Dairy Farmer October 2019

Supplementary feeding and nutrition

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Effluent

October 2019

Incl $8.95 GST

Keeping everyone happy Small company doing big things

Government isn’t fooling ag industry

Embracing the Kiwi way

An English lass is getting stuck into learning about pasture DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

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October 2019 Editor

SONITA CHANDAR 06 374 5544 / 027 446 6221 sonita.chandar@globalhq.co.nz

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Supplementary feeding and nutrition

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Effluent

October 2019

Incl $8.95 GST

COVER Keeping everyone happy

Farm manager Nicola Blowey is learning to farm like us Kiwis.

Small company doing big things

Government isn’t fooling ag industry

Embracing the Kiwi way

An English lass is getting stuck into learning about pasture DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

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

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DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Contents NEWS 15 Market Outlook Fonterra invokes the past 16 What direction?

Fonterra outlines its new strategy 18 Putting it out there Dairy Industry Awards entries now open

ON FARM STORY

6 Doing it our way Canterbury farm manager Nicola Blowey is learning the Kiwi way of farming

20 People champions Canterbury farmers Brent and Rebecca Miller put a strong focus on their team

FARMING CHAMPIONS

5 Guest column Kim Reilly

30 Dairy champion Richard Wyeth

6 GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of advertising revenue to the Rural Support Trust. Need help now? You can talk to someone who understands the pressures of farming by phoning your local Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254.

THEME 46 Supplementary feeding and nutrition 54 Effluent

REGULAR FEATURES 28 Industry good 36 Technology 40 Research 43 International news 52 Animal health

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GUEST COLUMN

Devil is in the detail The Labour Government is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the agriculture industry but industry groups do not have their blinkers on, Federated Farmers South Island regional policy manager Kim Reilly says.

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HE Government released its regulatory freshwater proposals on September 5 with a fair bit of confusion following.

Key ministers insist it is just a discussion document and a paragraph or two of feedback is sufficient.

Farming groups would have strongly welcomed it being just a discussion process.

Until now there hasn’t been any real opportunity for meaningful input from Federated Farmers, Beef + Lamb and DairyNZ so a chance to discuss and work through concerns with the Government, iwi and other key stakeholders would have been grabbed with both arms.

Unfortunately, it isn’t just a discussion document.

Alongside the Action for Healthy Waterways discussion document waved around at public meetings are two critically important and well-advanced regulatory proposals.

It’s a cry for sufficient time to make sure the final regulation is fair and realistic.

They include a 25-page Proposed National Environmental Standard for Freshwater (NES) and a 58-page Draft National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS). There is also a Draft Stock Exclusion Section 360 Regulation.

A genuine discussion wouldn’t include these lengthy, well-advanced and important documents.

So, when farming groups talk of the devil being in the detail, that is what we mean.

If the detailed wording of the legal documents matched the high-level explanation provided by the Government, with some changes such as provision for regional variation, it could be workable,

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

albeit with some pain for farming and regional New Zealand.

But there are technical concerns, critical gaps in information around the implications and a lack of economic appraisal, including downstream economic impacts.

This is the only chance to submit so if it is a discussion it feels very much a oneway discussion.

On top of that there is confusion about key details.

One example is whether existing fences less than five metres from waterways will need to be moved.

Environment Minister David Parker says they will not need to be, particularly if only recently put in.

But Ministry for the Environment staff say they will need to be moved, but by 2035.

And the actual proposed wording says if an existing fence’s setback is under 2m on average or less than 1m at any point it must be taken out and moved to 5m by 2025.

Meanwhile, Forest and Bird suggests a 5m setback is inadequate, that more productive land should be fenced off and it should be planted and kept weed and animal pest free. This is again without any assessment of the economic costs or any scientific justification and I haven’t seen any offers from them to provide gardening help or financing.

The consultation of six-weeks, later extended by two weeks after the outcry from rural NZ has compounded the confusion.

It’s not enough time to try to fill the technical, economic and scientific gaps and to highlight concerns with workability.

Unlike a select committee process there are no guaranteed hearings.

After your feedback is lodged, a group of people assembled by the Government are tasked with summarising submissions before they are put to Cabinet to make final decisions.

Before this is shot down as a feeble attempt to stall for time be assured it isn’t.

It’s a cry for sufficient time to make sure

Environment Minister David Parker has been contradicted by Environment Ministry officials about fence setbacks while the document disagrees with both of them, Federated Farmers South Island regional policy manager Kim Reilly says.

the final regulation is fair and realistic.

In reality, there is already more common ground on this than many realise and across the country farmers, industry and catchment groups are already changing practices and working hard on solutions.

We all want good water quality for future generations.

We know farming, like other land uses, can have a negative impact on the environment. While there are some environmental improvements and positive trends we know we still have a way to go.

What we need is a process that builds on that existing momentum, allays confusion and takes the time to get it right.

Sadly, the timing of this whole process seems to be based around election cycles and fast-tracking as much stuff through in a government term as possible.

Ultimately, that might just lead to missed opportunities and perverse outcomes. n

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ON FARM STORY

Nicola Blowey, originally from Britain, is the 2019 Dairy Trainee of the Year.

She manages a 175ha farm at Fairlie.

Photos: Natwick Photography 6

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Kiwi clarity inspires import Being a foreigner in a strange land is no barrier to progression in the dairy industry for one young woman from England. Samantha Tennent reports.

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YOUNG lass from Britain is finding New Zealand pastoral farming a breath of fresh air and is relishing the chance to compare notes and learn from other farmers to help propel her career forward.

Nicola Blowey is the manager on 575cow farm at Fairlie.

She was also the 2019 national winner of the Dairy Trainee of the Year at the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.

She has found consistency and clarity across the NZ dairy sector compared to the diversity in Britain where farmers use grass in some way across their systems.

“Back home discussions don’t have the same clarity,” Blowey says.

“Some farmers might house their cows year-round, some only in summer and some have their cows out as much of the year as possible. There’s a lot of variation.”

She appreciates having focused, clear discussions about what different farms are doing.

Blowey is from Devon in southwest England. She grew up in a small rural village but her parents had left farming and owned the post office. She went to an all-girls school in the city but followed her Farmer parents’ footsteps and joined Young2 Dairy Ad_86mm x 210mm +5mm copy.pdf Farmers when she was 14.

“We had strong links to the rural community but we didn’t have a farm ourselves.”

In England, before deciding which school subjects to take, students do a week of work experience. She chose to spend it on a farm, which confirmed she wanted to study agriculture.

She graduated from Harper Adams University in Shropshire with an agricultural science degree and wanted to expand her knowledge. Harper Adams is a specialist provider of higher education for the agriculture. It compares to Lincoln University in NZ. “I really liked the idea of going to Harper Adams because almost everybody does a placement. I knew I would get to go out on farm for a whole year.

“That was important to me as I didn’t have much experience so it was a big opportunity to spend 12 months onfarm.”

She completed two years of study then a year on-farm gaining practical experience. She describes the system as reasonably intensive compared to NZ. “It was a conventional system for the United Kingdom.

“The cows would go outside in the summer but they were housed most of the time and 20/05/2019 11:41they were fed quite a lot of supplement through the shed.”

The cows were doing just under 10,000 litres, milked twice a day on a total mixed ration system.

The placement was a paid position, which helps students fund their study.

After completing a year of practical experience on-farm she returned to university for her final year of study.

Though she enjoyed farming in Britain she was also keen to learn more about pasture-based systems.

So she decided to cast her net further afield and secured a role with Matt and Vanessa Greenwood in Fairlie who contract milk for Leonie and Kieran Guiney.

Continued page 8

FARM FACTS n Owners: Kieran and Leonie Guiney n Contract milkers: Matt and Vanessa Greenwood n Farm manager: Nicola Blowey n Farm size:175ha n Cows: 575 Kiwicross n Production: No targets set but averages 160,000kg MS

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ON FARM STORY

Nicola takes the calves their breakfast.

Moving to NZ was exciting as she was keen to get immersed in pastoral farming and she had heard good things about the farm.

She began as a farm assistant in July 2016 and progressed to 2IC the following season and then assistant herd manager last season when she won the dairy trainee title.

She is now the farm manager for the Greenwoods who altered the farm structure to give her the chance to grow and take further responsibility.

“I’ve been really lucky,” she says.

“They wouldn’t necessarily have a farm manager on this farm but they were able to make it work for me and it frees up Matt to do other things, too.

“It’s a win-win. They were willing to alter the structure so I was able to stay here and continue to learn from them and the Guineys but also achieve some of my career goals, too.”

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There are strong links between the Guiney farms and the awards. The Guineys came second at national level in the share farmer section and the Greenwoods have done well at regional level.

“I knew before I came to NZ Matt and Vanessa had won the pasture performance award when they entered the Canterbury share farmer of the year a few years ago.”

Last year Will Green, who was managing the Guineys’ home farm at Springfield, entered the awards and Blowey supported him through the process.

“It was really exciting to see how well he did. He entered for the first time and came second.”

“It showed me the scope of the awards, the quality of the people entering, the networks you can make from attending and being a part of it all.”

When they changed the rules this year it allowed people on work visas to enter so she explored the option.

“This was my one and only opportunity.

“The awards have specific rules around the trainee section to ensure a fair competition.

“It was the first and the last year I was allowed to enter the trainee category in lots of different ways so I felt like that was telling me I should definitely give it a go.”

She wanted to benchmark herself against others. She won the trainee category for the Canterbury region and the national final.

“Winning was amazing.

“It was a real boost to demonstrate I am on the right track.”

She took home three merit awards including the Federated Farmers Farming Knowledge Award, the DeLaval Communication and Engagement Award and best video presented by Streamliner.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Nicola was able to enter the Dairy Industry Awards after the rules changed to allow people on work visas to enter.

The national finals week in Wellington included a study tour with the other regional winners with whom she has kept in touch through a group chat, which is handy for comparing notes and asking questions.

“The networking has been invaluable.

“I’ve met some very impressive people through the awards.”

She says the awards were an eyeopener, especially when talking to others farming in different parts of the country.

There is a lot of variety as the different regions are in different stages of their season relative to their local climate.

“It’s one thing I didn’t anticipate but it’s been really cool.

“I had only seen farms in operation in Fairlie and I’ve found it crazy how different it is across the country.”

The Greenwood farm is 175 hectares of mostly rolling country, 550m above sea level. It is one of four dairy farms owned

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

by the Guineys and one of two without irrigation.

The soil is mostly Claremont and the farm is covered in a permanent ryegrassclover mix. They use nitrogen only to fill deficits, particularly in early spring and through summer when the weather permits. Some years it can be as little as 150kg of nitrogen a hectare but up to 280kg/ha in a challenging season.

“We want to match supply and demand as closely as possible to maintain quality.”

She says they don’t set production targets because they target profit rather than production.

“The general aim is to make as much milk as possible from grass so we can maximise profits.

“The average is 160,000kg of milksolids, which is just over 1000kg MS/ha.”

The herd is predominantly fed grass.

Being part of an industry that fulfills so many key roles for society is very special and it is the relevance of agriculture to every one of us that is so rewarding.

Nicola Blowey

Continued page 10 9

ON FARM STORY

Winning was amazing. It was a real boost to demonstrate I am on the right track.

Nicola Blowey

Nicola joined Young Farmers in Britain when she was 14 and competed often in competitions that have served her well when doing farm work.

The aim is to be solely grass-based in spring and autumn and push the round longer in late summer. A maximum of 300kg DM of supplement a cow is fed each season.

The supplementary feed tends to be palm kernel but it comes down to availability and cost. If there is a genuine pasture surplus they will look at making silage and feed it first.

Supplementary feed is usually added from late January when the grass slows to build a bank of grass ahead of them and hold the quality for autumn and spring.

They push the round out earlier than other farms in the area.

The palm kernel is fed in troughs in the paddock in late summer, which also means the risk of pasture damage is significantly reduced.

The cows spring calve, starting August 5. This season they pulled their calving date forward five days.

“We always thought balance date was October 10 but we were finding it was coming a little earlier each year so we moved forward to match the two irrigated farms.”

Unfortunately, Blowey and the team are struggling to keep up with demand. The herd got in-calf well last season and they are calving at a faster rate than usual. This

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October 2019

Nicola is enjoying the Kiwi way of life and farming and in particular, working with a pasture-based system.

combined with reduced pasture growth from lower temperatures means they are having to juggle the feed.

“We’ve put a bit of pressure on ourselves this year. We are a bit tight for grass.

“We are having to put a bit of silage into the dry cows to reduce demand until the growth comes.”

During the peak of calving they do a pick-up of new calves after the morning milking though they will check on the springer mob several times during the day. New-born calves are fed fresh gold colostrum.

They aim to keep about 110 replacements but do rear every heifer born so any excess can be sold to one of the other Guiney farms if they are short or want more.

They aim to wean calves at 100kg and once they reach target they are sent to the run-off from December 1 onwards.

Calves from all four Guiney farms are run together on the run-off and Blowey will usually get her own calves back as in-calf heifers.

Mating starts on October 27 with the new calving date. Blowey is responsible for most of the heat detection but is fortunate Matt can relieve her for days off.

AI runs for four weeks and they tail with Jersey bulls for a total of 10 weeks mating.

“We didn’t do anything differently to

Nicola tops up the calf meal in the feed bin.

DAIRY FARMER

Continued page 12 October 2019

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Nicola and farm assistant Zoe Cutmore discuss which paddock the cows are going to next.

The 575-cow Kiwicross herd produces an average of 160,000kg MS from a mostly grass diet. help the cows last season despite pulling the calving start date earlier but they got in-calf really well.”

Pre-mating heats are recorded and any cows that have not cycled in the four weeks leading into mating are run with Hereford bulls. No intervention is used but the herd is Metrichecked before mating.

The heifers from all four dairy farms are run with the bulls and mated a week ahead of the herd.

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The herd is body condition scored four times through the season by an independent scorer. Blowey speaks highly of her and her objective eye from the volume of condition scores she does daily.

Body condition scores are used at specific times throughout the season to split cows into mobs.

At pre-mating the team tries to keep the lighter cows closer to the shed so they can be treated slightly better and not have to walk as far.

“We expect the lighter mob to be mostly made up of the heifers.

“Having them in their own mob allows us to bring them to the shed first and we try keep them closer and treat them better. It also reduces competition.

“Depending on their condition we can put them on once a day too if we need to.”

Drying off is staggered based on the body condition scoring and pregnancy testing in February.

“The scores help us decide which cows need to dry off early and which should go on OAD.” Two herd tests are done each season with the second to target dry cow therapy.

A final body condition score is taken at drying off to form the winter mobs. The cows are wintered on kale on the nearby support block.

Blowey has two farm assistants, both new to the dairy sector.

She and the team keep up with research and recommendations. They always review their practices and make plans based on supporting information.

Since emigrating to NZ she has completed Biz Start and Biz Grow through DairyNZ. She is also interested in doing the Agribusiness Diploma through Primary ITO but needs residence to be eligible.

Her Harper Adams degree has served

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

ON FARM STORY

Nicola works as manager for Matt and Vanessa Greenwood who contract milk on the farm owned by Kieran and Leonie Guiney in Fairlie.

The general aim is to make as much milk as possible from grass so we can maximise profits.

Nicola Blowey

her well but she wants to focus on the numbers and business side next to push her forward.

Because of visa restrictions she cannot move beyond farm manager till she has residence.

“It’s a lovely place to live and the dairy industry is really strong. It has a lot going for it in lots of different ways.

“Because it’s such a big part of the economy it means we have a significant impact on the country and that’s really nice to be able to pay back to the community here as a whole.

