Dairy Farmer April 2024

Tech that transforms

Southland farmer finds cow collar solution

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Large-scale farming in Northland

➜ Bale grazing helps save winter soils

➜ Pedalling success: cycling and rural accounting

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Contributors

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TONY BENNY 021 383 156 troutstream@farmside.co.nz

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Sales

ANDY WHITSON 027 626 2269 Sales & Marketing Manager. andy.whitson@agrihq.co.nz

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Slow and steady gains ahead

Better dairy prices are expected in 2024 – though there’s a chance that global politics could shift the dial.

IEmma Higgins

Senior agricultural analyst at Rabobank

mproved dairy commodity prices are on the horizon for most key dairy producing regions around the world throughout 2024, as dairy commodity prices recover from the lows noted towards the end of 2023.

Skim milk powder prices in the European Union, the United States and Oceania are expected to see a slow but steady recovery throughout this year, driven by subtle demand improvements and, in the US, a reduction in supply coupled with stocks sinking to an eightyear low.

A similar trend in whole milk powder is expected, with the slow but steady gains that materialised at the end of 2023 persisting in the coming quarters.

Improved global dairy commodity prices will likely be supported by weak global milk supply.

We anticipate that milk production in key exporting areas will continue to struggle in the first half of this year, and we’re expecting lower output in the first and second quarter following the weakness in the second half of last year, meaning milk production will be lower for an entire year.

Rabobank expects most regions will contribute to the weakness, with US production likely to be lower in the first quarter, while EU and New Zealand output is forecast to be down throughout the first half.

NZ milk production has held up much stronger than earlier anticipated. On a tonnage basis, a “non-traditional El Niño” has seen milk supply running just 0.5% lower compared to last season for the eight months to January 2024.

Yet milk solids collections are higher than the previous year by 0.8% over the same period, driven by a solid South Island performance.

We anticipate milk production to

The worst of the recessionary fears have passed in some countries, and the overall outlook is modestly subdued.

decrease by 0.7% on a tonnage basis for the full 2023/24 year. The new 2024/25 season is expected to get off to a better start, simply on the assumption of poor comparables and improved weather.

Typically, after weak supply growth for an extended period of time, a firmly bullish price response would have materialised, similar to the output pullback in 2021 followed by, in some measures, record high prices into 2022.

However, the supply and demand dynamics are different this time around. Less milk has been shrugged off by global buyers sitting on adequate inventories and macroeconomic worries persist.

The good news is that looking ahead, there is increasing evidence that dairy demand is on the upswing. The worst of the recessionary fears have passed in some countries, and while global economic growth will likely be subdued, the overall outlook is modestly subdued.

We’ve also seen positive developments in China with retail and food service sales showing strength through the Lunar New Year. Slowing milk production growth in China means we expect imports to improve in 2024, even if they remain lower than the long-term average.

Milk production in key exporting areas will continue to struggle in the first half of this year, and we’re expecting lower output in the first and second quarter following the weakness in the second half of last year, meaning milk production will be lower for an entire year.

Our expectation is that slow but steady dairy commodity price gains will materialise this year. And accordingly, we’ve now made a small upwards revision to our NZ milk price forecast for the 2023/24 season, increasing this by five cents to $7.80kg/MS.

There are always a number of events that can shift the dial when it comes to dairy commodity markets and, therefore, farm gate prices here in NZ.

One of the key watch factors for the global dairy sector in 2024 is the upcoming elections taking place in many key dairy regions.

European parliament elections are approaching in June while the US will go to the polls to elect a new president and many members of congress in November. Any leadership shifts could mean new approaches to policy, including free trade agreements, sustainability policies, or nutrition priorities that trickle back to impact dairy prices.

Sector participants will also be keeping a close eye on developments in the Dutch and Irish dairy sectors, where farmers are facing lower nitrogen derogation limits that will decrease application rates of organic nitrogen from animal manure in the 2024 season and beyond.

This will reduce carrying capacity per hectare, which could result in farmers re-balancing their herd size and/or higher costs for manure disposal.

And it’s not just the Netherlands and Ireland dealing with this challenge, with Denmark’s derogation allowance also up for renewal in July 2024. n

In the loop

Mid North Farms in Northland works hard to make the most of the pasture – and the people – it has, designing a ‘looped’ farm system to maximise production.

The team of dogs head off to shift cattle on Mid North Farms’ beef finishing farm.

Photos: Dan McGrath

By Gerald Piddock

Calves,

heifers and cows are moved among the nine properties that make up Mid North Farms, depending on their age and stage.

Mid North Farms is one of the largest private farming operators in Northland, producing 874,000kg milk solids across five dairy farms as well as finishing beef.

And it’s the 30 staff who make it possible, Mid North Farms executive director Chris Neill says.

The farm teams are run by 22 full-time farming staff with the rest made up of off-farm staff, part-time relief milkers and assistants.

Neill says that in the past three years the business has undergone a huge transition in how it manages its staff.

Central to that change was building up a culture in the business of people who want to be part of the business, rather than just wanting a job.

“We’re feeling pretty happy with where we have got to now. We’re in the very happy position of that everyone who is in our business now – they want to be here and we want them to be here.”

Knowing the difficulty in attracting high calibre dairy staff to the region, the company invested heavily in housing and ensured the company’s culture is one their

staff want to work in.

“They have to be comfortable at home and their family need to be happy there if you are to have any sort of chance of attracting somebody and retaining competent staff in this part of the world.

“The other part along with that is progressively encouraging them to upskill so they can do the job they have got now and also find a way to progress in the industry or with us,” he says.

That progression includes encouraging staff to upskill themselves with further training such as through Primary ITO.

Neill says they also instill a sense of ownership in their farm managers.

“We’re in the very happy position of that everyone who is in our business now – they want to be here and we want them to be here.”

Chris Neill

FARM FACTS

• Farm owners: Private ownership

• Location: Mangakāhia and Matauri Bay, Northland

• Farm size: 3342ha

• Farm types: Five dairy farms, a dairy support farm, a calf-rearing unit, beef-finishing farm and a forestry block

• Cows: 2500 (across the five dairy farms)

• Staff: 30

• Production: 874,000kg MS across the five dairy farms targeting 1 million kg MS

“The approach we take to the managers is that we tell them, ‘This is your farm within our business’.”

The managers are expected to develop a plan for where they see the farm progressing to, which includes setting and running a budget.

Included in that plan are goals around stock and animal performance.

The managers have monthly meetings with general manager Aaron Bendall, and have a team that takes care of the day-today business of running the farm.

The business is privately owned and had been in Northland for eight years when it purchased its first dairy farm in 2016.

Since then, it has grown to nine properties. Five of these farms are dairy along with a calf-rearing unit and a dairy support unit, with the remaining two farming beef and forestry respectively.

Four of the five farms are spring calving, spanning 1052 hectares in total and 800ha effective, located south of Kaikohe at Mangakāhia.

These farms run around 1800 cows in total, running herds ranging from 240 to 650 cows.

Continued page 10

Bay, milking 700 cows.

The dairy support farm is 550ha effective running 7700 stock units, the calf-rearing

unit is 4ha, the beef finishing farm is 762ha running 11,600 stock units and the forestry block is 1000ha.

Production across the farms was targeted at 874,000kg MS for this season, which Neill says they are on target to reach.

Their near-term production goal is to reach 1 million kg MS, which Neill says could be achieved through improving herd performance.

The farms run as integrated business units, with each unit being overseen by a manager.

One of the four springcalving farms is a designated heifer farm where in-calf heifers from the dairy support unit are milked and calved for the first time for a season.

From there, they are transferred to the neighbouring three-year-old cow farm the following season.

After that, they are sorted into one of the two mixed-age cow farms.

Mid North Farms general manager Bendall describes the cow’s journey as a loop.

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The fifth dairy farm is a 368ha effective autumn calving farm that is located further north in Matauri

Mid North Farms has around 900ha of radiata plantation forestry and close to 100ha on the farms planted in trees where the land is unsuitable for stock.

They are reared in the calfrearing unit before heading to the dairy support unit until they are ready to join the heifer farm.

“The heifers calve there for their first year and their second year, then they flow through to what we call our

Piccadilly Farms – which is our MA cow farms. They are all three-year-olds and above down there.”

Bendall says they are in their third season of using this system, having changed from a more conventional system where each of the farms kept

their heifers through their life cycle.

“We decided to trial it out and it just worked really well. Heifers get bullied by older cows and it was quite good to let heifers develop without that competition.”

It allowed the staff at the

heifer farm to focus solely on raising these cattle when it came to training them in the milking shed.

It is also more practical. The calf-rearing unit adjoins the runoff where the cows are raised as in-calf heifers.

The cattle are then walked down the race to the heifer farm, where they have their first calf.

Mid North Farms’ mixedage cow farms are 10km up the road and the cattle are trucked up to there when they leave the heifer farm.

All of the calves born across all of the farms are transferred to the calf-rearing unit at four days old, where the cycle begins again.

The rearing unit and the support block raise both replacement and nonreplacement calves with the latter walked across the road to the beef finishing farm once they reach target weights.

The 100% autumn-calving

Farm manager Tom Stilwell, in the ute, and farm assistant Kadin Bullen at Mid North Farms

One of the farm’s dogs rounds up a mob of steers on Mid North Farms’ beef finishing farm. Continued page 12

farm operates slightly differently. There, the calves are transferred in batches to the calf-rearing unit at 4-10 days of age.

They are reared to 74kg liveweight then transferred to the dairy support unit (DSU) and grown to 100-110kg liveweight.

At that stage, the cattle are selected to be reared as replacement heifers for the autumn-calving herd or they are transferred to the beef finishing unit.

The farms are all predominantly pasture based, feeding out home-grown supplements in the summer, during the winter wet and in the shoulders of the season, sitting at around 2.5 in intensity.

“Northland farmers will appreciate that it’s very hard to be a straight System 2 up here because the grass doesn’t grow for long enough,” Neill says.

As well as its people, Mid North Farms has heavily invested in its Mangakāhia farms’ infrastructure, improving its fencing, water supply, pastures, effluent system and housing.

“This is to ensure that the farms deliver what we want and that they are a place where people want to work,” Neill says.

Inside the milking sheds, they use MINDA software to track the cows and have just completed 12 months of using Halter on the autumn-calving farm.

The beef farm uses FARMAX to monitor farm performance and will use this software in its other farms next season.

This will let the heifer farm manager monitor the progress of the young stock on the support block prior to these cattle joining the herd and that they hit their target weights.

Bendall says this season so

far has been good. Summer has gone well and the rain in February was readily welcomed.

“Now, with the typical grasses we are using, we would be lucky to get two years out of it, and we’re trying to manage around that.”

Aaron Bendall

“It’s been a pretty typical season for us which is quite nice considering the last couple of years that we have had.”

Per-cow production is on a par with previous years, he says.

Calving on the Mangakāhia farms starts on July 1, with all

of the cows including the new heifers on the heifer farm –and those joining the mixedage farms – have been shifted to their locations by June 10.

Calving usually occurs across 10-12 weeks and is staggered across the farms to account for the different pasture growth rates across the farms.

In-calf heifers that are mating for the autumn herd are sent to the farm in February for calving in March. Mating starts in early June for that herd and gets underway for the spring-calving farms on September 20.

The cows are inseminated followed by natural mating using Hereford bulls.

This season, the autumn herd are being mated with low birthweight Hereford genetics to enable them to use every animal that is calved.

Those cows breeding replacement calves are mated with genetics to produce a

Mid North Farms executive director Chris Neill says they instill a sense of ownership in their farm managers. Left to right, Mid North Farms general manager Aaron Bendall with farm managers Phil Oates and Tom Stilwell, and Neill.

