The Fortuna Group was founded in 2012 by David & Kay Dodunski. They began farming in Southland in 1992, with 216 cows on 125 hectares. With an ability to efficiently produce milk and a passion for innovation, the business grew. Today, the Fortuna Group is one of the fastest growing dairy operations in the lower South Island.
Our business consists of 24 dairy farms and six support blocks with over 17,000 dairy cows, spread across 5,464 hectares owned, and 1,726 hectares leased. We have earned a reputation for progressing farming techniques and implementing change, and our operations perform in the top quartile of farms in Southland.
We have a management and governance structure with a shared passion, and with the very same values that have been with us since David and Kay founded Fortuna. It's this, along with a collective sense of purpose, that drives us.
We will continue to grow, purchasing and establishing more dairy businesses. We believe in farming the right way. We are custodians of the land and must ensure we leave it in better condition for the next generation.
ENVIRONMENT
& SUSTAINABILITY
At the centre of everything sits happy, healthy & thriving. Three small words that are big on vision, goals and action.
We’ve always prided ourselves on being good custodians of the land. After all, this is our land and our home. Tomorrow it’ll be home for our next generation. Then the generation after that. So we know what we have to do and we’re doing it.
All farms are compliant with current consent conditions. All will be compliant with new consent conditions and meet the challenges of new standards. But it’s not just about that. It’s about doing more. Every individual farm has an Environment Plan and we’re establishing the key environmental numbers such as greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen surplus. Then we mitigate them. Each farm will have their own action plan and we bring the help of independent bodies to help us learn, understand and make improvements. Working alongside the He Waka Eke Noa Partnership and with the team at Environment Southland. It’s an approach that we know is, and will, make a difference for the better. For the future.
Soil - The Beginning of Life.
Looking after the soil is key to everything that follows. So we’re undertaking regular soil assessments, laying down makers for improvements and sharing our successes with others. Nitrogen use is being reduced, effluence controlled and recycled greenwash used to wash to wash yards. We’re searching for the optimum biological soil levels and strictly monitoring synthetic fertiliser use.
Water - Our Valued Natural Resource.
We want riparian planting, nutrient sinks and wetland reestablishments across all farms. We want more biodiversity and a home for bees (we like bees and know how important they are). We want clean water. So we’re helping reestablish natural nutrient sinks with more wetlands, fencing off waterways and reducing our freshwater usage. We’re working with a catchment group, tapping into the wisdom, knowledge and ideas of others.
Climate Action - Rethink. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
This is about examining every little thing. The office lights that are turned off at the end of the day. Reducing use of any aerosol based spray paints to reducing fuel usage and our demand for fossil fuels. A part of every decision we make is answering the same question: what is right by our planet? Yeah, that may sound like the expected corporate talk But we’re serious. The only greenwashing we do is in our yards. And that’s a good thing.
If you want to know more or have an idea on how we can make further improvement, please get in contact.