Dairy Farmer June 2022 by AgriHQ

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Taking the reins A Canterbury farmer finds her feet in farming PLUS:

Happy cows ➜ Leaving calves with their mums ➜ Fixing foot problems ➜ Cream of the dairy industry

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CONTENTS NEWS 17 Milk Monitor Rising costs will be challenging

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40 Top farmers 2022 Dairy Industry Award winners

ON FARM STORY 8

Calves at foot Waikato farmer trials keeping calves with their mums

20 Taking on a dairy farm Canterbury farmers turning the farm around

FARMING CHAMPIONS 7

Guest column – Brendan O’Connell

28 Women in agribusiness – Sarah Martelli

FEATURES 54 Robotics and automation, dairy sheds and farm buildings

REGULAR FEATURES 32 Industry good - DairyNZ 38 Innovations 44 Animal health

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COVER STORY A Canterbury farmer finds her feet in farming

20 28

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GUEST COLUMN

The tech that binds us By Brendan O’Connell

The first Ireland-New Zealand agritech summit strengthened the ties between the two countries and it won’t be the last.

astoral farming is under pressure and in a race against the rate of improvements made in confinement systems around the world. The realities of this predicament were explored recently at the New Zealand-Ireland Agritech Summit hosted by AgriTechNZ and their partner AgTech Ireland. Speakers at the summit included farmers, technologists and researchers. An early theme emerged when it was noted that dairy systems based on corn have been able to double their efficiency every 20 years. It was clear that the competing challenges of productivity and environmental impacts are keeping communities awake in both Ireland and NZ. Rooted in grass and fed with rain, neither Ireland nor NZ has any closer likeness than the other. When it comes to grass-based rotational grazing it turns out that both countries have been doing the same things, alone. However, the rate of collaboration is growing fast as both countries are seeking to up their game and realise that their competition is coming from outside this natural friendship, not within it. This is not new, we have existing connections with farmers getting experience in each country, contractors travelling, researchers collaborating, companies trading – the summit amplified those links and builds on the context of technology applications and development. Existing collaborations include: The Pasture Summit attended by communities of researchers and farmers from both countries; The Livestock Research Group under the Global Research Alliance, which looks at greenhouse gas reduction opportunities and is jointly chaired by NZ and Ireland; and the Statement on Joint Cooperation, which sees Irish Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) officials, and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), meeting annually for

DAIRY FARMER

JUNE 2022

agriculture policy dialogues. The summit was launched by our Agriculture and Trade Minister Damien O’Connor, and the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD. The similarities between the countries goes beyond pasture-based farming systems. NZ and Ireland are both island nations with an export focus, cultures of innovation and deep affinity with the land. Each country is a natural market for the other’s technology and they also share an aspiration to have global impact. Chair of AgTech Ireland Padraig Hennessy commented: “There is already a history of connection across our primary sectors and, since we face many of the same challenges, there is real potential to accelerate our agritech businesses through collaboration. This summit brought together experts to discuss farmer perspectives, agritech investment and environmental challenges.” The summit was structured as three concurrent sessions covering Voice of the Farmer, Voice of Agritech business and Voice of the Planet. In the first session, dairy farmers from both countries shared their perspectives on lifting production while doing more with less. The role of technology in preparing farms for succession or attracting and keeping key staff was discussed. Panelists spoke through their experiences with heat detection, voluntary milking and virtual fencing. It was also noted that in NZ there’s been a belief that the cow must fit the system, but with constrained platforms the Irish beliefs have had to be based on the system fitting the cow. Both systems have also operated at different scales, so bringing insights together through technology use has great opportunities for learning from each other. The session on agritech business included the NZ farm accounting business Figured, which has developed

AgriTech New Zealand chief executive Brendan O’Connell says NZ and Ireland share many similarities in their farming systems and collaboration agreements will help strengthen the industries in both countries.

strong partnerships in Ireland, and Irish business Emydex, which has deployed automation systems in NZ meat plants. Investment opportunities were also discussed by leading representatives of Agritech and Agrifood investor Finistere Ventures. Key takeaways from this session included to get the right balance of skills and experience in a business, especially when the business stage is moving towards expansion in new markets. Finally, the Voice of the Planet session had industry experts sharing their perspectives on the tools and approaches to mitigating environmental impacts. New developments in animal diets and breeding were discussed, including the importance of early life rumen development and mixed species swards to reduce methane production. The role of farms as full ecosystem service providers which not only produce food, but also enable biodiversity and natural habitats, as well as carbon offsetting opportunities. This was the first NZ Ireland Agritech Summit but not the last. Both AgriTechNZ and AgTech Ireland will persist relations through key events like Irish National Ploughing in September and National Fieldays in November. n

Calves at foot Confidence in a business model sees a farmer try a different approach to dairying.

Waerenga farmer Chris Falconer milks 320 cows on his 255-hectare farm and is the first North Island supplier of Happy Cow Milk. Photos: Stephen Barker

By Gerald Piddock

A 12-month trial is under way on a Waikato farm in which calves stay with their mothers and a portion of the milk goes directly to customers.

North Waikato farmer who has always wanted to have a closer relationship with the people who consume his milk, is now doing just that. Chris Falconer who milks 320 cows on his Waeranga dairy farm can now have that level of engagement after becoming the first North Island supplier of startup milk company Happy Cow Milk (HCM). His 255ha farm is selling a small portion of his production under the HCM banner, while the bulk of his production goes to Synlait. It’s a 12-month trial that allows him to sell that part of production directly to consumers. He says that kind of engagement was not possible in a system where farmers’ milk was collected and sold to a mass market because consumers do not know where their milk has come from. “It’s homogenised – both literally and figuratively – so there’s no differentiation with any of the milks you buy. It’s literally all the same milk,” Falconer says. “There’s not enough differentiation to make a real meaningful difference in terms of your product. My milk goes into the same vessel as everyone else’s milk.” If his value proposition for his milk was higher than other suppliers in the district, then he would still be paid what those suppliers are paid, he says.

Falconer had been watching HCM founder Glen Herud’s early progress with interest. Those principles, which are based on keeping calves with the cows and milking once a day (OAD), resonated with him. About two years ago, he contacted Herud and started discussing the possibility of working with him. “Glen was interested in farmers who had control of their own system and roughly aligned with what he was interested in.” HCM’s original concept had Herud operating a mobile milking shed where he milked a small herd of cows, processing and distributing the milk himself. Herud says the system lasted for three years before folding because its processing and distribution system was too inefficient. The revamped version of HCM has resolved many of those issues, he says. “It was a combination of growing fast and not being able to sort out that inefficiency problem and we ran out of cashflow and we shut down,” he says. Followers of HCM were so upset by the shutdown that he managed to get $1 million in crowdfunding to relaunch. Falconer was one of those people who contributed to that funding. That cash allowed him to solve those issues.

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FARM FACTS • Farm owners: Chris and Sheila Falconer, Pukerua Farm • Location: Waerenga, North Waikato • Farm size: 255ha • Herd: 320 cows, crossbreed • Production 2021-22: 105,000kg MS • Production target 2022-23: 105,000kg MS

“Everything’s designed to be as efficient as possible. The setup that Chris’s got allows him to do with one person what it took us three people to do,” he says. The conversations between Herud and Falconer continued until Herud needed a trial farm to properly test the system,

Continued page 10

The Happy Cow principles are based on keeping calves with the mothers and milking once a day.

which Falconer agreed to for the next 12 months. Retaining his supply to Synlait allows him to manage risks around the seasonal fluctuations of milkflow. He says they have been very supportive of him supplying HCM. Once HCM becomes more established, he expects as much as 1000 litres would be sent to HCM customers. Any more than that would require careful management as he wants to be able to choose customers that are aligned with his values too. “We want to be selling milk to people who are respecters of what we do. That is also helpful when coming to a commercial arrangement because they value that,” he says. In order for a farmer to do that, he has to be able to offer a product with attributes people are willing to pay for. To that end, he is very open about how he produces milk. He milks his 320-cow herd OAD and starting in the new season, will be switching from split-calving to calving three times a year to maintain a

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steady year-round milk supply. He uses no chemical fertilisers, instead applying 200-250 tonnes of chicken manure annually to his paddocks. No supplementary feed such as palm kernel apart from homegrown baled grass silage and hay and a small amount of grain in the dairy shed, which is used to entice the cows to consume mineral dosages. There’s no cropping or blanket spraying using chemicals. It is as close to organic as it can be without the certification, he says. Falconer farmed organically in the UK for five of the nine years he spent in that country before returning to New Zealand and sharemilking. He and wife Sheila bought this farm eight years ago. One of the drivers to switch to OAD milking was that Sheila works full-time as a nurse in Hamilton and that system freed them up so she could complete her nursing degree while they raised their three children. “To be able to deliver the life that she wanted, the farm had to be able to deliver that as well,” he says. “There’s no point in setting up a farm system where it drives what everyone does.” He has slightly modified his milking shed to enable his milk line to bypass his vat and fill specially designed milk kegs that pasteurised the milk to fulfil HCM orders when required. MPI then

Chris Falconer is involved in a trial that involves supplying milk to Synlait and directly to consumers.

inspected the shed in late April to make sure it met food safety standards, given that he was now selling a food product direct from his farm. His first invoice arrived early May. Falconer says that was a special moment for himself and for Herud. There are lots of stories of startup businesses that sucked up investor money, but then failed to make a return. That invoice marked the beginning of the phase where HCM would start to earn revenue. The in-shed system for HCM has an inline tap connected to his milk line in his 40-aside herringbone shed, which allows him to divert milk to a mini processing hub within the shed. “It’s all self-contained. Once you fill the cans, you press a button and each of the cans has its own processing unit on top,” he says. A smaller vat used for overflow or colostrum was removed and in its place was a cabinet housing the shelves where the HCM kegs are stored. “Nothing changes except we have the Happy Cow tap at the dairy,” he says. He also tests the milk in the same manner a tanker operator does when it enters the cans. He says the milk has around 5.4% fat and 4.4% protein, which is slightly higher on both percentages than standard blue top milk. These cans resemble a beer keg with a stainless-steel water jacket on the outside of it and come in 60l and 180l sizes. It has an inlet and outlet pipe that heats

the water so pasteurisation takes place before pumping cold water in the jacket to cool the milk. The system is also connected to his internet, alerting him if there is an issue, such as a power failure. “It’s remarkably simple and easy to operate,” he says.

“We want to be selling milk to people who are respecters of what we do.” Chris Falconer

The can is then stored in a chiller in the shed until it is transported to the customer. A specially designed pump and tap is connected to the can to allow the customer to pour the milk as required. Falconer controls that relationship with customers rather than HCM, which is the processor. It receives a 17.5% royalty payment for the milk Falconer sells. Its revenue model is based on a portion of his sales. “There’s a clear distinction. We own the brand, we own the market and the customer relationship,” he says. His first customer is St Paul’s Collegiate in Hamilton, where he supplies milk for

Continued page 12

Chris Falconer is in the process of retiring a 50ha of the back corner of the farm, which will be regenerated into native bush. So far, 15,000 natives have been planted.

the school’s meals as often as required. The school uses about 200l a day, seven days a week, which is all of Falconer’s capacity as it stands. “The great thing about it is that it’s a soft launch because we don’t have an individual customer interface,” he says. The school’s timetable structure is well-signalled in advance, meaning he can easily plan when demand for the milk will be high. The school was also a good fit with Falconer’s values. It has an agribusiness school, had policies encouraging students to learn about farming and provided those students opportunities to learn about how milk was made. He will also look further afield for other customers including cafés and restaurants. The 60l cans are ideal for cafés, while the larger cans would be suitable for customers such as St Pauls. The capital outlay to get and install the machinery in the shed is minimal because he is a trial farmer. All of the hours he has put into the venture is viewed as in kind, however, there will be a cost to expand beyond the trial, he says. Falconer is transitioning his system to enable the calves to stay with their mothers starting in the new season. Before he embraces that system, he wants to ensure the business proposition is sound. “The proof has to be in the processing and the sale. We have to be able to prove the sales model before we go to that,” he says. “Some are being kept with their mums as a trial, but we are not going boots and all until the processing is settled because that would be putting the cart before the horse.”

Chris Falconer has set up his shed to bypass the main vat so milk is diverted to specially designed milk kegs that pasteurise the milk to fulfil HCM orders when required.

