For George King and Hannah Lukins, the dream of dairy farm ownership began long before they arrived in New Zealand.

Raised on neighbouring dairy farms in England, the couple grew up in vastly different farming systems but shared the same ambition: to build a future in pasture-based dairying. After years of juggling multiple jobs, leasing land, raising livestock and searching for opportunities in the United Kingdom, they realised their dream would be easier to chase on the other side of the world.

Today, the pair are making impressive strides in the Bay of Plenty dairy industry.

The Matatā-based sharemilkers were named runners-up in the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Bay of Plenty Share Farmer of the Year competition, collecting four merit awards and earning praise from judges for their disciplined financial management, strong leadership and clear vision for growth.

Their journey has been anything but conventional. A chance meeting in a Dunedin bar revealed that their family farms in England backed onto each other, despite the pair never knowing each other growing up. That discovery sparked a partnership that has since taken them halfway around the world and onto a pathway they hope will eventually lead to farm ownership.

Now milking 250 cows and steadily building equity, George and Hannah are proving that determination, careful planning and a willingness to embrace opportunity can turn a farming dream into reality.

Speaking to Coast & Country News, King said his family are first-generation dairy farmers, which is rare in England.

“My parents have always run a pasture-based system; they use New Zealand genetics, read the Dairy Exporter and are part of grazing discussion groups,

His parents are split calving, 500 Kiwi X cows milking twice a day through a 50-bail rotary shed run in a similar way to a New Zealand production system 3/4.

“My father progressed by rearing surplus livestock, buying grazing blocks and converting them to dairy farms and making opportunities from developing land into higher productive assets.”

King completed a Diploma in Agriculture in England and gained experience working on several very different farms before coming to New Zealand in 2018 to work as 2IC on a 1000-cow dairy unit near Balclutha.

Intensive dairy farming

“I grew up on a family-run dairy farm milking 250 Holstein Friesians twice a day, the system is high input, closed herd with the stock housed all year round,” Lukins said.

She studied agriculture at college and went on to study at the Royal Agricultural University to become a registered valuer.

In the summer break between her second and third year, Hannah came to New Zealand to milk dairy goats and do a Kiwi Experience bus tour.

Serendipitously, she met King in a bar in Dunedin and a few drinks later they realised that their family farms backed onto each other and their paths must have unknowingly crossed many times. The rest is history.

Lukins returned to England to complete her degree, and George returned in November 2019.

Farming life in England

“Trapped in England during Covid-19, we did everything we could to find our next steps,” King said.

The couple looked at leasing council-owned farms, but the leases had no guarantee of renewal, and it wasn’t a path to ownership.

“There are limited opportunities available each year in the UK, with no mainstream loans for livestock. The machinery requirements for the system type are no small cost, so you have to have a much higher capital outlay up front.”

The couple worked hard to build equity, Lukins working fulltime as a valuer and King a fulltime dairy farm manager, also managing his parents’ lease block, contracting on the side and raising Angus X yearlings on their own lease block.

Moving to NZ

“We tried so many different things and looked for opportunities to follow our dream of owning our own pasture-based dairy farm for ourselves. George was really keen to return to New Zealand and we’d both been impressed by the clear pathway and support from the industry,” Lukins said.

The couple moved to New Zealand when Lukins secured a position as a valuer and King found a job nearby. They originally came over on an Accredited Employer Work Visa but quickly moved onto a residency class visa and have now been granted residency.

This English couple are enjoying being part of the New Zealand pasture-based dairy system. Photo / Catherine Fry

Lukins had to convert her qualification and do further study to become a registered valuer in New Zealand. King was able to secure a farm manager role on a 500-cow Matata farm where Rhys Watkins was sharemilking.

The couple leased 22 hectares and bought their own dairy heifer calves.

These became the basis of their 250-cow herd today, where they sharemilk at Matata alongside contract milking for Michael and Kaye Watkins.

They run a production system 3 farm with 200kg of brought-in grass silage and 600kg of PK per cow each year.

King did his own AB using frozen sexed semen for four weeks; he achieved a 78% six-week in-calf rate with 4% empty.

They also achieved a production record of circa 90,000kg/ms on the sharemilking farm with a very young herd.

“We are still equity building with a view to farm ownership. The next step will be a larger sharemilking position, but we would be open to a lease to buy or equity partnership arrangement,” King said.