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CONTENTS NEWS 17 Milk Monitor Drop in GDT no cause for concern
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18 Leaving the co-op Fonterra’s chief finance officer calls it a day
ON FARM STORY 8
Good things take time Owl Farm demonstrates best farm practice
20 All hands on deck Canterbury family bouncing back after flood
FARMING CHAMPIONS 7
Guest column Cameron Bagrie
28 Dairy champion Jacinta Kete 34 Women in agribusiness – Rachel Numan
FEATURES 48 White Gold 58 Rural Recruitment
REGULAR FEATURES 38 Research
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COVER STORY
A demonstration farm reduced its environmental footprint while remaining profitable.
8 20
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GUEST COLUMN
Dairy’s on solid ground By Cameron Bagrie
The dairy sector is in a strong financial position thanks to booming dairy prices.
Economist Cameron Bagrie says while there are some areas of agriculture that are concerning, he is not worried about the dairy sector.
R
ed lights are starting to flash across some sectors of the economy. Omicron is knocking the economy’s economic capacity and containing inflation is not growth or asset price-friendly. Every sector needs watching as Omicron’s tentacles spread, but the dairy sector is not on my worry list. Labour shortages and uncertainty around environmental regulatory changes and compliance costs continue to weigh on the dairy sector, but cash is king and the dairy sector has a lot of cash courtesy of booming dairy prices. Profitability provides options and flexibility, including non-dairy asset accumulation as a diversification play and scope for innovative investment on the farm. While riding the current commodity wave, dairying is one of the few sectors across the economy to improve its financial resilience in the past years. It is a story that gets insufficient attention. Dairy sector debt has fallen to $37.1 billion, down a whopping $4.6b compared to July 2018. Debt has been falling at an average rate of $109 million a month. The 2017 November Financial Stability Report noted dairy sector debt around three times dairy income. That ratio looks like it will be a tad over two for the coming season. Obviously dairy prices are a lot higher, but it is still a massive change. Agriculture debt remains dairycentric, but less so with more lending diversification taking place. Dairy sector debt has eased from 69.2% of total agriculture lending to 60.7%. Dairying will always account for a huge proportion of agriculture debt, given its significance in New Zealand’s pastoral exports. Agriculture deposits have been rising at the same time total agriculture debt has been stable and dairy debt has been falling. While agriculture debt stands at
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
$61.2b, deposits total $9b and deposits have risen $2.4b since the end of 2016. The proportion of interest-only loans in the agriculture sector has fallen below 50%. Strong commodity prices over successive seasons have allowed farmers to increase their principal repayments. Dairy sector debt has fallen below $20 per kilogram of milksolid produced. The proportion of loans defined as nonperforming has been declining to around 1% of total loans. The sector is on a far stronger footing to deal with any potential future downturn in dairy prices than it was 3-4 years ago. The immediate challenge, though, is costs and inflation. Dairy farm expenses, according to Statistics New Zealand ,are up 7.7% on a year ago, exceeding the rate of generation inflation (5.9%). Those figures look light relative to what is being seen on the ground in the order of 1020%. There are an array of reasons. Covid and now the Ukraine crisis. Oil. Supply chain disruptions. Government policy. An economy that is too hot to trot. The Reserve Bank is saying inflation will return to their 2% midpoint target. Interest rates are headed higher to achieve it. When interest rates move up you follow the trail of debt. Eyes on housing, which is already turning down, and Official Cash Rate is still just 1%. There looks to be a more persistent
inflationary undercurrent that the Reserve Bank cannot influence. We have structural shifts, including pushback against globalisation and climate change costs, to incorporate. A shortage of workers might not be a temporary phenomenon with the population ageing. Businesses will need to improve human resource practices to attract staff. Governments continue to spend big. Covid and the enduring impact on supply chains, including shipping, has exposed the relative inefficiency of New Zealand’s supply chain and under or poor investment in key infrastructure. It needs to be addressed for exports to be cost-effectively delivered to market. The coming years will involve the three Rs: Reality, Reset and Real. We now face the reality of living with covid on an enduring basis; a reset in asset prices as interest rates normalise if income and productivity cannot be boosted; and some real hard work on key issues. The combination will be challenging for many. We now need substance as opposed to sugar-candy economics. Sectors which have improved their resilience in the lead up, such as the dairy sector, are far better-placed than many. n
MORE:
Cameron Bagrie is an independent economist and his views do not represent financial advice.
7
Good things take time A demonstration farm reduced its environmental footprint while remaining profitable.
Drier winters and summers and lower annual rainfall has forced the farm to adopt a more climate-resilient system. Pastures have been sown with summer-resilient species such as cocksfoot and plantain sown into new swards. Jo Sheridan, La Arni Bayquin and Tom Buckley discuss the pastures. Photos by Stephen Barker
By Gerald Piddock
Owl Farm is reaping the rewards of hard work and determination spanning several years using a wagon wheel approach.
A
dairy farm’s evolutionary journey over the past seven years has seen it become the low-intensity yet profitable dairy operation that it is today. Owl Farm, the 160ha dairy farm at St Peter’s School in Cambridge, has been operating as a demonstration farm – a joint venture between St Peter’s School and Lincoln University – since 2015. It has moved from an inefficient farm in a slightly rundown state, to showcasing an extremely high level of farming practice using a system endorsed by the wider community. The goal from the outset was to demonstrate the latest in good, sustainable commercial dairy farming practice – and it has not changed. “The whole overarching theme still runs true that sustainable profitable dairying can be achieved while protecting the environment,” demonstration manager Jo Sheridan says. The demonstration farm’s early years were spent bringing its infrastructure up to standard and deciding its strategic direction. Key to this was decided on allowing it the flexibility to adopt practices to help Waikato farmers trying to navigate tighter rules around freshwater and the environment. That direction was unveiled in 2018 and centred on six areas using a wagon wheel-style managing system, where
each focus area forms a wheel spoke and has its own KPIs. Those areas are animal wellbeing, farm performance, quality workplace, healthy environment, business health and community. The wheel has become central to the farm’s planning and monitoring, with each of the areas considered when making decisions that impact the farm, Jo says. The KPIs have also evolved and been streamlined over time to meet where the dairy industry is heading and wider expectations of the community. Progress is then monitored via the farm’s weekly notes, which is then publicly available on its website. “What we do every week when we do our weekly notes is that we report on each of these areas against these goals,” she says. “It’s created a bit of a focus for linking practice to strategy and whenever we’re doing decision-making it allows us to see very clearly how we can achieve our goal in this area.” It has become an important tool in the farm’s decision-making process. “It was born out of the need to have a balanced approach to what we do on the farm. What it has allowed us to do is tell stories in all areas.” Last season, for example, was a great year and after the farm hit all of its
OWL FARM
• Farm manager: Tom Buckley • Farm demonstration manager: Jo Sheridan • Farm size: 160ha • Location: Cambridge, Waikato • Herd size: 400 cows • Production: 175,000kg MS target • Staff: Three fulltime (reduced to two, plus casual help for the new season)
Continued page 10
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production targets, it was then discussed whether the farm could take advantage of the good conditions and make more profit. But in doing so, it would mean increasing the farm’s environmental impact. “We knew that if we brought in a whole lot of feed and kept on milking, we knew what would happen with our environmental footprint. We knew the impact on N loss and we knew the impact on greenhouse gases.” The farm has always been part of St Peter’s School, starting out as a produce supplier to the school before switching to a conventional dairy farm. Prior to it becoming a demonstration farm, it milked 450 cows and relied on maize and imported feed to sustain it through the dry summers. As well as Jo, the farm has Tom Buckley as the farm manager, overseeing the dayto-day operations of the farm along with two staff. Sitting alongside Jo is the Farm Management Committee, chaired by former Fonterra Shareholders’ Council chairperson Ian Brown. This 17-person committee is made up
The farm has several staff, including manager Tom Buckley, La Arni Bayquin and demonstration manager Jo Sheridan, and is overseen by the Farm Management Committee made up of technical representatives of each of the funding partners.
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The 160ha dairy farm at St Peter’s School in Cambridge has been operating as a demonstration farm, a joint venture between St Peter’s School and Lincoln University, since 2015. of technical representatives of each of the funding partners, the demonstration manager and representatives from St Peter’s and local farmers. Overseeing that committee is the 12-person Governance Committee, chaired by Aksel Bech. Jo says there is a healthy relationship between the committees, allowing them access to expert knowledge across all facets of the industry and issues the industry faces. “We’re always thinking five years ahead of where most farmers are, and the farm management committee are really insightful and aligned with their thinking,” she says. The committee helped create the wagon wheel system and take a balanced approach in making decisions. Having that level of oversight does not mean the committees manage the farm by remote. Both Jo and Tom are still able to bring ideas forward to be discussed. The most recent of these was introducing Halter collars to the herd. Both Jo and Tom identified an opportunity for wearable collars on the cows and it took the committee nearly 10 months of investigations to approve. The cows were given the collars in January and so far, she says the investment has been a success. The collars fitted into the farm’s push for better workplace outcomes for its staff as using the technology enables their staff to reduce hours contributing to their annual goal of a 45-hour week. Other farmers observing the new technology could adopt it for their own farm by using a different company or other labour-saving technology or actions such as robotic milkers or employing more staff. “This is just a means to an end so when
we tell the story, we don’t talk about the product, we talk about the barriers in our system to achieving our workplace goals and our workplace flexibility, and the fact that we needed two people milking when one person can operate a shed for 400 cows,” she says. Data from weekly farm walks, along with the performance of every paddock, is used to help guide decisions around what paddocks will be used for summer crops the following season and regrassing. The typical season has calving beginning on July 1, with the herd fed mostly grass and a small amount of silage and palm kernel if needed. That silage is made on the farm every spring, as well as bought-in silage used in the summer. At the beginning of October, 11ha of land is taken out and sown for summer crops of turnips and kale. A 7ha block is also set aside for chicory, which is fed to the calves after weaning around late November, staying on the crop until late April. It’s been an effective strategy to grow their young stock, with the calves growing at 0.7kg a day and the empty rate for heifers falling from 10 to 2%. From there, the calves go to a grazier in May where they stay off-farm for 12 months.
Just before Christmas, milking switches from twice-a-day to ‘three-in-two’ in response to the dry, hot summer, as well as reducing work hours. Reducing heat stress among the cattle is a big priority and removing afternoon milking allows the cows more access to shade in the paddocks while reducing walking. The summer crops are opened up to the cows; first the turnips and then kale through to late March. At that time until the end of the season, more silage and PKE is fed out and zinc is used in the troughs to keep facial eczema at bay. The cows are switched to once-a-day milking and will be dried-off according to their condition, starting around midMarch. During that month, body condition score and calving dates are used to calculate when the cow will dry-off so it can get back to its target condition for calving. At the same time, staff also monitor the rising two-year-old heifers to ensure these cows are well-grown when they return to the farm from the grazier. Jo says there is no temptation to milk longer due to the high payout. Instead,
Continued page 12
The 400-cow herd on Owl Farm were recently fitted with Halter collars, allowing staff to reduce their hours of work.
the focus now is setting up the farm for a successful next season. They installed a new effluent system in 2019 and has been since upgraded in October 2021. Effluent can now be applied to 61ha or 42% of the farm, further reducing the N loss. N usage over the years had decreased from 161-138kg. This will be reduced further to 120kg for next season. Since Jo joined Owl Farm as demonstration manager in 2019, the farm has heavily focused on continuing to create a system where it is valued by the wider community and is meeting the needs of its milk and meat processors. Inside the farm gate that means aligning with Fonterra’s Co-operative Difference framework around milk quality and sustainability. The framework allowed her to see where they could add further value to their milk, including somatic cell counts and its FEI index. Around 85% of the milk Owl Farm has sent so far this season has been sent at that premium value and are on track to hit 90% by the end of the season, which will qualify for the premium. “We have set up our system to achieve the extra seven cents of value added,” she says. That involves having plans in place for animal health and the environment. “We were doing that already. The next part of it was to extract the value from the milk quality criteria,” she says. The type of supplementary feed used on the farm changed, so there was less reliance on high feeding levels of palm kernel and selective culling to keep on top of the herd’s somatic cell count, particularly when the farm switches to three-in-two milking. The farm also has a comprehensive farm environment plan that has all been actioned and it is currently in the process of adding a GHG mitigation plan within it. Owl Farm has also worked hard on achieving its environmental goals. The farm’s paddocks are analysed to determine which would get the best response from using N fertiliser. This has provided a more strategic use of nitrogen. The farm was also a partnership farm for DairyNZ’s Partnership Farm Project, which looked at ways the dairy industry could reduce farm emissions inside the farm gate. 12
From 2015-2020, the farm has reduced its emissions by 16% and its N by 24% without altering its profit. Jo says the results showed it was possible to reduce a farm’s environmental footprint while remaining profitable. “We’re still committed and we’re still on that journey. From an N point of view, we understand better how we are using it within the total system. We are reducing our total N use, we are using it more strategically,” she says. It has changed their pastures with three different clovers sown into their swards as well as Ecotain plantain, which will help reduce N loss in the soil. The farm’s wetland removes around 63% of the nitrates that enter it and they are trying to farm the most N-efficient cows that they can. The farm needs to be well-positioned when new research or technology comes along that can further reduce their footprint. At the moment, the focus remained around reducing cow wastage and improving cow efficiency. Once technology, such as methane inhibitors or rumen modifiers are confirmed and proven, Jo wants the farm to be in the best position possible to take advantage of it. “At the moment we are measuring and telling the story and making sure that our system is not producing any more methane, but we don’t have any more tools to reduce methane at this stage,” she says. “We are already one of the lowest producers of methane for a farm producing the amount of milk that we do” The farm has followed best practice for the past four to five seasons while trying to remain profitable and while it was one of the lower-emitting farms, there was Solar panels installed on the farm are part of its strategy to be more sustainable.
still a cost involved to achieve this. Other farmers could have a lot more work to make similar gains, she says. Education is a huge part of Owl Farm, given its location at St Peter’s School. It has had almost 10,000 people through its gate since it started as a demonstration farm. Even with the disruption of covid-19, the farm ended up hosting 72 events last year with around 2000 people entering the farm. Its educational goals include engaging and inspiring student learners into primary industry careers. In 2015, there were 82 students studying agriculture or horticulture at St Peter’s, which has leaped to 324 students this year. The school has fuelled this growth by increasing its resources for agricultural learning, including increasing staff numbers and classrooms. At the same time, Jo says the covid pandemic has improved people’s perceptions of the industry. “One of the most exciting things is that the students are really intent on problemsolving. They’re not afraid of tackling climate change issues head on, they’re not afraid of tackling animal wellbeing issues head on,” she says. Farmers could also take heart that there are students wanting to learn about agriculture. The student learning went beyond just St Peter’s. The farm hosts Year 11 students from schools in the greater Waikato for practical lessons. “The ag teachers that we have been talking to at secondary level have all reported increases in students studying ag-based degrees,” she says. “Even here, we are now running modules with the Year 8 students because so many of them are choosing ag at Year 9 that we like to give them exposure and pre-learning at Year 8.”
Another part of meeting its wider community needs is meeting expectations around animal welfare. Part of this was the creation of the farm’s purposeful ‘life for calves’ strategy. When it started three years ago, 34% of the calves born on the farm had purposeful lives. This season, it has lifted to 71%. That means that 71% of the calves bred on the farm have been bred with a purpose in mind for when they are sold. Surplus heifer calves are sold to other farmers, while dairy-beef calves are contracted or sold to growers. “What that is for us is recognition that we wanted to have purposeful breeding objectives and move away from bobby calves,” she says. Owl Farm has moved away from looking at breeding as just a way of getting a cow in-calf so it can be milked, to one where value is added to the calf. The herd is bred using 100% AI, starting on September 22 and running until Christmas. “We’re saying let’s value this calf and find a purposeful home for it. Our aim is to get to 100% and part of that is that
the public needs to recognise the many pathways that a calf contributes to,” she says. They started using sexed semen, which is now into its third season. The semen is used on their top cows for replacements, with Wagyu or short-gestation semen used on the balance of the herd. Heifer synchrony is also used to get the heifers in-calf with sexed semen. Shifting from 34-71% came from taking a more planned approach and having systems in place when it came to mating. The Wagyu calves are kept on the farm for an average of 13 days. The calves stay longer in the sheds and are more closely monitored to ensure they are healthy. “They have become a very well-cared for and valued part of our system. We have been changing our thinking and supporting other farmers to change their thinking around that,” she said. That calf policy will become more important as Owl Farm looks to reduce its replacement policy and greenhouse gases.
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At the beginning of October, 11ha of land is taken out and sown for summer crops of turnips and kale.