The one change he is making is modifying the gates in the holding yards next to the milking shed. The lower half of the gate will be changed so it can swing open to give the calves access if they choose. He got the idea from watching gauchos on a farm in South America who used a half-gate in a corral out in a paddock to allow calves access to their mothers while keeping the cow temporarily confined. “We did an experiment last year using half a dozen cows with calves and the experience was that if you try and make the calf do what you want it to do, you

get an upset calf and an upset cow,” he says. It should allow the cow to be safely milked while at the same time, letting the calf be present if it chooses to be without it being spooked. He will also create a space in the yards for the calves where they have access to food. Every calf is different and this system respects that. Some wanted to stay close to their mothers, others did not and having this gate should allow enough freedom for the calves to come and go as they please in the yards, he says. “We all know that animals have traits and personalities and we try to ram that

Areas of the farm are planted with natives, with another 60,000-70,000 planned.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

round peg into a square hole every single time. Let’s not do that and let them choose,” he says. “Within reason, I’m happy for them to do what they want to do.” He plans to split calving into three different periods in the new season, to reduce the load of calves at foot and to make managing calves around the shed easier. It will see a different part of the herd calve in six-week blocks on August 1, midNovember and late March – the latter of which has just completed. In the past, calving ran for nine weeks using a splitcalving system. The herd is a crossbred herd and he does not rear replacement cows, instead buying in new cows when required. He reduced it from 430 to 320 cows a few seasons ago. This has pushed up production on a per cow basis from 295-330kg MS, with the herd’s overall production at 105,000kg MS. Instead, he mates all of his cows to beef genetics. Mindful of some customers’ perceptions of AI, he tried using bulls only for two seasons, but found they did not mate all of the herd and created health and safety issues on the farm. Now around 85% of the herd are inseminated using Speckle Park and low birth EBV Hereford bulls for the remaining 15%, which are kept on the farm.

Continued page 14

Chris Falconer plans to split calving into three different periods in the new season to reduce the load of calves at foot and to make managing calves around the shed easier.

Most of the calves are weaned and sold 12-14 months into the store cattle market for beef finishers. The beef market really liked the Speckle Park calves, achieving top prices at every sale the calves are sent to. A small number are sold at 14 days old. The farm’s terrain has a mix of everything from flat areas, rolling hills to steeper country. It usually gets good pasture growth through winter, with the toughest periods being February and March, which is why the district is

sometimes called ‘Dry-renga’. He cuts grass silage in spring, producing around 500-600 bales, which are fed out from January usually to March. This season has been so dry it forced him to keep feeding out the bales right through into May. A small amount of in-shed feed is used as an inciter for the cows to consume mineral supplements. He is in the process of retiring 50ha of the back corner of the farm, which will be

regenerated into native bush. That process has started with the help of Waikato Regional Council. “We started planting when we got here, we’ve planted around 15,000 so far and this will add another 60,000-70,000,” he says. The farm has excellent effluent infrastructure with all-year-round storage capability, allowing for targeted irrigation onto paddocks for optimal use. “We’re never forced to spread. We tend to spread in November because that’s when you get the most uptake of nutrients,” he says. Falconer likes to see regulations in the rear-view mirror rather than getting in a cycle of having to adjust when they land. Regulations work so slowly that by the time that adjustment has been made, society has moved on, requiring a further adjustment to be made. “We invest for 10-20 years on the farm and you don’t want to invest just to get to the line only for the line to change in two to three years’ time because then you’re chasing it,” he says. As a result, he keeps a close eye, but does not obsess over his carbon and nitrogen footprints. The latter currently sits at around 14kg N/ha/year, which is similar to a sheep and beef farm. His carbon footprint is 7.2 carbon dioxide equivalents per kilogram of milksolids.

The farm’s terrain has a mix of everything from flat areas, rolling hills to steeper country. It usually gets good pasture growth through winter.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

He says he is more concerned he will end up subsidising other farmers under the He Waka Eke Noa climate change plan. “Farmers say there are a lot of regulations coming down the pipeline, but so many of them are linked. There’s a lot of crossover and I have never made a single decision for climate change on this farm. But I make decisions for soil, for water and for stocking rate,” he says. “What spits out at the end just happens to be good for climate change, but it never drives it. If it drove it, I’d plant the whole thing in pines.” For now, he is taking a steady as it goes approach to HCM as it gets bedded into the farm system. “Things will get refined and get better, volumes will build and we’ll have a brand that we can leverage for other things. We have veal that we can sell directly to restaurants and we’re looking at finishing a small number of beef animals to go out to restaurants as well,” he says. “And because we have our own label established for our milk and that’s going to be our overarching label for all

products selling directly off the farm.” Herud says they want to make sure everything is working as it should on Falconer’s farm before possibly taking on other farmers.

“Things will get refined and get better, volumes will build and we’ll have a brand that we can leverage for other things.” Chris Falconer While there are a handful of other farmers interested in NZ, much of the interest has come from overseas. “We have a farmer in California waiting, we have a farmer in Australia waiting and some in the Netherlands and Sweden,” he says. “We’ll raise some more capital later this year and then basically fulfilling all those farmers overseas and New Zealand who want it.” n

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MILK MONITOR

Challenging season ahead By Gerald Piddock

Each month the milk monitor delves into the dairy industry and gives us the low-down on the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between.

onterra’s new season forecast will be out by now and whatever the figure and the range is, thankfully there should be enough daylight between it and the figure needed for farmers to break even. Unless people have been living on the Moon, they’ll be well aware of the massive increase in costs that have occurred over the past several months. Fuel and fertiliser costs led the way on this, with one analyst saying it had pushed farmers operating expenses up by 13% for this season. Unfortunately, it’s likely going to get worse before it gets better because of the ongoing disruptions caused by covid and the war in Ukraine. Supplementary feed, particularly maize is going to cost around $5273 a hectare from sprayout to covering in the stack, according to Corzon Maize. If grown on-farm using a full fertiliser programme, it will cost 25ckg/dry matter and using effluent instead of chemical fertiliser, it would cost 22ckg/DM based on a 20 tonne a hectare yield. The cost to buy silage ranged from 40-48 cents, depending on the distance travelled. For maize grain, that cost could be around $370/t, including storage, drying and kibbling. It doesn’t look much better for other feeds. The current spot price for palm kernel is around $504/t and soya bean hull is $950/t. For summer crops like chicory it costs around $1500/ha to establish 12t of dry matter a hectare and $2000/ha for turnips at 12.5t DM/ha. What is really scary are the costs of grains. Milling wheat contracts for the new season will be sitting around $600$630 a tonne – up $200 from last season. My advice is if you like baking, start hoarding flour now, because prices are going to skyrocket in late 2022-2023. Imported grain from Australia won’t fare any better cost-wise as countries

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

compete for its supply as the impact of the lack of grain coming out of Russia and Ukraine start to impact. Drilling that all down to a real-life example, the cost to create a cheese scone alone has jumped 45% over the past two years, largely due to cost rises in flour, according to NZX. That’s just for cropping. From all accounts, fertiliser and fuel costs are likely to remain high for the new season. Nothing appears to have changed too much in terms of low global milk supply. Westpac senior agri-economist Nathan Penny said at a field day at Owl Farm in Cambridge in May that these cost increases and inflation will not go away. The dairy sector’s incomes are very strong and farmers still had buying power that other parts of the economy did not have. “I expect the pressure on costs for farmers to be really rough over the next season at least,” he says. It’s not all doom and gloom. Thankfully the market is still reasonably robust with most analysts predicting the slowdown in demand in China is temporary rather than permanent. He pointed out that the current commodity price cycle is different to the one that occurred in 2014. It is longer and prices are going to stay higher for longer because there is not the global milk volumes to fill the supply gaps. Like NZ, European dairy producers had their own production issues and their margins are nowhere near where they should be for them to crank up production. “There isn’t a big supply response coming this year like there was back in 2015. This is going to be a longer cycle and therefore expecting consecutive high milk prices. He predicted another $9/kg MS milk price for next year. That has not changed following the latest dip in the GDT, with

Westpac senior agri-economist Nathan Penny expects cost pressures to remain over the next season.

the bank sticking with its $9.25/kg MS milk price for the new season. “We still expect this dip in Chinese demand will prove temporary as covid restrictions will eventually ease. Indeed, in Shanghai, covid restrictions are starting to wind back and daily case numbers are falling,” he says. Likewise, ASB’s Rural Economic Note said it was still bullish on the price outlook. “Recent economic data out of China have been soft and global growth forecasts have been revised down, but both China and the global economy more broadly are still in expansionary territory, and global dairy demand is still set to rise,” ASB says. Global dairy supply is still tight, with no obvious signs of meeting demand. “Our base case is still that prices will recover some ground over the New Zealand winter. Beyond that, a lower Kiwi is giving a big lift to our forecast,” it said. It retained its $9.20/kg MS forecast, noting that a sharp increase in supply did not look imminent. Wherever the number lands, it’s going to be a challenging season ahead. n

NEWS

R&D funds welcomed By Sonita Chandar

ndustry bodies are pleased the Government has come to the party and committed $339 million for research and development to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, which will help New Zealand dairy farmers continue to perform at a high level. Research from DairyNZ has already shown NZ farmers have the lowest carbon footprint for milk production on farms in the world and this funding will help them retain that competitive advantage – to continue contributing for their families, the economy and local communities. “We already have a world-leading position with low carbon dairy and a world-first emissions reduction plan in He Waka Eke Noa. This new increased investment will help dairy improve our position even further,” DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle says. The Government funding includes the establishment of the new Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions. “Additional funding and the new centre will add to the significant investment already being made by the sector into R&D, so collectively it will accelerate the development of technology and tools to really drive further emissions reductions by the ag sector,” he says. “Because Kiwi dairy farmers are already

so efficient, there’s no silver bullet. We need new high-impact technologies and to accelerate their uptake to continue reducing our environmental footprint, while enabling farmers to run successful businesses.” Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard says they are pleased the Government has recognised solutions to agricultural emissions lie in new technologies and tools, and is stepping up investment on that front. “Nitrate and methane inhibitors, gene editing, animals bred for their lower methane ‘burping’ – they’re the kind of advances that will enable New Zealand’s farming sector to continue to perform for the nation’s economy while maintaining our world-leading meat and dairy carbon footprint,” Hoggard says He also said it will be important to understand how the proposed new Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions fits with existing bodies such as the NZ Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, the Pastoral GHG Research Consortium (PGGRC) and the international bodies New Zealand partners with, such as the Global Research Alliance. “New Zealand farmers have been funding millions of dollars into greenhouse gas mitigation tools since 2003 via the PGGRC,” he says. “It will also be crucial that our regulatory framework is worked on at the

same time as acceleration of research and commercialisation of these tools so that when they’re ready, we can get on with using them.” Industry bodies have been working with the Government to ensure they understand the scale of the climate change challenge affecting farmers, and the opportunity to remain worldleading sustainable dairy producers and have been advocating for more investment. “DairyNZ has advocated strongly for the Government to invest significantly more in supporting the sector to play its part to address climate change. So it’s great to see our work on behalf of farmers coming to fruition,” Mackle says. “We’ll continue to advocate for how this R&D funding is invested, as new solutions develop. This will bring the best outcomes for farmers and New Zealand into the future.” The dairy sector has also invested in research into solutions, including methane inhibitors and low methane feeds and is working together on ways to adapt overseas technology solutions to NZ farming systems. Hoggard says NZ must look at all options to reduce greenhouse gases. “If we are not open to all solutions, we risk losing our world-leading emissions footprint as other countries embrace the innovation we are ignoring,” he says. n

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Taking on a dairy farm An unexpected turn of events saw a farmer’s wife take the reins of a dairy farm.

Geraldine farmer Christine Hilton owns a 225-hectare farm milking 800 cows. She loves the colour pink and paints anything she can in her signature pink. Photos: Tony Benny

By Tony Benny

A newbie farmer and her contract milker are slowly but surely turning an underperforming farm into a promising one.

hen a South Canterbury farmer painted her machinery and fence posts bright pink, the neighbours couldn’t help but notice the standout colour amongst all the green. But what they are noticing even more now, is how quickly Christine Hilton and her contract milker Gavin Phimister are turning round the underperforming 225ha effective, 800-cow farm they run together. “A lot of people have said how good it looks now compared to last year. There’s huge potential,” Phimister says of the farm, which is on a busy road that many locals use as an alternative route between Geraldine and Timaru. Since she took over the farm two years ago, part of the settlement between her and her ex-husband when their 30-year marriage ended, Hilton has been on the steepest of learning curves and has endured quite a few setbacks. Although she was born and raised on a farm and married a farmer, she hadn’t actively farmed before, largely because she developed an allergy to cows and had a full life raising four children and helping in the community and local church. “It started off with just a bit of a skin rash and lots of sneezing but it was getting worse, affecting my breathing. I ended up passing out and was taken to hospital and I nearly died,” Hilton says. Doctors couldn’t help, she says, other than prescribing medication for her breathing and advising her to stay away from cows. “Before we had children, we decided I’d be a stay-at-home mum with them except for herd testing once the kids were older. I couldn’t even do that, so I was a pretty useless farmer’s wife in that part,” she laughs. “Looking back, I wish I’d listened a lot more to things, even what my dad could have taught me about farming, but I probably just wasn’t interested.” Although she hadn’t been involved in the farm management, she has kept herself busy. She’s a long-serving volunteer ambulance officer, runs a wedding venue and made headlines by building a log house in Twizel, which is

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

now a holiday rental. But taking on the dairy farm she and her former husband had wasn’t something she had anticipated. “Farms weren’t selling a couple of years ago so I said, ‘I’ll take it over. If I can build a log house, even though I had never used a chainsaw, I can take over a farm’, and I have and it’s going to go well, but it’s not been an easy year or so,” she says. The first season was difficult. “I honestly didn’t know anything about farming so I was very vulnerable. People were kind and helpful giving advice but that can also be a confusing contradiction. You can have an agent, advisor or farmer with almost the same skillset, but they’ll give you opposite advice, it’s just trying to filter it,” she says.

