Meet our farmers

Read what our legendary farming customers do to produce the best quality milk in the world.

Southland dairy farmer achieves first grade-free season after years of persistent hygiene issues.

Now in his ninth season on a 370-hectare dairy farm in Southland, James Deans has achieved unexpected success after switching to FIL products, resulting in his first-ever grade-free season.

James Deans - Southland

Sharemilkers on Track to Achieve Milk Quality Targets Through Extra Attention During Calving

South Waikato sharemilkers Ben and Samantha Tippins have found success with their 950-cow herd by focusing on milking procedures, especially during calving. The result? Reduced milking times, fewer mastitis cases, and more milk in the vat.

Ben & Sam Tippins - Waikato

Grade-free farmer overcomes coliform challenge with support from FIL.

Nick Stolzenberg runs 500 cows on a fully irrigated 155-hectare farm in Reporoa, Waikato. Despite his best efforts, they received a grade for the first time in 14 years after rising coliform numbers became a cause for concern.

Nick Stolzenberg - Waikato

Local support ensures quality milk during a challenging time for Taranaki Sharemilker

Tom Weston, a North Taranaki sharemilker, has been a loyal user of FIL products for 18 years and hasn't considered using anything else. He firmly believes in sticking to what works, especially when it comes to achieving excellent quality milk.

Tom Weston - Taranaki

Matamata dairy farmer upgrades teat spray system to gain control of somatic cell count

With a split calving pattern and four full-time staff, Bryan was finding it difficult to overcome high somatic cell count (SCC). A few simple changes were implemented to create consistency around teat spraying, and the SCC dropped from 250,000 to under 150,000.

Bryan Holmes - Waikato

Simple changes make significant improvements for Central Otago farmer

Clinical mastitis cases and somatic cell count (SCC) levels have dropped significantly after Central Otago dairy farmer Tim Rivers made small but critical animal health improvements with the help from FIL. This has led to a significant reduction in the use of drugs in the 1,200-cow herd.

Tim Rivers - Otago

Kirstie & Rob of Kirbin Farming reduce mastitis by being proactive with herd health

Prioritising animal health and following best-practice procedures is how Ashburton contract milkers Kirstie and Rob Hornblow have improved results and gained efficiencies.

Kirstie & Rob Hornblow - Canterbury

Teat spray automation brings big benefits on Northland farm

Using an automatic teat spray mixing system has given Northland farmer Travis Parry not only ‘peace of mind’ but has demonstrated that even smaller scale farms will see plenty of big benefits.

Travis & Lisa Parry - Northland

How Oamaru farmer solved a seven-year mastitis problem

“Knowledge is power” says Farm Manager Sarah Smart, who had experienced a high incidence of clinical mastitis for seven years and was treating 20 percent of the herd annually. Today, the herd’s SCC is the lowest it has ever been.

Sarah Smart - Otago

Bellevue Farms: Capturing all of the detail during mating

Dairy farmer Peter Bellamy milks 900 cows in Te Poi with his son Simon, and three other staff. When it comes to heat detection, he sees FIL Detail water-based tail paint as a reliable part of his toolbox.

Peter Bellamy - Waikato

Reliable, safe and cost-effective heat detection

Chris and Vickie Thompson have been farming 250 cows on their low-lying dairy farm in Hinuera for 10 years, following 15 years of sharemilking in the local area.

Chris Thompson - Waikato

“Before we changed to FIL we had a shocking season, with 15 demerits. We decided to make the switch, and it’s been a grade free year, this year.”

Dairy farmer Andrew Sillis switched to FIL last season on the back of 15 demerit points in the previous season. The farm has now been grade-free for a year.

Andrew Sillis - Waikato

Improved teat spray efficiency with the Intelliblend

Canterbury Sharemilker Mark Hutchins highly recommends FIL’s Intelliblend teat spray mixer and delivery system, noting that the herd’s somatic cell count evened out straight away. Plus, their drums of solution are lasting at least a week more.

Mark Hutchins - Canterbury

Case study: How Farmer Andrew Hardie managed contagious Staph aureus mastitis in his herd

In 2017 a Farm Medix Herd Screen revealed 130 cows on Te Maunga farm in Dannevirke were infected with Staph aureus. This was the start of a journey to dramatically reducing and controlling mastitis through a vigilant approach to herd management, pathogen identification and targeted treatments.

Andrew Hardie - Manawatu - Whanganui

Case Study: Jess Hardegger - How to keep your herd clean and clear

Back in 2018, Jess Hardegger had 27 clinical mastitis cases present in just 17 days through the January dry period, the somatic cell count jumped from 70-80,000 to 230-240,000 simultaneously.

Jess Hardegger - Southland

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