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An Ashburton Guardian Supplement

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Photos Kirsty Graham 100912-kg-034

Catherine and Kenneth Pottinger, with children (from left) Milli, 4, Edward, 2, and Henry, nine months.

September 2012

An Aussie and a Scotsman go milking in Ashburton Pages 2-5

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Dairy Focus September 2012

Globetrotters flourish in Ashburton Linda Clarke,

rural reporter, Ashburton Guardian

Young Edward Pottinger could be an All Black one day. He could also play rugby for the Wallabies, or for Scotland. His dad Kenneth would prefer the latter.

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Kenneth and Edward Pottinger.

The two-year-old is wearing an Australian teeshirt and a kilt, playing with sister Milli, while Kenneth and mum Catherine talk about their new life on a Mid Canterbury dairy farm.

The pair are contract milkers on a 605-cow Synlait farm on Fords Road. After five years in New Zealand, they are beginning to call the land of the long white cloud home.

While it is close enough to family for Australian born Catherine, it is half a world away from the sheep and beef farm where Kenneth grew up in the north of Scotland.

A framed photograph of a beach hung on the lounge wall shows a beautiful Scottish coastline. It is lovely, says Catherine, when it is not raining.

The Scottish weather means Kenneth is immune to the worst wind and rain New Zealand can muster. He is used to winter days with an average high of eight degrees Celsius, and summer days of 14.

An advertising supplement of the Ashburton Guardian Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Ashburton Guardian Publication date: September 18, 2012 Next issue: October 23, 2012 We welcome any correspondence to either: Amanda Wright, phone 307-7927 email: amanda.w@theguardian.co.nz Linda Clarke, phone 307-7971 email: linda.c@theguardian.co.nz Dairy Focus designed by: Denise Fawer

The Pottinger family in Scotland run beef and sheep. Kenneth’s older brother Michael and twin brother David work alongside their father Hamish, who at 70 is still pulling on the gumboots. The farm was running 300 Angus cattle and 2000 crossbred sheep, with Kiwi Romney genetics, when he left in 2007.

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Kenneth hoses down the herringbone milking shed.

As a youngster, Kenneth also worked on the farm, while dreaming of a career as a professional rugby player. A shoulder injury led him to refereeing and he was soon in the Scottish referees development squad, officiating at games on the famous Greenyards park, home to the Melrose Rugby Football Club, one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world.

Kenneth’s refereeing skills were put to good use on his OE, when he came to Ashburton in 2002. He worked on local farms, between whistling assignments.

He met Catherine in Adelaide at a wedding, on his way home to Scotland. He was best man and she was a bridesmaid, working as an oncology nurse. Six months

later they met up again in Helsinki and they corporate dairy farmer, now milking 605 cows on Fords Road. have been together ever since.

With labour not an issue on the family farm in Scotland, the pair decided to head to Australia for a honeymoon in 2007, then on to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland with backpacks and very little money.

It is not a high-tech farm, but the Pottingers know how to make it tick; it is amongst Synlait’s top performers. The property is 170ha, all grass, and the cows produce around 405kgMS each.

They headed to Akaroa, where Kenneth landed a job as stock manager on a beef and sheep farm. It was hard, though, not being the boss. The pair quickly realised that dairy farming was the business to be in and applied for a junior job on a Synlait farm.

“It is an old established dairy farm, that used to be part of a bigger unit,” Kenneth said. Synlait bought it in the 2004-05 season.

The farm is irrigated by three rotorainers and the Kiwi cross cows are milked in a 34-a-side herringbone shed with 17 cup removers. It makes for long milkings and Inducted into the Synlait family, the staff are either in the shed or shifting Pottingers worked their way up to farm managers and then contract milkers for the irrigation in the peak of the season.

The Pottingers work a six-day on, twoday off roster for their employees, who are Argentinian. “We use a balanced roster to ensure staff are not fatigued.”

Kenneth is hands-on around the farm, especially at calving, and Catherine handles the HR, calf rearing and runs the household – no mean feat with three free-range children under five.

Kenneth says while modern technology is a help, it is not a necessity. He uses aquaflex moisture meters to manage water allocation, and help him decide when to turn the irrigators on and off. He also makes good use of the Metservice weather forecasts, which he reckons are 70 per cent accurate.

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Dairy Focus September 2012

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Edward, 2, and Henry, nine months.

His mantra is “monitor, record and spotting something early and react” and he uses an old-fashioned ensuring you remember the animal clipboard and a calculator. is managing or if assistance is needed and not waiting two hours.”

He uses this philosophy for animal husbandry too, and it works. The Patience and skill are necessary to vet has been called only three times make sure cows are happy in the in the past four years to difficult paddock and the milking shed. calvings (that’s 2400 cows giving “Your animal is your bread and birth). butter. It costs you $2000 to have “I have been doing it for 30 years, its first calf and you keep getting

returns all through her working life.”

As part of the Synlait family, the couple also use feed budgets and financial templates to chart their business. It was an eye-opener, he said, changing from farming as an individual farmer to one part of a corporate entity.

“It is not just producing stuff, but making sure it is profitable.”

Story continues next page

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Dairy Focus September 2012 The Synlait group offered learning and professional development, as well as providing a degree of in-house competition. It helps being Scottish, he says, when you are trying to keep expenses down, even if the milk payout rises. The aim is to keep costs to $3.50/kgMS.

5

judging clashed with a planned family holiday back to Scotland.

Bring it on this year, they say.

Kenneth reckons they are now ready for another step up in the industry, in the form of a sharemilking opportunity. As contract milkers, they supply staff and some farm machinery and manage the farm.

Professional development also means opening yourself up to constructive criticism, like learning how to delegate, As sharemilkers, they would own cows, booking out time to spend with the kids, or the next step up the chain. Owning land is watch a rugby game. not necessarily their ultimate goal; looking ahead 15 years, he wants to make sure The couple entered the Dairy Industry his three kids get every opportunity to Awards this year and were excited to make it to the top six in the farm manager succeed. Chances are, at least one will be working with beef or dairy cattle. category. They had to withdraw when

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Dairy Focus September 2012

Helping farmers help themselves eight animals including four calves, one Szymanski also increased the daily gains heifer, two milking cows and one milking of fattening animals and cost L.E. 500 per buffalo. ton less than the old rations.

But when Mr Szymanski visited, he saw Savings from the reduced cost of fundamental problems in how El-Feki the new rations and profits from the operated his farm: poor ventilation, increased milk production enabled Mr Milk is pivotal to these farmer families, inadequate housing, limited access to El-Feki to build a new open barn with water and improper feeding practices. it is the primary source of their income improved ventilation, free access to These were some of the same issues and a core source of nutrition. Family water and a cleaner environment for the Szymanski saw elsewhere in the region members consume the milk and sell and they resulted in high costs for rations, animals. His herd’s morbidity rate has the remainder to a dealer for money to decreased, and Mr El-Feki is spared the high morbidity rates and improper purchase groceries. medication costs that he spent to treat milking procedures. Mr Szymanski The Farmer-to-Farmer program provides diseases associated with poor ventilation gave Mr El-Feki suggestions on how voluntary technical assistance to farmers, and a dirty environment, adding up to an to improve the farm’s operations. Elfarm groups and agribusinesses in Feki, considered to be an innovative extra savings of L.E. 150 per month. developing countries. It relies on the and proactive leader in his community, expertise of volunteers from US farms, Mr El-Feki’s wife, Neamat, who milks the carefully considered the new universities and agribusinesses to cows and takes care of the young calves, recommendations and started adapting respond to local issues. is also following the milking procedures them using available resources. Based The program has helped about a million on Mr Szymanski’s recommendations, he Mr Szymanski showed her to produce used simple tools to chop the forages and clean, healthy milk. farmer families in 80 countries since its inception. In Egypt, Saied Eid El-Feki was a grinder to grind the grains to prepare A portion of the produced milk is used the ingredients for the total mixed ration. one of Mr Szymanski’s trainees. Eleven by the family and the rest is sold to a milk years ago, El-Feki brought his one cow He then spread these ingredients out dealer. The resulting income pays for all to his newly purchased 5-feddan (about on a clean concrete floor and mixed them the family’s groceries.

5-acre) farm in the reclaimed desert with a shovel. He quickly saw results. lands.