“The approach we take to the managers is that we tell them, ‘This is your farm within our business’.”

Chris

Neill

Kiwicross calf with a black and white Friesian influence.

All of the animals are dried off up to 65 days ahead of calving on both farms, depending on condition score, health and milk volume.

Mid North Farms has invested heavily in improving pastures on its properties. Managing these pastures while dealing with the impacts of climate change has been extremely challenging, with pasture resilience being an ongoing issue on the farms.

Historically, grasses would last up to five years.

“Now, with the typical grasses we are using, we would be lucky to get two years out of it, and we’re trying to manage around that,” Bendall says.

Kikuyu grass is also a dominant species and spreads to cover the farms’ pastures if left unchecked.

As a result, pasture is a precious commodity, and Bendall and his team aim to keep wastage to an absolute minimum.

Farm staff regularly plate meter the paddocks and follow a spring rotation planner. This, along with input from Bendall, helps determine feed allocation and round length throughout the year.

The aim is to leave a cover of around 1500-1550kg DM/ ha post-grazing through the season.

Anything lower, and the pastures can be trashed and the cows will not eat it. The staff control the surplus above that and turn any surplus into grass silage either as bales or stored in pits.

The farms are soil tested annually and fertiliser applications on the paddocks are based on those readings.

Mowing those paddocks and creating that supplementary feed is a must in the business to ensure the cows are properly fed and to reduce palm kernel usage.

A large portion of that silage is mown off the support unit and transferred to the dairy farms as required, reducing the need to import outside supplements.

“We utilise every blade of grass that we can,” Bendall says.

“The big part of our silage policy is to ensure that we are making high quality rather than high volume,” Neill adds.

Bendall says they prepare for the worst when it comes to summer management –

which is why they produce as much silage as possible.

“It does get extremely dry now. I don’t think we have had a typical summer now for five years.”

The cattle do get fed some grass, but the bulk of their diet through this season is supplementary feed.

This includes the grass silage as well as 105ha of maize and 60ha of turnips – all of which are homegrown –and palm kernel.

During winter, the paddocks are extremely prone to pasture damage and the focus turns to pasture protection and each farm has designated

Continued page 14

Mid North Farms can still grow by improving the performance of both its dairy cows and the beef herd and by making sure it employs the right people.

“We have paddocks that you couldn’t pug if you tried and you have some that you could bury the cows in.”

Aaron Bendall

areas where the cattle are stood off to prevent pugging.

The mixed-age cow farms, for example, have an off-grazing block called Flintstones that contains a large number of rocks; the cows are fed out supplementary feed to maintain condition.

The large range of soil variability across the farms makes this especially challenging for the farm managers. Rather than a set, broad-brush policy, the managers consider the paddock’s soil type when determining round length.

“We have paddocks that you couldn’t pug if you tried and you have some that you could bury the cows in,” Bendall says.

Mid North Farms’ 4ha calf-rearing unit is another part of the business that has undergone a serious investment.

Considerable thought went into flooring for the calf pens and the new unit houses close to 1000 calves, with 2500 calves going through the unit every year.

The site where the unit sits has a concrete floor from an old silage bunker allowing them to consider grating options during its development. A robust, nonslip composite grating was installed. This is raised off the floor on 65mm chairs enabling washing and sanitising of the grating and floor. This, along with the sloping floor allows the waste to be flushed through the shed under the grating into an existing

dairy effluent sump and then spread out onto the land.

The setup provides a warm, dry, non-slip environment within the pens.

“We believe we have provided as good as you can get by way of a facility. Then it gets down to our people in terms of calf health and growth and alongside that, making sure that the feeding regime is as economic as we can possibly get it.”

The calves enter the unit at four days old and spend six weeks in the pens with a target weight of over 70kg.

They are then run outdoors on paddocks until they reach 100kg and drafted off either

to go to the beef unit or the support block, depending on their breed.

All of the young stock – both beef and dairy – are weighed monthly and are vaccinated with Rotovac when they arrive at the unit.

Mid North Farms’ effluent infrastructure has also been redeveloped. Some of the farms – including the autumncalving farm – currently have a consent to discharge treated effluent into waterways.

But with this due to expire in 2025, the business has been proactive in upgrading its effluent infrastructure to future-proof the business, including a new pond at the autumn-calving farm.

“By next year, all of our effluent systems will be operating without discharge to water,” Neill says.

As well as having close to 900ha in radiata for production forestry, Mid North Farms also has close to 100ha on the farms planted in trees where the land is unsuitable for stock.

Looking ahead, Neill sees challenges on the environmental front, and he questions what the future of a pastoral farming business looks like in Northland when pasture resilience is such an issue.

“My view is that to be sustainable with pastures, that

Two of Mid North Farms’ team of dogs cool off in one of the farm’s water troughs.

Mid North Farms have undergone a serious investment in their 4ha calf-rearing unit, which is capable of housing close to 1000 calves with 2500 calves going through the unit every year.

“By next year, all of our effluent systems will be operating without discharge to water.”

Chris Neill

only last two to three years. It isn’t going to work.”

He believes the reason so many pastures fail in Northland is that the market is not large enough for seed companies to specifically design a plant for Northland conditions.

“The seeds that we can get are really designed for the Waikato and Canterbury – and I understand why they do that.”

But there’s also opportunity.

Mid North Farms can still

grow in terms of improving the performance of both dairy cows and the beef herd and

making sure they employ the right people.

“You can switch that around

– we want to employ the right people to get the best out of our farms.” n

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Farm assistant Denver Catedrilla keeps an eye on the cows during milking in the pit of one of Mid North Farms’ spring calving farms.

LIC releases facial eczema-resistant BV

LIC has developed a breeding value to enable farmers to breed cows that are more resistant to facial eczema.

The new BV will initially be available in a Kiwicross bull team featured in the herd improvement co-op’s 2024 genetics catalogue.

LIC’s chief scientist, Richard Spelman, said the BV comes after decades of investment and research in understanding the disease.

“With facial eczema predicted to be more prevalent in the future, these advancements will ensure farmers have options to help reduce the disease’s incidence in their herd.

“Through our strong investment in genomics over the years, we are in a great position to do more of this kind of research for our farmers to help them produce the most sustainable and efficient animals.”

Facial eczema affects thousands of cows a year,

particularly between February and May in the North Island and northern regions of the South Island. It costs the New Zealand dairy sector at least $100 million annually in lost production.

It is caused by a pasturebased fungal toxin (sporidesmin) that, when ingested, causes liver damage, decreased milk production and, in severe cases, death. Eczema-like breakouts and photosensitivity can also

“We know climate change is increasing the disease’s range and prevalence, extending further inland and southward due to rising temperatures.”

Richard Spelman

occur in a small proportion of affected animals.

Spelman said the breakthrough comes at a critical time for the sector. The disease is linked to warmer, humid conditions and farmers usually start noticing signs of the disease in their herds in February.

“In addition to this, we know climate change is increasing the disease’s range and prevalence, extending further inland and southward due to rising temperatures.

“The only current method to lessen the impact of facial eczema is preventive zinc dosing early in the year.

“Once liver damage occurs, there is no cure, only management, which involves removing affected animals from toxic pasture, providing shade, and allowing time for healing.”

Genetics is a long-term solution and while the breeding value is exciting for the prevention of facial eczema in New Zealand dairy cows, it is important that

farmers continue their usual on-farm practices to mitigate the disease in their herd, he said.

The research was cofunded through the $25m Resilient Dairy Programme, a Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures partnership with DairyNZ and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

As part of the Resilient Dairy Programme, LIC has invested over $800,000 to improve animal wellness. Developing a facial eczema breeding value, based on animals that have naturally acquired the disease, is the first outcome of this research.

LIC’s Resilient Dairy programme manager, Suzanne Young, said the research is far from over and she encourages farmers to consider volunteering their herd for study.

“Utilising additional data from working farms will help us to better understand facial eczema and continue to refine our tools to tackle this disease on farm.” n

LIC’s new breeding value will help farmers to breed cows that are more resistant to facial eczema.

Complex outlook for global market

ACristina Alvarado

Cristina Alvarado is NZX data and insights commercial manager

s we progress towards the back end of the dairy season, the global dairy industry continues to go through a complex landscape shaped by numerous factors, from supply disruptions to evolving demand dynamics.

Building upon the trends observed in February, here’s an overview of the current state of the global dairy market and key insights for the month ahead.

Recent GDT events have depicted a mixed performance, characterised by notable fluctuations in dairy commodity prices.

While February witnessed index increases at both events (+4.2% on Feb 6 and +0.5% on February 20), March’s first event on the 5th marked a significant downturn with a -2.3% drop in the GDT price index, the largest slump felt on the platform since August the previous year.

Milk powder prices, in particular, experienced notable declines, reflecting weakened demand in certain contracts, particularly in C2 for both whole milk powder (WMP) and skim milk powder (SMP).

New Zealand saw a slight downturn in January’s milk production, with a 1.2% decrease and a 0.6% dip on a milksolids basis.

Despite this, marginal improvements in season-to-date figures (0.8% increase on a milksolids basis), provide a glimmer of optimism amid ongoing supply challenges.

Globally, milk production trends vary across regions. While Europe witnessed a modest year-on-year (YOY) increase of 0.4% in December, key producing countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Ireland reported YOY declines (-0.4%, -0.1%, -2.3% and -0.2% respectively).

In January, Australia reported a notable increase in milk production, up by 4.9% year on year, marking nine consecutive months of year-on-year growth.

The United States, however, experienced a 0.9% decrease in milk production in January, continuing a trend of seven consecutive YOY declines. Argentina faced challenges with a significant 12.6% YOY decrease in January, and Uruguay saw an increase in production, up by 3.2% YOY.

International trade dynamics continue to be influenced by a myriad of factors, including supply disruptions and economic conditions.

Despite challenges, New Zealand’s January dairy exports surged in volume by 12.5%, albeit with a decrease in value of 8.8%.

Notably, despite a 10.0% YOY drop in China’s total dairy imports in December, NZ experienced a remarkable 32.4% increase in exports of WMP to China, underscoring the significance of tarifffree trade agreements.

Argentina, Australia, Europe, and the United States are among the other key players navigating fluctuations in export volumes, reflecting broader market uncertainties. Argentina reported a 20.8% YOY increase in December but was down by 14.5 % YTD. Australia reported an increase YOY with 4.8% but a decrease of 11.8% YTD.

Europe saw a decline of 6.5% YOY in December exports but an overall increase

Milk production in New Zealand dropped slightly in January, down by 1.2%. This was a 0.6% dip on a milksolids basis.

of 0.6% YTD. The US had a drop in both YOY and YTD figures for December of 6.6% and 7.4% respectively.

Additionally, China’s overall dairy and particularly WMP imports witnessed a significant drop (-10% and -47% respectively), contributing to the challenges faced by global dairy exporters.

Looking ahead, uncertainties surrounding ongoing supply disruptions and shifting demand dynamics persist, presenting both challenges and opportunities for stakeholders in the dairy industry.

Weather patterns, geopolitical tensions, and economic factors will continue to shape the industry’s trajectory in the months to come.

The resilience demonstrated by New Zealand amidst these challenges underscores its pivotal role in the global dairy market.

Proactive measures, including monitoring market trends, enhancing supply chain resilience, and fostering innovation, will be imperative for sustained growth and resilience in the ever-evolving dairy landscape.

As people and organisations navigate dynamic market conditions, agility, innovation, and strategic collaboration will be key drivers for success. n

Southland dairy farmer Dylan Ditchfield says he feeds hay bales as winter practice as it protects soils from pugging, there’s less N leaching and animals do better.