Financial-wise, the farm has paid off a large portion of its debt to the extent it was now below $18.20/kg milksolids. “We are really focused on having a resilient business and on having a strong operating profit margin, so we want more of our revenue to be held as profit,” she says. The farm’s March budget will for the first time include a line which calculates its cost of emissions. “Even though there’s no actual value on it now, we can start to say that we produced [for example] 9000kg/ha of CO2 equivalent, if [offsets] were at $50, this is what it would cost us,” she says. It will also start conversations around possible mitigation strategies the farm could invest in to offset those emissions. “The story we’re trying to tell farmers is that there are things you can do, let’s plan for it, and there is a really positive future out there. You just need to understand
Demonstration manager Jo Sheridan has been at Owl Farm since 2020. Prior to that she was a consulting officer for DairyNZ for several years, before starting her own facilitation and extension business, working with farmers, growers and rural industry partners.
where you are at and the tools you have moving forward,” she says. The farm’s response to climate change has been the biggest influence on its dayto-day operations over the past five years. Drier winters and summers and lower annual rainfall has forced the farm to adopt a more climate-resilient system. The calving date has been brought forward to help manage the drier winter and plan for a dry summer, using supplementary feed crops to make up for the feed deficit, using turnips and kale over the past three seasons. The pastures have also evolved, with summer-resilient species such as cocksfoot and plantain sown into new swards. In the past, the farm used maize and brought in palm kernel as summer feed. Initially, this caused herd milk production to fall, but per-cow production and cow efficiency has gradually
increased over time to 440kg MS/cow. Annual production still has a degree of variability because of the dry summers. The average rainfall has fallen from the traditional 1200mm to 800 over the past few years. The farm’s production target is more of a tool to use to help balance the budget. The budget is set on a predicted production and the subsequent income value. The challenge this season is the variability of value on a per kilogram basis, which has been more than the kilograms of milksolids produced. “This year, for example, we have an extra predicted $400,000 in income just from the change in payout,” she says “We budget to do 175,000kg milksolids every year and we set up our system to achieve that, but we wouldn’t do it at all costs. If we were at risk of not achieving it, we wouldn’t spend a lot of money to achieve it if it was going to increase our environmental footprint,” she says. “It’s not all about production. It’s just one of the metrics that allows us to plan and set up for the season ahead.” Looking ahead, a fresh farm systems review is underway with N usage within that system a major focus. The farm has a high purchased N surplus because of its use of grass silage and lack of maize in its system. “We are quite intent in looking at how we can grow and adapt our farm system that meets the needs of a hot, dry summer, some of the heat stress challenges that we have and meets the needs of reducing the N surplus that we have within our dietary system,” she says. They are also considering whether there is a place in this new system where methane inhibitors could be used. A key focus for this revision was ensuring the system stayed in line with Fonterra’s requirement for 80% of its feed being home-grown and pasture-based. The review will also allow them to more accurately determine where Waikato Regional Council’s Plan Change One might land and what central government’s emissions reduction plan might look like – and how Owl Farm’s system could change in reaction to that. That review should be completed by the middle of the next dairying season and put in place by 2024-2025. It will coincide with the farm losing 32ha, which will be subdivided and converted to residential housing, as well as commercial construction. It will reduce it to 120ha effective and reduce the herd size to around 350 cows.
The downsizing came as no surprise to Jo as urbanisation puts pressure on landuse close to town boundaries. “It’s another reason why we have a refocused effort on how we use technology,” she says. The land was also hard to get to and is poorer-producing. If it was not being subdivided for housing, some of it could have potentially been planted as an offset for the farm’s emissions. “Nothing’s changing from a farm system point of view, we’re just descaling slightly and the stocking rate will stay similar,” she says. “Having the wagon wheel approach to the future of our farm system, it means we have a very clear plan and purposeful direction. You don’t get sidetracked by the little bits because you know where you are heading.” It also means they are less fazed with any future uncertainty around pending legislation that could impact the farm, she says. “We know that every year, if we make gains and bank those gains and maintain them, and position ourselves to make the next step, then we know
Owl Farm uses a wagon wheel-style managing system, where each focus area forms a wheel spoke and has its own KPIs. Those areas are animal wellbeing, farm performance, quality workplace, healthy environment, business health and community. Tom, La Arni and Jo compare data. we’re heading in the right direction,” she says. “This uncertainty doesn’t really scare us because we have a strong financial business and we know we have made good gains in the past and will continue to make them.” She is very optimistic about the future,
believing that now is the right time to get positioned for the changes that are to come. “Don’t be afraid of them. I think we need to embrace them and move forward with them and have a balanced approach with how those systems have evolved,” she says. n
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MILK MONITOR
GDT takes unexpected turn By Gerald Piddock
Each month the milk monitor delves into the dairy industry and gives us the low-down on the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between.
D
airy prices took a breather at the latest GDT auction, where after five consecutive lifts, prices fell for the first time this
year. The result took pundits by surprise, given that market fundamentals around dwindling production both here and abroad have not altered – and look likely to stay that way in the medium-term. Prices fell 0.9%, but overall prices are still averaging US$5039. Whole milk powder (WMP) fell the most at 2.1%, while butter prices also dropped by 1.8%. There were also lifts with skim milk powder (SMP) up 1.6%, while cheddar and anhydrous milk fat (AMF) prices also posted gains. Given how far prices have come since January, the result probably should not cause too much alarm, a point ASB’s Commodities Weekly made. “With WMP prices up nearly 23% in 2022 thus far (and up more than 50% on historical averages), a wee dip is all a bit much of a muchness, particularly given the lift in SMP prices (which have underperformed WMP) shows demand for powders is still strong,” ASB says. “There still isn’t much sign that tight global supply conditions will ease with any alacrity.” Rabobank’s Emma Higgins held a similar view in her Global Dairy Quarterly Q1 2022: How high for how long? report, released just before the auction. Dwindling world milk production looks set to support buoyant global dairy commodity prices over the coming months. Weather-related issues, high or rising production costs and lingering disruptions from covid-19 resulted in milk production growth faring worse than previously anticipated in the final quarter of 2021. These challenges have impacted dairy farmers from all the key production regions around the world. Production is now expected to fall by
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
0.7% year-on-year in the first half of 2022, she said. The high prices are also failing to induce greater production, meaning the supply deficit is unlikely to go away in the near-term. “Poor forage quality is negatively impacting milk yields in the EU and the US. In some cases, dairy producers are maximising profit, not production, as they consider escalating feed costs,” Higgins says. “After growing by 4% in 2021, despite a host of supply chain challenges, we now anticipate global dairy exports will slow in 2022 as the supply shortfall significantly impacts the exportable surplus from key dairy exporting regions.” On the back of the report, the bank increased its forecast for the 2021-22 dairy season to $9.70/kg MS. Fonterra, meanwhile, reaffirmed its $9.30-$9.90kg MS milk price at its 2022 interim result, with chief executive Miles Hurrell saying it showed the cooperative was performing well. “We have the highest forecast farm gate milk price, we’re paying a dividend and our earnings are being achieved at a time when input costs have been significantly higher,” Hurrell says. “In the medium-term, we expect the supply-demand outlook to go some way to underpinning strong milk prices for next season.” He says the co-operative was very comfortable with its guidance range this late into the milking season and saw no change to its forecast at this stage, when asked by a reporter if a $10 milk price was on the cards. Looking ahead, he says pricing in its ingredients business was supportive of both milk price and earnings and he expected this to continue in the second half of the year. “In the medium-term, we expect the supply and demand outlook to go some way towards underpinning a strong milk price next season,” he says.
Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell says he expects strong milk prices to continue over the medium-term, when announcing the co-operative’s interim result. Hurrell says there were several risks in the market that the co-operative was continuing to watch. These may be felt in the longer-term. “The conflict in Ukraine has added to an already complex covid-19 operating environment, impacting global supply chains, oil prices and the global supply of grain,” he says. “However, our lower debt levels mean we are in a stronger position to weather the heightened levels of uncertainty and market volatility the world faces right now.” Fuelling that uncertainty is a surging covid outbreak in China as the country faces the biggest wave of cases since the 2020 Wuhan outbreak. Most of the new cases are in China’s north eastern Jilin province, while smaller outbreaks have hit major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Westpac senior agri economist Nathan Penny says it would have likely weighed on prices. But it’s also possible that the outbreak will cause more freight headaches than issues with demand, given the country’s big push to get its citizens to consume more dairy for health reasons and its government’s concerns over food security. But neither milk price fall has altered any of the banks’ new season’s forecasts at $9.20/kg MS for ASB and $8.50/kg MS for Westpac, both of which are great starting points for farmers. n
17
NEWS
F
Fonterra chief financial officer Marc Rivers and chief executive Miles Hurrell. Hurrell said Rivers has played a critical role in resetting the financial health of Fonterra.
Fonterra CFO stepping down
onterra chief financial officer Marc Rivers has announced he will be leaving the co-operative at the end of 2022 following its annual meeting. Rivers has been the co-operative’s chief financial officer since 2018 and said his time with Fonterra was a privilege. “I’ve learned a lot and also had the opportunity to be a meaningful part of the lives of many people across our coop,” Rivers said. “We have worked together to rebuild the health and wellbeing of Fonterra and I look forward to seeing the goodness the co-op creates over the coming years.” Chief executive officer Miles Hurrell said Rivers has played a critical role
in resetting the financial health of Fonterra. “It’s been clear from day one that Marc felt a great sense of responsibility to our farmer owners, unitholders and also New Zealand’s economy,” Hurrell said.
“We have worked together to rebuild the health and wellbeing of Fonterra and I look forward to seeing the goodness the coop creates over the coming years.” Marc Rivers
“Our balance sheet is now in a strong position. We have a long-term strategy with clear targets out to 2030 and our farmer owners have given the green light on our flexible shareholding capital structure. Marc has been instrumental in all of these areas. “We are moving from reset to a new phase of creating value, and Marc has decided that this is a natural point in time for a move.” Rivers will stay until Fonterra’s Annual Meeting at the end of the year, which will also allow for him to help the cooperative find a successor, ensuring a smooth transition and handover. A search for a new chief financial officer will begin shortly. n
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All hands on deck The Stewarts are well on track to a full recovery from the Ashburton floods.
Brothers TJ and Mark Stewart with Mark’s wife Stacey milk 550 cows at Greenstreet, Ashburton. Their farm was severely flooded in 2021.
By Tony Benny
A devastating flood hit Canterbury last year but rather than sinking a farming family, they are doing swimmingly well.
L
ess than a year after their farm was inundated by unprecedented flooding from both branches of the Ashburton River, a Canterbury farming family are back to full production and the scars left by floodwaters and the thousands of tonnes of debris they left are starting to heal. Despite the devastation and after enormous disruption, thanks to their own hard work and the countless hours put in by volunteers and contractors, they were able to continue winter milking their barn-housed herd and were ready to go when spring calving for the rest of the herd started. The third generation of the Stewart family, brothers Mark and TJ and Mark’s wife Stacey, who milk 550 cows on 213ha at Greenstreet, Ashburton, were counting down to formally taking the reins of the
farming business on June 1, 2021, but a few days before that MetService issued a rare red warning of impending huge rainfalls and resultant flooding. “I guess we could say we’re back to normal now, yes,” Mark says. “I don’t know why or how or what it is, it’s just the way it’s happened.” “It didn’t actually seem that bad at first and from what I heard it was way worse up at Mt Somers so we only recorded 180mm but up at Mt Somers and the backcountry, it was over 400mm,” TJ says. Some reports put the rain in the backcountry at more than 500mm. “The thing is they had 500 and with our 180, it equates to 680mm flowing past us,” adds Mark. The Ashburton River’s two branches
FARM FACTS
• Farm owners: TJ, Mark and Stacey, David and Maree Stewart • Location: Greenstreet, Ashburton • Farm size: 213 ha • Cows: 550 Holstein Friesians plus 200 young stock • Production 2020-21: 309,000kgs MS • Production target 2021-22: 320,000kgs MS
Continued page 22
The Stewart Farm sits above the confluence of the Ashburton River, with the large south branch on one boundary and the north branch only a kilometre or so up the road. Both flooded. Aerial view of the area that flooded.
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
21
have their headwaters in the foothills that rise from western edge of Canterbury Plain and come together a few kilometres upstream from the town of Ashburton. The Stewart’s in Greenstreet is just above the confluence, with the larger south branch on one boundary and the north branch only a kilometre or so up the road. By Sunday, May 30, both branches were in flood and as he fed out, TJ was keeping an anxious eye on the stop banks that protected the farm from the south branch. But it was the north branch that was first to go. “The north branch broke out and flowed down and went over Thompsons Track (an important road link running across the plain). It went through creek systems and border dyke systems and came down here, water up to here (kneeheight) running through the yard and it was rising and we were about to start milking,” TJ recalls. His brother Mark had gone to feed cows grazing off-farm on the north side of the north branch and witnessed its fast rise.
“The farmer over there rang me in the morning and he said, ‘I’m a little bit concerned about the weather. You’d better come over and have a look’, so I rushed over at 7am, wound the fences up and gave them a break,” Mark says. “I came back here and had some breakfast and then I went back again and at that point the North Ashburton was within an inch off the top of the bank, behind where our cows were and the farmer said, ‘I’ve never seen it like this before’, and he was absolutely concerned. He said, ‘I think you better take the cows away’.” The Gilbert family, who had safe ground further from the river, offered a paddock to put the cows in and with the help of six volunteers who rushed to help, Mark spent two hours moving the 200 cattle to safety. Meanwhile, TJ was working out what to do with a mob of recently dried-off cows, whose paddock was disappearing under rising floodwaters. “I couldn’t take them down the track because the creek over there was flowing that fast and I wasn’t happy taking them
over it, so we had to go up and across another paddock,” TJ says. “I fed the cows in the barn and went home and had some lunch and by the time I came back the water was up to mid-shin and rising and we thought we’d better leave.” The only way out was by tractor. “We left 350 milking cows standing in the yard and let 120 autumn calves out because they were all in sheds with water up to their knees, so I opened gates and there were some high spots where there was no water running and hoped for the best,” he says. Next morning TJ and Mark returned to the farm. Stacey was waiting anxiously in Ashburton with their three children. “I got a phone call, these two were in the tractor, ‘The cows are all safe’ they said,” Stacey says. “You leave and you don’t really know what’s going to happen,” TJ says. “Is the flood going to come through and take everything out or is it going to follow the course of the land, which is sort of flowing down to the point of the
The south branch of the Ashburton River changed course and flowed through the farm, leaving 15ha under mountains of shingle, silt and other debris.
3 YR
%ENT 10PL0ACEM RE
The herds calve in spring and autumn. The spring calves tuck into their feed. About 200 youngstock are kept on the farm. river? I guess we were lucky that this (the All up, 50ha was impacted and 15km barn, yards and cowshed) is sort of a high of fencing was wiped out. point.” There were plenty of volunteers Milking the cows that had been wanting to help but with water still waiting 20 hours was a priority but with flowing and rain still falling, they put no tanker access, the first few days’ milk them off for the first few days while they had to be dumped. looked after their cows. The damage to the rest of the farm was “At the time we were mating for enormous and the water from Ashburton autumn so we decided to get the cows River was still flowing through it milking and the cows happy, get on track “At the end of the track there was for mating and get the winter grazing a bow wave that you could just about ones sorted and get everything else white water raft down,” TJ recalls. sorted before we even worry about the “I think it was Monday night I walked rest,” TJ says. down the track just to see if it was Friends in Dunsandel were still milking dropping a bit and I got three-quarters some late calvers and they offered to take of the way down the track and the water 30 calves, only five or six weeks old for was about mid-shin and I thought, ‘This a month, to help out, if they could get is actually starting to push me around, I them there. might just stop this’.” “We had some people ring up on the “I’ve seen the river in flood and water Monday with, ‘What can we do?’, and I actually flowing back over the stop bank was like, ‘We actually need to get some before. When we grew up it was much calves to Dunsandel’. They turned up with gentler but by Christ, she came down their stock float and took the calves there with some force this time,” adds Mark. for us,” Stacey says. At first the brothers and Stacey were Federated Farmers put experienced at a loss to know where to start with the local farmer Duncan Barr to work clean-up. directing the dozens of volunteers who “We drove round the place probably turned out to help. HFS ad - Mar 2020 - Dairy Farmer - 210x86mm-PRINT.pdf 1 18/02/20 2:40 PM five or a dozen times, figuring out what to “He said, ‘How do you guys want to do do and how to go about it,” he says. it?’. We gave him a rough idea and he
went and had a look and he took over,” TJ explains. “A group of young farmer boys turned up and they just pulled fences down one day and then a crop farmer father and son came and did a day, just pulling staples out and then Synlait turned up, our milk supply guys.” The worst damage, where the south branch changed course and flowed through the farm, leaving 15ha under mountains of shingle, silt and other debris was too much for the volunteers but once contractors arrived with diggers and dump trucks, the river was redirected back to where it came from and the paddocks were uncovered.
“A group of young farmer boys turned up and they just pulled fences down one day and then a crop farmer father and son came and did a day, just pulling staples out and then Synlait turned up, our milk supply guys.” TJ Stewart “Once it was dry enough, we had four and a half weeks of a 20-tonne digger and two dump trucks just going round and picking up all the shingle and taking it to the top of the farm where the holes were and just dumping all the shingle in the holes and then levelling it all out,” Mark says. He says they expected it would take 12 months to get back to any sort of normalcy but by November, six months after the flood, he was able to drill kale for winter feed.
