Abe and Anita de Wolde own four dairy farms in Southland and are also involved in forestry. They were dairy farming in Holland since 1981, before moving to New Zealand 18 years ago. For Abe, adopting a sustainability perspective has three central benefits; it “adds to our competitive advantage ... makes it easier to attract staff and it improves profitability.” It is also a vehicle for reducing the environmental impacts associated with the farms’ operations.

There are several industry-leading initiatives in place at Woldwide Farms. On two of the four farms cows are wintered in sheds leading to reduced feed requirements, higher milk production and improved animal health. The twin impacts of soil compaction and nutrient loss are also removed. There is a positive social outcome too; farm staff do not need to work outside in the winter weather. 

By storing the nutrients (from cow effluent) during the winter that would likely have been lost had the cows been outside, Abe can re-distribute these nutrients as fertiliser for his fields in spring. Abe also recognised the environmental and economic costs associated with the levels of water used in dairying. He has since devised a system that completely removes the need for water during the cleaning of the holding yard.

Abe believes other businesses will be interested in sustainability when they understand the social and economic benefits; it is easier than ‘farming-as-usual’ and it can save money. He also thinks increasing numbers of people will switch on to sustainability as they come to realise their current practices are unsustainable. The best piece of advice Abe has for others is to think outside the square; “... people often have the tendency to do what they’ve always done because it is safe and secure, but often you need a bit of courage to step out and do something completely different.”

Business background

Woldwide Farms operate four dairy farms along with forestry land in the Heddon Bush area (approximately 50km north of Invercargill). The farms principally supply the international dairy market. Owners Abe and Anita de Wolde have been dairying in New Zealand for 18 years and currently employ 22 staff, along with contract share-milkers as required. Abe started dairy farming in Holland in 1981, before moving to Southland in 1991.

Abe strongly believes in the concept of sustainability. He explains that it provides three central benefits for his business, “sustainability adds to our competitive advantage. It makes it easier to attract staff and it improves profitability.” It is also a vehicle for reducing the environmental impacts associated with farming operations. Abe could be considered a leader in the Southland dairy farming sector after winning a Lincoln University Innovation Award several years ago. He is now applying the research which led to this award at Woldwide Farms with impressive results.

What sustainability means at Woldwide Farms

Abe and his team are passionate about sustainability and strongly feel that is it essential to the long term survival and success of any business. Sustainability is important at Woldwide Farms because their philosophy is that unsustainable practices will inevitable lead to having to pay the price sooner or later.

The motivation for improving sustainability performance stems from a “desire to have minimal environmental impact in our business and to show the way in finding solutions,” Abe says. He believes other businesses should be interested in sustainability due to the social and economic benefits; it is easier than business-as-usual and it can save money. Abe thinks more and more people will switch on to sustainability as they come to realise that what they are currently doing is unsustainable. 

In terms of the Southland dairy industry, Abe explains that it is certainly possible to have a prosperous region in 20 or 30 years time. However it is important to find ways for dairying to co-exist peacefully with the rest of the community, “then it can be income to the province and it can employ people and it can be really good for everyone,” Abe says.

Sustainability in action

The most interesting initiative adopted at Woldwide Farms is the wintering sheds Abe and Anita have built on two of the four farms. These sheds house cows during the winter months and provide several benefits, both for the environment and the cows themselves. If cows are grazed on the wet, muddy ground during winter, this leads to soil compaction and nutrient loss, which gradually degrades the land and increases the need for fertilisers. Furthermore, when cows are grazing in the fields during winter, they tend to eat a lot of dirt when searching for grass. This can reduce their iron levels, negatively affecting their health and milk output. 

In contrast, cows wintered in sheds require less feed, produce more milk, are healthier and the issues of soil compaction and nutrient loss are removed. As Abe explains, “if you put the cows inside then you ... get a lot more milk so you get a lot more efficient use of your cows.” This initiative has a positive social outcome too; farm staff do not need to work outside in the winter weather, herding cows through mud. This means greater job satisfaction and better staff retention at Woldwide Farms. Abe has found the pay-back period for the wintering shed system to be quite short. He has calculated the rate of return to be 22%, meaning that set-up costs can be recovered in five years. In addition, the ongoing costs associated with the wintering sheds are minimal, adding further value to this initiative.

Another strategy associated with the wintering sheds at Woldwide Farms is a nutrient storage system. During winter, the cow effluent is captured and stored in two large containers; one with four million litres capacity, the other storing three million litres. This effluent is then spread back onto paddocks in the spring. Abe explains that only in spring when the grass is actively growing can it effectively take up the nutrients, rather than having them run off the soil into waterways. This not only benefits the environment, but saves the farm money. By storing the nutrients during winter that would likely have been lost had the cows been outside, Abe does not have to buy fertiliser to replace those nutrients. 

Water is a significant factor for any dairy farm. According to Abe, the average dairy farm requires approximately 60 litres per cow to wash everything involved with the milking process. He recognised the environmental and economic cost associated with those levels of water use, so devised a system on one of his farms to entirely remove the need for water during cleaning. This system uses a scraper adapted from one of Abe’s free stall barns to scrape out the holding yard adjacent to the milking area. Abe says that “it scrapes it just way dry and it’s a big, big water saving. It saves about 60,000 litres of water on that farm, per day.”

Woldwide Farms is also involved in forestry. There are 60 hectares of native bush located on the property which Abe has implemented a sustainable management plan for. Abe and his team have also planted another 100 hectares of land in pine trees. This 100 hectare block has been assessed and certified for carbon credits, providing another income stream for the business.

Challenges involved in seeking sustainability

With regard to dairy farming, nitrogen and phosphate loss in winter will act to limit the growth of the industry in the years to come if the status quo continues. Abe sees great potential in smartening up and doing things better which can lead to sustainable growth of the dairy farming sector. However, if the sector does not improve, it will reach its limits for environmental sustainability before anything else, he cautions.

Many of the initiatives implemented at Woldwide Farms are quite original, especially in a New Zealand context. This made for some challenging moments for Abe, especially when trying to convince local authorities of the merits of what he was doing. However, following his successes Environment Southland is in the process of adapting the rules to cater for such initiatives, Abe says.

This kind of original thinking also made it challenging to find reliable information to assist the implementation of these ideas. Abe explains that he relied on information sourced on the internet quite a lot, along with the experience he gained while farming back in Holland.

Advice for other businesses

The best piece of advice Abe has for others is to think outside the square when considering sustainable business solutions. As he says, “... people often have the tendency to do what they’ve always done because it is safe and secure, but often you need a bit of courage to step out and do something completely different.” 

Linked to this is the idea of actually starting from scratch and thinking creatively. This may be preferable to persevering with existing ways of doing things and simply trying to minimise the impacts associated with such behaviour. Abe clarifies this by explaining “it’s quite easy to go and try and minimise the effect of existing practices, rather than starting from scratch and considering, well is the whole thing required in the first place?”

In saying this, it can sometimes be inefficient to ‘re-invent the wheel’ when considering ways to improve the sustainability performance of your business. As Abe reports, there is a lot of information available and it can be very worthwhile to adapt existing systems to the operating environment you are in. He also advocates cooperation; “I think the most important thing is to synergise and to operate in an environment of trusting each other and together look for solutions.”

Abe also strongly believes in fulfilling all aspects of sustainability; environmental, economic, social and cultural. As Abe points out, if he makes a good profit and his operations are environmentally friendly, but no one wants to work for him this is not sustainable. Likewise, if your operations are environmentally friendly and staff are committed, but you’re losing money this is not sustainable either. A truly sustainable business needs to fulfil all the criteria involved.