Bale grazing saves winter soils

By Gerhard Uys

And it gets you and your farm on the regenerative agriculture track, too.

Bale grazing hay in winter has multiple regenerative benefits, says Southland dairy farmer Dylan Ditchfield.

Speaking at a DairyNZ farm day held on his farm, Ditchfield said he and partner Sheree Ditchfield embarked on a regenerative approach to farming about five years ago.

There were many regenerative principles farmers could apply on their farm, Ditchfield said.

One such principle was feeding hay bales as wintering practice.

Ditchfield fed out hay bales in paddocks sown to multispecies pasture, which were allowed to grow to above 3000-3500kg/dm/ha.

The high growth was to protect soils. Bales were put out in a grid pattern at a 30 bales/ha density, and spaced 18m apart, he said.

Bales were put out without racks.

Any sized mob of cattle and age class can be put on bales, and fed on three-day breaks.

Breaks have to be proportionate to half a hectare per 100 cows every three days, he said.

Bales are put out, the bale wrap taken off, and cows have free access to all bales. As bales are eaten, patches of litter form around them.

The temperature under the litter is about 1-2degC warmer than exposed pasture, he said.

Cows laying down on such litter are warmer and use the energy they gain from feed to produce milk and not to stay warm. Soils under high pasture cover are less affected by climate conditions and will, for example, stay cooler in summer, he said.

Ditchfield said feed

ME should not dominate decisions on what feed system is used in winter and that issues such as animal welfare, soil integrity, cost of fuel and feed transitioning should also be considered.

Bale grazing means very little sediment run-off, no sprays or cultivation, and livestock requires lees feed and ME to maintain body condition.

Trials run on the Ditchfields’ farm showed N leaching from paddocks where bale grazing was done was only 25% of the leaching from kale paddocks, he said. n

Photo: Gerhard Uys

Transfigured by tech

It’s a long, thin farm with some challenging hills – and a raging success since the cows were fitted with collars.

Kayne Smith milks 600 cows on a 300ha-effective farm in the Waikaka Valley. Photos: Gerhard Uys

By Gerhard Uys

What was once a hard row to hoe is now a thriving operation where lameness and costs are down and profits, morale and sleep-ins are up.

The rolling geography of Kayne Smith’s Southland farm was one of his biggest challenges, but it has now become his biggest opportunity.

Smith’s farm is 300 hectares effective, with a 200ha milking platform and 100ha used as run-off including 26ha of winter crops.

He runs a 50-bale rotary shed, with cup removers,

“When we first signed up most of our friends thought we were crazy. They thought we would not recoup the cost.”

Kayne Smith

in-shed feeding and Protrack, milking 600 cows at peak.

The farm uses supplementary feed throughout summer and winter, growing 14ha of summer crop and feeding it out 3kg-4kg a day for 60 days. The 26ha of winter crop is fed out at a 50% baleage and 50% crop mix in the colder months.

Smith is in a 50% equity partnership set up by ANZ in 2019 with now-retired Bruce and Sue Cunningham, who live in Queenstown.

The farm is long and skinny, with the furthest paddock a 3km walk from the 50-bale rotary shed.

The length and the rolling hills of the farm present challenges and have to be managed, Smith says.

Though the furthest paddocks are mostly used to grow baleage, a few times a year cows have to walk 6km

FARM FACTS

• Farm owners: 50% equity partnership between Kayne Smith and Bruce and Sue Cunningham (retired)

• Location: Waikaka Valley, Southland

• Farm size: 300ha effective

• Herd: 600 cows

• Staffing: Three

• Production: 273,976kg MS for 2022/23

• Production target: 2024-2025: 285,000kg MS

for a single milking.

For safety’s sake, and probably to make life easier, fences on the heavy rolling hills were not put up in exactly the right spot for optimum pasture use, he says.

“We were putting the fence in the easier spot, rather than the exact spot.”

The farm always had potential but needed something extra to push it to its best production, he says. He had been asking Halter

to come to Southland for some time, he says. He wanted to put Halter’s virtual fencing to the test not only to maximise pasture utilisation,

Continued page 22

Measuring pasture growth or crop cover once a week was not as accurate as it could be, and Smith says he now knows he is accurate and that breaks and residuals are spot-on.

but also because he could reduce staff numbers and stay ahead of the game when it came to technological developments in the dairy industry.

With those goals in mind, and the farm’s geography also in the mix, 18 months ago he fitted Halter collars to 600 milking cows.

“When we first signed up most of our friends thought we were crazy. They thought we would not recoup the cost,” Smith says.

“We did a few figures and could not say if we would be able to. But now we’re confident we will.”

“We’ve got a heat map now and know where the cows are camping and doing most of their natural fertilising. Our plan is to reduce fertiliser inputs on those areas.”

Kayne Smith

Bringing in Halter meant an immediate savings of $55,000 as Smith could cut one casual labour unit.

“It kept us as a small team of three – but a very good team of three.”

Smith is the co-owner and manager, Regan Smith is the 2IC and Phillip Balicuit is the herd manager. Both Balicuit and Regan have been with Kayne for five years.

Smith’s farm consultant,

Alex Hunter, was also initially hesitant about Halter.

But a recent farm review changed his mind after he saw how much extra pasture they grew and used.

“He redid the figures, he thought it wasn’t right. He is now a proponent of Halter,” Smith says.

Data from Halter shows Smith was not feeding as accurately as he could have –and might have been either

over or underfeeding by as much as 2kg dry matter per cow per day.

Halter’s newest update, Pasture Pro, combines machine learning, weather data, satellite imagery and computer vision to produce an accurate map of pasture use.

It then uses virtual fencing to set breaks so that cows eat exactly what they need.

“Now our feeding is changing every single day. In the past we’d measure once a week, even paying someone $12,000 per year to do it. There’s an immediate cross through that cost,” Smith says.

Halter says longstanding industry research shows a 1cm error above target residual equals a 16% drop in utilisation.

As an example, a cow grazing a ryegrass paddock half a leaf early means a 12.5% reduction in total yield.

Inefficiencies from conventional farming practices compound significantly over a season, costing a 500-cow farm $90,000 worth of lost production.

Smith now simply inputs that he wants to feed cows 20kg dry matter per day

Kayne Smith says he can now shift cows no matter where he is. This means when he sees weather approaching, he can move cows to more sheltered areas.

Smith says staff have all the information at hand that he has, and can make decisions more independently.

Cows now get exactly the amount of feed they need.

and uses the software as a tool to set accurate breaks accordingly.

The gains have been phenomenal, he says.

In the 2021/22 season the

farm grew 15.4tDM/ha.

Halter was fitted to cows three months into the 2022/23 season, and the farm has since grown 17.2tDM/ha.

That translated into a lift of

24,657kgMS on the previous season’s production, which totalled 249,319kg MS for a total of 273,976kgMS for 2022/23.

Smith says due to low cow

numbers and slow calving last season, he has a target of 274,000kgMS this season.

“We have a large target next

“We can utilise regional pasture analysis, diet check and tracker to identify gaps, set targets, create plans and monitor results, for real time, fact based decision making.”

allowed

season of 285,000kgMS. We had a good in-calf rate this season, which in turn means

we will try peak milk 630 plus cows.”

Besides precise calculation

of feed, Smith can also set the residual he wants for a paddock.

“The staff used to get one sleep-in in a week. Now they get one every second day, that’s because the cows are bringing themselves to the shed ... staff morale is well up.”

Kayne Smith

In the past, Smith has had to deal with cows pushing through fences and last winter was the first time there was no breakout.

Smith attributes this to cows now eating exactly the right amount of feed they need to stay warm and grow a healthy calf, where previously,

Using Halter has

Kayne Smith and his 2IC Regan Smith, left, more time off.

when it was cold or windy, cows ate to keep warm first.

When weather is an issue, cows can now simply be moved to a sheltered part of a paddock via the Halter app, even if Smith has kicked off his gumboots for the day and is at home spending time with the family.

The main change on the farm that brought about the leap in improvements is Halter, he says.

“We’ve owned the farm for five years, there’s been a small gain every single year. But then we’ve got this big jump in one season.”

Smith says with the farm being more productive and lucrative, he has more financial and lifestyle options.

“I’m young. I want to build my equity and pay off debt. I also love the outdoors. If I’m not working I’m outdoors doing something else. Now that we’ve got four kids we want to create options for them.

“We didn’t come from a farming family background. But now we see the life it gives us, we want to give our kids that option,” he says.

Staffing hours have also been cut considerably.

“I had to work through mating and be there every single day for eight weeks.

Now I can have a sleep-in every second day if I want, because the information is there for a junior farm assistant to make the same decisions that I would.

“The staff used to get one sleep-in in a week. Now they get one every second day, that’s because the cows are bringing themselves to the shed. One person milks and somebody sleeps in. Staff morale is well up.”

Smith believes they can produce even more milk but has not yet increased cow numbers to capitalise on the extra pasture.

“We are definitely also up on milk solids per cow”.

“We wrapped and stacked the extra pasture. We’ve put about an extra 150 tonnes of silage into the silage stack. And an extra 300 bales of baleage. There’s also more grass shut up. We’ve always eaten every single blade of grass, we haven’t had that surplus.”

Rounds lengths are now also longer, he says.

In the past, 27 days was standard, but now “early thirties” is common, without having to move cows after teatime, he says.

This was achievable using all the information Halter gave him.

“We simply set how many kilos per cow we want. That’s it.”

Fertiliser use on the farm will change in future.

“We’ve got a heat map now and know where the cows are camping and doing most of their natural fertilising.

“Our plan is to reduce fertiliser inputs on those areas.”

A challenge to solve will be precision application of fertiliser as he uses a bulk fertiliser.

There is the potential of using his own fertiliser spreader in future, he says.

“There’s two ways to look at it. Do we add the same inputs and hopefully grow a lot more grass? Or do we work out what’s going to make the most profit for us?”

Calving starts on August 8, and he rears 150 replacement heifer calves that are weaned at 90kg.

All of the calves are inside on woodchip for the first

Kayne Smith says he now has more lifestyle and financial choices available to him because the farm is more productive and lucrative.

Herd manager Phillip Balicuit and Kayne Smith during afternoon milking.

month of their lives, then put out into fresh grass paddocks with shelter belts onto a tow-behind feeder. They then receive 2L of fresh milk twice a day for five days, then 5L once a day until close to weaning.

Milk is then reduced, and meals upped over a two-week period.

“It’s an easy system that works with low staff hours needed. We breed strong easy-care animals.”

In future Smith aims to put Halter collars on 150 rising one-year-olds, in the hope that his pasture utilisation improves even more and that he can create more runoff.

“We’re going to have to make more baleage and put more cows on, which in return will hopefully give us more profit.”

Mating starts on October 31 with all milking cows and rising two-year-old cattle artificially inseminated with bulls but out from December 25 to January 7.

“Now our feeding is changing every single day. In the past we’d measure once a week, even paying someone $12,000 per year to do it. There’s an immediate cross through that cost.”

Kayne Smith

“We aim for a good Friesian cross cow that has a live weight of 500kg. We want an easy-care animal that can grass our hilly terrain and utilise the pasture that grows on it.

“We also progeny test straws for CRV. We enjoy seeing some of the up-andcoming bulls in their system. Progeny testing keeps us excited and hopefully getting that early genetic gains.”

Another big change is how Smith sees individual cows.

“We are not looking at cows as a whole mob anymore because we have data for individuals. Rather than ask why a mob’s rumination is down, we can ask why a single cow’s rumination is down and address that,” he says.

will happen on the farm in the next few years.