Blowey joined the Mackenzie District Young Farmers Club and has been secretary for two years. She is also Aorangi region secretary.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

“Our club is strong. We go on farm tours and trips together regularly, as well as the monthly meetings.”

The club recently held a ball to raise awareness of mental health in the community. It snowed the night before the event, which created a few challenges, but it was successful with 300 people attending.

Money raised was donated to the Will to Live charity and the local Lions club.

The club wants to hold more events to support wellbeing initiatives for their rural community.

She describes Fairlie as a diverse area.

It has a range of dairy farms, arable farms and drystock farms. It draws people from the Mackenzie Basin too.

“I think Young Farmers is really important for that in this area.

“In the UK, Young Farmers has a stronger focus on the competitions and getting all club members involved to learn new skills and grow confidence.”

She sees NZ Young Farmers more focused on making social connections.

“A massive success of Young Farmers in NZ is bringing people together, bringing people off the farm and helping them make connections in the community.

“Farmstrong’s research showed people who are members of Young Farmers are less likely to report issues with mental

health that significantly affect their lives.”

To help build social connections across the Guiney farms they also field a touch team for the local tournament in summer.

Between the farm team and her Young Farmers club team she plays her fair share of games. She also helps fill spots in the local netball tournament too.

Every winter she has gone home to spend time with her family. She says it helps her remain focused when she is here.

She aspires to own a herd but wants to ensure she creates a profitable, sustainable business. Her ideal would be to be involved in several dairy businesses to create progression opportunities for other young people.

“I want to help others achieve their goals and, hopefully, I will be able to attract and work alongside keen, positive and focused people.

“Being part of an industry that fulfills so many key roles for society is very special and it is the relevance of agriculture to every one of us that is so rewarding.

“The range of knowledge and skills you build working in the industry and the variety of jobs we do and situations we face each season is really exciting.” n >> Video link: bit.ly/OFSblowey

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MARKET OUTLOOK

Fonterra retreats STEPHEN BELL

N

ESTLE is going the whole hog in embracing the idea the best way to sell stuff is to get close to its consumers.

It is now selling bespoke, hand-made Kit Kat bars offering customers a choice of 1500 flavours. They pay through the nose for these tasty delights but then that’s the point.

Fonterra, however, is going in the opposite direction. It’s retreating into its shell.

Our biggest company is shying away from innovation and niche markets in favour of supplying commodities to other firms that will make goods to sell to consumers.

Farmers might well ask how that fits with the add value mantra that’s been drummed into them for the past several years by all and sundry.

It is also yet to be explained how Fonterra’s new strategy, which is really a recycled old strategy, fits with the target set by the National Government of doubling the value not the volume of exports, a sentiment echoed by the latest administration.

This plan ignores the collective wisdom of controlling the entire supply chain from farmer to consumer, of building branded products that identify with consumer expectations and ideals and that can build their trust and loyalty.

We keep being told our problem is the biggest mark-ups are made by the overseas firms that take our massproduced products and turn them into fast-moving consumer goods so we lose most of the retail value.

But Fonterra, unlike Nestle, apparently doesn’t want a bar of those niche, luxury markets prepared to pay through the nose to put top notch food in their mouths.

Some might well see it as prudent, given the turmoil Fonterra has created for itself, to take a cautious approach and run a conservative balance sheet but that gives lie to the reasons why the giant coop was set up.

But then, Fonterra said it is incapable of running Tip Top when justifying the sale

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Fonterra is turning back on itself. so perhaps a back to basics approach is the best farmers can hope for.

It has also promised to be more open and honest with New Zealanders though in the past it has claimed stock market rules prevented that. The stock market rules haven’t changed and Fonterra units are still listed so it sounds like the excuse was a load of baloney.

To sum it up Fonterra has promised to get back to basics producing commodities for others to turn into high-priced consumer goods while being more open and honest. It’s new slogan could be Hiding in Plain Sight, especially if it wants to be more open and honest.

Fonterra’s leaders also say they are getting away from grandiose ambitions, gimmicks and slogans but all their statements have been full of meaningless warm fuzzy feel-good phrases about culture, values, healthy people and the co-operative difference. It doesn’t matter how much flowery waffle they use, it won’t mean a thing if farmers think the farmgate price isn’t enough.

They say Fonterra is at heart still a cooperative. No, it isn’t.

It stopped being a co-operative when it set up Trading Among Farmers. That’s the difference.

It created a hybrid misfit that’s neither a co-operative nor a corporate. That’s when farmers started losing their connection to it and it lost its identity. It’s neither fish nor fowl and can’t fly or swim. Till

that issue is addressed it will continue to flounder.

And farmers can’t blame anyone but themselves for the situation. They voted for it.

It’s also unfair to heap blame on former chairman John Wilson and chief executive Theo Spierings.

They were just two men acting on instructions from Fonterra’s owners, farmers represented by the board and the Shareholders’ Council, a lapdog that needs to be put down. Wilson and Spierings are no more or less guilty than anyone else involved.

If farmers want active scapegoats they might as well blame Federated Farmers and DairyNZ for not asking enough tough questions.

The upshot, when Fonterra regains its strength, is likely to be a co-op run by a board and management scared of their own shadows, afraid to make any bold moves for fear of being deafened by cries of stick to your knittting.

And that’s a crying shame. Fonterra is not only New Zealand’s biggest company it’s also a flagship for the nation, an example to us all because we all had such high hopes for it.

Its revenue last year was $20 billion, almost half of our entire income from primary sector exports. Imagine what it could do if it is flourishing and innovative.

It’s likely to be a much more timid beast for the foreseeable future. n

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NEWS

Good, bad and ugly

F

ONTERRA’S 2019 financial year results were a contrast between big, ugly numbers and attractive plans and predictions in its new corporate strategy.

Nothing was going to take away the shock of a $605 million loss on top of a $196m loss the previous financial year.

More than $800m of write-downs and impairments had been signalled six weeks in advance and the reported loss was towards the lower end of the forecast $590m-$675m loss range.

Dividends had been cancelled for the year and Fonterra’s directors have vowed never to borrow to pay dividends in the future as they effectively did in the first half of FY2018.

But behind the ugly bottom line there were better-looking numbers.

The farmgate milk price came in at $6.35/kg milksolids, technically the fifth-highest in Fonterra’s 19-year history, though three further payouts were higher when dividends were included.

It was also the third season in a row of $6-plus payouts, with a predicted fourth consecutive season now under way and prospects for New Zealand milk production and world demand-supply conditions looking favourable.

Farmers will not have forgotten the horrible seasons of 2014-15 and 201516 but the prolonged period of good payouts might now have over-shadowed

the extreme variation in dairy prices that characterised the decade that began with the global financial crisis and the commodities boom.

The fall from the record 2013-14 payout of $8.50 to the 2014-15 one of $4.65 was the most extreme example of that variation.

NZ milk payments were consistently behind those to European and American dairy farmers, even without EU and US government subsidies, but over the past three years they have grown to parity or even leadership.

The end of milk quotas under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy in April 2015 played a big part in stabilising supply and demand along with Fonterra’s own Global Dairy Trade auction platform for price discovery.

The reason for bringing up this history is to show Fonterra’s farmers have consistently received 90%-plus of their income for the past three years, despite what the co-operative itself has endured.

Senior executives and directors argue that it is because of the co-operative ownership of 80% of NZ milk production, which represents 30% of world-traded dairy commodities, not in spite of that ownership, that world prices have been good and consistent.

That point will be driven home time and again during the discussion of Fonterra’s structural reform that needs to follow the reset of its strategy.

The FY2019 numbers also show

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normalised sale revenue was $20 billion, down only 2% from the year before and that NZ milk collection was 1.523b kilograms MS, up 1%.

Though normalised earnings before interest and tax fell by 9% to $819m, gross margin was 15% at $3.015b and the giant co-operative had a good year in operating results.

Operating expenses were down a creditable 7% to $2.311b and the co-operative distributed $9.7b to its shareholders in payments for milk.

The debt ratio stayed at 48% but the day before the annual results Fonterra announced the conditional sale of its 50% stake in DFE Pharma, the medical lactose company in Europe, for $633m.

When the proceeds of that sale, and the divestment of foodspring protein specialist venture are received and banked Fonterra’s debt will shrink to a forecast $4.5b and a gearing ratio of about 38%.

Savings will also come from improved earnings, lower capital expenditure and other divestments, chief financial officer Marc Rivers said.

Other forecasts for FY2020 are relatively modest as Fonterra’s top table said the year will be one of transition towards a sustainably profitable company.

Alongside the annual results Fonterra left the farmgate milk price range forecast unchanged at $6.25 to $7.25/kg milksolids.

It said capital expenditure will be no more than $500m and operating

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October 2019

Fonterra expects a bright future with its new strategy.

expenditure will be maintained at the 2016-17 level of $2.3b.

It has also forecast gross margins for the ingredients and consumer-food service divisions will be unchanged from last year.

The financial results for 2019 were overshadowed by the big release of Fonterra’s new strategy by chief executive Miles Hurrell.

Eighteen months ago Fonterra might have said it was a global dairy giant aimed at collecting 30b litres of milk annually, only two-thirds of which would come from NZ. That is no longer the driving force behind the co-operative, which is now aimed at doing amazing things with NZ milk to create value for its customers and its farmer-owners.

It does not want to be a multinational, fast-moving consumer goods company like Nestle, Danone, Kraft and Kerry.

“That may not sound so radical but this simple change of how we think of ourselves takes us to a really different place,” he said.

Fonterra will now be driven by innovation, sustainability and efficiency and its target markets will be core dairy, food service, paediatrics, sports and active and medical and aging.

It will now concentrate on value not volume, prioritising NZ milk not global milk pools, it will partner using its intellectual property and research rather than seeking to own everything and will

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

run a conservative balance sheet instead of debt-funded growth.

It is divesting non-core businesses and focusing on where it has a competitive advantage.

That does not mean exiting from Australia and Chile, to name two highprofile examples, but the new strategy will drive discretionary spending in future, Hurrell said.

Milk supply growth in NZ and Australia cannot be expected in future and so the focus has switched to product and market optionality to drive premium prices through innovation, Fonterra strategy head Chris Greenough said.

It must return more value to shareholders to retain its milk market share at 80%.

Among the realities of its position are increasing competition for milk, constrained capital, high debt, lack of trust and confidence at home, increased environmental costs and recent underperformance.

Among its strengths are 20,000-plus employees, 10,000-plus farming families, 400 researchers, pasture-based milk, low greenhouse gas footprint, the global supply chain, customer relationships and food safety and traceability.

Greenough drew attention to what he calls cross-over products like butter, cheeses and milk powders that can be sold in bulk for further processing and in portions with high end-user margins.

For the first time Fonterra has adopted

triple-bottom line reporting, under the headings healthy people, healthy environment and healthy business.

Under the people heading it includes nutritional guidelines, employee health and safety and engagement, farmer satisfaction, which needs a big improvement, customer satisfaction and public perception.

The environment goals are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water use by 30% by 2030 and eliminating solid waste to landfill inside five years.

But it is the three-year and five-year business targets that drew the most attention.

They are to stabilise the gross margin at 15.6%, lift EBIT to $1b and more, to grow net profit to $650m then $800m, to keep capital expenditure down at $500m and to bring debt inside a range of 2.5x to 3.5x EBITDA. The goals on which Hurrell will be judged, and paid, include return on capital of 8.5% and earnings per share of 40c in three years, improving to 10% and 50c respectively in five years.

He said performance targets for his own remuneration, as well as all senior executives in future, will be based on those numbers.

The strategy cannot be reduced to a simple slogan like V3 or turning the wheel.

It is a slimming down and refocusing of the co-operative, cutting off poorperforming business units.

All overseas business units will have to pay their own way in future, Hurrell said.

The new operational model will be based on three in-market sales and marketing units – Asia-Pacific, Greater China and Africa, Middle East, Europe, North Asia and Americas.

Judith Swales will head the Asia-Pacific unit and Kelvin Wickham Africa, Middle Eat, Europe, North Asia and the Americas.

Both Chinese market leaders, Christina Zhu in consumer and food service, and ingredients chief Teh-Han Chow, will hopefully be in the running for the Greater China role, Hurrell said.

A new team will be created under the office of the chief operating officer to enable the market business units to create value through sustainability, innovation and operational scale and efficiency.

Chief operating officer Robert Spurway has decided it is time for a change in direction in his career and will leave Fonterra. Hurrell is recruiting for his replacement. n

17

DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Nothing to lose SONITA CHANDAR

P

REVIOUS winners are encouraging others to enter the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, saying they have nothing to lose and everything to

gain.

The awards are a chance for entrants to secure their future while learning and connecting with others and growing their careers.

The 2019 Share Farmers of the Year say the benefits to their career and business from entering are worth the effort and time.

Colin and Isabella Beazley won the 2019 Northland Share Farmers of the Year and went on to win the national title as well.

They entered to benchmark themselves against the best and also for the networking opportunities.

“The networking and contact with industry leaders is unparalleled and we have used these relationships to grow our business.”

Their advice to potential entrants is to remember evidence is key.

“If you can’t prove it to the judges they simply cannot mark it so keeping good records is paramount,” Isabella says.

“Sorting through and collating everything that farmers do daily can take time so start now if you’re thinking of entering.

“As a busy farmer you can get caught up in the day-to-day running of the farm so stand back and watch our presentation.

Visually, seeing the nine plywood boards plastered with our collated evidence and setting up our machinery for display and effect was quite eye-opening for us,” Colin says.

“It made us super proud of how far our industry has allowed us to grow and excited for the prospects of where it can take us.”

They say anyone thinking of entering should just go for it.

“We 110% recommend entering the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards,” they say.

“Firstly, the industry networking is invaluable. Second, the judges are industry experts and the constructive

18

The 2019 Share Farmers of the Year winners Isabella and Colin Beazley say there is much to gain from entering the NZ Dairy Industry Awards.

You meet heaps of people and learn a lot about yourself and your farm and the way you farm it.

Matt Redmond

feedback that you’ll receive is a great way to grow your business and career in the dairy industry.

“Last but not least is time off-farm.

Being able to flick off the cow-poo clothes and don some suave suits and flash heels to enjoy some time with others within our industry who get what it’s like to be a farmer too is also just as rewarding as the event itself.

“If you’re striving for more in our industry definitely sign up and see where the awards journey takes you.”

Canterbury’s Matt Redmond, the 2019 Dairy Manager of the Year, agrees and says the awards process provides plenty of opportunities for entrants. He entered to meet new people and identify areas where he was doing well and those where improvements could be made.

“You have absolutely nothing to lose,” he says.

“You meet heaps of people and learn a lot about yourself and your farm and the way you farm it. I really enjoyed it.

“It is a bit of work but you get out of it what you put into it and make sure everything you say, you have evidence to back it up.”

The advice he gives to others thinking about entering is to talk to others who have been through the process or visit them.

“Winning is definitely the highlight of my career,” he said.

“Through the awards I have met a range of people on-farm and from different farming backgrounds with different ideas that have challenged me on-farm.

“The awards and the feedback have allowed me to grow and continue to develop as a dairy farmer.”

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

MORE:

To find out more about the Awards or to register to enter Share Farmer of the Year, Dairy Manager of the Year or Dairy Trainee of the Year go to www.dairyindustryawards. co.nz

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

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Craig’s parents originally started with just a few cows, his passion for breeding quality dairy animals first arose when his father decided to purchase a pedigree cow. Keeping records from 12 years old, Craig’s passion started young and to this day Craig continues to carefully breed his herd creating well balanced, high producing cows. Due to the size of the farm Craig explains that his herd needs to be structurally correct and they need to be able to walk long distances.

