Dairy Focus February 2011

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising Supplement

dairy FOCUS Issue 33. February 15, 2011. $2.00

From milking to herd testing

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2

Contents Page 3 From milker to herd tester Page 4 Hoof trimming a skill

Page 6 Milking liners have limits

Page 7 Giving cows the best start

Page 8 Awards put spotlight on skills

Page 9 Production on the comeback trail Page 12 Share trading plans on track

Page 13 Awards a must for improvement Page 14 Empowering dairy women

Page 16 Farmers declare war on prices

dairy FOCUS

An advertising supplement of the Ashburton Guardian Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Ashburton Guardian Publication date: Next issue:

February 15, 2011 March 15, 2011

We welcome any correspondence to either:

or

Amanda Niblett, phone 307-7927 email: amanda.n@theguardian.co.nz Lance Isbister, phone 307-7953 email: lance.i@theguardian.co.nz

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3

Milker now a herd tester Karen Walker’s role in the dairy industry has changed from putting cups on cows as a dairy farmer to taking milk samples as a herd tester.

and when I see them I think, wow.”

Karen’s been working in the dairy industry for the past seven years and always wanted to try something different and was keen to learn all the different aspects involved with herd testing.

Using the modern barcode system with a cow’s electronic tag, a farmer/milk harvester can scan in the cow’s details onto the barcode using an EZ Link Electronic Identification (EID) tool developed by LIC to increase the accuracy of the information when the samples are sent to a Christchurch lab for testing.

This is her first season as a herd tester for Livestock Improvement (LIC) and she has enjoyed the experience and variety in her new career.

“It’s nice to see what happens on the other side, I want to learn as much as I can about the different sides of the dairy industry.”

With no shortage of ambition, Karen said she preferred the more hands-on aspect of herd testing as well as working alongside farmers and their employees to provide an accurate service for them.

She said every dairy shed she worked in is different, especially when it came to setting up the herd testing equipment.

“Setting up can be challenging, especially in 80 bail sheds, but it’s still pretty cool.”

It was a trial by fire when she first started last September leading into one of the busiest periods for a herd tester.

“October and November was really busy, at the time I didn’t know what I had let myself in for, running from farm to farm.”

Since then Karen’s found one of her favourite parts of the job is travelling to different sheds while also taking in the scenery around her.

“Some farmers don’t realise the view they have got, there are some beautiful views outside the cowshed,

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Lance Isbister Rural Reporter, Ashburton Guardian

She also enjoys sample collecting, which keeps her busy throughout the milking as milk is bled through a milk meter into a barcoded or numbered sample pottle that corresponds to the animal’s identification number.

“We want to get it as accurate as possible,” said Karen, who is also keen to have a better understanding of how the laboratory extracts information from the milk sample to give farmers data on the somatic cell count, level of protein, fat content and volume of milk each individual cow produces.

That’s why Karen appreciates how vital it is to record the information as accurately as possible, otherwise a farmer could mistakenly cull a high producing cow if the data they receive is inaccurate i.e. from a low producing cow.

Karen said she worked with a tightly knit team and LIC has offered her plenty of training and support, especially with modern herd testing technology such as the MINDA Mobile.

She can see huge scope for technology in the future of the dairy industry.

“There is so much more technology on the way to do everything that will save farmers time and money.”

In the meantime, one thing is certain, Karen will be back herd testing next year.

Photo Lance Isbister 090211-LI-048

Karen Walker returned to her former employers Hamish and Natalie Davidson’s 80 bail rotary dairy shed at Newlands recently which is now part of her herd test run.

4

Trimming not straight forward Fred Hoekstra Veehof Dairy Services

In my last article I explained how to treat lame cows. It all sounds very simple until you are in your yard with a cow in your crush with a back foot lifted and all of a sudden it doesn’t seem so easy anymore.

You may be dealing with a cow that has a hoof that is so deformed that you can’t make head nor tail of it.

I can appreciate you feeling that way.

You are not alone. There are a number of different issues that you could come up against.

What do you do with a crack in the wall? There might be a toe that is pointing up. A claw may have arthritis, or be very swollen up or sometimes you may find a little chip of the pedal bone broken off - what on earth do you do with that?

It is very important to realise that hoof trimming is a very specialised job.

