The farmer
The Torrens family runs 580 cows on 200 hectares near Te Aroha, with Sam and his brother Nick farming in equity partnership with their parents. His role leans toward people management, herd genetics, and environmental management, while Nick handles the milk quality, maintenance, health and safety.
The challenge
The Torrens wanted to stay compliant with regional effluent regulations and reduce their annual $19K power bill. Sam and Nick have always been inspired by their father's way of challenging common practices and continue that progressive approach, whether it's trialling new effluent systems, exploring renewable energy, or looking at ways to align with consumer expectations around sustainability.
The solution
The Torrens took out a Rural Environmental Compliance Loan about five years ago to construct a weeping wall system for effluent so that we were fully compliant with regional council regulations. Sam started thinking about solar in February this year and a Smart Solar Loan has enabled the family to invest $47K into 80 solar panels that were installed on the milking shed roof in August.
"Environmentally, they ticked all the boxes," he says.
The impact
Within days, afternoon milking was being powered off-grid with water boiling and the irrigator re-scheduled for sunshine hours:
- From an annual power bill of almost 19K, estimated annual savings are $9,260.
- Payback period of just 5.5 years on panels guaranteed for 10 years
- The farm's carbon footprint will reduce by 170 tonnes CO2e.
"I haven't got my first power bill yet, but I'm actually looking forward to it," says Sam.
The role of ASB
Since 2022, ASB has provided $2.1 billion in cumulative sustainability funding, with a goal of reaching $6.5 billion by 2030. In addition, ASB has products such as the Business Sustainability Loan and Smart Solar Loan which support customers with their sustainability journey. For farmers, that can cover a variety of investments from solar panels and effluent upgrades to precision technology and energy-saving equipment.
Final Thoughts
"Farming has always been about adapting," says Sam. "We respect the way previous generations did things, but you've also got to be willing to ask: is there a smarter way? It makes you feel good, but it's also what the market wants. We're surrounded by rivers here so you just have to look out the window to see that you're doing right by the environment as well as the cows."
