The rolling hills of the Ormsby property south of Mount Pirongia once contained native bush 78-year-old Keith helped cut down 'to get myself a farm”. At the time, he points out: 'that was what was done”.

Margaret and Keith Ormsby take pride in their environmentally-sustainable dairy farm.

By contrast, in the last five years alone the Ormsby family has planted 25,000 natives on the Ngutunui farm. In the last 10 years, all waterways and bush areas have been fenced and planted and QEII covenants placed on 25ha.

The effort has been recognised with Keith and Margaret winning the Donaghys Farm Stewardship Award and the Waikato River Authority Catchment Improvement Award in the 2014 Waikato Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Of the 250ha area, 202ha is available for the dairying operation. It has been run by sharemilkers, Grahame and Tania Wallis, for the last five years, with 568 (peak-milked) cows.

Of 250ha, 202ha is available for the dairying operation run by sharemilkers.

Production last season was 189,000 kg/ms and they're on target for achieving 200,000 kg/ms this season. Grahame has thoughtfully split the cows into two herds. A Friesian-cross herd is milked twice-a-day for most of the season and have the shortest walk.

The Jersey herd is run on the further hills, with the lighter cows doing less damage to pasture and being more mobile. They have to travel further to the shed, so drop to once-a-day milking during summer.

The award judges applauded Keith's early 'common sense approach” to retiring steep gullies, which are now 'showing through with some beautiful mature
native stands”.

The judges wrote of more recent work: 'Intensive planting, creation and maintenance of gully wetlands have been carried out. Significant sediment trapping and nutrient stripping would be expected”.

Early planting was done with help from pupils of Ngutunui School, which boundaries the Ormsby property. Keith and Margaret have a long connection with the school, beginning with their children. When the school's roll dropped to a dangerously low six pupils in about 2004, the Ormsbys spearheaded a successful drive to return the facility to being a central community focus. Keith has just retired from 10 years as Board of Trustees chairman and Margaret from long-term volunteering as a teacher aid.

The massive planting effort in the last five years has been a persistent family undertaking, says Keith.

'Now, when the family come to visit, they always have to go and check what they planted.”

The Ormsby family has planted 25,000 natives on the Ngutunui farm.

Keith says they're grateful for Waikato Regional Council's ongoing support with plants and advice.

'They have been just excellent, really helpful; we couldn't do it without them.”

Keith traces his ancestry back to a local Maniapoto iwi and the first school teacher in the frontier settlement, now called Pirongia. He's the current president of Alexandra Racing Club at Pirongia.

Keith and Margaret have four adult children; Kay, Brett, Ross and Angela, and four grandchildren.

Judges' comments
• Proactive approach to water protection; good management of soils and pastures on some challenging areas.

• Obvious pride in environmentally sustainable dairy farm; ethos shows in staff and overall improving performance.

• Impressive water test results show water quality improves as it travels through farm, from boundary to boundary.

• A leader in example of good results from changes made to farming systems, to be able to farm with the environment.