THE PEOPLE WHO PUT THEIR HAND UP

Securing her legacy

The creek farmer walked her boundary at first light, the way she had every week of her farming life.

The farm was her life's work: the hills, the creek flats, the dairy her father built. She'd run it on her own for years. Her nieces and nephews had their own lives in the city, and they loved hearing about the place.

All winter she'd sat with her solicitor and her accountant, and everything had come back to her in writing, numbers and all.

At the top corner she stopped, where she could see the whole farm at once. Down the road, the couple's dairy lights were on. Below the beef farmer's hills, the blue heifers were out on the river flats.

She'd made up her mind somewhere along the creek. This was about securing her legacy.

She walked back down along the creek and kicked her boots off at the door. The papers were on the kitchen table, where she'd left them, and she read the first page once more.

"Your farm moves into the Cultivate Trust, which runs it on your behalf, with the right farmer on it. The farm stays whole, stays farmed and stays in local hands. The right farmer goes on it: the best farmer for the farm, not the highest bidder."

She signed where her solicitor had marked.

Then she pulled her boots back on and went out to bring the cows in.

This is an illustration. The district and its people are made up.

The Farm That Keeps Giving is free at cultivatefarms.com/resources.