Dairy farmers Gavin and Kathy Iles share a lifetime of history in Galatea and say it's the valley's close knit community they and their friends and family value most of all.
The couple, who farm 800 Friesian cows on 323 hectares of flat pumice soils on Waitaruna Road, both grew up in Galatea and were at primary school together but didn't get to know one another until they were older.

Gavin's parents, Marie and Norman Iles, came to the valley in 1960. Like many of the farms in the area, their property was a war rehab farm. Kathy's father got the last ballot farm from the Korean War.
Gavin and Kathy met while working in Whakatane; Kathy was a nurse and Gavin was driving machinery.
They married and returned to Galatea in 1985 to sharemilk 180 cows for Gavin's parents. Since then the Iles family has gradually increased the size of the farm as neighbours have retired and sold their land.
A new 60-bail rotary was built in 2000 to cope with their increasing cow numbers and they now run two 400-cow herds. Annual production is 305,000kgMS.
Today the couple's daughter Casey works on the property and they also employ two other staff, Wiremu (Woody) Mate and Jake Davis. They have two other children with young families living in Galatea and two in Rotorua. Marie and Norman, now in their 80s, have only recently retired and moved out of the area.
Gavin says coping with the summer dry is the biggest challenge of farming in Galatea because the hot weather and low rainfall limits grass growth. They use a centre pivot irrigator and also have a small K-line system in place. The water for the K-line system comes from the Ruarepuae Stream but all the existing water rights have been allocated. The centre pivot irrigation water comes from a farm bore.
Iles Farm grows about 30 hectares of maize for silage each season.
In 2004 the Iles added a 400-cow feed pad and Gavin says this is one of the best things they have done.
'We tried feeding on the platform with bins and an auger but we couldn't get feed cheap enough to feed them in the eight minutes the cows were on the platform. They just didn't have enough time to eat and they didn't want to get off.
'We use the feed pad throughout the year. We have timed gates and the cows just come up automatically and are waiting for us. They go to the feed pad, are milked and then have some more on the way out if there's any left, so there's no wastage at all.”
Using the feed pad ensures cows are well fed throughout the year, helping eliminate production fluctuations, which also assists with planning and budgeting.
'If there's not enough grass we just increase the feed to suit whatever they need at the time.”
Kathy says the feed pad has also reduced feet problems and made the herd calmer.
Two seasons ago they invested in a JAY-LOR Total Mix Ration mixer wagon, which Casey operates. This has helped ensure the animals are fed the right mix of supplementary feeds and minerals to provide good animal health.
Kathy is in charge of calf rearing and will raise between 150-180 calves this year.
This year they are supplying colostrum for the first time.
The Iles also lease a smaller block in Murupara which they use to raise beef cattle and as a support block in winter.