“It was just the most massive learning curve for me, having to face the banks and do budgets, understand consents, pastures, animal health, water and effluent. I was never part of any of that before and I had to make it work.” Christine Hilton

Among the neighbours who could see Hilton was struggling on the farm was her ex-husband who, not wanting her or the farm to fail, gave their mutual friend and former employee Gavin Phimister a ring to see if he could help. His first job as a 15-year-old was working on their farm and he’d stayed there nine years before leaving for new career opportunities. “We were contract milking at Mt Somers, a really good job with lovely people,” Phimister says. “But our goal was always to build a house down here on a block of land we bought nine years ago. We have family

FARM FACTS • Farm owner: Christine Hilton • Contract milkers: Gavin and Rebecca Phimister • Location: Geraldine, Canterbury • Farm size: 225ha effective • Cows: 800

in Geraldine and we wanted the kids to start high school in Geraldine.” But while it suited to move back to Geraldine, the new job came with plenty of challenges, mainly getting production back up to where it needs to be. “Gav took a hit coming here because he’ll make less money this year than he would have if he’d stayed where he was but it’s for the long-term, the end goal,” Hilton says, adding that the aim over coming years is for Phimister and his wife Rebecca to buy cows and move into a sharemilking role. “I was so happy when Gav agreed to come here,” she says. “He’s been fantastic, his wife’s lovely and so are his boys. They’ve built a house just across the river, so I hope they’re here for 20 years and production’s just going to get better and better.” Since Phimister arrived, the observant neighbours driving by have remarked the farm looks in better heart, something he attributes to management and attention to detail but he says the work is far from finished.

Continued page 22

“Going forward, the goals are to improve per cow performance and we’re going to be quite aggressive with regrassing for the next few years. It hasn’t been happening so it needs to happen to make it viable,” he says. He says the property isn’t the easiest farm in Canterbury to manage, as it’s long and thin and the heavy soils need to be carefully managed. “It’s not a nice square Canterbury farm, it’s tricky. It’s very heavy and can get very wet and there’s a real fine balance of over-watering. When it’s wet you can see what’s happened in the past– damage gets done,” Phimister says. One of the features that makes the farm tricky to manage is the irrigation system, which grew over the years as the farm was enlarged, extending what had originally been put in for cropping and drawing water from a variety of sources that have different consent conditions. But Phimister was working on the farm when much of it was put in so he understands its idiosyncrasies. “The irrigation is quite complicated with water consents and water takes and what water goes where, so I’m probably lucky I understand it already,” he says. “When I first started we were only milking 400 cows and had three irrigation guns and then as they bought more land and extended the irrigation system, I was part of that so I knew how it worked.”

The herd comes in for afternoon milking.

Contract milker Gavin Phimister and owner Christine Hilton are turning round the underperforming farm.

He has got his head around the system but when he explains how it works, it’s clearly complicated. “We’ve got 71 litres a second from Kakahu Water (irrigation scheme) and then we’ve also got three more shallow river takes all measured on the Temuka River and there’s A and B rights with those with different trigger levels for restrictions,” he says. “Some of them are measured on a 14-day average, so you can only use so much water over 14 days and some are

annual take and litres per second. You’ve really got to watch what’s going on with the water and then everything can be hooked up so that the scheme water can water pretty much the whole dairy farm and the river water can as well, so if we went on restrictions with river water, we can use the scheme water to water the farm.” Hilton is grateful for Phimister’s intimate knowledge of the system. “Gav spends a lot of time watching the weather and there are those days where it’s, ‘Do I irrigate or not, or actually is rain coming and it would ruin the farm?’, so he’s been really on to it,” she says. “Whereas another person would just think we need to irrigate and keep going, Gav would be watching the weather and realising how vulnerable the heavy soils are.” Phimister doesn’t much like to talk about production because it’s well below average for Canterbury and will take time to turn around as the farm is regrassed, unproductive cows are culled and he gets new systems in place. But early signs are promising, despite a season where most farms in Canterbury are down on production because lack of sunshine has meant pastures are lacking in metabolic energy (ME). “Even with the season we’ve had with the way things have gone, we’re milking less cows but ahead of last year’s production. It should be the other way, we should be behind it, so not blowing my own trumpet, that’s just management of the farm and it’s only going to get better,” he says.

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“I have full confidence that he has the best at heart for this farm and for both of us because if I’m making money, he’s making money, so he’s only going to want to make the best financial and operational decisions.” Christine Hilton He’s running a System 3 supplementing grass with palm kernel and silage. The palm kernel is fed in-shed, with added lime flour and causmag, a way to get minerals into the cows. The stock water system can’t be used for that because it’s connected to the irrigation network and if minerals were injected that way, they’d be wasted in the irrigation water.

Between 500gm and 3kg is fed to each cow and that’s supplemented by silage in shoulders of the season, some made on the milking platform but most bought in. The herd is wintered off-farm. The incalf heifers are fed kale on a nearby lease block and will come back to the farm on June 1 and be wintered there. Hilton says that while Phimister’s official title is contract milker, he goes far beyond that. “He’s involved in setting budgets, helps me get quotes for everything and he actually comes up with plans and then sells them to me – what development is needed, what cows to cull etc – whereas a lot of contract milkers don’t have that responsibility. And our long-term goal is that he’ll buy cows off me and we’ll sharemilk,” she says. “I’d like to say we complement each other,” he says. “We’ve got a trusting relationship, I’m not trying to pull the wool over her eyes.”

“I have full confidence that he has the best at heart for this farm and for both of us because if I’m making money, he’s making money, so he’s only going to want to make the best financial and operational decisions,” she adds. One thing Phimister has had to get used to is Hilton’s penchant for painting things bright pink, be it farm machinery or fence posts. She says she’s always loved pink and really started to embrace it when she became a volunteer ambulance officer. “My gloves are pink, my stethoscope and scissors are pink, I used to have my hair tied up with a pink flower and even at two o’clock in the morning when I go to a big car crash or something, I’ve still got my pink on and hopefully it brings cheer to somebody,” she says. Hilton’s had to pull back from that role as managing the farm business and her wedding venue as well, as keeping in

Continued page 24

When Christine needed a new tractor, several reps visited and when John Deere asked her what it would take to get the sale, she gave them a sample smear of her lipstick. They agreed to match her lipstick colour and give their normally green tractor a pink tinge.

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Contract milkers Rebecca and Gavin Phimister were contract milking at Mt Somers when they were asked to help and as they had always wanted to return to Geraldine to settle, they jumped at the chance.

touch with her four grown up children and six grandchildren has taken over, but intends to fit in more volunteering when she can in winter. Meanwhile on the farm, the pink paint is spreading and even her John Deere tractor has a pink tinge. “We needed a new tractor so all the different agents came knocking on the door and they were like, ‘What do you want in a tractor?’ I would say cupholders,” Hilton laughs. “I don’t know about tractors and sadly my dad passed away nearly four years ago. He was a great arable farmer near Pleasant Point and I missed him terribly because he could have helped me. “In the end one guy said to me, ‘So what do I need to do to get this sale?’, and I said, ‘Well I just need it pink’. He said we’ll put a pink sticker on it and I said, ‘No, it’s actually got to be pink’, and I got my lipstick and put it on a bit of paper and said, ‘It’s got to be that pink, it can’t be a yucky pink’, so off he went and John Deere agreed to get the right colour and paint the wheels pink’.” Other machinery, including irrigators

and a heavy roller are pink now too. “It doesn’t hurt anybody, it just puts a smile on people’s face and whether they think I’m weird or think it’s cool, I don’t actually care, it just spreads a smile.” Phimister’s getting used to the new colour scheme too. “It’s just different. It’s not what you expect to see on a dairy farm. I’m so used to it and I think, ‘What are they looking at?’ Oh, that’s right, I’m in a pink vehicle,” he says. “I remember our neighbour down the road rang me and said, ‘Can I borrow your heavy roller?’, and I said, ‘Help yourself’. When he turned up it had gone pink since he last saw it and he was like, ‘No thank you, I’m not dragging that down the road’, though he has borrowed it since.” Though she’d never really been an “onthe-tools” type, that changed for Hilton when she developed a love of log houses and decided she wanted one of her own. “I got the opportunity to go to Kaikoura after the earthquakes and I visited a couple who were living in a log house. When the earthquake happened about midnight they were asleep and their bed broke in half and every door, window, just everything, smashed and the logs just stayed absolutely solid and that just got

Despite never having used a chainsaw, Christine built herself a log house in Twizel Photo: Supplied

Continued page 26

Finding an engineer prepared to make the pink flamingo bike Christine wanted took some time, but when one said yes, it made her day and now he gets all the engineering work on the farm.

Over more than 30 years, Christine has created a 2.4ha garden and takes guests and family on rides on the “train”, a repurposed ride-on mower.

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me thinking. They said, ‘If we hadn’t been in this log house we’d have been dead’, and I believe them,” she said. She also met local fire chief Graeme Mould through emergency services work and he also owned Natural Log Homes. Hilton signed up for one of his annual courses so she could build a log house on a 1ha, Douglas fir-covered site she’d bought in Twizel. “They worked on my house which made it a bit cheaper for me. I had a lesson with my new pink-painted chainsaw the week before on a heap of fire wood and then I was into chain sawing and building for real. It was a good workout,” she says. The completed log house is now a holiday home, rented out through Airbnb. Hilton also has another on-farm business, a wedding venue in a 250 square metre marquee on the lawn near her home. Hiltonview was launched on something of a whim when she realised how expensive it would be to hire a marquee for one of her son’s wedding. “I love Alibaba (.com) in China – I’m really good with buy-now – and I was like, ‘It’s not too much difference to actually buying one in person from a shop,,’ so I got it,” she says. Then came the expense of trenching out power and water, building toilets and getting resource consent, but she soon had all the boxes ticked and a new business was born. “It’s beautiful, absolutely stunning and it’s a full business. I very much pick the couples I want here because it’s still

Christine with Rebecca and Gavin Phimister, and their sons Isaac and Blair with some of the quirky cut-outs she has dotted around her garden.

my private home. It’s an asset to South Canterbury and I also enjoy hosting funerals and memorials. I didn’t think that would be the direction it went in,” she says. Though Phimister’s not involved in the wedding business, he does have to bear it in mind when he’s making farm management decisions. “You can’t have cows in the next paddock when you’ve got a wedding going on and I’ve got a honeymoon suite, so you can’t have cows coming up the race in the morning when they’re meant

With artwork on the wall and cow cloth coverings, the smoko room is fancier than others. Christine and Rebecca Phimister go through the figures.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

to be having their honeymoon,” Hilton laughs. It’s early days in Phimister and Hilton’s partnership but step-by-step they are turning the farm around, building production and they’re confident they’ll soon be making a profit too. “I’m a different girl sitting at the table now than I was at the start of last season,” she says. “The first meeting with the bank was four bankers. I gave them coffee and I took them for a train ride round my garden which kinda doesn’t cut it, but ASB has been very good to me. “I have a lot of debt and they took a bit of a risk taking me on. It was just the most massive learning curve for me, having to face the banks and do budgets, understand consents, pastures, animal health, water and effluent. I was never part of any of that before and I had to make it work.” “I guess with the journey last year what I’ve learnt is what’s important to me. “Gav’s important to me, having healthy stock that are well-fed – it’s huge just seeing them all out there happy. If they’re happy, he’s happy and I’m happy. My whole outlook is completely different because even though I did own it, I’ve never felt like I feel now and when I’m driving down the road it is a completely different thing. “I’m excited about the future and have big goals, including a touch more pink.” n

DAIRY CHAMPION

A case for lameness By Gerald Piddock

A Taranaki vet has spent his career working on farms to solve the cow lameness puzzle but the puzzle is what makes it engrossing.

atching Neil Chesterton investigating lameness on a dairy farm is akin to watching the American cop TV show CSI. The semi-retired Taranaki-based veterinarian analyses lameness with the same zeal and meticulousness that his fictional counterparts on the small screen do when forensically examining a homicide crime scene. There’s no blood, weapons, shootouts or montages of actors in laboratories staring through microscopes, solving the case. Instead, there are poor track surfaces, dodgy slopes, poor stockmanship and badly designed yards that provide the evidence he needs to find the source of the problem. For Chesterton, lame cows are the victim and the farm’s race, yards and other infrastructure are his crime scene. Sometimes it’s not immediately apparent. It becomes a puzzle he is determined to solve, requiring multiple trips to a farm to find the answer. But solving this puzzle was what made it so engrossing, Chesterton says. “It is like being a detective. It’s

looking at the problem and getting the information,” he says. “It’s obsessive and when I find out, I often find something I never thought of before and it probably applies to another farm.” But once the source is found and the risks to the cows are identified, a solution can be presented to the farmer. The case then gets added to the knowledge he has accumulated over the nearly 50 years he has been in the veterinary industry and observing the risk factors of lameness in the industry. Passing on that knowledge to farmers is the most rewarding thing he can do, he says. He has become a familiar face in the dairy industry as the go-to expert on the causes and prevention of lameness in cows. He semi-retired four years ago and apart from training seminars for recent graduate vets and for farmers, he dedicates his free time to researching lameness on dairy farms around NZ. Lameness can become an expensive exercise for farmers if left unchecked. According to DairyNZ, the financial impact of lameness is estimated at $250

Neil Chesterton is a Taranaki veterinarian and New Zealand’s foremost expert on lameness in herds.

per lameness case. For an average dairy farm this equates to almost $15,000 a year (average herd size 419 cows, average incidence 14%).

