Looking out the window from her office in her Norsewood home, Charlotte Heald has the perfect view of the heifers springing up and not far off calving. The farm is coming to life with colour again in the first days of spring, it’s picture-perfect. But not by accident, by spiralling up.
“It’s a real honour to be a farmer, but especially at this time of year. I feel so grateful to be sat here, looking out at all this. A past version of myself would be so happy to see me here,” she says.
Charlotte and her husband Russell run an award-winning 170 hectare, organic-certified, regenerative dairy farm in Norsewood. Charlotte, originally from a sheep and beef background, got into dairying when she met Russell and the rest, as they say, is history – but there have been plenty of bumps in the road since.
“I think back to those early days, Russell was working such long hours, we were raising a family and were under a lot of pressure, we probably both got burnt out. It was a low-payout year and we just felt like we were so far in it that we couldn’t get out; we had to find a way to farm our way out of it.
“I got unwell and got my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis and that’s when we realised something needed to change.”
They adopted once-a-day milking and started using some aspects of biological farming, which saw the beginning of their regenerative and organic farming story.
“We were learning so much about the linkages between what you do on the farm, human health and the impact the way you farm has on all the systems. We started with some small changes, saw some positive results, and thought, ‘Ah, we’re onto something.’ I call it spiralling up.”
Her health journey with rheumatoid arthritis and background in rural nursing provided the foundation of her health coaching business but an underlying desire to help people has been the key to its growth and success over the last six years.
With a mix of one-on-one sessions and group sessions both in person and online, one of the key areas of focus in what Heald offers is in self-care, wellbeing and connection.
“One of my real passions is getting women to put themselves first. We don’t do it nearly as much as we should and it has a really profound impact on our lives. Russell actually had to encourage me to do this this year! I wasn’t going to play hockey this year so I could focus on the kid’s sports, but he said ‘If not now, then when?’”
Time and time again she was hearing from clients and her community that despite women being busy in their lives, they were lacking the deep, trusting conversations with people that make navigating life that bit easier. So she began running a local “women’s circle”.
“Mostly it’s a lot of being open to listening, sharing and letting those that need to talk, talk. If a person finds a resolve in speaking then it’s a good result, and that’s what makes it powerful. It’s such a special time, a lot of laughs, and a few tears – it’s something women really want and need.”
Over the past few years, the Healds have started opening up their farm for open days, hosting events like yoga in the sunflowers, picnics and more. It’s been an opportunity for them to share their story and show others what they’re doing and the impact that’s having.
“Sometimes, you just need to come and see things being done to get an appreciation for it. Come and see the cows grazing in our diverse pastures, see how we manage things, feel the soil.”
While the farm and the business are passions for the Healds, everything centres on family. With three children, Isabelle, Henry and William, life can get busy with homeschooling and the whole family being into sports and a number of other activities during the year.
“I’ve stepped back in terms of where my commitments are. I have a full life and I choose to do a lot of things but sometimes if you’re ‘busy’ all the time, you’re not actually being productive. By slowing down and not filling all the gaps in my schedule, I’m more productive.”
Heald stresses the importance of their community in being able to manage it all, too. With connections made through farming, homeschooling, health coaching and sports, she said they’re lucky to have such a good support system to lean on when needed and give back to when they can.
Sitting at her desk and watching the heifers graze, Heald reflects on their journey and can clearly see the web of connections of the changes they’ve made to their lives and farm and the benefits it has had to her health and wellness.
“At a certain point in my life, I couldn’t see any possibility of healing myself. But more recently I’ve been reflecting and have got to a place where I have been able to acknowledge with a lot of gratitude that I have achieved a lot of healing in my body from where I was five years ago, to the point where I consider myself ‘healed’. It’s been a lot of work to get there, and I respect my body so much more now.
“I look at my health journey and how it has been neatly woven into the changes we’ve made on farm and smile because it makes sense, everything begins with soil health.”
More: The Farmers Weekly Rural Living series highlights the rich diversity and people of Aotearoa New Zealand’s rural communities, farming families and contributions to the food and fibre sector.
