Kevin & Nicole Oppert (Oppertunity Farming) - Bay of Plenty

Contract milking back to an equity partnership and running a 91-hectare run-off block down the road, while raising three young children - life is certainly busy for the Opperts.

For Nicole, farming is about more than running a business; it’s also about creating a childhood for their kids that mirrors her own.

“What I love most about dairy farming is being able to take the kids along with us on our journey,” she explains. “Just being outside and in the environment, helping me rear calves and being around the cows. I loved doing that as I was growing up, so it’s nice to see them do the same.”

Her role on farm shifts with the seasons. Through spring, she works full-time rearing calves and managing young stock and heifers at the run-off. She also keeps the business ticking behind the scenes, handling office admin and filling in wherever she’s needed.

Kevin, meanwhile, focuses on the bigger picture while managing a team of three full-time staff.

“I’m here daily making important decisions for the farm. Whether that’s farm and feed products for the farm. Just an overview of everything, really. And just helping my wife out with the run-off when she needs help. And yeah, just trying to put quality milk in the vat.”

Like many in dairy farming, their perspective shifted once children came along.

“Me and Nicole always say we don’t want our kids to be dairy farmers because you work 365 days a year,” Kevin says. “But it’d be quite cool to see a legacy come through and I love farming because you can spend time with family.”

That same mindset of valuing people and partnerships extends to how they run their business. Three years ago, they made the full switch over to FIL dairy hygiene after being impressed by both the teat care products and the service they had received from their local Area Manager.

“The service level was already there,” Kevin says. “So I said to Nicole let's give it a go. And we've been with FIL and haven't looked back for the last three years.”

For Kevin, the relationship with FIL Area Manager Leighton Hammond has been a key part of that success.

“Leighton’s an important part of our business,” he says. “I credit everything that we've done with FIL to Leighton, and his service and his knowledge of the product.”

The support has delivered measurable results. The farm’s average somatic cell count (SCC) has dropped from around 300,000 before they took over to approximately 120,000 over the past two seasons.

Kevin also credits FIL’s teat care range, including Iodoshield Active, Active Teat Conditioner and the Intelliblend automated mixing system, for helping maintain healthy teat condition.

“All of those products are fantastic because they’ve all got Mānuka honey in them,” he says. “We’re all about keeping the teat ends and the condition of the udders in tip-top shape.”

“And the awesome part about it is the Intelliblend. It takes all the guesswork out of measuring products.” He says the system saves time, reduces product wastage and ensures staff can confidently use the correct mix every time.

The farm also uses Quantum XL alkali, Quantum Red acid and C3 chlorine dairy detergents, supported by DEMA dosing pumps, which help ensure accurate dosing, reduce product wastage and save valuable staff time.

Looking ahead, Kevin and Nicole have their sights firmly set on farm ownership.

“Our goals are farm ownership,” Nicole says. “We are in an equity partnership at the minute, but eventually we'd like to take that string out on our own. And probably building up our milk solids per cow. Get to that at least 500kg MS per cow mark.”

They're already well on the way.

“We're tracking to do 486kg MS per cow this year,” says Kevin. “And when we took over, the cows were doing about 320kg MS per cow.”

The longer-term goal is clear: “It's the end goal for us to own our own herd. And Nicole’s got a passion for genetics, and I've got a passion for getting quality milk out of a cow.”

With strong farm performance, clear goals and a young family growing up alongside the business, the Opperts are steadily working towards that vision - building not only a successful farming operation, but a legacy for the next generation.