Poor track surfaces, dodgy slopes, poor stockmanship and badly designed yards can often be the cause of lameness.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

Chesterton was born in South Africa and moved to Australia when he was 11, where he obtained his veterinary qualification, specialising in large animals. He moved to NZ in 1974 immediately after finishing his studies, working in Inglewood, Taranaki. His original plan was to only stay for three years to get some international experience, but he fell in love with the country, he says. While dairying was an established industry in Taranaki, farms were generally smaller and less intensive than they are today. He didn’t set out to become an expert in lameness when he moved here, but many of the callouts he received as a young vet came from farmers asking him to treat cows with foot problems. Luckily, his boss was experienced at recognising and treating lame cows and provided a good sounding board for him. He was eager to know more about why it was such an issue within the dairy industry.

Continued page 29

Neil Chesterton semi-retired four years ago and apart from training seminars for recent graduate vets and farmers, he dedicates his free time to researching lameness on dairy farms around NZ.

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Neil Chesterton was a guest speaker at a recent SMASH field day where he spoke on various aspects of lameness.

It was here that he discovered a problem. At the time, much of the scientific literature around lameness causes and prevention was based on indoor farming systems commonly seen in the Northern Hemisphere. Its findings and recommendations did not match what he was seeing out on farms every day and none of the research remotely matched anything to NZ outdoor farms. He began his own research, recording in detail every instance of lame cows he came across. “I started collecting data and writing down what I saw. I found that what I was seeing was different from other countries,” he says. “I discovered that in New Zealand we only had four main lameness lesions and they were dramatically different in occurrence to indoor systems.” “I kept collecting and I am still collecting – I never stopped.” In the early 1980s, he received funding for a larger study on lameness. He contacted all of the neighbouring vet practices in the region, asking them if he could observe each vet’s three farms with the least lameness and the three worst farms. “I had previously asked my own farmers what they thought caused lameness on their farm. And they had about 58 different risk factors,” he says. “I wrote down all the 58 possible risk factors and I went to 60 farms around Taranaki over three years. I spent a full day at each farm watching milkings and herding, scoring all the risk factors and writing down what I could see.”

The farmers, he says, were happy for him to come along and observe because they recognised the importance of the research. A summary of the research, which was published in The New Zealand Veterinary Journal in 1986 was the first one of its kind, where lameness and its risk factors were looked at from a NZ context. That was the beginning of his passion with diagnosing and advocating for preventing lameness.

“It’s obsessive and when I find out, I often find something I never thought of before and it probably applies to another farm.” Neil Chesterton The two most significant risk factors from those 58 reasons were the ways the cows were handled by the farmer and what the track that the cows had to walk on every day to be milked was made of. “Examining the track was fairly straightforward, but farmer stockmanship raised further questions around cow behaviour”, he says. So he went back to 10 of those farms on 15 occasions to watch the cows walk down the race and through the milking shed. “I wanted to know what was happening, so I painted each cow’s number on her side and rump. I then sat on a hill or up a tree and recorded their

number in order as they walked along the track towards the milking shed. Then after milking, I recorded their number as they came out,” he says. I repeated this at 15 different milkings at each of the 10 farms.” He noticed that the numbers were consistently in a different order coming into the yard and leaving the milking shed. In the yards, the cows had changed their arrival order to a milking order. It had to have something to do with their dominance behaviour, he thought. Determined to find answers, he looked at a subset of 20 cows within the herd of each of the farms and watched the animals fight in the yards. He did this three times through the season and the pecking order was consistent. What he learned was that cows needed more space to move around and change their positions in the yard. The farmers with lower levels of lameness were not putting pressure on the cows in the yards. “It all started to make sense,” he says. It was a watershed moment that made him realise the importance of cow behaviour when investigating farms for the reasons for lameness. “Those two studies were so interesting. It was stuff not written about before and it was happening right in front of our eyes. The farmers loved it because it made common sense. Unbeknown they had seen it, but hadn’t done anything about it,” he says. And now they could because the solutions were so simple, he says. As dairying took off in NZ and farms and herds got bigger and more intense,

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June 2022

the combination of larger-scale, handsoff farm owners and inexperienced staff meant lameness risks were often overlooked until it became an issue in the herd. On the plus side, farmer attitudes to lameness are improving as more vets pass on their knowledge to farmers, he says. “With herds getting bigger, there’s more pressure on the feet. If we could take the pressure off the feet, get the cow flow (to be) more gentle, it goes down,” he says. “If you put the pressure on, it goes up.” He points to a recent case on a farm that he visited. “They were doing everything well, except I was suspicious about the milking yard, so I got up at 4am for the third time to watch it in the dark when they couldn’t see me,” he says. “I could see the frustrations in the people: the cows didn’t want to come onto the shed quickly and they couldn’t resist giving them a push with the backing gate.” Good cow management and

stockmanship plays a huge role in reducing lameness risks regardless of the farm system. People often blamed feed intake, but Chesterton says there is little evidence to suggest it is a factor in NZ. “It’s the pressure on the foot that’s the main thing. Worry about feed if you have to, but first look at the distance walked, the pressure and the wearing of the foot. Those things are number one,” he says. Farmers could help themselves by accurately recording instances of lameness in the herd, which can be easily done using the DairyNZ healthy hoof app. This information made investigating the source of the lameness a lot more accurate, he says. Lameness in many ways was a deceptive term because it has so many definitions, he says. “Lameness is like sickness. It’s a meaningless word. It could mean that it’s dislocated its shoulder or it’s got a stone stuck in there. We need to know why she is lame,” he says. While attitudes have generally improved, he still comes across some really bad cases on farms where the farm

owners, for whatever reason, just don’t ask for help. “They’ll just say, ‘This farm is a lameness farm’. It’s a nightmare for a farmer, but it’s put in the ‘too hard’ basket. They’ll give them some penicillin and see how they go rather than get help,” he says. “It’s an animal welfare issue and there’s nothing more painful than lameness for the cow.” It will always be a risk on NZ farms because of the outdoor style of farming and because staff may shift from a lowrisk farm where they do not have to worry about lameness to a different farm where the risks are greater. “The ones that understand cow behaviour and get it right, they talk about it,” he says. For now, he says he will keep solving the lameness puzzle on farms and keep talking about it with groups of farmers. “It is great being semi-retired. I don’t have to worry about all the other problems that happen to cows. I’ll just keep looking at the feet and let the other vets worry about what happens higher up.” n

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DairyNZ’s new GoDairy, Go Now campaign is highlighting the benefits of working in dairy and the opportunities available to jobseekers.

Go dairying, go now Jane Muir DairyNZ solutions and development leader advisor

ith calving just around the corner, filling any gaps in your team is likely to be top of mind

right now. Unemployment is at a historical low and many sectors, including dairy, are finding it tough to get staff. Getting both Kiwis and international workers onto dairy farms in time for calving is a priority for us all. To help attract Kiwis, DairyNZ’s new GoDairy, Go Now campaign is highlighting the benefits of working in dairy and the opportunities available to jobseekers. It also points candidates to the latest sector vacancies. The campaign is helping raise the profile of the jobs available and it’s then up to farmers to ensure those are great jobs. In such a competitive job market it’s

important that your job ad is accurate and appealing. As people increasingly seek work-life balance, there’s a growing expectation that roles will offer good rosters and hours. Adding in factors like flexible milking, development opportunities and a competitive salary package will make roles more appealing and help you attract quality staff. Coming up with fresh ideas on how to improve your workplace – to both attract new staff and keep the ones you have – is a challenge. But I encourage you to explore what you could do to attract and keep good people. DairyNZ has a new webinar on recruitment and retention online that has some great tips from other farmers and a rural recruitment specialist. Visit www.dairynz.co.nz/ffseries Where farmers are struggling to fill a position locally, workers can come into New Zealand through the dairy border class exception. Sustained advocacy by DairyNZ led to the Government increasing the number of international dairy workers. For 2022, the number increased from 300 to 800. The minimum wage requirement for these international workers is $28. The process is much simpler than last

with DairyNZ year, as there are no isolation or MIQ requirements. There is also no cap on farm assistant numbers. With air travel opening up again, booking flights is becoming easier too. If you will need an international worker on board this spring, we recommend you apply now to allow time to work through immigration processes. If you have an on-farm dairy role available, list it at nzfarmsource.co.nz/jobs You can list a vacancy, even if you’re not a Fonterra supplier. The campaign we have underway now directs job applicants to farm positions advertised on Farm Source. If you’re having trouble filling a role, and want to apply to bring an international worker into NZ, the dairy class exception visa is a good option to consider. The visa is currently the only pathway to bring in international workers. n

To find out more and apply, visit www.dairynz.co.nz/border

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

WOMEN IN AGRIBUSINESS

Nurturing strong women By Cheyenne Nicholson

The diagnosis of a rare type of cancer has led a Waikato farmer to establishing a business to help others.

utting yourself out there on social media for the world to see can be daunting and comes with an abundance of challenges, but one Reporoa dairy farmer is doing just that to create an environment for rural women to work on their fitness and be connected. Sarah Martelli never set out to be a personal trainer, but it turns out it’s become her calling in life, as has a life on the land. Growing up a townie in Mt Maunganui, it took a chance meeting in a London pub with a Kiwi farmer to start her on her path to the land and eventually to starting her health and fitness business. “I was overseas on my OE and met my husband Mathew in London when we were 21 years old. We spent the next four years living in the UK and travelling around Europe before we came back, and I met his family and saw the farm for the first time,” Martelli says. Not quite ready to settle down into life on the family farm just yet, the couple did a stint in Melbourne. Mathew decided to do his building apprenticeship to qualify as a builder, while Sarah went into the travel industry working for Flight Centre. But after four more years of city life, the cows were calling and Mathew decided it was time for them to head back to New Zealand to work the family farm. After eight seasons on the family farm, they got the opportunity to enter into an equity partnership with his parents to purchase a small farm in Reporoa to begin the next chapter of their farming careers. “Mathew’s brother took over the family farm from us. His parents have always been very supportive of all the kids, so when it came to succession planning, the conversations were very open and honest from the beginning. We feel very grateful for everything they have done for our whole family,” she says. Their 141ha farm is home to 380 cows and is predominantly run by Mathew and two full-time staff, with Sarah on-

Waikato farmer Sarah Martelli was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called Choriocarcinoma and she has since set up a business called Strong Women.

call for the busier times of year. For the most part, her time is tied up in juggling kids’ activities, school and community involvement and her business, Strong Woman. Strong Woman was born out of both life challenges and her keen eye for a gap in the market. 2015 saw her embark on a battle with a rare type of cancer called Choriocarcinoma, which turned her life upside down. “In a nutshell, it was a horrid time and I wouldn’t wish chemotherapy on my worst enemy. It’s an ordeal that changed me forever, but I guess it was the catalyst behind Strong Woman and how my life is today,” she says.