Beyond looking to get the farm to optimum production, Smith says growing his team

“The system is easy for staff. It’s a one-man farm over the holiday period so everyone can enjoy it.”

Smith uses CRV for genetics and uses Friesian straws over crossbreed cows and Kiwicross straws over the Friesians.

“Lameness has halved since we started using Halter. We used to have four lame-cow paddocks. We use only two now and turned the other two into milking-cow paddocks. We never knew we were pushing cows hard when we moved them with bikes,” he says.

Smith says if he considers the gains that happened on the farm in 18 months, he can foresee that massive changes

is important, with the aim of equipping 2IC Regan and herd manager Balicuit in their journeys to move up and onto other farms. n

Cost of the collars

Halter has launched new packages, including an enhanced “core” package for $9.90 per cow per month for Halter’s fundamental features: virtual fencing, remote shifting, pasture management and heat and health alerts.

The core package is 40% cheaper than Halter’s earlier

pricing and offers farmers “everything they need”, says Halter CEO Craig Piggott.

“We’ve worked hard to bring down our operating costs to pass on significant savings and even greater value and undeniable ROI, and we’re excited to deliver more of our most loved features at a lower price.”

Halter CEO Craig Piggott.

Kayne Smith says he can foresee big changes on his farm as a result of the massive gains that have occurred over the past 18 months.

Pedalling success

By Samantha Tennent

Paul Duynhoven knew from early on that he wanted to specialise in an area some in his line steer clear of – farm accounting.

Racing along rural roads, Paul Duynhoven approaches his sport the same way he approaches his career: fully dedicated and willing to put in the work.

He took up competitive cycling after a few too many injuries on the rugby field and loves the thrill of a good race.

“I really appreciate the correlation from putting the work in and getting the results,” Paul says.

“In the early days I was getting fitter and it was helping my racing, then I started getting some structured coaching and got into teams racing too.

“Learning helped me progress and I can hold my own most of the time in some

“I enjoyed getting on the phone to farmers, talking about what was going on and ensuring they’re getting the best outcomes tax-wise and helping them as much as possible with other tools.”

Paul Duynhoven

decent company, but when I hit multi-day racing I found it challenging and realised why the best are the best,” he laughs.

He grew up in a small area called Egmont Village, south of New Plymouth. He is the eldest of six, so it was a busy start to life between the family dairy farm, sports and the local community growing up.

“It was about Year 10 or 11 when I was thinking about my future and even though farming was in the back of my mind, I knew I would need an off-farm career to support my sporting passions,” Paul says.

“So I chose accounting and by accident or design I seemed to have an affinity for it.”

Leaving his small-town community for Waikato University was a humbling transition – from being a big fish to a small one. But he took everything in his stride and completed a Bachelor of Management Studies with first-class honours, and became an accountant.

After finishing university, Paul went back to Taranaki for a role with a mid-tier firm. The business was a reasonable size with many opportunities, and that was where he got into farm accounting.

“Even though I had a lot of learning for the accounting side, because of my background and interest in agriculture I was drawn to it where some steer away.

“But I enjoyed getting on the phone to farmers, talking about what was going on and ensuring they’re getting the best outcomes tax-wise and helping them as much as possible with other tools.”

One of his biggest passions is to support people as they progress through the industry and build their confidence.

He got involved with New Zealand Young Farmers too, holding a range of roles and being one of those reliable members who got stuck into nearly everything possible. He holds a life membership for the Taranaki Manawatu region and still pops up at the odd

event to continue to support the organisation.

“Young Farmers was a great way to meet people, there are lots of opportunities, competitions and committees to get involved with.

“It’s a great way to build a network and I always encourage others to get stuck in.”

After several years of building his accounting skill set in Taranaki, an opportunity to move to Manawatū arose and he took the chance to gain further experience.

He found that farming there was slightly different. He gained more exposure to

Paul Duynhoven has been involved with managing a cycling team in the New Zealand Cycling Classic as well as setting up a Rural Business Support Group on Facebook.

sheep and beef and the red meat sector and engaged with some diverse businesses.

“Farmers are different from region to region I’ve found, but it’s good to learn more and support them.”

After a couple of years, he moved back to Waikato in a management role with an accounting firm that had an office in Te Aroha.

“It was a chance to build the skill set again, now I was leading the team and looking after farmers.

“It was good to get out of my comfort zone and grow my confidence to give people advice to help them operate their businesses efficiently.”

He found the farming systems in the area were more intensive, with more System

and accountancy firm +MORE while taking a supportive role in the family farm.

3, 4 and 5 farms than he had been dealing with previously. And he gained exposure to different milk processors, such as Tatua.

While he was up there, he also completed a Kellogg Rural Leadership course, with the focus of his work on innovative approaches to succession planning. He looked deeply at what successful succession planning looks like and got a solid understanding of the principles.

He was also faced with covid challenges while based in Te Aroha, working remotely. It was a good personal growth period.

And although it was not anticipated, when an opportunity to move back to Taranaki came up, he decided to jump in. There was a principal position going in New Plymouth, which would advance his career and allow him to be closer to his family and the farm.

“I’ve been back three years now and I have an ownership stake in +MORE, an advisory and accountancy firm.

“I’m keen to grow the business here in New Plymouth and continue to support the rural sector, helping farmers with the challenges they face.”

He says accounting is a varied career. The day-to-day he deals with can be quite different within hours.

The family farm is still ticking along, with his brother Mark and sister-in-law Krystal 50:50 sharemilking 270 predominantly Jersey cows. Their dad, Jim, passed away a few years ago but mum Susanne is still on the farm

Paul Duynhoven took up competitive cycling after a few too many injuries on the rugby field, and he loves the thrill of a good race.

and supports Mark in making operational decisions.

Paul has taken a supportive role. He is involved with the financial administration and has oversight from a strategic perspective. He has more involvement with the big decisions, like when they expanded and bought more land a few years ago.

Outside of work and the farm Paul is still cycling and racing. He has also been involved with managing a cycling team in the New Zealand Cycling Classic, which was a different experience.

“It’s giving the young, up-and-coming cyclists opportunities to race at an elite level.

“We have some phenomenal talent in New Zealand cycling.”

He has also set up a Rural Business Support Group on Facebook, where he shares useful information and offers generic advice.

“It was good to get out of my comfort zone and grow my confidence to give people advice to help them operate their businesses efficiently.”

Paul Duynhoven

In the longer term, he hopes to buy his own farm one day but for now he is focused on continuing to expand and grow the +MORE business, which is striving to be seen as a leading agricultural accounting firm.

“And I’d like to have a few more successes on the bike myself.” n

Keeping in shape mentally and physically helps you put the best into the farm, so the farm can give the best back to you.

Taranaki-based Paul Duynhoven is a director at advisory

Building better bosses

Aconfronting message that stuck with me last year was something economist Shamubeel Eaqub told farmers and myself at the People Expo: “It’s never going to be easier to find staff than it is now.”

As an eternal optimist and with a job that is about improving the capability of people in dairy farming, I didn’t want to believe this.

Farmers are telling me how difficult it is to find the staff they need and want right now. I hear the stress and concern it causes, and the impacts this can have on their families, friends and lives.

Yet the message from Shamubeel is that it is only going to get harder.

Unfortunately, that is a reality we are faced with, and not a message I share lightly.

However, as a sector, I believe there are things in our control to change this.

The sector needs about 24,000 total employees working on farm, which is about 0.6% of the working population. Dairy farming isn’t a career that will suit everyone – you don’t need it to – but you do need those 24,000 to be great employees.

People like working for good managers. These are leaders and managers who do what they say they will do.

Attracting and retaining great people starts with creating great workplaces –somewhere people want to work. This is important because great employees have choices, and we want them to choose dairy.

While no two people are the same, we know from research done by DairyNZ

and other sector organisations that these are some of the key things people want:

Competitive remuneration packages. People must feel they are paid fairly or better for the skills they bring and the work they do, based on every hour worked.

Not all hours are created equal. For early work, late work and weekend work, people generally expect a premium or something extra that is of value to them.

• People like working for good managers. These are leaders and managers who do what they say they will do and have the respect of their employees. Being a good manager and leader is critical.

People do their best work in great workplaces – places where they feel valued and that they belong, where they are safe (physically and emotionally) and know what they are there to do and why it’s important.

• Helping people achieve or get closer to their dreams counts for a lot. This sounds big, but if you work to understand what this looks like

for your employees, you are on to a winner.

This list is a good starting point for employers, as it has a focus on making decisions with people at the centre.

I am not saying this is easy. Being a great employer is a commitment and hard mahi.

However, people doing it well will say that it provides a sense of satisfaction and joy as they see people thrive under their leadership, while also delivering business success.

This may also seem more daunting and difficult with other challenges in the sector.

However, people are key to the success of your business and can help you understand where to gain efficiencies

with DairyNZ

Jane Muir

DairyNZ lead people adviser

It is only going to get harder to find good staff, economist Shamubeel Eaqub told farmers at last year’s People Expo.

Across the pond

By Gerhard Uys

Upgrading existing ponds could be cheapest answer to meeting Otago effluent consents.

Lining an existing effluent pond is likely the cheapest way to upgrade effluent storage and meet consent requirements.

Speaking at a South Otago effluent field day held by DairyNZ near Balclutha, dairy farmer Stewart Morrison said by upgrading an existing pond he spent about a third of what he expected to spend.

The field day was held for Otago farmers to wrap their heads around Plan Change 8 of the Otago Regional Council, which is now operative.

The plan means all farmers will eventually need a consent for effluent storage and discharge.

Morrison runs 410 cows on 190 hectares in Inch Clutha and produces 170,000 kilograms of milk solids per year in a System 1 to 2. He is self-contained.

Morrison already had a 2 million litre unlined pond used for effluent storage.

When he built a new shed he decided to prevent effluent from becoming an issue, and also wanted to get a possible build and consenting completed before a rush to do it by others as consenting deadlines neared.

To help with both consenting and building a new pond he called in the help of Quinton Scandrett from Dairy Green, Morrison said.

Scandrett advised they look at the existing pond before they build a new one.

When the pond was emptied there was no evidence of leaks or seepage.

Morrison said he was initially not fond of the idea of lining the old pond, as oldstyle liners deteriorated fast.

But new, modern dam liners have impressed him as they are tough, he said.

His pond was drained, lined with a fabric base and a IS double sealed dam liner. A gas venting and leak detection system was also installed.

The entire build took about a year, he said.

Costs incurred by Morrison were just

over $11,000 for Dairy Greens technical assistance and consent fees, about $29,000 for liner and materials, just under $3,000 for a digger contractor and just over $3,000 for effluent cleaning by slurry tankers.

This came to a total of about $46,000, minus the hours spent by Morrison.

Dairy Green managed the land use consent, and supervised the work and signed it off. It also did visual inspections.

Scandrett from Dairy Green said the pond was already well built from suitable and stable material.

It is also high up on the farm and does not present water table problems.

If a pond is pushed out from the topsoil and there is evidence of ground water on the floor, it would likely impact groundwater and would not be suitable, he said.

Minimal work had to be done to prepare Morrison’s pond to meet consent requirement.

Scandrett said the pond was made slightly bigger, the floor retrimmed after cleaning, and the floor was graded to lift one side so gravity allowed it to be drained from one side.

Even if storage facilities met all rules, a discharge consent is still needed, Morrison said.

DairyNZ extension partner for Southland/South Otago Gareth Baynham said a December 4 effluent systems deadline was for consents and not for work to be completed.

Dairy farmers Michael Souness and Stafford Fergusson also talked about their systems and consent processes.

Souness’s farm had a 3.5 million litre Klip Tank installed 10 years ago, which cost about $150,000 for the tank and $22,000 for groundwork.