Just like dental work. Imagine if I went to visit a dentist for a day. He explains everything to me about teeth: how to drill and fill, how to pull teeth, how to give local anaesthetic, and everything else that I want to know.

I go home, I buy myself a nice leather chair and a good second hand drill because I’m Dutch and I would need a pair

of pliers to pull the teeth that I don’t know what to do with. I put a sign out on the road side and I am in business.

Would you like to be my first client? What if I do it for free? Hoof trimming is a bit the same as dentistry. If you use an angle grinder it even sounds similar. I think that many people underestimate the skill level that is required for hoof trimming.

To get a qualification overseas takes about 14 months. So don’t feel discouraged if you feel stuck because you don’t know how to treat this cow.

Usually there are things you can do to at least make a positive difference for that cow.

It is important to realise that hoof trimming is a specialised job. Just like dental work.

Because you have taken the weight of biotics to use for the different cases you If in doubt use a claw block. Last the sore claw it has a much better chance come across. Even if you are not a profesmonth I made the comment that claw to heal up. sional hoof trimmer you can still make a blocks are always cheaper than lame difference for your cow. cows. If you can identify which claw is As a rule of thumb you don’t need angiving the cow trouble but you don’t tibiotics in most lameness cases. Only use If you would like to improve your know how to treat it then with a block antibiotics when the claw is swollen up. skills in hoofcare, we would be happy to underneath the healthy claw the cow is discuss the training options we provide most likely to walk properly soon after.

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Dr John Roche, Animal Science, DairyNZ, Hamilton Cow nutrient requirements and situation, milk production response to responses to supplements Animal the supplement will also be small scientists will learn that (2-4 g MS/MJ ME). i. a dairy cow requires 18% crude • If post-grazing residuals are 1500protein, of which 65% is degraded in 1600 kg DM, the cow is reasonably the rumen and 35% escapes rumen well fed but not fully fed; in this digestion. situation, substitution would be ii. milk production is maximised when approximately 50% and the milk non-structural carbohydrates (SSS) are production response to supplements 35 to 40% of the diet, and would be 6 to 8 g MS/MJ ME). iii. rumen conditions are optimised and • In situations where cows are grazing to DM intake maximised when the fibre 1200 to 1300 kg DM/ha residuals, content (NDF) is between 28 and 32% cows are severely restricted and DM, with 40 to 50% of NDF is in a rumen substitution is likely to be less than stimulatory (“effective”) form.

25% (NOTE: there will always be some Therefore, pasture would not appear to substitution). Milk production meet the cow’s nutrient requirements, response to supplements in this even when highly digestible. It has situation will be in the range of 9 to surplus protein, too much of which is 10 g MS/MJ ME. rumen degradable. It has a low sugar Protein: The extent of protein content, particularly in spring, and the degradation in the rumen is a function of effectiveness of the fibre at stimulating the degradability of the protein, the rate rumination may be low. at which the protein can be degraded In addition, rumen pH can be lower than and the passage rate of the feed from the optimum used for overseas grainthe rumen. Crude protein in pasture is based diets. highly degradable and although passage However, high quality pasture is a good rate can exceed 6% per hour, in excess of feed because of some unique nutritional 70% of dietary protein in fresh pasture characteristics which must be considered is degraded (Waghorn and Barry, 1987). when evaluating pasture.

Because of this, the requirement of Energy: In general, energy is the first early lactating grazing cows for crude limiting nutrient in the diet of grazing protein exceeds 18% and is estimated dairy cows. There is, therefore, a general to be between 22 and 24% to ensure belief that supplying cows with more metabolisable protein reaching the small energy will be beneficial. However, intestine is not limiting milk production. because of the rapid degradation of Fibre: Pasture management (rotation fibre in high quality pasture, supplying length and previous post-grazing cows with sugars or starch does little residuals) impact on pasture fibre to improve microbial fermentation, content. High quality spring pasture unless it actually increases the amount generally contains between 33 and 40% of energy being supplied to the rumen NDF, but it is highly digestible and lacking microorganisms. in “effectiveness” for rumen stimulation.