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Craig Rowe, Maire Farms.

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ON FARM

Brent and Rebecca Miller are the 2019 Dairy Business of the Year supreme award runners-up. They also won the Best People Leadership award for their team, front from left, Rebecca, Blair, Brent, Rhianna and Blake Miller with, back from left, Randy Layno, Jessie Dela Cruz, Roel Serrano and Graham Hart.

Photos: Natwick Photography 20

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Putting people first

T

A Canterbury couple work hard to create a good workplace culture where everyone is happy. Tony Benny reports.

OP Canterbury dairy farmers Brent and Rebecca Miller say the key to their success is simple – they look after their staff very well and in return those happy staff are committed to doing all they can to maximise production and profit.

The Millers are lower order sharemilkers on a 273ha farm owned by Andrew and Rachele Morris, milking 925 cows near Carew, south of Ashburton in Mid Canterbury.

“For us the whole reason why we’re here is for our people, for positive impact, not just profit,” Rebecca says.

“The old game was profit but if we have a positive impact with our people, profit will come anyway.”

The couple, who operate as MilkIQ / River Terrace Dairy, were joint runners-up in this year’s Dairy Business of the Year supreme award with Waikato farmers Richard and Nadine McCullough from McCullough Farm Partnership. They also took home the Best Canterbury Farm Performance, Business Resilience and Best People Leadership awards.

Though the judges said it was unusual for two runner-up farms to be chosen – it was the first time in DBOY’s 12-year history – they could not be separated.

“The People Performance Award shows they have been able to achieve their financial results while caring for their people,” the judges said.

Running a tight ship with good cost

control ensured their win in the Business Resilience category.

River Terrace Dairy had the lowest cost of production at $3.84/kg MS, operating expenses are contained to 40% of gross revenue and a very good pasture harvest of 15.5 tonnes of drymatter a hectare with pasture being 78% pf all consumed feed.

They achieved an impressive 495kg MS a cow. The awards used data from the 2017-18 season.

This season they have also taken over the Morris’s second farm, a 389ha property carrying 1450 cows.

They say that with their staff’s help they are confident they can run both operations effectively and efficiently.

They hope the second farm will achieve

FARM FACTS n Farm owners: Andrew and Rachele Morris n Sharemilkers: Brent and Rebecca Miller n Location: Carew, Mid Canterbury n Farm size: 273ha, support block 75ha n Cows: 925 Friesian-cross (2017-18) n Production 2017-18: 457,679kg MS n Production 2018-19: 562,816kg MS from 1125 cows 318ha n Target 2019-2020: 575,000kg MS from 1150 cows 318ha n Working expenses: $3.84/kg MS

as highly as the first using the same award-winning system.

“We have low costs, high production and are lucky our staff turnover is virtually nil,” Rebecca says.

“We have worked hard to create a good team culture. We talk to people, are honest and try to establish trust.

“We ask our team what it is that they want to achieve so we can help them attain their goals. This helps us to achieve ours.”

Their people-first philosophy has evolved over the more than 10 years they have been dairy farming.

Rebecca, the daughter of dairy farmers, grew up immersed in farm life.

Her parents worked their way up the career ladder through contract milking, sharemilking and eventually to farm ownership in Whangarei.

“I did shift round a lot growing up,” Rebecca says.

“Mum and Dad farmed in Waikato, in Waiau Pa near Pukekohe, Wellsford, Warkworth, Edgecumbe, Taneatua and Thornton in Bay of Plenty so I’ve seen a lot of farming systems and environments and we were always helping out down on the farm.”

But when she left school Rebecca didn’t want to go farming because she wanted to study tourism and graphic design at Waikato Polytech.

“I thought, this is where I’m at.”

She worked for a travel wholesaler then

Continued page 22

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October 2019

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ON FARM

Brent and Rebecca Miller are lower order sharemilkers on a 273ha farm owned by Andrew and Rachele Morris, milking 925 cows near Carew, south of Ashburton in Mid Canterbury.

RIVER TERRACE DAIRY KPIS • Total cows: 925 • Effective area: 270.5ha • Milk: 495kg MS/cow, 1692kg MS/ha • Return on capital: 7.5% • Operating profit margin: 42.4% • Operating profit: $5286/ha • Cost of production: $3.84/kg MS • Operating expenses $4.24/kg MS • Pasture harvest: 15.5t DM/ha • Pasture % of feed: 78.2% • Core cost/cow: $655 • Labour efficiency: 212 cows/FTE • Environ Score (out of 15): 10.3 • HR Score (out of 15): 10.8

joined American Express and started moving up the ranks there.

“Then she married me,” interrupts Brent, adding that soon they were dairy farming together.

Brent was originally from Christchurch but when he was teenager his parents bought 26 hectares near Oxford and moved the family to the country.

“I got a bit of work on sheep and beef and deer farms and then went and completed a diploma in agriculture at Telford.”

At Telford he not only learned about agriculture, he also met and made friends with Rebecca’s brother Graham, who in 22

turn introduced him to Rebecca in 1997.

After graduating Brent worked on dairy farms in Canterbury then went to the West Coast for two years. When he returned to Canterbury he went flatting with Graham.

“Beck came down to visit. She went back north for a couple of weeks and then came back and never left,” Brent recalls.

They found work on dairy farms in Culverden, married in 2006 and started a family. They have three children, Blake, 14, Blair, 11, and Rhianna, 9.

As they moved from farm to farm they worked for various people, each with their own management style. The most valuable thing they learnt and use to this day is the old adage of treating others how you would want to be treated yourself.

“It just opened up our eyes. I’d worked in town so I could reflect upon how with American Express they really trained us intensively but also took care of us,” Rebecca says.

“So safety is important to us. It is not about a protective vest but psychological safety, the safety of the mind.

“At Amex it was about keeping us happy because if we were happy then the customer was happy.

“That’s the magic in our recipe. We do everything possible to keep our people happy. They’re keeping everything else happy, which means everybody’s happy. It

is a full circle going round and round.”

After a few years they took a job managing the Morris farm, by which time they had firm ideas about treating staff positively and the impact happy staff can have on their bottom line.

They are still working with the same staff they brought with them from the previous job.

They have formed a close bond with their staff and the owner and see them as family and friends so are proud to have won the Best People Leadership award.

“We just say, hey, I’m here for you and these are the parameters because everyone has a different style or method of doing things and works at different rates. But at the end of the day, if the job gets done .well then everyone is happy,” Rebecca says.

Brent adds “There are the basic principles of the farm – like milking the cow out properly and feeding the cows right and there are overall principles of what we do in our job every day – but how we get to the end result is up to the individual team member if that is the task they have been assigned.

“If we give them the freedom to do their job without micro-managing then everyone is happy,” he says.

“This has only been reached by mutual respect and trust between all our team members.”

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

The old game was profit but if we have a positive impact with our people, profit will come anyway.

Rebecca Miller

They also believe the farm can also grow food for the team and have begun planting fruit trees for the future.

“We understand that it will take time to grow but we feel that we need to start somewhere.

“If we can lower expenses for our team, albeit eventually, then they will have more cash in the bank.”

Attention to detail by both management and staff is one of the key ingredients of the Millers’ farming recipe and they actively involve their team making management decisions for the operation where practicable.

The staff do their own rosters, working out between them who works when, fitting in with the overall staff requirements set by the Millers.

“Everyone on farm has a family and they want to know when their days off are so they can plan far in advance.

“We have given them the power and responsibility of rostering but we do keep an eye on it so everyone is happy,” Brent says.

“There are basic parameters of how this farm is running so they have to be met. There are times when everyone has

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Rebecca takes meal and straw to the calves.

Brent Miller chats with team member Randy Layno about the herd.

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Continued page 24

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ON FARM Last season the herd produced 562,816kg MS and the Millers are targeting 575,000kg MS this season.

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October 2019

The thing is we’re all making the timely decisions, it isn’t just me.

Brent Miller

to pitch in such as calving. We can’t have three people off and only one working but we let them take responsibility for that.”

Rather than having a pyramid-type management structure they aim for something flatter where everyone has responsibility and accountability.

Practically, that means everyone knows how to do every job on the farm and they’re trained that way from the moment they join.

If, for example, there is tractor work to be done while the usual tractor driver is on his days off, someone else can fill that role. One staff member does most of the maintenance on the farm but if need be there is another team member who has been trained for that too.

“If they don’t have the variety or feel they can add value they get bored, which does not create a good team culture,” Rebecca says.

She loves writing quotes.“Team culture is not created with a policy or procedure – you bring the culture.”

Last season they produced 562,816kg MS and are targeting 575,000kg MS this season.

They run a System 4 with the focus mainly on pasture but use supplement in the shoulders of the season to extend lactation.

Brent says they keep a close eye on things and do farm walks twice a week because feed supply and quality can change sharply in a few days and have an almost instant effect on production.

And their team is also very aware how important feed quality is.

“Everyone’s keeping an eye on those

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

The children take an active interest in the farm.

Rhianna and Rebecca check out the farm roster.

feeding levels and the grass residuals in the paddock.”

“The team knows when it gets down to a certain point they have the autonomy to shift them to the new break so instead of all the cows standing at the gate hungry they’re are shifted to new grass,” Rebecca says.

“The thing is we’re all making the timely decisions, it isn’t just me. It’s not just us running round making the decisions and the rest of them doing what they’re told.

The team can make the decision to feed them when they need to be fed,” Brent adds.

“The use of time as a responsive tool has become one of our biggest assets in reaching our targets.”

They grow 10ha of beet on the milking platform for autumn and winter transitioning feed. Grain and palm kernel are fed in spring and palm kernel in autumn where needed.

Any non performing paddocks are sprayed and drilled with new pasture.

That is determined from Minda land and feed data history.

“We are vigilant at keeping records and have four years’ worth of data that we can draw from,” Brent says.

“The weakest paddocks are chosen to

go into autumn beet and are regrassed the following year.”

GPS soil sampling is done over the whole farm every three years, which they say is a game-changer and has been instrumental in keeping their capital fertiliser costs down by applying fertiliser only through variable rate application.

The herd is wintered on the 75ha support block where it is fed kale, beet, balage and straw.

The heifers begin calving on July 25 and the herd a week later on August 1. They aim to keep about 25% heifer replacements and excess calves are also kept and reared.

Weaning target is 100kg for the Friesian calves and 90kg for the Jersey calves. In December calves are sent to the support block and return as in-calf heifers.

Premating heats are recorded from August 31 and non-cycling cows identified and Metrichecked and treated using the Off Sync programme.

Mating begins on October 25 and AI is done for six weeks using daughterproven semen followed by three weeks of short gestation and the bulls go out until January 3.

Continued page 26

25

Brent and Rebecca Miller say the key to their success is simple – they look after their staff, from left, Graham Hart, Jessie Dela Cruz, Roel Serrano, Randy Layno, Blake, Blair, Rebecca, Rhianna and Brent Miller.

As if they didn’t have enough to do running two farms and managing eight staff the Millers are also involved in a number of other farming activities.

Rebecca was the local convener of the Women’s Dairy Network for four years and last year completed the Kellogg rural leader’s project – and from that has grown an idea for a new business.

She is developing a new website called Land Events, aiming to stop duplication of rural events by putting all the information in one place.

“I found that a lot of events were being duplicated with the same topic at the same time targeting the same people using the same levy and I was like

26

‘Wow, I put this event on and the bank has a finance seminar on at the same time and I only have 10 people here’,” she says.

Rebecca is also writing a book titled Embrace the Intangible, which will cover their people-first management system.

She and Brent have trademarked a new word, Farmily, which encapsulates their management philosophy and in time plan to set up a consultancy.

“Everything that we do on-farm is actually something you can bring to the table. It’s not something that you can buy.

“Tangible is something I can buy, like a cup, but you can’t buy an attitude,

you can’t buy an emotion, you have to actually be the change you wish to see.

“For me it truly is transformational when you understand that it comes back to behaviour and attitude. If you’re an employer of people there are tricks and tips you can learn to create a resilient team culture where people want to work with you and don’t need to leave.”

Away from the farm they love going camping with the kids and use their caravan to travel and discover new places.

“Over the last couple of years we have travelled to Nelson, Takaka and discovered Quinney’s Bush campground which is a great place to relax.”

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

ON FARM

The Millers with some of this season’s calves.

The children have been involved in swimming, athletics and rugby so that keeps them busy too.

“We always have dinner at the table to reconnect and talk about everyone’s day.

Our one goal every day is to spend time with each of our children to connect and listen,” Rebecca says.

Looking ahead they eventually want to enter an equity partnership or partnership while helping others in the industry.

“We want to help as many as people in the industry as possible, in any way we can whether that be through our website or the consulting business that is in the pipeline,” they say. n

Brent checks on things in the cowshed ahead of afternoon milking

INDUSTRY GOOD

Have your say on water David Burger

Strategy and investment leader, dairy

D

AIRYNZ is working flat tack on assessing the Government’s proposed Essential Freshwater Package.

It is of huge significance to farmers and some of the specific proposals are causing concern, particularly at a time when there is so much to do on-farm.

The time frames for consultation are extremely short, especially given the amount of change being proposed, the complexity of the issues and the sheer volume of material to understand.

Since it was released DairyNZ’s water quality scientists, policy experts and economists have been working through the details to understand their implications on the environment, dairy farming families and our communities.

There has been a lot to assess because we were not part of the package’s development process. Along with our own analysis the information and comments farmers have provided on how the proposals affect them are vital for our submission and we appreciate the time farmers have taken to share their views with us, make submissions and attend meetings.

In the package there are aspects we support and a number of proposals we have serious concerns about.

Healthy waterways are something we

DairyNZ supports stock exclusion but is investigating the effectiveness of proposals for new buffer distances. all want and we know we need to do our bit for ourselves, our communities and our consumers.

At the same time we want to ensure policies are grounded in robust science, lead to meaningful outcomes, are practical to implement and have a fair transition time.

Some of the policies build on all the great work many dairy farmers have already been leading on, which we know will make a real difference to water quality.

For example, DairyNZ supports the proposed mandatory farm environment plans as the best way to manage the environment on-farm and to further improve water quality outcomes quickly.

Through our Dairy Tomorrow strategy the dairy sector has already made a commitment for all farmers to have farm plans.

However, we do have some concerns

The adoption of national standards for winter grazing is proposed in the Essential Freshwater package.

with DairyNZ around how the plans will be rolled out under the Essential Freshwater Package.

In principle, we support national standards for winter grazing, another key proposal. Most of the practices the Government wants to see farmers adopt are already part of good management practice for the primary sector. But we would like to see some of the proposed definitions, like pugging, improved.

We support stock exclusion as one of the most effective measures for reducing nutrients, sediment and bacteria entering permanent waterways. Through the Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord dairy farmers have already made significant progress on this issue. Our scientists are reviewing what evidence there is on whether a proposed 5m buffer

requirement will be effective.

We are broadly supportive of no further increases in nutrient and sediment loading occurring in over-allocated catchments until regional councils have set limits for their areas. Any increases in loading in these areas might require all farmers to make greater reductions to their footprint in future. Increases are already prohibited for many regions through existing regional rules. In catchments that are not over-allocated we support taking a measured approach.

While we support policies that will protect ecosystem health alongside swimability we don’t support the new nitrogen and phosphorus bottom lines proposed. We don’t consider the new thresholds are scientifically robust or view them as the most effective way to improve waterways.

We are concerned focusing on just nitrogen loss reductions on farms won’t deliver the ecosystem health improvements the community wants to see.

