Sometimes it’s all a matter of timing, and a little bit of luck—and so it’s been for Waikato farmer Matthew Darke, whose order for a new tractor in July delivered a lot more than the family bargained for.
The Darkes had decided on a new tractor for their dairy operation, and Matthew was planning to order a Case IH Maxxum 125 early next year. But, son Will saw there was a Case IH competition running that offered the chance to win a 2025 RAM pickup truck for tractors purchased and delivered between April 1 and July 31. So, the Darkes moved their order forward and that decision has paid off.
The new Case IH Maxxum 125 joins a Maxxum 110 and a Case IH Puma 210, both tractors tasked with a range of different jobs around Rockland Farms, including carting feed, carting gravel from the property’s quarry for the cow races in the sheds, muck spreading and cropping activities.
The Darkes also grow summer turnips and maize on about 60ha to supplement the feeding needs of the dairy herd.
John Gilbert, CNH New Zealand Business Manager, gave Matthew a call last month [[OCTOBER]] to deliver the good news.
“When he rang, I was thinking we hadn’t filled in our documentation for the new tractor quite right, and then he asked, ‘well, do you know why I’m ringing?’, and I knew the competition was due to be drawn, so I thought then that it may be about that,” Matthew said.
The 2025 RAM 1500 Laramie® Sport pickup truck is now in the Darkes’ driveway, on their 500ha property at Aria, south of Hamilton, where they milk a herd of 1250 jersey cows, once a day.
The Darkes adopted once-a-day milking 18 years ago when Matthew returned to the family property and converted it from a sheep and beef operation to dairy cattle. While more NZ dairy farmers are going from twice-a-day to a once-a-day regime, or using a combination of both, Matthew said it was considered unusual when they made the change. It made sense of them at the time, he said, and they had no concerns it compromised financial return.
“We had the lifestyle we wanted with the sheep and beef, so when we changed to dairy cattle we decided we weren't going to milk twice a day,” Matthew said.
”It was a lifestyle decision for us—we can get up, have breakfast with the kids, and then go off and milk the cows.
“And with milking at 7.30 it’s made it easier to source labour. We employ a number of women who put their kids on the school bus, and then they come to us.
“We've got two sheds on the farm, accommodating about 650 cows each, so we need a number of employees. It’s a lot of cows, and a big operation, but by milking once a day, it changes it all completely.”
With milk prices at record highs due to the likes of strong export demand, Matthew said the NZ dairy industry was in a good place.
“Prices have never been better so you’ve got to enjoy and take advantage of these good years, because when the not-so-good years come around, things can change pretty quickly,” Matthew said.