When grazing cows are supplemented, rumen pH can decline below 6.0 which they often refuse some pasture is lower than the optimum targeted in (substitution). overseas grain-based diets (Hutjens, The amount of pasture they refuse 2003). depends, primarily, on how well fed However, New Zealand research (de they are: Veth and Kolver, 2001; Kolver and de • If cows are very well fed on pasture (i.e. Veth, 2002) has shown that there is no post-grazing residuals of 1800 kg DM depression in digestion or microbial or greater), substitution may be as high growth at the rumen pHs experienced as 75% (i.e. for every kg of supplement by cows grazing lush spring pasture.

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6

Milking liners have limits Ian Hodge, BVSc. MACVSc. Riverside Veterinary Services Ltd

Milking liners, or inflations, are an integral component of the milking machine. They are the interface between the milking machine and the cow and the only point of contact between the machine and the cow.

Liners have a huge impact on many aspects of milking and mastitis. They can potentially have different effects on teat health under differing vacuum and pulsation settings, and have different effects on the completeness of milk out.

Liners are designed to fit in to metal shells and when fitted are under a certain amount of linear tension. Some liners have two tension rings and can be tightened within the liner. Increased tension can result in better milk out, but can also cause further damage to the teats if the tension is too high.

Although increasing the tension may improve milk out, old liners should not be tensioned to extend their life.

Liners have very different inner barrel dimensions. These dimensions refer to the inner diameter of the liner and we usually measure three points at the top, middle and bottom of the liner. The three measurements have effects on vacuum access to the teat, milk flow from the teat and teat end damage.

The rubber compounds liners are made of usually dictate that after 2500 milkings the inner surface of the rubber will be pitted and more able to harbour bacteria. Old liners also lose effective tension.

It is certainly true that old liners will contribute to the spread of mastitis between cows at milking time

if they have been used for more than 2500 milkings.

The relationship between liners, vacuum and pulsation is extremely complicated and very important. Some liners may be shorter and wider than others and may be milking cows with longer teats.

At higher vacuum and wide pulsation ratios this may be a recipe for causing teat end damage.

Teat health, which includes teat skin health and teat end health, is affected directly by liners.

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An inappropriate liner may be leading to the development of teat end damage in your herd. Teat end damage is a major risk factor for mastitis.

In summary not all liners are the same and cheapest is not always best. You must choose the liner that is appropriate for the milking machine and, more importantly, the cows.

The PureMilk Mastitis Consultancy provides a total mastitis control service. As part of that service we help select the most appropriate liner for your herd.

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7

Giving your cows the best start Many farms are now at a stage that they can take a breather from an eventful season.

A wet spring followed by volatile pasture growth rates up until the end of December have made animal performance and pasture management challenging.

However, now the focus will shift to making the most of the higher milk price and setting cows up for next season.

The interesting question that develops is how many farmers will ensure they do not compromise the following season by working cows too hard and not allowing sufficient time to regain body condition by the planned start of calving.

Body condition score BCS at calving is a critical determinant of dairy cow welfare, future productive and reproduction success.

I know it is something that we consulting officers harp on about at discussion groups a lot but it remains one of the key areas most farm businesses can make profitable improvements.

So what are the key factors to ensure you achieve your body condition score targets?

• Aim for a target BCS at calving of 5 for mature cows and 5.5 for heifers at their first and second calving • Cows calving thin (less than BCS of 5.0) will produce less milk and are more likely to have reproductive problems • Cows calving too fat (greater than BCS of 6.0) are more likely to have calving problems, metabolic diseases and other health issues.

early (February/March) will allow you time to manage those cows that have stripped considerable condition throughout the season (BCS <4.0).

Realistically dry cows only gain half BCS in 30 days unless very well fed with high quality supplement. Do not expect cows to gain BCS during their final month of pregnancy.

For example, if there is a group of

Leighton Parker, Dairy NZ Consulting Officer Mid Canterbury

cows at 3.5 CS, they will require 120 days or 4 months to achieve a BCS of 5 at calving.

Therefore, drying cows off which are 3.5 CS at the end of March for an August 1 calving date.

If you require any further information about condition scoring please contact DairyNZ for a condition scoring handbook or your local CO.

To ensure all cows reach their BCS target by calving it is critical to understand the condition of your herd. Condition scoring the herd

Table 1: Reproduction and milksolid benefits associated with BCS for a 500kg Lwt cow BC change

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Awards put spotlight on skills The skills and knowledge of nearly 500 entrants in the 2011 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards go under the spotlight, with judging taking place.

