Deane Parker & Melissa Scarlett
Scarlett Farm, Hororata, Canterbury
Melissa Scarlett and Deane Parker and have been operating Melissa’s family farm at Hororata for 12 years, currently as 50/50 sharemilkers. The Scarlett family have been farming in Canterbury since the late 90s and, prior to that, go back 5 generations of dairy farmers from Karamea on the West Coast.
The farm is a self contained (excluding bought in hay and baleage) low input dairy farm with an emphasis on soil health through a focus of biological and regenerative practices. A future in building soil is important to Deane and Melissa; they have key working relationships with Canaan Ahu and Chantelle Fisher at Agrownomics.
They have chosen to employ 2 full time herd managers to assist with running the farm due to off farm commitments (11,15, 17 year olds and filmmaking). Melissa manages all animal health including inseminating the own herd; she represents the farm owner on a daily basis and is the chief administrator. Deane's main roles are feed management and budgeting.
Their Regen Transition
Melissa discovered regen through some early learning of Christine Jones and Gabe Brown. Jono Frew was an early inspiration to the couple and then Deane was engaged by Quorum Sense as the visual storyteller and content creator. This gave him the opportunity to capture some of the most innovative farmers in NZ and absorb that knowledge to take back to the family far.
They have learnt lots from Mark Anderson, Dylan & Sharee Ditchfield, Jono Frew, Nigel Greenwood, Duncan Humm, Greg Low, Miah and Jenni Smith and the QS Whatsapp Group.
They have had freedom to trial and incorporate regenerative practices thanks to the family’s readiness to accept new things and inherent good nature to be good custodians to the land and soil for the next generation.
Farming practices
Due to the smaller scale of the farm all drilling, spraying and most fertiliser applications are done in house. It has become a principle to practice a less toxic and less tractor time environment with no insecticides, or pre/post emergence spraying.
Key regen practices they have adopted include:
Using comprehensive soil and herbage testing to use foliar application of trace element and as many macro nutrients as they can to wean the farm from synthetic NPKS inputs.
Decreasing use of dry cow pharmaceuticals in the past 2 years to hopefully continue to zero.
All wintering on hay bale grazing has eliminated most herbicide use, regrassing and all cropping.
Flexible milking routine to suit people and animals ie colostrum mob milked OAD, After mating commence 10/7 routine with the whole herd shifting to OAD 4-6 weeks before dry off.
Grazing Management
This is flexible: early season, the residuals are lower and more of a total graze. As supply passes demand, they move to more of a third/third/third approach and refrain from topping, putting up with the seed head and tagging until demand outstrips supply again. The animals clean up the standing hay/high fibre deferred grass in autumn.
It’s an all-grass system. They used to winter on diverse crops but gave up due to the inconsistency of yield and the adoption of hay bale grazing. They now overdrill with diverse seed mixes including bromes, multiple clovers, ryegrass, chicory and plantain. They also rely on the regermination of the tens of kilograms of seed imported in hay bales and therefore target hay that has the target species they are looking to repopulate the paddocks with.
Wintering – hay bale grazing
Hay bale grazing became a legitimate wintering option from Deane’s experience and observations of the technique whilst producing a case study for Quorum Sense. Trials have been carried out over the past 2 winters. In the winter of 2023, a third of the herd spent most of winter bale grazing. Winter of 2024 and 2025, all MA cows and R2s on bale grazing (young stock wintered on grass).
Deane spent 3 years learning about hay bale grazing before even contemplating how it fit their system. Now, they would never go back to winter cropping.
Fertility
Comprehensive soil tests are done every 6 months on sample paddocks and in every paddock every 2 years.
In the future, they would like to try out composting, Johnson Su or compost teas and treating seed with biological agents
Changes / Benefits
Some of the soil health KPIs in the hay bale grazing paddocks are very encouraging to keep building, for example, much improved worm counts.
They have decreased their empty rate by 2% per season while on the pathway to decreasing synthetic N. They manipulate cow condition weight and milking frequency late in lactation.
The big gains have been more milk from fewer cows and higher margins from lower cost of production
Looking Ahead
Priorities for the farm are providing a potential career choice (and environment) for the next generation, continuing to decrease synthetic inputs, continue hay bale grazing to improve profitability and improve outcomes for animals, land, soil and people, more planting of shelterbelts and a vegetative buffer with the Selwyn riverbed (including the spreading of their Harakeke/ flax collection), continuing to add diversity to the pasture sward and learning about on farm composting
Ultimately the farm is a vessel of family investment in the next generation of kiwi family farmers, which they believe is crucial to a healthy and vibrant future of food production.
Biggest Challenge
Changing mindsets but they have no regrets about making the transition.
What’s one thing you’ve learned that surprised you?
I spent 3 years learning about bale grazing before even contemplating it fitting our system. Now, we would never go back to winter cropping, never.
What would you do differently if you started again?
Nada
Advice to others considering the transition
Trial, observe, preserve and learn from others.
Find out more
Deane features on a podcast which you can find on the QS website alongside several webinar contributions.
Deane & Melissa facilitate the Canterbury Grazing Group. If you are interested in connecting, please contact Deane deane.parker.nz@gmail.com
Deane is also a talented film maker. Check out his video case studies on the Quorum Sense website which cover a broad range of topics.