Instead, we would like to see a focus on achieving improvements to ecosystem outcomes in at-risk catchments. At

In the package there are aspects we support and a number of proposals we have serious concerns about. the same time we recognise the need to manage high nitrogen losses across many catchments and believe a focus on improving practices through farm environment plans is the best way to achieve that.

We don’t think an adequate assessment of the economic and social impact of the proposals on farmers and regional communities has been included with the package. We are doing a more robust analysis for our submission and we will share this with dairy farmers once it’s available.

An extension was granted to the

original October 17 consultation deadline following pressure from DairyNZ and other agricultural organisations.

Submissions can now be made until October 31.

I would really encourage you to make a submission.

The proposals could result in some significant effects on farmers and we have only one chance to make our voices heard.

DairyNZ has developed a submission template you can use. You can also make a submission online.

Thank you for the feedback we have gathered from speaking to farmers and at the farmer meetings and webinars held in September and early October. Much of this will be included in our submission, which we are continuing to refine as we gather more information and analysis. n

MORE:

Visit dairynz.co.nz/freshwater for the latest information and submission details. If you have any questions you can get in touch with our regional teams. They are happy to talk through any queries and provide support with making a submission.

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DAIRY CHAMPION

Plenty of speed left A small central North Island milk company is proving it can do big things. Cheyenne Nicholson reports.

T

AUPO company Miraka might be small but chief executive Richard Wyeth believes that gives it an edge and allows it to show dairy industry leadership.

Not being hamstrung by the challenges and complexities of a large company Miraka has been able to put itself at the forefront of tackling some big issues.

Kaitiakitanga – guardianship, protection, sustainability – is one of Miraka’s key values and is an area where it is taking the lead.

“Protecting the environment in which we operate is of such high importance to everyone at Miraka and our shareholders,” Wyeth says.

“We want to make sure that future generations benefit from the work we are doing.

“Things like the renewable geothermal energy, worm farming and closed-loop recycling at the factory are all part of that.

“We can take a long-term view on things and instead of telling farmers ‘you must do this’ we’re saying ‘hey, let’s incentivise our farmers to do better’.

“Miraka is very much about nurturing our world and by encouraging our farmers to improve in this space and getting the Miraka story out there to the consumers we can start to demand a higher premium for our products.”

The incentive scheme, Te Ara Miraka, rewards suppliers for meeting five criteria – people, environment, animal welfare, milk quality, and prosperity. Farmers can earn a 20c/kg MS extra at the end of the season.

“The public perception of farming in general and dairying, in particular, is challenging. All farmers should be really positive with returns being strong but many are in a bit of a negative space.

“It’s a balance of keeping farmers upbeat but also showing urbanites that there are farmers out there doing a great job and making changes and improvements and that’s a little bit of where Te Ara Miraka fits in.”

Being the people person he is Wyeth 30

Miraka chief executive Richard Wyeth says protecting the environment in which they operate is of high importance.

is passionate about looking after and nurturing his team and has enjoyed watching some amazing people go through the company and flourish.

“When we established the UHT plant we had to hire another 40 staff for that operation.

“Many of those staff hadn’t come from dairy or UHT so we invested a lot into training in getting through those early stages but now it’s so satisfying because every single one of those people could go and work in any dairy plant in the world with what they’ve learned here.”

While he admits it can be challenging to maintain a positive workplace culture, especially as the company grows, it’s

sometimes just the simple things that have the biggest effect.

“We talk to people, get to know what’s going on. Organising fun activities, team events and family days is always a big hit.

The inter-company volleyball challenge is always a bit of a highlight as well.

“We just try to make sure there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

“It does get hard but we’ve been pretty successful at establishing and continuing a great culture and I’m really proud of that.”

Despite having a team of 130-odd, being the boss can be isolating at times, just one of the many challenges of being a chief executive.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Richard Wyeth leads a team of 130 and says Miraka has some incredible people working for them. Chief financial officer, Jason Sheriff, general manager supply chain, Lucy McLeod, chief executive Richard Wyeth and general manager milk supply, Grant Jackson.

“For me the satisfaction of looking back and being part of something that people are proud of is probably the best thing.”

He has led Miraka since the beginning and has a long history in agricultural and dairy but as a child he wasn’t sure what he wanted to be.

While his peers wanted to be doctors, rock stars and rugby players he had no fixed ideas.

While his first job, a dagging and crutching gang he set up with a friend when he was at school, earned him some pocket money and kept him out of trouble he needed to satisfy the organiser in him and says he’s definitely ticked that box now.

“I’ve always enjoyed organising things and growing up I didn’t know what that would look like for a career.

“If there was ever something to be organised I was at the forefront. I love being around and working with people as well so I guess that’s perhaps one reason why running a farm didn’t appeal too much as it can be a bit isolating.”

He grew up on his parents’ sheep and beef farm in Wairarapa. The Opaki primary school alumnus says his childhood was one of a typical Kiwi farm kid, full of eeling, riding motorbikes and even milking the house cow.

When Roger Douglas’ 1980s reforms happened he says his parents, like so

many other families, went through some really tough times.

“The late 80s was a tough period for many farming families in our community and while my parents didn’t tell me not to go farming, they did encourage me to go to university. Because I had done reasonably well academically a friend’s mother said I should try law.”

It was at Canterbury University, where he studied for arts and commerce degrees after deciding he wasn’t really cut out to be a lawyer that he discovered his love and aptitude for business that eventually led him to Miraka.

Continued page 32

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Richard Wyeth is an avid outdoors man so enjoys Taupo’s variety of recreational activities including playing in this charity golf tournament.

Te Ara Miraka rewards its suppliers for meeting five criteria – people, environment, animal welfare, milk quality and prosperity – and each year holds an awards evening.

32

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

“While I was there I ran the university social rugby competition which had about 400 players. It was one of the largest competitions run outside of NZRU. “Overseeing something that people got value out of was very satisfying. That’s where I sort of thought about wanting to have a chief executive type position.”

After university he landed a spot on a graduate programme with Benchmark building suppliers, now called Bunnings, which was the start of a fairly lengthy CV that includes everything from DB Breweries, Coca Cola and sheep start-ups to transport companies.

“I remember one particular person told me that I’d had too many jobs and it would look bad.

“From my perspective I was focused on picking up different skill sets; managing people, negotiating large contracts, etc.

It was all about learning different skills so that when I landed the Miraka role I had a good understanding of the core competencies needed for that role.”

He has been part of the Miraka team since it was little more than an idea and a bare paddock.

Chairman Kingi Smiler, one of the

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

driving forces behind Miraka, was speaking to a mutual friend about potential people to get on board to help get the project moving.

“It was still early days in the project so there was no guarantee that it was even going to go ahead.

“Obviously, it did and it has done really well.

“I began as the acting chief executive then applied for the full time role. Kingi and the board supported me and the rest is history.”

Miraka, established in 2011, is a dairy processor with strong values founded on the cultural beliefs of its Maori owners.

It is unique in the dairy industry through its use of sustainable and renewable geothermal energy, a world-first for the whole milk powder processing industry.

It collects milk from 100 local farms within an 85km radius of the factory, which gives it a farm-fresh advantage and results in superior quality products.

Miraka has the power and capacity to process more than 250,000,000 litres of milk into powders and UHT products every year. The range of products has a global reach and exports go to more than 23 countries.

January 2020 will see Wyeth tick over 10 years with Miraka and it’s been a decade of highs and big learning curves from the challenges of getting the idea off the ground to securing the company’s spot in the market against much bigger competitors.

“Miraka is my top career highlight to date.

“It’s my first chief executive role and I was 35 at the time so relatively young.

“To then get the business up and running, on time and under budget, was a huge relief and going on to be profitable and grow the business has been immensely satisfying.

“One of the things I reflect on a lot is just how amazing it is what can be achieved when you get good people working in a team.

“It still amazes me what we’ve been able to do as a start-up. It takes a tremendous amount of courage and determination from everyone involved.”

When it comes to his personal measure of success Wyeth, ever the organiser has long-term and short-term measures.

In the long term it’s to ensure the company is always in a position to grow.

Short term it’s to make decisions that pay for him.

“I’ve always seen it as an honour to have a job. It might be a funny way of

thinking but if someone wants to pay you to do a job, I’m always thankful for the opportunity.”

When he isn’t jumping from meeting to meeting or participating in the volleyball tournament he can most likely be found in the great outdoors with his family.

“I like skiing through the winter and I try to do three half marathons a year.

Living in Taupo is fantastic as there’s so many places to get out and about.

“That’s probably one of the things about being chief executive that I don’t like that much, being inside all day.

We want to make sure that future generations benefit from the work we are doing.

Richard Wyeth

“I probably don’t wear a suit as often as I should either, on that note, but it’s Taupo, the dress code is a bit more relaxed.”

Being an organisational and goalminded person it’s no surprise his top tip for creating a good work-life balance is a good, old-fashioned schedule to block out family holidays and events.

When asked what’s next he says “We’ve been very focused on delivering our strategy from day one, build a strong foundation from the commodity business and then create value as quickly as we can so we are putting a lot of time and energy into growing our consumer business to drive up the profitability of the business.

“Miraka has a great story to tell and the best place to tell that is through our consumer products.”

On a personal level, though he knows nothing is forever, as long as he enjoys getting out of bed on a Monday morning to go to work and there’s enough of a challenge he’ll continue to drive Miraka from strength to strength.

“And if the board is happy of course.

“I get bored easily but I have a plan in my head of exactly what I want the company to achieve over the next few years. We have plenty of gears to go through before we hit full speed.” n

33

CALF CLUB

Teen turns to judging A teenager who has a long involvement with calf clubs as a competitor is now giving back and learning the ropes to become a judge. Jenny Ling reports.

W

AIKATO youngster Zoe Botha and her four-legged bovine friends have been cleaning up calf club and A&P shows for the last decade.

Now the sprightly teen is getting ready to step up into the technical and demanding role of judging.

It is Botha’s first year training as a Calf Club NZ judge and she is looking forward to helping and learning from qualified judge Katrina Silvester as they make their way around farms in the Hamilton north area.

“I’ve taken part in calf club for so long I thought I’d take a step up and look at the younger generation and learn from the qualified judges and adults,” Botha says.

Botha lives on a 200ha dairy farm at Rotoorangi with her parents Melanie and Sean who contract milk 480 Friesian and Friesian-cross cows.

The 17-year-old Cambridge High School student will be helping Silvester judge 16 children on nine farms from Hamilton north to Tuakau.

Zoe and Aspire Gold Kaylani with last year’s Calf Club NZ ribbons.

She is nervous but really excited to learn more about judging calf club, which she first entered as a primary school student in 2009 with her Friesian calf named Rosebud. The pair had immediate success winning reserve leading and reserve champion rearing.

From 2009 until the 2015-16 season Botha has won nearly 300 ribbons at calf

clubs, including school, group day and A&P shows.

During the 2015-16 season alone Botha and her Jersey calf Toffee Pop, leased from Julie Pirie, won a staggering 121 ribbons and trophies.

Together they won 11 grand champion calf and three reserve grand champion calf ribbons.

Tips for the big day

Zoe and Aspire Gold Kaylani in August.

34

YOU need to train your calf to do three things on the lead – to walk forward alongside you, to turn when required and to stop.

Start with a few minutes training each day.

After each session praise and pat your calf. Keep training the calf every day and keep it covered all the time so its coat is as shiny as possible on the day.

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

You will need: • A bucket with washing equipment so you can spot-clean any dirty marks off your calf; • A grooming brush and a soft cloth

for polishing around nose, eyes and general coat before you go into the ring; • A clean halter and lead rope; • A separate water bucket so your calf can have a drink and; • Some meal and a feeding container so you can give your calf some reward after a good effort.

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

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

Good luck.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

“Every year I started progressing and doing more active things with my calf and I kept getting better placings and getting championship ribbons and going to more A&P shows and more competitions,” she says.

Botha competed at her last school calf club in 2015 and has since been competing in up to 10 pedigree shows a year, first with leased animals and more recently with her two young Holstein Friesians Kimberley and Kaylani and two Ayrshire cows called Glitta and Macey.

She also owns a Holstein Friesian calf called Kalaya.

Botha says it will take lots of confidence and knowledge to be a good judge in the three classes of leading, rearing and grooming and dairy or beef types.

She’ll be looking for good conformation in the calves along with top-notch grooming and a strong bond between calf and child.

Her next steps are to become a qualified judge when she leaves school in the next couple of years and to travel to an Australian dairy farm to gain experience and see how things work over there.

She is also heading to the Hawke’s Bay

Zoe and Aotearoa Pars Macey at the Franklin Show in February.

Royal A&P Show from October 23 to 25.

Her advice for contestants is to have fun and set some goals and go from there.

“The key is to spend time with your animal and create a special bond.”

There will be two sets of judging for each category – a social judging and a formal judging.

Every entry has automatically been

entered into the social judging and when children submitted their entries they could put themselves into the formally judged category.

Every child who has entered the formal judging will be visited on-farm where judges will have an in-depth look at the calf’s leading capabilities and conformation. n

: 134

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JUDGING

For the first time ever we have every single formal entry being on farm judged across New Zealand these school holidays! This has been made possible by the amazing support of our outstanding volunteers and sponsors.

Stay tuned as the results for the biggest Nation Wide Calf Club NZ will be announced right here in next months Dairy Farmer!

BURGESS FARM

TECHNOLOGY

I

Spreading the word

SABEL Tait and Rhiannon Handcock met as students at Massey University with a shared passion for animals and science.

Now they aim to share their passion with the masses.

The AgriSciencer, launched in June, is a web/social media platform that aims to break down the most relevant scientific research articles and remove the science jargon to create summaries that get the key messages out for the farming industry.

Handcock says she wanted a platform to share relevant research to make it more accessible to wider audiences outside of academia.

“We were both following exercise and nutrition pages run by scientists,” Handcock says.

“They were working within their areas and trying to break down the complicated research for a wider audience and I thought ‘is there anyone doing that in animal science in New Zealand?’ So, I said to Izzy ‘hey I’ve been thinking about doing this thing over the last few months, would you like to join me?’ And that was that. Within a few weeks Izzy had us sorted.”

We really want to see how it goes, get feedback and see what works and what doesn’t.

Isabel Tait

The pair aim to publish one blog a week on their site, each focusing on their area of expertise – Handcock on dairy production and Tait on the sheep industry – as well as sharing content of their own and others on social media. Tait focuses on Instagram while Handcock looks after the Facebook page.

Past blog topics have included evaluating the effectiveness of calf jackets, the effects of milk allowance on growth and behaviour of dairy calves, the energy and protein requirements of growing lambs, the effect pasture height has during lambing and mastitis and antimicrobials.

“We really want to see how it goes, get feedback and see what works and what doesn’t. We’ve been creating infographics and that’s been really fun,” Tait says.

“One of our best posts on Instagram was of my Dad scanning the sheep on our farm. People were really interested in what was going on. We see this stuff all the time but don’t think of it as interesting.

“I remember telling my Dad that 2000 people had seen it and he just couldn’t fathom it. Why would 2000 people want to see him doing something he did all the time but people want to learn.”

36

Rhiannon Handcock has a passion for cows and worked at LIC. She has recently completed her thesis on live weight and growth of dairy heifers being important for subsequent milk production and reproductive performance.

The pair have managed to run the platform alongside their doctoral research with Massey’s School of Agriculture and Environment.

Handcock recently submitted her paper, which has freed up a little more time, while Tait still has a few months to go before submitting hers.

They have also begun to share the load with guest bloggers.