National convenor Chris Keeping said NZDIA try to encourage entrants to be original and unique with their presentations and to really demonstrate their passion for dairy farming and career goals.

Entrants in the New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year competition and New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year contest each have two-hour on-farm judging sessions.

a central location, as part of their judging criteria.

Mrs Keeping says judging can provide one of the most rewarding aspects of entering the awards.

For the first time this year, entrants in the New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year competition will compete in a 30-minute practical session in

“The feedback entrants receive from judges on areas where they could improve their business is invaluable.

“As entrants have to present all aspects of their business to the judges, the judges are in a position to identify or highlight areas of improvement or opportunity for their business.”

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She said those who gain the most from judging plan and prepare how the visit will go.

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“It’s also a good idea to have a backup plan in case of bad weather and to even get someone else to drive, so they can concentrate on what they are presenting to the judges.”

“Those that do prepare well will learn a bit more about them and their farm business by having to think about what their strengths are, where

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“Some amazing new ideas appear each year too.”

Judging continues throughout February, with the first regional winners announced in Manawatu Rangitikei Horowhenua at an awards ceremony on March 4.

There are 12 regional competitions, with the Southland region completing the series of awards ceremonies on April 2.

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Production ‘on comeback trail’ New Zealand dairy farmers are struggling to keep production ahead of last year’s record milkflows, even though summer rains have rescued many regions from the drought that loomed before Christmas, a commodities report said.

A former New Zealand academic and Western Illinois University agriculture professor Bill Bailey said that prices for all ingredients were up again in both Oceania and European markets.

But he noted that the reduced number of bidders and eventual winners taking part in the fortnightly Fonterra auction online was difficult to read.

Rabobank economists reported in their regular agribusiness report the impact of cows culled, lost production and cows dried-off early will ... result in production struggling to stay ahead of last year through the rest of the season.

The very heavy rains which arrived over the Christmas and New Year period enabled North Island dairy farmers to avoid what would have been a very early and severe drought, Rabobank said.

The North Island produced just over 60 per cent of the nation’s milksolids last season — even though there were also drought problems last year, when Fonterra’s milkflows in the North Island fell by about four per cent, while its South Island milk production rose by 10 per cent.

Nationally, milkflows rose to 16.5 billion litres, containing 1.44 billion kg of milksolids, a 3.3 percent lift compared to 1.39 billion kg processed in the previous season. The biggest increase in dairy export volumes in December was in whole milkpowder (WMP) as milk diverted from other

Experts believe New Zealand’s dairy production is slowly recovering. product streams lifted the WMP exports — equivalent to nearly $900,000 for that month to more than 100,000 the average Fonterra supplier, if the tonnes, with a record 50,000 tonnes of it company can match its 1.286 billion kg going to China. milksolids production last year.

Rabobank said that improvements in commodity prices in New Zealand dollar terms had strengthened local prices by four per cent to nine per cent this season, with the exception of cheese prices which remained flat.

In NZ dollar terms, butter and powder prices are now more than 20 per cent higher than in early 2010, and Fonterra’s projected payout for this season is at least $7.30/kg milksolids

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Federated Farmers’ dairy section chairman Lachlan McKenzie said he expected this season’s production to be hit by drought in the upper North Island.

The ASB Bank said that though the NZ dollar exchange rate is in the middle of its 2011 range at US76c to US78c, the downward pressure this exerted on farm-gate earnings was being offset by extremely strong commodity prices.

“Are the needs of an increasing number of buyers covered so that only those short of product involved in the auction; or have prices reached levels where the remaining bidders are only those with deep pockets?,” he said.

Comparing the latest auction prices to last year at this time, anhydrous milkfat (industrial butter) prices are up 55 per cent, skim milkpowder (SMP) up 34 per cent and WMP up 22 per cent.

Demand did not seem to be weakening even in view of the high prices.

Prof Bailey said that New Zealand dairy production was slowly recovering.

“Given the challenges earlier in the season, even the current idea of production increasing 1 per cent to 2 per cent from last year is good news to the market.”

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10

Dairy Shed Maintenance

Dairy Focus Providing a more efficient service to the dairy industry is what initially saw Laser Electrical Ashburton launch their exclusive Dairy Maintenance & Data Base programme.