Mr El-Feki’s wife is now very confident Two weeks after feeding his cows the that her family, and especially her Through hard work and determination, new rations, milk production increased to an average of three litres per head per grandchildren, not only have more milk, El-Feki and his son turned the family but also clean, healthy milk. day. The new rations recommended by farm into a profitable enterprise, with In September 2010, Farmer-to-Farmer (FtF) volunteer Damon Szymanski, a dairy farmer from Wisconsin, travelled to Egypt to train 75 small dairy farmers in simple, low-cost technologies to increase the quality and quantity of their milk.

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Dairy Focus September 2012

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Getting the best out of your winter kale Give your cows the best start to the milking to maintain body condition and pregnancy season by giving them quality kale over the demands. Trials have shown that crop utilisation of 84% is required to reach the winter period.

12% CP levels, when grazing Sovereign. If The winter season is an extremely the animals were grazing a giant kale, e.g. important time of year as the quality and Burley, or Rawera, a utilisation of 80% would quantity of feed offered to dry cows will only yield a total CP% of 10.2%, well below have a direct impact on the following the animal requirements. Therefore extra milking season. Now is the time to start supplements would be required to lift the thinking about which kale to sow mid to total CP% the animal is digesting. late-spring. An Agricom study has shown In practical terms, a Sovereign crop Sovereign kale to have an increased feed yielding 15 t DM/ha with an animal CP% quality over other kales. requirement of 12% will require a new break The quantity of kale cows consume is when the crop reaches around 2.4 t DM/ very important for condition improvement ha or Âź of the stem left behind whereas or maintenance. The actual feed eaten similar grazing residuals on giant type kales per cow can vary on a number of factors would require extra protein supplements to including crop and break size, and stocking maintain body condition. rate. Getting accurate paddock sizes will Although you can potentially grow more give you a better understanding of the size feed with giant kales, to at least maintain of the break required. This combined with cow condition score you would need the accurate crop yield measurement will to leave more kale behind or increase ensure the cows are being offered their target amounts. A recent Lincoln University supplements to account for the reduced trial has shown that cows can consume up protein consumed. to 14 kg DM/ha per day of kale. This means In summary, wintering cows on kale can cows can have an increased level of kale in increase condition preparing them for their diet for higher condition gains. the upcoming milking season, provided the quantity and quality of the kale being The quality of kale, an equally important eaten is adequate. Sovereign kale provides parameter to performance, influences the an ideal mix of quality and quantity for amount of kale the cows have to digest to reach the target of 12% CP (Crude Protein), maintaining or increasing animal condition, which is the required amount for dry cows through this critical time of year.

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Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

Fuelstops a boom for the community

or credit payable on a monthly invoice.

There are no fees involved, so just a call to RDP will get an application underway.

The fuelcard itself has its own valueadded services. For example, it enables cardholders to track their fuel consumption and to receive RDP’s complimentary quarterly petrol summary to help with their NZTA petrol rebate claims. RDP’s Business Development Manager Hamish Harvey Since spring 2009, RDP has been rolling out believes the fuelcard’s ability to streamline payments, processing and follow up a programme of expansion into rural fuel tasks is driving increased demand for it. supply. Becoming the new fuel supplier “Customers are extremely positive about to Waimate’s High Street petrol station how ’smart’ and ’value-packed’ the RDP started things off. Then, in early 2010, Clinton became the first rural community in fuelcard is, which means it’s doing its job Otago/Southland to have its very own RDP for our customers as we intended.” supplied and branded 24-hour self-service According to Hamish, local farmers have fuelstop. Other similar RDP fuelstops are even greater opportunities to benefit from now in Ranfurly, Hyde, Tarras, Te Anau, a local RDP fuelstop. “RDP tankers will Wyndham, Milton, Weston, Herbert, be in the area regularly and consistently Waimate, Hawarden and Rai Valley with supplying the fuelstop. Farmers can tap many more still to come. Importantly, the into that greater frequency service, by benefits of an RDP fuelstop extend well signing with us as their bulk fuel supplier. beyond the physical space it occupies, The benefits will go straight to their bottom into the surrounding farms and broader line. They will be assured of a reliable community framework. continuous fuel supply at our best price every time. Their ability to manage fuel The most immediate and visible benefit is that fuel is local again but without local reserves will be enhanced due to shorter waiting periods between deliveries. Both overheads – RDP supplies the fuel, and hi-tech Outdoor Purchase Terminals (which of those factors are critical to maximising farm efficiency, productivity and ultimately look and operate like bank ATMs) handle fuel service and payments rather than staff. profitability, because no farmer can afford ‘Closed’ signs don’t appear, either, because to run out of fuel and have to stop work fuel is accessible 24/7 via self-service. One and wait for days on end for more to arrive. Our priority is to ensure that doesn’t consequence of this is locals choosing to happen.” use their RDP fuelstop at night, leaving daytime hours free for more productive One final thing about RDP’s rural fuel work like running busy farms or rural solutions that may appeal to the Dairy households. industry – RDP fuel is clean, water-free and Farming is integral to life in New Zealand.

Dairy farming is our leading primary industry. Therefore, keeping farms as efficient, productive and profitable as possible should be seen as a worthwhile goal, if not an important responsibility, of any business supplying the farming industry. That’s certainly the view of bulk fuel supplier RD Petroleum (RDP). And it ‘walks the talk’, too.

Better time management also comes with another RDP fuelstop-related benefit – the RDP fuelcard. This ‘smart’ card automatically applies built-in discounts at purchase time, so users always receive RDP’s best fuel price wherever they are.

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Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

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Staff at CRT Fuel are also working on the This business is wholly owned by CRT Co• Purchase summaries enable shareholders operative, a distribution agreement secured installation of Touchstar, an automated “The company again delivered a solid bonus to claim on petrol excise tax system that transfers trip data from the to provide shareholders with a credible rebate of 4.25 per cent for the 2011/2012 truck to the core system. This is an exciting lubricants offer where none was available • Deliveries are made throughout New financial year to shareholder customers of innovation that will add enormous value through third party supply channels.

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Dairy Focus September 2012

Ian Hodge, BVSc. MACVSc. Riverside Veterinary Services Ltd

As mating fast approaches there are several key areas of herd fertility management you should be addressing.

Getting ready for mating season

Tail paint early. Tail paint is your window in to the oestrus activity of the cows. By tail painting at least five weeks before the planned start of mating you will detect many pre-mating heats. The value is in knowing which cows are cyclic and which cows are anoestrus (not cycling) prior to the start of mating. Those cows which are cycling can be selected for synchronization programmes. Synchronization increases the chance of a compact calving pattern within a tight calving spread, and results in a greater proportion of cows being calved for six weeks or more at the start of next seasons mating. In turn this increases the chances of a higher six week in calf rate. Changing tail paint colour weekly can be useful to identify all cows not cycling during the five weeks prior to mating and knowing when cows cycle, so their next expected cycle date can be predicted.

By doing this there will be a group of cows you know are genuine non cyclers.

Condition Score the herd using an approved body condition scoring person. The evidence for improved reproductive performance when body condition is increasing at the time of mating is significant. Dairy cows can lose body condition after calving through reduced voluntary feed intake etc and we must ensure that we “switch off” this hormonally driven process after calving.

This can be done by providing adequate carbohydrate, protein and fibre in feed, providing energy dense diets which meet the requirements of your cows, and balancing the carbohydrate and protein levels. Any post-calving diseases must also be addressed as these can increase the risk that cows will lose condition. Cows at body condition score 4.5-5 at mating will have the best chance of achieving an early pregnancy. By condition scoring now, you will be able to see the proportion of your herd which are below BCS 4 and above BCS 5, and you will be able to instigate management changes to address this issue.

Detect uterine diseases early. The uterus needs to be free of any diseases to be able to establish a pregnancy.

Uterine diseases are best detected earlier rather than later so request that your vet checks all at risk cows as soon as possible if you haven’t done so already. Those cows at risk are cows which have had retained placenta, assisted calving, milk fever, twins and dead calves. Older cows are also at risk. Whole herd metrichecking to detect uterine diseases is a good idea. The dirty cows detected by this process should ideally be seen and treated by a veterinarian.

