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Marcel and Emma Leifhebber
After falling in love with Australia as a young exchange student, Marcel Leifhebber, with the support of his family, moved from the Netherlands to Tasmania to begin dairy farming.
While on exchange, he met his future wife, Emma, and after returning to Australia, the couple moved onto a local Tasmanian farm as 33 per cent sharefarmers. After two years, they moved onto a corporate farm where they sharefarmed one farm (33 per cent) for two years, before adding the management of a second farm to their business.
"We are now in our second year on a largely privately owned farm, which has just been sold to a New Zealand consortium," Marcel says. "We are now considering them for an equity partnership position."
The Leifhebbers believe that the Tasmanian dairy industry is a great industry which offers them the opportunity to run a successful dairy business, as well as create a great lifestyle for themselves.
"In Tasmania, we have the option to expand our business, unlike in the Netherlands, where expansion was almost impossible - 100 cows are seen as an enormous operation!" Marcel says.
"Here, I have found that there are so many options in this industry, particularly in sharefarming, where young people can get a head start and build equity through stock or equity partnerships.
"While finance is harder to come across than in, say, New Zealand, and we are always on the lookout for different aspects and ways to grow our equity, we have made so many friends here.
"The people are so friendly, and dairy farmers are prepared to talk about their businesses and pass on their experiences and ideas, which has been a great help. There is also so much space and freedom to enjoy ourselves, with a relatively low cost of living."
Marcel and Emma Leifhebber