Fergusson initially had a small claylined pond and was required to upgrade to meet consent as he had limited storage.

Fergusson upgraded to a 1.5 million litre Tasman Tank at a cost of about $254,000. n

“Once you set it up, it’s easy enough for us farmers.”

A quarter-century of SIDE

The country’s biggest gathering of its kind will take place at Lincoln University.

New Zealand’s largest dairy conference, the South Island Dairy Event, or SIDE, is back for its 25th year.

The conference on June 25-26 brings together farmers from across the South Island and will take place at Lincoln University.

SIDE event chair Jonny Hoets says it is an event like no other.

“It’s not just about learning new strategies or techniques; it’s about embracing change and excelling through challenges,” he says.

Registrations are now open for SIDE 2024, which promises a line-up of workshop topics that address issues facing South Island dairy farmers today.

Its keynote speakers this year include former Australian SAS medic Dan Pronk, Fonterra chief science & technology officer Jeremy Hill, and Hemprino and Meat the Need founder Siobhan O’Malley.

“We believe that empowering dairy farmers is crucial to creating positive opportunities for growth,” Hoets says.

“By attending SIDE 2024, participants will have the chance to learn how to improve their businesses while adapting to changing consumer demands and regulatory requirements.”

In addition to informative workshops and expert presentations, attendees can opt in to visiting Lincoln University’s research farms on Monday, June 24.

The field trip will provide a firsthand look at the latest research programs being conducted at Ashley Dean and Lincoln University Research Dairy Farm, offering

insights into practices that could benefit their own operations.

BrightSIDE is also back and this year participants will kick off their day by joining the main SIDE event at Lincoln University in the morning before heading to Ashley Dene, one of Lincoln University’s research farms.

Here they will rotate through various workshops focusing on different aspects of farming, such as hoof trimming, pasture management, and calving and reproduction. n

Maximising maize

How the crop is harvested is key to unlocking the nutrition from a bumper maize silage harvest.

How maize will be harvested and managed will be crucial to preserving its quality as farmers enjoy one of the best maize silage seasons in years.

Cyclone Gabrielle and atrocious weather decimated a lot of last year’s maize crops.

Fast-forward 12 months and the central and northern North Island have produced excellent crops with farmers expecting yields in the high 20 tonnes per hectare.

Canterbury and the Central Plateau are also producing record yields.

SealesWinslow nutrition

and quality manager Paul Drew says as harvesting gets underway, many factors can influence maize silage quality, from the chop length to kernel integrity and how you manage your stack.

“Harvest time, longer chop lengths and cracked kernels enhance the availability of nutrients, while proper stack management, including drainage and covering, prevents spoilage and mold growth.

“Farmers should consider their maize silage harvest timing carefully. Maize silage should be harvested when whole plant dry matter

Join the conversation, have your say...

“Harvesting at the right time ensures a better silage yield, maximising starch content and promotes good fermentation through the ensiling process.”

Paul Drew

is approximately 35%.

“An indicator of this is where the milk line is two-thirds of

the way down the kernel. To confirm this, a sample should be tested, using a suitable method or in a laboratory.

“Harvesting at the right time ensures a better silage yield, maximising starch content and promotes good fermentation through the ensiling process.”

Farmers should aim for a chop length of around 1520mm for the best packing density in the stack and fermentation. Using wellmaintained forage harvesters with sharp blades will also achieve a clean cut and minimise kernel damage, Drew says. n

We’ll share what farmers have to say with everyone who takes part and we’ll let industry and government decision-makers know what is important to farmers.

It is FREE to join in and you could win one of three $500 Prezzy Cards just for taking part.

Concrete results

By Samantha Tennent

Since starting Archway Group with her husband, Amanda Hodgson has learnt that sometimes it is the small things that create a great team culture.

Tired of watching her colleagues waste time and money on unhealthy snacks during breaks, Amanda Hodgson took matters into her own hands.

With a deep-rooted understanding of the importance of a well-fed team, stemming from her background in sheep and beef farming, she launched an initiative to ensure her entire crew enjoyed quality smoko and lunch every single day by preparing their meals.

“It doesn’t matter where they are working in the country, they’re on site by 7am, and the boys would go to the bakery and expect a pie and a doughnut to last them all day,” Amanda says.

“But that’s not enough. It’s super important they’re fed well to go the distance, so we started feeding them and now we have a full time cook in the team too.”

They have vegetable gardens on site and at home on their local lifestyle block, and they get a beef animal processed every six months.

Amanda and her husband Matt own and operate Archway Group based in Te Puke. They make concrete panels for rural infrastructure, predominantly for effluent systems or silage bunkers.

They have cultivated a work culture centered on efficiency, communication and continuous improvement.

Embracing the philosophy that “simple systems attract great people”, they have developed streamlined

processes and fostered a tightknit team dynamic.

About a decade ago, they participated in a local business group that hosted an intensive team day.

Amanda recalls how they interviewed a diverse range of people related to the business, including customers, suppliers, and staff.

“Our customers and suppliers were happy as,” Amanda says.

“But our staff had some valuable feedback.

“They expressed their admiration for Matt and I, but when they arrived on-site, they felt lost and out of the loop with no plans, no pack lists and just were expected to know what we are thinking.

“They’re on site by 7am, and the boys would go to the bakery and expect a pie and a doughnut to last them all day.”

Amanda Hodgson

“That feedback was a wakeup call for us – a catalyst for change.”

This realisation prompted Amanda and Matt to reevaluate their approach and implement systems and processes to ensure clarity and cohesion among their team.

Amanda Hodgson with husband Matt and kids Annabelle, 11 and Jasper, 8.

“It’s been a great way to use our combined knowledge and skill sets, and we enjoy supporting farmers a lot.”

Amanda Hodgson

“We don’t get it right all the time, that’s for sure, but our staff have been around for a while so sometimes it is the small things that count to create a great team culture.

“And it’s never finished –better never stops.”

The efficiencies made a huge difference to their workflow. Jobs that historically took up to 10 weeks to complete are now taking only a few days.

They engage regularly with a business consultant, Jimmy Conway from Free Flow Partners.

“Jimmy started us on our journey of systems and organisation and now we work with him at least monthly.

“We’ve had people try to tell us we should have a formal board to support our business since it has grown but we like how things work, we are agile and can adapt easily when things need to adjust and change.”

Amanda grew up on a

sheep and beef station in the Mahi Peninsula.

Her family have been on the same farm for 130 years and her brother and his wife are now running it.

She was the youngest of three children and when she went to university she wanted to do something different to her siblings.

“My brother did an agriculture degree at Lincoln and my sister did ag at Massey so I tried to do something different which ended up being environmental science at Otago University.”

After university she went shepherding for 12 months before landing a role at Horizons Regional Council, based in Taumaranui.

“I was involved in the Sustainable Land Use initiative, helping hill country farmers planting and looking after water quality.

“I had good insight coming from the hill country myself and learning about sustainability.”

She met Matt when she was looking at going overseas, but she had a few friends coming back due to the global financial crisis, unable to get jobs, so she decided to stay put.

After Horizons she moved into an area manager role with Fonterra and then onto ASB as a rural banking associate.

Matt had been a builder the whole way through before they set up Archway Group together just over a decade ago.

“It’s been a great way to use our combined knowledge and skill sets, and we enjoy supporting farmers a lot.”

Another way Amanda supports farmers is through the Dairy Expo, with the inaugural event happening in Matamata in February.

The idea evolved from the former Effluent Expo run by Waikato Regional Council pre-covid.

“The Effluent Expo was to support farmers when there was a lot of change in the effluent space, but since the

focus has shifted we could see an opportunity for a broader event.

“There are a lot of technologies and other resources farmers are using so we graduated from the effluent expo to the dairy expo and hosted it at the Matamata rugby grounds.”

Amanda is the driving force behind the event. They had over 90 exhibitors and about 1300 farmers through the gates over two days. It received great feedback.

When she is not busy keeping the workshop and team in order or organising industry events, Amanda loves to get out on her horse on the hunt field. She is also a keen runner and likes keeping fit and busy.

Matt likes fishing and they enjoy time with their kids, Annabelle, 11 and Jasper, 8. They are both passionate about preserving the value of local business and being deeply connected to their community, prioritising people over profits. n

Amanda Hodgson launched an initiative to ensure her entire crew enjoyed quality smoko and lunch every single day by preparing their meals.

Amanda, her husband and two children live on a lifestyle block near Matamata.

Keeping it in the family

By Samantha Tennent

Battling to recruit staff for the remote North Canterbury farm he manages, Jaspal Singh looked closer to home – thousands of kilometres away.

Jaspal Singh found it hard to believe that just five people could look after 1000 cows when he started in his first farm assistant role on a dairy farm in Southland.

India-born Singh says he is used to a completely different farming system in his home country.

“I wasn’t sure how five people could look after that many cows. I was certainly nervous but excited as well.”

He landed the role through a friend he had met while picking kiwifruit on a break from study. He had come to New Zealand to do some postgraduate study in IT, although he had lost interest in the IT industry and was finding it hard to find a job in Auckland.

It was a complete contrast, moving to Mossburn in Southland in June 2015, and he soon worked out how so few people could manage so many cows.

He climbed the ranks, spending two years on that first farm with sharemilker Sam Richards, then following him when he moved to Kurow.

“After a season in Kurow, Sam wanted to move to a smaller farm but by that point we wanted to find somewhere me and my wife Ruby could both work on the farm.”

Ruby is from India too. Her father was a farmer but farmed completely differently to a New Zealand farmer. She had studied commerce at the same university as Jaspal. In 2016 they got married in India

and Ruby moved to Mossburn about six months later.

“She tried a few local retail jobs but she was keen to work on the farm too, so when Sam moved on we were fortunate the farm owner offered us both jobs on another one of his farms.”

Jaspal was the 2IC and enjoyed the opportunity but unfortunately the farm was hit with Mycoplasma bovis and they had to cull all of the cows across three farms. It was a sad time.

“It was amazing. Ruby and I enjoyed the whole experience. It was a great honour and we were in the limelight in India as well.”

Jaspal Singh

The next step was a farm manager role in Waimate, South Canterbury, milking 800 cows. Jaspal spent four years there and during this time entered the NZ Dairy Industry Awards.

“The first time was a big learning experience. I didn’t know how to present, but I wanted to see where I was sitting and what I needed to improve. It was a good eye opener.

“The second time I entered, in 2022, I won the manager title for the Canterbury/North Otago region and then I

Jaspal Singh holding son Angus with wife Ruby and four-and-a-half-yearold Ryan on the farm in Culverden.

“The immigration system was tricky but we worked out how to make it work so we recruited some of our family from back home.”

Jaspal Singh

went on to win the National Manager title.

“It was amazing. Ruby and I enjoyed the whole experience. It was a great honour and we were in the limelight in India as well.”

After winning industry awards, there were a lot of job opportunities available and Jaspal and Ruby chose to go contract milking in Culverden, North Canterbury. But with it being such an isolated area, they struggled to find staff.

“I advertised a role for 45 days and didn’t get a single applicant!” Jaspal says.

“The immigration system was tricky but we worked out how to make it work so we recruited some of our family from back home.”

His younger brother, cousin and brother-in-law now all work on the farm with Jaspal.

“It was completely new for them and the first few months were challenging, having to teach them, but I taught them about the importance

of things and now they’re all doing very well.

“It was an investment for me and the return was worth it!”

It is a complete family affair, with Ruby rearing the calves and occasionally milking. She also does a bit of work for LIC in herd testing. They have two sons now too. Ryan is four and a half, and Angus was born last June, They enjoy the farming lifestyle with their family.

