STORIES WE LOVE

A dairy couple and a family who became equal partners

Every now and then I find a story that shows exactly what we're about at Cultivate Farms: real people finding a way to keep a farm working and bring someone new onto it. I share them here because seeing it done by others makes it real. Here's one I love.

From Dairy News Australia, 5 December 2025: "Partnership builds equity". Read the full story at sheppnews.com.au.

Why I love it

I love this story because it shows how a door can open fast when it needs to. In 2019 a change in circumstances left a dairy couple with no farm and 180 cows due to calve within months. On a suggestion from his brother, they asked an accounting firm whether it knew a family looking to back a dairy farm. It did. Two months later an equity partnership was signed, and farming began in August, just in time for calving.

The partners asked for two things. The farm had to be in a secure rainfall area, and the partnership had to share both the land and the operating business equally. Six years on, the Nirranda South farm has grown from 350 cows to 600, and from 290 hectares to 490. Growth wasn't a requirement, it happened along the way. They meet on the farm each quarter and online each month.

Why it matters for towns like ours

Many farming families have the knowledge but not the capital, and many backers have the capital but not the knowledge. This story shows the two can fit, with skills on each side and open communication. The article says to ask questions, build connections and get advice from accountants, bankers and solicitors.

One step you could take

Write down what you bring to a farm and what you'd want a partner to bring. Then talk it over with an accountant before you talk to anyone else. Read how joint ventures and equity partnerships work in our Ageing on Farm guide.

I share these stories because each one shows it can be done, by ordinary farming families, in places like yours. If you know a story like this, or you're living one, I'd love to hear it.