Dairy Farmer October 1 2018

October 2018

THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME$8.95 THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME

Udder health & effluent

Tougher animal welfare rules Fresh eyes for Dairy Women’s Network West Coast winners

Best of the best

A Northland couple are at the top of their game DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

1

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Case study: HOW FARMER ANDREW HARDIE HAS MANAGED CONTAGIOUS STAPH AUREUS MASTITIS IN HIS HERD. CONCLUSION: In late spring 2017, a Farm Medix Herd Screen revealed 130 cows (18% of the herd) on Te Maunga farm in Dannevirke were infected with contagious Staph aureus (Staph).

This was the start of a journey to dramatically reducing and controlling mastitis through a vigilant approach to herd management, pathogen identification and targeted treatments. Importantly, this has led to a significant reduction in the use of antibiotics on farm.

Farm owner Andrew Hardie reckons he battled mastitis in his herd for years, at an estimated cost of around $40-60,000 in lost production, not to mention veterinary bills and antibiotic treatments.

“We thought we had it under control” he says, “we practised good milking techniques and dry cow therapy we were still getting mastitis. And it became progressively worse.”

For all that time, he had no idea he was fighting a losing battle against the contagious Staph aureus (Staph) pathogen. A year later,

he’s made good progress and he’s keen for other farmers to learn from his experience.

“It’s not until you actually target Staph that you can make real progress” Andrew explains.

“And there’s plenty of good advice to follow, once you find the right help.”

Together with GEA FIL, the vets and Farm Medix, Andrew and contract milker Liam Richardson developed a three-prong approach to controlling infection last year: (1) separate the Staph cows from the rest of the herd, (2) milk the Staph cows last, culling any that develop clinical mastitis, and (3) culture every new case of mastitis with the Farm Medix Check-up™ mastitis diagnostic tool.

A TARGETED APPROACH TO DRY-OFF WAS SUCCESSFUL. “This year, we went away from blanket dry cow therapy completely and let the data formulate our dry-off process” says Liam. “The cows were dried off in small groups, targeting those with higher somatic cell counts (SCC) first. For this

high SCC group, samples from each of them were cultured and we selectively used dry cow therapy rather than blanket treatment. And we treated them based on the pathogen results.”

He adds that the other half of the herd was dried off in two groups, most of them using teat sealant alone.

Andrew agrees that teat sealing worked well for the heifers but stresses that success was due to the very stringent hygiene programme that Liam had in place. He adds that having the Staph cows separated out all season was another contributing factor to the overall success of dry-off.

A NEW SEASON, SAME TARGETED APPROACH. 220 new heifers joined the herd this season.

At the time, Andrew had GEA FIL arrange a Snapshot™ bulk milk sample to be taken from the vat. This test, developed by Farm Medix, helps determine what pathogens are present in the milk.

Far Left: Dannevirke farmer Andrew Hardie and wife Helen Long have battled mastitis in their herd for years.

Left: A Snapshot™ bulk milk sample was taken from the vat by GEA FIL area manager Ryan Medlin Below: An iodine-based teat spray with 15% emollient was used to improve teat condition after calving.

The team at GEA FIL have also kept a close eye on progress.

“Early in the season there was a spike in SCC” notes Colin. “The Farm Medix Snapshot test showed this was likely a result of colostrum cows joining the herd too early.

“It pays to give first calvers a few more days to settle before joining the herd; four days is often not enough, particularly if you are on once a day milking. Many farmers don’t take this into account.”

Some Staph was detected.

80% LESS ANTIBIOTICS USED ON FARM.

Liam stripped the whole herd and cultured any that showed clinical signs. Two cows from the original herd were identified with Staph and immediately separated out.

This time last year, Andrew and Liam had treated 109 cows for mastitis. So far this year, they’ve cultured samples from 20 cows and only 12 have been treated with antibiotics.

Teat condition continues to be a focus. Under advice from GEA FIL, Liam’s using an iodinebased teat spray with 15% emollient.

From Colin’s perspective, this is the biggest positive. “Somatic cell count is a guide to udder health. We see cases where cell counts are relatively low, but there are still high instances of clinical mastitis.

“Being more in control of animal health saves the team at least an hour’s work daily, not to mention the stress. It’s good to finally be focused on converting pasture into milk instead of blindly fighting fires.”

PRODUCTION IS ON THE INCREASE.

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However, they’re milking less cows this year and production is 6% ahead of last season to date. Half way through September they were 8% up on September last year.

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Andrew says mastitis has cost them heavily.

Last year they had to sell about $15,000L milk as waste milk for 20c/L, losing around $7K in profit. They also culled around 150 cows in the Staph herd, selling them for around $800.

The replacements cost around $1,500 each.

•

Andrew remarks that SCC has been tracking between 18 and 25% better than last year.

“This last year has been a big learning curve but we are much more competent in herd management and udder health” Andrew concludes.

AR

Average SCC to mid-September 2016 was 254,000, in 2017 it was 239,000 and 2018 shows it at 193,000. On the 17 September 2018, it was 141,000.

They will continue to make sure that any clinical mastitis case is cultured, so they identify the pathogen and follow the protocol based on the results of the Check-up test.

LE

AVERAGE SCC SHOWS STEADY PROGRESS.

Andrew believes they’ll save around $15,000 on antibiotics this year.

The original plan (with the addition of the new 2-year heifers) was to do another Herd Screen this spring. This is because maiden heifers are still a source of potential new infection. Andrew’s not convinced they need to at this stage but says that another couple of Snapshot bulk milk samples will provide the data he needs to make that decision.

CLEA

Liam confirms that teat condition has steadily improved. “We used Active Teat Cream during colostrum milking and then the iodineemollient combination. The teats are nice and smooth, with nowhere for bacteria to build up.”

“Ideally, farmers should aim to treat less than 5 per cent of the herd with antibiotics. Andrew and Liam’s approach is not only sensible, it’s responsible.”

The two cases of Staph recently identified were a big disappointment for Andrew and Liam. These cows will be culled.

•

Iodine teat spray provides better control of Staph and e-coli pathogens, states GEA FIL National Sales Manager Colin May. “We always believed we didn’t get a lot of e-coli in New Zealand but with the increase in testing, we’re seeing a prevalence of e-coli around the country.”

NEXT STEPS…

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Inside October 2018 Editor

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COVER

October 2018

THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME$8.95 THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME THEME

Udder health & effluent

Tougher animal welfare rules Fresh eyes for Dairy Women’s Network West Coast winners

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Best of the best

A Northland couple are at the top of their game DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

www.farmersweekly.co.nz ISSN 2624-0939 (Print) ISSN 2624-0947 (Online)

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Incl GST

17 18 36

New regulations

New animal welfare regulations come into force

Dairy Industry Awards

Changes in criteria allow more people to enter

Dairy Business of the Year

Award-winning farmers to open their gates

ON FARM STORY

Dan and Gina Duncan are 50:50 sharemilkers on Pouto Topu A Trust in Northland.

They are the 2018 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year. Pictured Dan and Gina with son Brock, 8 months.

PB

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NEWS

1

8 20

Top farmers

Northland farmers Dan and Gina Duncan are the top sharemilkers in the country

Top employers

West Coast farmers Damien and Emma Groot focus on their staff

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

20 THEME

46

Udder health and effluent

SPECIAL FEATURE

54

8 FARMING CHAMPIONS

29 32

Fast Five – Joe Lines

Jules Benton

Better bulls, better calves

REGULAR FEATURES

7 At the grassroots 38 Industry Good 39 International news 41 Research 44 Technology

Farmer opinion – Hamish Clark

– News from DairyNZ

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Need help now? You can talk to someone who understands the pressures of farming by phoning your local Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254.

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AT THE GRASSROOTS

1080 still necessary Waikato dairy farmer Hamish Clark believes New Zealand should use tools like 1080 to eradicate diseases such as tuberculosis until a better alternative can be found.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Now after 1080 we struggle to find any on a night shoot.

The bird life struggled before 1080. Now visit Rangitoto Station yourself and listen to the songs.

It was once riddled with TB-infected possums and wasn’t a sustainable farming business. People struggled to sell land in TB areas because of the disease being spread by possums.

I support the best tools possible for wiping out TB and recovering our native NZ wildlife.

I hope that one day 1080 will no longer be used in NZ because it will not be needed – a decision that should be left to the experts, not the no hunting and poison lobbyists who don’t have the full perspective and have forgotten about the days when their meat wasn’t always safe to eat.

NZ has TB under the thumb.

Stopping 1080 now would allow TB to recover and re-establish itself, undoing years of hard work and millions upon millions of dollars. n

Hamish Clark, the third generation on his family farm east of Otorohanga in Waikato, says bovine tuberculosis will re-establish if 1080 is no longer used.

MORE:

At the Grassroots is an opinion column for farmers written by farmers. Farmers are often in the firing line over perceptions about what goes on behind the farm gate and in the industry as a whole. This is an open platform to air your views or to highlight something good or bad in the industry so if you have a burning issue you would like to talk about, drop us a line.

NUMBER OF BOVINE TB INFECTED HERDS 9000

2400 2200

8000

2000 7000

1800

6000 5000 4000 3000

1600 1400 Great Britain: cvo reports Great Britain: tb incidents Great Britain: county herd statistics Great Britain: detailed tb statistics New Zealand: AHB Technical Manager

1200 1000 800 600

2000

400 1000

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0 0 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012

Number of herds infected each year in New Zealand

In Great Britain and New Zealand

Number of herds infected each year in Great Britain

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NTI-1080 campaigns have reared their head again.

I support research to find a better alternative but the debate seems to lose focus from why it all started, why it’s important we use the best tools available.

New Zealand now faces Mycoplasma bovis but historically it faced tuberculosis (TB). It’s another contagious disease but TB meat isn’t safe for human consumption.

TB is a real risk to both cattle and deer, including the wild deer population that anti-1080 campaigners believe their actions will protect.

I grew up in an at-risk TB area. My family farms both cattle and deer.

I grew up hunting off the back of the farm in Rangitoto. By the time I was 18 I’d spent more money on rifles than clothes. Hunting was my adolescent passion.

The family farm has never had a case of TB but I know people in neighbouring areas who have.

One infected farmer told me “It would have been easier to have culled the whole breeding herd at the start”, in the way they are doing for M bovis.

These areas are now littered with dairy farms. They trade stock with dairy and dry stock farmers throughout NZ so the ability for TB to spread throughout the industry has increased.

TB is a zoonosis disease. It can be passed from animals to humans. It affects deer and cattle as well as possums, ferrets etc.

So it’s a risk to hunters as well as farmers.

TB still exists in NZ. Banning the use of the current control methods would likely allow it to spread again.

Our farm and surrounding bush area has been poisoned multiple times.

Dad, as a young farmer, shot thousands of possums for control in the area. He never really made a dent compared to 1080.

Year

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ON FARM STORY

Dan and Gina Duncan, with son Brock, eight months, from Northland are the 2018 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year.

Journey to the top The top share farmers come from the top of the country. Hugh Stringleman reports.

The soils are all sandy loams, mostly free-draining and receiving 1150mm of rainfall annually.

Its southern tip contains the Pouto Topu A Trust tribal land, for which Dan and Gina are 50:50 sharemilkers of 1080 cows on two dairy farms, D1 and D3.

Now in their third season of that contract the Duncans have given notice to the trust of moving on next May and are hunting for their next position, preferably returning to Waikato or Bay of Plenty.

They are looking for another large-herd 50:50 contract to keep stepping up the ladder towards farm ownership.

The Northland herds will remain at Pouto, in the same way Dan and Gina bought the cows off the sharemilkers who preceded them along with some top-ups bought locally.

At the top of the Duncan’s curriculum vitae is now Share Farmers of the Year and Northland Share Farmers in the New Zealand Dairy Awards, winning a total of eight regional and national merit awards along the way.

The regional wins carried $7000 worth of prizes and the national win nearly $50,000.

The judges said they can be summed up in three words – passionate, professional and committed.

Described as a friendly, outgoing couple with very high standards, the Duncans took on an exceptionally challenging farm in one of the most isolated parts of the country.

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DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Both left careers as qualified rural valuers – they met at Massey – firstly to go dairy farming then to take the Pouto position, now with two preschool boys, Lachie, 3 and Brock, eight months.

“Dan thrives on the biggest challenges, hence his double major in rural valuation and management and in agriculture and 2018 was his third time entering in the dairy awards in only six years in the industry,” Gina says.

His first herd manager’s job near Matamata in 2012-13 gave rise to a Waikato dairy trainee award attempt and second placing.

Three seasons as a 620-cow contract milker near Tokoroa culminated in a Waikato farm manager contest entry.

Continued page 10

FARM FACTS n Owner: Pouto Trust n Sharemilkers: Dan and Gina Duncan n Location: Poutu Peninsula, Northland n Farm size: D1 180ha eff, D3 260ha eff n Cows: 1080 mixed breed n Production: 2017- 2018 310,000kg n Target: 2018-2019 320,000kg n Farm working expenses: $2kg MS

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AN and Gina Duncan feel like they moved from the end of the Earth to Invercargill last May to attend the 2018 Dairy Industry Awards where they came away with the Share Farmers of the Year title.

They made the journey starting with 55km going north up the Pouto Peninsula from their farm then across to Whangarei for the long flight south.

Not confident that they would win national honours they didn’t put a lot of forethought into an acceptance speech and were caught somewhat flat-footed.

“We thought it might be a bad omen to prepare a speech so we did end up having to speak off the cuff – we did okay,” Dan says.

“The occasion was wonderful and we made some great friendships with fellow regional finalists, sponsors and organisers that are invaluable,” Dan said.

That might have been the only time this super organised and highly motivated dairy farming couple who have been involved only six seasons were caught out.

Pouto Peninsula is the northern headland of the Kaipara Harbour, guarding the wind-tunnel, sand-barred exit to the Tasman Sea marked by an historic wooden lighthouse.

The peninsula is a very large area of land, devoted to dairying, beef, kumara growing and forestry, extending 65km down a no-exit road.

9

ON FARM STORY

The objective is to get 75% of the season’s milk in the vat by the end of December because of the summer risks.

Dan Duncan

Dan tail paints the heifers after they have been put forward for AI.

Until Lachie was born Gina commuted to work from Waikato to Tauranga but has since been able to work from home part-time.

Gina also does AI on their own herd, accounts, wages, health and safety and some valuation work from home as well as running Lachie to preschool in Dargaville three times a week.

Then came the big move north and the regional and national honours in their second season at Pouto.

D3, at 260ha effective, carries 640 cows.

Some 245 of them are first-calvers and are milked once-a-day along with some of the lighter three-year-olds. The similarly sized herd of mixed age cows on D3 is milked twice-a-day.

“OAD has been a considerable help with animal health issues, long walks to the farm dairy and getting first-calvers back up to mating weight and pregnant again,” Dan says.

D3 is run by Dan along with his secondin-command plus a farm assistant and a casual worker is employed.

The more northerly and smaller D1 farm is 180ha effective and milks 430 mature cows twice-a-day, looked after by a herd manager and assistant.

D1 has a 40-a-side herringbone dairy and D3 a 60-bale rotary with automatic cup removers and teat wand.

The refinements were installed at the Duncans’ request when the trust sought their signatures on the contract.

Both dairy farms are almost surrounded by forestry margins, save for one 100m boundary with a sheep and beef farm, good for biosecurity.

10

All employees live on the farm or locally because of the distance from Dargaville and Dan fits into the milking routine every weekend, alternating between farms.