The ultimate goal is farm ownership but they will work towards 50:50 first. They have a plan and are working towards their target.

Jaspal promotes the dairy sector as a great career option. He recommends people go and do a bit of work on a farm first to test the different lifestyle.

“Farming is full of adventures, there is lots to love and it’s a great experience,” he says. n

The ultimate goal for Jaspal Singh is farm ownership but first he and Ruby will work as 50:50 sharemilkers.

Jaspal Singh’s younger brother, cousin and brother-in-law all work on the farm with him and wife Ruby. From left, Gurpal, Didar, Jaspal, Ruby and Inderpreet Singh.

Jaspal Singh won the national manager title at the New Zealand Dairy Awards in 2022, which he and wife Ruby said was ‘amazing’.

By Tony Benny

Digging into digital

Lincoln University’s developmental dairy farm is working out how to get data to better serve the needs of farmers, both as a measuring tool and a way to improve management.

Technology developed for the Australian mining industry has been adapted for farming and is being trialled on Lincoln University’s Integral Health Dairy Farm.

The trial farm at Lincoln’s Ashley Dene research station is testing a new way of dairy farming, one that makes the health of cows, the environment, staff and the milk the farm produces more important than production –but which also demands an economic return.

A major part of the project is the digital layer, using cutting edge technology to measure the results of research projects and also improve management.

“The digital layer is an essential part of the Integral Health Dairy Farm in being able to say, ‘Yes, what we’re doing is working’, and having data to back that up,” says Associate Professor in Applied Computing Stuart Charters, who heads this part of the project.

“Over time it will be an

integral part of managing operations on the farm as we get that data integrated and work out the best ways to present that. I think it’s also really important because it gives a testing ground for technologies.”

The 100-cow, 43ha farm is a trial ground for a way of farming that better addresses the multiple needs of stakeholders and enhances farming’s standing in the community as well as satisfying an increasingly picky market.

That means, among other things, trying different pasture mixes, planting shrubs and low-growing trees for shelter as well as browsing, alongside world-leading real-time measurement of carbon using a Green Artificial Intelligence Technology (GAIT) tower.

“It measures carbon in the atmosphere and has some ground based sensors so we can make some interpretations about what’s beneath ground, what’s being sequestered. It provides some ground truth data for the impact for this type of system so that other people are able to have confidence in what that might mean for their farm,” says Charters.

The scientists are working with a variety of companies on various parts of the project, among them an Australian company called FTP Solutions, which made its name in the mining industry by bringing together essential data from multiple sources.

They’re now expanding into agriculture and are working

with Lincoln researchers to integrate farm data into an easily digestible form.

“In the mining industry you’ve got lots of different suppliers producing equipment that needs to be monitored and managed so they’ve worked on integrating all sorts of diverse bits of data and providing what gets called a single pane of glass,” Charters says.

“It measures carbon in the atmosphere and has some ground based sensors so we can make some interpretations about what’s beneath ground, what’s being sequestered.”

Prof Stuart Charters

In mining that could include GPS tracking of vehicles, keeping track of fuel levels and noise levels or monitoring autonomous mining –essential information all available on a single display.

“Often what you find on farms is that there’s lots of bits of technology being used but they all reside in their own app or their own piece of software. It’s one of those common frustrations so one of things we’re doing with people who

Associate Professor in Applied Computing Stuart Charters says that, over time, using digital layer technology will become an integral part of managing operations on the farm at Lincoln University.

partner with us is agreeing to share data and make data open,” Charters says.

“It’s not taking everything away and replacing it, what we’re looking at much more is what you might call a federated model where bits of software will be able to share data between themselves.”

FTP Solutions have also pioneered long-range radio technology for getting data back to base when communication is challenging.

“If you’re mining in remote Australia where there’s pretty much no cell phone coverage, you have to solve a connectivity problem there and similar things apply in the New Zealand back country or high country stations.

“There’s lots of potential for having better connectivity on farm with technology like that, whether that’s remote sensors being able to beam stuff directly back as opposed to having to put a cell phone connection on there, or manually go and collect data off a data logger.”

Charters says farmers could drown in all the data being produced so it’s important they get what they actually need, otherwise it can just make life harder.

“If you have to use a clunky interface at the end of the day on the computer or in the office when you’d much rather be going home for dinner, is that going to end up being a good outcome? Probably not, you’re going to leave it in your notebook.

“Part of the solution is developing algorithms, some of it’s thinking about how we display the information and some of it’s how we communicate it.”

Some of the data being generated on the research farm comes from the smart ProTag ear tags the cows are all carrying, including location, heat and rumination stats for each animal. In future, collars that also provide virtual fencing may be used but for

now the smaller, lighter tags are preferred.

“There are some smarts in what the team from ProTag have done, which means they’re not just relying on GPS, which is battery intensive. They have other positioning technologies so you can work out where all the animals are without needing all of them to be receiving a GPS signal all of the time.”

Another planned facility on the farm is a pastoral health shelter (also dubbed a “mootel birthing centre”), which not only provides a sheltered space for calving but which will also be used to capture methane, ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions for

“The technology is about intelligence amplification, it’s assisting the farmer to do what they want to do and doing that in a way that’s economical so their time is used more effectively.”

Prof Stuart Charters

The horror story is the farm manager goes on leave for two weeks and leaves somebody to look after it and when he gets back the compost has died,” Charters remarks.

“Compost is a biological system, it’s active, so we’re hoping to introduce some instrumentation to give information on temperature and oxygen that helps manage that compost so that you get closer to that circular economy on-farm.

scientific study.

“That’s a really good example of how bringing together multiple bits of technology impacts on the farming system. Part of the key is the right animal in the right place at the right time for the right amount of time so lots of things on the farm are multi-functional, they’re doing many things,” says Charters.

The plan is to have an intelligent compost management system in the mootel, finding a way to make the system foolproof.

“A number of farmers are starting to do composting barns and at the moment they’re managed by thumb.

“You could have automatic sprinklers or robotics, depending on how far down the line you want to go and I guess that’s a nice thing about a development farm, you can say how far do we want to take this or what’s the minimum we need to do and then what are the advantages.”

While Charters relishes the opportunity to test and develop digital innovations on the research farm, he’s quick to point out this is not technology for the sake of technology.

“We talk about artificial intelligence but actually the technology is about intelligence amplification, it’s assisting the farmer to do what they want to do and doing that in a way that’s economical so their time is used more effectively.” n

Lincoln University’s dairy farm is trialling different pasture mixes and trees alongside world-leading, real-time measurement of carbon using a Green Artificial Intelligence Technology tower.

Make the right call

Barenbrug’s online calculator takes the guesswork out of deciding on the right seed for your pasture.

No one knows what next autumn will bring. But one thing is certain – new pasture sown this autumn will help (or hinder) the future more than you might expect.

That’s why one industry expert is urging farmers to think twice about trying to save money on cheap or uncertified seed for autumn renewal.

Graham Kerr has seen the results of this more times than he cares to remember over the past 30-plus years with Barenbrug.

Whether it’s poor germination, high weed content, low dry matter production, no endophyte protection or pastures that are simply not what they claim to be, one reaction prevails –stress over the amount of feed that isn’t there when needed, and expected.

“That’s one of the biggest costs of poor quality seed. You can’t see it until it’s too late, and then you have a problem.”

As field agronomist, technical development manager and commercial manager for one of the country’s best-known pasture and forage companies, he’s shared both high and low payout seasons with New Zealand dairy farmers, and understands the pressure to cut costs in tight times.

Certified proprietary ryegrass seed, however, makes up only a fraction of the total price of pasture renewal.

And for something so small, it can have a huge impact on productivity in the years to come.

“If something goes wrong with your pasture, the

repercussions for the whole farm system are major,” Kerr says.

Not only is there no way of knowing for sure what’s contained in uncertified seed mixes, there’s also a significant amount of feed at stake.

“A low payout needs to be attacked on two fronts. The first is to reduce costs where possible. The second is to spend on things that give strong returns in production, to dilute your working expenses per kg MS.”

Seed quality, and the DNA it contains – which controls winter growth, palatability and several other benefits – has repeatedly proved its worth in this second category, he says.

Now you can compare the likely impact and return on investment of planting a highperforming perennial ryegrass like Array NEA2 against uncertified ryegrass seed, using an online Barenbrug calculator.

Built on industry performance data, the calculator shows both estimated seasonal yields for

different ryegrass options, and – critically – what these equate to in terms of pasture utilisation and subsequent milksolids production.

The results might surprise you. Payback is well within the first 12 months, and keeps compounding after that.

“If something goes wrong with your pasture, the repercussions for the whole farm system are major.”

Graham Kerr

Kerr says the calculator is a fast, easy way to quantify what you stand to gain or lose by sowing different pastures this autumn.

And unlike many other unpredictable factors affecting your business, seed choice is 100% in your control.

“There aren’t that many proven opportunities to

mitigate risk in such a high stakes business as pastoral dairy farming. Putting seed quality ahead of price is one of them.”

Nothing is left to chance with the quality of certified Barenbrug ryegrass seed, Kerr says.

From the time a new cultivar is first developed to the time it arrives for sowing on your farm, it’s tested (and re-tested) every step of the way, to ensure it’s clean, healthy, genetically pure and ready to grow to its full potential.

Achieving this is a job that never stops, involving dozens of people from plant breeders, lab technicians and agronomists to growers, independent auditors, seed cleaners and cool store operators.

“All our seed quality parameters are documented by AsureQuality through the National Seed Laboratory. Every line of certified seed comes with its own seed analysis certificate, so you can trust what’s in the bag, and sow with confidence.” n

Barenbrug commercial manager Graham Kerr says pasture seed choice is 100% in your control.

Re-usable silage covers a sustainable alternative

Eco covers have many advantages and are expected to last many years.

Amore environmentally sustainable option for silage storage has become available with Cosio Industries’ re-usable silage covers available on the New Zealand market.

The covers have a warranty of 10 years and a life expectancy of 50 years, thus reducing the carbon footprint of a single-use cover even when it is recycled, Cosio Industries lining category manager Vaughan Podbielski says.

The covers are created by Elevate, previously known as Firestone Building Products, which has been selling the synthetic rubber membrane liners into the silage market in Europe for several years, predominantly in France.

Cosio Industries is the authorised agent and distributor of Elevate Building Products for New Zealand.

It has been distributing the premium lining mem-

branes to the dairy effluent sector for over 10 years, making it a logical step to release the product range into the silage market, Podbielski says.

He says there are a number of key similarities and benefits for the NZ market when compared to the overseas market.

“Whereas most traditional silage covers have a thickness of 120-150 microns with a life expectancy of 12 months and are considered single use and need to be disposed of correctly – another indirect cost – Firestone Eco Silage Covers are 1140 microns thick and come with a guarantee of 10 years but are expected to last well beyond this.”

The covers are chemically inert and the ability to re-use them more than 10 years makes them an extremely sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative, he says.

While traditional silage

covers can be collected and recycled through several service providers, this is not as environmentally friendly as not having to recycle in the first place due to the cost and carbon required to collect and recycle.

“Firestone Eco Silage Covers are 1140 microns thick and come with a guarantee of 10 years but are expected to last well beyond this.”

Vaughan Podbielski

Some of the plastic products collected in NZ for recycling are actually sent offshore for recycling processing. Its often a

prohibitive for farmers to get the old silage covers to the clean standard required in order to be accepted for recycling.

The heavier liners also mean fewer tyres are required to hold the covers in place, with tyres only needed on the edges and overlaps.

“The flexibility and elasticity of the rubber membrane (comparable to a tractor tube) ensures it confirms exceptionally well to the silage pile as the silage settles over time.

