Milk Matriarch

After leaving school, Rosie trained as a registered nurse and moved to Ngāmotu New Plymouth. It was there that she met her future husband, Robert, on a blind date organised by a close mutual friend. “Robert and I got married in 1985 and I continued nursing for quite some time, even after the children were born, but as the business grew so did the workload.” When juggling farm life and nursing became untenable, Rosie decided to dedicate her time to the family and the farm. 

The Cartwrights have a long history of farming in the district. “We’re the fourth generation here and our children are the fifth,” Rosie explains. Their property in the rolling Kaimata hills is not your traditional flat dairy farming land, she says, and was originally a sheep farm. Robert’s family converted to dairy farming in the mid-1970s and took to breeding award-winning Jersey cows. “Robert manages the genetic side of things; he’s always had a real passion for cows, and I just love them too,” says Rosie. “Over the years we’ve named quite a few, and we all have our favourites. They have a quiet gentle temperament, and they’ve even become used to the grandchildren being about.” Friendly cows also make for better herd management, she says, describing their routine as they walk into the cow shed. “The same cows come on early every time, so you know there’s something not quite right if all of a sudden one’s at the back of the herd. There’s a hierarchy amongst them too – you have your bosses, that’s for sure.”