At the time of signing the contract in early 2016 the forecast milk price was $4.75/kg MS, which indicated a loss for the first season.

But the potential to increase production, buy cows at subdued values and get some organic growth was a calculated risk worth taking, they believed.

Three seasons of $6/kg-plus milksolids

and increased cow values have been very good for the Duncans, trebling their equity during their time in the north.

They have kept farm working expenses to $2/kg MS or a little higher this season as the birth of their second boy Brock meant a calf rearer was employed.

The mature herd (D1) did 323kg/ cow last season and the younger herds combined (OAD and TAD) 288kg/cow, giving an average of 304kg.

Before the Duncans arrived the combined properties produced about 250,000kg MS from 950 cows at 265kg/ cow.

Consistent $1/kg-plus operating margins have been generated across 274,000kg in 2016-17, 310,000kg last season and a target of 320,000kg this season.

The big jump in production from first to second season was a result of an

Gina Duncan does the AI, accounts, wages and health and safety.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

earlier calving date by 10 days, a lift in cow numbers from 960 to 1020 and lifting pasture and crop utilisation to 9.35t/ ha dry matter, a tonne above the district average.

Despite sea views from almost every paddock, Pouto farms D1 and D3 are not holiday destinations for cows.

Like many Northland farms there are challenges but Dan and Gina have implemented strategies to reduce the risk of dry summers and kikuyu quality.

The farms’ positive attributes also need to be acknowledged as good winter growth and freer draining soils result in less pugging and allow crops to be established early.

More than 90% of their feed is home grown with the cows’ diet being made up of about 75% pasture, 7% turnips, 10% maize and grass silages, 5% palm kernel and 3% winter grazing.

Production is about 300kg/cow annually and 700kg/ha.

Balance date, when grass growth is expected to cater for the daily needs of all milking cows, is typically around September 10.

Kikuyu is both a curse and blessing, at different times of the year, but the basic faults are low energy and high fibre and smothering of other grasses.

When summer or autumn rain fails to occur, kikuyu persists and the cows tick over until a late-April dry-off.

It is then mulched and over-sown with annual ryegrass to prevent kikuyu thatch competition with winter and early-spring ryegrass and clover growth.

More than 200ha were mulched and over-sown last autumn while 65ha spread across the two farms were cropped to either maize or turnips then re-sown with perennial ryegrass mixes.

Continued page 12

Gina prepares a straw for inseminating one of the cows.

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ON FARM STORY The Northland farm has been home to the Duncans for the past three years but they are now looking to move on to a new challenge.

12

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Half the cows are wintered on the run-off for four weeks, during which the yearlings go on the milking platform to graze new grass.

The earlier June calving makes best use of winter and early-spring pasture growth, plus supplementation, and has given a big boost to the August and September milk production, which was already substantially higher for the Duncans in their first season compared with the previous seasons.

“The objective is to get 75% of the season’s milk in the vat by the end of December because of the summer risks,” Dan says.

Young stock are reared on a trustowned, adjoining 130ha run-off fully under Dan’s management.

AI started with the heifers on September 11 and the main herd five days later and the planned start of calving is June 20 for the heifers and June 25 for the herd.

The bottom 20% are Hereford AI and the main herd to LIC Premier Sires, with Angus bulls to follow up, sourced from the Pouto Trust sheep and beef farm.

Reproductive performance has been

Dan and Gina bought the herd off the sharemilkers who preceded them and when they move on the herd will stay at Pouto.

Photo: Hugh Stringleman

and 87% respectively and six-week in-calf rates 80% and 73%.

The cows are mixed breed with BW 80 and PW104.

good considering the calving date has been moved forward 10 days and the challenging climate.

The empty rate in the first season was 9% and in the second season 6% while three-week submission rates were 88%

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DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

13

ON FARM STORY

Dan and Gina Duncan are both qualified rural valuers but left their jobs to go dairy farming although Gina still does a bit of valuation work from home.

The Duncans will be reluctant to leave their first cow herd behind but staying on the farms will be best for the calving date (late June) and the biosecurity aspects, including theileria.

The regional judges commented very positively about the human resources

aspects of the Duncans as employers, including the team events and incentives, clear procedures, recording of hours, four weeks of annual leave, performance reviews twice a year and paid off-farm training if they pass.

All staff have a phone allowance to

The farm has panoramic views of the sea from every paddock. Dan returns from locking the cows in.

14

ensure lack of credit doesn’t get in the way of communication.

Health and safety was commended with training and procedures, personal manuals for everyone, hazard maps and registers and contractor and visitor inductions.

The environmental aspects were awarded to recognise a significant knowledge of regional council and industry requirements, funding applications for riparian fencing and planting and what was called first class effluent management.

Both farms have low application rate pod irrigators and infrastructure to cover 32ha on D3 and 11ha on D1, with an extension of 6.5ha planned.

Pods are shifted manually and the pumps run for four hours maximum.

The D3 system has a weeping wall while D1 has a solids pond, which is emptied and applied to crop paddocks once a season.

Each farm has about 90 days of storage.

Nitrogen is used across the farm at 120kg/ha/year to boost grass growth and the loss has been modelled at 17kg/ha/ year and the use efficiency at 25%.

Pasture performance also gained praise

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

The competition highlighted the balance we were lacking between our financial and personal goals.

Gina Duncan

from the regional judges, who said the records of pasture grown and eaten were exemplary, contained in a feed budgeting programme devised by the Duncans.

When the national judging team made its way down the Pouto Peninsula, Dan and Gina made sure of the kikuyu messages by gathering a big pile of the tropical grass to display alongside a much smaller pile of ryegrass equal in food value for the cows.

Southland judge Matt Richards said the comparison made it real in what was called an outstanding presentation

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

of the Duncans’ clear and realistic but challenging goals.

A long-term plan with strategies to improve the Pouto Topu Trust dairy farms includes sustainability solutions, leaving a pathway for the trustees, their farm adviser Gareth Baynham of AgFirst Northland, and their successors as sharemilkers.

The Duncans put forward a Farms to Prosper plan the Trust has been very receptive to.

Capital spending was limited until the Duncans got on board but now the mindset has changed.

“It helped that we could show that the farms had the potential to increase production after sitting around the 250,000kg MS for long time,” Gina says.

“Since we have been here the trust has invested in a new house, cup removers, new implement/calf shed and new fencing and it intends to implement all the points that we put forward.”

Dan and Gina say their time in the limelight this year was hugely important to their lives and to their careers, opening opportunities for a new position in 201920 and a big step towards their own goals for equity and farm ownership.

“Having come to dairy farming as a

second career, although Dan was born and brought up on a dairy farm, means that our pathway has to be quicker,” Gina says.

“We entered to critique our business (Weta Farms) as we wanted to make sure we knew what we had before making any big decisions.

“The competition highlighted the balance we were lacking between our financial and personal goals.

“With scale we get the ability to focus more time on management instead of day-to-day jobs, ensuring we get efficient production for both ourselves and the trust.” n

>> Video link: bit.ly/OFSDuncan

15

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NEWS

More can enter dairy awards

W

BARBARA GILLHAM

ITH entries for the Dairy Industry Awards 2019 opening on October 1 exciting changes to the awards programme have been announced.

Visa criteria for the Dairy Trainee and Dairy Manager categories have been changed.

Both categories are now open to people who hold a valid New Zealand work visa and have been employed full-time for two years on a NZ dairy farm.

Awards general manager Chris Keeping says the change reflects the multi-cultural landscape of dairy employees.

“We’re excited by these changes and intrigued to see who will enter because of them.

“We have also removed the qualifications clause in the Dairy Trainee category – where a potential entrant could not have completed a Qualifications Authority level 5 or higher qualification in any field of study.

“These changes acknowledge the awards programme as a learning platform where people can learn and grow, both personally and professionally.

“We don’t want to cut out a large chunk of potential Dairy Trainee entrants just because of previous study,” Keeping says.

Dairy Manager of the Year Award 2017 and Primary ITO Power Play Award winner Hayley Hoogendyk agrees the

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Hayley Hoogendyk was the 2017 Dairy Manager of the Year and says her win proves women can be successful in dairying.

We’re excited by these changes and intrigued to see who will enter because of them.

Chris Keeping

awards have opened up more and says the stronger the competition the better it is for everyone.

While winning was great she got a lot out of just entering the awards.

“It helped me realise my strengths and weaknesses and gave me a good understanding of how the business ran.

“Often when you’re farming you get caught up in the day-to-day stuff and

maybe do a bit of planning for the next month but the strategy side of it, where the business is heading, you often don’t get around to. Entering the awards changed that for me.”

Hoogendyk, the first solo female to win the Dairy Manager of the Year category, believes her win proves women can be successful in senior roles and she encourages others to enter as well.

“I definitely learnt a lot from the whole experience,” she says.

The awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DeLaval, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra Farm Source, Honda Motorcycles, LIC, Meridian Energy and Ravensdown along with industry partners DairyNZ and PrimaryITO. n

MORE:

Entries close on November 16 to enable entries to be finalised before the Christmas break. Entries can be made at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.

17

NEWS

New welfare rules arrive TIM FULTON

A

NIMAL welfare mis-steps and willful breaches have greater consequences under new regulations.

New powers make it easier for the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to act on mistreatment.

“These regulations will allow us to better respond to lower levels of offending and target specific behaviours that need to change,” MPI animal health and welfare director Chris Rodwell says.

Fines for low to medium-scale breaches of the revised regulations will typically be $300-$500.

Where a breach of an animal welfare regulation has a severe impact on an animal, any owner or person in charge including transporters can be directly prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act, Rodwell says.

The transport and condition of calves continues to be high on the regulatory agenda.

The young calf regulations issued in 2016 are still in effect but are now incorporated in the Animal Welfare (Care and Procedures) Regulations 2018. Some titles and numbers for the young calf regulations have changed as MPI moves to better reflect transporter and farmer responsibilities, MPI’s website says.

Where a regulation specifically refers to young calves, it means calves up to 14 days old that have been separated from their mother.

A prohibition on killing calves by blunt force to the head means all calves, not just young calves, must not be killed that way except in an emergency.

Calf is defined as any bovine that hasn’t had milk or milk replacer permanently removed from its diet.

There will also be a maximum time young calves may be off feed before slaughter. Those calves must be slaughtered as soon as possible after arrival at the slaughter premises and there are feeding requirements if it isn’t possible to slaughter the calf within 24 hours of its last on-farm feed.

The regulations cover shelter for young calves before transportation and at points 18

New animal welfare regulations include provisions for calves.

of sale or slaughter. Suitable shelter must be provided before transportation off the farm for the purpose of sale or slaughter or as a result of sale and at points of sale and slaughter.

Young calves being transported must be at least four full days (96 hours) old before being transported and have certain physical characteristics, including no injury, disease or impairment that could affect their welfare during the journey; the ability to rise from lying, stand evenly on all four limbs, move freely and protect themselves from being trampled or injured and firm, worn flat hooves and a shrivelled navel cord.

Transport regulations limit the journey time for young calves to 12 hours.

Under loading rules, facilities must be provided when young calves are transported for sale or slaughter or as a result of sale so they can walk onto and off vehicles. Young calves must have suitable shelter when being transported and moving young calves by sea across Cook Strait is prohibited.

The transport of bobby calves is improving every year, based on MPI statistics.

The ministry last year issued 150 $500 fines to farmers putting defective calves on trucks but only 0.06% of bobby calves arriving at meat works were in poor condition.

Still, moves to minimise mistreatment continue.

The use of electric prodders is banned on all animals with the exception of some animals over 150kg. In some limited circumstances electric prodders can be

These regulations will allow us to better respond to lower levels of offending.

Chris Rodwell

used on the muscled hind or forequarters of these larger animals on the proviso the animal can move away from the prodder.

Anyone using an electric prodder for any other reason is liable for a fine of $500, except in cases where a person’s safety is at risk.

Striking an animal in the udder, anus, genitals or eyes using a prodder is also prohibited. The regulations say striking or prodding an animal in sensitive areas causes unreasonable pain and distress and is prohibited. A $500 fine applies for this offence.

Farmers are also reminded about proper use of tethers, defined in the regulations as any form of restraint that secures any part of any animal to an object or the ground.

The tether should be of the right length and material to allow normal breathing, panting and drinking and must prevent the animal from being caught up on nearby objects and injured.

New regulations for debudding are set to be introduced on October 1 next year. n

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

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ON FARM STORY

Damien and Emma Groot are the 2018 Dairy Business of the Year Best People Leadership award winners.

Photos: Jules Anderson Photography 20

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Reluctant winners A West Coast couple are top employers. Barbara Gilham reports.

W

EST Coast farmer Damien Groot, who admits he never intended to go farming, is now an awardwinner and says he made the right choice to enter the industry.

Damien and his wife Emma farm at Kumara on the West Coast in partnership with Damien’s parents Rens and Annette Groot.

“I decided to go farming because of the variety of work,” Damien says.

“Every day is different.

“I can be a fencer, a plumber, an agronomist, a mechanic or stockman all in one day, which really appealed.”

Earlier this year they won the Dairy Business of the Year Awards Best People Leadership title. The awards used farm data from the 2016-17 season.

Damien says it was the first time they had entered and he found the experience daunting.

“Awards are not really my thing.

“I found it quite tough but sometimes it’s good to be put in those situations.”

They are proud to have won the award because they put a strong emphasis on their two staff members.

Damien believes if they treat them well

and give them opportunities to step up, they will get it back tenfold.

“I have been really lucky that I have worked for some great employers over the years who treated me well and helped me so I want to do the same for my staff.

“When the opportunity arises we encourage them to do further training so they can build their knowledge base and increase their skills, which will help them in the future.”

The couple are modest about their win and have no plans to enter the awards again.

“It was a great experience but, really, we are quite private people and as I said I found the whole experience quite daunting,” Damien says.

Emma is in charge of the financials, calf rearing and is the relief milker on statuary holidays while Damien takes care of the day-to-day running.

“I don’t play a huge role on the farm.

I’m sort of Damien’s filler-inner person really and the relief milker of course,” Emma says.

“We do the relief milking together every public holiday and during the busy season if we have a staff member off.

“I try to get finished, though, by about 4pm so I can meet the kids off the school bus.”

Damien Groot originally wanted work in conservation but ended up farming because of the variety of work involved. Damien records information on a new-born calf on his cellphone.

Originally from Rotorua, Damien grew up on the family farm but rather than go farming he wanted to work for the Conservation Department.

Leaving school he enrolled at Waiariki Polytechnic in Rotorua where he did a Certificate in Environmental Science and Resource Management.

“My goal was to work for DOC and during my school years I did a lot of voluntary work with them,” he says.

“But I realised that conservation work was more my hobby than my career and by the time they offered me a full-time position it had lost its novelty so I went farming instead.”

Damien’s parents never pressured him in his career choice but he admits his father was probably quite pleased with his decision.

“My father wasn’t too bothered. He was happy with whatever I wanted to do but he is probably pleased now that we are in partnership here on the farm in Kumara.”

Emma is also from Rotorua and comes from a sheep and beef background but says she was no stranger to dairying and milking cows.

“My mum used to do relief milking to boost the farm income and I would tag along with her in the afternoons.

“I also had a lot of friends who came from dairy farms and I would often go and stay with them and got to learn different things.”

Leaving school she enrolled in a polytech tourism course then worked in hospitality.

Continued page 22

FARM FACTS n Owners: Clear Creek Dairy/De Groot Farming n Location: Kumara West Coast n Farm size: 290ha, runoff 70ha n Cows: 600 Friesian-Jersey n Production: 2016-17 400kg MS/cow 2017-2018 239,000kg MS n Target: 2018-19 245,000kg MS

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

21

On a busy day the Groots can have up 35 calves come in so Emma calls on Damien or one of the team to help her.

