Edward Law bought a 61-hectare Thornton block, five kilometres west of Whakatane, at a public auction in the 1930s.
A few kilometres away from the family farm, initially Edward and his son Wilf grazed cattle and sheep on the block. Then, in the early 1950s, Wilf’s son Jim and his young wife Kath took it over, as their eldest son Murray explains.
“They built a milking shed and the house that they lived in their entire married life.
“Back then, the property’s former existence as a wetland was abundantly evident. It was damp and covered in large stumps. Converting the land to dairy was no easy task, particularly as they wouldn’t take on debt.
“However, my father’s practical abilities were second to none. He always understood how things worked, and he improvised a stump extractor out of an old ploughshare. Hitching that up to his Massey Ferguson, and with a quantity of gelignite, he was able to remove the stumps.”
Although inventive, this wasn’t a quick process, and Jim was still working through the block by the time Murray was old enough to join in.
“As a young lad, I was thrilled. First he blew them up, then he ripped them out, then he put them in piles and burnt them. Although it took several years to clear all the stumps, he did it by himself, with me in tow.
“Nowadays you’d bring in contractors with big machines, and it would be done in a few weeks, though you’d be left with plenty of debt, which he didn’t believe in. Dad’s philosophy was ‘If you don’t have the money to pay for something, you don’t need it.’”
Pictured: Mum, Dad and the Law boys. From left: Murray Law, Adrian Law, Jeff Law, Jim Law, Kath Law, Atholl Law
First born Murray was followed by brothers, Atholl, Jeffrey, and Adrian.
Even with the stumps gone, the ground remained wet, and Jim put in drains.
“Bullrushes were still growing in every paddock when I was growing up.
“Both parents were active in the community throughout their lives. Rangitaiki Plains is famous for flooding. To minimise that risk, when storms threatened, I remember going sandbagging around the district,” says Murray.
Supplying to the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Company, over time Jim and Kath added parts of neighbouring farms to the original milking platform, increasing their carrying capacity, while also transitioning from owner-operator to 29 per cent share milking, then to 50:50 share milking.
“They had several share milkers through the years. They established strong relationships, including encouraging them to develop their own careers. One they mentored to become share milker of the year on two occasions.
“In the era they grew up, neither Jim nor Kath remained long in education. They encouraged us to though, and we all went to university, which in the end took us on paths away from farming,” says Murray.
In 2013 Jim and Kath Law decided that the wider family should take a more active role managing the farm.
“We realised that two separate environmental consents were due to expire in 2018. To be able to continue effluent compliance we integrated two farms, and built a modern milking facility that has become a landmark in the district. That required finance from elsewhere, which was at odds with the ‘no debt’ philosophy Jim and Kath always lived by.
“Although our parents were staggered at how much we spent, they realised we had future proofed the farm, so after some resistance, they fully agreed with what we were doing and why,” says Murray.
At around the same time, they consulted Phil Goldsmith of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Whakatane.
“At that point, eventually selling the farm was one option. Our parents’ primary goal was to stay on the farm for the rest of their lives, while also creating a legacy for the family and the district,” says Murray.
Phil is regularly involved in farming family succession discussions.
“I could see that the Laws had a plan, which is where the process needs to start. Planning succession is a necessity in farming, particularly as businesses grow and values increase. When the numbers are so big and parents want to guarantee their own retirement, having one family member take over when there are three other siblings can be complex.
“Family motivation is always important. Many emotions come into it. Families need to take care to make rational decisions about the legacy they are passing on or taking on,” says Phil.
Jim and Kath remained on the farm their whole lives. Kath died in 2018. Jim was still driving and digging post holes at age 94, dying in September last year aged 98.
“Although we looked at establishing a family-owned company to run the farm, when Phil found a buyer, a neighbour, to better meet more of the family’s needs that became the preferred option,” Murray says.
“Meeting as many objectives as possible, providing a family legacy for the next generation, is the ideal outcome of a succession plan. In this instance that was a successful sale: a satisfactory conclusion,” says Phil.
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