Jumping the fence -Growing up Sandy Van Den Heuvel never considered one day she would go to university. “It wasn’t encouraged, it wasn’t something my family had done,” she says. So, when, after two decades as a legal executive Ms Van Den Heuvel decided to embark on a...
BlackmanSpargo has revised its contract milking agreement. The new agreement contains a number of clauses which are not available under the Federated Farmers’ Contract Milking Agreement 2011. The significant advantages to the BlackmanSpargo contract milking agreement are: The agreement recognises that many contract milkers will be forming...
In December 2011, I wrote a book called “Keeping Farming in the Family – a guide to farm succession”. My motivation for committing a lot of time and effort to this venture was a compelling desire to help farming families understand how farmland in this...
Succession Planning & Trusts / 20.02.2014
Independent trustees deemed to have the same intention of the other trustees, even if that intention was unknown
A topic of continual interest and discussion is the use of the family trusts in New Zealand to undertake business transactions. Such trusts are commonly referred to as trading trusts. A likely outcome of the New Zealand Law Commission’s review of trusts are higher standards to...
General News, Property / 20.02.2014
Protecting Your Deposit
The Environment With the economic downturn and many businesses still struggling to make ends meet, inevitably some businesses are still at risk of failing. In this environment, it is important for farmers to understand the risks associated with paying large deposits for goods or services. The Rationale So...
General News / 28.08.2013
Beef and Lamb Seminar
Ian Blackman and Chris Spargo were invited to present a paper on succession planning to the Beef and Lamb seminar at Te Kuiti. Over 50 people attended. As a result, the media has picked up the success of this seminar and reported on it. The article can...
The national statistics on safety in the workplace on farms are nothing short of appalling. It is a sobering fact that the number of deaths on farms in the last two years was greater than the loss of lives in the PikeRiver mining disaster. In the...
Employment / 20.07.2013
90-Day Trial Periods
Employers can offer employment on a trial period of up to 90 days. During this trial period if an employee is dismissed, that employee cannot bring a personal grievance in respect of the dismissal. It is important that employers fully understand their obligations, to ensure that...
Succession Planning & Trusts / 20.01.2013
Keeping Farming in the Family – A guide to succession planning
Over a year has passed since Ian Blackman published his guide to farm succession “Keeping Farming in the Family”. In that time the book has proven to be an indispensable guide for farming families who are interested in creating a workable succession plan. This easy-to-read book...
BlackmanSpargo has developed a Trust Service which will focus exclusively on trust administration. It is important that trustees' manage the trust properly to ensure compliance with their duties as trustees. This includes meeting with the trustees on a regular basis to review the trust. For trusts with...