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October 2018

ON FARM STORY

Damien and Emma are equity partners in the West Coast farm and eventually want to buy it outright.

During this time she met Damien through mutual friends. They married in 2007 and now have three children, Johanna, 9, and twins Lotte and Rhys, 6.

At the time they were contract milking 320 cows at Reporoa then decided to take the plunge and go either 50:50 sharemilking or into an equity partnership.

“I wanted something I could sink my teeth into and I liked the idea of being in a permanent place,” Damien says.

“We were at the stage where we wanted to progress but it was quite hard to nail a 50:50 job at the time.”

By chance, his uncle, who grew up on the West Coast, was looking to buy a farm there because properties were still relatively cheap.

“I did the maths on it in my head and I thought ‘well, there isn’t probably a lot of difference between a 50:50 sharemilking job and buying a farm there given the land values’.

“In the end it didn’t work out though.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

“The farm was signed up but then the sale fell through at the last minute when the vendor pulled out and we ended up without a job.”

As luck would have it Rens was looking for someone to work for him so they bought a herd and went sharemilking on the family farm.

“The following year Dad was looking at buying a farm in Australia and I suggested we go and have a look at properties on the West Coast as a partnership.”

Their other option was perhaps to buy into one of his father’s farms in the North Island but they were twice the price of a farm on the West Coast so it wasn’t really an option.

“I would have got a stake half the size of what I have today in the farm down here.

It really wouldn’t have made a lot of sense.

It wouldn’t have worked,” Damien says.

The partnership bought the 600-cow, 290ha farm in 2008.

Damien and Emma started with a 15% share and have since increased it to 24 %.

If we take on more work it creates a lot of unnecessary stress for not necessarily more profit.

Damien Groot

Having his parents as business partners is great for his farming career because everyone has different ideas and they are a great sounding board for ideas, Damien says.

“We don’t see a lot of them, unfortunately, although dad came down and looked after the farm for three weeks

Continued page 24 23

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CLEAR CREEK KPIS n Location: Kumara n Size: 600 cows, 290ha effective n Stocking rate: 2.06 cows/ha n Output: 400kg MS/cow, 850kg MS/ha n Return on capital: 4.9% n Operating profit margin: 30.4% n Operating profit/ha: $1436 n Cost of production/kg MS: $3.53 n Operating expenses/kg MS: $3.86 n Pasture harvest: 9.70t DM/ha n Pasture % of feed: 84.2% n Core per cow costs: $502 n Labour efficiency cows/FTE: 211 n Environ score out of 15: 5 n HR score out of 15: 11.7

Emma and Damien check on a mob of calves.

last year when we went on holiday to visit Emma’s relatives in England.

“Other than that he comes down about once a year but when he does it’s to go hunting and see the grandkids, not work.”

Rens does take the time to look around the farm but there is no real need to keep an eye on it because they have been on Dairy Base, which gives them a detailed farm analysis for several years.

“Dad is very much of the opinion that as long as I’m making money he’ll leave me to it. If I wasn’t making money then he’d probably take a closer look.”

In 2014 the partnership bought a 70ha effective runoff so they could rear their young stock.

The waterways on the property have been fenced but they have not done any riparian planting because there is no subsidy available nor is there is a need.

“Our stream flows directly out of the bush so there is a lot of natural regeneration happening. We have cabbage trees and flaxes coming up. We fence off the waterways and it grows on its own,” Damien says.

Last season the herd produced 239,000 kilograms of milksolids and they have set a target of 245,000kg MS this season.

“We’re not really focused on production because to get more we

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

would have to change our system – that would create more work, which I’m not interested in,” he says.

“Our goal is to reduce our costs.

“Every other option requires more work and we’re already at peak efficiencies for staff so if we take on more work it creates a lot of unnecessary stress for not necessarily more profit.”

We have reared bull calves as a response to the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.

Emma Groot

They run a system 2 so rely on homegrown feed. About 20ha of winter swedes is grown each year with an expected yield of 10-16 tonnes of dry matter.

They also make 600 bales of silage on the platform but have reduced that over the years because they found that the cost of swedes is half the cost of silage.

They also buy in a small amount of palm kernel to feed throughout the season.

Calving begins on August 2. They do only six weeks of mating for the heifers so the mob is usually finished by mid September.

They rear 150 replacements and this season they have also reared 10 service bulls.

“We have reared bull calves as a response to the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak,” Emma says.

“We will wait and see what happens but being self-contained is really important now.”

On a busy day they can get 35 calves and when that happens Emma calls on one of the team to help her.

“On a day like that it gets hectic, especially with just one person. It can take hours. With two of us we can get it done in an hour,” she says.

Newborn calves are brought in during the afternoon and fed straight away to ensure they get their colostrum.

“The new calves are kept separate from the rest so I can see at a glance how old they are and I also spray them with a dot so they don’t get mixed up.” Emma says.

“By day five they go into a pen with

Continued page 26 25

ON FARM STORY

Emma looks after the finances, calf rearing and also relief milks when staff have time off. Damien and Emma get the herd in for afternoon milking.

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Damien looks after the day-to-day running of the farm and oversees their two staff members.

the ad lib drum and they stay in that pen until we’ve got about 25 calves – half a mob. They then get moved to another part of the farm and we just keep doing that for three weeks until eventually we have three mobs.”

Emma says it probably sounds like a lot of hard work but it’s not.

“What takes the longest time is cleaning all the feeders.”

Mating begins on October 23 and they do four weeks of AI and run a Jersey bull for another six weeks.

“I only put the bull out at night,” Damien says.

“We used to get a bit of lameness in the bulls and having them with the herd only at night time has reduced it.”

No AI is done on the heifers, which are run with a bull for six weeks.

Damien describes their breeding methods as simple and easy and says there is no intervention though he does Metricheck the herd himself.

“Probably the only thing we do, which we have done for the past 10 years, is six weeks mating with the heifers so they all calve in the first six weeks.”

Over the years they have used their scanning data and identified late-calving cows.

“Cows due to calve in weeks nine or 10 are culled unless she is a really good cow,” he says.

“This has helped to tighten our calving spread so it is not drawn out.”

Their goal is to eventually buy the whole farm and they considered

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

increasing their equity in the partnership this season.

“We were set to buy more shares this year but we chose to buy an investment property instead,” Damien says.

“We bought a bach at Lake Brunner as a getaway but we also rent it out. The rental values we get for it make us a really good profit.

“We’re actually quite open to where the money is going to work best for us and at this stage we felt the lake was a better investment than the farm so that’s where we put our money.”

Emma says her tourism skills will come in handy.

They are flexible in their decisionmaking and invest where they will see a greater return.

In profitable years they try to invest back into the farm unless something better comes along.

“Our profit this year wasn’t too bad.

We’ve been paying dividends all winter and all through the spring and that’s always good. It must mean we are cash positive,” he says.

Away from the farm they are both keen on sports and the great outdoors.

Emma plays squash while Damien loves nothing more than heading off on his bike if the weather is fine.

“During the winter I play basketball but when that finishes I cycle instead. I really enjoy cycling and it helps keep me fit.

That’s really why I do it,” he says.

Emma says they have no regrets about their decision to move south.

The farm is a system 2 relying on homegrown feed. Damien puts up a break fence ahead of afternoon milking.

“The lifestyle on the West Coast is great.

“We have the sea and the lake on our doorstep. There are some amazing bush walks and cycle tracks nearby and the ski fields are only a two-hour drive. There is so much to see and do and we love it here.” n

27

Thank you to all our farmers who took the time to enter our Holden v Ford debate.

Congratulations to Dennis and Shona Gower from the Whangamomona Republic in Taranaki.

A Skellerup family prize pack is on its way.

Watching Bathurst is an annual tradition in the Gower household and they are such keen Bathurst fans that when their children were younger, they used to delay taking them to school just so they could watch the end of the race.

Ford

v

Dennis Gower – Ford I follow Ford. I like both Fabien Coultard and Scotty McLaughlin who are Kiwis and I enjoy every Ford victory over my wife and her support of Holden.

There is always big “yahoo” whenever Ford wins and I can rub it in pretty well, too, and give it right back to Shona and David. But, in saying that, Holden fans have had a good run but Ford is still way better.

Never mind the colour, Fords are gruntier machines and their new shape makes them look much nicer than the new Holdens.

We have a Ford and Shona has to put up with it and drive it – I don’t think she really minds as she got to pick the colour of it, which, of course, is blue.

HOLDEN Shona Gower – Holden Gizzy (Shane van Gisbergen) and James Courtney are two drivers I follow, admittedly chosen first for their car colours, now followed for the drivers themselves.

Shane is really down to earth and I actually have an autographed poster of him that he signed when he visited Whangamomona.

They both drive different coloured cars now but they are both quite nice eye candy as well as brilliant drivers. One day, I would love to get over and see them race in person.

Our son David is a Holden fan, too, so that is two against one – Dennis takes a fair bit of ribbing on race day and it is always a good feeling when one of my favourites takes the chequered flag.

NOVEMBER Debate:

M BOVIS

to eradicate or MANAGE? Has the Government made the correct decision to try to eradicate M bovis from New Zealand or do you feel it is wasting time and money? Tell us what you think. Individual entries will be accepted as well as those from a warring duo.

The submission deadline is October 19 Terms and conditions apply.

Winning entries are published at GlobalHQ’s discretion.

Winners will be contacted personally by GlobalHQ.

Win a Swanndri courtesy of Davey Products for each of our published letters

Enter now at

farmersweekly.co.nz/pull-the-udder-one

FAST FIVE 1. What annoys you most about farming and what do you enjoy the most and why?

What really annoys me is the way townies jump to conclusions before knowing what is s really going on, as they don’t understand farming.

I enjoy working outside and with the animals. I get a lot of satisfaction from feeding the herd well and taking care of them. Having happy and healthy cows is really important to me.

2. Why dairying? What attracted you to the industry?

I was attracted to farming because I was young and enjoyed earning money. Also, farming is varied – every day is different and the variety of work and skills you learn are great. I couldn’t stand to sit in an office all day.

3. How do you see the state of the industry and future of dairying?

When I first started there were not as many rules and regulations and cows were a lot healthier. Now I see it getting harder and harder each season with farmers having to comply with more regulations. With theleria and Mycoplasma bovis around, I see dairying going downhill and these diseases will take the shine off farming for some.

4. What are some of the biggest challenges you are facing this season?

Our biggest challenge on farm this season is sub-clinical ketosis as our system is just pasture and palm kernel. Therefore, the nutrient make-up of the pasture directly affects the cows and we are reliant on it being high in energy and protein. With spring going well the pasture is improving every day.

5. If you weren’t farming, what would you be doing?

I enjoy working and tinkering around with vehicles so initially I wanted to be a mechanic before I decided to go dairy farming. In my job I still get to do that so it makes farming even more enjoyable.

Joe Lines Joe Lines grew up in the small seaside community of Tangimoana in Manawatu and describes himself as townie who spent most of his youth at the beach.

He left school and went farming because the money was good and he enjoyed working outdoors and with the stock.

Joe has been dairying for seven years and has worked his way up the progression ladder and is in his fourth season as a 2IC. Eventually he would like to step up to a management position if the opportunity arises.

He started farming in Manawatu then moved to Taupo but returned to Manawatu and is now working at Kairanga for Craig and Raewyne Passey, milking 515 cows on 190ha.

Joe is lives by the philosophy to work to live, not live to work and always enjoy life and is motivated to succeed by his desire to provide a great lifestyle for his partner Raewyn and daughter Emerson, 3.

His short-term goal is to sit his HT licence so if he ever decides to switch careers he has something to fall back on. n

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Make sure you and your calf look smart for judging.

Calf search gets going SONITA CHANDAR

P

UBLIC voting is now open on the Calf Club NZ website to find the top calves in the country.

Submissions have been pouring in as hundreds of children have shared their stories and photos on the site.

Children were required to write a 100-word story about their calf, how they have looked after it and trained it as well as what they have learnt through the process.

People can now vote for their favourites and Calf Club NZ judges will look at the entries over the coming weeks to determine the top 10 in each region.

“We have been really lucky that a number of qualified judges have come forward to volunteer to help out,” Calf

30

Club NZ co-ordinator Michelle Burgess says.

“These are people who judge at shows or have been involved with Calf Clubs around the country.

“We want to keep this as traditional as possible so children still get to experience the judging process as it has been.”

Burgess says some people have expressed an interest in judging but are not qualified judges.

“We are looking for conveners in each region to help facilitate on-farm judging and accompany the judges when they visit farms.

“So if you want to help in the judging process this is a good way to be hands-on and learn from the judges first-hand.”

Holding the competition at a regional level will allow on-farm judging to be flexible.

“We know there are parts of New Zealand where calving starts later so as

a regional competition, judges will be comparing similar size calves of a similar age,” she says.

There will be two sets of judging for each category – a social judging and a formal judging. Every entry has automatically been entered into the social judging and when children submitted their entry they elected themselves into the formally judged category.

The judges will first judge each region’s online competition to determine the top 10 then they will head out to visit contestants on-farm and have a more in-depth look at the calf’s leading capabilities and conformation.

“Our goal is to stay true to Calf Club NZs. “Judges will be looking at how children lead their calves and how well they have trained it and interact with their calf.

“They will also inspect calves to make sure they are clean and healthy.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

NEWS

Calf clubs are something that is ingrained in farming and is a tradition.

Michelle Burgess

The judges will also spend time talking to the entrants and will be able to determine the amount of effort that has gone into training and caring for the calves.

A number of businesses and sponsors have donated prizes and ribbons will be awarded to the top three in each region.

“The level of support we have received from sponsors, businesses and just people in general has been amazing.

“People I don’t know come and talk to me and have been really encouraging and supportive.

“Calf Clubs are something that is ingrained in farming and is a tradition.

“At the end of the day we don’t want to

lose something as special as Calf Club NZ because it is for the children. It is all about them having fun and doing something they can be proud of.”

Tips for the big day • You need to train your calf to do three things on the lead – to walk forward alongside you, to turn when required and to stop.

• Start with a few minutes training each day. After each session, praise and pat your calf. Keep training the calf every day and keep it covered all the time so its coat is as shiny as possible on the day.

• On the day, have all of your equipment clean and ready for judging.

You will need: • A bucket with washing equipment so

you can spot-clean any dirty marks off your calf.

• A grooming brush and a soft cloth for polishing around the nose, eyes and general coat before you go into the ring.

• Clean halter and lead rope.

• A separate water bucket so your calf can have a drink.

• Some meal and a feeding container so you can give your calf some reward after a good effort.

Remember, you are on display as well as your calf so be sure you are also dressed neat and tidy and enjoy yourself because the judges will be looking for signs that you are comfortable with and care for your calf.

Give your calf lots of hugs and pats for a job well done.

Good luck. n

Public voting is now open to help judges find the top 10 calves in each region.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

31

DAIRY CHAMPION

Jules Benton is the new chief executive of the Dairy Women’s Network.

A fresh set of eyes There is a new person in charge at the Dairy Women’s Network. Jules Benton spoke to Fritha Tagg about her experience and her role.

J

ULES Benton, the new Dairy Women’s Network chief executive is quick to admit she has little farming in her background but says she is surrounded by a wealth of knowledge in the network.

Deep down in her genes there is a significant link to the dairy industry.

