Chartered Accountant and Business Advice - Asher Group Limited
Asher Group Limited is a Chartered Accountants and Business Advisory firm. The company provides accounting and administration services to Te Hanga South Lands Trust.
Merv Taylor
For some years now Te Hanga South
Trust has worked closely with Merv Taylor to develop the land to the east of
Kakahu Road comprising blocks A8, A9 and Section 71. Merv was the eldest of 8
children. His Father owned a 90 acre farm near Matamata on which he established
the Cashmere Jersey Stud and it was there Merv learned stockmanship from an
early age. He attended Matamata College. He worked for his Father on wages till
age 22 when he bought a tractor and implements and went contracting. 360 acres was bought on Taotaoroa
Road and a 6 aside herringbone shed was built, eventually extended to 20 aside.
More land was bought and he eventually became one of the largest suppliers to
the Sunny Park Dairy Company, milking 550 cows. After some years he sold the
farm at a good profit, bought a flash house in Matamata and a yacht in which he
cruised the Pacific and even competed in the Auckland to Suva yacht race. As the money ran out he returned to NZ
and bought 130 acres near Te Poi but with high debt and interest rates of over
20% he was forced to sell up. During this stressful time his marriage broke up
and he had to start all over again as best he could.
His next move was to a share
milking job which lasted 4 years. Around this time he met his second wife
Nellie. At the same time another share milking job was taken on and they
managed to lease a block of land. With their fortunes improving they looked for
a much bigger milking job but were unable to find one. They settled for the
purchase of 112 acres on Kakahu Road where they still farm today, 27 years
later. Later they managed to buy the 50 acres next door, then lease A10,
eventually milking 350 cows.Meanwhile the Trustees of A8, A9
and Section 71 were having a lot of difficulty finding someone who would take
on their land, control the old man gorse, apply capital fertiliser and develop
the land with fences, tracks and water supply. It was totally to Merv’s credit
that he saw that only a move to dairy farming over the whole acreage would
generate the income to service the large amount of debt funding that would be
required.
Once he had the vision for how his land could be
integrated with the surrounding Te Hanga land and in spite of discouragement
from neighbours, it was a matter of assessing the risk and borrowing well over
$1,000,000 to build a modern 50 bail rotary shed and a lot more money for
Fonterra shares and for development. The Trustees agreed to an initial 10 year
term of lease at a minimal rate but with agreement that certain development be
undertaken. So far Merv has spent over $450,000 and has honoured his side of
the agreement completely. None of this would have been
possible without the input of Antony Brolly, Merv’s Contract milker. Extremely
versatile, hardworking, intelligent and co-operative he has made an amazing
contribution. Merv would also be the first to
acknowledge the contribution of the Trustees. For him to put in years of work
and borrow a large sum for development would not have been possible if Merv had
not been convinced by his previous dealings with the Trustees that he would
fairly treated and that the lease would not be lightly terminated. Now of an age when most farmers
would be enjoying a well deserved retirement, Merv continues to push to
complete his vision and often remarks that nothing has brought him so much
satisfaction and enjoyment as the land development at Te Hanga South.
