Jana Hocken might not have known a thing about the dairy industry when she and her husband received a phone call to come home and take over the family dairy farm, Grassmere Dairy, in New Zealand in 2013, but she soon learnt.
Working as a mechanical engineer for Toyota in her previous life, Jana had learnt the importance and value of running a no waste business and she was pretty keen to implement those ‘Lean’ learnings on the farm.
“We had a $500,000 overdraft, we were working very hard but I couldn’t understand why we weren’t making any money. We had both come from great salaries and it was a real shock - something had to change,” Jana said.
She said implementing ‘Lean thinking’ was a game-changer for the business, which saw their business move from a profit of 50c/kgms to $2.50/kgms.
She said little things like reducing time spent driving the tractor, washing the yard out straight after milking when the yard is wet to reduce water use, calibrating teat spray and ensuring gates are closed so cows can’t go wandering into the wrong paddock all contributed to reducing costs.
Nothing was off the table when it came to implementing ‘Lean’ principles.
“Ultimately we have been able to reduce the working roster from 11 days on and two days off, to five days on and two days off even through our busy periods.”
She said if you are just looking at basic numbers the $500,000 overdraft is long gone, there has been a 25 per cent decrease in working hours, 15 per cent decrease in costs, 12 per cent increase in kg/ms per cow, 27 per cent decrease in cell count and a 37.5 per cent reduction in calf feeding time, resulting in a 72 per cent increase in productivity (output/labour hours).
“We created systems that gave clear direction and clarity around working roles and this has helped support staff retention and helped build an engaged team who are really invested in the business.
“We are always open to trying new things and we are happy to be challenged by our staff because there is always a different way to do things.”
Staff meetings are held regularly.
“There are no secrets within our business and the workers are well aware of our financials, including mortgage details.
“How you manage your system and processes ultimately determines how successful your business is, and if you grow good people through the process, it’s even better.”
Grassmere Dairy has short-term goals which include expanding the business further and surprisingly long-term goals that extend to 2090 (the family farm will be 200 by then).
“We want to make sure our business is around and we want to start to position it now so it is relevant in 2090.”
Jana said diversifying and looking at other opportunities is part of their future planning, which includes looking at agritourism.
Jana said she had been surprised by how much she loves the dairy industry, considering when she started she didn’t even know how many teats a cow had.
“I have worked across a lot of sectors but agriculture is my favourite. There is just so many opportunities, we are producing a food product that really matters, the world needs and it is an exciting industry to work in.”
Jana was one of the key speakers at this year’s dairy conference.
She is the founder of consulting company Improve8 and has helped people use ‘Lean’ thinking to improve their business.
She has written a book The Lean Dairy Farm, mentored people around the world and introduced an online, self-paced training program for farmers with participation from Australia, Estonia, Canada, USA, Greece and Spain.
She also hosts an online community with fortnightly Q&A sessions to help farmers gain further knowledge.