Welcome to our family farm!

We’re Greg and Amy Gemmell, and along with our teenage boys Flynn, Hadley, and Ronan, we’re proud to be part of three generations working together on the land. Also on the farm are Amy’s parents, Margaret and Brian Schnell, as well as Amy’s sister Sarah and her son Basil. We also enjoy regular visits from Amy’s other sister Kate, her husband Murray, and their three children. Although they live in Auckland, their rural heritage is important to them—and we love that they remain connected to the farm and its story.  It’s a lively, close-knit place where family and farming go hand in hand.

Our story begins in the 1980s, when Margaret and Brian bought what was then a bare block of land—a basic horse farm with potential. Brian rolled up his sleeves and got to work; building a cowshed, fencing paddocks, constructing races and bridges, to create the dairy farm that we farm today.

Amy, along with her sisters Kate and Sarah, grew up on the farm. In the early 2000s, while teaching in Hāwera, Amy met Greg—then dairy farming in Taranaki. They decided that a move to the Manawatū might be the right fit for their future. Amy continued teaching, and Greg took over managing the farm. Brian was more than happy to hand over the milking duties and enjoy more time tinkering in his shed.

Before long, little Flynn was born, followed by twins Hadley and Ronan. With three young boys and a busy farm life, we officially purchased the herd from Mum and Dad. It was a full-on season of life—so full-on, in fact, we named our business Herd You’re Busy Ltd!

In 2016, with the original herringbone shed showing its age, we decided it was time for an upgrade. After drying off the herd to give the cows a rest before calving we decided to put some of our equity into a new milking plant, a system of milking that would be kinder on the cows and give us more flexibility in our day. Greg and Brian worked together to remove the old milking plant, fill in the pit, and we retrofitted the shed for a new robotic milking system. The cows were milking themselves in the robots by August 2016. The new system attracted a lot of interest, and before long we began opening the farm for tours. Greg loves showing people around - sharing both the technology and the story behind our way of farming. 2026 marks 10 years of robotic farming for us, as well as a decade of farm tours. Over that time, we have welcomed thousands of visitors from New Zealand and around the world, giving them a glimpse into our farming methods and helping them understand why New Zealand dairy products are trusted globally for their quality, innovation, and care of the cows and the land.

Over time, as we were already farming in an organic way— we decided to make it official. After a thorough, multi-year process, both our home dairy farm and the 52-hectare support block that Greg & I purchased in 2020 are now fully organic certified through Biogro.  Our lively dog Bear also joined our family at this time. We’re proud of how far we’ve come—and excited about what’s next. We’ve always got a new project on the go, right now we are laying the foundations for The Milk Barn - fill your glass bottles with our farm fresh A2 organic milk direct to the public within Bunnythorpe Village, located in one of our farm paddocks on Dixons Line, Bunnythorpe. Opening soon in 2026. Check out themilkbarn.co.nz or follow The Milk Barn, Palmy, NZ on social media.