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Mark, Stacey and TJ Stewart in the barn, which was built in 2013 to minimise pasture damage during the wet winters and is also a great tool for animal welfare. Photo: Mud Media
“That was so if we got big winds it didn’t sit there naked. And after that sort of event, you get all the weeds from the river all over your farm, so we had the opportunity if we had something in there and we could get the machinery and sprayers over it, to keep those weeds under control,” he says. The partners reckon the flood caused about $450,000 worth of damage, about half of which was covered by insurance and government flood assistance. They’re grateful this is a high payout year, even if any profit will mostly go into the flood clean-up. They’re hopeful after the difficult start to their farming partnership that they’re back on track and can make the farm first purchased by their grandfather in 1955 hum again. Originally the 213ha farm carried sheep, a few cows and grew crop, but it was converted to dairying in 1982. “Dad was sick of crutching lambs and suggested to Pop they start milking some cows, so they bought 100 heifers from the North Island and brought them down here,” he says. They calved the heifers, along with
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The 550-cow herd on the Stewart farm is a split-calving herd and overall produced 600kg MS per cow last year and they are hoping for 650kg MS per cow this year. Photo: Mud Media
lambing 800 ewes, and built a 21-a-side herringbone shed. The boys’ parents David and Maree worked with David’s parents until taking over in 1992, installing irrigation from bores on the farm along the way. They started with a roto-rainer, covering 50ha and soon added another and also put in border dykes, using water from the Greenstreet irrigation scheme. Being at the end of the run, with sometimes unreliable supply, they found the border dykes inefficient and today the farm is irrigated by centre pivots, supplied by bore water. After leaving school and working on other farms as well as stints overseas, the brothers returned to the home farm. Stacey hails from Tasmania, where her uncle has a dairy farm and her parents have stock trucks and fertiliser spreaders and was working on-farm at Seafield, on the other side of Ashburton, when she met Mark. “It was on a Young Farmers bus trip to Christchurch, and here I am, 14 years later,” Stacey says. The couple have three children – two
daughters at school and a four-year-old son – still at home. With TJ, they own the stock and plant and lease the land from David and Maree. The floods aren’t the first hard times the family’s experienced, having bought land for a runoff shortly before the payout dropped to just above $3 in 2016. “The next three years we borrowed to stay in front and the fourth year the bank came to us and raised their concerns and we were this close to being put on the market and that’s when we stood up and said, ‘Right, we need to do this, this and this’,” TJ says. They sold some land, along with their
Fonterra shares, switched to Synlait and concentrated on increasing production and becoming more efficient. They’d already replaced the herringbone with a 50-bail rotary shed in 2003 and increased their herd to 450 cows and in 2010 they tried winter milking. “We did two years’ winter milking, calving 150 and we just had them out in the paddock and we made a real mess of some of the paddocks with wet winters so in 2013 we decided to build the big barn,” he says.
Continued page 26
Kale has been sown so the ground won’t be bare and to help keep on top of weeds, the seeds of which came with the flood waters. Normally the farm is all-grass.
“We’ve weathered the storm you could say, we came out the other side of it. No lives were lost, we didn’t lose any stock, we all survived.” Stacey Stewart DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
25
Flooded pastures after the floods, which caused an estimated $450,000 worth of damage. Water was at fencepost height during the flood.
With Synlait paying up to $13/kg MS for winter milk, the 140m x 75m barn comfortably pays its way. “The carryover and autumn calving cows usually go into the barn for transition from late April and they are indoors full time from mid-May until end of September,” he says. “The barn gives us options to sustain production and maintain cow comfort. “It’s been a great add-on to the farm and we wouldn’t farm without it now.” The barn has become a central part of the family’s ability to harness premium winter milk contracts, as they move towards 70% autumn-calving pattern on their now 550-cow herd. In the barn the cows are fed by mixer wagon, with a ration comprising grass,
maize and lucerne silage, barley and soya bean meal, plus a few other ingredients. “It’s a completely American-style of farming once they get in the barn. We do that for four or five months of the year and then we switch back to the New Zealand-style and get as much quality grass into them as we can,” he says. There’s an American flavour to their herd as well, with TJ being a big fan of North American Holstein genetics, both for their commercial herd and the stud they operate, part of Holstein Friesian NZ. “We’ve been using North American genetics for about 15 years, so they tend to be a bit bigger than the New Zealand Friesian. I’ve gathered a few different lines from all over the world. The aim is better
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cows and some of them come from famous show cow families, others it’s for fun really,” he says. Overall production, for both the winter and summer milking herds, was about 600kg MS per cow last year and the Stewarts are hoping for 650kg MS per cow this year. “The national average is about 380kg. Genetics helps but obviously feeding is important and we’re forever talking to the farm consultant about diets,” they say. Spring calving cows are calved in August-September and the autumn calvers in March-April, two blocks of eight weeks. “If she calves in spring we try to get her in-calf for next spring but if she’s milking
really well and she doesn’t get in-calf, we’re happy to give her another shot and try to get her in-calf for the next autumn,” TJ says. “She can do 18 months before she gets dried-off and calves in autumn if that’s what happens. If she doesn’t catch that one, she’s generally on the truck out of here.” While TJ is the partnership’s “cow man”, Mark does the tractor work, looks after the irrigation and makes silage. This year he’s growing winter feed crops as well, but that’s part of the flood recovery programme and normally it’s an all-grass operation on the farm. “A lot of people ask, ‘How do you get on with two brothers running a farm?’,” says Stacey, who’s also an active farming partner. “It’s not all beer and skittles all the time, but most of the time we all work well together because TJ has his cows and his feed on his side, whereas Mark’s got the machinery and so on, they sort of have different roles but they can soon cross over if need be.” Mark and Stacey also operate a slurry business, travelling to other farms
to empty their effluent ponds and disk injecting the effluent onto their paddocks. Barn effluent is thicker than cowshed effluent and disk injecting into the paddocks gets the nutrients to the plant root instead of sitting on top of the grass. A year ago the Stewarts joined Synlait’s Lead With Pride programme, under which they have to meet tough standards for environmental impacts, social responsibility, animal health and milk quality. “The first year was hell because we had lockdowns at the same time as the audit but once you get through the first year it’s fairly straight up,” she says. “It’s all stuff you should be doing, it’s all stuff that you know. We had our audit last week, which we passed.” The Stewarts are well on track to a full recovery from the floods, with production up by 6% over last year. And they’re grateful for a high-payout year just when they really need it. “We’ve weathered the storm you could say, we came out the other side of it. No lives were lost, we didn’t lose any stock, we all survived,” Stacey says happily. n
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The herds are fed a ration comprising grass, maize and lucerne silage, barley and soya bean meal, plus a few other ingredients for four to five months of the year.
DAIRY CHAMPION
Taranaki farmer Jacinta Kete works two part-time jobs for two families in a job sharing arrangement to give her full-time employment. Photos by Ross Nolly
Best of both By Ross Nolly
Working two part-time jobs to make up a full-time position is working well for one Taranaki lass and the two farming couples who share her skills and expertise
W
hen life gets busy on the farm, an extra pair of helping hands is a godsend. Often that help is only required for a few days a week and there’s not enough work on the farm for a full-time staff member. Two Taranaki (Auroa) farming families have thought outside the square and have employed a full-time staff member in a job sharing role and spreading the hours across both farming operations in a win-win situation. Everyone benefits. John and Kristina Wyatt are contract milkers on a 121-hectare dairy farm milking 315 cows and Donna and Phil Cram own a 117ha dairy farm milking 241 cows. In the past, the Wyatts have employed someone only over spring, but have thought about having someone throughout the year but don’t have enough work to justify a full-time worker. In an ideal world they’d have employed a worker for two days a week, but they were unsure how to implement it. The Wyatts were at a barbeque and job sharing was mentioned. They knew that neighbouring farmers (the Crams), who only lived 5.5km away, also wanted a part-time worker. Between the two farming operations there was enough work for one full-time worker. Both couples knew that if a job sharing
28
arrangement was workable, it needed to be in conjunction with a farmer who had similar values and ethics. “We were really careful to partner with people who had the same values as us and would want to nurture and grow the person,” Donna says. Before advertising the position, the Wyatts and Crams discussed what they were looking for in the arrangement and in the worker. The job was advertised as a full-time position and the situation was explained to the applicants at the interview. Last season the couples employed Jacinta Kete to work on both farms in a
job sharing arrangement that gave her a full-time position, with two individual employment agreements. They operate a three-week roster. During that period Jacinta works for nine days at the Cram’s and six days at the Wyatt’s. She chose to have six days off during the three-week period, comprising a four-day weekend and two days off during the week. Each family gets one weekend off during each threeweek period. “We feel that the success of the arrangement is due to both parties sticking to the rostered schedule. We’ve swapped the odd day here and there but
Jacinta works six days on Johan and Kristian Wyatt’s 121ha farm milking 315 cows. John and Kristina Wyatt, with Caleb and Danielle, and Jacinta.
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
that’s very much the exception to the rule,” she says. “Some jobs such as weighing and drenching the calves are much easier and faster with two people. So we plan them for the days when Jacinta is here. Previously, if we had time off, we’d use a relief milker. A relief milker just milks the cows, whereas Jacinta continues the farm work, so there’s no backlog of jobs for me to catch up on,” John says. “During spring it was invaluable to have an extra pair of hands here. It’s doable with two people, but much easier with three,” Phil says. For Jacinta, the job sharing arrangement works well and enables her to work full-time. She grew up on the family sheep and beef farm at Waikawau in north Taranaki. After leaving school she returned to shepherding before working as a wool handler in a shearing gang for two main shears. She then spent a season milking 980 goats before starting in the dairy industry. This is her second full season in the dairy industry.
Continued page 30
Jacinta Kete grew up on her family’s sheep and beef farm and went shepherding before turning to dairying for the opportunity to progress. Jacinta and her three-year-old son Arlo.
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Jacinta gets some advice from Phil Cram about stacking bales.
She never thought she’d become a dairy farmer. “Mum persuaded me to try relief milking, which I did for 10 months. I’d loved milking the goats, so thought that I’d probably enjoy milking cows too. After all, it’s just another two teats. I then decided that I wanted to go full-time,” Jacinta says. When she discovered that the job was split between two farms she recognised that it would give her the opportunity to learn two different farm systems. She is keenly learning the management side of farming so she can progress in the industry. “Last season was a really good introduction, but I feel like I’ve expanded my knowledge during the second season.” she says. “I enjoy the variety of working on two farms. They operate completely differently and John and Phil always explain what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. I’ve been able to take that knowledge on-board.” Jacinta believes the greatest difference between drystock farming and dairying are the early morning starts. “You must be able to get up in the morning. You also have to realise that you
aren’t going to get every weekend off. You need a ‘this is your future and career’ mindset, and put many of life’s social aspects on hold for a while,” she says. Jacinta has enjoyed the learning process and is undertaking a five-year Primary ITO course, which will result in a New Zealand Certificate in Agriculture (Dairy) Level 4. She says that dairy offers a much faster progression than sheep and beef.
“I love learning from and listening to the farm reps when they’re on the farm,” she says. Especially when they explain how they work things out and why they make their recommendations.” The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are often seen as a boost along the dairy progression pathway. Jacinta entered the NZDIA 2020 trainee section and made it through to the Taranaki finals. “I’m more confident this year and not as nervous because the process is more familiar to me. It’s intimidating to sit in a room and be grilled by three judges you don’t know,” she says. “The five-year plan I’m currently working towards is to be managing, or in a management position, at the end of that period. I guess it’s everyone’s dream to own a farm, but I’d love to get a 50:50 sharemilking job one day.” Jacinta hasn’t felt that it’s been a struggle to transition into dairy farming. “I like the confidence that both families
Jacinta with son Arlo. Jacinta works on a three-weekly roster working nine of those days on Donna and Phil Cram’s 117ha farm milking 241 cows.
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35
35 years, Generations of
Experience
have given me, and the trust they have in me. I also like the fact that John and Kristina can go away and spend time as a family, and Phil and Donna can go away too. And they all trust me to not burn the farm down while they’re away,” she jokes. It’s a big vote of trust in her abilities that both parties are prepared to leave their farms in her capable hands, considering she’s only been in the industry for a relatively short period of time. “It’s not a lot of time, but it comes down to the type of person she is and her excellent attitude,” Kristina says. “She has a good attitude to learning and a great work ethic, which I feel goes a long way. Attitude is the most important thing. You can teach people anything if they have a good attitude combined with a willingness to learn,” John says. “We have an amazing lifestyle and we want to provide Jacinta with an amazing lifestyle too,” Donna says. Dairy farming isn’t always easy, but Jacinta enjoys everything about the job. Spring is her favourite time of year. “It’s busy, but there are babies around and there’s heaps of grass. It’s the time of
year where you’re not really in a routine and there are lots of things going on,” she says. There is a nationwide shortage of relief milkers and many farmers can’t afford to employ full-time staff. Phil feels that job sharing is a good option in a region like Taranaki that tends to have a lot of smaller farms. “Jacinta has probably had the hardest job learning how two different farms operate. With her on the roster I’ve been able to have time off, even if we don’t go away, which is great now that we have kids. Just organising a milker can be enough of a headache and it’s often easier to do the milking,” John says. “There are always employment opportunities in dairy and I‘d encourage anyone to enter the industry, even if they’re from an urban background. You’re outside every day and there’s a real satisfaction knowing that you’re producing top quality milk,” Jacinta says. “I can talk to the Crams and Wyatts about anything. It’s all been so worthwhile. Both families push me and are great teachers. And they’re calm and patient when I break things.” n
Working on two farms gives Jacinta a variety of work and taught her a range of new skills, as both farms are different and run different systems.
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NEWS
Fieldays postponed amid Omicron outbreak
Fieldays has been postponed until later in the year due to the Omicron outbreak and restrictions under the current red setting.
By Gerald Piddock
T
he Omicron outbreak has forced the New Zealand National Fieldays Society to postpone this year’s Fieldays until November 30-December 3. The event was planned to be held from June 15-18. Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation says the decision will give all attendees, exhibitors and stakeholders involved some breathing room and confidence during these uncertain times. “The feedback we have had from our customers is they really want the event to run, it creates the much-needed economic stimulus and reconnection that an event the size and scale of Fieldays provides,” Nation says. He says there were several complex factors behind the decision. “The current Omicron outbreak has caused extra layers of stress and
complexity to our communities – holding Fieldays later in the year will give all involved confidence and breathing room,” he says. Resourcing had also become a significant issue for all people involved with Fieldays, with a tight labour market and employee absenteeism due to ill health and isolation restrictions. “Plus, the ongoing impact of a delayed global supply chain is having an impact on exhibitors, who are struggling to achieve requisite stock levels for their existing sales, let alone display stock or any new innovations,” he says. While it could be assumed or hoped an orange traffic light system will have arrived by June, many did not realise that the build of Fieldays commences in April. “Around 13,000 contractors come and go in the lead up to the event, building the small city that is Fieldays, which is
just not possible under the red traffic light setting. “While we can hope for a change in traffic light settings soon, this is crystal ball gazing at best,” he says. The ongoing impact of a delayed global supply chain was also having an adverse impact on stock supply levels for both event build contractors and some exhibitors. “This decision did not come lightly, but will ensure the physical Fieldays event can operate to its full potential,” he says. He hopes the postponement to the end of the year will ensure the best outcome for all involved after a turbulent start to 2022. “Our aim is to run a safe, secure and successful event, ensuring Kiwis can come together and reconnect, enjoying the best of what Aotearoa’s primary sector has to offer,” he says. n
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WOMEN IN AGRIBUSINESS
Doing good deeds through books By Cheyenne Nicholson
As if life wasn’t busy enough raising two small boys, working on the farm and being a vet, a Waikato farmer is now publishing children’s books.
W
hen Waikato veterinarian and dairy farmer Rachel Numan decided to go down the path of publishing her own book, she never imagined the journey it would take her on. Two years and another book later, she says it’s a bit of a dream come true. “It’s been a bit a journey, and a terrifying one at times, but I’m enjoying it and the fact that my work can support great causes like Meat the Need makes it even more worthwhile,” Rachel says. Numan is the author of the popular Tractor Dave children’s books. Alongside this, she’s also a vet, child wrangler and dairy farmer. She and husband Chris farm 700 cows near Te Awamutu, with their sons Jack and Oscar. Everything related to animal health and calf-rearing sits in her realm of responsibilities onfarm and she likes to get out on-farm where possible with the boys to help out as needed.
“We want a farm that we can hand over to our kids, if that’s what they want to do.” Rachel Numan “I’ve always wanted to be a vet, it was what I wanted to do since I was about eight. I moved down to vet school and met Chris who was already in farming. We love the dairy industry and we’re looking forward to where it’s going. We want a farm that we can hand over to our kids, if that’s what they want to do,” she says. They are equity partners and
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Rachel Numan always wanted to be a vet but also an author. She was inspired to write her first book Tractor Dave by her son while on maternity leave. sharemilkers on their 192ha effective farm. The System 4 farm is twice-a-day milking year round and focused on maximising production and caring for the land. Growing up, alongside her ambition of becoming a vet, she also had a desire to be an author, but it wouldn’t be until she went on maternity leave that she took the steps to be one, by writing her first children’s book.
Based on the little 1983 David Brown tractor the family owns, the idea for the first book was inspired by her eldest son. “He loved the tractor. He’d sit and watch when Chris drove past the house, it even does little wheelies, and he just adores it. I was on maternity leave about to have my second baby and found myself with some time up my sleeve and thought I’d sit down and write a little story for my son,” she says.
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April 2022
Needless to say, the story was a big hit and with encouragement and support from her husband, she began exploring ways to produce and sell the book. Increasingly, many new authors are opting to go down the self-publishing route rather than the traditional route of aligning with a publishing house. While the onus on every aspect of the process lands on the writer, they have full creative control and ability to earn more from their work. “While I never looked into sending a manuscript to a publisher, I know it’s a very competitive game. Doing it myself I knew I had to have everything to commercial standard, so it could compete in book shops alongside the commercially-produced books,” she says. First up was getting alongside an illustrator who would help bring her words to life. Through the wonders of social media, she came across Filip Lazurowicz, an illustrator based in Poland. “I loved his work and got him to create a character image. I posted it on the Farming Mums NZ Facebook page to
Waikato veterinarian and dairy farmer Rachel Numan has published children’s books based on the family’s 1983 David Brown tractor.