Heat detection is critical. Heat detection needs to have an accuracy level of 90 per cent or more. This means that at least 90 per cent of cows genuinely in heat are correctly detected as being in heat. On average in New Zealand heat detection accuracy is about 60 per cent and this is probably one reason why we do not achieve the pregnancy rates that we think we should be achieving. Do you know and does your staff know how to accurately detect heat in dairy cows? Staff training in heat detection could be a very wise investment.

Deal with non-cycling cows early. The common misconception is that CIDR’s are a waste of time. In fact CIDR’s are the best tool to initiate cyclic activity in noncycling cows so that subsequent heats are more fertile.

Non cycling cows not CIDR treated have a longer calving to conception interval, higher empty percentages and more chance of becoming phantom cows. Your tail painting programme will have identified genuine non cyclers.

Treat these cows prior to the planned start of mating and concentrate on treating cows that have been calved at least five weeks.

Have a plan. Failing to plan is to plan to fail so have a reproduction consultation with your primary vet to work out exactly how you are going to achieve a 78 per cent six week in calf rate, and 5 per cent empty rate with 10-11 weeks of mating.

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Dairy Focus September 2012

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With less than you want certainty Contributed by IrrigationNZ eight weeks to for your business go before on-farm water meters become put a meter on and quickly.” compulsory, IrrigationNZ is worried one Water metering also benefits the water third of irrigators in Canterbury and two quality and quantity limit setting processes, thirds in Otago have yet to install them. alongside the consent renewal process IrrigationNZ Chief Executive Andrew allowing decisions to be based on real-life Curtis says irrigators need to move quickly data rather than hypothesis. otherwise the whole industry could be “Currently there are too many branded irresponsible, and IrrigationNZ can assumptions being made about water use. support farmers struggling to understand Irrigators need to prove how efficient they their metering requirements. already are with their water use.”

From 1 November 2012, all irrigation While IrrigationNZ appreciates some water takes over 20 litres per second will irrigators have complicated metering need to be metered and verified by regional requirements, industry advice is available to councils. Penalties are likely for irrigators help irrigators work through such scenarios, who fail to comply. says Mr Curtis.

“The regulations were passed two years “Open channel measurement can be ago and given the effort that regional particularly complex. The reality is water councils and IrrigationNZ have put into metering is site specific so you will need raising awareness, the numbers of meters advice suitable for your property. If you yet to be installed is disappointing,” says Mr have a really complex situation and are Curtis. not sure where to go, get in touch with Feedback from industry suggests some IrrigationNZ or your regional council. farmers are still putting water meters “in the The IrrigationNZ ‘Blue Tick’ industry too hard basket” due to the complexity of accreditation programme also provides lists their irrigation takes, while others are too of installers, verifiers and data management busy or have forgotten the deadline date. specialists all detailed on our website www. irrigationnz.co.nz. Each of whom can work “These irrigators need to get on with it through your requirements with you.” as time is running out - your forgetfulness could soon cost you in terms of compliance For IrrigationNZ it is imperative that all visits and fines. The regional councils will irrigators get behind water metering and not wait forever.” preferably well before 1 November 2012 rolls around.

Furthermore, Mr Curtis says water meters are actually beneficial for irrigators. “Forget “It’s difficult to work proactively on behalf compliance – water meters allow more of irrigators if a number of us continue accurate irrigation scheduling which saves to drag the chain. If you have not put power and increases production. They also your meter on you need to act now. The tell you at a glance whether your irrigation irrigation industry requires users who can equipment is working as designed. You demonstrate responsible water use and can’t manage what you can’t measure - so if water meters will help us achieve this.”

14

Dairy Focus September 2012

Irrigation the life-blood Water is the life-blood of John Evans’ award-winning farm at Dorie, Mid Canterbury.

recognised among the best when he won the WaterForce Integrated Management Award at the Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards this An efficient irrigation system drives crop production on the intensive 245ha year. (effective) property where John and He says farmers should enter this partner Kai Tegels finish stock and grow year’s awards if they wanted to learn a range of crops, specialising in seed more about their farms and if they production. were standing up to environmental challenges.

John says accurate monitoring is crucial for efficient water management. Entries for the 2013 Canterbury He measures soil moisture content and Ballance Farm Environment Awards water use on the farm, and crops are are now open and entry forms can be planned so they don’t all need watering downloaded from the New Zealand at once. His aim is sustainability.

Farm Environment Trust website at John’s irrigation system was www.nzfeatrust.org.nz

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Irrigation scheme funding With summer on the way, many farmers will be turning their thoughts to water, and how to get through what is likely to be another hot, dry season.

Water management is an issue for all of New Zealand, so much so that in May this year, the Government announced a water strategy to address a number of issues related to water supply and use.

From a farmer’s perspective, one of the most important aspects of the strategy focuses on developing irrigation schemes to ‘unlock economic growth and prosperity in our primary sector’.

Irrigation schemes are a costly exercise and the Government has set aside $35 million over five years for qualifying groups to get irrigation scheme proposals to an investment-ready stage. The Ministry for Primary Industries, along with industry experts, has developed a set of bestpractice guidelines, to assist schemes with their application and ANZ was invited by the ministry to assist in the development of

these guidelines.

schemes are likely to bring, many farmers need to start to consider lack of water as a risk that needs to be mitigated on a yearround basis, not just seasonally.

Currently 620,000 hectares are irrigated throughout New Zealand, approximately four per cent of arable land. Around 40 This is a complex issue and one that each per cent of the current irrigation water is extracted relatively easily from groundwater farmer needs to assess based on their own particular land, region and type of farming. sources that’s naturally stored in aquifers.

However, in general, the following are the The proposed irrigation schemes will be drawing on more complex water resources, issues to address: requiring harvesting and involving storage and distribution networks that are larger and more costly than local scheme developments.

Farmers are one of the main beneficiaries of irrigation schemes which is why the Government wants funding to come from the private sector. So from a funding perspective, the challenge is sourcing the vast sums of cash needed to get both the off-farm and on-farm infrastructure built in a timely manner that will enable farmers to reap the financial benefits that increased irrigation can provide.

With the widespread changes these

What are the schemes in my area?

Each of the 14 proposed major schemes have estimated the construction cost and the average cost per hectare. How these costs will be paid will depend on the funding option that is adopted by that scheme but it is fair to assume that all schemes will include some sort of ‘userpay’ option that will result in a cost to participating farmers.

New Zealand, shows that irrigation provides farmers not only with increased productivity in their existing farming but also provides options for conversion to more profitable forms of farming.

Furthermore, farmers need to consider the value to their farm of irrigating, particularly if they have a view to change of ownership in the foreseeable future. As the broader water strategy becomes embedded, participation in an irrigation scheme could significantly affect farm values.

For a farmer, the choice of whether to irrigate will come down to whether the expected returns will cover the investment.

In making this decision, farmers need to consider all of the options, not just the financial cost of irrigation, but also the possible cost of not irrigating.

This is particularly important if their existing water source is likely to change as a result of broader water changes and the introduction of a water scheme in their Research from around the world, including region.

What are the benefits of joining a scheme?

Growing Canterbury from the ground up.

ANZ understands the importance of irrigation to Canterbury and how sustainable water management is one way for farmers to maximise productivity and remain globally competitive.

To find out how we can help you grow, speak to the bank that knows irrigation from start to finish. Call Chris Broughton on 03 368 2406 or Edward Sparrow on 03 368 2408.

anz.co.nz

16

Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

Great dairy lanes lead to happy cows and happy farmers Well constructed and designed laneways can improve productivity and profits on dairy farms.

operated business supplying premium dairy lane capping and landscaping products as well as clay for water supply storage and effluent pond sealing.

Laneways enable the cows to move around Darryn and Jo Shepherd have been the farm more quickly and easily. This means the milking herd can spend more time grazing extracting and processing premium Sand Rock from their land for the past seven years, and less time in the lane-ways, resulting in and have created a well established business happier cows and greater milk production. record for excellent service and a superior The product in which you construct your product. dairy lane from can have a big impact on how You only have to talk to the farmers who well the lane operates. have used Nor’ West Sand Rock on their dairy Well constructed lane-ways minimise lanes to appreciate how it is better than other bogging and build up of manure on access products traditionally used. routes. This can have a direct impact on The product compacts and locks tight, in mastitis levels in the herd. fact the harder it gets trampled, the better it Nor’ West Sand Rock from Woodstock performs. It doesn’t become slippery when Quarries in Darfield is a family owned and wet, the surface slightly pugs and stays grippy,

it then dries fast and re-seals itself hard again.