PhD student Michaela Gibson recently wrote their first guest blog about the measures of the cannon bone in cows predicting the structure of the shoulder bone.

“Right now we are doing it all off our own backs so it would be great to get it funded somehow down the line,” Tait says.

“It takes a lot of time and effort on top of everything else you are doing but we think it’s worth doing. Instagram and Facebook aren’t really talked about in our academic circles all that often so it would be nice to keep leading in this space.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Isabel Tait worked as a junior research officer in soil science at Massey for two years and is working on her thesis on genetic parameters of body condition score and production traits in New Zealand sheep.

“But with careers you have to have a bit of support to keep leading the charge.”

After the completion of their studies Handcock wants to explore a postdoctoral placement overseas for a few years while Tait wants to work in the NZ agriculture industry. n

How they got here ISABEL Tait grew up on an intensive breeding and finishing sheep farm in western Southland in a place called Otahuti, which runs 2500 Romney breeding ewes and 100 Poll Dorset breeding ewes.

She has an agriscience degree with first class honours from Massey. Her interest lies in sheep. She has worked as a junior research officer in soil science at Massey for two years. She hopes to complete her thesis by the end of the year.

Rhiannon Handcock has a

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

passion for cows, specifically dairy. She was born and raised in Auckland and lived there till her parents bought a lifestyle block just outside Pukekohe when she was 11.

It is where her passion for cows began as she started to get involved with rearing, milking and showing her Jersey cows.

Once she left high school she combined her love of cows and science with a science degree majoring in animal science and agriculture. She completed her honours in 2014 and worked for LIC for a year.

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TECHNOLOGY

The adhesive patch is activated once pressure is applied and cows are automatically sorted at the gate for mating.

Tech gives extra milk

A

N OTOROHANGA farm has done away with tail paint after becoming the first in New Zealand to pilot an automated heat detection system

for cows.

The simple method uses an electronic circuit in an adhesive patch to replace tail paint and manual drafting in the shed.

The patch is activated once pressure is applied and cows are automatically sorted at the gate for mating.

The system can be used in any shed and farming system.

Robbie Van Der Poel operates a dairy farm with 400 cows at Otorohanga and was the first to test the technology.

“I like the simplicity of the patches, anyone can use this in a way that minimises labour – we now have one less labour unit in the cowshed,” Van Der Poel says.

“You can do the whole herd in one milking ready to send out the next day and it’s a one-off cost.”

Milking technology company DeLaval, which has launched HeatGate, with Estroscan, says automated heat detection can improve submission and in-calf rates.

“We’re focused on the technology 38

New technology in the form of a patch will replace tail paint.

that farmers need to lift their profitability and manage the health of their animals without increases in labour requirements,” DeLaval herd management solution manager Peter Wilson said.

“We’ve seen about 231 more days in milk on our test farm as a result of automating heat detection alone,” Wilson says.

“In our first mating we had a 7% increase in our three-week in-calf rate so that basically means more cows in calf

earlier, more days in milk, more money in my pocket,” Van Der Poel says.

DeLaval HeatGate works with a handheld operator, a standalone fixture on any gate without requiring a connection to a central data management system or in conjunction with a DeLaval sortgate.

“Before HeatGate we were using a traditional tail paint system, how I was taught. Now the cows are automatically drafted out and they’re there waiting for me to deal with after milking,” Van Der Poel says. n

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Q. How can a milk test improve your efficiency?

A.

There's always room for improvement.

There’s always a formula to success. An LIC herd test is one of the most valuable formulas dairy farmers can apply to increase herd productivity and value. One test can identify high producers and non-performers, the sick to the healthy, the pregnant to the empty. It’s an accurate, non-intrusive way of getting the full story on your herd health and herd wealth.

Talk to your LIC Agri Manager about booking in a regular herd test today.

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RESEARCH

HME ryegrass makes steady progress

A

GRESEARCH’S development of a new generation grass is making steady progress.

Principal scientist Dr Greg Bryan recently returned from the United States where the Crown research institute is doing field trials of the genetically modified, high metabolisable energy (HME) ryegrass.

New Zealand forage scientists have been doing experiments to find out whether this new, potentially environmentally sustainable grass – one that strikes a balance between reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, greater tolerance to drought and farm productivity – will perform in the field in a similar way to how it performs in controlled environment studies.

“Our ryegrass research has generated high levels of public and scientific interest here in NZ and overseas and now is a good time to provide an update on the progress we are making,” Bryan said.

“The HME ryegrass has performed well in controlled growing conditions and I’ve recently returned from the US where we are growing the plants in field trials in competition with one another, just as they would in pasture and the plants are doing well.

“We’re breeding the best novel traits into ryegrass cultivars that will best suit NZ growing conditions and we’re also introducing genes into the plants that have simpler genetic patterns that will make future breeding programmes easier.

“The ultimate goal of the US phase of the research is to conduct realistic rather than simulated animal nutrition studies so we can evaluate whether the grass might have the potential environmental benefits such as reduced methane emissions and reduced nitrogen excretion that our modelling suggests it will.”

While the results have been encouraging, Bryan issued a note of caution.

“This is complex long-term research and we are working on a species with challenging genetics. It takes several years 40

AgResearch is developing a new, high metabolic energy ryegrass that is environmentally sustainable.

Eventually, we will need to seek regulatory approval for HME ryegrass to be grown here in NZ for livestock grazing trials.

Dr Greg Bryan

to breed the HME trait into elite ryegrass varieties currently used by farmers and, very importantly, to test performance every step of the way.

“It’s important to stress that the forecast environmental benefits associated with the grass need to be supported by rigorous research. We have a good

understanding of the potential benefits of the grass because of our institutional expertise in animal nutrition, from animal nutrition models and from the biochemical analysis of the grasses in invitro (test tube) studies.

“Eventually, we will need to seek regulatory approval for HME ryegrass to be grown here in NZ for livestock grazing trials. We need to test in NZ conditions using NZ animals to ultimately confirm or refute the potential environmental and productivity benefits of HME ryegrass.”

DairyNZ is investing farmers’ levies alongside AgResearch to support the trials in the US. Dr Bruce Thorrold of DairyNZ said “Dairy farmers are looking for new ways to reduce their environmental footprint and improve productivity. The science done by AgResearch to develop these plants is world-leading and we’re investing to see how these plants perform in the field and test their potential value for our farmers. While there is a long way to go we’re encouraged by the results to date.”

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

AgResearch, in support of the project and a number of other forage related research initiatives, is also investing in new, state-of-the-art glasshouses on their Grasslands campus in Palmerston North. The glasshouses, designed to precise performance specifications and biosecurity standards, will be used to research novel ryegrass, clover, endophytes and many other foragerelated species.

Plant biotechnology team leader Dr Richard Scott said “These glasshouses have very sophisticated climate control and irrigation technology but the big game-changer for us is that their design will allow us to grow plants that produce higher quantities of high-quality seed.

“This new facility is very important for the HME ryegrass programme as all seed used in the US trials is produced here in these contained glasshouses at Palmerston North and we will need kilograms of seed to plant enough ryegrass to perform meaningful animal nutrition studies.”

Up to a dozen scientists from two teams – plant biotechnology and plant-microbe

The new containment glasshouses at the AgResearch Grasslands campus in Palmerston North will be used to research novel ryegrass, clover, endophytes and many other forage-related species.

interactions – will do various experiments in the glasshouses.

“A diverse range of scientists can work together there, including PhD students, so we are expecting to see even greater collaboration between teams, research institutes, universities and co-funders.

We also know this new facility will enable us to increase the scope and pace of both our field trials and the fundamental research programmes into understanding the mechanisms underlying the higher growth rates observed in the HME ryegrass,” Scott said. n

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October 2019

41

RESEARCH

On-farm research helps water quality

A

N INNOVATIVE approach to improving environmental sustainability is proving its success in intercepting and treating storm water before it leaves the farm and trials indicate it could be a game-changer for water quality.

A four-year trial has looked at intercepting and treating storm water before it leaves the farm – stopping the phosphorus, sediment and E coli from washing off into Lake Rotorua The detainment bund science project manager John Paterson says while there is an increasing spotlight on farmers and the impact farming has on waterways, this is a project developed and led by farmers.

The results will be released at a public field day on October 30 at one of the research sites near Rotorua.

The Phosphorus Mitigation Project Incorporated was established in 2016 and this farmer-governed research group has focused on intercepting storm water with structures called detainment bunds.

“It appears the initial effort and expense is about to be well justified with some exciting outcomes.”

Phosphorus loss to Lake Rotorua from human land use is about 20 tonnes a year and most of it comes from storm water runoff.

The detainment bunds are low earth mounds built across gently sloping land in valley floors where storm water flow paths occur during intense rain.

They temporarily hold storm water runoff in a large ponding area for up to three days, allowing time for the ponded water to reduce in volume by infiltration. The suspended sediment particles and attached phosphorus cannot infiltrate and settle back onto the flooded pasture rather than going into the lake.

The research has been done by Massey University doctoral student Brian Levine.

Levine found the detainment bunds capture about 60% of the phosphorus 42

Full detainment bund with excess stormwater overtopping the outlet riser – Waiteti Trust Farm.

load and 80% of the sediment in storm water, depending on soil drainage conditions.

Project group chairman Lachlan McKenzie says the bunds could make a significant difference to lake water quality.

A key attraction is they do not unduly compromise farming activity or pasture production in the area they occupy with the grass in the ponding area remaining healthy and productive.

“This technology has the potential to intercept and treat storm water for multiple benefits on a whole catchment scale that previously had not been considered possible.”

Massey University’s Lucy Burkitt says the project is unique and shows the value of partnerships.

“Our collaboration with the Phosphorus Mitigation Project has demonstrated the incredible potential of researchers working closely with farmers and industry groups to help find practical solutions to improve the sustainability of farming.” n

Massey University PhD student Brian Levine – out in the rain, water sampling at a detainment bund field research site.

MORE:

The detainment bund research field day is on October 30 from 12.30pm at J and C Paterson’s farm, 136B Stewart Road, Kaharoa, Rotorua. Register with john. patersonPMP@gmail.com DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Farmers get trade compo

C

ANADA will pay a CA$1.75 billion compensation package to its 11,000 dairy farmers to mitigate producer losses from the ratification of three international trade agreements.

The sum will be paid over eight years starting with CA$345 million in the first year in the form of direct payments for existing milk quota held.

A farmer milking 80 cows will be awarded a direct payment of CA$28,000 in the first year.

Canada operates a quota system known as Supply Management based on domestic supply requirements.

The system aims to give producers a fair return for milk supply based on an agreed pricing formula.

International market critics state the Supply Management system is protectionist and prevents access to Canada’s domestic market.

Three recent Canadian trade agreements between the European Union, trans Pacific countries and United States and Mexico have opened the door to foreign trade being granted market access estimated at an 8.4% annual loss to domestic milk production.

Added to these trade agreements, with access already agreed under existing World Trade Organisation terms, it is

There has been an 8.4% loss to Canada’s domestic production.

estimated nearly 20% of dairy products will be met via imports by 2024.

The agricultural sections of the trade agreements were met with a furore by Canadian dairy producers, processing plants and domestic market supporters regarding issues such as milk quality, animal welfare and food provenance.

Domestic market supporters are concerned the agreements will open-up the market to US products flooding across the border, threatening food sovereignty and placing Canadian dairy

farmers and rural economies at risk.

Conceding part of the domestic dairy market has had a major impact on dairy producers, Dairy Farmers of Canada president Pierre Lampron said.

“We are grateful for the announcement but would have preferred no concessions to our domestic dairy production.

“Prime Minister Trudeau has made a commitment that no further concessions will happen to our domestic dairy market in any future trade negotiations.” n UK Farmers Guardian

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INNOVATION

Gas calculator gets support SAMANTHA TENNENT

W

ITH data scientists and software developers at their disposal Jo Kerslake and Mark Teviotdale from AbacusBio are keen to help farmers understand their on-farm emissions.

When Kerslake heard the call for projects from the Rural Innovation Lab she applied without a clear picture of what an end product could look like.

“We were a little unsure about what farmers wanted to know,” she said.

“We went to the Rural Innovation Lab and asked for the opportunity to work alongside farmers to understand further to create a potential solution.”

The team wants to create something to help farmers quantify greenhouse gases.

They envision a potential calculator but are initially spending time researching farmers’ needs and priorities.

“Once we have a clear understanding of what outputs they want we can assess what tools are out there already that meet their requirements and where the potential gaps are.

“This could mean we end up working

with other providers and-or create something from scratch.”

They were successful in their pitch and secured one of the four support packages from the Rural Innovation Lab. The Lab is a connector and facilitator for projects.

Farmers are heavily involved in the project to ask questions and bounce ideas off.

They had their first farmer bootcamp in Pahiatua last month, which focused on creating value from reducing on-farm emissions.

The Lab provided some valuable speakers and led a workshop with the team.

Three priority areas were uncovered.

Firstly, that farmers want to understand their carbon footprint in context, from both a national and international perspective.

Then they need to get a handle on possible mitigations and the economic impacts.

And they want the right information to be able to tell a story about their product in the way they want to tell it.

“Now that we understand the outputs farmers want the next step is to pull together our data scientists and the farmers to focus on the data needed

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor at the Rural Innovation Lab announcement of projects held in Wellington recently.

Photo: Ivor Earp-Jones 44

AbacusBio is one of four projects given the go-ahead as Jo Kerslake and her team develop a calculator to help farmers quantify greenhouse gas emissions.

This could mean we end up working with other providers and-or create something from scratch.

Jo Kerslsake

to communicate these outcomes.”

They aim to have a blueprint design and know where they want to go next by November and will seek further funding to develop the ideas further.

The resources and guidance from the Lab are proving valuable to get the project going. Kerslake also appreciates having the other innovation projects to connect with.

She promotes getting ideas out and encourages other innovators to put their ideas forward.

“Talk to your end users and work with them about what they need and how to develop that.

“The initial part takes time but is vital to get right.

“Be prepared to have your ideas challenged, even ripped down, but keep questioning as it will build better and targeted ideas.” n

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

First-hand look SONITA CHANDAR

out.

Regional Optimisation Days that highlight how award-winning farmers run resilient and profitable systems are a chance for farmers to see first-hand how the winners operate and achieve at the highest level.

Dairy Business of the Year focuses on and measures three key aspects of operating a successful dairy enterprise – profitability and business resilience, environmental management and human resources.

Managing director Warren Morritt says the field days are a great chance to learn how these farmers operate their businesses across those agribusiness principals and to understand why they do what they do.

DATES n October 31, Manawatu, Hopkins Farming Group, Waihora n November 5, Canterbury, River Terrace Dairy n November 12, BOP/Central Plateau, Hanze Farms n November 14, Waikato, McCullough Farm Partnership n November 19, Northland, Okaihau Pastoral Holdings

DAIRY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

FARM FIELD DAYS

Regional Optimisation Days highlight how award-winning farmers run resilient and profitable systems.

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

“Attending these events provides an opportunity to see first-hand how these farmers are operating their business and how farming principles are applied on these high-performing farms and the strategies used to allow them to remain sustainable and viable within the current economic climate.”

Several presentations will be held throughout the days including an overview and history of the farm, herd and breeding strategies, pasture management, profitability and resilience.

“Visitors will also hear from No8HR who will discuss the human resources side of the business and Headlands who provided the data analysis and reports on the farms’

environmental footprints,” Morritt says.

“The Regional Optimisation Days will be full of information. There are a number of factors which contribute to running a successful dairy business and these will be covered.