During her journey, she went from fit and happy to barely able to walk to the letterbox. Wanting to take her life back into her own hands, once officially cancer-free in April 2016, she started on her health and fitness journey. She shared everything on Facebook in the hopes of helping and inspiring other women to get fit and healthy, the foundation and the why behind Strong Woman. Taking things a step further, she decided to go back and study to become a certified personal trainer so she could help other women with their journeys. “The thing with life is the days pass you by anyway. A lot of people are a bit

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

cautious of going back to study as adults and say ‘oh, but I’ll be such and such an age by the time I finish studying’. The way I see it, whether you do the study or not, you’ll still be that age in however many years. So if you’re working towards doing something you love, you have to go for it,” she says. She also noticed the gap in her local community of places for rural women to go if they wanted to work out. “Living rurally, especially with having kids, who has got the time to drive into town to go to a gym? It’s so hard to make the time when you’re pulled in so many directions. Farm life can also be quite isolating, so I wanted to create this community where women could feel supported, make friends and feel like they belong.” So Strong Woman found its niche, rural women. It started out as a local venture teaching fitness classes on the local school sports field. Over the past five years it has turned into an online members’ community that runs group fitness classes and personal training sessions.

“There are some big players in the world of online fitness now. For me, I’ve realised that I want to keep what I’m doing on the smaller side of things so it can be a more personal experience. Obviously I want my business to grow, but not too big that our members feel like just another number. Keeping the personal contact with ladies is really important to me,” she says. While she has the technical knowledge of personal training, she has had to enlist some help on other parts of the business. Not being very “techy”, initially her biggest challenge was getting a website set up. She enlisted the help of a friend’s sister, a website developer, to make her website and ensure it was done right the first time. “My biggest learning from this whole business journey is that if you don’t know how to do something, source someone who does and get it done properly,” she says. Having already garnered a good social media following, the marketing largely took care of itself, but it took some time for her to grow in confidence both in

herself and to hit the post button. “I look at my first video I posted compared to a recent one, and I can see the change in confidence. When I first started filming things, I had no clue what I was doing,” she says. “Camera angles and audio recordings were all so foreign. It’s so hard to film yourself working out and then chuck it on the internet. But over time, the more I did it, and the more I started to view myself as an expert in what I was doing, the easier it got.” Her audience and clients appreciate her down-to-earth nature and her ability to share the ups and downs that life throws at her. But she discovered quickly that if you’re going to exist in the digital world, you have to grow a thick skin. “There will always be critical people out there, and you have to figure out ways of dealing with that. For me, it’s just logging out sometimes and setting boundaries. Social media can consume you if you let it, and you have to live in your real life more than your digital one,” she says.

Continued page 36

Sarah Martelli helps out on the farm during busy times such as calving.

Like many new business owners, enlisting the help of a business mentor was highly recommended and something she wanted to do to really refine her niche and the direction she wanted to take the business. But like finding the right partner in life, finding the right business mentor can take some finding. “I initially found a mentor who I think I just didn’t relate with that well and

didn’t really have an understanding of the rural communities I work in. They wanted to take the business in one direction and I saw it going in another. While the relationship didn’t work, it did clarify things for me a bit, and I learnt that lesson that you shouldn’t take the first mentor that comes your way. You have to find someone you gel with,” she says. With the addition of her certificate in exercise nutrition, she has been able

to broaden her offerings to clients and help women be the healthiest version of themselves. “I love nutrition coaching because I spend time with these ladies, they trust me, and I really feel like I’m making a difference in their lives and their families’ lives. Our kids watch our every move, so they’re picking up on the healthy habits their mums are learning, so it has a really positive flow on effect,” she says. Looking back at the last five years, she says she wishes she could go back in time and tell her past self about the importance of setting boundaries and just how wedded to her diary she would become. As often happens with new business owners, she lived and breathed Strong Woman when she first started, working feverishly on every new idea, posting on social media and all the behind the scenes business things. “Life really is about balance, and in the early days I often let work consume me. I’m getting better though, I’ve established boundaries like putting my phone away at nighttime. Having downtime from devices is

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DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

important on many levels and it’s also about setting a good example for my kids,” she said. As a pro-planner, she schedules everything in her diary, even down to her ‘me time’. “You have to make ‘me time’, whatever that looks like, a priority. So treat it like a meeting or an appointment. I’m lucky with Strong Woman because it’s flexible, and I can make it fit around whatever else is happening in life.” During both her cancer and business journeys she has come to cherish and appreciate the amazing support of the rural community. As an active member of Dairy Women’s Network and Rural Women NZ, she’s made connections and friendships that have played a big part in her life. “Everyone knows someone who can help you out or give advice, and I really encourage other women starting businesses in the rural space to lean on that community. As rural women we are incredibly lucky to have such great support networks available to us,” she says. n

Sarah, husband Matthew and their children Charlie, Grace and Ruby farm at Reporoa, Waikato, milking 380 cows on 141 hectares.

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INNOVATION

Adding value through energy By Cheyenne Nicholson

The electric revolution could soon include farm machinery leading to greater savings for farmers.

ach year 52 million tonnes of carbon is produced by agricultural machinery. Our reliance on fossil fuels to grow and produce our food is significant and provides challenges both to the day-today running costs for food producers and greenhouse gas emissions. One New Zealand company is out to help change all that with the power of electricity. Loxley Innovations is a Christchurchbased company looking to create and produce electric tractors. Founder Duncan Aitken says that opportunities for electric tractors run beyond fuel savings. “It’s looking at things in the long-term view. What we are creating is an electric tractor that runs off and can produce electricity. Having that ability to generate electricity to then feed back to your house or farm infrastructure can improve the farm’s resilience.” The initial idea for the venture started on Aitken’s Christchurch lifestyle block. Needing to get on top of grass growth on the block, he invested in a rideon lawnmower but found the user experience lacking and the ongoing costs undesirable. “I used it a lot on-farm, but figured there had to be a better way of doing it. I had a look at electric alternatives, but there weren’t any that were cost-effective for me. So I converted an old ride-on lawnmower with a broken engine to battery electric,” he says. The conversion took a few months while Aitken navigated a full-time job and learned how to convert diesel to electric. “I hadn’t really had much experience with that sort of thing, but I thought ‘Oh I’ll just give it a crack’. I found it really interesting, and it came quite naturally. There are a lot of resources out there

Loxley Innovations founded by Duncan Aitken, is a Christchurch-based company looking to create and produce electric tractors. Duncan test drives an electric tractor. so you can teach yourself practically anything these days,” he says. The converted lawnmower provided a quieter ride and fewer maintenance costs. But with 10 acres to maintain, he quickly realised he needed something bigger. His search for an electric tractor began, but he was left wanting again. So naturally, he converted his own. He created a 48-volt system, which is one where the tractor can be used to support their home power usage and potentially feed into the PowerGrid when the prices are right. “One day the prices weren’t favourable to feed back into the grid, we weren’t getting enough solar power generated and I wanted to cook dinner. I was able to use the battery in the tractor to feed back into the house network to power the oven to cook dinner,” he says. Seven years after tinkering in his shed making his own electric tractor, Aitken

decided the conditions and landscape were finally right to turn his idea for electric tractors into something tangible. “Five years ago when I first wanted to start doing this, the landscape wasn’t quite right. Now with electric cars becoming increasingly popular, more will follow, like tractors. The designs and ideas we have for them aren’t the same as what I made in my shed, that was more proof of concept,” he says. The team are looking to build a tractor that is fully optimised for efficiency, doing away with as many of the complex transmission parts as possible in order to keep maintenance costs low and upfront costs viable. Loxley isn’t just about building a neat electric tractor, but looking at the bigger picture of energy use on-farm and the potential for optimisation for the whole farm system. Being able to cook dinner with his homebuilt converted tractor was

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

the aha moment that highlighted his idea meant a tractor could become even more useful. “A lot of tractors sit idle for many months of the year, so the idea that you could increase utilisation with electricity seems like a good fit. Being able to use it as essentially a big battery to power other parts of your operation,” he says. Aitken estimates that the total cost of ownership for electric tractors when you’re optimising it for other energy uses, will be around 52% less than diesel equivalents. Calculations as part of their market research suggest that they could reduce emissions from 25 tonnes a year per tractor (diesel) down to one tonne a year per tractor on New Zealand’s current grid mix of renewable and fossil energy. “Our idea is the culmination of where we are now technologically. The benefits that will come with mass production of electric vehicles will be there for larger vehicles, and we want to get ahead of that curve and be leading this change,” he says. While the increase in electricity has some worrying about the grid not being

able to support the increased power demands, this isn’t quite the case. “Electric vehicles aren’t the problem. They’re actually part of the solution to grid instability if we use them intelligently – that’s what we’re aiming to do,” he says.

“Having that ability to generate electricity to then feed back to your house or farm infrastructure can improve the farm’s resilience.” Duncan Aitken One of the big challenges facing electric agriculture machinery is finding the ideal market for their product. “We can’t come straight out and compete with 100-litre diesel tank tractors, so it’s finding that sweet spot to start with. We are focusing on the 60 horse power space targeting the likes of horticulture, high-value crops like

kiwifruit, vineyards and so on. We also see a place for them in wintering barns with the low noise and zero emissions improving livestock wellbeing,” he says. There is opportunity in the regenerative agriculture space as well, with both electric and regenerative agriculture focusing on the long-term resilience and sustainability of the land and business and of course, electric being a lowemission, low-impact option for working the land. Aitken and the Loxley team are one of the startups taking part in the threemonth Sprout 2022 Accelerator and he says that the support, guidance and networking he’s gained from the Accelerator has been invaluable in getting Loxley into the next steps of their venture. “There’s a lot of puzzle pieces that need to fall into place, including funding and building the team, but we are hoping prototypes aren’t too far away, at which stage we’ll begin the on-farm trials. We’d love to hear from farmers or landowners who would be interested in a 60hp electric tractor,” he says. n

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DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

The 2022 National Dairy Industry Award winners are the cream of the crop. Dairy Trainee of the Year Peter O’Connor, Share Farmer of the Year Will Green and Dairy Manager of the Year Jaspal Singh. All are from the Canterbury/North Otago region.

Winner takes it all By Sonita Chandar

This year’s New Zealand Dairy Industry Award winners are all go-getters who are on the road to success.

he 2022 Dairy Industry Share Farmer of the Year winner is still processing the big win but says he is humbled by it. History was made at this year’s awards after Canterbury/Otago achieved a clean sweep of all three major categories and the Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award, with national finalists from that region taking home the silverware. “It is a humbling experience. I really enjoyed the whole process of the awards

and winning has just been the cherry on the top,” Share Farmer of the Year winner Will Green says. “The fact that we all come from the same region is a credit to us all in Canterbury. We all put the work in and it was amazing to have that home support.” Originally from the UK, the 34-yearold is a 34% sharemilker on the 270ha Dairy Holdings Ltd Hinds property, milking 1060 cows. Green holds a Degree

in Agriculture from Harper Adams University and enjoys farming, as it gives him the opportunity to work outdoors and with livestock. “I have been here in New Zealand for eight years, away from friends and family so don’t have a network, but my partner Sally Eames has been a huge support through the whole process. So have the farm owners,” he says. He says meeting and spending time with other finalists has also helped him

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

build his network of colleagues and friends and he learned a lot from them. The process of entering right through to the presentation stages, judging and awards evening has been a fantastic way for him to network with others in the industry, as well as being able to benchmark the farm and himself against other finalists. “We started with doing a really good breakdown of the farm and looked at some areas where we were doing well and in others we identified weaknesses and what we could do to develop and improve on these,” he says.

“The fact that we all come from the same region is a credit to us all in Canterbury. We all put the work in and it was amazing to have that home support.” Will Green

“Sally has some practical farming experience but wasn’t too involved in the actual business side, so it was a great chance for her to become involved and learn that aspect of the business.” Green has tasted success in the NZDIA as the 2018 Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Manager of the Year and was the runner-up in the national title. Share Farmer head judge Guy Michaels, from DairyNZ, says Green impressed the judges with his contagious energy, accuracy and his constant business reviewing, looking for opportunities to learn. Green currently owns 90% of the herd

and within the year, aims to own the other 10%. “In three years, I hope to be debt-free or be in an equity position. The 5-10 year goal is to move into farm ownership of a 600-plus cow farm, wherever that may be. I really enjoy the Canterbury region but location is not a limiting factor,” he says. He has hopes to give back to the industry through whatever opportunities may come his way. “The awards open doors and give you lots of opportunities to go out and meet people and give talks on different things,” he says. “I would also love to be involved in any projects. I am passionate about agriculture, so I am happy to put my hand up to be involved and help out where I can.” The runners-up in the Share Farmer of the Year competition are Central Plateau farmers Todd and Renee Halliday, and Taranaki couple Murray and Rachel Perks placed third For the 2022 NZ Dairy Manager of the Year Jaspal Singh, his win means “success”. Singh joined the dairy industry in 2015 as a farm assistant in Mossburn and is now farm manager on Mark and Carmen Hurst’s 220ha, 800-cow property at Waimate. “Eight years ago, I came from India as an IT student and I faced a lot of challenges which I have gotten through. So yes, this win means success and is a reward for all my hard work,” Singh says. He says farming in NZ is vastly different to India where farms are not as big and not as advanced. “But I have a keen and positive attitude and a love for the cows. The dairy industry here offers a lot of opportunities and I am keen to progress,” he says.

