Mixing first-time motherhood with studying

Mixing first-time motherhood with studying

West Coast dairy farmer Sian Madden looks back and laughs about having a “diploma baby” when she recalls mixing first-time motherhood with studying for her diploma.

“My daughter was six weeks old when I attended my first class – she was a diploma baby! Then I went on to do the study when I had two kids under 18 months.” 

Sian studied the Primary ITO qualification over three years after moving with partner Mark to the West Coast to go contract milking, away from Nelson and her accounting job.

Sian found the course when looking for something to study after realising the commute from Mawheraiti, near Reefton, to Nelson for work would not be practical.

The online learning and flexibility of the programme made it easy to fit into her busy life with little ones. “The tutors are there to support you and also enable you to just get on with it and get the work done. I love having that flexibility.”

The programme has enabled both Sian and Mark to bring their strengths to the business. They’ve also been able to grow by adding a second farm nearby.

Progress to sharemilking

Sian manages the finances, budgeting, planning and human resources, while Mark works with the staff and animals and is responsible for on-farm management.   

The diploma also set them up to take the step up to sharemilking. Their  combined operation involves contract milking 500 cows, sharemilking a herd of 800, and employing 5 full-time staff and 3 part-time relief milkers.

Preparing their finances using the course materials enabled the couple to present their financial position and capability to both the bank and property owners for the sharemilking venture, and Sian believes they would not have been able to progress this without the diploma behind them.

The financial planning topic is also enabling smarter decisions on expenditure. Sian is currently considering the cost of using a helicopter to pull out tractors which get stuck in the wet West Coast paddocks during fertiliser application.

“That is money out of my pocket so I want to know what is happening, why are we doing that and what does it cost? Now I have the skills to assess that.”

Five Primary ITO apprentices   

The study has improved Sian and Mark’s recruiting and their ability to attract the type of staff they want, she says. They can reach the right staff through advertising and offer a package of flexibility and training to help them attract the right fit for their team.

Sian doing the course has left a big impression on their team with everyone keen to further themselves.

 All five staff are studying the Primary ITO Farm Apprenticeship. The training is close at hand in Reefton so staff can attend without affecting the dairy shed roster too much.

“We always want them to succeed and progress. It’s important to us to build people up from within.”

Having a positive work environment and retaining staff is also important, she says. “It is about succession planning. If we lose someone we want that to be from the top so everyone else moves up, and we have open conversations about that.”   

Another key aspect of the programme was learning their legal responsibilities with regard to compliance with health and safety and the Resource Management Act for example. “It’s all those little things that you don’t know until you are running a business. And change all the time so now I know what is required and how to keep on to date.”