Despite its superior performance, the capping is priced very competitively , making it the smart, cost-effective choice with rates of $5-$6 per square metre to Hinds or Culverden.

Because Darryn personally processes 100 percent of the product made, he takes pride in the quality and consistency, ensuring that the dairy lane is the same from one end to the other. In fact in the seven years that Darryn has supplied product for lanes, he has yet to replace one, which is great news for the farmers.

Woodstock Quarries use a range of quality Canterbury wide contractors and transport companies to ensure the job done best suits the needs of the farmers, and can arrange everything from the supply of the product,

right up to arranging the full lane-way project, making life easier for the farmer.

Best yet, the lanes can be walked on immediately after completion, so the cows are receiving the full benefit of your investment as soon as possible.

Darryn would like to remind farmers that now is the time to think about stockpiling lane capping ready for summer laying in between milkings if needed. With stockpiling the laying of in excess of 200 ton per hour is achieved making laying costs very economic.

The farmer can then also take advantage of ‘at leisure’ cartage rates with Woodstock Quarries.

Laid once, never replaced and reusable, call Darryn to discuss the advantages of Nor’ West Sand Rock and watch your dairy profits skyrocket.

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• Dairy lane construction • Stockyards • Silage base pads

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Call Darryn for your nearest Canterbury or West Coast neighbour and discuss with them the advantages of NorWest Rock.

021 373 582

17

Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

“We will be capping more lanes with this product” Prior to capping lanes with Nor’ West Rock, our younger herd needed real encouragement to reach the shed.

Now they flow without any hesitation, making both cows and staff much happier.

Lanes capped with Nor’ West Rock maintain their good surface after rain and do not become slippery.

We will be capping further lanes this winter and can recommend the use of this product.

Tony and Nigel Thomas North Rakaia.

“The race your staff and cows dream of” After using Nor’ West Rock for the capping, staff are enjoying the new races, making the movement of stock easier and more pleasurable.

There is a noticeable change in the walking gait of the cows, and as a result of developing the races, we have made a huge 30 minute decrease in travel time from the greatest distance walked.

Lameness has decreased by 50%, this is a direct indication that the new races are working.

Best product for dairy lanes out there

Local dairy farmer Michael Lowe runs 800 cows on his end the 2,000 Tonne had to be ripped up and re-done, farm Tarawera, at Bankside. He named his farm after so this job has really impressed me. the famous pink and white terraces that were on the “We have areas of steep down hill runs, so it was shores of Lake Rotomahana, which were buried in the important to have a non-slippery product. The Nor’ 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera.

West Rock has performed really well on the downhill Michael recently had his laneways developed using slopes, it’s not slippery at all.

Nor’ West Rock, and instead of doing it section by “The cows have found the product easy to walk on, section, he made the decision to get his entire farm and we have noticed quite a dramatic time reduction laned in the new product. in how long it takes the girls to get from the paddock For Farm Manager Garth Campbell, this is the 4th to the shed. There’s almost no effluent on the track conversion he has worked on, and he believes that the because they aren’t hanging around as long, and they Nor’ West Rock is the best product he has seen lanes are bringing no stones into the shed on their hooves, constructed from. so the wash out from the shed to the pond is great.

“Our lanes were built during a really wet winter, but despite all of the rain they have preformed really well. It’s set and compacted well, and overall the performance has been great.

“They walk the full lane width, you can see they are contented in the field because they have lots of time to eat, they aren’t stressed and they don’t have sore hooves.

“I’ve seen other product used on dairy lanes before during wet weather, and it went all slushy and in the

“It’s definitely the best product out there,” Michael and Garth commented.

Our overall outcome and satisfaction from capping the races couldn’t have been better. We are thoroughly pleased and recommend Nor’ West Rock to create the new races you, your staff and your cows dream of.

Brent and Rebecca Miller Burmont Holdings Limited, Bankside

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18

Dairy Focus September 2012

Praise for Escalator programme A rural leadership programme to foster on governance and leadership skills, largely governance and business capabilities for women is learned by default during her working life. winning praise.

“I am interested in exploring areas where I The Agri-Women’s Development Trust (AWDT) can work to increase communications and Escalator programme is designed to build the skills collaboration within the agricultural sector and already accumulated by rural women within their between it and other sectors,” she says. businesses and communities.

“The group of women on the programme is Ballance Agri-Nutrients supports the Escalator amazing. There are going to be some valuable programme through sponsorship of one of 14 links and opportunities from just within the places on the 10-month programme. group.”

The recipient of the Ballance-supported spot is Mrs Sims says the Escalator programme Ekatahuna sheep and beef farmer Lisa Sims. offers more than just an up skilling opportunity with continuing support from Mrs Sims has a Bachelor of Business Studies the Trust, industry leaders, mentors, the in Marketing and Japanese from Massey University and works from home as a strategic other participants and alumni. communications and marketing consultant.

“For the past 17 years I have worked Ballance General Manager Agro-Science and from home and I serve on several regional Marketing Liz Muller says the opportunity to and local boards and have had extensive support the AWDT Escalator programme could not community involvement through many be passed up. voluntary positions. These roles, together “There has never been a better time to help grow with raising a young family, have left business talent in our rural communities,” she says. little time for personal and professional development.”

“Running a farm business is becoming more The Escalator programme complex and there is a need to develop a range involves five Wellington-based of skills across the entire sector to ensure we have the strategic depth to ensure the success of learning modules, individualised distance learning and professional agriculture. development, and support. The “This isn’t just about becoming better at running programme focuses on leadership, a farm; it’s about ensuring we have access to a governance, strategy, finance, range of skilled people across the industry.” communications, critical thinking MrsBSims a l asays n cEscalator e d M iisna ecatalyst r a l Fforebuilding r t i l i s e and r P human r o g rresources. ammes

Photo supplied

Lisa Sims.

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Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

Award winning dairy farm sold on Fiber Fresh

Photo supplied

Clive, Jorja, Tasman and Cooper Walden.

The supreme winner of the 2012 Northland Ballance Farm Environment Awards and the LIC Dairy Farm Award is sold on the Fiber Fresh Freshstart® calf development program.

Walden Farms Oruaiti Ltd has been using Fiber Fresh to rear their calves for the past three seasons to help develop their rumens for optimum health and production. Over that time they have seen several benefits in both their Fiber Fresh-reared calves and heifers. The calves reared on the Freshstart® program have had no coccidiosis and transition to grass quickly with no weaning check - and a very high rate of their first Fiber Fresh-reared heifers were in-calf within just four weeks of mating. The 420ha farm at Oruaiti near Mangonui is owned by Murray and Liz Walden and sharemilked by their son Clive and his wife Jorja, who are equity partners in the business.

19

helpful and honest. The product is delivered to the farm quickly when I need it and the program feeding guidelines are really helpful for staff.” After switching to Fiber Fresh the Waldens noticed a positive difference in the way their calves transitioned onto grass.

Clive says, “The calves go to my father’s farm at around 80kgs when they are weaned off milk and he has commented that they go straight onto the pasture when they get there and they eat a lot of grass. Also, since we started using the Freshstart® program we haven’t had any problems with coccidiosis.”

Clive is also pleased with the new 2012 improved flavour FiberStart®. He says, “My Autumn calves have taken to it really well.

My oldest bulls are seven weeks old and eating 2kg of solid feed and are ready to be weaned.” The Waldens’ first lot of Fiber Fresh-reared heifers are making a grand entrance into the herd this season. While it According to the Ballance Farm Environment is still too early to see any improvements in Awards judges, the Waldens’ farm is milk production, the health and conception considered a model for the rest of the rates of the Fiber Fresh heifers have already Doubtless Bay catchment and the family outperformed last season’s meal-reared has the potential to showcase dairying and heifers and Clive is expecting to see some become leaders in the industry. Clive Walden improvements at the vat as well. says: “We thought through what we wanted to achieve in calf rearing and decided to use Clive says, “The vets commented about the size of our heifers when they were Fiber Fresh. I believe they have developed pregnancy testing them and they were a science-based calf rearing system that is designed to develop the rumen to eat grass in-calf early with an excellent conception rate. We mated 67 heifers for autumn calving on a more pasture-based feed. That is why and 64 four of them were in-calf within four we use it. As a whole system, Fiber Fresh is weeks, and they are in very good condition. an economical way to rear calves.”