She grew up in South Taranaki where grandfather was a farmer, her father was a cheesemaker and her brother a sharemilker. She and her three siblings went to school in Taranaki where the family lived and where she began her working life.

Her decision to apply for the network job was all down to timing. She had been following the network on social media for some time and liked what she saw.

“I thought what a great organisation. It supported women in dairy through their careers,” Benton says.

In 2011 she was Business Fitness New Zealand general manager in Mount Maunganui when Wolters Kluwer CCH NZ bought Business Fitness and kept her on.

Wolters Kluwer is a publishing, research and workflow solutions company that publishes material with a strong focus on taxation, employment and health and safety legislation in book and digital forms.

“A big part of our role was to simplify the material or changes to legislation for accountants, lawyers and business professionals to make it easier to understand and for them to be able to pass on to clients,” she says.

The company produced live on-line learning webinars, making access to the changes much easier.

In 2012 Wolters Kluwer offered Benton its general manager role. She took it on reluctantly but admits it was probably the best decision she could have made.

“We turned the business around by building up an incredible team took a declining business to growth.

“I’m absolutely committed to building a strong culture within businesses and giving people opportunities to grow and fulfil their career aspirations.

Timing, as they say, is everything.

When she saw the advertisement for the network chief executive’s role she decided to apply. She started in May. Her experience before Business Fitness involved consulting on leadership capability, streamline processes and professional development and education.

“I have a lot of experience in leadership development and helping people gain the skills and tools they need to do well at all stages of their careers.”

Continued page 34

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DAIRY CHAMPION In her new role at the 10,000-strong membership organisation she will be responsible for representing and championing the network and focusing on its next strategic step.

“Dairy women are a driving force and make extraordinary contributions across all levels of the industry.

“I see this role as a partnership with our team and members to ensure dairy women’s contributions are recognised and celebrated.

Benton says the organisation is a part of some important conversations.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to build on the great work the network has been doing for the past 20 years and continuing to highlight and celebrate those achievements.”

Benton met her husband Andy in 1983. They married in 1987 and went overseas thinking they would be away for three months. They were gone four years.

“Our first stop was London and I just hated it. We decided to explore the rest of the country, got a rental car and ended up in Aberdeen. The road trip was great.

Great people, scenery and mind-blowing history. It was beautiful.

“In Aberdeen we saw an advert asking for a couple to work on an estate.

“We got the job and spent two years running this large estate in Lanark, the

Jules Benton has a wealth of leadership experience and has brought a fresh pair of eyes to the Dairy Women’s Network.

34

home of Baron and Baroness Lee. There were two parts to the role, Lee Forest Products where Andy worked in the landscaping and outside on the estate and I ended up as executive assistant to Lady Patricia, the Baroness of Lee. “Basically, Andy looked after the outside of the estate and I was inside. It was certainly an experience.

Dairy women are passionate and it will be great to be part of this.

“It was a beautiful property. They had restored it and it was just stunning. We lived in the castle in a little apartment.

Who would have thought we would end up working in a castle for a couple of years.”

The Baron and Baroness belonged to the Fortune 500 club and during the Edinburgh Tattoo the castle was the location for their lavish entertaining.

Benton says the Baron and Baroness appreciated the Kiwi can-do attitude and willingness to work. It was an enjoyable work and life experience.

After a couple of years Benton was offered a job running a marketing company in London so the couple left Scotland and spent two years in London, she working for Ignis and he leading its event management team.

The couple has set up a second base in Cambridge, an easy 20-minute commute to her office in Hamilton. Andy owns his own business in Mount Maunganui. At this stage the couple are enjoying having the best of both worlds.

“We’re absolutely loving the Cambridge community.

“I am looking forward to becoming involved in this role. It is time to give back. It is where I want to be to be able to use my skills, impart my knowledge.

“Dairy Women’s Network is a powerful group. There is a wealth of knowledge spread right across the country. Women are leading and changing business landscape in dairying. Their skills are phenomenal. They are driven, determined and passionate - three amazing traits to lead any business.

“We have challenges to address like any business, however, the opportunities are exciting.

“I love the passion in the agri-sector – and I see a real opportunity to really tell our story. We need to celebrate success.

Dairy women are passionate and it will be great to be part of this.” n

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Jules Benton is responsible for representing and championing Dairy Women’s Network at an industry level.

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October 2018

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35

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Top farms hold field days SONITA CHANDAR

F

ARMERS across the country will have the chance to see first-hand how awardwinning dairy farmers operate and achieve at the highest level as they open their farm gates for the 2018 Dairy Business of the Year field days.

Regional Optimisation Days highlighting their resilient and profitable systems will be held on the regional winners’ farms in October and November.

DBOY focuses on and measures against three key aspects of operating a successful dairy enterprise: profitability and business resilience, environmental management and human resources.

Its manager David Densley said the field days are a great opportunity to learn how these farmers operate their businesses across these agribusiness principals and to understand why they do what they do.

“These field day events are a great day out and an excellent opportunity to hear and learn from some of New Zealand’s most resilient, sustainable and innovative dairy farmers.

“Visitors will be able to see first hand how these farmers are operating their business and how they apply farming principles and use strategies that allow them to remain sustainable and viable within the current economic climate.”

Presentations include an overview and history of each farm, herd and breeding strategies, pasture management, profitability and resilience.

“Visitors will also hear from No8HR who will discuss the human resources side of the business and Headlands, who provided the data analysis and reports on the farms’ environmental footprint,” Densley said.

“The field days will be full of

36

DBOY Regional Optimisation Days give visitors a first-hand look at how awardwinning farmers run their businesses.

THE DAYS ARE: October 23 October 25 November 1 November 6

Taranaki, Cleaver Farm Manawatu, Garvaghy Gold Waikato, Riddings Farm Canterbury, Dalaborin TheLand November 8 West Coast, Pan Farm November 13 Southland, MOBH Farm

information. There are a number of factors which contribute to running a successful dairy business and these will be covered.

“These days are a perfect time to ask questions, share ideas and to expand your own farm knowledge that could then be applied to your farming system.”

And they are a great chance to network with people who could potentially make a constructive difference to agribusinesses by providing ideas or inspiration to implement changes.

The Sulzberger family of Taranaki won the 2017 Dairy Business of the Year Supreme Award.

“We have met a lot of people and get a lot of comments about our win,” Andrew Sulzberger said.

“Winning the award has reinforced the

years of hard work that have gone into getting the farm and the business to this point.”

The detailed physical and financial analysis from DBOY consultants gave them a better understanding of key performance indicators in their business and the environmental report highlighted several areas where they could make improvements.

“The reports reinforced our lowcost structure and identified areas that we could tweak to gain even greater efficiencies.

“The on-farm field days provided us with many ideas and opportunities to keep improving the farm.”

The competition is managed by Headlands and sponsored by NZ Chartered Accountants, the Ministry for Primary Industries, Theland and Headlands along with Dairy Farmer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pioneer, NZI, CRV Ambreed, JobDone, No8HR, PGG Wrightson Real Estate and the Dairy Exporter. n

MORE:

All regional field days run 9.30am-1pm and are free. A light lunch will be provided so RSVP to monique.stewart@intelact.com or phone the DBOY team on 0800 73 55 88.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

NEWS

Price pressure on dairy STEPHEN BELL

D

OWNWARD pressure is being applied to global dairy commodity prices but Kiwi farmers are getting some relief from the

weaker dollar.

However, there are blots on the landscape, both coming from the United States with its threats of trade wars and promises to compensate by subsidising its farmers.

Locally, Fonterra’s forecast milk price of $6.75/kg MS this season looks vulnerable because it is higher than is ideal for its added-value businesses, which might meet buyer resistance in the face of global competition for sales in an unstable market created by the possibility of trade wars and increasing supply.

However, Rabobank says despite the 25 cents haircut the milk price is still healthy.

And amid predictions of another low dividend Fonterra’s unit investors might start applying pressure for a better balance between that and the milk price.

It just depends on how much influence they can exert over the new regime.

Fonterra has also thrown another factor into the mix by increasing the volume of goods it is offering on the Global Dairy Trade platform over the next year.

It has lifted its whole milk powder offer by 20,450t, which it said reflects product mix optimisation of incremental milk.

That results in a lift in total GDT offer volumes over the next 12 months to 668,530t.

For September 18 it offered 23,075t, a 7.3% increase on the volume offered on September 4.

The increase to WMP offer volumes is to occur throughout NZ’s peak milk production months. Volumes are lifted from earlier forecasts for October, November and December. For each of the October events, there is to be 25,850t of WMP available, up 3350t from previous forecasts.

The 24,248t expected to be offered at the November 6 event is up 3150t from earlier forecasts. WMP volumes are to lift to 27,697t at the November 20 event – a jump of 6600t from previous November forecasts, which is the largest increase for

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

any of the six events covering the threemonth period.

Rabobank analysts said some global commodity prices experienced downward pressure in August – not surprising given the general feeling New Zealand milk production is expected to be plentiful with mostly benign weather suggesting a strong start to the season.

They expect NZ milk output this season to be up 2% on last season.

“Buyers are in no rush to procure stock and are happy to wait and see how NZ’s spring peak pans out,” they said.

RaboResearch reported hotter temperatures around the globe are starting to affect milk supply.

Irish milk production was down by 3.1% in July as heat limited grass growth. August was also hot and with dry conditions feed costs lifted, putting pressure on margins.

In North America the US government has offered cash payments, a food purchase programme and trade marketing initiatives to its dairy farmers to shield them from the negative impacts of its trade wars.

The trade wars situation remains dynamic, Rabobank says.

As well as the China dispute the US is still negotiating with Canada after preliminary agreement between the US and Mexico.

It said the dollar, at US$.06536 on September 10, had hit is lowest level since February 2016.

“The NZD was pushed lower by a combination of positive US economic news, weak NZ economic news and a general

PRODUCTION GROWTH KEY EXPORTING REGIONS

EU

Latest month

Last 3 months

1.1% (Junc)

1.1%

US

04% (July)

0.7%

Australia

-4.2% (July)

-0.8%

NZ

0.1% season final 2017/18

Source: Rabobank 2018

flight of capital to safe havens amid worsening economic crises in Argentina and Turkey.

“Domestic issues, rising global tensions and higher US interest rates are generating pressure on emerging markets as diverse as Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, Argentina and Russia with their currencies in some cases plummeting against the USD in the last month.” n

37

INDUSTRY GOOD

News from DairyNZ

Think about milking times A Southland couple have taken an innovative approach to their milking using variable interval milking (VIM). It created greater flexibility for them and their staff without compromising their cows’ wellbeing and production. DairyNZ developer Dan Schmidt explains how.

Southland farmers Shane and Eileen Walker thought outside the box while transitioning their herd from twice-aday milking to once-aday.

Dan Schmidt

DairyNZ developer

M

ILKING accounts for half of the labour hours spent on dairy farms.

So it’s no surprise milking schedules have been changing rapidly across the sector ever since scientists began researching once-a-day (OAD) milking more than 30 years ago.

DairyNZ’s initial research into milking schedules shows it’s possible to extend the milking interval up to 18 hours before milk production is limited.

If cows are fed the same amount there should be little to no loss in milk production so adapting milking schedules for greater flexibility becomes a more realistic option for many farmers.

Shane and Eileen Walker are one dairy farming couple thinking outside the box.

They milk 800 cows in Southland and were twice-a-day (TAD) milkers until staff

changes in Christmas 2012 encouraged them to try what they coined VIM (variable interval milking).

They operated the VIM system until transitioning to full OAD in the subsequent season.

VIM consists of milking three normal TAD milkings alternating with two OAD milkings on weekdays followed by OAD both days of the weekend.

It improved work hours and provides a stable farm routine as the Walkers’ pattern for each day of the week is the same, unlike the cycle in a three-in-two milking system.

The couple says VIM works really well.

It allows them to hold production and keep running the farm to the season’s end

Shane and Eileen Walker’s VIM schedule Monday

Tuesday

5.30am

8.00am

3.00pm

Wednesday

Thursday

5.30am

8.00am

3.00pm

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

5.30pm

8.00am

7.00am

5.30am

3.00pm

38

3.00pm

with fewer staff while keeping milking times to more sociable hours.

The Walkers are not alone in trying something different.

DairyNZ data shows 9% of farmers are full-season OAD and almost half milk using a combination of different, alternate milking intervals. That contrasts with 10 years ago when 70% of dairy farmers milked full-season TAD. Shane and Eileen said other farmers looking to try this system should be proactive – plan the change at least six months ahead (herd testing, considering mating management), switch before a feed deficit, plan feed allocations and ensure somatic cell counts are manageable as cows settle into the new routine.

Want an improved outcome for you and your staff while maintaining cow health and productivity? Now is the time to be innovative and challenge your milking schedule. n

MORE:

About milking schedules, technology and Milksmart at dairynz.co.nz/milking DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Focus on aminos not protein

F

ARMERS are overfeeding dairy cows protein and instead need to look at amino acids in much more detail, according to new research.

“Protein has been overfed,” Wynnstay dairy technical services head Iwan Vaughan says.

“It has been too cheap and used as a substitute for good management.

“A cow does not have a protein requirement – it has an amino acid requirement.”

Therefore, farmers need to pay greater attention to the quality of protein being fed to cows rather than the quantity.

And farmers need to know the protein quality in forage to formulate the rest of the ration.

Vaughan, who has completed a Nuffield scholarship on increasing rumen nitrogen efficiency in British dairy production, said cows running on a high-protein diet are usually thinner because it takes a massive amount of energy to maintain that cow.

“As a dairy farmer and also working within the industry I was getting frustrated with the high-protein diets seen on-farm,” he said.

With nitrogen a key component of amino acids and protein there is also a strong connection between excess protein consumption and environmental effects through ammonia emissions.

Pressure is mounting on farmers to cut emissions and improve efficiency.

Therefore, a different approach is needed that focuses on metabolisable protein (MP) instead.

“In terms of environmental sustainability, the lower the nitrogen intake, the better,” Vaughan said.

“We’re looking at environmental sustainability – reducing the amount of nitrogen emissions but also producing more from less input.”

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

This approach to protein has been built into Wynnstay’s new feeding programme called AminoMatch.

MP is the protein that is available for digestion and is a measure of total amino acids available to the cow.

The amount of MP a cow requires is dependent on stage of lactation, milk yield, milk quality and age/weight/growth.

For example, a transition cow for the three weeks pre-calving requires 1300g of MP to support the calf growth, mammogenosis and to lay down liable tissue to be used in early lactation.

A 630kg cow yielding 40 litres at 3.9% butter fat and 3.2% protein requires 2700g.

The benefits of focusing on MP include: • Increases the health status of the cow; • Increases productivity by more accurately meeting nutritional requirements; • Improves profitability through reduced feed costs and; • Decreases ammonia emissions.

More microbial protein synthesis in the rumen can be stimulated by feeding more fermentable carbohydrates in the

TOP TIPS • Don’t look at crude protein. Crude protein is only a measure of nitrogen and gives no reflection of the amino acid content.

• Instead, feed cows for their metabolisable energy and metabolisable protein requirement.

• To do that, farmers need to maximise the microbial protein yield.

• Get forage analysed for a breakdown of protein content so any areas of necessary supplementation can be identified and addressed.

• For other feed materials there are book values or protein specifications that can be used to work out the balance.

form of starch, sugars and digestible fibre, producing higher dry matter and lower acid forages, using a suitable additive such as the heterofermentative L buchneri, which turns lactic acid into the weaker acetic acid and maintaining fibre in the rumen before pushing the starch intake up.

Fibre varies in fermentability – it falls into three groups: fast (rapidly fermenting, disappearing), slow (lasts longer) and indigestible fibre (uNDF).