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Rachel and husband Chris with sons Jack and Oscar. The couple milk 700 cows on a farm near Te Awamutu in Waikato.
gauge interest to figure out how many books I should print on my first run. Lots of people liked it, and it was a confidence boost I needed at that stage of the process,” she says. Rachel has been self-taught throughout the whole process, relying heavily on her own research to point her in the right direction. She’s also picked the brain of other Kiwi authors like Sam Laugessen, author of Luke the Pook books. She aligned with a manuscript editor to refine her story. As a selfconfessed perfectionist, she admits this process was quite long, with every word scrutinised and played around with to get it just right. “I was back and forth with my manuscript editor pretty much right up until publishing date, working to get every word just right. I’m a bit of a perfectionist,” she says. “I put so many hours into researching how to do independent publishing.
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The expense of it really depends on what quality end product you want. I wanted something that I could pitch to bookstores and that would compete with the other books on the shelves, so I wanted that commercial standard.” One of the biggest challenges was working with her illustrator Filip. The time difference meant communication often lagged, and then, of course, there was trying to get him to draw a classic New Zealand landscape; a bit tricky when he’s never been here. As a result, much of the landscape seen in the Tractor Dave books is based on reference images from her own farm. “He was really great at taking direction and I love what he’s created, “I then had to figure out how many books to print on the first run. Typically the more you print, the cheaper it becomes. I agonised over that for ages before my husband said, ‘look, let’s just
go with 5000’. It seemed like an insane number,” she says. After settling on a figure, finding a printer to work with, setting up a website and all the rest, she was all set to launch her book in September 2020. While 2020 was a challenging year for many, it was a positive one for many small businesses with the rising popularity of the Facebook page Chooice celebrating and promoting small NZ businesses. “I think in terms of timing it was really good. I had pre-sold some books and it was a bit touch and go getting them printed in time with Auckland going in and out of lockdown, but we got there. I was terrified when it all went live,” she says. She needn’t have been though. The books were a huge hit. Over 4000 of the first book have been sold to date, with more orders trickling in every day. “Getting the second book under my
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
“He loved the tractor. He’d sit and watch when Chris drove past the house, it even does little wheelies, and he just adores it. I was on maternity leave about to have my second baby and found myself with some time up my sleeve and thought I’d sit down and write a little story for my son.” Rachel Numan belt felt really good too, and I’ve got a third brewing. I don’t have long-term plans for all this, as long as I continue enjoying it, then I’ll keep going. It’s been amazing being able to do this around my kids and the farm, and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far,” she says. Her second book Digger Disaster, was released in November and she’s added a t-shirt line to her offerings on her website as well. Rachel wanted her books to do more than entertain and educate children. She wanted to support causes that do good in the community and could have an impact. She donates 50 cents from every sale of the first book to Meat the Need. For the second book, for every book sold, one NZ native tree is planted. “We’ve donated over $2000 to Meat the Need now, which I’m so proud of. Future books will also have associated causes with them as well. It’s a lot of work to put a book out, often more than the payback, so it’s important that I’m supporting something good out of it, something bigger than me. I also wanted to help
The second book in the series, Digger Disaster, was released in November and more are planned. change the negative narrative around dairying and spread some positivity,” she says. When it comes to juggling all that life demands of a writer, mum and farmer, Rachel says she wishes she had the magic formula for balancing it all, but she mainly just tries her best and to be realistic about what she can achieve in a day. “Writing is great because it’s something
I can work around my kids and being self-employed with the farm also gives a level of flexibility,” she says. “I read an analogy once about glass balls and plastic balls. Some things in life are plastic balls, you can drop them, and they bounce and are okay. Other things are glass balls that can’t be dropped. I have great support from my mum who lives close and of course my husband and our wider family.” n
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RESEARCH
New facilities at Massey University’s Dairy 4 Farm are a joint project between the university and AgResearch.
Combining resources and expertise
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ork is close to completion on Massey University’s Dairy 4 Farm, after the university partnered with AgResearch to boost on-farm research capability and facilities in the lower North Island. The facility will enable greater interaction between staff and students of Massey and AgResearch, while also providing scope for a range of independent trials to operate at any one time. The Dairy 4 Farm, adjacent to Massey’s Manawatū campus, has approximately 600 spring calving cows and is the larger of the university’s two farms. Professor Paul Kenyon, head of Massey’s School of Agriculture and Environment, says the new facilities will enable detailed research projects on the farm to be carried out at the same time as usual operations,” Kenyon says. “The new facilities will boast two rotary milking platforms, a covered veterinary area for individual cow measurements and a multi-lane feedpad. There will also be an effluent treatment system, a data centre within the shed to store and manage research data, a teaching room and a biosecurity station. “The partnership with AgResearch will help Massey build on its reputation of contributing world-leading pure and applied research, in partnership with industry, on matters that are of national
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and international interest including environmental impacts of climate change, biosecurity issues, animal welfare issues and economic threats posed by innovations in food production,” he says. AgResearch science objective leader and principal scientist Dr David Pacheco says it is rewarding to see the progress at the farm after the decision several years ago to invest with Massey in its development. “With the expanded facilities available to us at the Dairy 4 Farm, we will be able to grow our science in critical areas such as greenhouse gas research, animal nutrition and health, through to finding ways to increase the value of New Zealand’s dairy products,” Dr Pacheco says. “Our partnership with Massey means we can make the most out of combining
our resources and expertise, while the close physical proximity of the farm to our respective facilities in Palmerston North makes everything simpler and more efficient. That close collaboration also means together we can develop the next generation of researchers to tackle the complex issues that New Zealand and the globe is facing. “All of this benefits our dairy industry in New Zealand, and ultimately New Zealand as a leading international dairy producer.” The Dairy 4 Farm is well known for its research into nutrient losses on heavy soils and recent collaborative work on partial housing systems for dairy cows. It has been operating for approximately 46 years and complements Massey’s Dairy 1 Farm, a 260-cow farm beside the Manawatū River. n
The new rotary shed will enable detailed research to be carried while normal operations continue on the farm.
DAIRY FARMER
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RESEARCH
A
Telling our story
s New Zealand seeks to maintain its position as a leading food producer to the world, measuring and reporting the environmental impact of its products is becoming more critical than ever. This is where industry is looking to AgResearch’s world-class Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) team: to provide trusted research to prove the efficiency and sustainability of food production in NZ and how it stacks up against the rest of the world. “I use the analogy of writing a story,” AgResearch scientist and LCA team member Dr Andre Mazzetto says. “In this case, we – the people that work with LCA – are the storytellers and the food product is the main character. So we need to understand where the product comes from, how it is produced, the main inputs for the production, how it is used, how it is distributed etc. This way, we can tell the story, and based on all this information, we calculate the product’s environmental burdens, such as the carbon footprint.” AgResearch principal scientist Dr Stewart Ledgard, an internationally recognised LCA expert, says LCA is a tool that analyses resource use and environmental emissions associated with a product or system – but it’s also more than that. “LCA accounts for the impacts from extraction of all raw material used and production of all of the inputs used, many of which may be from offshore. It often also covers the full life cycle of a product, including processing, transport, retail, consumer and waste stages. Results are expressed per kilogram of
a product and so it is often used to help make decisions in choice of food, goods or systems to minimise our impacts on the environment,” Ledgard says. Recently, the team has worked to measure the carbon footprint of products such as Simply Milk and a range of Anchor Milk brands, which enabled them to be certified as carbon zero or carbon neutral. Last year, DairyNZ released research it commissioned from the AgResearch LCA team that showed New Zealand to be a world leader in the carbon footprint for milk production, with the most efficient production among comparable countries, using a measure of kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per kilogram of fat and protein corrected milk. DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle described the dairy research as playing a key part in understanding how NZ dairy farms stack up and informing how Kiwi farmers can be even more efficient. Mazzetto says another advantage of LCA research is providing accurate measurements to debunk myths or challenge assumptions about exported products, including those that sit behind a concept such as “food miles”. Even accounting for freight to overseas markets, NZ products often stack up favourably by environmental impact, given the way they are produced. “Consumers are interested in knowing more about their impact on the environment, and producers understand that it is important to be transparent and provide an environmental assessment that is accurate and certified,” he says.
The team expects demand for LCA research to only grow with public concern about climate change, water scarcity and other environmental issues. The research is also likely to expand into areas like social and cultural impacts. “In future, it will go beyond just getting results for current systems and products to using LCA in designing new future systems and products with greater resource use efficiency and lower environmental impacts,” Ledgard says. “Additionally, it will go beyond a focus on only climate change to multiple impacts, including human health, ecosystem quality and waste reduction”. n
“Consumers are interested in knowing more about their impact on the environment, and producers understand that it is important to be transparent and provide an environmental assessment that is accurate and certified.” Dr Andre Mazzetto
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RESEARCH
Preventing mastitis in the dry
By Samantha Tennent
Researchers are looking into why clinical mastitis cases are rising in herds during the dry periods and what farmers can do to mitigate the risks.
A
fter hearing reports of clinical mastitis cases developing over the dry period, industry experts have been digging to uncover what could be causing the problem. They were keen to identify factors to help advise veterinarians and farmers on how they could reduce the risk. “It’s frustrating to deal with mastitis at the best of times, but it’s a real hassle when it develops in the dry period,”
Cognosco managing director and lead researcher Scott McDougall says. “We were trying to understand why this was happening, what it was about individual farms or individual cows that was leading to this apparent increase in the risk of mastitis. “Particularly because it appeared to be happening more frequently in herds that have been using selective dry cow therapy and farmers and vets who may have had a problem in the past needed
to have the confidence to try again.” McDougall worked with researchers from DairyNZ and Bayer New Zealand. Together they uncovered when cows only received internal teat sealant (ITS) their risk of clinical mastitis developing in the dry period was associated with their age, milk yield before drying-off and timing of drying-off. And the cows that developed clinical mastitis over the dry period had a higher risk of clinical mastitis and an elevated
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somatic cell count (SCC) in the following lactation. “Traditionally, candidates for dry cow therapy are selected on their somatic cell count or whether they have had clinical mastitis during the season,” McDougall says. “But for herds who have had problems in the past or are at risk of experiencing dry period clinical mastitis, they should also consider the age and production volume of the cow regardless of her cell count. “We found if an animal is more than four years old and is producing more than 10 litres of milk at that last herd test, the risk roughly doubles.” The research also highlighted that management of cows around dryingoff and the level of hygiene during the process needs to be vigilant. Steps need to be taken to reduce milk yield prior to drying off cows as well as their physical management after dry-off,” he says. “Those basics need a bit more care and thought when using selective dry cow therapy and teat sealants. “When antimicrobials are on board there is a bit more flex as they act as a backstop to protect the cow if they acquire a new infection, but when we are being selective we need to be a little bit more diligent. “For example, if a cow runs down the race with an udder half-full of milk she might leak and expose the teat canal to bugs and possibly lose the teat sealant that was inserted.” And one of the most important
Cognosco managing director and lead researcher Scott McDougall and his team have been studying individual cows and farms to identify the cause of increasing mastitis cases.
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
Scott McDougall sorting milk samples during herd testing for mastitis. factors is hygiene when performing the procedure. “We regularly hear farmers say the infection was already there, they must’ve missed that cow when choosing their dry cow therapy group for whatever reason, but all our data shows even when a truly infected cow is given teat sealant alone, the majority of them self-cure and don’t develop clinical mastitis anyway,” he says. “We didn’t see any of those cows develop clinical mastitis over the dry period in our research, but the ones that did have had a new infection introduced. “The mammary gland hasn’t seen the bugs, the immune system is in idle and if we accidentally put a bunch of bugs
in there the immune system can’t react fast enough and those are the ones that develop clinical mastitis usually quite quickly after drying-off.” The recommendations from the industry support programme SmartSAMM are still valid and were reinforced with the research findings. They stress the importance of ensuring the team has had sufficient training and helping them understand the reasons behind doing things. “There needs to be an emphasis on training, doing some cows before the dry-off date to practice and having a clear process of one person per cow, responsible for cleaning the teat, inserting the tube and marking the cow to remove the chance of error,” he says. “When individuals focus on a specific task, for example, one person running ahead cleaning teats, there are more chances for problems. They might get too far ahead and bugs could contaminate the teat before the tube has been inserted or there could be confusion which teats have been prepared. “It can be a tricky conversation for vets to have with farmers, but it’s really important to have a competent team to reduce the risks.” Timeframes are also important. McDougall explains a well-trained person can treat around 20 cows per hour effectively. “Sometimes bringing in a team of trained techs can be a good option but whatever method they choose, we can’t stress enough how important it is to get right,” he says. “A bit of planning and training will go a long way for a successful dry-off.” n
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TECHNOLOGY
At the touch of a button By Cheyenne Nicholson
Farmers can sit back with their feet up at home and draft cows through an app on their phone while the herd are happily grazing in the paddock out on the farm.
G
one are the days when a cow being manually drafted slips past the drafting gate and runs back to the paddock or someone forgets to enter her number at the shed. A new cow guidance system from Halter has put an end to all of those hassles. The system, which took a year to make, gives farmers the ability to draft cows in the paddock instead of in the shed, opening up the door to better time efficiency and improved stock management. Business manager Steve Crowhurst says the reaction has garnered a lot of excitement and the flow-on benefits of the new capability are huge. “The concept of asking a cow or a small group to come out the paddock for whatever reason is a big time-saving,” Crowhurst says. “This gives farmers a whole new set of capabilities. Farmers are really amazing at thinking of the most optimal way of managing their farms, so we’re
Halter collars fitted to cows are sent signals such as vibrations and sound cues to get one, two or 20 cows moving to where the farmer wants them to go. excited to see how farmers are going to use this.” Through Halter collars, each cow is individually guided. The new guiding
The new in-paddock drafting system from Halter is all done with the touch of a button from your phone.
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system builds off that and enables farmers to select one or a small group of cows on the app and ask those cows to come out of the paddock using vibration and sound cues to get the cows moving forward, left and right. “We see this being a huge asset during mating; farmers can ask cows to come out of paddock at any time for AB and not have to keep them close to the shed,” he says. “Calving is another key time we see this being beneficial with drafting out cows that are due to calve soon and get them into a better paddock for calving to help head off potential calving issues.” Traditional drafting is typically managed via an auto drafting system built into the exit of the cowshed. It’s costly, involves building infrastructure, isn’t foolproof and the system dates quickly. This new drafting system with Halter is all done with the touch of a button on your phone. “It’s been an incredible 12-months for Halter. We now launch three farms a day for our full commercial rollout and have expanded from the Waikato, including
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April 2022
Canterbury. This new rollout just adds to the excitement,” he says. Waikato farmer Fraser Hasnip runs a 106ha, 300 cow farm and has been using Halter for about 16-months and says this new feature adds another layer of efficiency to his business. Fraser manages the farm and is in an equity partnership with his parents. Hasnip’s System 2 farm is traditional twice-a-day milking, with half the herd switching to once-a-day in January to combat the summer dry. A few years ago, the herd sat around 200. Hasnip wanted to grow the herd bigger, but was limited by the infrastructure on-farm that was better suited for 200 cows.
“We now launch three farms a day for our full commercial rollout and have expanded from the Waikato, including Canterbury. This new rollout just adds to the excitement..” Steve Crowhurst “When we looked at Halter we saw that it would enable us to keep our existing infrastructure and grow our herd. We’ve split the herd into two and it’s working really well. It gave us more flexibility in terms of creating mobs to graze off certain areas of paddocks without spending hours putting up fences,” Hasnip says. Early on, they started pulling out physical fences to enable them to more efficiently graze the pasture and he is currently aiming for blocks of around 8ha. Since getting Halter, he’s noticed
A farmer checks in to make sure his drafted cows are going the right way.
a big increase in pasture utilisation, especially in paddocks where they’ve taken out physical fences. “It really enables us to utilise the paddock better. Previously some of the physical paddocks weren’t quite the right size and were hard to graze down properly. We’re now able to precisely give the cows what they need,” he says. While the time savings of shifting cows and setting up breaks has been a huge win, Hasnip says the animal health alerts have been invaluable and ensure that no cow gets lost in the 300-strong herd. “You can be a lot more proactive on the animal health front, and the new drafting system means it’s even easier. If we get an alert for a cow, we can draft her up to a spot closer to the yards so we can keep tabs on her. We’ve done this a few times
already and it’s such a time-saver and makes life easier,” he says. Hasnip says he’s excited to give the new drafting system a proper test this calving and hopes there will be a positive effect on their number of calving-related health issues. “Last calving, we used the pause function on the collars and shifted cows that were due to calve onto better pasture to reduce metabolic issues, so this year it will be neat to do that via the app. We like the cows to calve in a paddock with good grass cover and plenty of shelter close to the shed so we can keep an eye on them,” he says. It is hoped the technology will help pave the way to more levels of individual cow customisation options in the future. n
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TECHNOLOGY
Mapping animal behavioural patterns By Sonita Chandar
New tech allows farmers to undertake preventative health measures to boost productivity and increase animal welfare.