Looking ahead, he will be stepping up to a variable order sharemilking position on the same farm for the 2023-24 season. He then hopes to move to a 50:50 position then farm ownership. Runner-up is Robyn Mare from West Coast/Top of the South and Hayden Purvis from Bay of Plenty placed third. The 2022 Dairy Trainee of the Year was awarded to Peter O’Connor who is described by the judges as a mature, capable person with extremely strong practical skills. O’Connor grew up on a family farm near Westport and says he never really put much thought into doing anything other than dairying. “I did, at one stage, think of doing engineering but decided sitting in an office behind a desk for eight hours a day wasn’t my thing,” O’Connor says. He is currently 2IC for contract milkers Steven and Rosie Ketter on the 242ha, 900-cow Mayfield property on Leighton and Michelle Pye’s farm. He will take on the management role for the Ketters in the coming season. He says he has learned a lot on the job. “I came into my job a bit too green for the position, so it was a steep learning curve. Steven was really great and helped me out. I just had to roll up my sleeves and get on with it,” he says. “I had the technical aspects from my university studies, but my practical skills were a bit lacking. “ O’Connor says he will be looking at some AG ITO papers to complete in the future to further his studies. “There is always lots to learn on the farm and about farming, which I really enjoy,” he says. Runner-up is Thomas Lundman from Bay of Plenty and Zoe Bryson placed third. n

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DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS

Leading change through innovation By Anne-Marie Case-Miller

raigmore Farming Services, Canterbury/North Otago were named the 2022 Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award winners during the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards and received the John Wilson Memorial Trophy. The prestigious award was introduced by NZDIA and Fonterra to recognise dairy farmers who demonstrate leadership in their approach to sustainability and who are respected by their fellow farmers and their community for their attitude and role in sustainable dairying. “It was a privilege to engage with all three finalists and the quality of the presentations was exceptional,” head judge Conall Buchanan says. Fellow judge Charlotte Rutherford from Fonterra, agrees. “The future of the industry feels in such good hands when you are able to spend time with people like our finalists,” Rutherford says. “It’s encouraging and motivating and you wish you could send them out around the country to speak to all farmers because we left the room energised by what they had to say.”

“Craigmore are leading change and using different innovations on different farms, to help create solutions that other farmers could then use.” While all the finalists were impressive, the winning entry represented by Stuart Taylor, GM Farming and Caroline Amyes, Agri Relationship Partner, stood out due to Craigmore’s focus on adapting individual farm systems to the land, resources and the people involved. “This is a strength that our industry will increasingly use in the years ahead,” the judges say.

2022 Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award winners Craigmore Farming Services were represented by Stuart Taylor and Caroline Amyes.

One of Craigmore’s philosophies is that there is no single perfect system. “Craigmore begins with the people that are going to be on the land and their motivations and goals for the land and animals,’ judge Melissa Slattery says. “People influence the system that the farms adopt because the passion and drive was linked to the people that were running the farms.” The judges were impressed at Craigmore’s philosophy of adapting the farm system on each one of their 22 farms to suit the environment and the people. The judges said Craigmore are

demonstrating and implementing new technology that’s proven to function in a way that is achievable and realistic for other farmers. “Craigmore are leading change and using different innovations on different farms, to help create solutions that other farmers could then use, including dung beetles, working on their significant natural areas, a composting barn, boluses and are trialling Halter on one of their farms,” the judges say. “Just like every farmer, Craigmore are on a journey and are continually seeking ways to grow and challenge themselves. n

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

IF YOU’RE FOCUSED ON FUTURE PERFORMANCE, YOU’RE IN GOOD COMPANY.

Each season, hard working farmers and rearers seek better ways of setting themselves up for a better, more productive year ahead. Here at NZAgbiz, we work with our customers to also think about next year, and the years after that. Greater efficiency and productivity in the future requires making the best decisions early. Start with quality. Start with research and proven results. Start with kiwi-owned and excellence in sustainability.

Start with the future in mind.

ANIMAL HEALTH

Genetics for animals’ wellbeing By Samantha Tennent

ith the lines starting to blur, there is a bit of confusion about why milk processors are asking questions about genetics. And why veterinarians are encouraged to have those discussions. But with 95% of our dairy production being exported, we are heavily reliant on what our markets think, want and need from us and there are opportunities beyond meeting compliance worth considering. Historically, breeding companies made the plans with the farmer and vets were at the practical end, at mating, calving and calf management. But there are increasing opportunities for vets to be involved in the bigger picture. Genetics does have an impact on the wellbeing of the animals, which is directly linked to veterinary work and also consumer and market perceptions.

Genetics is a tool that can be used to add value to herds through breeding choices such as heat tolerance or facial eczema resistance.

Market perception Some of our genetic choices lead to unfavourable perceptions, disbudding because our animals grow horns is one. We know why we need to do it and that it leads to better management in the long run, but that doesn’t take us away from the negatives of the procedure itself. Given that disbudding is an invasive procedure that causes tissue damage and costs our farmers time and money, there are certainly benefits for everyone by not having to disbud calves at all. But our current genepool in New Zealand for polled replacement bulls is limited. And regularly, polled bulls have lower breeding worth (BW) than many of the other bulls available. But we must be conscious of the market perception if farmers are choosing not to use polled bulls because they have a lower breeding worth, which translates into a lower production potential. While it isn’t expected that farmers will make a total shift, polled beef bulls are widely available and are a great choice for cows not being bred for replacements so one way to encourage less disbudding. Preparing for climate change Temperatures are regularly exceeding the thermal comfort zone for NZ dairy cattle, which is 4-20deg Celsius. While the levels of productivity impacts are still being determined, the comfort of our animals is clearly being impacted. Genetics is a tool that can be used to develop a more heat-tolerant herd; there are differences among breeds as well as the ‘slick’ gene, which shows cattle carrying it can have lower body temperatures and higher milk production compared to non-slick cattle. There is also preliminary evidence that slick cows can have improved reproductive performance. Although slick cows might not be the best choice for regions with cold winters,

herds in hot areas and/or on farms where other heat-mitigation tools are difficult to implement may benefit from the introduction of genetics that support greater thermal tolerance. Preventative health Genetics is a tool that can help improve herd health and this is a big area where vets can add a lot of value. Efficient herd management recognises the system as a whole and how everything is interconnected. Utilise your vet’s knowledge to highlight where there are opportunities to improve. If herds are facing particular health issues, these are areas vets can support you to consider incorporating various options in your herd improvement strategy. For example facial eczema resistance is a heritable trait and there are resistant bulls commercially available. And after mastitis, issues with lameness or locomotion represent the next largest health burden for dairy cattle. Even though heritability of mobility traits in cattle is thought to be low, there are variations in breed and animal susceptibility to lameness could still be used to increase mobility traits within herds. Calving difficulty is another trait to consider, with genetics supporting preventative health. By using easycalving bulls farmers can reduce costs, both financial and to animal welfare that come as a result of foetal oversize. There are plenty of opportunities for vets to support farmers for more than the practical side of mating and calving. Particularly helping people understand the impact their genetic decisions can have on animal wellbeing and if the vet knows what you are using and why, they can provide the best support across the season. n

Samantha Tennent is the general manager of WelFarm Ltd

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

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ANIMAL HEALTH

Having the upper hand By Samantha Tennent

Planning ahead in case of emergencies will help farmers navigate adverse events and ensure animal welfare is maintained.

n an emergency situation, we cannot afford to waste time on building rapport and trust. It pays to know who is in your community and how they can help before a situation arises. Recent research has highlighted how knowing and being connected to your community, as well as having sufficient plans in place, can make all the difference for rural people. “Farmers need to be prepared for events but they shouldn’t focus on past experiences as an indicator of how impactful it could be,” former national animal welfare emergency management coordinator Hayley Squance says. “We’re seeing farmers get caught because they’ve moved livestock to higher ground based on previous flood levels and they’ve lost stock because the flood events are a lot bigger than they used to be. “This is going to be the trend, we’re going to keep breaking records, so farmers need to be prepared for those sorts of impacts.” She explains how it helps to know who to give information to regarding the impacts of an event on individual farms and rural communities as it can increase the situational awareness for agencies coordinating the response. And

Hayley Squance says farmers need to plan ahead and prepare now for animal welfare so they are ready should an adverse event hit.

potentially help activate resources to support the response and recovery. “Farmers already have a lot of the connections that are helpful in emergency situations, but sometimes they don’t realise how important they can be or delay reaching out for assistance,” she says. “The Rural Support Trust is a big one, knowing who your representatives are. “And farmers have fantastic

relationships with their rural professionals who can be good advocates for farmers in responses.” Squance has been involved in the research looking at animal welfare emergency management and whether the framework in NZ is fit for its purpose. She is a veterinary technologist and a consultant for animal welfare in disasters. She developed and led the veterinary emergency response team to fill the

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clear gap NZ had. She has had multiple deployments as a first responder nationally and internationally for events such as floods, wildfires and earthquakes. Her PhD thesis was about enhancing multi-agency collaboration in animal welfare emergency management. “There is strong evidence that advanced planning, capacity and capability development has a costbenefit ratio of six to one,” she says. “And the ratio is only expected to grow as the frequency and impacts of extreme weather events increase, which is fueled by climate change.” Her research talks about how farmers have a general understanding of human and animal welfare interconnection and farmers are known to put the welfare of their animals before their own in emergencies. But the interdependence of human and animal welfare does not necessarily translate to the response they get from emergency management officials. This hinders their recovery, but the farmers who recover better have emergency response and recovery plans in place. “There’s a huge disconnect between

animal and people responses,” she says. “The management of animal welfare in emergencies remains largely disconnected from emergency management overall, which is predominantly because of professional silos and people failing to understand the importance of the human-animalenvironment interdependencies.” In her work, she has proposed a One Welfare framework where all stakeholders acknowledge the importance of the interdependencies and work to support it. There are several strategies that could overcome the challenges and optimise the outcomes for animal welfare emergency management. “We need to support agencies that are involved in the human-animal interface during an emergency to build interactions through every day work rather than waiting until a crisis when it is conducive to building trust and understanding.” She has recommended interprofessional education and training to increase the knowledge of roles and responsibilities during emergency

management. This would develop the skills and prepare teams to be ready to respond when they need to. Much like the forces who practice so they are ready when they need to be deployed for a response. “Implementing a One Welfare framework is transformational change, we need to engage committed and skilled change champions who represent all of the stakeholders and levels within organisations across all phases of implementation,” she says. “And we should harness the humananimal bond as it is a valuable conduit for communication and engagement with communities and significant stakeholders central to the One Welfare concept.” There are many opportunities across all sectors to build a better support framework to help rural communities during a response. But the key advice for the farm level is to know who is in your community and how they can help when a situation arises. Have a clear plan, covering all levels of scenarios and communicate and practice that plan with your family and team. n

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ANIMAL HEALTH

Fuelling a healthy herd By Chris Balemi

alcium and phosphorus are vital for maintaining optimal health in your dairy herd, particularly throughout winter. Although there are substantial amounts of calcium obtained from the diet and normally good bone storage levels, absorption levels are under tight hormonal control, hence uptake is very often affected by other minerals and vitamins. Vital for skeleton tissue, smooth muscle and nerve function, calcium also plays a significant role in gastrointestinal function and muscle strength. It is of utmost importance to ensure a cow’s calcium level remains adequate, particularly throughout pregnancy, calving and early lactation. Similarly, phosphorus plays an equally vital role in the health of your herd as it is the second-most required mineral in an animal’s diet. Phosphorus has a close relationship with calcium, assisting with key metabolic functions throughout the body. Dairy cows need phosphorus for nearly every vital function within their body, including metabolising fat, protein and carbohydrates; blood cell integrity; central nervous system

Providing sufficient nutrition with adequate amounts of phosphorus and calcium is important for your dairy herd.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

Cows should be fed calcium and phosphorus mixed with supplementary feed to ensure optimal herd health.