Last year my meal-reared heifers lost a lot of The Waldens milk 425 cows and rear 200 condition after calving and we haven’t seen heifer calves and 100 beef calves, split over that this year." autumn and spring. Clive says, “We’ve been “I would recommend using Fiber Fresh. I’m really happy with Fiber Fresh. It makes calf rearing easy and their reps have been really sold on it.”

Stage One

Stage Two

Most people say that heifers don’t pay for themselves in their first lactation.

471 milksolids for two-year-olds is pretty exceptional.

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Case Study:

How is this possible?

• 137 Freshstart® reared heifers entered a South Waikato herd of 562 MA cows in spring 2011. Although the heifers were reared on the Freshstart® programme the remaining herd had been conventionally raised.

Current research shows Freshstart® calves, with the advantage of early four stomach development, have the capacity to become more prolific producers for the rest of their lives. This critical first 6-8 week early development (Primary Development Phase) sets the animal up for life. Comparative results have shown conventionally reared calves cannot mimic this unique development.

• These first lactation heifers had a 97% conception rate and out produced the remaining herd on average by 7% in volume, 6% in milk solids and 9% in protein.

Results - Obtained from LIC records and contents verified with four herd tests.

What this means: • It is well accepted that first lactation heifers normally produce 80-85% of their adult herd mates. (ref: Pickering J 2001).

• In this case these heifers produced 25% above what would normally be expected.

© ICON 0055 FIB

• In cash terms a 25% gain over the expected norm would mean 94kgs extra milk solids.

eg: 94kgs at 2011 / 2012 est pay out of $6.55 kg/MS = $615 per heifer approx

Freshstart® programme – A development through research The Company is continuing development of leading edge technology with a comprehensive research programme of over 1.2 million dollars in conjunction with the Government funding agency, the Ministry of Science and Innovation, to pursue this ground breaking discovery and the science of Epigenetics.

Increase in LIC herd lactation averages Whole herd

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Milk

Fiber Fresh first lactation heifers

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Protein

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Effective mastitis solutions that complete the day’s treatment at morning milking.

Dairy Focus September 2012

Mastalone The Big Gun • A 3 x 24 hourly broad spectrum treatment effective against severe cases of mastitis (or as a second line treatment where others have failed)

Five year plan for nutrient discharge rules Canterbury’s Proposed Land and Water Regional Plan was notified on August 11, with submissions due on October 5. One of the major impacts of the plan is the introduction of nutrient discharge rules.

Lionel Hume,

senior policy advisor for Federated Farmers in Mid Canterbury

Zone, all farming activities will require a discretionary consent, even if their estimated N losses are less than the look-up table value.

Farming activities will be noncomplying if their N losses exceed the lookup table value and they are within Under the proposed plan, existing a red zone or within the Lake Zone. activities are permitted for five The whole plan is available at http:// years, subject to recording N losses. ecan.govt.nz/publications/Plans/lwrp.

However, within the Lake Zone pdf It will have a major impact on (sensitive alpine lake catchments farming in the region. It is important e.g. lakes above the Ashburton that you read the plan, identify Gorge), farmers are also required to matters of concern and submit on implement a farm environmental them and/or provide feedback to plan (which is externally audited), in inform Federated Farmers’ submission. addition to recording N losses.

The first five years of the plan is an A submission form is available at Land use change is more difficult. opportunity for primary sector groups http://ecan.govt.nz/publications/ New activities outside the Lake to develop nutrient discharge limits, Plans/proposed-clwrp-submissionZone are permitted if there is an N based on good management practice, form.pdf leaching condition attached to the which will populate a look-up table in As well as submitting on the plan relevant water consent, if N losses the plan. in collaboration with primary sector are recorded and if an environmental From 1 July 2017, farming outside groups, Federated Farmers will plan is implemented and audited. If the Lake Zone will be permitted if N continue to interact with ECan (both there is no N leaching condition on losses do not exceed the new lookstaff and commissioners) to achieve the water consent (and mostly there up table value, subject to recording a more workable plan. For example, isn’t), then a consent is required. we met recently with the ECan New activities without an N leaching N losses (if less than 20 kg/ha/yr) or condition, either in a red zone (where implementing a farm environmental commissioners to discuss LWRP issues along with other matters such as water quality outcomes are not met) plan (if N losses are 20 kg/ha/yr regional policy statement appeals and or the Lake Zone, are non-complying, or greater). If N losses exceed the look-up table value, a consent will be the Canterbury Water Management which means there have to be Strategy. exceptional circumstances in order for required. However, within the Lake them to get a consent. In addition, the threshold for defining land use change is low, including a consent to use more water for irrigation or an increase in estimated N loss of greater than 10 per cent. This has the potential to substantially limit land use change, and therefore economic growth, because a large proportion of the Canterbury Plains is red-zoned.

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Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

21

Spring mastitis treatments that are right for your farm Mastitis treatments are in great demand with this year’s wet spring, says Pfizer Animal Health’s Market Manager Wayne Clough. Pfizer has four intramammary treatments for bovine mastitis, with each one acting slightly differently.

Behind the world’s best dairy farmers you’ll find one hard working mastitis treatment.

“Mastitis is a complex disease and you need to use different treatments depending on several factors.”

Clough says. “These include the type of bacteria involved, the severity of mastitis, the cow’s previous mastitis history, stage of lactation and other factors.”

Mastitis treatments have different antibiotic ingredients and different treatment regimes, so it’s important to match the right one for the job to get the best cure.

Mastitis during the calving season is often caused by environmental bacteria – most often Strep. uberis – and is the result of new infections during the dry period, or calving down in wet, muddy conditions.

To help prevent mastitis and control somatic cell count in the early spring period, it’s a good idea to ensure that heifers in particular have good milk let-down and are milked out fully at each milking.

It’s also good practice to check all cows with an RMT paddle when they are due to leave the colostrum mob. Treat any infected quarters and observe the milk withholding before cows enter the milking mob.

The bacteria involved in spring mastitis are often very responsive to a short antibiotic treatment which allows you to get these cows back into the milking mob quickly.

“Clavulox® LC is an ideal product to fit this need, with high cure rates against Strep. uberis and a 48 hour (four milkings) milk withhold. As well as the antibiotic it also contains an anti-inflammatory to reduce udder inflammation and hasten recovery of milk quality.” says Clough. “We call it the Spring Specialist.”

“Lincocin® Forte S could also be a good choice for cases where you are not sure of the bacteria present.

It’s a good ‘All Rounder’ – it works well against many types of bacteria and also has a relatively short milk withhold of five milkings.”

It’s good practice to take a milk sample before treatment of any mastitis case – just label this with cow number, quarter and date and store it in the freezer. If the quarter doesn’t respond to treatment, your vet can send the sample for culturing to ensure the right antibiotic is chosen.

When you’re setting the standard for the global dairy industry, you don’t cut corners on your mastitis treatment. Orbenin® L.A. is renowned for its high cure rate of Staph.aureus.

It offers several class leading features:

For those who milk the herd or certain mobs of cows once a day, two Pfizer mastitis treatments (Lincocin Forte S and Orbenin LA) have label claims and milk withholding periods for once a day treatment.

— HIGH CURE RATES

“Pfizer has done a lot of local New Zealand research on its mastitis treatments range in the last few years,” says Clough. “One of our aims is to generate local data so that Kiwi vets and farmers can be confident that Pfizer products will work in their farming systems. Ensuring that products work and generating withholding periods for Once a Day milking is part of that.”

— FLEXIBLE TREATMENT OPTIONS — 48 OR 24 HOURLY — ONCE A DAY MILKING OPTION — SHORT MEAT WHP OF ONLY 3 DAYS For more details, ask your vet about Orbenin LA today or visit www.mastitisnz.co.nz

A division of Pfizer New Zealand Ltd, Level 3, Pfizer House, 14 Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland. Tel 0800 100 109. ORBENIN is a registered trade mark used under license from GlaxoSmithKline NZ Limited. Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No. A3664. Restricted Veterinary Medicine; Available only under Veterinary Authorisation.