Bypass protein is not digestible in the rumen – it goes straight to the small intestine where is it available as MP and can be broken into amino acids.

If there is enough microbial protein in the diet, bypass protein will not be needed as well for an average-yielding cow but it is another way to boost MP. Bypass protein can be sourced in the form of heat-treated rape meal, protected soya bean meal and prairie meal.

Amino acids can be supplemented if lacking in forage and other ration components, which is why feed analysis is key.

The Wynnstay ration programme uses the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System( CNCPS), which predicts the amino acid supply from the MP in the small intestine.

The supplementation of further amino acids is dependent on any deficiencies – methionine is usually most deficient, followed by lysine.

Supplementation needs to relative to metabolisable energy intakes.

For example, grams of methionine required per megacalorie (Mcal) of ME is 1.14. Whereas, with lysine its 3.03g/Mcal ME. Feeding metabolisable protein to transition and close-up dry cows can build up the protein level within tissue.

This gives the cow a reserve so production is not lost in early lactation. n 39

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Low output masks slump

L

OWER global milk production is expected to drive European farmgate milk prices to a peak in November provided fears of a global dairy demand slump are not realised.

Seasonal lulls in production in the northern hemisphere and extreme weather in Europe and Australia have supported global milk prices, INTL FCStone director of dairy market insight Nate Donnay said.

However, dairy commodity traders say higher prices could be masking a worldwide reduction in demand for dairy products, he told the European Union Dairy Outlook conference in Dublin.

Population and GDP growth – good indicators of a nation’s medium-term appetite for dairy products – are expected to decline this year and next year in seven of the nine largest dairy importing nations, including China, the United States, Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data.

The outlook for those nations’ GDP growth is negative with fears about escalating trade wars meaning the IMF is likely to downgrade forecasts further.

Just a 1% increase in population and GDP leads to an 8% change in dairy market prices.

Fears over waning demand will be put to the test at the end of the year and start of 2019 when production typically increases and higher holiday demand falls away.

The positive indicator is that the bulk

European milk production is expected to rebound early next year.

We have a demand issue that is helping to push Oceania prices down right now.

Nate Donnay

of developing nations, bundled together, have had positive growth of both indicators for the past three years with further increases expected in 2019.

“We have a demand issue that is helping to push Oceania prices down right now,” Donnay said.

“My general expectation is relatively decent pricing as we move through the

INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK USA: Production predicted to be down 1-1.5% compared with fourth quarter of 2017.

Production growth of 1-1.5% expected in the next six months, split 50:50 between domestic growth and exports.

New Zealand: Short-term driver will be the weather. Production increase of 2.5% predicted for the next six months but if weather is good during peak production the increase could be as much as 4-5% while a drought would lead to a 1-2% fall. Production changes of 3% lead to price changes of 8-10%.

India: India will begin paying subsidies for exporting SMP to world markets. However, this will be mainly to bottom end of dairy markets and should not affect EU prices.

China: Dairy imports have flattened out in recent months following growth of 1.7% in 2017.

Famously unreliable Chinese domestic milk production figures indicate 2-4% production growth this year, which could account for the lack of import activity.

40

fourth quarter and into the first quarter (of 2019).”

But Donnay warned if global demand does not improve in late November and December when holiday buying is over and US and EU milk production begins its seasonal increase, EU prices will have to reset to Oceania levels.

Manufacturing milk prices with a constituent content of 4% butter fat and 3.4% protein in Oceania have fallen by 15% since June 2018, to average $345/t.

“My expectation is farmgate prices will keep moving up to until October and November,” Donnay said.

The dairy market expert expects the November peak to be at decent but not record levels.

“Farmers should be doing okay relative to milk production,” he said.

Milk prices across the EU-28 member states should be good enough to drive expansion across the continent, providing the average European dairy farmer with a margin over bought feed of at least €20/100kg.

But higher farmgate milk prices will not filter through to EU milk production until March or April.

“My expectation is that we are going to be running below year-ago levels by 0.51% by September through December.

“EU milk production will be relatively constrained for the next six months or so but then we begin a rebound in growth in early 2019 unless we have some type of weather disturbance,” he said. n UK Farmers Weekly

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

RESEARCH

Cows need rest

W

E ALL know how important it is to get eight hours sleep and while cows have different sleep patterns from us they do need to spend a similar amount of time lying down.

But wet weather like we’ve been experiencing in some parts of the country can make lying down understandably less appealing.

For those using stand-off pads to protect pasture, DairyNZ and AgResearch have developed a simple test to do with gumboots and an online calculator to identify when it’s getting too damp and requires maintenance.

Research has found cows will stop lying down when the moisture on a stand-off pad’s surface reaches 75%.

The stand-off pad gumboot test and tipping point calculator are both available on the DairyNZ website.

We tested the tools with farmers to ensure they make the grade.

North Waikato farmer Phillip Buckthought and his contract milkers Brett and Bridget Dewar were among those to try them.

Buckthought, who has three standoff pads on his Paeroa farm, tested the tipping point calculator.

“It gives a really good idea of when you need to top your pad up with fresh wood chip,” he said.

“We have found post peel by far the best option and it’s very important to scratch up when spreading it.

“As the old saying goes, attention to detail is vital.”

The Dewars and their staff tried the

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

gumboot test. Bridget went on the pads every day and staff members once a week to check with their gumboots how slushy or dry the pads were.

“The gumboot test gave us an earlier indication of whether we needed to give a stand-off pad a rest for a couple of days or a few weeks.

“With the new information we rested one pad for a couple of days whereas before we would have kept using it.

“Doing it this way is better for the cows because they lie down more on the stand-off pad and less in the paddock – which is what you want,” she said.

As part of the trial they monitored for a week how long the cows lay down on the stand-off pads and in the field.

The cows were on the pads from 3pm to 9am and on pasture for six hours.

“We learnt you have to watch the cows when they go out to the paddock.

If they lie down it means they’re not resting on the pad enough. They should be eating when they’re in the paddock, not lying down,” Bridget said.

“The gumboot test should be standard practice. It’s brilliant.” n

Helen Thoday is a DairyNZ animal care team manager.

MORE:

On managing stand-off pads at dairynz/ stand-off-pads

November’s themes

Supplementary Feeding and Nutrition

Breeding and Genetics Autumn Mating Planning

farmersweekly.co.nz

2462DF

HELEN THODAY

North Waikato farmer Phillip Buckthought and contract milker Bridget Dewar were among those to trial the DairyNZ and AgResearch test to identify if standoff pads are too wet.

41

RESEARCH

Dr Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos and his team have been working on a study to reduce nitrogen excretion.

Milk urea, protein not linked TIM FULTON

A

STUDY of the value of genetic selection for low milk urea concentration as a tool to reduce nitrogen excretion has found no consistent link between milking frequency and efficient use of crude protein.

Researchers examined differences in productivity of grazing dairy cows with low and high genetic merit for milk urea.

The research was led by Nicolas LopezVillalobos from Massey University with the support of the Cecil Elliot Trust, LIC and Jersey New Zealand.

Lopez-Villalobos said his team took particular care with its findings because they contradict a project on milk urea.

The dairy industry has invested about $20m examining the potential of genetic selection for low milk urea (MU) concentration as a tool to reduce nitrogen excretion.

“Irrespective of milking frequency the study found that compared to low MU breeding-value cows, high MU breedingvalue cows produced more milk, protein and lactose per lactation but total lactation fat yield and live weight were not significantly different,” the Massey research found.

“There was no consistent link between 42

efficiency of crude protein utilisation (ECPU) and MU. “This relationship must be further examined under grazing conditions before selecting against MU as a tool to reduce nitrogen excretion.”

A study on two spring-calving dairy herds at Massey University provides estimates of genetic parameters for MU and evaluates productivity differences between cows with low and high genetic merit for MU. Between July 2016 and May last year 210 cows were milked twice daily (TAD) with high supplementary feed inclusion and 258 cows were milked once daily (OAD) with low supplementary feed inclusion.

The OAD herd was comprised of 66 Holstein-Friesian, 55 Jersey and 137 crossbred and the TAD herd included 51 Friesians, three Jerseys and 156 FriesianJersey cows.

Breeding values of MU were estimated for each cow. The cows were progeny of 157 sires, of which 41 had at least one progeny in both herds.

Compared to TAD cows, OAD cows produced 20% less milk volume and 12% less milksolids per lactation.

Values for MU were higher in OAD cows because of higher concentrations of crude protein in the diet of that herd with a greater proportion of pasture feed.

Once-a-day cows had greater body condition throughout the season because of reduced milk production. Moreover, the ECPU of OAD cows was lower because of lower milk protein yield and higher crude protein intake.

Monthly records of live weight and body condition score of all cows and feed quality records taken at the same time as herd-tests were collected in early, mid and late lactation.

There was no consistent link between efficiency of crude protein utilisation (ECPU) and MU. At every herd-test date the ECPU was calculated as protein yield divided by crude protein intake. The last variable was derived from intake estimations of metabolisable energy requirements. Milk urea yield (g/cow/day) was calculated as the multiplication of MU concentration by daily milk yield.

The team of researchers included M Correa- Luna, J L Burke, N W Sneddon, M M Schutz, D J Donaghy and P D Kemp. n

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

RESEARCH

Research into productive riparian buffers

D

AIRYNZ and Niwa are looking for riparian planting options for farmers that not only benefit the environment but can be used to produce fodder for stock, food for people and even pharmaceuticals.

Thousands of dairy farmers across the country have done extensive riparian planting as part of their efforts to protect and enhance waterways, driven by the Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord.

To encourage farmers to keep up the work and continue planting, DairyNZ environment manager Aslan WrightStow says they are looking for a win-win solution that provides environmental, economic and social gains.

“We’re looking at different types of vegetation that farmers can use to not only improve water quality but also retain a degree of farm productivity from riparian areas, which will encourage larger setbacks from waterways,” WrightStow said.

“One part of the study is to quantify the performance of tree species to intercept nutrients from greater depths than grasses or other shallow-rooting plants and how those nutrients can be retained on the farm through practical harvesting techniques”.

The idea was partly inspired by hill country farmers who often prune willows

A three-year project looking at how riparian planting can be used to produce feed is now under way. or poplars, planted to stabilise erosionprone land, to feed their stock during drought.

Wright-Stow said productive riparian planting for fodder is just one option the research will explore.

Others include productivity applications for fibre, food and beverages, pharmaceutical products, essential oils and dyes.

“This is new territory for New Zealand.

“There has been some research done overseas but more generally, to investigate bioenergy rather than fodder production,” he said.

The project will also look at the best harvesting techniques to cut and carry the vegetation.

“To be effective, harvesting systems

must be efficient but not damage the plant or disturb the soil.”

Niwa aquatic rehabilitation programme leader Dr Fleur Matheson said the project will be a collaborative effort with research agencies working together with farmer groups.

“This is essential because we need to be sure the research delivers practical advice that is workable on-farm,” Matheson said.

The three-year project has been cofunded by the Sustainable Farming Fund.

It is one of 15 new projects recently added to the 28 already confirmed from the 2017 funding round.

The fund invests in applied research and projects led by farmers, growers or foresters. The projects deliver economic, environmental and social benefits. n

Proven Product. Best Spread.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

43

TECHNOLOGY

MPI app is essential TIM FULTON

T

HE Ministry for Primary Industries is considering developing a biosecurity app for farmers.

South Canterbury farmer Hugh Le Fleming formed the South Canterbury Bovis Action Group after the discovery of the disease last year.

He had been urging MPI to create a biosecurity app and said it is surprising the ministry didn’t already have one considering the seriousness of threats like M bovis.

Technology and biosecurity go well together, he said.

“Most farmers work using the smart phones or iPads or whatever ... we’ve got other things to do – cows and calves, people and all this safety stuff.”

MPI communications, engagement and channels director John Walsh said a primary producers’ biosecurity app is an idea with some merit and is under consideration.

Mycoplasma bovis has been confirmed on nearly 40 properties.

When M bovis was discovered, the disease was not known to be widespread, it was distributed throughout the world and does not impact trade.

At that early stage MPI and the industry were still scoping the disease’s likely impacts, he said.

Considering those factors, MPI needed to assess whether instant and urgent communication was the way to handle things.

“An app may not have been the correct way to manage information at that time.”

44

MPI used a wide range of methods to distribute information for the M bovis response as farmers suggested.

Media included direct print mail-outs, public meetings, news media releases and interviews, advertisements in the mainstream news media and rural publications, social media and a range of communications via industry partners like DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb NZ and Federated Farmers.

MPI was constantly exploring ways to get information to farmers and other audiences, Walsh said.

“Communication with farmers isn’t a one size fits all exercise.

“We’ve found that out through our face to face interaction with farmers. Some fully embrace technology but others prefer print communication or meetings or representation through industry groups or their vet.”

MPI knew, that in response to an emergency like a foot and mouth outbreak, it would need to completely blitz wider NZ with information.

In that situation there would be an urgent call to action because all animal movements would have to cease immediately.

MPI has a communications plan for that response, including instant broadcast advertisements, public announcements, media conferences, use of the Civil Defence communications network and direct text messages.

Meantime, Le Fleming argued DairyNZ should let farmers take the journey dealing with M bovis before asking farmers to deal with other issues like reducing livestock emissions, which could wait six to 12 months or more.

“I’m challenged at the pace of change for farmers. Should we be worrying about emissions when we’re all just trying to get through M bovis?”

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle said everyone understands and lives the multiple challenges dairy farmers face.

“We particularly understand the unique challenges of M bovis. We are also working closely every day with the Government to make sure our farmers are represented in every conversation that takes place.”

M bovis adds significant complexity to farm management, particularly this

South Canterbury farmers Darla and Hugh Le Fleming are urging the Primary Industries Ministry to create an app to communicate information to farmers.

season, and it is understandable dairy farmers are making it an immediate priority.

“And this is as it should be.

“It and biosecurity practices need to be at the forefront of every farmer’s thinking if we’re going to have a chance to eradicate this disease from NZ.” Mackle said DairyNZ, as the levy organisation for dairy farmers, has a role to support multiple dairy farming priorities simultaneously, as defined by the Dairy Tomorrow Strategy.

“It’s important we address all issues, such as climate change, as they will continue to move forward and have an impact for farmers.

“If we don’t address it now we risk being left behind, which could have big implications for NZ dairy,” Mackle said. n

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

TECHNOLOGY

Healthy hooves, happy cows ANNA CLEMENT

T

HERE’S a saying in the horse community “no hoof, no horse” and I believe the same applies to cows.

I know lameness is something most farmers regularly monitor to ensure cows’ hooves stay in tip-top condition.

However, at this time of year lameness can be more challenging to prevent because cows’ hooves tend to be softer from wet weather, more vulnerable after calving and later in the season can become thinner from making the regular commute to the milking shed.

We appreciate how tricky it can be to manage so to help make it easier we

DairyNZ and the Lameness Technical Advisory Group, made up of vets including world renowned lameness expert Neil Chesterton, have developed the Healthy Hoof app.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Regular monitoring will help to ensure your cows hooves stay in tip-top condition.

teamed up with the Lameness Technical Advisory Group made up of vets including world-renowned lameness expert Neil Chesterton to develop the Healthy Hoof app.

The app helps farmers easily record lameness incidents and collects the data so farmers can get to the root of the problem and switch from treatment to prevention – not only making the cows happier but also saving time and money.

And the best thing is farmers don’t need to be lameness experts to use it.

The app steps them through how to score a herd and allows them to select the point of discomfort when treating a hoof.