A
small, innovative, smart livestock ear tag that is set to be a game-changer for the agricultural industry has won the Earth Category of the global competition run by Microsoft and netted the inventors US$10,000 for their win. Developed by Massey University Engineering PhD students and budding entrepreneurs, Tyrel Glass and Baden Parr, ProTag works like a Fitbit and tracks the activity of an animal. The internet-enabled device clips onto a cow’s ear, allowing farmers to continuously monitor the animal’s health, grazing and breeding habits. This information is then sent to the cloud and used to predict if the animal is developing an illness. Machine learning is used to process data from the device’s temperature, movement, and location sensors, helping farmers map animal behavioural patterns and detect the early onset of illnesses in real-time. This means farmers are able to undertake preventative health measures that reduce vet fees, boost productivity, and increase animal welfare. The product idea came from a meeting with a young farming couple who were seeking help to invent a smart ear tag that could give them insights into their herd’s health. Last year, the device made the finals of Microsoft’s global competition, the Imagine Cup. They entered their idea into the Microsoft competition and beat tens of thousands of challengers from across the Asia Pacific regional finals, before making a world shortlist of 12, and then being named the winner of the Earth category. They then competed against the winners of the education, healthcare and lifestyle categories, which were won by teams from the US, Kenya and Thailand respectively.
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Massey University PhD students and ProTag developers Tyrel Glass and Baden Parr have won the Earth category in the finals of the Microsoft global competition the Imagine Cup for their smart ear tag. The competition brought together student innovators to tackle social issues with technology and has been run by Microsoft for 19 years. “It was awesome,” Glass says. “Following that, we received a lot of interest in what we were doing and that led to expansion of our network and raising our seed round. “Things are full speed ahead now.” Their agritech startup ProTag has now raised $1 million from investors to fasttrack the development of their smart ear tag sensors, which transmit crucial health and location data to dairy farmers within seconds. The funds were raised from a variety of sponsors, including Finistere, OurCrowd, Fonterra, Sprout and Callaghan. The newly raised funds will be used to accelerate the company’s product development and validation in preparation for large-scale trials planned for later this year, with several expressions of interest generated from farmers in Waikato and the South Island. While the company has its immediate sights on the New Zealand market, where a farmer’s average dairy herd is 440 cows,
Ireland and Brazil have been identified as future markets. Glass says the device is 100 times more power-efficient than other GPS-based devices using bulkier battery packs. “We see a future where every farmer has detailed information on the health and wellbeing of every animal,” he says. “The power of remote sensing in animal health is huge and ProTag is the gateway into this data, providing advanced analytics for each animal that can map the whole story of the cow, and at an accessible price point for all farmers.” “Mastitis, lameness (leg and foot pain), and reproduction issues are the main ailments dairy cattle face. By detecting these early, ProTag paves the way for more sustainable farming and improved animal welfare, fellow co-founder Baden Parr adds. Associate Professor in Computer Engineering and PhD supervisor of Glass and Parr, Fakhrul Alam says the students have created potentially game-changing technology for the agritech industry. “Their engineering smarts, combining cutting-edge remote sensing technology and artificial intelligence, will bring crucial insights to dairy farmers,” Alam says. n
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
TECHNOLOGY
Put your best tech forward By Sonita Chandar
A strategy to showcase all the latest and greatest developments and innovations in the tech sector, as well as the people who work in it, has grown rapidly.
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he technology and innovations sectors in New Zealand are growing rapidly with new ideas and products being developed at pace. Techweek22 is a nationwide series of events, showcasing and celebrating NZ innovation and provides a platform where people can meet, share ideas and create connections to enhance the future world. Created by NZTech and the Hi-Tech Trust in 2012 to coincide with the Hi-Tech Awards, the event aims to build enthusiasm around new technologies being developed in NZ. Since then it has grown from several events to a high of 562 events in 2019, during which 46,000 people attended online. This dropped in 2020 and 2021 due to covid. “Covid has not affected development – it has grown especially in the tech sector and within the events and pushed more knowledge to online and what else everyone can offer. A lot of new startups have started over this period,” a spokesperson for the week says. Techweek22 will be a mix of live, virtual, hybrid events and Techweek TV, so there’s something to suit everyone. This year, the event will explore six themes that showcase how technology can help keep people connected, the economy active, and how NZ can become a tech hub for thought leadership. One of the themes is
Climate and Sustainability. NZ is defined by its natural environment and its progressive and entrepreneurial spirit – qualities that can put us at the forefront of climate and sustainable tech solutions. Innovation supports global climate change mitigation and there is a global demand for tech-based solutions. NZ is defined by its natural environment, along with several other attributes, that should put us at the forefront of global sustainable tech solutions. A highly developed and sustainable tech economy has the advantage of delivering weightless exports, attracting investment that works for the environment and our commitments to a low emissions future. Moreover, the deployment of sustainable tech solutions across the energy, agriculture, transport, waste and other key sectors will enhance our standing among nations by demonstrating our leadership in combating the climate crisis. Other themes include Skills and Knowledge to focus on the growing demand for tech and those who work in the industry; Digital Transformation, with the aim of keeping people connected and the economy active, to attain our share of the exponential growth potential in the digital sector and the economy; and Leaders and Innovation, in which we will share inspiring stories of local tech innovation and leadership.
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Global Impact is another theme which highlights NZ for global investors, tech talent and tech buyers. Now is the time to tell that story and position NZ as an exciting tech industry to engage with. Success on the international stage means amplifying our global reputation for innovative digital solutions and ethical application of tech. This theme will showcase NZ tech companies who
are successfully flourishing internationally, with a willingness to share their experiences with early-stage businesses. This presents a further unique opportunity to support export growth in sectors such as software as a service, AI and interactive media. n
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Techweek22 will run from May 16-22, events can be submitted until April 12.
Introducing Javier Roca Livestock Sales & Marketing Manager I grew up on my family’s beef farm in South America and later pursued my career in livestock, first managing dairy farms and then working for a USA-based breeding company. Attracted by New Zealand’s agricultural reputation, I moved to Palmerston North 15 years ago to pursue postgraduate studies in Animal Science. I am delighted to take over this new role and to be part of the team at GlobalHQ. I look forward to working with you to ensure that your advertising hits the mark with an engaged audience by using the platforms that GlobalHQ has to offer; whether that’s print, digital, or new media. Contact Javier today on 027 602 4925, or email livestock@globalhq.co.nz
FARMSTRONG
A catch-up over cricket Tim Bond recently pulled on the pads for the dairy farmer’s team in Te Puke’s annual farmers versus growers cricket game. He shared his thoughts with Farmstrong on the serious message behind the fun.
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ow did the game go, Tim? You come from a sporting background, don’t you? Yes, I played rugby at a high level for about 10 years but on the cricket field I’m afraid I’m just another battler. I think we lost by about 40 runs, but it was a brilliant day. I play social twilight cricket in Te Puke and that’s how I got roped in, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. My background’s in rugby, so I’m actually thinking of way we could take this idea and use it there. Everyone’s busy on their farms or orchards at this time of year, why take time off for a game of cricket? Well, that’s the whole point. Even though you’re head down, bum up all the time, you’ve got to make time for these sorts of things to keep well. There’s never a right time in farming. There’s always something to fill a gap in your day. But everyone needs to have that bit of time off where they can just go and have a laugh and unwind. It’s not just good fun, it’s actually good for you.
So, it’s not just about cricket? That’s right. To someone else looking in it might just look like a fun game of cricket, but for someone on the field, it might be their one opportunity to get off their farm or orchard for the week, or for the month. The game’s also a great way to raise awareness about rural mental health. What are you hearing are the main pressures? Weather’s a massive one for farmers and I can see that really puts pressure on. This year’s been a bit kinder, the payout’s good and the schedule’s good, but there’s not a lot of space for guys to get cattle away. Covid’s added another layer of disruption, hasn’t it? Yes, that’s right, labour’s in short supply. The markets are buoyant, but I feel for these guys at the moment. There’s only so many workers out there. I was talking to a client who had a contract milker all signed up and a month into the job he just rang the boss and told him he was moving. That was it, he just left, which was incredibly difficult for the farmer.
Tim Bond – fourth from the right is a big believer in getting time away from the farm and work and catching up with mates or playing a sport.
What can rural people do to make themselves more resilient – what do you do? I work and I’ve got a young family, which keeps me busy, but I think it’s about making an effort to take time off no matter how busy you get. I really enjoy getting out for a run every now and then. If I feel things getting a bit tight mentally, I’ll try and bang out a run and do 10km.
“Talk to your friends and family, get offfarm for a break.” Tim Bond How does that help relieve pressure? I’m a big believer that pushing yourself physically a couple of times a week helps your headspace. There’s a science behind it. It clears the brain. If you’re pushing yourself, all you can think about is how hard you’re working and so mentally that is time away from anything you might be dwelling on at work. It’s about finding what works for you.
Is that why you make time for twilight cricket too? Yeah, that ticks a lot of boxes. That’s what you start to realise as you get older. Time gets very scarce and if you can set a bit aside for yourself, it’s bloody good for you. It is good mentally to just sit down and have a beer and chew the fat with your mates. Any other strategies that have worked for you? I’ve found sometimes taking the little wins and acknowledging them is helpful. If you make a change on-farm and it works, celebrate that. If you’re constantly focused on big goals, life can feel overwhelming. The other thing is to trust your processes. If you know what you’re doing and you believe in your system, push on with it and adapt as necessary. If you tick all your boxes, then there’s nothing more you can do or control. Farming can be an isolated occupation at times, can’t it? Yes, I was talking to an agent with his own farm, who went from drought to heavy rain, from having no feed and dry to having no feed and wet. He told me he actually got quite depressed and never left the farm for three months. It wasn’t until he got off farm and started meeting other farmers that he saw everyone else was in the same boat. So I think a big part of keeping well mentally, is just getting off the farm when things are tough and telling yourself, ‘It’s not me, I’m not a useless farmer, everyone else is struggling too. We’re in this together’. Do you think attitudes are changing towards people discussing these issues? I don’t think these conversations are ever easy to have. But programmes like Farmstrong make it easier for people to ask how people are doing and for people to respond if they’re feeling under the pump. I think people’s mental health has come to the forefront of issues farmers discuss and that’s making it easier to ask each other.
Tim Bond bowls to the opposition during the annual farmers versus growers cricket game in Te Puke.
What’s the key to having a conversation with someone struggling? I think the most important thing is to just listen. You don’t need to come up with the answers. That’s why I really like the ‘You Matter, Let’s Natter’ mugs Farmstrong gives out to farmers. It’s subtle, but it works. You can keep it in the cupboard, your mate comes round to have a cuppa and you can drop into the conversation, ‘well how are you getting on?’ I thought it was a bloody good idea. What do you think of Farmstrong’s live well to farm well message? I think the public sometimes forget how much farmers just want to be good farmers. Farmers love their animals and land and put a lot of thought into their systems. Keeping well is just another aspect of running a good business. I work in a privileged role where I get to meet many dairy farmers and can have a yak with them. When times are tough, in a drought for instance, I can remind them that they’re not the only ones up against it. Any final thoughts? I think it’s important, as an industry and as individuals, to be able to spot
those markers when things are starting to turn a little bit for people. If you’re normally energised and suddenly struggling to get out of bed or lacking in motivation, rather than struggle on for three weeks, ask yourself why am I feeling this way? If you’re getting those indicators that things are starting to slide a little bit, do something. Talk to your friends and family, get off-farm for a break and check out the resources on the Farmstrong website. Don’t just struggle on. So your main message is get out and talk? That’s right. The crux of it for me is that you’ve got to be around other people. We’re social creatures. That’s where hobbies and sports clubs come into their own. You can rub shoulders with other people and get time off the farm. Things like twilight cricket are a good outlet for farmers. I see them sitting down and talking about how the neighbour’s cows are milking. Suddenly farming’s not so isolating. n
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Farmstrong is a nationwide, rural wellbeing programme that helps farmers cope with the ups and downs of farming. For more information visit: www.farmstrong.co.nz
Under the pump? For tips and ideas, visit farmstrong.co.nz
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
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WHITE GOLD
A goat milking paradise By Ross Nolly
A Wellington couple were inspired by a television programme to take up goat milking and sell fresh milk to the public.
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ometimes unexpected experiences spark you to transition your life in an entirely new direction. That’s exactly what happened to Wellington couple Naomi and Frans Steenkamp in early 2016 after their two-week, four-wheel driving South Island odyssey. The South Island exposed them to just how beautiful things are and how much diversity in land-use there is. That trip inspired them to begin searching for land to turn into their own piece of paradise. An acre or two spare in Wellington was rare, however, they didn’t have to look too far for that dream piece of land. They discovered a 43-hectare property in Brooklyn, only 15 minutes from Wellington’s bustling CBD. “Our land has a deep history in sheep, beef and goats and was home to an Ayrshire dairy herd that supplied milk in glass bottles to the Brooklyn community for almost a century,” Frans says. “Following that it was intermittently grazed as a sheep and beef station until fibre goats were farmed in the 1970-80s. “After the 1987 sharemarket crash, the gates were opened and the goats were released into the surrounding hills, much to the disgust of the local council. When we bought the property it consisted solely of 18 years of regenerating farmland,” he says. The couple were operating their construction business in October of 2016 when a Country Calendar episode featuring Kaikoura Cheese piqued
Frans and Naomi Steenkamp run Brooklyn Creamery on their farm at Brooklyn selling fresh goat milk to the public. their interest in farming goats for milk production. Soon after, they drew up a five-year plan to transition from construction to caprines. “We hadn’t initially considered goat milk, but we thought it looked pretty cool. Given we’d bought bare land, we had to discover whether we could establish a farm here,” he says. The council doesn’t want this land developed for housing, and for good reason; its unique location means it can be thought of as “a lung of Wellington,” Naomi says. “We needed to be able to easily deliver a fresh, local product. It can be difficult
The Steenkamps began with 12 goats in 2017 and have built up their herd to 60 milking goats and 20 bucks and youngstock.
having a very good product if you live a distance from your market. We’re only 15 minutes from New Zealand’s secondbiggest city, with half a million people at our doorstep,” she says. Getting started wasn’t easy and when they told their bank about the goat milk creamery, the first question they were asked was “what’s a goat milk creamery?”. Since it was bare land, they had to set everything up from scratch. In 2017 they built and installed the infrastructure, including power, fencing, barns, yards, shelters and a bridge allowing access from the road by car before building their home. “We put in the first fencing around 6.07 hectares, which included the house. There’s scope to bring more land into production. But we farm our land differently because goats are browsers, not grazers,” Frans says. A loafing barn is available 24/7 for the herd to use, especially during inclement weather and they constantly feed hay and baleage in the barn. Rainwater caught and stored in a tank automatically fills the troughs and
To begin with, four goats were milked with a mobile quad milker but are now milked by a $60,000 milking machine from Greece specifically made for milking 12 goats at a time.
mineral supplements are available at all times for the goats to essentially selfmedicate. “If a goat’s in really good condition she’ll easily produce between six to eight litres of milk per day. When you consider that a goat is an animal of around 55-60kgs, and how little they eat in comparison to a dairy cow, it’s a very good conversion rate,” Naomi says. The farm is relatively high input, so they don’t have concerns about the location nor do they rely heavily on pasture, or the impacts of rainfall and other climatic conditions. “Every season, we pre-purchase organic baleage and hay from Wairarapa and have worked with Fodder NZ to implement a hydroponic system to grow barley fodder for the goats. We get about a 15cm growth of barley in six days, supplementing 14% DM (120kg wet) per day,” Frans says. “A custom goat feed pellet is made for us that matches their requirements for our farm. We supplement that feed with sprouted barley and ad-lib hay and baleage.” Naomi’s experience in implementing complex employment policies and health and safety protocol changes for their construction company helped her navigate the MPI regulations. “We discovered that MPI had developed RMP templates that even told us the milk’s shelf life. If you followed the templates, and didn’t try to reinvent the wheel, it became a relatively straightforward procedure,” she says. “All the rules are in place to ensure that the milk is safe.” They bought 12 goats in 2017 without really realising what they were getting themselves in for. They now farm around 80 goats and usually milk 60, with the balance being their own bred bucks and young stock. “We were milking four goats at a time with a mobile quad milker. In May 2020 we ordered a $60,000 milking machine
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
from Greece specifically made for 12 goats at a time. But due to covid delays it never arrived until Christmas,” she says. They now have an on-site pasteurising system, refrigerated truck and a wash plant for the bottles. Milk is heat treated on-farm before rapidly chilling it to lock in the quality and taste. Despite many people thinking it to be normal, goat milk shouldn’t taste “goaty”. If it doesn’t taste creamy and sweet, it’s due to the goat not having been fed correctly, or there are milk handling issues occurring. “It was very exciting to sell our first milk in December 2021, and to once more supply the local Brooklyn community with milk from this property. In a way it’s gone full circle,” she says. They sell their milk in Wellington on Saturday at the Thorndon Farmers’ Market, and on Sunday at the Harbourside Market and sell to cafés, restaurants and gelato manufacturers, and are stocked in Moore Wilson’s, Commonsense Organics, delicatessens and other retail outlets. The milk is usually delivered to town on the day it’s produced. “We’ve launched branded one-litre glass bottles. The customer buys into the cost of the bottle in addition to the milk. Thereafter, they only pay for the milk component and the bottle is swapped each time,” she says. “It’s a true circular economy and our milk is a product with a solution. Returned bottles are washed and sanitised in our purpose-built facility. We use zero waste shot glasses for our market tastings. The tastings break down people’s preconceptions about the flavour of goat milk. “Wellington is one of the ‘foodie capitals’ of New Zealand and people are on board with the rinse and return for reuse milk-in-glass-bottle system we operate under, and are delighted to have access to a local, fresh milk supply.” n
D I V O C S K C SU
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WHITE GOLD
The buffalo way By Samantha Tennent
Milking water buffalo is proving to be a winner for one Auckland farming family.