“This creates an excellent seal, accelerating fermentation, which reduces spoilage, improves silage quality and reduces secondary fermentation,” Podbielski says.

The covers can be easily walked on and are resistant to pūkeko, rats and other animals. In the unlikely event the cover is damaged, it can be easily repaired with a patch. n

Re-usable silage covers need fewer tyres to hold the covers in place, can be easily walked on and are resistant to pūkeko, rats and other animals.

The domino effect

Samantha Tennent

Improving lameness issues leads to better body condition scores, which in turn enhances reproduction rates among dairy cows.

This allows for more selective culling, resulting in a significant reduction in bulk tank somatic cell count.

These positive outcomes stemming from a more proactive monitoring system have been incredibly valuable for contract milker Maia McRae.

“When we first got here there were a lot of lame cows,” Maia says.

“But we started using the WelFarm programme with Franklin Vets and they helped us work through the lameness problem, which improved so many other areas too.”

Maia contract milks 320 cows in Hikuwai in the Coromandel. She talks about how the different metrics are all linked and how it’s like getting all the puzzle pieces to fit.

“We’ve got all the information on hand and can look at it as a whole. The collaboration of everything together is what’s most valuable.”

She describes the WelFarm programme as a welfarefocused monitoring system, using data and information like any other farm monitoring tool. WelFarm is specifically designed for the wellbeing of the cows.

“Happy, healthy cows are productive cows, and the only other way we can monitor

them is by the vat but that’s pretty retrospective.

“With WelFarm you can use the information to correspond what is happening with how it impacts the vat too.”

She uses it throughout the season with the vet team coming out to do various scores on the herd and then she can use that information to move forward.

“It benchmarks regionally and nationally and we use it as our start and go from there. We can see where we are and where we need to move to.

“We can’t ask the cows what they need, you’ve got to try and use all the information you’ve got to figure out the best plan moving forward for them.”

Maia McRae

“And we can look back for planning.

“We can’t ask the cows what they need, you’ve got to try and use all the information you’ve got to figure out the best plan moving forward for them.”

She also acknowledges the significant impact it has had on their relationship with their veterinarian, noting that previously, they would only call the vet when something went wrong. Where now the vet is an integral part of their team, actively helping them to achieve their goals.

“The vets are a bank of knowledge and they are seeing everything first-hand and know what is and isn’t

Taking a more proactive approach to monitoring her cows has been incredibly valuable for contract milker Maia McRae.

working for different farmers, so it’s great to have them more involved with our herd and proactively rather than just when there’s an issue.

“There’s also the compliance side. We supply Fonterra and need an Animal Wellbeing Plan for our Co-operative Difference, and since we have that better relationship with our vet it helps build our plan.”

Maia suspects there will be more requirements in future around herd health monitoring and reporting so it feels like they are a step ahead already doing a lot of it as well as getting the benefits from doing it.

She thinks the biggest thing preventing other farmers from

signing up for WelFarm is the cost, but the way she looks at it is you have got to spend money to make money.

“To have all of this at your fingertips and have your vets on board, I think it’s a small cost for a big gain long term, it’s an investment.

“We have basically halved our number of mastitis cases and there’s a huge flow-on from that. The savings in antibiotics alone is massive, it easily pays for itself.” n

MORE:

Find out more at welfarm.co.nz

Who am I?

Samantha Tennent is general manager of WelFarm Ltd.

So far, researchers have seen fast growth rates among the calves on their dams and a lot of interaction between cows and calves – play, nursing and grooming from dams and ‘aunties’ in the herd.

Keeping Mum

By Samantha Tennent

A calf-rearing pilot study is looking at whether there are any differences in the growth and development of calves left on their dams compared with artificially raised calves.

Ateam of researchers at Massey University have begun a new study to explore alternative rearing methods in the hope of finding better ways to get heifers to reach their growth targets.

“A lot of heifers in New Zealand aren’t meeting their growth potential,” says lead researcher Dr Natalia Martín from the School of Agriculture and Environment.

“And they have great genetics, so we were wondering what would happen if we left calves with dairy cows while they’re being milked.”

The team will be looking at whether there are any differences in growth, development and behavior of the calves left on their dams compared with the traditional artificially raised calves.

It is a small study to gather information that will hopefully

lead to larger studies in future.

So far, they have seen fast growth rates among the calves on their dams and a lot of interaction between cows and calves.

There has been a lot of play, nursing and grooming from dams and “aunties” in the group of cows, potentially enhancing animal welfare.

“There are also changes in milk production when a dairy cow is suckling a calf as well as providing milk for human consumption,” Martin says.

“The farmer’s income will decrease while calves are being reared, but nursing cows are producing the same or even more milk than their counterparts who are not rearing a calf because their milk production bounces back after weaning their offspring.

“Some of the economic losses from less supplied milk are offset by not having the labour and feed costs

of having to artificially rear calves.”

The study will follow the calves until they become mothers themselves and start producing milk, to see if the rearing conditions have longer term or lifetime effects. They are keen to understand if there are differences in future reproductive performance as well as health and behaviour.

The study will explore the trade-offs that calf rearers must make between milk produced by the herd, milk used for calves, and the labour costs of different calf-rearing systems.

The comparison of the growth of calves after weaning will help to determine a production value for calves from different rearing systems.

In the future, they are also hoping to look at options for surplus calves born to dairy cows that could be destined for the beef supply chain. If dairy farmers could wean

calves at heavier weights or achieve the current target weights earlier, it may provide an advantage.

“It won’t suit all systems, as it requires different management of the animals and facilities.

“For example, moving cows with calves is not the same as moving cows on their own, and one- or two-wire fences don’t work well with calves.

“Plus there are logistical considerations regarding where to put the calves during milking.”

The three-year study is funded by Massey University and Beef + Lamb New Zealand with the results of the initial phase of study expected to be released in July 2024.

The team of researchers includes Martín, Dr Nick Sneddon, Dr Michaela Gibson, Dr Jimena Yapura and others from the School of Agriculture and Environment and the School of Veterinary Science. n

Another kind of udder

A new micro-credential course has been developed to answer a growing need among dairy goat and sheep milkers.

Anew Managing Milk Harvesting

“micro-credential” is extending skills and knowledge to improve milk quality and production for those working in the dairy goat and sheep milking industries.

The first cohort for the Level 4 Primary ITO Te Pūkenga course started recently in Waikato, and there are plans to extend this to other areas that have dairy goat and sheep milking operations.

Primary ITO Te Pūkenga dairy sector adviser Karen Dawson says the four-month micro-credential, adapted from the existing dairy farming Managing Milk Harvesting micro-credential course, comes after demand from employers in the emerging dairy goat and sheep sector.

“This is a growing industry, and they want to extend knowledge in the sector to enable farmers to produce consistently high milk quality and do so in an effective and safe environment.”

The micro-credential suits learners who have at least two years of experience working on farm and who are in a position of responsibility in a dairy goat or sheep milking shed.

Ideally, they would already have completed the other micro-credentials Assist with Milk Harvesting and Optimising Milk Quality, which are at Level 3 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework.

After attending a one-day workshop, learners complete the micro-credential through the Primary ITO Te Pūkenga online learning system Mahi Tahi, with the support of both their training adviser and onfarm verifier.

Training advisers guide learners on how to fit the learning in around their work and other commitments and are in regular contact with learners to support their progress. A learning support team and mentors are also available to learners who require additional support.

The learning covers understanding milk supplier standards, milk harvesting procedures and production targets, maintenance, and livestock health.

“They learn that all the actions they undertake on farm contribute towards making a quality milk product.”

products,” Dawson says.  Learners who complete the micro-credential gain an understanding of how milk production performance can vary due to seasonal conditions, animal health and nutrition. They learn how to optimise milk production despite these variables, and will be ready to train others in the milking shed.

Dawson says having a Level 4 micro-credential available is a positive development for the dairy goat and sheep milking industries.

Karen Dawson

“They learn that all the actions they undertake on farm contribute towards making a quality milk product, which can achieve a higher premium for the supplier and higher quality milk for production into other

“One example of the impact for farmers is that learners grasp the importance of having a standard operating procedure on their farm. That is important in an emerging industry and can have a powerful effect.”

Dawson says the microcredential development occurred through a collaboration between

Primary ITO Te Pūkenga and the industry.

“We are excited to make this available. It has come about with the support of the industry who have shared information and contributed to building the learning resources specifically for these learners.”

And for learners, the workshop and learning also provides the opportunity to collaborate and connect with others in the industry, she says.

“They can learn about what is working on one farm and compare that to what they might be doing. This information sharing helps them to problem solve, learn, and build connections and networks for their future pathway.” n

• This article first appeared on Primary ITO’s website and is re-printed with permission.

Dawid Marais completed the Level 4 Primary ITO Te Pūkenga course to help further his advancement in the sheep milking industry.

She wrote the book on it

Retired Taranaki vet Cathy Thompson’s book is full of cattle health information and advice for farmers of all sizes.

Three years on from the release of the Veterinary Book for Cattle Farmers, author Cathy Thompson says she still gets feedback from farmers telling her how useful the book is in their farm business.

It is a practical guide to help farmers deal with common issues seen in cattle farming.

The 365-page book features more than 800 colour photographs and has been sponsored and sold by Shoof Direct.

Thompson says often it’s the wives or mothers who have bought the book – only for their husband or partner to borrow it and keep it for themselves.

“A farmer wanted a book for herself and thought Father’s Day was a good excuse to buy a copy. Her husband hasn’t given it back yet,” Thompson says.

Shoof Direct has put a tongue-in-cheek warning in their website book description: “WARNING: This is the real world of veterinary procedures. Definitely not suitable material for children or townies. Not suitable for the coffee table, but essential for the real dairy or beef farmer to have on hand.”

A warning like that for a book guarantees that it’s going to be the real deal. The book is also more first aidoriented.

Thompson says the book’s advice can also help those who may lack the physical strength to complete certain tasks on the farm.

“It helps to be strong but brute strength isn’t needed if you use the tips in the book.”  The book is based on her

“WARNING: This is the real world of veterinary procedures. Definitely not suitable material for children or townies.”

previous book, the Practical Guide for Cattle Veterinarians, which she wrote after retiring as a veterinarian in Taranaki in 2017.

Although written for the vet industry, the book’s emphasis on practicality came

to be greatly appreciated by farmers. This inspired her to completely rewrite the book and create a book specifically for farmers.

Her book is not just a “howto”; its practical information is interspersed with stories from her own on-farm experiences.

“Farmers love stories. They know what you do on their farm, but don’t realise the things you get up to on other farms. Especially some of the strange things you end up doing like climbing down cliffs and wells, and being chased by cows,” she says.

“When I was working as a vet I’d sometimes be at a property for quite some time and you usually end up telling stories of the jobs and the

tips for those who may lack the physical strength to complete certain tasks on the farm, which has made it popular with women as well as men.

situations you’ve encountered. The farmers always seemed fascinated, so I thought they’d probably enjoy reading about some of the weird and wonderful experiences I’ve had on farms.

“Some farmers, hearing the stories, said I should write a book – so here it is.”

She feels that the stories help make the books relatable. Some vets told her that they went through her first vet book and read the stories first.

Thompson says she has enjoyed writing the books, which are aimed at helping farmers learn more about what they’re doing on the farm, how to do it, and look for things that need attention sooner rather than later. n

Cathy Thompson’s book features

Sky Tower to cowshed

Donald’s Farm aims to welcome as many as 5000 kids to the wonderful world of ag every year.

Every morning

dairy farmer Sam Waugh sees the Auckland Sky Tower through his window.

It’s a great reminder of one of his key life goals – giving young people from towns and cities insights into farm life.