The app is also great to use alongside a lameness field guide booklet when choosing the right treatment for the lameness type selected.

Farmers can download the app from the App Store or Google Play. I highly recommend giving it a go.

The app builds on our Healthy Hoof programme, which has helped numerous farmers, including award-winning North Canterbury farmer Sameer Nimbalkar.

Earlier this year he won the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards DeLaval Livestock Management Award for his outstanding animal care.

He significantly increased the health of his cows’ hooves on the previous farm he was managing in Mid-Canterbury by using the Healthy Hoof programme principles.

He took a simple approach, keeping up-to-date records to identify trends and track progress followed by training his

During quieter times of the year we’d pull out five or six cows during the morning milking every day to check their hooves.

staff to identify any issues in the hooves.

“During quieter times of the year we’d pull out five or six cows during the morning milking every day to check their hooves.

“Staff would trim them if required, treat them or simply send them back on their way.”

Nimbalkar also regularly reminds his team not to push cows when they’re walking on the race or push the backing gate to rush cows into the milking shed.

It just goes to show it’s often the little things that can make all the difference. n

Anna Clement is a DairyNZ technical team leader.

MORE:

On the Healthy Hoof App at dairynz.co.nz/ healthyhoofapp.

On how to prevent lameness at dairynz. co.nz/lameness

45

EFFLUENT

Farm powered by dung TIM FULTON

W

ASTE from a Southland dairy shed is set to crank about 10 hours of generator energy a day.

Dairy Green agricultural and engineering consultant John Scandrett has been monitoring the system carefully since it was installed in the spring of 2016-17.

This season biogas started to accumulate significantly four weeks after the start of calving at the end of July.

The generator started running on August 29 and has averaged up to six hours a day run-time. By August 31, 620 of 900 cows had calved.

“So, as more cows, more effluent and biogas is produced we can run the generator longer,” Scandrett said.

And as the weather warms the rate of biogas production increases. A controller senses the load and allows the generator to produce what’s needed up to a maximum of 30kW. Above 30kW the shed uses power from the grid.

By converting methane into electricity Glenarlea Farm has produced 57,503kW hours of electricity plus hot water over the past two seasons.

The system cost $180,000 to $200,000 and includes the covered pond, generator, hot water system, electrical system, biogas reticulation and a shed to house the generator.

Scandrett expects the generator will run for an average of 10 hours a day this season.

The obvious benefit is a saving in power bills. The operators hope the generator will save about $25,000 of the annual power bill for the shed.

The farm hasn’t quite hit that target yet because it hasn’t been able to run as many hours as planned in the first couple of years as the operators learnt how to manage the system.

Last season the motor ran for 1400 hours and the electricity savings so far are about $18,000. The generator has run for 2100 hours since being installed and averages 27kW an hour of run time.

The pond has produced as much biogas as expected with production varying 46

Dairy Green agricultural engineering consultant Quinton Scandrett on an electric farm bike charged up with green electricity.

The system has triggered a lot of interest throughout the country.

John Scandrett

depending on how much manure is collected at the dairy shed.

The biogas pond was designed to suit Southland conditions, including temperature, Scandrett said.

“The bacteria in a large pond breaks the

material down, working at a slower rate because of the cooler temperature of the pond.

“It works at a slower rate than conventional biogas digesters but does just as good a job.”

The system produced more biogas in its first season than in its second but that was partly because Southland was hit by drought last season. That probably affected dung collection at the dairy shed.

Thirteen years ago the co-owner of Glenarlea Farm and the overarching Fortuna Farms Group, David Dodunski thought it would be great to create biogas from cow dung and convert it to electricity.

As part of the evolution of that process Dodunski changed his effluent system and irrigator to a low-rate K-line developed by

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

and southern sunshine The methane storage shed on Glenarlea Farm that is converting the gas to electricity.

Dairy Green. Then the farm built a new pond.

Initially, the pond gave off a rank smell so scientists from the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) recommended a cover to suppress the pong.

Fortuna suddenly had an opportunity to capture and convert the methane to electricity and hot water.

A byproduct of methane is hydrogen sulphide, which is undesirable but the farm has found a way to remove and filter it, Scandrett said.

Over time he expects there will be some solids accumulation in the bottom of the pond though most of them break down and pass into the irrigation pond.

The biogas has to be filtered before it is

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

used for the motor. Through experience the farm has found it needed a bigger filter than the one it started with.

The technology has been partly paid for by grants from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and Venture Southland.

Demand for the technology is building. “The system has triggered a lot of interest throughout the country and another biogas system will be commissioned this spring in Canterbury.�

The design takes waste from the dairy shed and the calving pad, including manure, urine and wash water into a sand trap then a pump sump, which is a storage tank, before it ends up in the biogas pond.

Methane then naturally develops and is collected under the black lining before it is

piped to the generator to power the shed and heat the water for plant washing.

The technology creates a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions because the methane is converted to carbon dioxide, which, in this instance, is carbon neutral.

The generator uses one cubic metre of methane to make 2.55kW hours of electricity.

The calculation for the greenhouse gas emissions saving is 57,503kW hours divided by 2.5. So far the motor has used 22,550 cubic metres of methane, which has been converted to CO2.

There is also a greenhouse gas saving on the electricity that doesn’t need to be generated and supplied from the grid, Scandrett said. n 47

EFFLUENT

Almost a fifth of Waikato dairy farms have less than seven days effluent storage.

Aerial attack on effluent

G FRITHA TAGG

ROSSLY undersized effluent storage has been found on 19% of Waikato farms.

And only 76 of Waikato’s 432 high-risk farms asked to upgrade their effluent storage have complied.

Now the Waikato Regional Council is going to adopt a more risk-based monitoring programme combining oneon-one site visits of high risk farms with aerial inspections that could include using satellite images, drones, fixed-wing aircraft and, if necessary, helicopters.

Farming services manager Nicole Botherway said a mix of monitoring tools is needed and new, emerging technologies will be used by staff.

“We have some of the most accurate information we’ve ever had,” she said.

“Nineteen per cent of Waikato farms have less than seven days’ storage based on two milkings per day.

48

“And in many cases they have a lot less.

“This means that a short spell of wet weather would make illegal discharges of dairy effluent likely.

At this rate of change on-farm it would take 27 years for them all to comply.

Nicole Botherway

“At this rate of change on-farm it would take 27 years for them all to comply,” she said.

“They need to know their deliberate behaviour is not acceptable.

“So, there needs to be an increased risk of getting caught breaching the Resource Management Act for them

to change their behaviour and priorities.”

Since an effluent monitoring review by councillors and the industry in 2014 council regulatory staff have made announced visits to farms and aerial surveillance for compliance monitoring was stopped.

Resource use director Chris McLay said “The way we currently do inspections cannot reliably detect non-compliance.

“There are some farmers who will not comply without us using other tools at our discretion.

“We have come to a point where we rely on the public or neighbours to make us aware of serious non-compliance occurring.”

However, the council is not planning to return to blanket, routine helicopter monitoring. It can use other technology to ensure the rules are regulated and enforced The Waikato Regional Plan rules relating to dairy effluent can be found at www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/farmeffluent-rules. n

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

EFFLUENT

A guide to effluent Guide to applying effluent About 98% of the 4500 dairy farms in Waikato discharge effluent to land under the permitted activity rule. The rest work under consents to discharge treated effluent to water.

Farm dairy effluent is a natural, dilute, liquid fertiliser. It contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulphur and trace elements.

The average dairy herd of 244 cows produces the same amount of effluent as a town with about 3400 people, such as Otorohanga.

Table 1 gives an indication of the potential nutrient supply in effluent but each farm system is different so it’s important to test effluent regularly.

When spread over land and applied in timely fashion the effluent of 100 cows can save farmers up to $2200 in fertiliser a year, based on 2010 fertiliser prices. The saving could be significantly higher for highinput farms, for example, farms feeding supplements.

Applying the maximum amount of nitrogen from effluent of 150kg/ha/year for grazed grass, dairy-shed effluent also provides: • 20kg of phosphate a hectare; • 117kg of potassium a hectare; • 20-30kg of sulphur a hectare and; • Smaller amounts of magnesium and calcium.

• Leave a 20-metre strip of non-irrigated land next to all watercourses • Ensuring spray drift isn’t getting into nearby streams or rivers

% dry matter

kg N/m3

kg P/m3

kg K/m3

Dairy shed effluent

0.8

0.45

0.06

0.35

Feed pad and dairy effluent sludge

4.0

1.35

0.3

1.05

Effluent from unstirred pond or effluent after separation

0.3

0.25

0.03

0.35

much nitrogen can reduce pasture performance and reduce water quality in neighbouring waterways.

• In Waikato no more than 150kg of nitrogen in effluent can be applied per hectare of grazed grass per year. You’ll need to get effluent tested to work out how much nitrogen is going onto your land during irrigation.

• Most registered analytical laboratories offer this service for about $100. When used with a nutrient budget this is a small cost compared to the fertiliser savings that can be made over time when effluent applications are timed efficiently.

• The Overseer nutrient budget can be used to help determine how much land is needed for effluent irrigation.

• When irrigating check for ponding, particularly in areas where there has been pugging damage. Stop ponding by avoiding irrigation in these areas or improve the drainage by loosening the soil in small ponding areas with a spade or breaking up the soil surface.

• Because effluent contains a range of nutrients, irrigated areas will need less fertiliser.

• In Waikato applying effluent to land is a permitted activity meaning farmers can apply effluent without a resource consent, as long as they follow these conditions: • No more than 150kg of nitrogen can be applied per hectare per year • The farmer or contractor must have contingency measures in place in case there is prolonged wet weather or a pump breaks down.

• Any ponds or effluent-holding facilities must be sealed to reduce leakage.

• The farmer or contractor must spread effluent and sludge in a way that reduces odour and spray drift.

• Each effluent application must not be more than 25mm deep.

• Effluent must not run off the land into waterways.

• Effluent must not pond on the land surface after application.

If asked by the council, the person applying the effluent must be able to show they have met the conditions. n

Separated solids

20

4.5

0.72

2.1

MORE:

Solids from wintering barn

40

5.0

1.5

5.6

Effluent management systems should give enough flexibility to not have to irrigate.

• Do not use effluent when soil is waterlogged – it is too wet to absorb the effluent • Do not use effluent if there is an equipment breakdown • Cover water troughs when irrigating effluent • Do not irrigate within 50 metres of a water supply

Soil acts as a living filter. It treats the applied effluent by changing it: • Physically filtering out effluent particles, breaking them down and incorporating them into the soil structure.

• Chemically absorbing nutrients and making them available to plants.

• Biologically harmful micro-organisms, such as bacteria, present in the effluent are retained by the soil or are killed when the effluent dries or when they become exposed to sunlight.

Do not apply too much effluent because soil can filter only so much at a time.

It’s important to match the irrigation depth to the capability of the soil.

Land with impeded or artificial drainage, high or rising water tables or slopes greater than seven degrees have a higher risk from over-application and therefore application depths should be adjusted accordingly to reflect soil and weather conditions. Note that could be less than the maximum application depth in Waikato Regional Council rules.

Too much effluent can: • Kill pasture, especially where effluent has ponded on the soil surface; • Pollute nearby streams and rivers when it runs off paddocks into waterways; • Pollute ground water by seeping too deep into the soil and; • Be an ineffective use of nutrients by seeping past the root zone before the plant can use it.

How much effluent to use • Although effluent contains many nutrients that can affect farm management, it is the environmental effects of nitrogen that determine how much can be irrigated onto land. Too

TABLE 1: NUTRIENT CONTENT OF DAIRY EFFLUENT (KG/M3)

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Information provided by Waikato Regional Council 49

UDDER HEALTH

Udder health before.

Udder Health 10 days later.

Prioritise teat care

A

CHIEVING good teat condition in the first six weeks of lactation will be critical to managing mastitis through the season, GEA FIL national sales manager Colin May says.

Key to this is ensuring you have the right emollient levels in your teat spray and you’re achieving good coverage.

Why is teat skin so sensitive?

In the wet, muddy conditions so typical of New Zealand farms at this time of the year, topped with the stress of calving and the start of lactation, maintaining good teat condition is undoubtedly a constant battle.

Teat skin has no hair follicles, no sweat glands and relatively few sebaceous (oil) glands. That means it is particularly susceptible to drying and cracking.

Water and mud strip the protective natural oils from the skin, inducing hardening and thickening of the teat skin, which can lead to cracking and chapping of the teat itself.

A cow’s teat is stretched to a third longer under vacuum during milking so and you have the perfect storm: bacteriainducing pathogens thrive on rough, cracked teat skin.

So, it’s really important not to compromise on teat condition.

Why add emollient to teat spray?

No manufacturer of teat sprays can formulate a concentrate with enough emollient to provide the levels required in early lactation.

Also, the germicidal components, iodine and chlorhexidine, in teat spray, 50

which are used to fight mastitis-causing bacteria can be very irritating to teat tissue, especially in cold weather or low humidity.

In addition, surfactants, a necessary ingredient to aid in wetting the teat surface, can strip off the natural oils from the teat skin, resulting in dry, cracked and sore teats and leading to mastitis-causing pathogens being harboured.

Cracks and teat sores are painful, making cows uncomfortable during milking so they often kick and stomp.

And milk let-down will likely be poor.

“Our advice to farmers is to soften the cows’ teats to make the milking process more comfortable for them and to prevent teat damage” May said.

“To achieve this use 12% to 16% emollient to condition the teats and provide greater elasticity in the skin.”

3 steps to optimal teat condition: Use an emollient that actively restores teat health A good-quality emollient, like GEA’s FIL Active Teat Conditioner, works to actively restore teat health. It also provides intensive care to severely cracked or chapped teats.

Made with special ingredients like aloe vera, allantoin and manuka honey, products used in human skincare for many years, Active Teat Conditioner is designed to hydrate, soften and soothe delicate teat skin.

Allantoin is a natural and active moisturising agent known to have skin rejuvenation properties.

Aloe vera is commonly used for treating sunburn. Rich in antioxidants and minerals, it works well to restore the

condition of stressed teats.

Manuka honey, also used in other FIL teat products, has been added for its antiinflammatory properties, which will aid in skin regeneration and repair of cellular damage.

The base of the product is glycerine, which is an effective moisturiser, taking water from the air and holding it against the skin to help it keep hydrated.

In the six months of trialling, farmers have achieved outstanding results with this product, May said.

It’s also approved for use on organic farms.

Work out the emollient levels in your use solution Farmers typically use a mix rate of 1:4 or 1:6 in spring.

“Instead of taking a one-size -fits-all

Teat stretched under vacuum.

Teat in rest phase.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Our advice to farmers is to soften the cows’ teats to make the milking process more comfortable for them and to prevent teat damage approach, what we should be doing is looking at the active levels of iodine, chlorhexidine and emollients in the use solution,” he said.

“In other words, what is the emollient concentrate once water has been added to the mix and do we need to add extra emollient to achieve the ideal 12% to 16% concentration level?”

Spraying a circular motion will ensure coverage of all teats.

Check your teat spray application Once you have emollient levels sorted, check teat spray is being properly applied. Too often, application can let you down.

In manual systems it’s important to spray in a circular motion to ensure full coverage of all teats. Automatic teat

Cloth test shows teat spray coverage.

sprayers must be calibrated to ensure proper coverage.

To check for optimal spray coverage, wrap a paper tissue around the teat and pull down from the udder to the end of the teat.

If the teat spray appears in stripes on the paper, application needs to be checked and corrected. n

Here is what you are trying to achieve Udder health before.

