers/growers/ food producers on their journey also.

Do you have an ag hero?

Greg’s dad Pop, his resilience to overcome a lot of adversity in agriculture and be able to come back from it time and time again is honourable and impactful; setting a clear message of strength but also showing first-hand lessons on how life can knock you down but it’s how you recover from it and learn that is the true mark of your character.

He may not be a well-known hero, but he’s impacted a lot on his community for the better; so he’s a grassroots hero in our eyes.

Do you ever feel sad or disillusioned about being a farmer?

Our farm gets by because we bring off-farm income in.

This means we are not on-farm 100% of the time which gives us a perspective and respite we didn’t have prior.

Before Repost, when we lived and breathed farming I would say 100% yes, but when costs kept climbing, we made the decision to stop selling our wool and compost it.

The whole wool process was a huge hit every year and yes, daily, we were worried about how to make ends meet.

We decided then and there, we had to change our format and haven’t looked back.

I think being adaptable and resilient is the only reason we are not disillusioned.

There are so many community groups and people happy to lend an ear of their experiences and ideas to help, so you don’t need to feel alone or resistant to changes.

Mental health is an ongoing conversation and journey for Greg and me and with organisations like Rural Support Trust there are multiple tools for the toolbox.

There definitely is a mindfulness process to train the brain to focus on the good and that which fills the cup.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

What’s spare time? Right now, Greg and I are keeping our heads down working while we are young and have the drive and energy! Ha…

We love to spend time with our kids, watching them grow and giving them memories that will instil in them love, happiness and a framework so that one day they are positive members of the community that provide a useful skill-set that is of value.