Putting down roots

For Taupiri dairy farmers Logan and Sian Dawson, their involvement in the NZ Dairy Industry Awards has been a key catalyst in the growth of their business – the experience helping shape how they approach the farm ownership pathway they are pursuing today.

Their journey was recognised nationally in 2024 when they were named runner up in the NZ Dairy Industry Awards Sharefarmer of the Year. At the time, Logan and Sian were equity partners in a 50/50 sharemilking venture with Jim and Sue Van der Poel – a role that helped sharpen both their business skills and confidence.

Today, they are leasing a 143ha Taupiri property milking 550 cows, with the agreement that they will lease the farm until they are able to buy it.

“This is the place we will put our roots down, and fine tune our herd,” Logan says. “We have full autonomy here, which we love.”

Logan’s pathway into dairying was almost inevitable. He grew up farming alongside his grandfather and father and went straight into full-time dairying when he left high school. Staying within the Waikato, he worked across Te Awamutu, Otorohanga and North Waikato, steadily climbing the ladder from farm assistant to 2IC, then lower order sharemilking, contract milking and eventually equity farming.

And when Logan and Sian stepped into their newest role, they had farm ownership clearly in their sights. They brought with them their own 170 Holstein Friesian cross cows, and retained the existing herd on the farm, a top Jersey herd.

At the Van der Poel’s, the crossbred and Holstein Friesian herd was producing around 570kgMS/cow, and the Dawsons brought the same high-performance mindset with them to their new role at Taupiri.

“We run a System 5 farm, and with the farm owner’s support, a covered feedpad was built so we could maintain our high-input approach,” Logan says.

The herd is fed a diet that is two thirds pasture, with the balance being maize, PK, a bread-and-biscuit byproduct, canola and soybean.

With one third of the herd calving in spring, Logan says they are currently aiming to breed as many replacements as they possibly can by using sexed semen, with some elite cows being flushed and the resulting embryos being put into cows not earmarked for wanting replacements.

“We want to fine tune the herd and simultaneously sell surplus calves,” he says. “We are in the growth phase of our business at the moment.”

Technology plays its part at mating time: with Allflex collars across the herd, all mating is done via AI.

“It keeps it simple,” Logan says.

The Holstein Friesian cross portion of the herd is mated to nominated Holstein Friesian semen, with a strong emphasis on corrective mating.

“We want to lift the udder up – a lot – and make sure the Holstein Friesians are not too big,” Logan says. “We want to keep the size of the cows down to around that 500kg mark. We are in the business of converting feed to milk and we need cows that are comfortable to walk to pasture. We are using some overseas genetics as well.” Among the Holstein Friesian sires whose progeny have stood out include Woodcote Gins Lucifer S2F, a bull marketed by Matriarch Genetics.

“We have 23 daughters of his, and we are over the moon,” Logan says. “We also have some lovely Meander Shot Alibi-ET S3F daughters who are three-four years old now.”

Looking ahead, refinement is the goal. It is a philosophy grounded in family history: Logan’s grandfather bred SRD Dawsons Belvedere, the first equal bull to reach one million lifetime inseminations in New Zealand.

Two staff work alongside Logan to run the farm, while family life remains front and centre. Logan and Sian have five children – Noah, River, Winter, Ochre and Obie – and they enjoy the outdoors, hunting and tramping, as well as being involved in the local community church.

The Dawsons’ involvement in the NZ Dairy Industry Awards has been a defining part of their journey. After winning Waikato Sharefarmer of the Year in 2024 and placing runner up nationally – only their second year entering – they have stayed closely connected to the programme. In 2025 they were both on the committee, and this year Logan was involved in judging the Dairy Manager of the Year competition.

“It was really interesting to see young, passionate people driving their careers and futures in different ways,” Logan says. “They all have strengths and weaknesses and no two were the same.”

As competitors, the experience left a lasting mark.

“It was an amazing opportunity to benchmark ourselves personally and professionally alongside the higher echelon of dairy farmers,” Logan says. “We also made some really good friends along the way. We were given the opportunity to examine facets of the business that weren’t our strengths, giving us the opportunity to turn them into strengths.

“We love building a robust business. Receiving critique and feedback really helps cement our direction forward.”

That same mindset carries through to the Dawson’s involvement with Holstein Friesian classification. They have hosted several TOP workshops on farm, and this season is the first year they have completed TOP across their Holstein Friesian heifers and registered the cows.

“Holding the TOP workshops on farm was a great opportunity for our staff and us to learn more about classification,” Logan says.

When it comes to the Holstein Friesian breed itself, Logan is unapologetically enthusiastic.

“They are pretty no fuss; we have a quiet and friendly herd,” he says. “I love how robust the Holstein Friesian breed is, and they are suited to the higher input. It is satisfying to see a lovely animal with a full udder in the morning, And black and white looks so good.”