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

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

All the field days run from 9.30am-1pm and are free. A light lunch will be provided so registration is essential at www.dboy. co.nz. n

MORE:

For more information email team@dboy. co.nz or phone 0800 73 55 88.

DBOY is proud to host a series of Regional Optimisation Days during October and November 2019 Held on the DBOY 2019 Regional Winners’ farms, these field day events provide an excellent opportunity to hear and learn from some of New Zealand’s most resilient, sustainable and innovative dairy farmers.

n Manawatu, Thurs 31 October n Canterbury, Tues 5 November n Bay of Plenty/Central Plateau, Tues 12 November n Waikato, Thurs 14 November n Northland, Tues 19 November

For more information visit www.DBOY.co.nz

LK0097737©

A

WARD-WINNING dairy farmers will open their gates this October and November as the 2019 Dairy Business of the Year field days are rolled

Cut nitrates, make money

The trial at Te Pirita is to show benefit of catch crops in reducing nitrate leaching.

Catch crops and oats don’t usually figure highly in a dairy farmer’s plans but that might change as new nutrient management regulations come into force. Tim Fulton reports.

C

LINGING to the northern bank of the Rakaia River the last of three Canterbury catch crop trials for this season is growing on a Te Pirita dairy winter forage block that forms part of a three-year Sustainable Farming Fund project to show the benefit of catch crops to reduce nitrate leaching.

Lincoln Agritech’s Dr Peter Carey is leading five catch-crop trials that could be pivotal to the way farmers think about minimising nitrate leaching and nutrient runoff while improving farmers’ bottom lines as well.

Winter forage blocks are a known problem for nutrient loss because, though they might occupy relatively small areas of a farm, they can comprise up to 50% of a farm’s nitrate loss.

The project is a continuation from Carey’s doctoral work at Lincoln University where he studied the use of catch crops to mitigate nitrate leaching under winter forage grazing.

In autumn and winter, non-lactating dairy cows eat large quantities of feed in 46

a relatively short time to build up body condition and deposit a lot of urine onto bare soil when plant growth is minimal.

The conversion of the nitrogen in urine to soil mineral forms, such as nitrate, can lead to large nitrogen leaching losses of 80-120kg N/ha through field drainage.

Carey said success will ultimately be measured by establishing the practice of sowing winter catch crops as a normal part of winter forage management and demonstrating effective alternatives to farmers that lower nitrate leaching losses after winter forage grazing.

Sowing a crop immediately following winter forage grazing, however, can be problematic but hardy cereals such as oats can still establish in the cool conditions and once the soil warms can rapidly mop up some of the soil nitrogen, reducing the amount available for leaching.

A number of lysimeter and field trials have shown sowing a catch crop can reduce nitrate leaching losses by as much as 40% as well as improving nitrogen-use efficiency and farmers’ profitability. As ever in an agronomic trial, farmers ask

You’re actually making more money, really, and you’re lowering your environmental footprint at the same time.

Professor Peter Carey

how the results translate to their own soil, climate, stocking rates and budgets.

Carey is comparing results from three sites in Canterbury and two in Southland on ex-kale and ex-fodder beet paddocks covering a range of soil and climate conditions.

“The one over in Methven is a bit stonier. These ones here (Te Pirita) are a

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING & NUTRITION

Professor Peter Carey from Lincoln Agritech is leading the Catch crops for reduced nitrate leaching trials. little bit better and we’ve got a bit more free-draining soil on top, probably hitting stones at about 45cm so you get a whole mix.

“The thinner Canterbury topsoils, like Balmoral soils, often cover a deep bed of stones and gravels and present the most challenge to prevent nitrate leaching.

“That’s simply because it’s more free-draining and it’s harder to hold that nitrogen up. As you can imagine, stones don’t hold much water, so if stones are occupying the greater part of the soil then water gets through quicker.”

Where the soil is deeper there is more opportunity to retain nitrate against leaching.

Drilling a catch crop here has two benefits – the crop takes up the surplus soil nitrogen but also transpires soil water, even in late winter, reducing drainage.

A contractor for the Lincoln Agritech trial, Quigley Contracting’s Andrew Gorman, said farmers often first consider the risk of establishing a crop like oats.

“From a feed marketing point of view it’s a bit of a battle to get guys to put oats in and cut them for silage or something like that because you take them through to whole crop and on a dairy farm it becomes a feed that’s neither here nor there. You can’t milk off it but it’s too good to grow to winter off.”

But their protein value is excellent if farmers can use the oats at a leafy stage, Gorman said.

“That would then allow you to follow

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

with a second-year crop of kale or something like that if you were cutting November/December. It’s still pretty reasonably productive per hectare, I reckon.”

Carey said the Lincoln dairy farm has already shown the combined feed value as green chop silage and a following late spring-sown winter kale crop is greater than an earlier sown winter kale crop alone.

“If you were taking the crop off in November and then drilling you would get a bit less feed than if you were able

to put in another crop in October. But we’re pulling off 10 tonnes of oats here.

Combine that with maybe a fodder beet crop of 20t and you’re actually making more money, really, and you’re lowering your environmental footprint at the same time.”

Triticale is another whole-crop option, possibly for farmers taking crop back into pasture but, unfortunately, it matures too late for some farmers.

“There’s not enough people with patience in the world.”

Considering that, the best way to work with oats might be to take it off at the leafy stage and direct drill grass into it.

“You’ve got a good cut of quality oat silage then you can graze it, then direct drill grass. You’ll get good quality grass off it.”

Carey said that is one of the reasons that the trial is comparing an oats/ ryegrass combination with oats alone.

“Once you’ve had a couple of years of winter forage crops you can cut the oats then go into the Italian ryegrass for a couple of years before maybe heading back into perennial ryegrass .”

Carey recommends farmers tread lightly when it comes to crop rotation.

“We like to think that farmers are going through a soil restorative phase after a couple of years of winter forage crops.”

Carey said the aim of the catch crop project is to upscale the applied research into working winter crop rotations in Canterbury and Southland and adapt it to the various soil and climatic conditions. n

An oats and ryegrass mix are one of the five catch crop trials being done in Canterbury.

47

SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING & NUTRITION

Weaning must be done right PGG Wrightson animal health technical expert Jason Leslie inspects five-week-old calves on a farm near Darfield in Canterbury.

JASON LESLIE

W

EANING is a period of stress for calves and when done poorly scouring can be a common result but it’s not always caused by worms.

Rumen and gut development are the key so it is critical the process continues well beyond the removal of milk from the diet.

Carbohydrate derived from grain and fibre help to actively promote this early development of the gut in calves as they move from a milk-based mono gastric into a functional ruminant.

To help reduce the transition shock of weaning a plan involving a progressive process is recommended where milk intake is decreased as meal intake is increased over up to six weeks. That allows the rumen and intestines to adjust to the new feed source and reduces incidence of coccidiosis and nutritional scours, being the most common cause of scours at this time.

Ideally, calf meals should contain coccidiostats with intakes of greater than 1kg/calf/day the benchmark before weaning off milk.

If intake declines below 1kg/calf/day they become ineffective at managing the protozoan parasite.

Affected calves often have a coated tail with dark faeces that contain digested blood and mucous. When symptoms 48

become serious, veterinary advice including a faecal sample diagnosis is required with specific treatment initiated.

Internal worms don’t become a significant issue in calves until grass is the greatest part of their diet for at least a month. Infective larvae are ingested, which causes depressed feed intake and subsequent poor weight gain. The need for drenching generally occurs when calves are older than eight weeks and about 100kg.

So, the take-home message is that calves kept in sheds and fed primarily milk, pellets and hay do not need drenching for worms when released from the shed because they haven’t taken in any infective larvae in the shed.

When considering what types of drench to use on calves it is important to ensure all equipment is clean and delivering the correct dose of drench using a measuring cylinder.

Abamectin is toxic in calves less than 100kg so accurate weighing is important when using modern drenches that contain this active chemical.

The safest drench option for the first drench is a BZ/Levamisole oral combination. This type of drench is effective and safe in most cases for calves that might be under 100kg when given their first drench.

Don’t drench while the calves are feeding or mix drench with milk because that can result in toxicity, death or ineffective drenching.

Once calves are heavier than 100kg the recommendation is to drench at 28-

day intervals through the summer and autumn using a triple combination oral product.

The best practice recommendation is to do a 10-day post-drench check once during the summer to determine if the drench being used is working effectively.

Because of the size of animals in autumn an injectable or pour-on product may be considered. Whatever product is used it must contain Levamisole to control Cooperia worms.

Drenching is only part of the parasite control programme.

Where possible the following points are also important to consider: Avoid running high stocking rates of calves on the same paddocks year after year. It results in high infective larvae burdens.

Incorporate grazing of adult cattle or other species, eg sheep to reduce pasture contamination of infective worm larvae.

In the case of older cattle grazing where calves are, preferably leave them undrenched to create refugia in the worm population.

Nutrition of the calf is paramount to ensure effective immune function. That includes optimal weaning transition feeding, trace element supplementation and preventive vaccinations. If you have a planned weaning process your efforts in calf-rearing should be rewarded in wellgrown, productive animals. n

Jason Leslie BVSc is PGG Wrightson’s animal health technical expert for the South Island.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING & NUTRITION

No reproductive gains in feeding starchy feeds In theory, starch-based feeds increase the levels of hormones involved in fertility but does that lead to improved reproduction?

DairyNZ senior scientist Jane Kay looks at what our levy-funded research has to say.

I

NCREASING starch-based supplements such as maize grain or barley in the diet can increase the concentrations of circulating hormones including insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I).

In theory, these elevated levels of insulin and IGF-I can lead to earlier cycling, improving reproductive performance in pasture-based systems.

However, the effect of increasing IGF-I on cycling and other reproductive measures is inconsistent.

New Zealand research indicates IGF-I levels explain only 3% of the variation in cycling, the time to first oestrus.

Additionally, increased levels of these hormones post-mating can lead to embryo death.

Further evidence for the lack of effect produced when feeding cows starch-based supplements comes from a large-scale farm systems experiment (through the Pillars of a New Dairy System

If you have a feed deficit in early lactation your focus should be on increasing the energy available to the herd. research programme – see the full results at dairynz.co.nz/pillars). This 2014 study involved three commercial farms and about 1000 cows.

Half of each farm’s herd was fed a starch-based concentrate. The other half received the same energy from a fibrebased feed.

Reproductive performance was recorded throughout the four-month study.

Table heading goes here 100%

Starch

Fibre

6-week in-calf rate (%)

90%

80%

70%

A study by DairyNZ senior scientist Jane Kay has found there are no reproductive gains in feeding earlylactating cows with a starch-based supplement instead of a fibre-based supplement.

with DairyNZ The results show there is no benefit from feeding starch-based supplements compared with fibre based feeds on any reproductive measures.

In fact, there was evidence of a risk of reduced pregnancy rates when cows eat the high-starch diet.

Therefore, it is energy that is important and if there is enough pasture then pasture is enough.

If you have a feed deficit in early lactation your focus should be on increasing the energy available to the herd. The type of supplement used to achieve this is secondary and, therefore, supplement purchase decisions should be based on cents/MJ ME. n

60%

MORE: 50% 1

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

2

3

About feed supplements, feed values (ME), feed storage and density and the milksolids response to supplements at dairynz.co.nz/ supplements 49

SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING & NUTRITION

Trace minerals relieve stress TIM FULTON

A

NIMAL health company Virbac is rolling out a prescription-only, fourin-one trace mineral injection to combat oxidative stress in

cattle.

Virbac has an injectable product called Multimin designed to top-up important trace minerals manganese, zinc, selenium and copper in cattle.

In product notes the company says the focus of trace mineral supplementation has developed to beyond merely correcting deficiency symptoms.

Strategic mineral supplementation aims to optimise reproductive performance, immune function and growth, resulting in significant improvements in productivity and subsequent profits.

Virbac large animal product manager

Lynda Maris described oxidative stress as an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants that can lead to cell and tissue damage, affecting animal health and performance.

The trace minerals in Multimin are essential structural components of antioxidant enzymes needed to neutralise free radicals and combat oxidative stress, she said.

Multimin is administered during or before periods of high demand in dairy and beef cattle, such as breeding, calving, weaning and vaccination.

In August last year Dr Greg Lindsay from Franklin Vets said a significant amount of trial work had been done showing during periods of stress and immune suppression the use of Multimin can reduce disease.

In an article for clients on giving Multimin to newborn calves reduces disease Lindsay said a recent New Zealand study showed using it could have

dramatic effects on the amount of disease seen in newborn calves.

Four large herds were enrolled in the study and newborn calves were injected at pick-up with either 1ml/50kg or a control treatment.

“Keep in mind these were calves born from herds where the trace element status of the herd was assessed with liver biopsies in the autumn and deemed very good.”

The calves were monitored over the next 140 days for levels of disease, mortality and weight gain. They received further doses of either Multimin or the control at days 35 and 70 but most of the really impressive gains were made from that first dose over the first 35 days of life.

Calves in the Multimin groups were half as likely to get disease as those in the control group – 7.5% disease in treatment group v 15.6% in the control.

“This is huge.

“Calves that didn’t receive the

At the Australian roadshow were, from left, Dr Paula Gonzalez, Dr Matt Ball, Matthew Grylls and Dr Dan Tracy.

50

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Virbac recently completed a two-week roadshow through southern Australia to explain the effects of trace minerals on dairy cattle health and performance. treatment at birth were twice as likely to experience disease in the first month of their life, twice as much scours, navel-ill, perinatal disease.

“More work will no-doubt be done but early signs point to this being a simple, cost-effective option for improving immune function and reducing losses in your newborn calves,” Lindsay said.

Maris said trace mineral requirements were mainly provided through the diet and various forms of oral supplementation.

“However, reduced oral intake, poor absorption from the rumen and antagonism from other minerals means that during periods of high demand, even in apparently well supplemented animals, a trace mineral gap can occur between the trace minerals required for optimum health and performance versus those available.”

As Multimin is injected, it was not subject to interactions and absorption effects in the rumen.

It acts rapidly, reaching peak levels in the blood after only eight hours and the liver after 24 hours, providing a fast, simple and accurate way to strategically top up essential trace minerals at times of high demand.

The product had been through field trials in more than 6000 cattle, was subject to 24 peer-reviewed papers and is in-market in several other countries, Maris said.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Virbac Australia recently completed a two-week roadshow through southern Australia to explain the effects of trace minerals on dairy cattle health and performance.

The multi-stop tour in Victoria and Tasmania was headlined by international dairy veterinarian Dr Dan Tracy, who joined local industry experts to explain and explore the research on trace mineral science and the impact of trace mineral injections on cow and calf immune systems.

The talk included insights on how and why trace mineral injections can improve herd fertility and producers had the chance to learn more about the latest research on trace mineral science and the impact of trace mineral injections on cow and calf immune systems, with insights on how and why trace mineral injections can improve fertility and productivity.

Tracy said “We already know a fair bit about trace minerals as they relate to fertility but the really interesting stuff is looking specifically at immunity and the potential for overall improvements to animal health.

“The United States is leading the research in this area and it really is showing us what’s achievable with some intriguing potential solutions to help boost the overall health of dairy cows and calves.”

With trace minerals being an essential component of dairy cattle nutrition,

Trace mineral injections can result in improved reproductive efficiency and reduced diseases in cows and calves.

Dr Dan Tracy

deficiencies were known to be the primary source of productivity losses for animals lacking optimal levels.

“Our research has found that trace mineral injections can result in improved reproductive efficiency and reduced diseases in cows and calves,” Tracy said.

Fertility and immunity problems can be corrected with mineral injections and producers can optimise their dairy herds using trace mineral injections.