Brent Christie, Managing Director, and Phil Moore, Rural and Dairy Division Manager realised the need to increase the quality of repairs and maintenance on dairy sheds. Fully aware of the extra stress untimely breakdowns cause dairy farmers, these sought after programmes were designed to reduce maintenance costs, avoid breakdowns and loss of production.

Using thermal imaging technology Laser Electrical’s skilled tradesman are able to detect primary stages of faults on switchboards, motors, pumps and switchgear and fix problems quickly therefore preventing breakdowns. The Dairy Shed Maintenance Check also includes complete checks of electrical components, refrigeration, pumps, plumbing and dairy plant. The client then receives a full written report including photos and thermal image readings and comparisons of these are made in consecutive checks.

Any repairs needed can be dealt with immediately or options discussed with the owner. Farmers can set their own schedule for frequency of maintenance checks although the recommendation is at least bimonthly to benefit properly.

Over the years Laser Electrical found that in the event of breakdowns there was always a considerable amount of

downtime while the farmer waited for the electrician to come and find the problem then more often than not they would have to return to town to collect the correct parts before being able to get the plant up and running to continue milking. The Dairy Shed Data Base includes all plant items, photos of components, and details of starters, circuit breakers, isolators, fuses, pumps, and even light fittings so in the event of a breakdown Laser Electrical Staff can bring the right spare parts the first time, therefore improving efficiency and minimising any loss of production.

The success of these products has been backed up with testimonials from the likes of Robert Mangin, David Turner and David McKimmie, all of whom have Dairy Maintenance Programmes and Data Bases’ in place.

Judges from the Ashburton Business Association were also very impressed and awarded the Rural & Dairy Division of Laser Electrical Ashburton, Best Rural Business Service Provider 2010, this achievement is testament to the hard work and dedication put in by Phil and his team who have also restructured the services this division provides to include a comprehensive quoting programme to enable dairy clients to design their new dairy shed specific to their needs and budget. The programme also gives a breakdown of detail of exactly what the client is getting.

Phil Moore, Rural & Dairy Division Manager & Brent Christie Managing Director, created the exclusive Dairy Maintenance & Data Base Programmes to provide a more efficient service to their clients & reduce Maintenance costs.

With decades of experience in the dairy industry Laser Electrical are able to adapt to any type or style of shed from herringbone to rotary, and work with any builder or engineer. Phil and his team are very excited to have become the Canterbury electrical service and installation agents for the Lely Robot milking Systems.

Other features exclusive to Laser include the smooth cover consoles which provide a water proof option with great detail, these are now seen in many dairy plants across the district. They have currently established an electrical design for Ecan approved effluent management systems, and the latest irrigation controls include a touch screen and data logging

equipment to comply with Ecan requirements. While all this takes place on the farm back at the workshop the rest of the dairy team cover many facets of the industry including building dairy switch boards, consoles, mealfeeders and grain crusher control panels, effluent systems and irrigation controllers. Laser also employ a qualified engineer to enable them to recondition pumps and motors as well as basic engineering requirements All of this would not be complete without the 24 hour on call service Laser Electrical Ashburton continues to provide, as it was 30 years ago when Brent’s father Les Christie established the business then known as Christie Electrical.

Avoid breakdowns . . .

Improve efficiency of your dairy shed Join our exclusive Dairy Maintenance Programme & Dairy Shed Database • Reduce maintenance costs • Avoid unnecessary breakdowns • Reduce downtime • Avoid loss in production • Prevent disaster

“The Dairy Maintenance check, together with the Dairy Shed Data base Service provided by Laser Electrical, have proved invaluable in the day to day smooth operation of our three dairy sheds.”

– David Turner, Rakaia Island Ltd

Ashburton Branch 726 East Street, Ashburton.

03 308 2106 www.laserelectrical.co.nz

Rolleston Branch 831 Jones Road Rolleston 0800 LASER 4U

149 Cameron Street, Ashburton.

03 308 6344 www.laserplumbing.co.nz

Phone us now to book your FREE on-farm demonstration 2010 International Laser Business of the Year • 2010 ABA Best Rural Service Business of the Year 2007, 2009, 2010 Laser Electrical NZ Member of the Year 2009, 2010 ABA Supreme Business of the Year Runner Up

11

Dairy Shed Maintenance

Dairy Focus Another milking season is half way through and consequently I should be at the same bench mak\rk with dairy shed assessments.

