Established by their grandfather, the brothers are the third generation of their family to operate the business at Ringarooma in the north-east, which has grown to include three dairy farms, a dairy beef business turning out around 500 animals annually and a processing potato enterprise.
Northview Estate is run by the brothers and milks 1380 cows, producing 7428 litres per cow and 546kg/ms, with a stocking rate of four cows to the hectare. This is high for Tasmania but made possible due to the business’ ability to produce home-grown feed, including 25ha of maize.
The business employs two full-time workers and up to 10 casuals; Stan and Geoff spend most of their time at Northview.
The other two dairy farms are operated by managers.
In 2026, the three farms all supply Lactalis.
Of the 504ha of usable ground, the milking platform sits at 341ha.
“We grow rye grass and clover and cut any excess in spring for silage.
“Tasmania has a great climate and a good environment for growing maize and we can usually harvest over 25t/ha of dry matter,” Geoff said.
The brothers have been benchmarking their business for quite some time.
“It’s a great tool and enables us to continuously improve our own business – not so much to compare our business to others but more to look at our own enterprise year on year.
“If we do make any changes we can look at our own profitability and see why it has gone up or down and that is the main reason we benchmark.”
In recent times they have seen some significant rises in the price of most inputs, which has eroded profitability, particularly around energy, freight and fertiliser costs.
Sexed semen is used for the dairy herd and beef bulls for the dairy cross enterprise.
Approximately 80 per cent of the farm is irrigated and is a key contributor to the high pasture productivity and overall profitability.
They access water from the river, via on-farm storage and through water bought from an irrigation scheme.
They use a combination of pivots, soft hose irrigators and solid set irrigations.
This is the first time the brothers have entered the Tasmania farmer of the year award and while they were pleased to win, it certainly will not be going to their heads.
“It’s nice to be recognised but we will just get on with running our business and we will keep doing what we know,” Geoff said.
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture dairy development extension officer and judge Symon Jones said the panel was impressed with the brothers’ high level of pasture and milk production per hectare.
“The production was driven by a high stocking rate without compromising cow performance and resulting in above-average per-hectare profits.
“The brothers continue to drive improvement by reinvesting in critical infrastructure to maintain and improve animal health and welfare and cow performance.
“They also continue to improve efficiency in and around the workplace and ensure staff are safe and supported.
“The farm is self-contained with all young stock grown out on farm support blocks and were assessed by the judges as outstanding.”
The ANZ Dairy Business of the Year Award is conducted by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) as part of the Dairy Farm Monitor Project, which is funded by Dairy Australia and TIA.
About 30 farm businesses participate in the program to have their physical and financial performances benchmarked.
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