THE farm I am about to describe has just completed 50 years of factory supply seasonal dairying. About one-third of the dairy farms in the district are owner operated by people who have bought land settled by their forebears 50 to 70 years ago - that generation of pioneers also established the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Company, which has grown into a large and efficient manufacturer of milk products for local and world markets. The district used to be known as the Rangitaiki swamp. Because we are only 2 or 3 m above sea level, farm and district drainage systems are essential to take surplus water to the sea 7 km away. We are blessed with generous sunshine (1800 to 2000 h/yr) and rainfall (1400 mm/yr) . Frosts (approximately 40 per year) have occasionally been recorded in December, and in most other months. Sir Bruce Levy once called this the best grass-growing district in the world. FARM