For those I have had the pleasure of visiting, on the whole you are doing a pretty good job, for those who are on the yet to be visited list, expect a phone call or a letter in the next few weeks for your annual evaluation.

I would be less than honest if I said there are not too many changes to the standards compared to last year, and the year before, but that is the environment in which we live in, constant change.

I will outline some of the more major changes or variations to the standards that, we as assessors,, and farmers are expected to measure up to.

Presentation

Dairy farms are food factories, and so presentation is evaluated as such. So suppliers take time to beatify the entrance to the dairy via the tanker track.

It should be aesthetically pleasing for a non-dairy person Garages and Workshops

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Sanitation

This is an important part of the assessment as it involves the cleanliness of milking plant and premises.

Consequently, the rubberware and milk lines are checked through to identify cleaning failures and perishing of any rubberware to ascertain the effectiveness of the plant cleaning systems.

The four components of effective sanitation are:

• Water temperature • Correct chemical volumes • Correct contact tiem (above 60 degrees) • Mechanical as in how well plant surges during wash

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12

Trading among farmers plans on track Fonterra has recently conducted a series of meetings to update farmers on progress towards share trading among farmers.

outlined to shareholders are met,” Sir Henry said.

“Beyond that shareholders need to know the processes will be easy to understand and continues to reflect our wholly farmerowned co-operative principles.

In June 2010, Fonterra shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of changes to the co-operative’s constitution to allow steps to be taken to implement Trading Among Farmers at a future date.

This would involve farmers buying and selling Fonterra shares from one another through a market, rather than via the cooperative.

“Trading Among Farmers is a vital step to remove redemption risk and stop money washing in and out of Fonterra’s balance sheet every season.

“This is about strengthening the cooperative and giving it the ability to grow as the world demands more and more of the milk we produce.”

Since then Fonterra has been working with advisors on the design of Trading Among Farmers in line with concepts outlined prior to the farmer vote.

Trading Among Farmers would involve the creation of a Fonterra shareholders’ market for share trading. At the same time, farmers would be able to free up share capital by placing some of their shares with a new Fonterra shareholders’ fund.

This fund would pay farmers for shares that farmers place with the fund, including the rights to dividends and the gain/loss from any change in the market value of those shares.

The design contemplates the fund raising the money that would be paid to farmers for shares they place with the fund by issuing units to outside investors.

Federated Farmers’ sharemilkers chairperson Ciaran Tully explains some of the options available to local farm owners and sharemilkers who will need to negotiate their payments with the proposed payment structure.

This would give investors an investment linked to Fonterra’s financial performance while ensuring Fonterra remains 100 per cent farmer controlled.

Fonterra Chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden said the process of developing a robust, secure and transparent system

for Trading Among Farmers is complex, but care is being taken by management to ensure the board and shareholders’ council are satisfied.

“We’ll take the time necessary to ensure the board is satisfied that all the pre-conditions for a launch previously

Trading Among Farmers is dependent on the Government determining what changes are required to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) to provide for it and at least 50 per cent support from the shareholders’ council. The Government is expected to release a discussion paper on potential DIRA changes later this month.

Fonterra is considering three possible launch dates for Trading Among Farmers aligned with Fonterra’s half and full year balance dates: October-December 2011, April-May 2012 and October-December 2012.

Approximately 50 farmer meetings are being held around the country this week to update shareholders on progress.

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13

Awards a must for improvement Last year, we were offered a sponsorship opportunity, to help support the 2010 Canterbury/North Otago New Zealand Dairy Awards.

We agreed to do this as I believe it is important to help promote this powerful and innovative agricultural industry.

We have also agreed to support the 2011 Canterbury/Otago New Zealand Dairy Awards after last year’s successful event.

These awards are split into three different categories:

• The New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the year – this category is open to all percentage sharemilkers, dairy farm managers who own up to 50% of the total farm business in which they are employed, contract milkers who own up to 50% of the total farm business in which they also hold the contract milking agreement and lessee’s of an operating dairy farm business for which they hold the lease agreement.