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hile hosing her milking water buffalo in the shed after they have had a good mud wallow on a rainy day, Annie Wills does question her lifestyle choice. But luckily it is a rare occurrence and she loves running Whangaripo Buffalo in north Auckland alongside her family. “We get great joy from the animals and it’s a relatively stress-free lifestyle,” Wills says. “They are delightful animals with big personalities. If one is having a bad day you certainly know about it, but they’re usually very friendly. They all have names and our 12-year-old can milk them without any problems.” Their top cows produce around 10 litres of milk at 20% milksolids, which makes it amazing for making cheese. They utilise almost half of the milk they produce themselves to make cheese for restaurants and to sell at the Matakana market. And the rest of the milk is sold to other cheesemakers. Cheese produced and sold at the markets include Marin Blue cheese, St Mal, which is a hard cheese, St Benedict Blue, brie, fresca (curd), haloumi, feta and grado (labneh). “Buffalo milk is a high-end product in high demand; we sell everything we produce but it’s still not enough,” she says. “We could definitely expand or there’s room for another producer to get involved.”
The Willis family run Whangaripo Buffalo Company, north of Auckland, where they farm 120 animals, including 60 milking cows.
It is a family business with Wills and her husband, Phil Armstrong, milking the herd and running the platform. Her parents, Chris and Pam Wills, rear the calves and run the support block. Although Wills had an agricultural degree from Massey University and Armstrong had grown up on a dairy farm, neither had envisioned they would end up dairying, let alone milking water buffalo. “Phil was a skipper on a fishing boat who swore he was never going to milk cows and I was living in Africa, but mum and dad had been looking for a retirement business that could support the family,” she explains. “They couldn’t afford a viable dairy or sheep and beef farm, so bought 20
hectares in Whangaripo Valley between Matakana and Wellsford. “And when deciding what to do with the land they remembered the milking buffalo they saw during a trip to Europe, whose milk was used to make cheese for the Italian mozzarella industry,” she says. They took the gamble and imported 17 pregnant heifers and two bulls from Australia, which formed the basis of the herd. They now have 120 animals, including 60 milking cows, with 20 inmilk at any one time. They calve yearround and milk once-a-day. They milk through a custom-built walkthrough shed, which is more suitable than the herringbone they used initially. “They respond beautifully to the
Annie Willis with her mum Pam making cheese from the buffalo milk. They produce a variety of cheeses including Marin Blue cheese, St Mal, which is a hard cheese, St Benedict blue, brie and more.
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Purchase iNTELSPRAY 2 walkover teat sprayer The buffalo all have personalities of their own and are generally so quiet and friendly, even 12-year-old Malo can milk them with no problems. walkthrough. They have their own bail, they can go at their own pace and they don’t get held up waiting for one cow that’s having a bad day and would rather not milk,” she says. They use the same milking equipment as a dairy herd with a slightly lower pulse rate; it is all pretty low-technology and simple, which keeps life easy for everyone. Water buffalo are tough animals and apart from an annual audit for food safety requirements, the vet has only been called twice in 12 years. They are susceptible to malignant catarrhal fever they can catch from sheep, but there are no worms or parasites that affect them in New Zealand. “We can’t run any sheep around them, but we basically operate under organic principles – they are tough animals,” she says. Buffalo have an extended life expectancy. Wills says they could easily milk a cow for 20 years. But since they are horned and find trucking stressful, they are killed on the property and used as pet food or to feed the lions at Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary when it is time for culling. The herd is mated naturally with bulls and they only use artificial insemination to produce bulls with fresh genetics. A bull runs with the herd year-round and cows are pregnant for around 11 months. The calves are reared on milk till they are weaned onto grass around three months old. “The calves can be tricky to rear but dad has a good system going; there isn’t any particular science to it and they have a low mortality rate, so we end up with an excess of replacements,” she says. Feeding the herd is pretty basic; they
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
have tried improving pastures in the past, but found the herd prefers unimproved pastures with a bit of roughage. They feed baleage over winter and some grain to the dry cows, but not a lot of inputs go into the system otherwise. “They have cleaned up all the rushes on the property and they are great for weed control; they use blackberry for scratching so it doesn’t last long,” she says. The family are considering their options for the future, whether they expand onto a bigger property or stay where they are. “We wonder if a bigger place will mean the same income but for more work, or if it is worth staying where we are for the lifestyle factor.” Either way, they are more than happy with their decision to take the gamble, it has certainly paid off. n
Buffalo milk produced at Whangaripo Buffalo Company is used to make cheese and sold at the markets and to other cheesemakers.
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*Terms & conditions apply: Offer(s) valid until 31 May 2022. All prices are exclusive of GST. Installation and assembly cost is not included in any of these offers and are quoted separately by a GEA Service Partner, as required. A full inspection must be carried out before a final quote presented. ^Minimum CowScout tag quantity is 300 to be eligible for the CowScout promotion. CowScout tags will be ordered at the time of signing a contract, with dates for delivery of goods confirmed at this time. +Cluster pricing is per unit. The minimum cluster unit quantity is 30 to be eligible for cluster promotion(s). Pricing of cluster units may vary for different cluster/liner/shell options. Please enquire to ensure the right option and fit for your cows’. Cluster units will not be supplied assembled. Long milk tubes and long pulse tubes are not included.
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WHITE GOLD
Curiosity milked the deer By Samantha Tennent
Deer milking is a relatively new industry and still in the exploratory phase.
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hen he was first approached about the idea of milking deer, Mark Faulks thought it was an absurd idea. He farms red deer for meat and also has a dairy farm and he had never thought about combining the two. But curiosity got the better of him and five years on he has around 300 hinds in-milk. “I figured I knew a bit about deer and a bit about milking so maybe it was worth a shot,” Faulks says. “And we thought milking the deer would be the hardest part, but it has surprisingly been easy.” Faulks and his business partner Graham Carr were already operating a deer property at Mt Somers, Canterbury which meant, when it came to selecting potential milking hinds, they had the luxury of selecting a small number of the quietest animals from the larger herd to get started with. “It’s not like dairy farming, you can’t really just go grab a herd of animals and be set,” he says. “We’ve probably had 1000 through the shed while we’ve been establishing the herd. “But they’re either suitable or they’re not, it’s pretty black and white so you know pretty quickly.”
They adapted the existing deer shed on the property to cater to an efficient milking operation and sourced milking equipment from the sheep and goat industry. The shed was developed in a way that considered both animal and human safety. “Back in the early days, the deer were very volatile with this new experience of being milked, so we had to develop a safety barrier between the milker and the deer to protect them both,” he says. “There isn’t anything fancy about it, but I’ve converted a few dairy farms over the years so I had an idea of what we needed to get going.” The finished product is a 12-a-side herringbone and each hind has a padded stall to stand in with space in the front, so they can see their friends along the milking line and chat about their mornings. “If they can interact they generally stay quiet, but if there’s one causing problems we need to get her out quick or she’ll set them all off, they’re like teenage kids,” he says. They are fed on pasture predominant in legume and crushed grain while they are in-milk, which keeps them in great condition and they get pregnant easily. They milk once-a-day and only till the end of April as the quality and volume
When Mark Faulks was first approached about deer milking, he thought it was an absurd idea. He now has 300 milking hinds. of the milk declines. It is a short season but Faulks has been impressed with how well the hinds pick it up again the following year. Each hind produces one litre a day on average that sits around 22 to 25% milksolids. “We have measuring flasks on some of the cups to keep an eye on their production, but it has been a lot of learning to handle the milk,” he says. “We’ve had to explore and refine our
DCS
Dairy Cooling Solutions Tradition meets Technology
milking equipment and technology along the way as the deer milk is so high in fat and thick and creamy. For example, we had to play with the stirrer speed in the vat to find the optimal speed, otherwise if you stir it too hard it turns into butter.” In the beginning, the milk was being used by a local cheesemaker who made a great tasting deer milk gouda, but the cheese yielded low returns so Faulks and the team have been investigating other options. “We’re in a discovery stage, trying to find a product that will return a premium for the limited supply we currently have,” he says. “It has been a journey because you don’t want to invest in too much research and development until you’re sure you will have the supply to sustain it. “But now we have the supply side sorted, we are exploring many exciting concepts and products of what it could be turned into.” Because of the composition, they had difficulties trying to dry the milk. And
frozen milk could only last 12 months. Freeze-drying has been a processing method the team have explored, which results in the purest form of deer milk as a powder. This powder has given the team a product with a longer shelf life to work with in product development opportunities.
magnesium, and zinc, all beneficial for health. “I’m sure there’s something it’ll be really good for, we see those small udders feeding great big fawns so it must have some great properties,” he says. Because it is a reasonably new industry, the team feel like they have been in a
Deer milk is different from cow milk and tests show it is higher in fat and protein content and lower in lactose compared to cow, sheep and goat milk. “We’re keen to find that premium market. It’s beautiful milk to drink and it’s really thick and smooth. Plus the nutritional benefits of deer milk is really quite exciting,” he says. The company engaged the services of research specialists Callaghan Innovation in Wellington to test the properties and understand a little more about the benefits of deer milk. It has shown to be higher in fat and protein content, and lower in lactose compared to cow, sheep and goat milk. It also contains calcium,
real foundation building phase over the past years and have not seen any real commercial return. There has been a great deal of compliance and regulatory work with the Ministry of Primary Industries and other regulatory organisations to get deer milk ready for the commercial world. Along the way, they have faced a lot of hurdles and challenges, but they are enjoying the venture and look forward to having a commercial operation running soon. n
In the early days, the deer were volatile with this new experience of being milked, so Mark Faulks had to install a safety barrier between the milker and the deer to protect them both. Deer have smaller udders and teats compared to cows. Milking the deer.
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ANIMAL HEALTH
Achieving BCS targets at calving and mating helps maximise production, reproduction and reduces the risks of animal health issues.
What can we use BCS data for? By Samantha Tennent
Body condition scoring is an important tool in a farmer’s toolbox to ensure cows are in optimal health for the following season.
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e’ve hit the point of the season where we need to look to the future. What we do with the herd from now has more impact on next season than the current one and you are in a position to set up for future success by how you manage them through to calving. Body condition scoring (BCS) isn’t a new concept, there is sound science supporting its value as a management tool. But what do we use the information for when we have it? Examples of decisions you can make from BCS information include how and when to dry off, determining mitigation strategies for potential feed deficits and creating plans for dry-cow management. Achieving BCS targets at calving and mating helps maximise production, reproduction and reduces the risks of animal health issues.
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And the range in BCS is as important as the average BCS at calving and the challenge is to get the spread in BCS at calving as small as possible around the targets. The ideal BCS of 5.0 for mixed age cows and 5.5 for first and second calvers is optimal for each individual animal, as well as a herd target. For spring-calving cows, assessing BCS in mid-February to mid-March determines if the management plan is working or whether some cows should be dried off early, milked once-a-day (OAD) or preferentially fed. Dry-off decisions From March onwards you can use a combination of BCS and expected calving date to stagger drying cows off. The principle is every dry cow can be fed the same, but the difference is how long she is dry for. For example, a skinny early-calver will need to be dried off before a fatter cow with the same calving
date. This will help get them to their BCS targets one month before they’re due to calve, as cows do not gain BCS in the month before calving because so much energy is required for pregnancy. Low-producing, fat cows should be dried off early as they put fat on their back instead of milk in the vat. When feed is short, herd milk production commonly increases by drying off the low-producing fat cows as the other more productive cows can be fed better. Often there are areas of low-quality feed on the farm where these cows can be put to maintain themselves, such as steep sidings or gullies. First and second calvers should be given more time dry than older cows. Young cows are still growing to reach their mature weight and often have lower intakes and they are only able to put weight on slowly and require more time to get to target condition.
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
“Having BCS information is a valuable tool to support decisionmaking on farms and provides options to deal with the challenges each season throws at us.”
If you dry off all at once, then you should split the dry cows into herds based on condition and expected calving date. This allows for preferential feeding to get all cows to target BCS. Even if not enough feed is available to put on extra condition, creating herds is still a good idea, as it protects the younger cows from competition from the older more dominant cows. And if supplement is going to be fed then feed it to the herd that needs to gain the most condition or that needs to put it on fastest. Should she go on OAD? BCS data can help determine which cows might benefit from OAD milking. Cows that are milked OAD are less likely to milk off their back than cows milked twice-a-day (TAD) and when well fed, will put more weight on during lactation. Groups of cows that are particularly vulnerable to not reaching BCS targets, such as first-calvers and early-calving cows, are ideal candidates for part-season OAD milking. The key is to go on OAD early enough to have an impact on BCS, as milking
WelFarm general manager Samantha Tennent says herd management decisions made now will help farmers in the new season to ensure their herd is in top shape.
OAD for a couple of weeks or a month before drying off has little impact. The reduction in daily milksolids production can largely be made up by milking on for longer, as cows do not have to be driedoff as early due to BCS. Having BCS information is a valuable tool to support decision-making on farms and provides options to deal with the challenges each season throws at
us. Be sure to talk to your veterinarian about performing BCS on your herd regularly throughout the season and use the WelFarm programme to compare to other farms to see where you could n improve.
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Samantha Tennent is general manager WelFarm Ltd
ANIMAL HEALTH
Journey to health By Richard Rennie
More farmers now appreciate a cow’s experience is similar to humans and want the journey to good health to be less arduous.
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n the seasonal rush of dairying in springtime, mastitis is often another headache for busy farmers to grapple with, often on a daily basis. According to DairyNZ data, the disease that is costing the dairy industry about $280 million a year, is no joyride for the cows suffering it either. Mastitis is an inflammatory disease of the udder, combining all the aspects of pain, redness, swelling, heat and loss of function, all or any of which humans would do their best to avoid, or at least ease with the use of painkillers. Today that understanding of treatment extends to knowing livestock also experience pain, and with it the slowing, debilitating effects it can bring when recovering from the disease or condition causing it. Research in calves, for example, has shown the duration of pain experienced can be significantly greater than the procedure itself, and impact on their ability to recover from it as quickly. Farmers’ and veterinarians’ approach to managing pain has changed in the
past decade, partly thanks to greater research into the subject. Research work has delved deeper into species that tend to hide their discomfort, such as cattle, to better understand the extent of their pain experience and the impacts on production.
“It gives them the confidence they are meeting those demands, but more importantly fulfills every farmers’ belief that happy cows will ultimately be more productive cows and helps ensure their journey to recovery is far more comfortable than it would ever be otherwise.” James Laidlaw
A 2011 survey of New Zealand vets’ perception of pain caused by mastitis highlighted this. Vets ranked ‘mild’ mastitis pain as a three out of 10, while severe was rated at a high eight. But it is farmers who are most often at the sharp end of mastitis detection. Farmers’ recognition of mastitis in a cow typically has that cow processed in a routine of diagnostics and treatment, as well as withholding of milk until any antibiotics (if required) have cleared their withholding period. But thanks in part to NZ’s worldleading animal welfare standards, and a greater understanding among farmers of livestock pain, there is a growing awareness that a standard antibiotic treatment alone for mastitis may no longer be sufficient. More farmers now appreciate a cow’s experience is similar to humans and want the journey to good health to be less arduous. Ultimately, they want her to be as comfortable and productive as she was before contracting mastitis.
Brookby farmer Dave Ritchie has been using Metacam to treat mastitis in his herd for two years and says he has been getting good results from it.
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DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
Anti-inflammatory, pain relief drug Metacam is increasingly being added to farmers’ treatment regime when dealing with seasonal mastitis. It has an 84-hour withholding period. File Photo Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health’s anti-inflammatory, pain relief drug Metacam is increasingly being added to farmers’ treatment regime when dealing with seasonal mastitis. It is a simple one-shot, 72-hour reliever helping ease the condition’s inflammatory pain. With over 20 years of approved use in NZ in livestock, it has proven to deliver lasting, effective relief to animals coping with pain from essential treatments like disbudding, surgical procedures, or diseases such as mastitis and calf scours. Brookby farmer Dave Ritchie can attest to the effectiveness and humaneness of using it in his mastitis treatment regime. “We started using Metacam two years ago. I would see cows come in with mastitis, clearly so sore with red, hot, swollen udders, walking in pain,” Ritchie says. As standard practice, he now reaches for Metacam at the same time as an antibiotic mastitis treatment when isolating infected cows. “We had used it before when we were disbudding our calves and they always seemed to recover quickly. It’s just like
people really – we would all reach for a Panadol if we were feeling sore or not well. No one likes to experience pain and I don’t like to see my cows experience it,” he says. He says after 24 hours the cows he has treated will often appear much more settled, walking more evenly,
grazing and on the way to a happier recovery. He agrees farmers don’t always link mastitis with pain relief, but says the one-shot nature, with only 84 hours withholding, fits well with typical mastitis antibiotic treatment routines. “I believe we get better antibiotic response as a result too. So, you don’t get compromised cow recovery where she may recover, but she still ends up with a light quarter afterwards,” he says. With antibiotic resistance a major concern in the production animal sector globally, the ability to ensure a single course of antibiotic treatment does its job first time thanks to its addition brings an assuredness that the treatment is not contributing to excess use of these critical drugs. His experience is backed by research showing Metacam treated cows experience a 32% improvement in mastitis cure when treated alongside antibiotics, compared to those not receiving it. BIAH New Zealand livestock veterinarian James Laidlaw says the product helps farmers fulfil some of the more holistic demands they face from today’s consumers’ expectations for how they look after their animals and their land. “It gives them the confidence they are meeting those demands, but more importantly fulfills every farmers’ belief that happy cows will ultimately be more productive cows and helps ensure their journey to recovery is far more comfortable than it would ever be otherwise,” Laidlaw says. n
Using pain relief provides effective relief to animals coping with pain from essential treatments like disbudding, surgical procedures or diseases such as mastitis and calf scours. File Photo
RURAL RECRUITMENT
Driving ag skill growth By Ross Nolly
The arrival of covid has disrupted businesses all over the world and left the agricultural industry short-staffed.