As with all animal health issues, talk to your vet for advice about which product option is the best fit for your cows and your farming systems throughout the season.

The Workhorse PFI8354B

22

Dairy Focus September 2012

Photo supplied

Stuart, Glenn and Sam Lovett (left to right).

Synlait suppliers’ successful conversion Two years ago none of Warrick and Denise Lovett’s children were working on the family farm at Willowby, just south of Ashburton.

However, after grandmother’s Contributed by Synlait many years of family. Another comparing returns from the dairy sector parcel of land, forming part of the current and persistent encouragement from Glenn, block, was purchased by Warrick and Denise fourth generation grain and beef farmers from Canterbury University after a long Brothers Glenn (27), Sam (25) and Stuart Warrick and Denise decided to embark on leasing tenure with the organisation. converting their property to dairy, in time (23) were all engaged in employment The decision to convert the family farm elsewhere. Only Glenn was fully immersed to start the 2011-12 season. to dairy has enabled farm succession in the in the dairy sector; Sam was working in the The decision to convert the property was family.

United Kingdom and Stuart was working for not taken lightly. Part of the 240 hectare an agricultural-based business. property was farmed by the brothers’ great- The brothers are quick to acknowledge

the support of their parents and the opportunity they have all been offered.

“Frankly if it wasn’t for Mum and Dad we would not all be here working together,” says Sam Lovett.

The fact that all three brothers are able to work together on the one property is indicative of the approach they share to develop their business quickly and in a sensible manner.

Story continues next page

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23

Dairy Focus September 2012 machinery has not only helped our balance sheet, but The original conversion plan was for Glenn to milk 300 cows with assistance from his mother and father. allowed us to progress our development quickly and However, this quickly changed to 540 cows being milked make the whole project work,” says Glenn Lovett. in their first season and a further 110 cows added to the The brother acknowledge the importance of their local herd for the 2012-13 season. bank manager who has been a strong supporter of their “As the cow numbers increased the call went out for business plan. the brothers to return home to the family farm,” says “It is absolutely about people,” says Sam Lovett “and Glenn Lovett. that is the reason we deal with the people we do, and Three brothers working together may seem a that includes Synlait. We don’t like just being a number challenging proposition, however they share a common and enjoy personal and helpful relationships like we approach to business and performance and they have with our milk company.” each bring individual strengths and interests to the The brothers say one of the bigest challenges with partnership. converting was being so hands on with so much of the Each of the brothers agree in taking responsibility project. “However, we look back now at the outcome of for their own destiny and enjoy the satisfaction of our work and we are really happy,” says Stuart Lovett, making good decisions and reflecting on successful who is a machinery specialist. achievements.

The five-year plan involves continued good decision “Whether it is the large amount of development work making and ongoing evolvement of the family business the brothers did on their own conversion or keeping structure. Key goals are another farm and an agriculture the daily somatic cell count (SCC) in the milk low, we contacting business that can support the growing like being able to say we had a direct influence on that farming operation. outcome,” says Stuart Lovett. They also say the have had Synlait Milk supply specialist Mark Burnside says “it is valuable assistance from neighbours and key business heartening to see that there is still a place in the farming partners. industry for the younger generation, who with a degree Key to the family’s development and goals for the of support can roll their sleeves up, work hard and be future is their decision to supply Synlait Milk in Rakaia. successful. As a growing, successful business ourselves, it is a natural and enjoyable fit to support the likes of the “The option of supplying Synlait and leaving capital Lovett family.” free to spend on other activities such as irrigation and

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Dairy Focus September 2012

Minimising the effects of laminitis Photo supplied

the weather substantially like we have had thus far. So, what can we do to prevent increases the stress the Fred Hoekstra Veehof Dairy it? Nothing! Laminitis is cows are experiencing, Services a normal occurrence in especially when coinciding our dairy cows. Our aim with calving time when should be to just keep it under control or there are a lot of hormonal changes also managed.

The key is to minimise stress and going on in their bodies. Have a look at feed the cows sensibly.

With that I mean some of the hooves of cows that have only making straw available and not making calved today - they will have bruising as sudden changes to their diet by taking well. This would not have come from any them off winter crops one day and putting physical damage because these cows will them on grass the next. have only had one or two days of walking So, what sort of problems are we seeing? on hard surfaces.

The bruising would not Feeding straw will create more body heat Most of it is severe bruising - a sure sign of laminitis. What has happened is that all that have had enough time to grow out into the and it creates a better rumen function, rain has had an effect on the grass. The fibre hoof as far as it has in just a couple of days. therefore, the cow will be more content.

You will find that this situation occurs with Straw also helps the transition from winter in the grass breaks down and becomes many cows, even in a nice, dry winter and crop to grass but it won’t eliminate laminitis less effective, whilst the protein becomes if the transition is overnight or too sudden. more rumen digestible. Severe changes in spring, let alone in a wet, calving season A beautiful autumn and early winter took a horrible turn at end of the winter.

We have had an amazing amount of rain.

Some farmers have told me that it washed the tracks clean! We have been inundated with phone calls to book lame cows in for trimming. Calving is the period when many farmers don’t have the staff resources available to trim cows’ feet over and above the extra work load they already have at this time.

Another precaution that you can take, which may seem obvious, is to put the cows in sheltered paddocks to minimise the stress.

Soon after a wet period there will be more laminitis which obviously makes the cows more tender on their feet. It is particularly important not to push cows and be impatient with them at these times.

Laminitis needs to be managed.

Some of you will say that the suggestions I make are not workable on your farm. My response to that is that if you really want something you can usually find a way to make it work. Minimising the effects of laminitis is in your best interest and in that of the cows.

Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

25

Effluent handling beaten GEA Farm Technologies (GEA FT) supplies the range of Houle equipment in New Zealand. This covers the spectrum of effluent handling, from solids separators, pond pumps and agitation systems.

Of particular interest is the solid separation technology which caters for today’s farms with a more modern approach to effluent management that has resulted from intensification.

As farmers are collecting more solids that have resulted from feeding areas, they are faced with some of the challenges that this can present. Solids in a pond (or tank) can not only be difficult and costly to manage but over time accumulate to a point that reduces the available storage capacity and this sludge layer should be considered when calculating the size of a new storage structure. This is just one of the benefits that can be achieved by separating solids out before entering storage.

Discharging effluent to land has also changed with a greater focus on deficit irrigation and matching the irrigation system to the farm’s soil types. In particular this includes low application rate systems which give farmers a greater window of opportunity to irrigate and promote best farm practice by keeping nutrients in the root zone. Firstly, by removing solids a lot of the ‘blinding’ effect is removed when solid particles block soil pores impeding soil infiltration ability and causing surface ponding. Another key benefit is the ability to irrigate effluent through many low application rate irrigators without the risk of blockages. This includes small irrigator nozzles such as those on centre pivots which are becoming more practical with separation equipment such as the Slope Screen Separator.

system is very effective at removing virtually all solid material from the effluent stream. The Slope Screen comes in two sizes depending on effluent volumes and processing requirements. The common size being 4 foot which can process up to 36m3 per hour and new to the country is an 8 foot model that has been recently installed on a 2000 cow farm, processing all effluent from a dairy shed, feed pad and barn. This larger screen can process up to 110m3 per hour and is a two stage separator with an Xpress Roller Press to squeeze excess water from the solids. The high processing capacity gives the operator greater ability to handle high inflow from rainfall events and minimises processing times. The Roller Press is efficient, low maintenance technology that can be set up under both Slope Screen models to produce solids up to 28% dry matter.

trying to make equipment deal with heavy liquid/ GEA FT supply transfer pumps to feed the separators and slurry that varies in this includes the Agi-Pompe that is designed to get effluent consistency, flow rates into a suitable state for efficient separation by agitating, and sediment. This will all chopping and transferring effluent all in one unit. The Agiinevitably lead to undue wear on Pompe has unique shear knifes on the propeller to cut fibrous components and mechanical failure. material. This transfer technology also comes in different PTO Tapping into such an established reserve of knowledge has configurations which are capable of agitating and transferring enabled GEA FT NZ to provide equipment that has been Particle size analysis that has been done by an independent thick effluent in larger ponds and above ground tanks. selected for specific effluent tasks and modified for various company show that the particles in the separated liquid Houle is an established GEA FT Canadian effluent treatment dairy systems found here. stream are no larger than 1.2mm with 99% less than 1mm company which has essentially 50 years of research and Houle has developed a range of products to effectively and 92% less than 0.5mm. The Slope Screen is very passive development underpinning this technology. The equipment and the equipment involved does not require the same level was developed in response to the need for large scale effluent process effluent and the mix of product can cater for all types of applications allowing a tailored approach to meet the of maintenance as screw press type separation systems. In systems in confinement operations. Such operations cause combination with GEA FT’s unique sand sedimentation pit this significant load demands on the system and problems arise in farmer’s requirement.