• New Zealand Farm Manager of the year - this category is open to dairy farm managers who have a written dairy farm manager’s employment agreement and have a contract milkers whose on farm income is derived from a payment formula based on

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a “cents per kilogram of milksolids produced” and have a written contract milking agreement

• New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the year – this category is open to anyone who is aged 18 – 30 as at December, 31, 2010, is currently employed on a dairy farm, has not been employed for more than 5 years on a dairy farm either continuously or in total as at December 31, 2010, is a New Zealand citizen or New Zealand resident as at December, 31, 2010, is currently enrolled in toward achieving or has completed within the last 2 years, a National Certificate of Agriculture Level 4 (Dairy) or higher or completes a nomination form from their current employer and meets the additional eligibility criteria as set out in the conditions of entry.

There are 12 regional competitions being held around the country. The three winners from each of the regional competitions will then progress to the national final which will be held in May this year in Queenstown.

Entries for the Canterbury/North Otago region have closed with 63 contestants having entered across the three different categories. This is on a par with last year’s numbers and proves exactly how popular this event has become.

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Sharemilkers of the year runners-up 2010 locals Jeremy and Rebecca Duckmanton Some of the judging criteria that are required in the three categories are financial planning and management, livestock knowledge, human resource knowledge, communication, farm environment, pasture knowledge, farm management.

To have this high level of knowledge, and to encourage all people working in this industry is a credit to the dairy industry as a whole. The previous winners of “our” region live in our district.

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14

Empowering dairying women Dairy Women’s Network national Dairy Days focus on financial planning Empowering dairying women with tips and tools to take charge of their farm’s financial planning will be the focus of a series of practical workshops being held across the North and South Islands in February and March.

Run by the Dairy Women’s Network,

the Dairy Days workshops have been developed to provide dairying women with the skills and knowledge to create a farm budget, cashflow it and to use this information for informed decision making.

The workshop will spend time look-

South Island Dairy Women’s Network Dairy Days Schedule Culverden

15th February

Dunsandel

16th February

Murchison NB: Topic ‘Office Management’, not ‘Cashbook to Cashflow’ Geraldine

17th February 17th February

Waimate

18th February

Balclutha

24th February

Winton

25th February

Hokitika

1st March

Murchison

2nd March

Takaka

3rd March

Culverden Community Centre, Amuri School Road.

Recreation Centre, Tramway Road.

Community Centre, Hampden Street. Function room.

“DairyNZ has increased our funding for Dairy Days this year and we are using those extra funds to focus solely on the topic of financial planning,” Former rural banking manager and

Performance improvement and people development specialist, Claire Harvey, is presenting at the South Island Dairy Days.

As part of the seminars, Rebecca and Claire will teach participants through instructional and interactive sessions that will include: how to calculate farm income from production data, dealing with major categories of expenditure, calculating forecasted income, and estimating forecasted expenditure.

Central Southland Lodge 232 Great North Rd. Function room.

Beachfront Hotel , 111 Revell Street.

Community Centre, Hampden Street. Function room.

Kahurangi Function centre 1552 SH60, Tukurua

• No more bouncing over rough pivot tracks • Smooth travel when using spreaders, sprayers and other machinery.

• Reduce farm equipment repair costs • Avoid irrigation systems having to work twice as hard to travel in deep pivot tracks.

• Reduced stress on tires, beams, spans, motors and generators.

• Making your soil more stable through the irrigation season

We can also help WIth trough gravel and pond erosIon Barry Whittaker Contracting will fill and pack your pivot tracks saving you time and labour.

Network Chair, Michelle Wilson said the Dairy Women’s network ran a similar series of Dairy Days last March and had a record number of around 440 women attend the sessions.

ex-farm consultant, Rebecca Rowe, is the presenter at the North Island Dairy Days.

Geraldine Heritage Hotel, 31 Talbot Street. Conference room Criterion Hotel, 198 Queen Street, Waimate.

Telford Rural Polytechnic, Owaka Highway, Otanomomo.

Irrigation pivot tracks causing a bump in your day 6 reasons to have your pivot tracks filled and packed

ing at cash manager software, which is a tool that can be utilised to make the financial planning process simpler.

Barry Whittaker contracting ltd Ph 027-480-3380 - 302-3888 b.jwhittaker@xtra.co.nz

Dairy Days workshops have been developed to provide dairying women with the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions.