function; building and strengthening teeth and bones; and producing milk Phosphorus and calcium are essentially involved in every metabolic reaction within the body. These two minerals are required for production of milk, growth and development, as well as being important in ensuring effective and healthy mating and foetal development. Some of the first signs and symptoms of a deficiency in calcium, and/or phosphorus include poor conception rates; milk fever; lameness and/or stiff legs; a reduction in appetite/ growth; joints becoming enlarged; and weight loss. Serious phosphorus specific deficiency problems include low energy; loss of coordination (crawler cow); and hemolytic anaemia (blood cell breakdown). Providing sufficient nutrition with adequate amounts of phosphorus and calcium is important for your dairy

herd, especially to ensure they are wellequipped to handle higher phosphorus requirements during late gestation and early lactation. Phosphorus and calcium are tightly linked, therefore some thought should be given to maintain the correct ratio of these two elements. When fodder beet, as well as other high energy crops are being fed, correct calcium and phosphorus supplementation levels need to be carefully considered. Products like CalciPhos are typically used when grazing fodder beet in the autumn during late lactation and in spring during early lactation. This product will often be used alongside or instead of other phosphate products, based on the needs of your cows. n

Chris Balemi is the managing director of Agvance Nutrition Limited

FARMSTRONG

Achieving the right balance Jonathon Hoets is a farm manager at Kairoa Dairies Limited, which is part of the Rylib Group farming portfolio located in Mid Canterbury. He oversees a 790-cow operation with the help of three staff. He shares his insights about how the team lives well to farm well with Farmstrong.

ow long have you been farming and what do you enjoy about it? I have been farming for 13 years. Along with my six siblings, we were born into farming and after having a taste of city life through high school, most of us found ourselves back in the primary sector. I like the variety – you can do 10 different things in a day, looking after stock, mechanics, financials – it’s not just the same thing all day. What are the main challenges on-farm for you at the moment? It’s been a bit of a rough season here in Canterbury. We were caught up in the flood, but not as bad as other people. We didn’t lose fences or stock, but it

still made life very difficult for months. The worst thing about a flood is once the water has gone through, you’re still stuck with the aftermath. It’s a lot of work ensuring your cows remain healthy, but rewarding to see the positive results afterwards. Has your approach to dairy farming changed over the years? What’s changed most is my mindset. I used to just work my socks off, never ask for help and if I did the most hours of anyone, I’d pat myself on the back. All my friends on-farm were doing the same, missing weekends and not getting those breaks. I used to think ‘that’s just the way it is’. Now I have a different view of the

industry. I try to make sure everyone does consistent hours and spends time with family. My wife Stacey and our children really create a new view on what is important. What made you change? When I first started farming I had that sense of responsibility where you don’t want to let go of anything, in case something went wrong. But as my role grew I realised that other people do have those skill sets and if they don’t, it’s your job to train them. What are your go-tos to keep well? I try to exercise three days a week. Farming’s a physical job, but to stay on top of your game, you really need to do something that lifts your heart rate. I’ve got a treadmill in my garage to keep fit. I also get off-farm to play hockey. Keeping your mind fit is important. I started meditation for 10 minutes a day and aim to read for 20 minutes a day. How do you find time for these activities? The great thing about dairy farming is that you do have that flexibility and can find a couple of hours for other things. You have to prioritise what is important to you. Substitute watching TV for reading a book or phoning a mate.

Jonathan Hoets is the manager at Kairoa Dairies in Mid Canterbury. Jonathan with wife Stacey and their children.

What difference does getting off-farm make? Farms are great places, but it’s not healthy when your life just boils down to work. That’s why you need to sit down as a team, discuss these things and make a plan. After I play hockey, for example, we catch up for a drink. It’s good to mix in different circles and chat about things other than farming.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

What else do you do to keep well? I’ve been in the local volunteer fire brigade for nearly three years. It’s a really good way to give back to your local community and another good social outlet. It puts your challenges in perspective too. You’re often attending events that are the worst thing that’s happened in someone else’s life. How do you manage the pressures of running a business? Sometimes as farmers, we’re our own worst enemy. If something goes wrong on-farm, you tend to blame yourself. You can’t let your mind dwell on little setbacks. Remember your current perception is not your reality, it is just your current perception of reality at that moment. How about sleep? Do you wake up at night with the to-do list going round in your head? One thing I’ve learnt is to make sure I get eight hours of sleep a night. I always go to bed at the same time and try to be asleep by 9.30pm. Before I go to bed, I do a bit of a mental debrief and if there’s something pressing on my mind about work, I’ll make a note of it on my phone, so it gets it out of my head.

“As my role grew I realised that other people do have those skill sets and if they don’t, it’s your job to train them.”

What about if you’re feeling under the pump? I’ve got a couple of mates I can ring up and get things off my chest, if I need to. That’s an important part of keeping well too. It’s important to have a supportive network around you so you can have a bit of a debrief and move on.

Jonathan makes sure all staff including himself get plenty of time off to spend with friends and their families. How do you make sure everyone in the team keeps well? As a group, we’re trying to bring wellness to the forefront. At our weekly staff meetings, people’s wellbeing is on the agenda. We have a quick round up of how everyone’s going and organise the work schedule around kids sports etc. What else does your team do to keep well? Kairoa Dairies Limited is part of the Rylib Group which holds events throughout the year to bring all their farms together. We hold a welcome day at the start of June to welcome any new members to the group. We have something called an inter-farm challenge cup. Any of our six farms can challenge for the cup with a fun activity, whether it’s paintballing or go-karting. We also host a Christmas party for all our kids each year, hold one or two group dinners a year, as well as informal get-togethers during the week, where we might grab a pizza and come together.

What’s the benefit to the business of doing these things? You’ve got to invest in your staff because you are trusting them to deliver the results your farm needs. Wellbeing is a big part of that. It has to be at the forefront of what everyone is doing. How do you manage really busy days? I prioritise what’s important. The other day I had all these tasks to manage and I just took a step back and went, right I’ll do this one first, that one tomorrow and that one the next day. What’s your main message about keeping well on-farm? The most important thing is to make a mental contract with yourself that you’re going to look after yourself. It all starts there. I’m running a multi-million dollar business, I’ve got staff to manage, I’ve got a family, but I still play hockey and I’m in the local fire brigade. It’s all a work in progress, but I’m definitely getting better at achieving that balance. It’s only taken me 31 years to figure it out. n

Under the pump? For tips and ideas, visit farmstrong.co.nz

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

RESEARCH

A hyperspectral perspective

esearchers are eyeing up a promising new approach to tackling harmful bacteria on farms that could mean big savings in preventing food contamination and spoilage, especially in the face of climate change. AgResearch scientist Aswathi Soni and colleagues Mahmoud Al-Sarayreh, Gale Brightwell and Marlon M. Reis are developing technology that uses hyperspectral imaging to detect bacterial spores on farms, so they can be targeted and “cleaned” before spreading into the animal gut, water sources or farm equipment. Hyperspectral imaging is a method that collects and processes information from across a wide variety of bandwidths in the light spectrum. “Bacterial spores are a constant challenge to the food industry because they are everywhere, especially in soil,” Soni says.

“Once they enter the food, and this includes our dairy and meat, they are very hard to remove because they can survive adverse conditions such as wetness and dryness. A huge amount of money is lost due to the wastage costs because these spores can cause both food poisoning as well as spoilage.” Soni warned of a “ticking time bomb” as climate change is likely to mean warmer conditions in future, in which the bacteria will thrive. This added to the urgency to provide effective tools to address the issue. The proposed approach of AgResearch scientists to preventing these bacterial spores getting into the food was through use of a “hyperspectral spore detector”, which could be developed for farmers to use themselves or access through an on-farm service. “What we are looking to combine here is our understanding of the bacteria AgResearch scientist Aswathi Soni and colleagues are developing technology that uses hyperspectral imaging to detect bacterial spores on farms.

Aswathi Soni uses the hyperspectral imaging technology to collect and process information from across a wide variety of bandwidths in the light spectrum.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

through microbiology, with imaging technology. The spore detector would be able to detect the bacterial hotspots via a unique ‘fingerprint’, including where in the soil and in what quantity. This will make it a far simpler task to eliminate these spores at the source. Once these bacterial hotspots are identified, they can be rapidly ‘cleaned’ in a more targeted and efficient way, using less chemicals and saving money in the process,” she says. Having done the research and validated this detection method, Soni and colleagues are now seeking to test it in real-time farm environments. The expectation is that if further testing and research proves successful, and the necessary funding is secured, a product or service could be available in the next few years. “Ultimately what we want to achieve in this space is to contribute to a happy farmer, happy processor and happy consumer,” she says. n

ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

Working smart

marter use of dairy automation technology can help farmers improve their milking routine and reduce milking time for better production results while keeping their staff and animals happy. Waikato Milking Systems general manager sales and operations manager for Asia Pacific Grant Wisnewski says no one wants to stand around on a concrete pad milking cows for hours on end. “So more people are turning to technology to automate parts of their shed to cut down on milking time, but keep production levels high,” Wisnewski says. He says there has been strong demand for the company’s range of electronic cup removers this year, ECR-S and ECR Plus. “One of the main reasons is that we’ve

had a shortage of workers from overseas available for this season because of the covid-19 restrictions,” he says. “We’re seeing more farms install our electronic cup removers in new sheds or refitted into existing sheds to reduce labour at milking time.” He says healthy milk payouts from dairy companies had also prompted farms to look at Electronic Cup Removers to reduce labour units and increase efficiency. “Cup removers are the best option to get some immediate gains in terms of efficiency and productivity,” he says. “But I also think farm owners here are looking to keep their sharemilkers happy by upgrading or automating their sheds to make life easier at milking time.” The ECR-S had the ability to remove cups in two modes. It could be set to

detach if the milk flow drops below a certain level or at a certain point a rotary, usually near cups off. It used a precise, proprietary shut-off valve which accurately detects the end of milking to remove the cups. Wisnewski supported the Maximum Milking Time, or MaxT strategy, where cows were milked to a predetermined time based on their milk volume. It prevented cows from being overmilked, resulting in less time in the shed for staff, but without reducing production or udder health. The ECR-S with its fixed point take-off feature was an ideal tool to use for MaxT. In a rotary it removes the cups when the animals reach the cups-off point, preventing any cow going around twice and this is where the savings in time are made. “Not a lot of other basic cup removers

There has been strong demand for Waikato Milking Systems electronic cup removers (ECR) because of the labour shortage on farms.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

will offer that tech ability,” he says. The ECR Plus has the same detach features but also allowed the operator to add other milking automation technology when it suited, using a simple plug ‘n’ play feature. “If you’re into gathering a lot of cow data, you might want to add electronic milk meters which can be easily installed by simply plugging them into the system,” he says. Other automation options, which could plug in included SmartDTECT for monitoring teat health; SmartSPRAY, an automatic teat spray system; and Bail Displays to show milking data and alerts. “Electronic cup removers would be standard in a new build these days, but there are also a lot of sheds with old technology being upgraded with our new ECR units,” he says. “Our range of cup removers offer farmers a lot of choice in terms of solutions to help improve their dairy operations.” n

The User Display provides the operator with the exact status of each animal and includes any alerts that may have occurred.

The SmartD-TECT and Bail Marshall from Waikato Milking Systems are other automation options for farmers and could plug into an existing system.

“Cup removers are the best option to get some immediate gains in terms of efficiency and productivity.” Grant Wisnewski

DCS

Dairy Cooling Solutions Tradition meets Technology

ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

Taranaki farmer Andrew Pritchard is trialling the new GEA On-Platform Teat Sprayer on his 460-cow farm at Lepperton.