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26

Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

Gallagher NAIT exchange software makes electronic identification data transfer easy Gallagher has launched two new software animal tag details from the tag reader and attach them to an email on their phone via products that simplify the process of Bluetooth. The email can then be sent to a transferring animal information to NAIT. computer where NAIT Exchange software Available through the Gallagher website, is used to send the animal information Gallagher NAIT Exchange software enables to NAIT. Dan says this simple transaction farmers to easily transfer animal data means the reader doesn’t need to be collected on Gallagher Weigh Scales and connected directly to the computer for data Tag Readers to the NAIT (National Animal to be transferred.

Identification and Tracing) database.

“It’s a very useful application for farmers, Dan Loughnane, Gallagher Product graziers or livestock agents. For example, if Manager for Weighing and Electronic your grazier is scanning your heifers before Identification Systems, says the free he loads them onto a truck for transport, software has been designed so that even he can email you the ID information before users with minimal computer skills can the heifers even leave the farm. At the same use it effectively. He says information can time he can also email that information be transferred from a computer to NAIT direct to his own computer.” The ‘Gallagher in just three simple steps. “You just locate Animal Data Transfer’ for Android the required animal tag details in your application can be downloaded from the files which you have downloaded from Google Play Store at no cost. your Weigh Scale or Reader, specify the Dan Loughnane saays the new software information you want to send and then applications are part of a suite of products hit go. The software handles the rest.” designed to help farmers capture the Gallagher NAIT Exchange software can be downloaded through the Gallagher website benefits of Electronic Identification while simplifying the process of transferring www.gallagher.co.nz livestock information to NAIT. Gallagher has also released a second “Gallagher has a reputation for backing software product, Gallagher Animal Data up our high quality products with excellent Transfer for Android, which has been customer support. It’s all about making designed to interface the Gallagher Hand these products easy to use, and helping our Held Electronic Tag Reader HR3 with customers to get the maximum benefit from Android-compliant mobile phones. This them.” application enables the user to extract

Photos supplied

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Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

Re:Gen Messenger - The smart way to apply effluent

27

Managing dairy effluent is a challenge for most dairy farmers. Thanks to Kiwi ingenuity and clever science, dairy farmers can receive specific, daily recommendations about when to apply effluent and exactly how much.

Effluent run-off or leaching is not just a pollutant; it also represents wasted nutrients, which increases fertiliser costs and reduces margins. Likewise maintaining an oversize storage pond inflates costs unnecessarily and cuts into farm profits.

Kiwi company, Regen Ltd, created a smart tool, Re:Gen Messenger, to help farmers manage and monitor dairy effluent disposal. Developed in partnership with Massey University soil scientists, Re:Gen collects vital farm data, calculates the exact level of effluent that can be safely spread, and sends that information via a daily text message and secure web page.

Armed with this knowledge, farmers can confidently use dairy effluent to promote sustainable pasture growth, reducing the need for fertiliser and protecting the land and waterways for future generations.

“We believe having more information helps you to manage your farm more efficiently and provides peace of mind,” says CEO, Bridgit Hawkins. Re:Gen can help farmers to save money, increase efficiency and reduce waste.

Photo supplied

Bridgit Hawkins, Regen Ltd CEO.

Dairy farmer Ben Smith, is an avid user of Re:Gen and believes farmers need to take advantage of such technology. “With winter milk and a soil water holding capacity of 25mm I have been amazed with our existing irrigation system how efficiently we can move effluent when an opening comes up in the weather. Re:Gen helps us to save costs by better managing effluent disposal and crop irrigation – resulting in higher yields.”

Dairy effluent is closely monitored by regional councils and the dairy industry. Re:Gen Messenger can help farmers meet their environmental compliance requirements with certainty.

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28

Dairy Focus September 2012

Planning the right effluen installing FDE systems.

When making the decision to install a new farm dairy effluent system, there are a number of things to consider.

Using an accredited FDE company or certified FDE designer will provide assurance that:

The most important consideration is to ask the right questions and get the right advice and service; this will result in the most appropriate farm dairy effluent system being installed.

Also remember that effluent management, storage and distribution is now a very important part of operating a dairy farm. What was once an after-thought is now a highly important consideration, and it is essential to ensure that your system will be able to handle future increases in stock, so you are still compliant in 20 years time.

This all comes down to speaking with an expert in effluent who can recommend the best system, from start to finish.

Short-cuts taken now by building only a small part of the system by the lowest bidder will only lead to compliance problems in the future, so save yourself the headaches and environment fines by getting it right the first time.

Finding the right person for the job Getting the right person for the job is critical to getting the right system. Designing and installing farm dairy effluent systems is a technical job requiring specialist knowledge.

• The investment in effluent infrastructure will be specific and relevant to you, your farming environment and your farm system • The effluent system is capable of complying with regional council requirements when managed correctly • The system is designed with an understanding of the current research and best technology options available at the time.

When selecting a designer/engineer, consider the following: • Do they have experience working with your type of farm system and farm size?

• Do they have experience in the type of FDE system you would prefer to operate?

• Do they have experience working with your specific regional council rules and dairy company requirements?

• Can they demonstrate competence through testimonials and references?

Future intentions When designing effluent systems you are best to future proof your system by making sure your future intentions with your farm are taken into account. You do not want your new system to be inappropriate or unable to cope in five years time.

Restrictions All farms have restrictions they are operating within; whether it is legislative, financial or labour it is important that these are clear and understood from the start. If you are unsure of your local or company regulations, get in touch with your regional council or dairy company advisor.

Design preferences Whilst the design and installation of the effluent system is best carried out by a specialist, you may have ideas or preferences regarding your system. Make these preferences known to the designer/installer during the initial design discussion.

Core information to provide

The core information about your farming environment and the farm system you operate. You may need to get help to determine the core information a designer needs.

To ensure your selected designer/supplier has the right information to design the most appropriate system you will As much information as possible should be checked and When looking at whose advice and service to use, the first need to provide them with the following information. This confirmed on farm. thing to look for is an accredited FDE company or certified is a critical stage – poor information now will compromise FDE designer. Accredited FDE companies and certified the whole project and your system may never meet your FDE designers are trained effluent system specialists. They needs. understand and follow the Farm Dairy Effluent (FDE) Code A design report and plan summarising the final system Your requirements of Practice and Design Standards when designing and specifications must be provided by the designer/installer.

What do you want your new system to be able to do?

Before the system is designed

Assessing the system specification report

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Dairy Focus September 2012

29

nt system for your farm Ensure you receive the following within one month of the installation being completed: Commissioning report The report will describe the system as it was installed, including the evaluation of its performance. The commissioning report should include: • Date of commissioning • Procedures followed during commissioning • Results of performance testing

This should tell you the standards and specifications and what the system will be capable of achieving. You should also be able to get a quotation for the design and installation from this information or get it reviewed by another designer if desired.

Reviewing the quote A quotation based on the system specification must be provided to you to ensure all parties are clear about what is going to be provided. The following information must be provided and agreed to before work starts.

As-built plan An accurate to scale plan with all key items located and with dimensions of all key components provided.

Warranties A written 12-month warranty should be provided that covers: • Specified items that are covered • How the warranty is going to be serviced • The period of cover • Who is responsible and what they are responsible for • Expected reliability and life time of the system

Manuals and training Appropriate manuals and training should be provided with your new FDE system and should include: • Operations manual • Maintenance manual • Training for the system operator that covers the operation and maintenance of the new FDE system.