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15

fertigation Fertigation is a system that has been used around the world for many years. In earlier years in New Zealand it has been used predominantly in horticulture but over recent years this method of applying fertilisers has gained acceptance in pasture and crop farming.

The various injection systems allow major and minor nutrients to be applied directly, evenly and effectively to the pasture or crop through the irrigation system. This has proved to be extremely efficient and produces excellent results in dry matter production, crop yields and crop quality. There are significant cost savings and reduction of damage such as compaction, crop loss and soil environment.

The basis of any system is to test the nutrient status of the soil by doing a soil test across the paddock to establish the fertiliser requirement for the pasture or crop. This will determine what type and amounts of fertiliser the soil requires for the season or the crop. This analysis will

include a reserve nitrogen test which will give an indication of the nitrogen requirement, in either solid or liquid forms over the season for the pasture or the crop.

Once this information has been gathered a fertiliser programme can be recommended that may include granular fertilisers and soil conditioners, such as lime or humates. It will incorporate nutrients that can be applied through the irrigation to complement the granular fertiliser to maximise the yield.

The fertigation products may be predominantly nitrogen on a dairy farm or cropping situation but does give the opportunity to add phosphate, potassium, sulphur and minor elements such as boron, copper and other trace elements essential to good plant health

Graeme Pile

Agri Specialist Ellesmere Road, Lincoln, Canterbury Phone 0276 246 750 www.fertigation.co.nz ashburton guardian advertising feature

control areas every month throughout the year.

Other trials have shown that the liquid nitrogen UAN (as used in this trial) can replace Urea when applied to pasture and crops.

The use of UAN as part of the nutrient fertiliser programme helps reduce the effect that urea has on the soil environment.

With regional councils around New Zealand looking at limiting the amount of nitrogen that can be applied to farms around sensitive areas, such as Lake Taupo and Lake Brunner, it is only a matter of time that these areas will be increased to include farms near rivers and streams.

In summary, a fertigation system that is based around a well researched fertiliser programme will deliver excellent results. More farmers are It doesn’t burn the same amount of looking at adopting this method to carbon (organic matter) in the soil which improve their production while reducing allows more moisture to be retained and costs – because the main aim of your there is less leaching, all good for the farm business is “to improve your environment. bottom line”.

A trial on a dairy farm has proven through the use of a fertigation system and fertiliser programme, which includes granular fertiliser, to produce an extra 20 per cent of dry matter over control every year for the past six years.

It was also noted that the density of the pasture sward (particularly clover) in the trial area was greater than that of the control areas. (See article in the Dairy Exporter 2008 ) .

The protocol for the trial; the dry matter was cut in the trial area and the

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16

Farmers declare war over prices Australian dairy farmers have vowed to stand up to the “big supermarket bullies” over the tumbling price of milk.

They’ve again called on the consumer watchdog to launch a formal inquiry into the power of Coles and Woolworths.

The pair caused a storm two weeks ago by cutting as much as a third of the price of their home-brand milk, offering two litre bottles for just $A2 and delighting shoppers.

But Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative chairman Ian Zandstra insists only the big supermarkets will be grinning at the end of the day.

He wants to tell consumers not to be duped, that inevitably drops in prices will be recouped elsewhere.

Down the line, it’s farmers and vendors who will be the biggest losers.

“You might think it’s just a unilateral decision, but there is massive collateral damage - vendors are going to be hurt, those small corner stores and farmers,” he said.

“But (supermarkets) are going to want their profits back, and they will squeeze the supplier.

“We’re being held up.”

Mr Zandstra met with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last Friday and is confident farmers will get the inquiry they’re after.

Dairy farmers have long felt used by the super-

markets, Mr Zandstra said.

“It’s a war,” he said.

“Now they’ve changed the whole category of milk and different milk products and now other processors have got to compete with these low prices.

“Processors won’t talk against these big bullies in town, so it’s up to farmers to fight this fight.”

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He said wholesale milk prices - about 48 cents a litre - had barely risen in over a decade, while Australian production had also decreased.

Only about nine billion litres is being produced annually, rather than 11 billion in 2004 - about 25 per cent of that is drinking milk.

The commission has declined to comment on the milk fight, refusing to say if it is looking further into the matter.

- AAP

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