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hen covid reared its head over two years ago, many businesses had to rethink their practices and pivot and evolve in new ways. AgTechnology Group was one of those companies. Their business had contracts with the Germany companies CLAAS and LEMKEN to handle their New Zealand research, development and engineering during the summer harvest season. During the European summer, the AgTechnology team would travel to Europe and other parts of the world, undertaking CLAAS and LEMKEN projects and testing their machinery. Covid put an end to their offshore business travel. “We had really good businesses that we had established over a 25-year period and suddenly covid brought it to a dead stop. We had half a dozen people sitting around and began looking for alternatives. Not just to keep everyone busy, but also to derive some cash flow,” group managing director Andre Syben says. “A friend’s passing comment about the inability for overseas drivers to come into New Zealand sparked a change of direction. I talked to the team, and we
decided to start a tractor driver training business called Ag Drive.” Ag Drive was originally seen as a stop-gap measure to provide winter work, however, Syben was surprised at the reaction and uptake from the rural community and, more importantly, their support from agricultural contractors, farmers and machinery suppliers. “There are some other tractor driver training companies, but most are classroom-based,” he says. “None are anywhere near the scale of Ag Drive, with a huge investment in tractors, machinery and infrastructure. “Our courses have a classroom element and a strong focus on the practical aspect. We saw a gap in the market, where people new to the industry or those wanting some more professional training could get on tractors and learn new skills in a safe, managed but real-life environment. Then they could take those skills back to their workplace, or apply to work within the industry.” Covid has forced Syben to examine how he can protect the company, if similar epidemics occur in the future. “We’ve streamlined the businesses within our group structure and are much more agile now. Our entire team has been extremely flexible regarding Ag Drive courses have a classroom element and a strong focus on the practical aspect. Students learn how to pick up and transport baleage on-farm.
workload, roles, goals and how we’re going to achieve them,” he says. “Our existing staff enjoyed their new teaching roles, but once the New Zealand-based CLAAS work began again, we saw Ag Drive’s possibilities, so employed specialist tutors to take on the training roles.” The interest in driver draining has grown so quickly that the company now has five tutors, two administrators, a sales rep, and a marketing person. Ag Drive has recently leased the NZ National Fieldays Society venue’s car park areas and now operates from them. Farmers must ensure that their staff are adequately trained to correctly operate farm equipment, to comply with health and safety compliance requirements and minimise accidents. We see Ag Drive as an industry leader promoting these values. “We’re not just ticking the health and safety box, we’re teaching people best practice work skills. We’ve put several people through our course who have wanted to get into agricultural contracting,” he says. “We’re also seeing some local companies requiring new staff to undertake a five-day Ag Drive tractor training course before taking them on. “We quickly assess a trainee’s ability and can advise the contractor what areas need attention. We’ve trained airline pilots, taxi drivers, school teachers, chefs – lots of people new to the agricultural industry. When the covid lockdowns began, people saw tractor driving and the agricultural industry as an interim way to earn income and assess if that’s what they wanted to do.” Ag Drive holds a Primary ITO contract that enables anyone working within the primary industries to access fullyfunded training if they meet the required eligibility criteria. The company also holds a Ministry of Social Development contract to train unemployed people. Originally it was solely for those who were unemployed
due to covid. But now it’s available for all unemployed people. “The training for some of those previously unemployed trainees has been truly life-changing. We’re also putting many female drivers through the courses,” he says. “A few of the more experienced drivers that have come in with an ‘I have nothing to learn attitude’ have been quite astounded with the new knowledge and skills they have walked away with.” When the country opens to foreign drivers, he aims to provide a recruitment service to contractors and farmers. Ag Drive would meet international arrivals into NZ and put them through a 2-3 day training course, before placing them with farmers and contractors. Due to covid, many agricultural contractors are now thinking outside the box too. “Many Waikato contractors now run farming operations alongside their contracting businesses. They plant a winter annual on their maize blocks and bring in winter grazers to provide stock work for their staff during their winter off season,” he says.
“The entire agricultural sector seems to be short of staff. I think there’s an opportunity for contractors to retain their drivers by approaching farmers to do their winter feeding out and stock shifts.” Covid has forced many business teams to split and work remotely. This sparked the idea that Ag Drive could run corporate team building days to allow entire teams to come together again. Syben aims to use the courses to help their client’s mental wellbeing, by reuniting staff and management. It’s also a way for them to simply have fun after a very difficult two years. “We have a classroom facility and a huge area within the Fieldays facility, where the participants get to use the tractors, loaders, a digger and the quad bike course,” he says. “It’ll put people out of their comfort zone, but our tutors will make it fun for them. They know how to tutor people who are new to machinery.” It’s just another way Syben and his team are continuing to think outside of the box in this constantly changing business environment – that’s what covid has forced so many businesses to do. n
An Ag Drive student learning how to drive a tractor under the watchful eye of a tutor.
AgTechnology Group managing director Andre Syben says covid put a stop to their overseas travel and work so set up Ag Drive to fill labour shortages in the agricultural industry.
RURAL RECRUITMENT
Staff more than a resource By Anne Boswell
Finding staff is getting difficult but farmers could implement strategies to attract and retain people to the dairy industry.
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o 8 HR co-founder Lee Astridge says farm employers need to perceive staff as not only a resource, but a valueadd component of their business. “When you have a value-add component, you invest in it,” Astridge says. “And what we need is some upfront investment. That’s not necessarily in dollars, but in time and effort and energy as well, to create a sustainable workforce for ourselves.” Astridge spoke at Dairy Women’s Network How to Build a Bloody Good Business webinar recently, which covered several topics, including The Current Labour Crisis – How we can increase the resilience of the people component of your business when considering the current talent crisis? Astridge, alongside guest speakers and dairy farmers Jason Strawbridge and Doug Avery, took attendees through some important ways they could mitigate risk, make themselves attractive employers and invest in the people component of their business to create a sustainable business. Current challenges in the dairy farming labour market included dairy farms being heavily reliant on people to operate, and not attracting enough people to ensure safe and optimum operations. “The competition for labour is increasing and on-farm dairy has failed to secure a place as a professional career in the hearts and minds of many who have experienced work in the industry, or those looking from the outside in,” she says. “We simply aren’t as attractive as other sectors.” Many of those entering the dairy sector left within one year, and with a lengthy induction process, that was not ideal for farm employers. An ageing workforce and urban drift meant eligible workers aged 20-30 were being absorbed into urban centres. “It’s a perfect storm of an industry that has traditionally looked after
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itself and created its own workforce, now not doing so,” she says. “Families are smaller and young people are not staying in the on-farm workforce.” She says looking widely for new staff was best; setting up farm work to be attractive to a broader applicant pool; considering seasonal resourcing options and attracting people who are already inclined to join the sector, while doing more to grow our own workforce again within rural families by encouraging rural young people to come back to rural. The more options, the better. Strawbridge hosts Ashburton College students once a fortnight for work experience and has used Irish agricultural students successfully. “It is a fantastic source of short-term labour at the busiest time,” Strawbridge says. Avery is involved with child and youth development charity the Graeme Dingle Foundation, helping young people along their career journey. “When you embark on personal growth on another human being, they start to love life,” Avery says. “They start feeling valued and wanted.” Astridge says employers need to ‘up their game’ and learn what it takes to be competitive and attract and retain those who have a choice around employment. “We need to understand what hours people are prepared to work, how much their time is worth to them, and explore different ways of working and employing people,” she says. Avery says his family had focused strongly on recognising staff members’ contributions. “We love telling people what we appreciate about them,” Avery says. “The last job we advertised had 75 applicants and 10 were suitable. We have concentrated on making ourselves a highly desirable employer and it has worked.” Strawbridge says they move to oncea-day milking on the shoulders of the season, including the first four weeks of calving, to manage workload. “The potential 5-6% production loss in
No 8 HR co-founder Lee Astridge says the competition for labour on dairy farms is increasing. August is more than enough repayment for the benefits it brings of reduced hours and allowing time to get staff and systems up to speed for the next season,” Strawbridge says. “People are ready to throttle down come September, when the grass is growing.” Astridge says staff development and training was now expected by employees. “Employers need to invest wisely by focusing additional development and investment in those who can be ‘long term’ for the sector,” she says. “There is a small short-term cost, but it is mitigated by the increase in tenure and less stress on your workforce.” Strawbridge says a staff member handing in their notice seven years ago left his farm under immense pressure. “We were three weeks away from drying off and our main tractor driver was gone, with no one skilled to replace him,” he says. “At the time, we didn’t have the environment where we were training people to fill roles. We were caught short and it impacted us for quite a while, potentially right through into the spring.” Today, he ensures all staff are trained fully for their roles. “We are more prepared and we have a better environment,” he says. “We’ve got guys down to 40-48 hours a week, it’s a more sustainable environment. We haven’t had a turnover in staff for the last four years. We are aware of what each staff members’ goals are, whether it’s training or moving on to something else, and we help them to do that.” n
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
RURAL RECRUITMENT
Rural support you can trust By Ross Nolly
Staff shortages are causing undue stress, but support is on hand to help during the tough times.
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he world is going through an incredibly trying period in time. Covid-19, labour shortages, compliance issues, farm supply issues and rising farm input costs have raised stress levels on the farm. In spite of the current high milk prices, a recent Federated Farmers survey showed that farmers are still concerned about the future. Neil Bateup is a founding member and chairperson of the Waikato Hauraki/ Coromandel Rural Support Trust. He is also chairperson of the Rural Support Trust National Council. “The current labour shortages are putting pressure on farmers.” Bateup says. Staff shortages are also affecting agricultural contracting businesses. Those shortages have prevented some contractors getting to farms at their scheduled time. This is particularly critical during silage harvesting because the silage quality can suffer if it’s harvested late. Farmers and farm staff are now becoming infected by covid. For most people, Omicron isn’t as debilitating as the earlier variants. Luckily, the current outbreak has occurred later in the season and not during peak calving or lambing. “Most farmers seem to be coping. Many
had plans in place, but there are always some who develop plans as situations arise. Farmers are pretty innovative, practical and pragmatic people, they usually find a way to cope with most issues,” he says. “The Rural Support Trust is available for anybody in difficulty. We’ll work alongside them to develop a plan to go forward. We can put them in touch with organisations and technical people who can help their situation.” With labour in short supply, farmers who are in isolation on the farm can cooperate with their neighbours, friends, or consider changing the milking frequency. Now is a perfect time to reach out to neighbours and form a close community that can rally to help each other when needed. “That’s always happened to a degree, but it’s now more important than ever to make those connections. Ring your neighbours and say ‘hey, we’re here to lend a hand if you need it’. “We now have a relatively short-term of isolation. But the work still has to be done and it increases the workload of whoever is left on the farm.” Often it’s the agriculture company reps who are the first to pick up the tell-tale signs of stress on a farm.
Rural Support Trust National Council chairperson Neil Bateup says farmers need to reach out to others to make sure they are okay.
“My message to reps, vets, delivery drivers and anyone else who visits farms is that if they notice signs of stress, ask the farmer if they can ring the Rural Support Trust on their behalf. Most of our team are current or ex farmers who understand farming and are able to help them with practical suggestions,” he says. “There’s no shame in putting your hand up when you need help. It’s far better to do that than to stay silent and get into deeper difficulty.” “Farmers have always gathered around other farmers when they face difficulties. But the trust is there to help out when needed, even if it’s just for a chat. We’ll get through this with families, neighbours and friends helping each other out,” he says. n
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RURAL RECRUITMENT
Bolstering the workforce By Cheyenne Nicholson
Immigrant and seasonal workers from overseas had been propping up the agricultural workforce until covid put a stop to that and left many scrambling to find staff.
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ike many industries across the country, the effects of covid-19 on the primary sector’s employment state has been drastic, Federated Farmers immigration and employment spokesperson, board member and farmer Chris Lewis says the biggest impact has been in not being able to bring in overseas workers. “You can change dairy for any other industry in the country, building, freezing works, any non-office related job and they’re in the same situation. In the past, we’ve been able to top up with overseas candidates, but that option hasn’t been there for two years,” Lewis says. “I think a lot of people think that hiring overseas workers to work on our farms is
Federated Farmers immigration and employment spokesperson and farmer Chris Lewis says recent surveys in the sector indicate it’s lacking 4000-5000 people with job vacancy boards filling up each week across various platforms.
taking jobs away from Kiwis, but that’s not the case. It’s keeping NZ businesses going.” He says that recent surveys in the sector indicate it’s lacking 4000-5000 people, with job vacancy boards filling up each week across various platforms. “There is a huge hole. Unemployment is at an all-time low, but it’s important to remember that many unemployed people might not be suitable for farming. There’s many reasons for that, and I always tell people to be picky with who they employ,” he says. “We want people who will add value to our industry, champion what we do, and ultimately kind human beings. The farming sector isn’t for everyone.”
In March, dairy was granted 300 places in a class border exception for dairy farm workers from overseas enter New Zealand in time for calving. About 200 places have been used up from the 300 allocated in 2021. While it will have come as a sigh of relief to many farmers needing help over calving, more people are needed. Lewis grew up on his family’s dry stock farm and was the first in the family to go dairying. He went through the old Federated Farmers cadet scheme, which gave wanna-be farmers training and support to help them into farming careers. The Federated Farmers Farmer Cadet scheme started back in the 1970s and was a three-year course where cadets studied for trade certificates, with practical training provided by approved farmers. It ran until 1990, when it was amalgamated into the Farm Education Training Association. “Back in the day that I was a cadet, I was 17. I did the Certificate in Agriculture at Waikato Polytechnic. For every month I spent in the classroom, I spent a week on-farm, putting the methods and skills I learnt into practice. The scheme set a minimum standard for employees and employers and consequently became the industry benchmark,” he says. The scheme lost momentum in the late 1980s, with the loss of farmer subsidies and a government focused on deregulation. Ultimately, it wasn’t bad for the agricultural industry, but it did help feed the agricultural workforce with reliable and skilled workers – something it badly needs now. “What I’ve always said is if the Government wants us to meet its targets, we need to ensure we have a robust education system to build and educate our workforce. The scheme was set up as an entryway into the workforce where the majority of jobs were offered before they’d finished their studies,” he says. “The scheme also protected newcomers from falling prey to the less
desirable farmers. While it’s not nice to admit, some people in the industry give farmers a bad name and aren’t good when it comes to their staff.” Since the cadet days, the industry has started many other great initiatives like PrimaryITO to fill the training gap and provide ongoing education for those new to and already in the industry. A venture between the Ministry for Social Development and Federated Farmers, called Get Kiwis on Farm, hopes to help people into the farming sector and help farmers plug workforce gaps. The programme has attracted 525 people to work in the sector. “It’s been a great relationship with MSD, it’s not just about providing the gear to newcomers, but also the support they need in the industry. Some people need lots of support. Others don’t, so it’s all very tailored to what the person needs,” he says. A big part of the support on offer is around the understanding and utilisation of employment agreements and understanding that there is more to a job in agriculture than money. “I advocate heavily for both parties
The dairy industry has been granted 300 places in a class border exception for farm workers from overseas to enter New Zealand in time for calving.
to utilise our employment agreements, they’ve been proven and tested time and again and are so important. I also advocate for employees taking the time to make sure their potential employer is someone they want to work for. Ask questions of current employees, ask about how they do their payroll, get job descriptions. It’s easy for people to come across well on a first meeting, so dig a bit deeper and ask the questions and make sure it’s a good fit,” he says. n
“I think a lot of people think that hiring overseas workers to work on our farms is taking jobs away from Kiwis, but that’s not the case. It’s keeping NZ businesses going.” Chris Lewis
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RURAL RECRUITMENT
Assistance at the ready By Samantha Tennent
Staff shortages on farms means farmers often have to go it alone, but they can now call for an extra pair of hands when needed.
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low unemployment rate and challenges getting migrant workers into the country has left gaps throughout the agricultural sector and with the threat of covid-19 looming over farmers’ heads, it has been a tough couple of seasons for farmers battling staff shortages. Looking for ways to mobilise an untapped workforce, Tony Dodunski and the team behind Ag Assist have launched a platform to help connect employees with work opportunities. “The status quo isn’t working, we are really struggling on our farms and across all parts of agriculture,” Dodunski says. “People want peace of mind that their cows will be milked, crops harvested and animals will be fed if they are out of action because of the virus.