Udder Health 10 days later.

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UDDER HEALTH

Mastitis management JANE LACY-HULBERT

A

S WHOLE herd antibiotics treatment at dry-off is phased out for dairy cows, the focus shifts to good mastitis control during lactation.

Part of good mastitis prevention involves keeping animal health treatment records up-to-date, which, in turn, helps farmers make wise decisions at dry-off and culling time.

By targeting antibiotics at dry-off to only those cows with udder infections and protecting other cows with non-antibiotic alternatives, the risk of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics is reduced.

Resistance to antibiotics might ultimately lead to poorer outcomes for animals receiving treatment.

Minimising the spread of infections during the milking season helps reduce the number of cows requiring antibiotics at dry-off.

Better control of contagious mastitis will also reduce the risk of missing cows that could develop new infections, close to drying off.

About 85% of antibiotics used on New Zealand dairy farms are for mastitis control, with about half used as dry-cow therapy (DCT) at dry-off.

Because the prevalence of mastitis is reasonably low on NZ dairy farms, many healthy cows inevitably receive antibiotics to prevent mastitis.

Responsible stewardship of antibiotics in food-producing animals requires an illness to be correctly identified before starting treatment and that the illness is treated with the most appropriate antibiotic.

Good mastitis health records will be vital for deciding on dry-cow treatment plans that involve more selective use of antibiotics for individual animals.

That means every person on-farm should have sufficient training before administering treatments at dry-off and the right protocols and procedures are in place to support hygienic techniques.

DCT originated in the 1970s to treat cows with chronic infections caused by contagious pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus 52

With mastitis management this season keep up the good work with teat spraying and don’t stop after Christmas.

agalactiae.

As control of udder infections by these pathogens improved farmers started to see benefits in terms of better protection against mastitis in the dry period and calving because of antibiotics given at dry-off.

However, given the growing concerns around antibiotic resistance vets want farmers to move away from the blanket approach and reserve them only for animals that need them.

The Veterinary Association and the Society of Dairy Cattle Veterinarians propose that by 2020 dry-cow antibiotics will be used to treat only cows with existing infections.

Vets are helping farmers with the

transition by limiting prescriptions of antibiotics to animals that really need them.

In future, dry-cow antibiotics will be reserved for cows considered to be infected, such as those with a previous history of clinical mastitis or high somatic cell count.

The rest of the herd will need to be protected with an alternative, ie teat sealants.

So, this season, think twice before using DCT because it could assist in preventing antibiotic resistance and ultimately save money. n

Jane Lacy-Hulbert is a DairyNZ senior scientist.

How to make life simple at dry off KEEP clinical mastitis treatment records up-to-date – they will support better culling and DCT treatment decisions at dry-off.

Keep up the good work with teat spraying and don’t stop after Christmas – that will keep the number of cows with sub-clinical infections down, ie high SCC cows.

Book in herd testing for late lactation – tests that are 60-80 days from planned dry-off dates are okay for making treatment decisions at dry-off.

Discuss with your vet the value of getting culture samples from high-SCC cows after a herd test. Knowing the types of bacteria that cause sub-clinical mastitis in the herd will help guide decisions for culling or treating at dry off.

DairyNZ’s Healthy Udder provides clear instructions on ways to keep udders healthy by preventing new cases of mastitis, finding new cases and treating new and existing cases in the right way.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

UDDER HEALTH

Benefits of herd tests

H

ERD testing provides farmers with certified, quality animal production information.

It identifies high and low producing animals and clarifies health issues and management decisions.

On average, most farmers herd test four times throughout the season, The resulting data is translated into a comprehensive range of animal performance reports enabling herd management decisions.

They monitor SCC per cow, identify individual cows that might cause bulk milk SCC to rise and lower bulk SCC because, grading or not, lowering bulk SCC can increase milk production and decrease animal health costs.

And they can identify animals repeatedly exceeding the SCC threshold while improving udder health and milk quality.

They allow farmers to be proactive in tracking new infection and spread and making strategic dry-off decisions, targeted dry cow treatment and culling decisions. They identify efficient producers, can fine-tune breeding decisions, identify poor producers, early candidates for culling, cows for OAD milking (part or whole herd) and end of lactation culls.

They also capture accumulated lactation figures, increase index reliabilities (Breeding and Production Worth), and enhance buying and selling animals.

Animal Health tests available through herd testing samples include Johne’s, BVD, Pregnancy, Staphylococcus aureus (mastitis testing) and A2/A2 identification. n

USE HERD TESTS FOR: First test – Keep a lid on SCC • Identify and manage high SCC cows at

start of lactation • Identify early candidates for culling • Fine-tune breeding decisions • Capture the first 60 days in-milk • BVD testing Second test – Identify the robbers • Identify pre-Christmas culls • Monitor SCC per cow • Identify cows for OAD milking Third test – Keep the best cows going • Consider early dry offs and redirect feed to top producers • Identify end-of-season product culls • Monitor SCC per cow • Use for targeting dry cow treatments • Milk pregnancy testing • Johne’s testing Fourth test –Target dry cow treatment • Monitor SCC per cow • Use for drying off cows • Use for targeting dry cow treatments • Complete the picture with end of lactation information • Identify end-of-season production culls

DAIRY FARMER CALF COVER WINNERS PHOTO COMPETITION

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

53

ALLBREEDS

The breed of choice

T

HE first importation of Dutch Friesian cattle to New Zealand was made by Canterbury breeder J C H Grigg in 1884.

Four years later the breed was introduced to the North Island via a herd established in Wairarapa.

Further imports of Holstein Friesian cattle were made from the United States in 1902 and 1903.

The black and white cows quickly gained popularity in the North Island and in following years their breeding and import was taken up more seriously.

Early endeavours by breeders to keep accurate pedigrees of these animals resulted in the NZ Holstein Friesian Association being established in 1910.

Over the last century breeders have developed a Holstein Friesian cow to suit NZ conditions. A typical Holstein Friesian that displays NZ genetics is

FAT IS BACK

©HFNZ Design

On average, across all breeds, Holstein Friesians have the highest milk fat BV

54

In genetic gain for fat, Holstein Friesians have the steepest rate of improvement, irrespective of breed

For more information contact...

and Holstein Friesians are your breed of choice!

The highest fat Holstein Friesian bull currently stands at 52.4kg, 95% higher than the Top 30 all breeds average Statistics from the RAS list AE Run 17/9/18

Holstein Friesian New Zealand PO Box 9282 23 Vialou Street, Hamilton Amelia Griffin - HFNZ Field Officer 07 839 9957 - 021 411 341 a.griffin@nzhfa.org.nz

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

usually slightly smaller than the Holstein cow found around the world with higher protein and fat content in the milk.

They are a popular breed of dairy cow making up 33% of NZ’s dairy cows.

Here are a just few reasons why.

Fertility, inbreeding and longevity Fertility is improving at a rate of 1% a decade across all dairy breeds in NZ but Holstein Friesians have the steepest rate of improvement.

When looking at a bull’s fertility score, the higher the percentage, the higher the chance of the dam calving in the first 42 days of the planned start of calving. On the RAS list the top fertility bull is a pedigree Holstein Friesian named Busy Brook WTP Vector S3F with a fertility BV 8.5%; 6.4% above the average fertility for the top 30 bulls across all breeds in NZ. Fertility is also strongly linked to longevity. A cow with a high fertility BV will be more profitable in the herd because she will continue to get in-calf year after year.

Furthermore, the inbreeding percentage in the Holstein Friesian breed is very desirable, standing at 1.9%. An inbreeding percentage of higher than 6.25% can lead to a decrease in genetic variation across the population meaning lower productivity, fertility problems, reduced longevity and increased risk of recessive gene disorders.

Valuable calves and beef All Holstein Friesian calves are valuable, not only the replacement heifers.

Four-day-old bull calves sell at auction for up to $250 each for spring-born bulls and up to $350 for autumn-born bulls – there’s no such thing as a Holstein Friesian bobby.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Traditionally a dairy breed, a Holstein Friesian grown for beef will produce a leaner meat than most beef breeds but will reach up to 600kg by the time he is 18 months old and ready for slaughter.

Although Holstein Friesians are considered a large breed their average calving difficulty score is favourable at -1.4. The highest scoring Holstein Friesian bull on the RAS list has a calving difficulty BV of -2.5.

Environmental impact and production A Holstein Friesian milking cow will produce 4407 litres on average in a season. This is 2% higher than the national herd average for all breeds of dairy cow. The top producing cow HFNZ recorded for the 2017-18 season is Waipiri Destry Tonio-ET with a production of 14,762 litres.

The average Holstein Friesian produces 195kg milk fat and 165kg protein a season.

These figures are higher than any other pure breed of dairy cow in NZ, showing that Holstein Friesians are efficient producers of protein and fat as well as volume.

In the 2017-18 season the Holstein Friesian cow with top fat production was Arapuni Mint Patricia S0F with 629kg and the top protein production Holstein Friesian cow was Halls Dotson Jinca S0F with 475kg.

They are a popular breed of dairy cow making up 33% of NZ’s dairy cows.

Farmers with a Holstein Friesian herd benefit from higher overall production, which, in turn, requires a lower stocking rate to achieve a profitable return.

Other benefits of a lower-stocking-rate, high-production Holstein Friesian herd include a smaller environmental impact: lower urinary output, less pugging/ pasture damage and less nitrogen fertilizer additive is required to keep the grass growing.

Additionally, in a smaller herd, less staff are required on farm. Less staff and less cows producing more milk equal profitability.

The Holstein Friesian breed has a long history in NZ. In over a century of breeding Holstein Friesians have become the all-rounder, from being able to withstand our unique weather conditions to improvements in production, fertility, easy calving, fat, somatic cell, body condition and liveweight.

The Holstein Friesian animal is versatile and with the diversity of population in NZ and around the world offers something to meet every farmers’ breeding objectives and goals.

So as you drive through the countryside this spring keep an eye out for the iconic black and white cow – the breed of choice. n

55

ALLBREEDS

Andy and Deb Whitehead with one of their Lakenvelder cows.

The couple are on a mission to help save the breed.

Farming a different stripe ROSS NOLLY

I

F VARIETY is the spice of life then Opunake farmers Andy and Deb Whitehead must have one of the spiciest dairy herds in the country.

Not only do they have Kiwicross, Jersey and Ayrshire cattle in their herd, they have also incorporated a number of Dutch Belted (Lakenvelder) cows.

They milk 400 cows on 138-hectares and have a 50 % partnership in the farm.

Their herd is about 50% crossbred, 15% Friesian, 15% Jersey, 10% Ayrshire, 5% Lakenvelders with the rest a mixture of different breeds.

They also have one Milking Shorthorn, a couple of crossbred Guernseys and have dabbled with Brown Swiss. Their purest Lakenvelder cow is seven-eights.

Their record is having used the semen from seven different breeds Kiwicross, Friesians, Jerseys, Ayrshire, Lakenvelder, 56

English Longhorn and Brown Swiss – on one day.

Andy’s family has always dabbled in different breeds and both of Andy’s and Deb’s parents were Ayrshire breeders.

“Farming Ayrshires is a nod towards our family history. My great-uncle was of Polish descent and farmed Lakenvelders and my Uncle Joe had Milking Shorthorns then English Longhorns,” Andy said.

“When he showed me a catalogue with Dutch Belted (Lakenvelder) cattle in it I immediately fell in love with them.

“I then discovered that Lakenvelders are one of the world’s nine critically endangered cattle breeds.”

The Lakenvelder name is thought to be derived from the Dutch word laken meaning cloth, which refers to the white belt around their midriff.

Their heritage stretches back to the belted cattle found in Austria and Switzerland during the 17th century.

The breed’s striking black with a white belt quickly enamoured them to Dutch

nobles thought to have taken some to the Netherlands.

The Lakenvelder is a robust breed with very few health issues and is favoured for its beauty and high-quality milk.

“Lakenvelders are large-framed, placid cows with very good feet. They’re excellent all-rounders and milk well above the average.

“They’ve got a big udder, good teat placement and have minimal mastitis issues.

“They’re easy to get in-calf and produce large, strong calves with little trouble. Our oldest cow is 10 years old and she still milks well and produces a calf each year.”

Andy’s and Deb’s Lakenvelders are proving to be at least as good as their Friesians. In an ideal world they would like to like to have 100 Lakenvelders in their herd, but feel 50 is a more realistic goal.

The Lakenvelder’s placid temperament harks back to its 17th century roots as a milking cow, when hand-milking was

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

ALLBREEDS

There are cows in our herd that aren’t there for financial reasons, they’re there because of their sentimental value.

the order of the day and no stroppy cow would have been kept or bred from.

The Whitehead’s farm is predominantly a pasture-based system operating at system 3. Some palm kernel and molasses is fed alongside a crop of forage rape and turnips. Lakenvelder are great foragers and do extremely well in a pasturebased system. Andy often says he would challenge anyone to find a skinny Lakenvelder cow.

“We enjoy having different breeds in our herd. It makes farming interesting, rather than just having what everyone else farms. It is fun and works within our system,” Deb says.

The heifers graze on a roadside block where most people confuse them with Belted Galloways.

Andy loves the way the Lakenvelder’s colouring glows in the gloom on dark evenings and early mornings.

“Fonterra once phoned us to say that the tanker driver had seen one of our school calves on the road. The driver

Lakenvelders are excellent all-rounders and milk well above the average and have a placid nature.

thought it was wearing a cover but it was one of our Lakenvelders that had escaped.

“We get plenty of light-hearted stick about our beef cows. Even those that know they’re Lakenvelders wind us up for a bit of fun.”

Incorporating different breeds into the herd hasn’t greatly affected daily farm management, except during breeding time but they feel it’s no different to farms that use a number of different bulls.

“We obtained our Lakenvelder semen from Mohakatino Genetics. LIC have been great, they’ve never hesitated putting the semen into their bank or using it. The LIC folk seem to enjoy the variation,” Andy said.

Andy Whitehead spoils a Lakenvelder cow with her favourite liquorice treat.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

“We buy about 30 Lakenvelder straws per year. There is an extra cost incurred with using something different but I don’t mind paying a little extra to try something new.”

Lakenvelders produce high-quality milk with a fat content of 3.5-5.5%. Small fat globules ensure the milk is easily digested. It also has a high beta-carotene content.

Andy feels that Lakenvelder milk would be perfect for anyone wanting to make and market a niche product.

“Some people love what we’re doing and some don’t.

“We’ve been challenged in discussion groups with ‘You’d never keep an old cow that’s not making a profit’ but we do,” Andy said.

“There are cows in our herd that aren’t there for financial reasons, they’re there because of their sentimental value.

“Our oldest cow is 17-years old and she’ll retire here. We recently buried a big old girl that we said would never leave the farm.”

No one knows what the future holds or whether the rare and minority breed’s genetics might be needed to add diversity to commercial herds. Once those breeds are gone, they’re gone forever.

Andy sums up his feeling about his striped cows when he says “I’ve sometimes thought that if there was a catastrophe and I could save only five cows I’d take five striped Lakenvelders.

When you’ve had a bad day and see a Lakenvelder cow with a beautifully striped calf it just lifts your spirits.” n 57

ALLBREEDS

Red Devons ideal DIRK SIELING

F

ORTY years ago I started rearing Friesian bull calves and dairy-beef cross calves.

Eventually, the prospect of a regular, budgetable income lured me to become a dairy farmer.

We milk about 600 cows.

The intervening time has seen a major change in New Zealand’s beef industry.

Including calves, cow, bull and prime beef the dairy industry is now by far the biggest contributor to the meat industry.