The 31-year-old runs New Zealand Young Farmers’ Donald’s Farm in Whitford, about 30km southeast of Auckland. Last year, the farm hosted 900 primary and secondary school visitors, aiming to build up to 5000 a year.

“It’s awesome showing young people around the farm to learn how milk goes from grass to glass. We’re hoping to attract the next generation of farmers,” he says.

“Most of the students haven’t been on a dairy farm before so it’s great seeing their reaction when they see cows close up and check out the native tree planting we’re doing on the farm.”

Dairy farmer Donald Pearson donated Donald’s Farm to NZ Young Farmers because he wanted to support a strong future for Kiwis in agriculture.

“There are lots of career opportunities including farm assistants, managers, farm owners and rural professionals. There are also great opportunities at industry good organisations such as DairyNZ, which supports farmers with research, resources and advocacy,” Waugh says.

Donald’s Farm has 74 hectares and is home to 125 cows, including milking shorthorns – a rare breed on Kiwi dairy farms – and

light brown Jerseys. Plans for the farm include creating an educational centre for children to learn about food, farming and nature, adding to the farm’s role as an outdoor classroom.

“We’re keen to have students come back to the farm multiple times throughout their schooling to develop their knowledge of what it’s like on a farm,” he says.

“It’s awesome to see young people grow more confident around the animals and on the farm every time they visit.”

The visits teach children about the whole agriculture sector including dairy, sheep and beef farming, horticulture and forestry.

One of the programmes offered to schools involves people from more than 35 primary sector organisations showcasing the work that they do, helping to highlight the breadth of opportunities within the sector.

“This encourages students to realise there is so much

more to agriculture than they might have realised.”

Waugh is keen to inspire young people to get involved in environmental initiatives on farms and in their communities.

“We’re committed to a healthy habitat on Donald’s Farm so native wildlife including birds can thrive,” he says.

“With help from Trees for Survival, Conservation Volunteers NZ, corporates and members of the public, we’ve planted about 20,000 native trees, plants, flax, grasses and sedges. We’re aiming to plant at least 100,000 more over 7.5ha – about 10% of the farm.”

The Trees for Survival Charitable Trust works with schools and communities throughout New Zealand to grow and plant native trees alongside waterways, on farms and community spaces.

“We’re also working with Conservation Volunteers NZ to establish a native nursery on the farm, to grow 50,000

Donald’s Farm manager Sam Waugh shows home-school pupil Sky Ryan how to check the voltage on the electric fence.

native plants every year to plant alongside the Papakura Stream.”

Donald’s Farm is also involved with Nature’s Den, an organisation helping Auckland children explore and learn about nature, including on farms and forests. As part of this, students visit Donald’s Farm once a week to spend time in one of the farm’s native bush blocks and learn about the outdoors.

In November 2023, Sam and Nature’s Den founder Alex Sherie put on their gumboots and walked around Donald’s Farm for 24 hours to raise money and awareness for the charity I Am Hope. The charity provides counselling services for young Kiwis. Sam and Alex’s Gumboot Crusade raised $3,400.

Sam is excited for the future, including for his one-yearold son Albie, with so many people learning about nature and giving back to their communities. When everyone pulls together, the sky’s the limit, he says. n

An Owling success

The inaugural Agri-Skills Education day held at St Peter’s School’s Owl Farm was a big hit.

Eighty-eight students from six secondary schools from around Waikato took part in the inaugural Agri-Skills Education event on March 13.

Hosted by St Peter’s School, Cambridge, in collaboration with Owl Farm, the event gave students from around the region the opportunity to experience a day similar to the FMG Junior Young Farmers regional competition, which will be held on April 6 in Ngatea.

The day was to encourage school students to enter the regional competition and engage with the purpose of the Young Farmers Clubs and build relationships with schools and students.

It also gave the food and fibre industries the opportunity to work more closely with students and provided schools an opportunity to come together and appreciate the range of skills that are needed in the food and fibre sectors.

Students spent the morning in workshop modules learning a range of skills from Owl

Farm’s partners and local businesses.

Teams of people from each of these businesses took time to help provide interactive activities showcasing elements of food and fibre farming scenarios, challenges and management practices.

The skills in the modules were tested in an agri-race in the afternoon, modelled on the FMG Junior Young Farmers competition.

Under the direction of Hamilton City Young Farmers Club member Steve Law, members of Waikato/Bay of Plenty clubs took the lead in organising and adjudicating the agri-race.

This highly competitive event featured nine challenges per team, each requiring completion within a set timeframe.

The challenges encompassed a variety of skills, such as mastering permanent and temporary fencing, executing a termination knot, installing an end insulator and identifying fertilizer samples, native trees, crops, and grass seeds.

Participants also

demonstrated proficiency in mixing spray ratios, assembling a cluster of cups, and skillfully stacking hay bales onto a pallet using strops.

The energy was high among the students. Cheering was loud and judges felt the pressure.

Matamata College won the race based on time but, when the scores were meticulously calculated, they were pipped at the post by the St Peter’s Year 13 team, with Te Awamutu in third place.

St Peter’s School Head of Agriculture and Horticulture Rebecca McGuire said pathways into New Zealand’s

primary industries need to be encouraged, and highlighted to students as they are the next generation of food producers.

“Student and school support for this Agri-Skills Education Day demonstrate that there are youth who aspire to be part of our food and fibre industries. These students are problem solvers, innovators and have a natural passion to be involved.”

St Peter’s Agri Centre offers many courses for its students. These include Agriculture and Horticulture Science in years 9-13, and Agribusiness and practical primary industry courses in years 12-13. n

The winning St Peters Year 13 team at the inaugural Agri-Skills Education Day held at the school in Cambridge.

One last word …

This is the last edition of the Dairy Farmer.

AgriHQ has decided on a new approach to integrate Dairy Farmer’s strengths – stories about people in the dairy industry – into its flagship publication, Farmers Weekly.

This will be part of a new section in Farmers Weekly called Sector Focus, where each week a different sector in the primary industries will be looked at, in rotation.

These are horticulture, arable, sheep & beef and dairy.

Each sector focus will cover three main themes: people, policy and progress.

Why are we doing this?

By featuring a deep dive into each sector, every four weeks, on different weeks but in the same publication, we’re giving farmers across all sectors the opportunity to understand the challenges and opportunities in the other main sector.

Foundation for Arable Research chief executive Dr Alison Stewart summed it up well when she said, “This is an industry that needs help understanding how integrated our farm systems are in order for us to have better farming conversations.

“In fact, many of our farmers pay levies to more than one levy body, so it makes perfect sense to give every farmer in New Zealand the opportunity to have

a deeper understanding of the burning issues being discussed in the other groups.

“At the moment that information and those discussions are going on largely in silos. That’s part of the problem. We’re helping solve it.”

For the dairy focus, what it means is that the On Farm stories and Dairy Champion features, columns and research reporting will continue.

“This is an industry that needs help understanding how integrated our farm systems are in order for us to have better farming conversations.”

Dr Alison Stewart

Times are changing in the media industry. Unless you have been living on Jupiter for the past few months you would have seen the turmoil both in broadcasting and in print media. Rural media is not immune to this and we, like other publishers, have to adapt to this change.

Rural media in New Zealand will

continue to be a part of media landscape in the years to come.

AgriHQ was one of the last publishers, if not the last, to still be producing a high-quality, expensive format, sheetfedprinted, A4, glossy magazine, entirely funded by advertising and delivered individually free to everyone in the community of interest – in this case about 25,000 nationwide.

For me, I just want to say thank you.

Thank you to the farmers and industry people for your support and for being willing to put yourselves out there to be interviewed by us. It’s never an easy thing to do and your stories help celebrate what is great about the dairy industry –the people.

Thank you to the writers, contributors and the sales team for your work and help over the six months that I have occupied the editor’s seat. It’s been hugely appreciated.

And finally thank you to the two unsung stars of the Dairy Farmer: production manager Lana Kieselbach who puts the magazine together and sub editor Claire Robertson who makes sure the words we use make sense. n

Like us: farmersweekly.co.nz

Read us anywhere: farmersweekly.co.nz

DAIRY DIARY

April 2024

Ahuwhenua Trophy Field day

Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board is a finalist in the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition.

The judges highlighted that the trust has:

• A clear strategy that is built from their shared history and clearly understood across the organisation. This has been maintained while undertaking the complex process of finalising their Treaty claim and looking to establish their PSGE.

• Governance and farm staff, all from Whakatōhea, who have a clear understanding of each other’s roles and the roles of governance and management.

• Undertaken a range of major infrastructure activities on farm to reduce their environmental footprint and improve freshwater biodiversity outcomes including improving tuna abundance.

April 4

9:15am-2pm

Terere Marae, 50a Te Rere Pa Road, Otara 3197, Opotiki.

Contact: Clinton Hemana 027 1800 4505 Clinton.Hemana@dairynz.co.nz

High Profit Field Day

After several years managing and 50/50 sharemilking, in 2018 Ben Riley purchased the family farm milking 108 Jersey cows on 36 hectares of river silts.

Six years of Dairybase data has identified the business as having one of the very lowest operating expenses and highest operating profits in the Top of the South region over that period.

DairyNZ business specialist Mark Speight will be present on the day as it showcases Ben’s journey to farm ownership, including key lessons learnt and from whom, plus his farming and business principles and plans for the future.

April 4

11:00-1:00pm

660 Collingwood-Bainham Road, Rockville. SN 30059

Contact: Mark Shadwick 021 287 7057 mark.shadwick@dairynz.co.nz

Step change case study field day – Far North

Hamish and Ella Ferguson are working with DairyNZ to improve profitability while reducing their environmental footprint.

This field day will be a chance to see what is going well and what areas the business can improve to achieve their business and personal goals. Cont.

At the field day there will be discussions about how to improve reproduction results, drivers of profit in the business, environmental benchmarking.

April 24

Hamish and Ella Ferguson

10:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Contact: Stephen Ball 027 807 9686 stephen.ball@dairynz.co.nz

Canterbury Regional Benchmarking Meetings

Interested in hearing about the financial performance of Canterbury farms in the 2022/23 season and how you can apply this to your business?

This event presents the regional benchmarking data for 2022/23 to farmers.

The guest speaker, PeakAg consultant Robb Macbeth, will talk about the key messages, correlations and profit drivers drawn from the 2022-23 Canterbury regional benchmarking data.

We will be joined by a panel of farmers, who will discuss the on-farm systems that have led to their high performance, followed by a Q&A session.

There will also be an opportunity for one-on-one discussions with Robb and the DairyNZ regional team.

April 17

10:45 AM to 1:00 PM (Lincoln)

4:00 PM to 6:00 PM (Christchurch)

Venues for both events are sent out at registration.

Contact: Nicola Blowey 027 1800 4721 nicola.blowey@dairynz.co.nz

Dairy Woman’s Network 2024 conference

DWN’s 2024 conference will propel farmers towards new and exciting destinations in their personal and professional lives.

• Enhance your values: Discover the power within as we delve into refining and amplifying your core values. Unearth the essence of what truly matters to you.

• Elevate your skills: Engage in interactive sessions, and dynamic discussions where you will gain practical tools and strategies to enhance your life’s journey.

• Evolve your journey: Surround yourself with a diverse community, forge meaningful connections, and build a network of support that will elevate you to new heights.

May 2

Plymouth International, 220 Courtenay Street, New Plymouth.

Moving farm?

We’ll sort the power before the cows come home.

Our Agribusiness team are here to help this Moving Day with up to $300 credit per ICP*.

Fill out our quick form using the link or QR code below.

Scan or visit: meridian.co.nz/MoveFarm