Virbac’s website says Multimin can be administered at birth and four weeks before high demand periods to allow antioxidant levels to peak.

It should be administered to herds four weeks before mating and calving and to bulls 12 weeks before joining the herd.

The company recommends it be used as a strategic intervention in a supplementation programme rather than a replacement. It should also be used as part of an integrated nutrition and animal health programme. The product has no milk or meat withholding periods. n

51

2480RE86X210

ANIMAL HEALTH

GEA promotes breast cancer awareness

F

ARMER response to GEA’s FIL Think Pink campaign in 2018 was so positive GEA committed to packaging its product in pink drums and pledging support for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation for another year.

GEA’s FIL national sales manager Colin May said “We’re dedicated to helping farmers improve their herds’ overall teat and udder health so continuing to support the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation made perfect sense.

“We see it as a great opportunity for people to show their support for those affected by cancer in choosing to buy a pink drum.

“At the same time those farmers are choosing Active Teat Conditioner over other products, ostensibly buying into a better teat care programme.”

GEA’s FIL products are formulated by in-house chemist Drew Chadwick and he’s confident Active Teat Conditioner is superior to any other emollient on the market.

Designed to actively restore teat health and certified for use in organic dairies it’s formulated with skincare ingredients more commonly used in high-quality cosmetics to hydrate, soften and soothe delicate human skin.

Allantoin, an active moisturiser with

GEA FIL Active Teat Conditioner has gone pink in support Breast Cancer Awareness month.

skin rejuvenation properties is a key ingredient.

Another is aloe vera, a moisturising agent rich in antioxidants and minerals essential for restoring the condition of stressed teats.

Of course, Active Teat Conditioner also

Looking for the complete package?

We’ve got you covered with digital and print options.

Contact Shirley Howard phone 06 323 0760, email shirley.howard@globalhq.co.nz

farmersweekly.co.nz/realestate

contains manuka honey, which has long been a key ingredient in the FIL teat care range.

Widely used to treat damaged skin, manuka honey aids in skin regeneration and repairing cellular damage. It’s also helps to keep skin hydrated. n

ANIMAL HEALTH

Vets support rule changes

T

HE Veterinary Association has requested animal health and welfare standards be raised in the significant surgical procedure regulations.

From May 2020 new criteria for such procedures take effect.

The proposed regulations seek to make it clear who can do certain procedures and what requirements must be met.

“In general, we support the principles and intent of the proposed regulations, which we believe will raise or retain current animal welfare standards in this country,” association chief veterinary officer Dr Helen Beattie said.

“Where we think the proposals do not go far enough we have made this clear,” she says.

The association’s submission on the proposal is supported by evidence and expert opinions of veterinarians whose knowledge, skills and training in veterinary science have informed a robust analysis of the animal welfare implications.

“Veterinarians have the ability to identify and manage risks and complications and access restricted veterinary medicines immediately, which enables them to uphold the highest standards of animal welfare.”

If it is not practical for a veterinarian to attend, the circumstances under which non-veterinarians should be allowed to do the procedures need to be carefully considered.

“We support the principal that animal owners and persons in charge are held responsible for deciding who should manipulate their animal.

“However, it is unclear how owners might be expected to assess the competence of these people, given they aren’t likely to be subject matter experts.”

The submission also calls for the regulation of allied veterinary professionals, who are not legally required to have any training or qualifications, and are not subject to any regulatory oversight.

“This means animal owners and veterinarians cannot easily verify the competency of AVPs. “This presents a range of significant risks that include poor animal welfare

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Veterinarians can identify and manage risks and complications but letting people who are not legally required to have any training or qualifications treat animals presents a range of significant risks.

outcomes, risks to biosecurity practices and passive surveillance, human health risks and also potentially market access issues by virtue of having untrained and unregulated persons working on our animals.

“We strongly support the development of a regulatory framework for AVPs to address these risks. We are heartened to see some AVPs have initiated selfregulation, including a voluntary register, continuing professional development and, in some instances, a code of conduct.

“These elements are part of what formal regulation would also require.

We are encouraged that equine dental technicians, who recently petitioned Parliament, also support regulation.

“We would be open to working with equine dental technicians and any other AVP representatives to assist in the development of a robust regulatory framework in the interests of animal health and welfare.

“Ideally, we’d have all AVPs come under one regulatory umbrella with different streams.”

Beattie says the association supports a fair and just transition that would enable

Veterinary Association chief veterinary officer Dr Helen Beattie says the association believes the proposed surgical regulations do not go far enough.

practising AVPs to continue to do so while they work towards any qualifications required under such a framework. That would embrace recognition of prior learning including on-the-job skills, if a portfolio of supporting evidence was presented. n

53

EFFLUENT

Worming their way to Slimy, slippery worms are efficiently and effectively dealing with a Northland farm’s effluent.

Jenny Ling reports.

I

T’S one of the best producing dairy farms in Northland, an impressive operation that’s won the creme de la creme of New Zealand’s farming awards.

But Okaihau Pastoral is holding onto a small secret that’s proving particularly worthy in the effluent department.

Manager Joe Foster is proud of the thriving worm farm that has taken up residence in the sludge bed beside the farm’s weeping walls.

The little critters are constantly busy, breaking down organic matter, aerating the effluent solids and transforming it into valuable fertiliser.

“The worms have set up camp in our weeping wall, which has been an added bonus,” Foster says.

“They help compost everything down and provide a lot of nutrients too.

“We’ve got millions of worms working for us; millions of little helpers.”

Okaihau is an equity partnership with 17 shareholders, a diverse group of people including sheep and beef farmers, accountants, beekeepers and contractors from all over the country.

Foster and his wife Jenima are shareholders and manage the Northland farm, which borders Lake Omapere in the Bay of Islands. They employ six full-time staff.

They milk 1150 Friesian and Friesiancross cows twice daily, producing about 646,000 kilograms of milksolids a year.

The worm farm isn’t the only feature that’s helping keep the 367-hectare property, which runs on a System 5, fertile.

Since the Fosters took over its management in 2013 the farm has expanded and upgraded various areas of the effluent system, taking it from 30% to 95% of the farm.

Twin weeping walls work efficiently to filter solids and the resulting liquid is used to increase pasture production.

They recently upgraded the weeping

54

Joe and Jenima Foster, in front of their effluent pond, are shareholders in and farm managers for Okaihau Pastoral in Northland, the 2019 Dairy Business of the Year Supreme Award winner.

Photos: Jenny Ling

walls from the wooden slats installed a decade ago to plastic slats that provide more consistent gaps for solids removal.

“It more accurately filters the solids out and is more efficient,” he says.

The liquid gold sits in a huge storage pond that can hold 120 days’ effluent.

When the time is right to irrigate, when the soil is dry and conditions allow, one staff member is dedicated to the job full time to monitor and record tasks and progress.

Effluent is spread by a mono pump combined with a Cobra travelling irrigator and twin cannons.

Though the cannons have to be moved by hand the travelling irrigator can get further afield while keeping a wide berth from wetlands and waterways. The farm is replacing cannons as they wear out with low application volume travelling irrigators.

Foster credits the upgraded mono pump system for much of the system’s success. The pump miles better than the previous one driven with a tractor power take-off.

“It just spreads the nutrients out all through the farm. It’s been so beneficial,” he says.

“We’re able to get it out to all corners of the farm. We can use solids for fertilising the crops using the K2 muck-spreader that staff can take anywhere on the farm.

“The system works perfectly. The nutrient is a valuable asset to us. We’re using what we’ve got.”

Dairy is the second largest contributor to economic activity in Northland.

Northland Regional Council says there are about 900 dairy farms with an average herd of 319 cows with average milksolids of 323kg in the 2017-18 season.

That compares with Okaihau’s

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

the top production of more than 560kg MS/cow.

Of those farms, 700 are consented to discharge treated wastewater to water and at least 75% of them have land application. The other 202 operate solely under permitted activity rules.

The council monitors every active dairy farm from July to November when effluent loadings are typically at their highest and with no advance notification of the inspection.

Because Northland is prone to high rainfall, with soils often saturated from May to October, the council strongly recommends enough storage be provided to hold all effluent generated.

Okaihau has its own effluent management plan, which covers staff training and operating and maintenance procedures with irrigator runs clearly marked on farm maps.

Along with the large storage pond and efficient weeping wall another management system used at Okaihau are two 600-cow, covered feed pads that let them capture effluent and recover the nutrients without rain dilution.

After feeding the pads are washed with the recycled wastewater, which is used multiple times to limit overall water use.

The pads are also a great welfare tool, providing shelter in summer and in the wet periods of winter.

“The system works well, particularly now it’s been upgraded,” Foster says.

To keep it running smoothly and efficiently a fitness check is done at least once a year.

“We also test our own effluent every

Joe Foster with a handful of worms in the sludge bed beside the weeping wall.

We’ve got millions of worms working for us; millions of little helpers.

Joe Foster

two years to keep track of all the nutrient content as well as soil testing biannually to maintain our soil health and wellbeing and fertility levels,” he says.

“We work with Ballance nutrient specialist Neil Walker and Headlands agribusiness consultant Paul Martin.”

Martin has been the farm’s consultant since 2012. A former vet, he thrives on helping clients maximise their production and profitability while minimising their environmental footprint.

The Fosters had long been admirers of the farm they are now part of.

Proven Product. Best Spread.

Joe, originally from Whangarei, and Jenima from Auckland, met in 1994 while they were working for the Conservation Department counting the kiwi and native frog populations in Northland.

Though neither is from a farming background they worked as sharemilkers on various farms in Northland from 1995 to 2003 including Dargaville, Mangonui and Houhora.

Farming has also taken them to the central North Island and Hawke’s Bay. But it was the Okaihau farm they drove past during a holiday in the Far North that captured their attention.

So when a chance came to work on the farm they jumped at it.

When they took over in 2013 the farm had produced 347,000kg MS for the season. It increased to 449,000kg in their first season and rose again to 580,000kg in 2016-17.

The couple became shareholders in 2016 and a year later Okaihau was named Dairy Business of the Year runner-up.

Continued page 56

Joe Foster, right, and Headlands agribusiness consultant Paul Martin check out the herd.

In July the business scooped the top award and was Best Northland Farm Performance for the third time as well as the High Input Farm with Best Financial Performance.

Judges noted Okaihau’s strong metrics that included the highest per-cow production, 538kg MS, and a cost of production of $4.01/kg MS. The farm is governed by a board that includes four shareholders and Martin as an independent director. The judges commended the strong governance and how well management works with the board to achieve results.

Foster sees the competition as a win for the whole of Northland along with the shareholders, who visit the farm annually.

The environmentally focused farm is actively pursuing a philosophy of leaving

the land in a better state for the next generation.

Extensive planting has been done on riparian land including a 30ha buffer zone around Lake Omapere using a mix of natives and poplars.

They are constantly adding to the farm’s wealth of trees and last year planted another 5000.

They also have dozens more seedlings waiting to be planted.

“It’s quite an investment,” Foster says.

“We’ve spent a lot of money on trees over the years.”

Because of the area’s high rainfall and the size of the farm they have really tried to narrow down the things required in the future they can work toward, Martin says.

“Hence why we have the ability to have

Photo: Supplied

three irrigators working simultaneously, irrigate large areas of the farm and stay ahead of regulation.

“Because of our soil type and rainfall we need to be able to spread effluent at a low rate over a large area. We’re trying to stay ahead of the game.”

Martin, who lives on a family farm at Whangarei running drystock and growing avocados, says farm profitability is key.

“It’s hard to be green if your business is in the red so farm profitability is key to allowing sufficient investment in modern effluent management strategies and environmental improvement. Okaihau aims to set the bar high in this regard.” n

MORE:

A field day will be held at Okaihau on November 19.

Recycled liquid effluent or green water is used to clean the feed pads daily.

The upgraded weeping wall is proving more efficient at keeping solids out than the traditional wooden slat type.

56

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

EFFLUENT

Countdown to 2019 Expo

E

XTRA sites have been added to accommodate stronger demand from exhibitors at the 2019 Effluent and Environment Expo.

Expo organiser Amanda Hodgson has a new strategy in response to pressure from farmers searching for more answers on managing their environmental footprint, including effluent management.

“Management of a farm’s total environment is under the spotlight more than ever so farmers are asking for wider solutions than just how to manage effluent around their dairies or dairy housing systems,” she says.

“Effluent management is still the expo’s primary focus for now but we can see potential to broaden that out to offer farmers advice, products and services across the entire farm environment package.

“This is the really just the start of a journey,” Hodgson says.

A new brand and logo have been released to capture the broader focus of the expo and appeal to other livestock farming sectors and the companies that service them.

A new layout that takes in the entire pavilion at Mystery Creek, home of the National Fieldays, just south of Hamilton, means there is scope to increase exhibitor numbers to more than 100.

Former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry leads a strong lineup of confirmed speakers.

Hodgson says farmers can choose to attend any of the educational seminars running throughout both days of the Expo.

We can see potential to broaden that out to offer farmers advice, products and services across the entire farm environment package.

“We wanted to deliver a combination of education on effluent management and something for the top few inches, too, in our speaker slots this year. Making sure farmers are sorted in terms of their own wellbeing and mental health is crucial so we’re so pleased to have someone of the calibre and experience of Sir Graham on our speaker list,” she says.

“I recently heard him speak at another event and he’s amazing.

“His role with the All Blacks means he is well equipped to talk about the value of team and personal well-being.

“He’s also very amusing and fun so it’s a great opportunity for farmers and their staff to come along and enjoy themselves as well as learning something from a master of people management.”

Sir Graham will speak at 4pm on the first day.

Also confirmed are Manawatu dairy farmer and author of The Lean Dairy Farm, Jana Hocken, and agribusiness commentator Jacqueline Rowarth.

Hocken’s book was written to help farmers learn how to run more efficient, profitable dairy units.

Hodgson says the primary aim of the expo is to provide

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

The 2019 Effluent and Environment Expo is the place for farmers searching for solutions in effluent management.

farmers with positive, effluent management solutions.

Farmers are encouraged to visit the expo website to register for this free event as well as each seminar because the seminar spaces fill fast. Visit www.effluentexpo.co.nz/farmer-registration.

The expo is on at the Mystery Creek Events Centre on November 19 and 20. n

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57

EFFLUENT

Do it once and do it right A Waikato couple made sure they did their homework before they put in a new effluent system. Cheyenne Nicholson reports.

W

HEN Justin and Melissa Slattery wrote their Farm Environment Plan they identified one critical issue – insufficient effluent storage.

So they had to look for a new effluent system.

Effluent systems play a big role in water use and quality and are one of the key areas of focus of the Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord. It is an area where all farmers can do their bit to help reduce water use and increase water quality.

The Slatterys bought the 300-cow farm at Te Aroha two years ago.

The system they inherited was a sump and pump at the end of the yard. Though managed well, it was high risk for noncompliance.

So they set about doing it right, firstly working through the Dairy Effluent Storage Calculator, a software tool developed by the Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council (Horizons) and Massey University to determine farm effluent storage needs. It works by taking into account factors like yard size, soil types, drainage, effluent application depth, rain, cow numbers and dairy wash water.

“Doing the calculation gave us a really good base of what we needed out of an effluent system.

“It’s a bit of an intense process so we worked with Karl Rossiter, who is a sustainable dairy adviser from Fonterra, to run the calculation and double checked the assumptions were correct. It told us we needed 700 cubic metres of storage for a covered storage system and 1200 cubic metres for uncovered,” Melissa says.