Lincoln University student and founding member of Ag Assist Lochlann O’Sullivan helps out with some fencing. 64
Ag Assist employee Kayla Calder takes on some relief milking for a farmer. “And there are a lot of highly skilled capable people out there that can’t commit to full-time or fixed work, and through the use of technology we can now expose them to the agricultural sector.” Dodunski and his business partner Mark Grenside formed a relationship with two Lincoln University students, Lochlann O’Sullivan and Caleb Smith, and together they developed Ag Assist. The system provides an online booking portal for farmers to pitch available jobs when they need people and Ag Assist employees grab what suits them. Employees are categorised into three tiers based on their skill level and experience and farmers can indicate what level of skill a shift requires. “We hold the employment agreement and contract them out to businesses needing an extra set of hands,” he says. “There are plenty of skilled people out there who might want to earn a bit of pocket money or have spare time on their hands or others like parents who are only available during school hours. “It’s a way for people to find work that can’t commit to a regular timeframe like every second weekend.”
They launched the platform recently in Canterbury and intend to expand nationally in the coming months. It has been a struggle to contain the enthusiasm. “We had 50 employees sign up really quickly and they have been milking, doing tractor work, firewood, measuring pasture for research companies, packing
Ag Assist is an online portal for farmers to use when they have jobs that need doing and are looking for assistance.
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
vegetables – it’s been really promising to see,” he says. “There is a huge range in people too, from students to people with full-time jobs that just want their farming fix or a supplementary income.” They have confidence in the scalability and will expand once they are comfortable with the framework. They are building a model that will offer more than hours for their partners, with incentives and a personal development programme that will be available once they clock a certain number of hours. “Our overarching goal is to provide a pipeline to get more people into agriculture, it’s a great industry and we want to expose more people to it,” he says. “And while our initial focus has been the labour issues, we are keen to establish long-term relationships with our employees to hopefully support longterm careers in agriculture. “We will have Ag Assist Ambassadors known as Triple A’s, who will be leaders that will help develop others and offer support and build confidence among our team.” Farmers and employees rate each other after each shift and once they have completed 10 shifts, they will be able to see their star ratings to drive selfregulation. If a farmer has a preferred partner they will be offered shifts first and if they are not available it will go out to the wider group. The idea evolved from how Dodunski has been operating his Lincoln dairy farm for a number of years, along with a few ideas from others. “I’ve informally been running an Ag Assist model for a while by tapping into multiple Lincoln University students, it’s a means to access smart young people,” he says.
Ag Assist employees pick up jobs through the website and then go to work. Ag Assist employee Kayla Calder helps out with tail painting. “So much of what we do is seasonal and it helps to have a flexible, reliable workforce on hand.” Dodunski studied at Lincoln University himself and spent some time overseas before coming back to Canterbury for his doctor wife to be near Christchurch hospital. He knew he wanted to buy a farm and could see the pathway in dairy, so worked his way up the ladder and traded heifers. He bought into a farm in Lincoln where he milks 650 cows in a System 4, with three full-time team members and casuals helping out at various times. He is happy with how the project has unfolded and is looking forward to connecting more people to agriculture. “We busted our guts to get Ag Assist ready for when covid reaches our farms and it’s great to have it up and running,” he says. n
Canterbury dairy farmer Tony Dodunski is one of the founding members of Ag Assist, an online platform for farmers to advertise or pitch the short-term jobs they need done.
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RURAL RECRUITMENT
Filling the gaps on-farm By Anne Boswell
A new programme has been designed for people entering the agricultural industry and is helping with staff shortages on-farm.
I
magine if your new dairy assistant arrived on-farm with industrydeveloped knowledge of how to do the job and a genuine desire to forge a career in the dairy industry? A pioneering new educational model is helping make this wish a reality for many farmers. AgriAcademy was established to fill the educational gap between school and those entering their first job in the agricultural industry. AgriAcademy managing director Alister Shennan says surprisingly there was very little learning content available for young people entering the dairy industry. “The industry was lacking in learning content that would give people the introductory skills required to go into a dairy assistant position with confidence,” Shennan says. “With 4000 dairy assistant vacancies throughout New Zealand currently, there was quite clearly a gap that needed filling.” In 2018 the unique training concept of AgriAcademy was born, and in July 2020 Shennan and co-founder Dean Williamson put some “steam under the bonnet”. They decided to tackle the wool industry first, creating the first set of learning content for entry-level wool harvesters called WOMOlife. The blended training model, with learning online and on-farm, was a resounding success. “We pioneered a modern learning model,” he says. “By the end of March, we had put 300plus people through the programme.” Once it was apparent the training model worked for the wool industry, AgriAcademy turned its attention to the dairy industry. They applied to the Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust (Agmardt) for a grant to create dairy-based content and in February, the Get Milking programme was launched. AgriAcademy built all learning content from scratch, drawing heavily on the experience and knowledge of people
68
currently working in the industry. “Traditionally, learning content is not created by the people doing the work themselves, but in this case, it is,” he says. “We were very specific about that and as a result we have created something of great value.” The Get Milking programme is designed to be simple to follow and easy to digest, allowing people to gain a good knowledge of what it takes to be a dairy assistant without an on-campus or onfarm training aspect. It is currently based solely online, with video lessons and PDF information sheets form the basis of the programme. “The whole premise was to help young people learn these skills quickly and feel confident when starting a dairy assistant role,” he says. The Get Milking programme is broken into the two distinct roles on-farm: milk maker and milk harvester. One or both can be studied, but Shennan suggests they are complementary to each other; the full course is just $395. The milk maker course focuses on the jobs undertaken before milking, including animal health and welfare, cow behaviour, feed and water management, pasture management and general health and safety. While milk harvester focuses on understanding how the shed works, including animal health and welfare, cow behaviour, the equipment and environment of the milking shed, and hygienically and safely collecting the milk from the cows. There are also ‘bite-sized’ courses available: The Cow, The Shed, Feed Pastures and Break Fencing, and Water. He says the courses are designed not only to help the farm employees, but employers as well. “There is a sense of frustration from farmers when having to teach basic skills to employees,” he says. “It takes time away from the farmers’ own jobs, and it can take some time for new staff members to get it right. Most farmers aren’t trainers and perhaps don’t
AgriAcademy co-founder and managing director Alister Shennan says the AgriAcademy was established to fill the educational gap between leaving school and entering the agricultural industry. communicate as well as they could.” He says asking a potential employee to take the course before committing to working on the farm can reduce the risks associated with recruiting new staff. “The cost of hiring staff that may or may not work out is difficult to bear,” he says. “I genuinely believe farmers will be less frustrated with new employees following this course and retention rates will improve. We are setting people up to be successful.” Later in the year the Get Milking programme will move to a blended learning model, similar to the WOMOlife programme, with both online and onfarm training. From there, he plans to connect schools with employers to create a direct pathway into local employment, via the AgriAcademy programmes. “We have built a modern training business,” he says. “It has a good foundation and good technology. We want to see people being successful, that’s what drives us.” n
MORE:
For more information visit www. getmilking.co.nz
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
RURAL RECRUITMENT
Finding the right fit By Gerald Piddock
Sometimes, finding the right people to run the farm comes down to something simple.
S
uccessful contract milking comes down to creating a good relationship between the farm owner and the milker based on good communication, empathy and being the right ‘fit’ for the farm. The roots in establishing that relationship are often done before the contract is signed by shopping around and taking the time to find a contract job that was profitable, Federated Farmers dairy vice-chairperson Richard McIntyre says. “Don’t be afraid to turn down positions that don’t fit, you don’t have to say yes to the first one and take your time to get the right one,” McIntyre said, speaking during a webinar on Contract Milking for Success. That was important. If an aspiring contract milker got turned down, he says it could be they were the wrong fit for that particular farm. “You’ve dodged a bullet there too,” he says. Once the contract milker has found a farm where they think it is a good match, get to know the farm owner and how they like to run things and run it that way. “Every farm owner is particular about certain things. Run it the way they like it,” he says. Do not underestimate the value of being easy to get along with. “The number of farm owners that really struggle because their contract milker’s difficult to get along with is amazing,” he says. It was something that was often overlooked as people concentrated on farm skills such as pasture management and production. “If you’re easy to get along with, you don’t have to be absolutely perfect. Those little imperfections will be looked past.” The webinar outlined how contract milkers can set up and maintain a good relationship with farm owners. The federation’s sharemilker farm owners’ chairperson John Numan says
DAIRY FARMER
March 2021
farm owners should let prospective contract milkers know as much as possible about themselves during the interview stage. “The more you talk, the more you get to let them know and then the two parties get to know their personalities and you can quickly work out if someone’s been upfront, honest, clear and concise,” Numan says. The organisation’s sharemilkers’ chairperson Aaron Passey says people need to do their due diligence and not go into a contract blind. They should also not be afraid to go above and beyond what their contract stipulates. It went a long way to build up a contract milker’s reputation if they are prepared to tackle jobs they do not necessarily need to, such as fence repair or weed control. “All those little things that you can do that might take 10 minutes out of your day will make you look a lot better to your farm owner because you’ve gone above and beyond, it makes you look better to the neighbours and everyone else in the district,” Passey says. DairyNZ’s Paul Bird says there were 2300 dairy businesses that operated as contract milkers and are an essential part of the dairy industry. It allowed hard working people to run their own businesses and grow wealth. While the system was working well, it was not without its challenges. Establishing a fair risk premium between contract milker and farm owner was key to meeting some of those challenges, he says. For contract milkers going into a partnership with the farm owner, they had to have a premium that is above what a farm manager would be paid. This is because the contract milker takes on extra risks and responsibilities they otherwise would not have as a manager, he says. The process to establish what the premium is needed a thorough approach. “The first step going into this
Federated Farmers dairy vicechairperson Richard McIntyre says prospective contract milkers should take the time to find the job where they are the right fit for the farm. relationship, the fundamental contract has to be suitable financially, that the contract milker can make a fair profit and also from the farm owner’s perspective as well,” Bird says. People have to be compatible and have a good understanding of the contract for it to be a successful partnership. There was no magical number for getting that risk premium. There are numerous variables that both parties needed to consider before coming to an agreement on what an appropriate premium is. These range from the skills and experience of the contract milker, the support the farm owner may or may not be able to provide, the on-farm infrastructure and the complexity of the farm system. “There’s no right or wrong answer, but these are the factors you need to think about,” he says. Questions around what the right contract rate is are the wrong questions to ask when examining budgets of a prospective farm. Instead, contract milkers should ask what the right risk premium is coming onto a farm that is appropriate in partnering with the farm owner. “Then you would look at the cost structure and the contract rate to try to get to that premium that everyone is comfortable with,” he says. n
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INDUSTRY GOOD
Employers must apply to DairyNZ to nominate a worker and then have a class exception visa granted by Immigration NZ.
Apply now for international staff
Tim Mackle DairyNZ chief executive
W
e know finding enough staff to keep our farms going is one of dairy farmers’ biggest current
concerns. The Government recently announced another 300 international dairy farm workers will be allowed into New Zealand this year. This adds to the 200 places dairy was given in 2021. Given the dairy sector requested government allow 1500 dairy workers into NZ in 2022, we are disappointed with just 300 places being granted. DairyNZ is continuing to advocate strongly on farmers’ behalf for more international workers. The staff shortage is putting significant pressure on many farmers and farm workers, as well as creating risks around health and safety, and animal welfare. It’s been a tough time for many.
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If you aren’t able to fill farm positions with Kiwis, it’s worthwhile applying now to bring an international worker in through the border exception. It’s very unlikely we will see another chance to recruit international workers before this calving. If the nomination criteria is met, then applications operate on a first-in first-served basis – so now is the time to act to bring someone onboard for calving. Workers on the class exception visa can undertake any dairy farm role, including working as a farm assistant. Farm assistants need to be paid $28 per hour. Significantly, the Government also announced that international workers no longer need to isolate or stay in MIQ, which speeds up the process and reduces costs. With these changes, and more clarity about the criteria, we hope to see more farmers sponsoring international workers to come into NZ to help relieve some of the pressure on farms. DairyNZ is continuing its drive to attract Kiwis. We recently launched a new Join Us campaign, aiming to connect dairy farmers and New Zealanders and inviting Kiwis to get a
dairy job – see www.godairy.co.nz for more detail. It’s been great to see we’ve had lots of interest from Kiwis in this new campaign and strong support from farmers. The new class exception will allow 300 international dairy workers to enter NZ. Employers must apply to DairyNZ to nominate a worker and then have a class exception visa granted by Immigration NZ. A 2021 class exception is already open for applications, which allows 200 dairy workers to enter NZ, and has nearly been filled. Remaining places in the 2021 exception will be filled before the 2022 exception. For both class exceptions, workers are able to enter from March 5, 2022, without isolating or using MIQ. n
MORE:
A limited number of dairy workers may be eligible to enter NZ under other criteria – for more information on all the options see www.dairynz.co.nz/border
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April 2022
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April 2022
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One last word …
D
espite the small drop at the last Global Dairy Trade auctions, farmers will still receive a record high payout with Fonterra’s forecast unchanged at $9.30-$9.90 and on top of that, shareholders will still receive a dividend this season. And the announcement from Fonterra that the co-operative would withdraw from Russia would have sat well with most folk. “Following careful consideration of the impact on our people and our long-term plans for the Russian market, we will now close our office in Moscow, redeploying staff where possible, and withdraw from our joint venture Unifood,” Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell says. And with only 1% of New Zealand’s total exports destined for Russia, Fonterra’s exit is unlikely to cause any great waves. “Given the current strong demand for New Zealand dairy, we are confident in
74
our ability to reallocate this product to other markets,” he says. But regardless of the payout and everything that is going on in the world around us, farmers are still out there every day working away to put food on the table. While many will be ramping down their system and milking once-a-day, or even drying off, autumn calving is well underway and most likely all but over in some parts of the country. These farmers will continue fuelling the nation over the long, cold winter months but those I have spoken with say they are well-prepared to face whatever comes. But whatever the system, farmers are under huge pressure from staff shortages but let’s hope that with covid restrictions at the border removed, we can well and truly welcome back immigrant workers in time for the new season to start. By the end of the season, Kiwi farmers will have done two seasons of being understaffed, which comes on top of
many rules and regulations changes which has added to high stress levels. Check out this month’s feature on recruiting staff for tips and tricks. Thanks to our Taranaki contributor Ross Nolly for this month’s great pic. He was out doing a photo shoot when he came across this incredible artwork on a Taranaki farm. The farmer told us that with covid causing many cancellations such as Fieldays and A&P shows, they wanted to do something to cheer people up. They put a great deal of time and thought into designing and creating it and positioned it perfectly next to the road so it brings a smile to passing motorists.
Sonita Like us: farmersweekly.co.nz Follow us: @DairyFarmer15 Read us anywhere: farmersweekly.co.nz
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
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Dairy Diary April 2022 April 4 – DairyNZ Cow Collar Technology on-farm The ins and outs of cow collars Are you thinking about cow collar technology? Join us for a day focused on farmer’s results using collars for mating over spring. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz
April 13 – Primary People Good to Great Primary Sector People & Team Leadership Programme: Workshop 3, Southland/South Otago. Improve your knowledge, grow your skills and become confident leading your people. Info at www.primarypeople.co.nz/
April 5 – Dairy Women’s Network Our live webinar conference keynote speaker Alicia McKay is a straight-talking strategist. She is a leading expert in strategy and change, and helps people, teams, and leaders to make sense and make decisions to transform their lives, teams, and organisations. Learn practical tools and tips on how to stay rounded and calm while coping with change that is happening all around us. Info at www.dwn.co.nz/events
April 14 – SMASH Spotlight on the System field day, Hamilton Our hosts, farm owners Henry and Nicky Hendriks and 2IC Lockie Turner-Liddell are running a 63ha, System 5 farm, wintering 330 cows. Their unique system is the focus of this day, where we are going to look into their excellent reproductive results; how they grow and utilise their homegrown feed; and their preparation for the future and discuss lameness – stopping the hop. Info at www.smallerherds.co.nz
April 5-6 – DairyNZ West Coast Housed System Field Tour Housing, free stall barns, composting mootels, stand-off pads, loafing barns, herd homes, composting shelters and duration controlled grazing. Learn about everything from what’s involved to what the banks think about them. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz April 7 and 27 – Primary People FarmTune workshops, Southland Take waste out of your business, empower your people and grow your bottom line with FarmTune, the lean management programme for farmers. Info at www.primarypeople.co.nz/ April 12 – SMASH Spotlight on the System field day, Hukerenui Our hosts, Evan and Sherleen Smeath, and their son and daughter-in-law, Clinton and Pam, milk about 280 Jersey cows on 95ha. At this event we will find out about their system and also discuss lameness, diverse pasture and crops. Info at www.smallerherds.co.nz
New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Regional awards dinner, various dates and locations Join us to celebrate the best of each region’s Share Farmers, Dairy Managers and Dairy Trainees, with the winners of each category progressing to the National Finals in May 2022. Info at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz/ April New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Regional winner’s field days to be held on-farm. This is an opportunity to hear the 2022 Regional Share Farmer, Dairy Manager and Dairy Trainee of the Year winners speak. Venue TBC after the winners were announced. Info at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz/ SMASH has several fieldays during April, which are yet to be confirmed Info at www.smallerherds.co.nz May – Primary People Good to Great Primary Sector People & Team Leadership Programme workshops. Improve your knowledge, grow your skills and become confident leading your people. Info at www.primarypeople.co.nz/
A note from the editor: With New Zealand currently operating under the red setting in the Covid-19 Protections Framework, many events have been cancelled or shifted online. Please check individual websites for any event changes and requirements.
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