A rewarding trial By Ross Nolly

An almost-new shed came with their family farm purchase and now a Taranaki couple are trialling a new product for the shed.

uying your first dairy farm is a momentous occasion in any farmer’s life and for Andrew and Sarah Pritchard that happened this year when they bought the family farm. The Pritchards milk 460 cows in two herds in a 50:50 split of Jersey cows as one herd and KiwiCross as the other on their 190-hectare (155ha effective) dairy farm at Lepperton, Taranaki “We’d leased the property for eight years prior to purchasing it. It was a big step, but because we’d leased it for so long we knew what to do and what needed doing. We’re the sixth generation on the farm and feel that we’re this generation’s caretakers of it,” Pritchard says. And when they bought the farm it had an 18-month-old 50-bail GEA iFLOW rotary parlour with GEA plant. The old cowshed was a 47-year-old

36-bail rotary shed. The plant was still in good order, but the building had got to the stage where it wasn’t worth repairing. “Sarah’s parents were prepared to build a new cowshed knowing full well that they were selling the farm. It was their last big project on the farm and they did it for us,” he says. The shed was recently fitted with the new GEA on Platform Teat Sprayer units (iSPRAY4), which are the company’s next generation of automatic teat sprayers suited to rotary parlours. Pritchard is a qualified commercial builder whose first job was building cowsheds, so he had a very specific design in mind. The cowshed had to be designed for milking practicability. He didn’t want the underpass at “cups on”, so in their shed it’s situated by the vat. If servicing is required during milking the service people can come and go

without upsetting the cow flow. There is also more room at the “cups on” station. “Three to four years of planning went into the design before we decided to go ahead with it. There’s much more automation in the new shed and its overall efficiency and hygiene is far better. We’ve saved an hour a day milking throughout the season, which is a huge saving,” he says. When they built the shed they installed a two-nozzle teat spray system, but they were never entirely satisfied with its coverage or its leg spreading and hygiene aspects. It was also difficult to keep it clean. They decided to change to a fournozzle system and are the first New Zealand farm to trial it. They feel it has been an exceptionally good change. “We installed the GEA Intelliblend automatic teat spray mixer and GEA OnPlatform Teat Sprayer. The four-nozzle

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

system has more of a dish in the centre compared to the old two-nozzle system. So the cups naturally hang correctly, which makes cupping easier,” he says. Their previous cups wouldn’t hang correctly and would catch and twist the hose. It was also too high in the centre, which prevented the cups from moving freely. “The concentrate and spraying is reliably performed by the Intelliblend platform sprayer. The Intelliblend takes the concentrates from the drum, mixes them in the correct ratios and delivers it to the on-platform teat spraying,” he says. The system has warning level sensors that sound an alarm when 20 litres is remaining in the drum, giving ample warning to change the iodine or emollient. “Before changing to the four-nozzle system our somatic cell count (SCC) was sitting at 150,000. After changing, our SCC progressively improved until it settled at around 90,000 for the season. Our goal is to keep it under 100,000.” “This has led to a radical reduction in mastitis cases and drastically improved teat condition. I’d prefer to use a bit more

Three or four years of planning went into the design of the 50-bail GEA iFLOW rotary parlour with GEA plant, which was built in 2020 to replace an old herringbone.

teat spray and have less mastitis and better teat condition. The reduction of clinical mastitis has resulted in fewer vet bills which covers the cost of the extra teat spray tenfold,” he says. The improved teat condition and health and the low SCC also resulted in them using far less penicillin. “The more preventative care we can do to reduce those clinical cases is beneficial for us and the cows. We supply Fonterra who undertake strict testing of our milk quality and hygiene. We must ensure that our milk meets their strict standards

and is below the prescribed SCC level,” he says. The new cowshed is able to be operated by one person. The first person gets the first herd in and begins milking, while the second gets the second herd in and locks the first herd away “Our goal and aspiration for the farm is to keep it at a high standard,” he says. “The people who farmed here before us have done such an amazing job and it’s a privilege to be here. We hope that the next generation will enjoy the lifestyle and want to take it on.” n

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The GEA On-Platform Teat Sprayer is a four-nozzle system and has more of a dish in the centre so the cups naturally hang correctly, making cupping easier.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

At the spray of a drone By Ross Nolly

Drones are no longer just a toy but are being used across the agricultural industry to carry out and access hard to reach places.

arm technology continues to forge ahead in leaps and bounds and the use of drones in the agriculture sector is one example of how technology is being used in innovative ways. Warrick Funnell is someone who is at the forefront of drone use in that sector. Funnell is the founder, chief executive and chief pilot of Agdrone Ltd. He started the business in 2018 after seeing a niche where drones could undertake jobs that helicopters couldn’t perform. That sphere of business now makes up 100% of the company’s current workload. Many dairy farmers are using the company’s drones to spray their herd shelters to rid them of mould. If black mould isn’t removed the plastic quickly degrades and becomes brittle.

A herd shelter is designed to catch as much sunlight and warmth as possible. Black mould on the plastic limits the amount of available light and warmth. The shelter can be sprayed from a tractor using a spray gun, but the coverage is often incomplete. A drone can achieve complete coverage by flying over it compared to squirting spray 14-15 metres up onto it from a tractor. “We recently sprayed two herd homes that were both 28 x 123 metres and situated so close together that a tractor couldn’t drive between them. It only took us a couple of hours to spray them,” Funnell says. “We spray them twice, at right angles, because we don’t want to miss anything. After the first pass the moss or mould opens up. If the second spray is applied

The Gillett’s herd home before and after spraying.

Agdrone founder and chief pilot Warrick Funnell started the business in 2018 after he saw a niche where drones could undertake jobs that helicopters couldn’t do.

within 20 minutes you achieve better penetration and kill rate.” The drones are flown to each corner of the shelter and those coordinates are mapped into the drone. This allows the drone to spray it with 100% accuracy using GPS. Once the spraying is finished those tracks are downloaded, loaded into Google Earth and sent to the farmer. At the beginning of 2022 the company bought three new drones; a DJI T10 drone and two DJI T30 Agricultural Drones. The T10 has state-of-the-art systems and a similar operating system as the larger T30 drones. The T10 is ideal for smaller jobs and those with scattered vegetation. The T30 is an entirely new generation drone. It’s capable of spraying up to 5ha per hour on pasture weeds and up to 2ha per hour on woody weeds. “They’re very smart machines. Technology changes very fast and the

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

new drones made our old drone look like a Model T Ford,” he says. Donald and Jodie Gillett milk 620 Friesian cows on their 360 hectare (300 ha effective) dairy farm situated 30 kilometres from Whangarei. They have a 60 x 10 metre herd shelter and Donald had always sprayed it while standing on the tractor and using the gorse sprayer. “Palm kernel dust sticks to the clear plastic and encourages mould growth. The mould traps more dust and exacerbates the problem, especially on the southern side of the structure,” Gillett says. “We like to spray the herd home every year. If you don’t spray for two or three years you end up with a black roof. Herd homes are designed to let light in, and you need that light to help dry it out. We also had our 50-bail rotary cowshed sprayed too.” Gillett feels that one of the big advantages of using a drone is that it eliminates the potential safety risk of standing on the tractor to spray the herd home. “I feel that you could use a drone to spray a herd home when there’s stock inside it. The herd home must be empty when you spray it with a tractor.” he says. “The drone worked well and it was certainly a lot easier than doing it from the tractor. We also knew the exact amount and rate of chemicals that were used. It was pretty cool watching the drone at work.” The realisation that drones are able to precisely apply herbicide to weeds was recently demonstrated when Agdrone undertook 26 jobs in the Rangitikei region selectively spraying Old Man’s Beard in areas where helicopters would have also sprayed the surrounding vegetation.

AGDRONE RE BEFO

The use of drones in agricultural spraying is increasing and farmers are using it for a range of jobs, including spraying weeds on the farm.

“We’ve also worked on a smaller 38ha dairy farm spraying 6.7 ha of thistles. Thistles grow in clumps and we were able to precisely spray those thistles, not the pasture. Although we were dearer per hectare than a helicopter, when you compare the price of 6.7ha worth of

chemicals to 38ha, it still worked out to be a very competitive rate,” Funnell says. “When we started the business people tended to think that drones were toys. The drones we now use weigh 70kg when they take off and can carry 30 litres. They’re no longer a toy, they’re a tool.” n

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

Diversifying for growth By Ross Nolly

Diversifying the family farm and putting in infrastructure to support it is the name of the game for a Waikato farming family.

ecent global events have demonstrated just how fragile economies can be and business diversification is at the forefront of many farmers’ minds. Waikato farmer Ryan Wilson operates Wilson Sheep on a 180-hectare (165ha effective) cattle and sheep dairy farm at Matamata. It’s a family farm owned by Wilson’s parents Murray and Leeanne. He is the operations manager of the cows and sheep with his sister Amy’s help. She also rears the young stock and helps Leeanne in the office. The farm is split into a 110ha area for the dairy cow unit and a 55ha area for the dairy sheep unit. The farm milks 450 Jersey and crossbred cows, is 100% autumn calving and spring lambing. They used to do split calving, but have dropped spring calving this season. In their first season they milked 500 Southern Cross ewes and aim to milk 1200 in the upcoming season and 15001600 in the future. The ewes peak milk between 1.5-2 litres per day. The family had been looking for the “next thing” to grow their business for some time when Wilson heard a radio interview discussing sheep milk. He decided to delve further into the concept. He ran some numbers and liked

the results. Their bank agreed to back them and Maui Milk New Zealand agreed to take them on. The financial aspects of sheep milking have closely followed his initial expectations. “The day-to-day running and pasture management is slightly different, but overall it’s similar to cows. Animal health problems are different, but you have common problems like mastitis and lameness,” Wilson says. “To me, the major differences are that sheep are smaller, white and fluffy, and have smaller udders with two teats. I may be underselling the transition, but it’s been a good experience and we’d do it again.” The driver to begin milking sheep was so the farm wouldn’t have all of their dairying eggs in one basket. The family also operates a trucking and quarrying company, but they still wanted more diversity. It takes just over an hour to milk 650 sheep through a 72-bail GEA SR Internal – Small Ruminant Internal Rotary Parlour. The shed features a GEA DeMax 55 ACR, GEA iNTELWASH auto plant and vat wash and in-shed feeding. The iNTELWASH auto plant and vat wash system is installed in both milking

sheds to simplify the task when staff members swap sheds to relief milk. “The system means we only need to push ‘wash’, wait for it to stop, change the filter, press ‘wash’ again and walk away,” he says. The platform, cup removers and autowash were chosen for milking speed, prevention of over-milking and time saving. “The new bridge is one of the best features of the sheep milking shed, especially when training new ewes. The bridge has a third access which enables you to stand and walk the ewe up, guide it in and place its head into the headlock.” A 54 x 25 metre barn was built and set up in a similar manner to a goat shed to rear the calves and lambs. It’s a gable shed running east-west, with a concrete lane along the middle and pens running off each side. A solid wall runs along the south-eastern side and the north-western side is open. The pens on the walled-in side are for the young lambs and the open side is set up with fenced paddocks so the older lambs can venture outside. “There are nine bays on each side. One pen is concreted and it’s where we have our storage and we can do our

The new barn on the Wilson farm is set up in a similar manner to a goat shed to rear the calves and lambs.

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

Ryan Wilson in the 72-bail GEA SR Internal – Small Ruminant Internal Rotary Parlour that can milk 650 sheep in just over an hour.

cleaning and bottle preparation out of the weather,” he says. The lambs are raised in a similar manner to dairy calves. They’re left on the ewes for up to 48 hours. They’re then taken off the ewes and put into the rearing shed where they’re bottle fed until they learn to drink off the GEA Automatic Lamb Feeders. Wilson has ordered two Pyon Products Ltd Heatwave Milk Warmer feeders for next season. These feeders use heat exchange technology to heat milk on demand. This system is suitable for feeding lambs, calves and goats. “We bottle feed the lambs for the first day and then begin training them on the rail feeders. We continue bottle feeding them until they learn to drink. We try to get them onto the auto-feeder as fast as possible,” he says. Having two systems operating in the shed hasn’t proved difficult. “Once you’ve established a routine, it’s fine. Our newborn pens have autofeeders for them to drink from and it’s where we coach the new arrivals. You can easily tell which lambs are drinking from the auto-feeder because they’re always

DAIRY FARMER

June 2022

quite round, and can then go into the auto-feeder pen,” he says. “The triplets are difficult to teach because the ewe will feed two lambs and push the third away and they don’t learn to suckle. Any surplus gold colostrum with a brix test over 25 from our autumn calving cows is frozen in milk bottles and stored for our orphan lambs.”

“The day-to-day running and pasture management is slightly different, but overall it’s similar to cows.” Ryan Wilson Lambs are weaned when they reach 18-20kg and he is working on ways to cut down on bobby calves and the need to sell male lambs before they reach finishing weight. He feels that there is untapped value in both markets. They aim to earn enough income

from rearing and selling the male lambs to cover the rearing cost of their replacement ewe lambs. “Bobby calves are the biggest wastage and opportunity on our dairy farm. We have good Jersey bulls that can go into the service bull market and the dairy-beef calves can be reared to a killable weight, to try and extract extra value from each aspect of the business,” he says. They are aiming to take the matter into their own hands and rear all of their lambs and bull calves and send them to their own block to their finished size. This can’t be implemented on-farm as it would hinder milk production. “We need to find the right runoff that can run our bull beef, replacement ewes, replacement calves and wether lambs,” he says. “About 90% of the 55ha has now been fenced for sheep and our shepherd is fencing the rear of the dairy farm, so we can lengthen the spring rotation on the sheep farm for all the lambs. One thousand and two hundred ewes at a 170% lambing rate will give us around 2000 lambs and we want to raise them all.” n

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