PGG Wrightson livestock tool eases cashflow and opens fast track to farm ownership

Connor and Sephrah Edwards farm in Wellsford north of Auckland. They plan to achieve farm ownership within the next five years. 

PGG Wrightson’s GO-STOCK is an essential part of how they are going to do it.

As Connor explains, GO-STOCK is a simple and effective way to get ahead.

“For young farmers who don’t have the capital it’s a great option. Without a lot of equity behind you it’s difficult for a young person to stock a lease block. Doing it this way has enabled us to overcome that barrier: PGG Wrightson owns the livestock, so we can build much more quickly than we otherwise would have.”

They met at Lincoln University when Connor was studying Ag Sci and Sephrah completing a PhD in Soil Science. Since then, alongside stints contract milking, working on another local farm and on Connor’s family property, they started building their own business in September 2018 with a lease block of 120 hectares, doubling that to a total of 240 hectares in June 2022.

Around 2020 Bernie McGahan, PGG Wrightson Northland regional manager introduced them to GO-STOCK, and in particular GO-BEEF, which they quickly realised would speed up progress.

“It is ideal for cashflow. Although banks will cover you, GO-STOCK is an easy way to free up money for working capital so you can expand your business faster,” he says.

Recently the couple took over a third lease block, meaning they now farm 370 hectares, all in close proximity. They currently run 750 head of cattle, aiming to make the most of the new block by taking that up to 1100 by the spring.

GO-STOCK has been crucial to the Edwards’ growth. 

“It allows us to build stock numbers quickly and increase the size of the business at a pace that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible. It gives us the flexibility to get to where we want to be much faster, stocking the farm to its capacity, rather than having to wait to build equity in smaller steps.

“Without it, we wouldn’t have taken on the blocks we have added, definitely not the most recent addition,” says Connor. 

For Connor and Sephrah the flexibility of GO-STOCK is an additional feature.

“You can sell your existing stock onto GO-STOCK and continue to farm them. We will buy a few hundred calves at weaning, own them ourselves for the first three or four months, then when we decide which to finish and which to sell to store, we will sell the ones we want to carry through onto GO-BEEF. You can use GO-BEEF for a maximum of 12 months, so doing that for the pick of our cattle provides cashflow, and keeps us within the GO-BEEF criteria.

“We have been able to free up farm working expenses, utilise good grass growth, and put ourselves on the timing we want to be on, rather than selling cattle for cashflow reasons. Instead of having to sell some stock too early, then not being able to see them through, we are able to hang on until they are properly ready to go, at the best possible margin,” he says.

They also acknowledge their close relationship with PGG Wrightson and GO-STOCK.

“Working with GO-STOCK helps us leverage off our good relationship with PGG Wrightson as we are dealing with our stock agent on a weekly basis. He understands our system and our business goals so can vouch for us in the approval process.”

Building equity at a quicker pace means the Edwards are already watching the property market.

“We are keeping an eye out for our own farm, just seeing what the market is doing and what farms are available. We aim to climb the ladder in small steps and would like to own in the next five years, first on either a smaller farm or some sort of property, then moving from there to a bigger farm,” says Connor.

For more information on GO-STOCK, contact the PGG Wrightson Livestock team, or click here to visit our GO-STOCK page.