Delivery times

Dairy effluent design code of practice and design standards – frequently asked questions

• List of estimated delivery times for all items • Commencement date • Installation completion date • Final commissioning completion date

What is the benefit of designing a system using the code and standards?

Using the code and standards will provide certainty that your investment in the effluent system will be appropriate for your farm, and when managed correctly will be able to comply with regional council requirements. Systems designed using the code and standards will also optimise

Servicing System servicing procedures and conditions must be provided and include: • Charge out rate • Response time Once the FDE system is installed

New! ADR 500 Effluent Screening Plant

r All plant and pumps very low kW r Self cleaning screen r Self cleaning ponds r Effluent is clean enough to be pumped into a pivot system if required r Screens out everything bigger than 1 mm

the value of the nutrients in your effluent resource and will minimise any environmental impact from effluent.

When building a new effluent system how do I know if the system designers and installers are working to the code and standards?

When contracting the services of an effluent system engineer, designer or installer, or when purchasing effluent equipment make sure that you ask for advice and design recommendations that are based on the FDE code and standards, and ask if they are an accredited FDE designer.

Ask for a certificate of work stating they have followed the code and standards.

Do I have to use the code and standards when designing new systems?

You do not have to use the code and standards as they have no legal status, however it is strongly advised that the code and standards are implemented when designing and constructing effluent systems to ensure all aspects of the system have been appropriately considered. The dairy industry is recommending farmers use engineers, designers and installers who are accredited FDE designers.

Will the code and standards become a mandatory requirement from regional councils?

It is not likely, as consents are granted on an effects based approach; that means as long as the end result is achieved, the method used to get there is not of concern to the regional council, provided it does not contradict any other rules or legislation. *source: www.effluentaccreditation.co.nz and www.dairynz.co.nz

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30

Dairy Focus September 2012

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising feature

Milk quality programme inspires young Dunsandel farm manager Tony Dodunski is a young farm manager milking 900 cows on a dairy farm in Dunsandel.

After moving to a dairy farm in Southland with his family in 1992, Tony decided to carry on the family tradition of farming and enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture) at Lincoln University.

Once he completed his degree, Tony was keen to get back on to a dairy farm and is managing three staff on the Dunsandel-based farm. Busily working away to ensure topnotch milk quality, productivity and in turn, profitability, Tony decided to enrol in AgITO’s Milk Quality stage one and Milk Quality Stage Two courses to ensure he had the knowledge and skills he needed to do the best job possible.

AgITO’s Milk Quality programme aims to teach the skills, knowledge and procedures needed to increase the profitability of your dairy operation.

The three courses in the Milk Quality programme are designed to ensure that all aspects of your dairy operation meet the highest standards of milk production.

grade-free and our SCC is currently sitting at around 125,000 so we’re pleased with that.”

Tony was impressed with the AgITO tutors.

“They were practical, and had ‘been there and done that’ so they could really relate to you. They had a solid, real-life knowledge of farming.”

Tony believes that other farmers would benefit from taking part in the Milk Quality courses too.

“I would definitely recommend the Milk Quality courses to other farmers. It can save you lots of money in the long term so it really is worthwhile. It ensures that you set up procedures for everything to keep the farm running smoothly.”

Tony has also just completed AgITO’s Effluent Management course and hopes to one day complete more AgITO courses.

While Milk Quality stage one is for the whole milking team, “I enjoy farming because I love Milk Quality stage two and mastitis management are aimed being outside, especially on a good at supervisors, sharemilkers, managers and owners. day. I also enjoy working with “I thought stage one was great because it really taught me animals. One day I hope to own the fundamentals, so you become competent in the day-to- my own farm.” day basics. Whereas stage two is really good because you To enrol or for more learn about everything from the cow to the tanker,” Tony information about AgITO’s says.

“One of the most useful things I learnt from stage two was qualifications, contact your local AgITO adviser on 0800 691 111 about the grading system, and ways to put procedures in or see www.agito.ac.nz. place to prevent rather than react to grades. We are

Photo supplied

Tony Dodunski.

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31

Dairy Focus September 2012

Proud to win environment award Hawke’s Bay dairy farmers Nick and Nicky Dawson are proud to stand up for their industry.

The Patoka couple, who farm in an equity partnership on two farms north-west of Napier, were winners of the LIC Dairy Farm Award in this year’s East Coast Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

“The Dawsons have a passion to be successful, great community involvement and an excellent work to family ratio.”

Since winning the award, the Dawsons have expanded their operation again, buying a neighbouring bull beef farm this year.

A significant proportion of this farm will be converted to dairying.

Nicky Dawson says the award confirmed their 366ha farming Nicky Dawson says their operation was on the right track as far involvement with the Ballance Farm as sustainability goes.

Environment Awards has been “Farming has to be profitable, but thoroughly enjoyable. you have to look after the resources “I think the awards are a great way to you’ve got,” she says. show the rest of the country the good “As food producers we have to be things that dairy farmers are doing.” accountable to consumers and to the Along with other leading New environment.”

Zealand dairy farmers, she and Nick Nick Dawson says entering the were invited to attend last year’s competition was a good opportunity Building Dairy Environment Leaders to represent the dairy industry and forum, held in the Waikato. show the wider farming community As well as visiting Waikato farms, the that when it comes to sustainable farming “there are some half-decent forum featured top speakers from a range of industries. dairy farmers out there”.

Like other regions, the dairy industry Nicky says mixing with other dairy in Hawke’s Bay has struggled with the farmers and industry leaders was a dirty dairying label. rewarding and highly motivating experience.

“I think most dairy farmers have really pulled their socks up in recent years.”

Nick Dawson urges other dairy farmers to step up and enter the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

He says the Ballance Farm Environment Awards help to highlight As well as representing their that many dairy farmers care deeply industry, entrants can expect to gain about the environment and are trying knowledge and be inspired by other like-minded farmers. their best to improve sustainability.

“People are scared of losing face, but The Dawsons have now won the it’s not that type of competition. It’s LIC Dairy Farm Award – an award that recognises dairy farmers who all about being yourself and learning demonstrate “in a practical way the as much as you can.” choices that have been made to farm for the long term”- two years in a row. Nick says the benefits make entering well worthwhile.

They also picked up the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Nutrient Management “There is definitely no point in sitting on your hands. Get out there Award in the 2012 competition. and enter.”

Judges praised the couple’s longEntries for 2013 Ballance Farm term view of their sharefarming Environment Awards are now open business and the high performance of and entry forms can be downloaded their farm. They said Nick and Nicky from the New Zealand Farm run a well-planned dairy unit with Environment Trust website excellent soil and water management and sound staffing policies. at www.nzfeatrust.org.nz

Photo SUPPLIED

Hawke’s Bay dairy farmers Nick and Nicky Dawson.

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32

Dairy Focus September 2012

Modified milk could treat disease Contributed by Michael Dickison, New Zealand Herald

Sept 10 - New Zealand scientists have genetically engineered cows to produce milk that can treat a number of human diseases.

Cloning techniques have been adopted in the genetic modification of animals, a field looking to alter cows’ milk to produce pharmaceuticals in an application known as “biopharming”.

Crown Research Institute AgResearch says it has been the pioneer in transferring from mice to cows the concept of changing the composition of milk. GM products have been at the forefront of the news after a biotech conference last week in Rotorua - even though much of the technology is banned from use here.

AgResearch has several “proof-of-concept” cows which could produce milk with human proteins that could treat human diseases. Recently, the research has extended to production of therapeutic antibodies in goats milk.

Touted by proponents as the next Green Revolution to help feed the world, and labelled “frankenfood” by critics, genetic modification has generated both interest and controversy.

The conference participants urged New Zealand to embrace the research.

If you have a dairy farming story to tell, email Linda at linda.c@theguardian.co.nz

AgResearch scientist Tony Conner said: “If we continue not to adopt this technology, you run a huge risk of being left behind... in another decade, we could be dealing with yesterday’s crops.”

Among GM’s more attention-grabbing experiments are glowing cats and bananas modified to administer vaccines. But globally, the most common application has been improvements to common crops such as corn and soy, usually to increase resistance to pests and herbicides.