The use of sexed semen is likely to increase.

This will further lift the capacity of the dairy industry to produce beef calves and reduce the number of bobby calves.

The return on bobbies is abysmal and the whole bobby calf issue is proving to be a bit of an Achilles heel for the industry.

In Europe virtually all calves born are reared.

The more we can rear in NZ the better.

Demand for beef-cross calves has seen dubious quality animals being reared and it is crucial we increase the quality of the beef we produce in NZ if we want to aim at the top end of the grass-fed beef market.

This makes the choice of beef sires a

matter that needs to be taken seriously.

Dairy farmers prefer short gestation, ease of calving and docile, fertile bulls.

Rearers want early maturity, rapid growth, docility, conversion efficiency and quality beef.

The traditionally popular Hereford meets some but not all of those requirements and increasingly alternative breeds such as Angus and Wagyu are being used.

A cheap bull throws cheap calves with uncertain attributes and will eventually cheapen the industry.

Whatever breed is used the bulls need to be well bred and the EBVs of the sires considered for the desired qualities in the resulting calves.

There will be more professional rearers and they will need some assurance around the quality of the beef sires used.

Increasingly, contracts are used between dairy farmers and rearers, which

Dirk Sieling uses Red Devons over 1200 replacement heifers and has also used them as tailing bulls after AI. 58

provides certainty to both parties about quality and availability.

We decided to produce our own beef sires and set up a small Red Devon stud alongside the dairy operation.

The Red Devons were selected because of their relative ease of calving, docile nature, good fertility and excellent growth rates as well as their ability to produce quality, early maturing beef with good marbling on marginal country without having to winter them twice.

Having been kept as a relatively isolated breed with minimal infusion of other breeds the Red Devon crosses show increased hybrid vigour over other breeds.

The Red Devon bulls are used for dairy heifer mating as well as tailing the herds.

Red Devon bulls are particularly useful for dairy heifer mating because of the smaller calf size and easy birthing.

Their friendly, docile nature gives them an edge over the Black Angus and with the traditional bloodlines being maintained they provide easier calving compared to the Angus that have seen infusions of American bloodlines with a consequent increase in birthweight and associated birthing problems.

The Red Devon calves have smaller heads and shoulders.

The Devon-cross calves come through with solid black or red colours depending on the breed of the dairy dam and they outperform the other crossbred calves on hill country.

Hereford calves are likely to continue to attract a premium for the foreseeable future but the calves come at a cost to the dairy farmer with higher rates of calving paralysis, veterinary callouts and subsequent loss of milk production.

Few people use Herefords for dairy heifer mating.

Although the Jersey is still a popular bull for dairy heifer mating there is an increasing trend towards using beef bulls for this purpose as the return on the feeder calves is rising and dairy farmers have taken note.

An added incentive to use beef bulls over dairy heifers is the excellent price the calves attract early in the season.

The Red Devon industry, which is also growing rapidly in the United States,

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

ALLBREEDS

Dirk Sieling’s four-year-old stud bull BA Ryda is bred from a top cow and Australian semen. They call him Big Red. consists in NZ predominantly of smaller, dedicated breeders who come together under the banner of the NZ Red Devon Cattle Breeders Association.

The association strives to maintain high standards and prevent the intrusion of other blood into the pure Devon bloodlines.

As a consequence the NZ Red Devons have gained a reputation for purity and the resurgence of the breed worldwide has seen rising demand for NZ semen from the US, England and Brazil.

Although originally a horned breed many NZ breeders, like us, have been concentrating on polled cows and bulls as the polled trait is desirable for cross breeding.

The Red Devon has all the attributes to make a significant contribution to the NZ meat industry but it is important that only quality purebred bulls are used.

That is where buying from association members can provide confidence for buyers. All registered bulls are purebred.

The same goes, of course, for buying bulls of other breeds. A cheap bull throws cheap calves with uncertain attributes and will eventually cheapen the industry. n

MORE:

Dirk Sieling is a committee member of the NZ Red Devon Cattle Breeders Association at the bottom

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

Red Devons were selected because of their relative ease of calving, docile nature, good fertility and excellent growth rates. Mia Sadler with one of Dirk Sieling’s Red Devon-Friesian calves.

59

ALLBREEDS

Ayrshires on show PAM GOODIN

M

EMBERS of Ayrshire New Zealand met at the Distinction Hotel in Whangarei in June for their

annual conference.

The three-day conference opened with the awards dinner celebrating the success of breeders from throughout NZ. Herd visits in the Dargaville area included the farms of Brian and Carolyn Hutchings, Kauri Ayrshires, Nick and Cherie Bishop, Kio Valley Ayrshires and Ruth Goodman, Utopia Ayrshires.

The evening saw the National Ayrshire Conference sale take place at the Lighthouse Events Centre, Dargaville.

Following the annual meeting, the dine and dance theme was wear a scarf in honour of the late Marilyn Hutchings, local breed personality, who died suddenly in January.

Donald Green of Glenmore Ayrshires, Leeston, was re-elected for a further term as president. Green, wife Anne and sons Chris and Tim farm more than 1600 Ayrshires, the largest Ayrshire herd in the country.

The Kiteroa Trophy for the person who has contributed most to the Ayrshire breed in 2017-18 was presented to David Ackermann of the Musica Stud in central Canterbury. Ackermann came to NZ with his parents and three sisters from Switzerland as a young boy and the family has been farming in the Leeston area for the past 22 years.

After completing his studies at Lincoln University he has returned to work on the family farm which is predominately Ayrshires.

He has taken an active role in the breeding decisions with his father at Musica and it is fair to say some of his thinking and choices challenge many of the senior breeders of the association.

Ackermann is a co-opted director on the board of Semayr, a TOP inspector for the breed and also a junior judge. He was associate judge at the NZ Dairy Event in January. This year he was one of the main organisers of the Young Breeders Seminar held in Canterbury.

60

David Ackermann of Musica Stud won the Kiteroa Trophy.

Craig Stevenson received the Bell Booth Achiever Award.

The Bell Booth Achiever Award was presented to Craig Stephenson. He started as manager on the family at Glenkylie and has since moved up to contract milker for his parents Rex and Audrey.

Stephenson. He and wife Ruth now have shares in Trinity Farm Holdings, that sharemilks for Glenkylie Dairy Farm, building up cow numbers through this venture.

This herd has topped Ward 9 for production on many occasions, including the BW awards. Last season the 300 Ayrshire cows averaged 521kg MS in a herd of more than 600 cows, a top record for this number of cows.

Stephenson’s philosophy is the Ayrshires must pay their way. His herd is mainly of Semayr breeding.

An honorary life membership was presented to retiring board director Brain Hutchings.

Hutchings has been a director for Ward 1 (Northland) for 14 years, retiring this year, after taking over the role from his father Malcolm in 2004. He was president of Ayrshire NZ for four years from 2011 until 2015, being the third generation of the Hutchings family to hold the position.

He has been on various subcommittees

and a convener of TOP, classificationjudging and youth. He also represented Ayrshire NZ at national level on TOP Advisory and also chairman of the NZ Dairy Breeds Advisory. He and wife Carolyn are active Ayrshire promoters in their area, encouraging and introducing younger people to the breed, especially at the local A&P shows.

Production awards presented for the 2016-17 season included the Mayfield Trophy for the top herd in NZ, 50 or more pedigree cows, to Gordon and Jonathan Glentworth, Kaponga.

They milked 218 cows averaging 7461 litres of milk, 324kg fat, 283kg protein in 286 days, equaling the breed record also set by their Sanrosa herd in the 2013-14 season.

It is the fourth season in a row the Glentworth family has won the award for a total of 20 times in the last 30 years.

The Smith Family Trophy for the top pedigree cow was presented to Steven Carrington of Dannevirke for Luckville Ris Debe, V7-8, seven years, 11,601 litres milk, 474kg fat, 405kg protein in 305 days. The Snowline Trophy for the top cow 10 years and over went to the Glentworths for Sanrosa Royal 05-12, V7-8, 8759 litres milk, 357kg fat, 313kg protein in 253 days. n

DAIRY FARMER

October 2018

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116 hectare dairy farm for sale 15km from Dargaville has fertile soils suitable for kumara and maize combined with a location close to abundant fishing in Kaipara Harbour.

The vendors are downsizing their portfolio and selling this farm, which has been run in conjunction with their main dairy farm.

New limestone races and improved fences provide good access to paddocks and the farm has a tidy dairy with feed pad plus two good homes.

The 30-aside herringbone dairy with its Alpha plant is in good order and the feed pad behind it caters for 250-300 cows.

Both are compliant to feed effluent into the four-pond system with consent to discharge it onto paddocks.

Near the dairy is a new, three-bay implement shed and an old wintering barn that is now used for calf rearing.

Flat contour has been subdivided into 80 paddocks that grow 18ha of maize and 12ha of chicory for the dairy operation.

A feature of the farm is the beautiful kauri villa built in the early 1900s, which has retained its character with spacious rooms and high ceilings, opening to a large deck to enjoy the view and meals from the quirky pizza oven built into the garden. n

This farm has fertile soils suitable for kumara or maize.

The feed pad caters for up to 300 cows.

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October 2018

This smallholding comes with a swimming pool and an outdoor dining area.

Olives close to town

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UST minutes from Foxton village on sandy loam soils is a 2.75ha lifestyle block with mature olive trees providing an appealing outlook for the large, modern home.

The five-bedroom plus office home features a modern kitchen, spacious living areas, underfloor heating and a spa bath set in a quality bathroom.

Two en suite bedrooms and separate living areas enable the home to easily cater for the extended family.

Large bifold doors from the entertainment area provide good indoor-outdoor flow, opening to an outstanding

The living space is generous.

outdoor living area featuring an in-ground swimming pool and a covered dining area for family and guests.

Two tanks supply water to the home while water for the trees and garden is supplied via a deep bore.

The 600 olive trees were planted in 2002 and now form a well-established, mature grove.

Location is a big factor for this property, being minutes from town, making it an ideal retirement proposition.

Offers over $970,000 are sought. n

MORE:

Contact Les Cain from Sallan Realty on 0274 420 582

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October 2018

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65

One last word …

I

T HAS been an iconic sight on rural roads for many years.

Anyone travelling along a rural road will have seen a farmer go by with his team of dogs on the back of the ute yapping excitedly and peering around the side of the cab to see where they are off to.

But new regulations from the Ministry for Primary Industries this month will put an end to that.

Dogs travelling on the back of a ute must now be tied up or secured in a cage or crate when travelling on a public road.

Farm dogs can be loose on a vehicle, including on public roads, when they are actively working.

Dogs must be tied up with a short leash or rope to prevent the dog from getting its legs over the side of the vehicle but it must be long enough to allow the dog to stand and lie down in a natural position.

A farmer who does not comply can be fined $300.

The rules give MPI greater powers 66

to fine low to medium animal welfare offenders.

The argument is that unsecured dogs can fall off or hang off the side, suffering severe injuries, which is fair enough.

Working dogs are a valuable asset and part of the farm team. A lot of time and effort goes into training them and after all, they are man’s best friend.

The rules give MPI greater powers to fine low to medium animal welfare offenders.

New rules around dog collars have also come into force and farmers can be fined for poor fitting collars that can cause pain and distress.

Collars must be the correct size and

allow the dog to breathe, pant and drink normally.

It cannot be so tight that it causes skin abrasions, cuts or swelling and not so loose it can catch on something.

Otherwise, you can be fined $300.

One farmer tells me he has a no-exit, metal road running into his farm with paddocks on either side. For the past 30 years he has been running up and down the road with his dogs on the back and has never had an incident.

“Am I going to be prosecuted for taking them a short distance or when I cross five metres across the public road with the dog unsecured on the back?”

With a bit of luck, MPI will exercise a bit of common sense when evaluating situations like this.

Sonita

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October 2018

Dairy Diary

Proudly brought to you by Farmside

October 2018 Monday 1 October 2

Tuesday 2

Wednesday Thursday Friday 3 4 5 21 October

Saturday 6

Sunday 7

DairyNZ Northern Southland Pasture Plus Discussion Group Pasture Plus is a brand new discussion group for the 201819 season offering a focused discussion for those wanting to grow their pasture, supplements and winter feeding knowledge, management skills and fundamental principles.

Planning for the future – SMASH event Have you made a plan for your future after dairy farming?

Where: Silver Fern Farms Event Centre Stanley Avenue, Te Aroha RSVP by October 22.

Register online at www.smallerherds.co.nz

October 3

October 23 Waikato12 Agritech event 13 14 Agritech-focused tech event with exhibitors and speakers providing an overview of insights and opportunities in agritech, as well as emerging technologies.

Venue: The Atrium, Wintec House, Tristram Street, Hamilton Call Jannat Maqbool 029 289 9353 for further information.

8Keeping your farm9 safe – SMASH event 10

11

The day will cover security threats to businesses and the actions we can take to protect ourselves.

Where: Gavin Hogarth and Jody Hansen’s place 598 Pokapu Rd, Kawakawa Register on-line at www.smallerherds.co.nz

October 4 DairyNZ Once A Day Discussion Group 15 16 a Day groups this 17 season. We will18 The first of our Once be visiting the Pohangina Valley near Ashhurst.

October 5 Dairy Women’s Network Manawatu Regional Group – Calving is done.

Go to www.dwn.co.nz/events/ for more.

October 6

22 23of the Year District 24 Contest and Skills 25 FMG Young Farmer Day Christchurch Open District Contest and Skills Day For venue and times go to www.youngfarmers.co.nz October 10 DairyNZ Southern Dairy Hub field day Join us to get the latest updates of what’s been happening on farm and with30 the research projects.

29 31 RSVP ronda.ridsdale@dairynz.co.nz by October 3.

October 18 Dairy Women’s Network Regional Group, Kaipara Post-calving catch-up Go to www.dwn.co.nz/events/ for further information

October 24 19of Agricultural and 20Horticultural Science 21 Institute Water in Canterbury – our vital resource Stewart 1, Lincoln University, Lincoln. https://www.agscience.org.nz/event/water-in-canterburyour-vital-resource/ October 24 Dairy Women’s Network Regional Awards 26Group, North Otago, 27 Annual Calving28 Go to www.dwn.co.nz/events/ for further information October 25 Dairy Women’s Network – Annual meeting Go to www.dwn.co.nz/events/ for further information October 27 FMG Young Farmer of the Year District Contest & Skills Day Southland Open District Contest and Skills Day, Riverton For venue and times go to www.youngfarmers.co.nz Entries for Balance Farm Environment Awards close: October 14 East Coast October 19 Bay of Plenty October 27 Southland & Canterbury October 31 all other regions

We know rural because we are rural www.farmside.co.nz

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An accurate farm map is the basis of your entire farming operation and greater precision means better decision making. At GPS-it we use the latest technology to map your farm with the highest degree of accuracy possible. Our team know dairy farms, because we’ve been farming them and mapping them for 20 years.

Give us a call today and we’ll make sure you get an accurate map of your farm

Book your farm map by the End of October, use the code ‘SPRING’ and you’ll receive a free: • A0 synthetic map valued at $220 • A4 map pad 100-sheet valued at $75 A total saving of $295!

GPS-it maps and data can also be used in MINDA, My Ballance and Hawkeye systems. *$144

0800 247 748 www.gpsit.co.nz

is based on a 10% variation on a 200-hectare farm, with a herd size of 120. The 10% variation is the difference between a farm map based off satellite or Google imagery and GPS-it high definition aerial imagery at accuracy of 30cm horizontal and 60cm vertical.