"Moving from a farm management role to a contract milking role is a real big step up, and the help from Figured has meant we have been able to take this job on."
- Ryan Braddock
Ryan Braddock left a nine-to-five job for farming and, with partner Emma, saw the kind of opportunity the dairy industry could offer. That opportunity became contract milking 1,850 cows for Rangitata Dairies' Longstream Farm in Ealing, Mid Canterbury. But taking on the role was a jump up from farm management, and financing it meant looking beyond a standard bank loan.
Bank lending is generally built around land and hard assets as security, which many contract milkers don't hold. Ryan and Emma found their situation didn't fit that model, so their advisers at KPMG, including Naomi Woutersen from the firm's Agri-Business team, pointed them toward other options, and one of those was Figured Lending.
KPMG built a lending proposal around Ryan and Emma's seasonal funding need, working through 12 months of projected profitability in Figured to confirm the opportunity was the right one for them. The capital gave Ryan and Emma the jumpstart they needed, funding wages through winter and helping them buy the right gear.
Watch their story to see how the combination of advice, data, and lending built for farmers, helped Ryan and Emma step up.
Transcript
Ryan: Moving from a farm management role to a contract milking role is a real big step up, and the help from Figured has meant we have been able to take this job on.
Hi, I'm Ryan Braddock, myself and my partner Emma, we contract milk 1,850 cows for Rangitata Dairies’ Longstream farm in Ealing, Mid Canterbury.
I started farming to get away from a normal nine to five job, and we saw some very good opportunities in the dairy industry.
Unfortunately, our efforts to secure capital were unsuccessful. The bank's model doesn't tend to cater to contract milkers that have low security. Our advisors at KPMG told us to look into other options, and one of these other alternatives was Figured Lending.
Naomi: Hi, my name's Naomi Woutersen and I am a chartered accountant working in the KPMG Agri Business Team.
We’re an advisory led accountancy practice. Our clients tend to come to us with problems, opportunities, and we tend to take a solution orientated approach to that
So when you combine commodity pricing risks, fluctuations in income, increasing cost structures and interest rates, it all comes down to an equal amount of uncertainty
Which makes it harder for them to secure funding for the next step in their careers
Our role in this relationship was really to be there and provide support as in when it was needed
There was a requirement here for seasonal funding and soon after discovering this, we put together a lending proposal with Ryan and Emma
We broke this down over 12 months to assess their profitability to ensure that this opportunity on the farm was the right opportunity for them.
Ryan: The capital supplied by Figured has allowed us to get a jumpstart, pay people through winter while we're not receiving an income, and purchase all the gear required to complete the job.
You want to make sure that you're working with the right people - Figured and KPMG have been the right people for us.
We love Mid Canterbury and growing. We love the industry and we are looking forward to the future.
Find out more about Figured Lending here.