They also looked at ways they could potentially reduce their effluent storage

The Slattery family, from left, Justin, Ryan, Melissa and Connor moved to Waikato two years ago after buying the 300-cow farm at Te Aroha.

58

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

The new effluent system on the Slattery farm includes a Flexi-tank, bladder and sand trap.

requirements and optimise their dairy.

Introducing a storm water diversion system made immediate sense, reducing the application rate by modifying their irrigator and other small changes to their daily operation reduced water use.

“A lot of small changes can add up to quite a big saving of water,” she says.

“We basically looked up on the DairyNZ website working through the smarter water use in the milking shed for things we could do and figured out what would realistically work for us and be practical to reduce our water usage then we trained our team so we were all working towards the same goal.”

TIPS FOR SELECTING A NEW EFFLUENT SYSTEM • Reducing water use and increasing water quality are the main aims and will continue to evolve over time.

• Do an effluent storage calculation. Having data and information helps you to make a plan and make informed decisions.

• Every farm is different. Don’t just go off what your neighbour is doing.

• Use DairyNZ resources and expertise.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

Every farm is dependent on where they can put their effluent storage system, which will determine the requirement for pumps and electricity. They were able to opt for a gravity feed of the effluent from the bladder to the pump to spread from there.

“We knew we wanted a covered storage system so we didn’t have to have bigger capacity, for safety for our children and to contain any effluent smell as well as being neat and tidy and simple to use.

“We headed along to the Effluent Expo last year and looked at all the systems and products available and worked out costings.”

A Flexi-tank was the winning system for the Slatterys, ticking the box of being a covered storage system, being a safe and easy-to-install option as well as having 60 years proven use overseas.

To prepare for the new system they used sand from the farm as the foundation of the bladder, they put in a large sand trap as well as a 25,000 litre concrete tank by the shed for immediate storage. The new bladder was rolled out in March and has worked well.

“Now we can strategically store effluent for our crop paddocks, as fertiliser after silage has been cut and for the

A lot of small changes can add up to quite a big saving of water. right weather conditions to utilise the nutrients in the stored effluent.

“Over calving when we’re at our busiest we were able to store it and not worry about it at all, which has been brilliant.”

Melissa says its crucial to do the homework and make sure to tick off and double check everything that needs to be done to ensure the new set-up is both functional and compliant.

Do it once do it right.

“We didn’t realise that when you do the storm water diversion that it has to be diverted before the sand trap and not after so it doesn’t get contaminated with effluent, which makes sense, but it’s something we just didn’t think of.

“Thankfully, we caught that before we put it in but you really do have to do your homework and if you’re not sure, ask someone. DairyNZ has a lot of great resources to utilise as well.” n 59

Keeping it simple A Pahiatua farmer has found an easy yet efficient way of dealing with effluent and with the push of a button can walk away and leave it to do its thing. Samantha Tennent reports.

When Matt Gibbs of Pahiatua decided to install a new effluent system he wanted to make it future-proof in case of expansion.

W

HEN Matt Gibbs took over the farm at Pahiatua the effluent system was compliant but saw the need to get ahead of the game.

Matt and his wife Sarah are 50-50 sharemilkers on the 135ha farm milking 350 cows. They are equity partners with his parents and two others.

The priority was to set up a simple yet effective effluent system to handle an increase in cow numbers and increase storage capacity.

“I wanted to capture the effluent better and use it more efficiently,” Gibbs says.

“The old system only had a couple of days’ storage capacity and the pump and irrigator operated over only about six hectares.”

The existing structure was a basic pond and effluent was pumped through a travelling irrigator.

“We pretty much had to pump it every day to keep on top of it,” he says.

“This was not ideal as we were spreading it when the conditions weren’t optimal to capture the nutrients.”

60

The effluent system comprises a pond and storage bunker for solid waste with a capacity of almost two years.

But wanting to put in a new system and being new to the industry, he needed expert advice.

He has a business studies degree and

worked in the export sector for 12 years trading meat and other food. He and Sarah lived in the Middle East for five years of that.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

EFFLUENT

I wanted something really easy and simple, the less you machinery have the less that can go wrong.

When they returned to New Zealand he worked for Talleys for three years before getting involved with the dairy farm.

He approached and worked with a consultant from AgFirst, explained he wanted to capture the solids to use as fertiliser on crop paddocks and they went from there.

“The weeping wall was what they suggested and as I was new to the industry I thought they would know best.”

The installation happened in stages with a weeping wall being installed first by local builder Tony Lozell in the spring of 2012. The effluent storage pond was dug by Neil McDonald in summer 2013.

He also had to work with the existing feed pad. Effluent is scraped from the stand-off pad to a bunker – a 30-metre slab of concrete that sits in front of the weeping wall and captures the solids. It has almost two years of storage capacity.

The effluent solids are applied to the crop paddocks in spring. They grow 20ha of crops including turnips and 10ha of maize.

The liquid from the effluent is gravity-

The new effluent pond has storage for two to three months. The fertiliser is spread on paddocks through spring and summer and into autumn.

fed through the weeping wall, leaving the solids behind.

“The great thing about the entire system is it is gravity-fed, which is great as I wanted to avoid using lots of pumps.

“There is only one pump at the end of the system, which pumps from the pond to the paddock.

“I wanted something really easy and simple, the less machinery you have the less that can go wrong.”

Before the new system went in they could spread effluent on only about 6ha.

It can now be irrigated on 40ha.

“We’ve had it tested, it has good

Matt Gibbs wanted an effluent system that is simple and efficient.

DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

nutrients and the crops love it and perform very well on it.

“It substitutes a bit of our fertiliser application.”

Instead of the travelling irrigator they now use a pod system to irrigate.

“All I have to do is push the button and walk away.

“The system is on a timer and spreads about 12mms per cycle, which can be over a seven to eight hour period in summer and about five hours in the winter.”

The pond can hold two to three months of liquid and they use it through spring and summer and into autumn. The aim is to have an empty pond going into winter so they can store and use it in drier periods.

The effluent system was the first development he did on the farm. They have since fenced a number of waterways and done a lot of general tidying up.

“I’m just trying to develop a really basic system. I want to have an easy-to-manage system that anyone can work with.”

The farm is now consented for 400 cows, which is future-proofing in case they expand. Gibbs was milking 300 cows when they developed the system but has increased to 350 after adding land to the platform.

Gibbs encourages other farmers to do their homework, get good advice and if they need to upgrade their effluent system to do it right the first time. n 61

EFFLUENT

The council is watching

W

AIKATO Regional Council has begun its 201920 monitoring of dairy farms with a continued focus on high-risk farms.

Farming services team leader Stuart Stone said “We will be continuing our strategy of inspecting high-risk properties around the region without prior notice and hope to see more farmers improving their effluent management.”

Last year the council monitored more than 1000 farms and found mixed results with significant improvements on some but not all high-risk farms.

Over the 2018-19 season council officers physically inspected 936 farms with a further 99 being checked from the air with no visible issues.

“While we are definitely seeing significant improvements on some

New aboveground effluent holding tank.

farms we have, unfortunately, also found a number of farms with inadequate infrastructure and management practices.

“Some of these are allowing their dairy effluent to negatively impact on the environment.

“The use of a fixed-wing aircraft has enabled us to cover far more ground.

“If we see something of concern from the air we have ground teams that can follow-up immediately to see exactly what is going on,” Stone said.

Various elements determine whether

a farm is high risk, including insufficient effluent storage, an expired resource consent and previous compliance issues.

Good systems have the dual benefit of preventing effluent polluting the environment while providing an excellent source of fertiliser for farmers.

DairyNZ and the council encourage the use of certified designers and the dairy effluent storage calculator because storage needs depend on a number of factors. n

lunch is on us As part of our support of the Dairy Business of the Year Awards, the Dairy Farmer team will be at the Manawatu Regional Optimisation Day. We’d love to shout you lunch - your hunger for knowledge and great food will be well satisfied.

A big congratulations to the Hopkins Farming Group and Shawn Southee on being awarded the Best Lower North Island Farm Performance Award.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Hopkins Farming Group Waihora 1591 State Highway 56, Palmerston North - S/N 45595 Thursday 31 October 9.30am - 1.30pm 62

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65

One last word

N

EW Zealand is heading into the general election cycle but it appears to me and most likely others the Labour Government does not seem to care about farmers’ votes.

The freshwater package proposes some major changes to freshwater management. The proposals have two main objectives – to stop further degradation of waterways and start making immediate improvements so water quality is improving within five years and to reverse past damage and bring waterways and ecosystems to a healthy state within a generation.

This includes new regulations for stock exclusion, winter grazing, limiting nitrogen use, stock holding areas and feedlots and a requirement for farmers to have a farm environment plan.

The effects of the proposals will be farreaching and dairy farmers are likely to be significantly affected.

The proposals also target councils, which, in turn, will affect every ratepayer. All this public concern coming from urban dwellers about freshwater, while fine, is likely to come back and bite them too as councils will have to meet new regulations including improved infrastructure for upgraded sewerage systems and stormwater discharges.

With councils’ main source of income being rates, they will have to rise to meet these requirements.

The Government is trying to tell us these proposals are just discussion documents but industry organisations and farmers can see right through that.

The so-called discussion documents are anything but.

At 25 pages the Proposed National 66

Environmental Standard for Freshwater and the 58-page Draft National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, you would be forgiven for thinking the Government has already decided this is what will be and is only paying lipservice to the industry by consulting it.

And why were industry bodies excluded from the drafting stage? Surely, they have much to offer and would have made a valuable contribution. The Government might have even avoided the outcry that has followed the release of the proposals.

The timing of the release of the document, the beginning of spring, also raises eyebrows. Did the Government purposely choose to release it during what is the busiest time of the year onfarm hoping farmers will be too tired with lambing and calving to bother reading the lengthy document and crafting a response? You have to wonder.

But then again, the Government’s statement that only a one or two paragraph response is all that will be needed indicates it actually doesn’t care about the communities that will be affected and whether they put in a submission.

The proposals are complex and can be tricky to navigate.

Parts are also confusing. Though the consultation period has been extended

to October 30 it is still not enough time to read, understand and respond to the proposals and the Government needs to extend the consultation period to at least the end of the year.

Perhaps it hopes that in the year, give or take a month or so, between this and the general election the farming community will have forgotten about this debacle and vote for it.

While we all agree we want improved water quality now and for future generations it must be acknowledged farmers have been doing their bit for more than a decade and it is time for others to step up as well. It should also be noted that I think even the farming community would admit there are areas of NZ where farming is too intense.

Not every farmer is doing enough but are these rules the right way to get everyone up to speed?

We want and need time to read, get our heads around it and have a decent amount of time to make a submission.

We need to get it right now and for our children and grandchildren.

Sonita Like us: farmersweekly.co.nz Follow us: @DairyFarmer15 Read us anywhere: farmersweekly.co.nz DAIRY FARMER

October 2019

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October 2019 October 8, DairyNZ Body condition score assessment event, north Canterbury. BCS assessor certification programme. Registration required. A time to attend will be given. This event is for only those who have not passed a previous BCS assessment. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz October 9, 14 and 15, Dairy Women’s Network Understanding your financial position, south Canterbury, Southland and West Coast. A practical workshop to strengthen relationships with your accountant. NZCA delivers this practical workshop to help you gain a better understanding of your farming business and strengthen relationships with your accountant. Info at www.dwn.co.nz/events October 9 and 10, DairyNZ Giant buttercup management field day, Tararua and Manawatu. Open to all farmers. AgResearch scientists Dr Graeme Bourdot and Dr Shina Lamoureaux will provide a hands-on demonstration of measuring and managing buttercup in pasture. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz October 9, DairyNZ Essential Freshwater Package, Matamata. The Government’s Essential Freshwater Package is a complex proposal with short time frames. This event will help you understand the package, what it might mean for you and how you can write an effective submission. The work under way at DairyNZ to understand economic and water quality implications of the proposed policies will also be outlined. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz October 10, Lincoln University Demonstration Farm LUDF focus day. The day will look at pasture management to achieve 500kg MS/cow, mating without bulls, managing milk price risk, comparing pasture monitoring systems, LUDF profitability benchmarking, seasonal updates on farm performance and research and development updates. Inquiries to Clare Buchanan, demo manager, 021 517 863, email: office@siddc.org.nz. Info at www.siddc.org.nz October 15 DairyNZ Lower North Island organics discussion group. Pamu’s Tasman dairy farm is hosting the next lower North Island organic field day. Hear about its journey and the plan for organic dairy farming for the Pamu Moutoa dairy farms. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz October 22, DairyNZ Pasture Plus, Taupo. Pasture driving profit. Improve the pasture management skills of your farm team and get more milk in the vat. New discussion group for farm staff is a back to basics group focused on core pasture skills ideal for managers, herd managers, 2ICs and farm assistants.

Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz October 22, DairyNZ DairyNZ annual meeting, Waikato. Farmers are encouraged to join us at LIC’s Tempero Centre from 7pm. DairyNZ’s 2018-19 highlights will be shared, including key research projects and investments, future priorities for DairyNZ and voting on resolutions. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz October 23, DairyNZ Irrigation efficiency and good management practices field day, Southland and south Otago. Make every drop count. It will cover good management practices, determining when to start irrigating and how much to apply, technology available to make irrigation management easier and maintenance of irrigators. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

October 24, DairyNZ Waikato effluent roadshow, Ngarua. Managing effluent is a vital part of farming. Councils are checking effluent systems for poor management or inadequate storage. Visit two farms with different systems, hear from the farmers what it cost and how they manage it. Info at www.dairyevents. co.nz October 19, Dairy Women’s Network Understanding your financial position, Manawatu. A practical workshop to strengthen relationships with your accountant. NZCA delivers this practical workshop to help you gain a better understanding of your farming business and strengthen relationships with your accountant. Info at www.dwn.co.nz/ events October 29, Southern Dairy Hub Field day fodder beet v kale: What’s the difference? With speakers Dr Dawn Dalley (DairyNZ), Chris Smith (AgResearch), and Louise Cook (SDH). RSVP to Ronda on ronda.ridsdale@dairynz.co.nz Dairy Women’s Network, October and November Building financial confidence, various dates and locations. As our industry endures unprecedented change and transitions into a new operating environment, maintaining control of your business and ensuring it is resilient enough to continue to be profitable is paramount. ASB Rural aims to help you build greater knowledge, awareness and understanding of financial management, develop stronger budgeting skills and connect you with tools that could help to keep your business one step ahead. Info at www.dwn. co.nz/events.

DairyNZ DairyNZ will run building capability programmes this season. Two programmes in the Lower North Island have a series of seven workshops running from 10am-noon between October and May that will focus on increasing your knowledge, give you tools to use and build your capability and confidence. Register by email, kim.marcus@dairynz.co.nz or text 027 807 0504 with your name, location, farm supply number, contact details and your role. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz.

Essential Freshwater Package Various dates and locations. Understanding the impact on dairy farming. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz Repro Smart Day Various dates and locations. Getting the best possible reproductive performance from your herd requires attention to detail. This workshop will look at some key areas you can influence. Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz

Take a break this season with

"It’s a massive change. No tail paint or heat detection.

The nicest thing is, we can be in Taupo and just look at the computer. We can ring the staff and be reassured, rather than rushing back.

It’s just peace of mind, you can actually relax."

Marcel and Toni Boschma Pukio East Dairies Ltd.

Take up the challenge and grab a holiday on us this season.

Purchase an Allflex monitoring system before 31st Jan 2020 and receive a $1000 Air New Zealand voucher to spend on a well-deserved break.

For more information and full T&C’s visit www.thegamechanger.farm

www.allflex.global/nz