Dairy Farmer March 2024

Kaitiaki of the land

Food production in couple’s DNA

PLUS

:

Perseverance pays off

➜ Positive outlook for year ahead

➜ Sorting good dairy bugs from the bad

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March 2024 | $14.55

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Editor

GERALD PIDDOCK 027 486 8346 gerald.piddock@agrihq.co.nz

Publisher

DEAN WILLIAMSON 027 323 9407 dean.williamson@agrihq.co.nz

Sub-editor

CLAIRE ROBERTSON claire.robertson@agrihq.co.nz 06 323 0769

Contributors

ROSS NOLLY 027 332 6867 ross_nolly@yahoo.co.nz

SAMANTHA TENNENT 021 217 3590 sommer.limited@gmail.com

22

16 NZX analysis

Bullish outlook as New Zealand heads towards the end of the milk production season with more strength than expected

CONTENTS NEWS ON FARM

18 Sequencing helps Fonterra sort good bugs from bad

20 While dairy product consumption is expected to grow, there are risks, European expert says.

21 New research on Chinese milk consumption

8 Haydn and Bex Langton explain the challenges and rewards of high altitude dairy farming in Taranaki

FARMING CHAMPIONS FEATURES

7 Guest column – Federated Farmers’ dairy chair Richard McIntyre

31 Breeding and genetics: ‘VikingRed genetics add value to South Otago farmer’s herd’

33 Effluent: Advice on the best way to use effluent sustainably and remain compliant

REGULAR FEATURES

22 Farmstrong

24 Road to dairy

26 Industry good – DairyNZ

29 Animal Health

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

ANNE BOSWELL 027 394 3904 anne@anneboswell.co.nz

Sales

ANDY WHITSON 027 626 2269

Sales & Marketing Manager. andy.whitson@agrihq.co.nz

ANDREW FRASER

Auckland & Northland 027 706 7877 andrew.fraser@agrihq.co.nz

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Waikato/BOP jody.anderson@agrihq.co.nz

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Lower North Island palak.arora@agrihq.co.nz

2624-0939

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National Livestock Manager livestock@agrihq.co.nz

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Production

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Production Manager lana.kieselbach@agrihq.co.nz

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Subscriptions subs@agrihq.co.nz

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An

Time to reflect

The big challenge for the new government is not going to be the unwinding of the regulations, but what it replaces them with.

Although last year was a challenging one for dairy farmers, with rising interest rates, high input costs, and a below break-even milk price, there is a real sense of optimism out there with the farmers I’m talking to that things are starting to improve.

That may be in part due to the change of government last year and a real commitment from the new coalition to resolve most of the regulatory pressures we’ve been feeling, but other headwinds seem to be lessening too.

Inflation is slowing, interest rates look to have peaked, and the milk price seems to be recovering well. I know a lot of farmers are really feeling the pain this season and that costs remain stubbornly high, but I’m hopeful next season is going to be a better one for all of us.

When I look back and reflect on the uncertainty of the past six years and the stress that implementation of new policy put on farming families, I can’t help but wonder what it was all for – or what was really achieved that will be enduring?

Many of those rules will now be repealed, unwound, or significantly amended because of an unwillingness from the previous government to work with the sector, take on feedback about the cost, speed, practicality and fairness, or to bring farmers on the journey.

That’s a bitter pill to swallow for a number of reasons. Firstly, because of the needless stress and pressure farming families across the country had to live with for such a prolonged period of time. Secondly, because nobody really had an issue with the direction of travel.

I’ve yet to meet a farmer who doesn’t want to see improved water quality, increased biodiversity, or reduced

emissions – we just need to be able to see an affordable and realistic roadmap to help get us there.

The big challenge for the new government is not going to be the unwinding of the previous government’s regulations, but rather, what it replaces them with. That’s a huge undertaking and farmers have high expectations that have been built up during the election campaign.

The reality is that it can’t all happen overnight and we’re going to need to be patient. If we rush the process we risk running into the same change fatigue we’ve had for the past six years or ending up with new rules that only last one term of government.

What we really need are rules that are fair, practical, affordable – but also enduring. That’s what’s going to give us certainty to make investments and restore farmer confidence.

While it’s promising that we now have a government with a favourable view of farming, and a lot more gumbootwearing farmers sitting inside our Parliament, we can’t simply sit back and expect them to solve our problems for us – we’re going to have to solve some of them for ourselves.

That’s going to require a lot of reflection and some hard conversations about where we want to go as a sector, how we work together as landowners, and how

we structure our farming leadership to get the best outcomes we can for rural communities.

As a member of Federated Farmers who also pays levies to both DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ, I do at times feel some frustration at the levels of duplication we have across the sector – particularly when it comes to advocacy or when the messages from the various organisations don’t align.

“If we rush the process we risk running into the same change fatigue we’ve had for the past six years.”

I’m a big supporter of our levy organisations and think they play a valuable role in the farming ecosystem, but I do have some serious questions about whether they’re getting too far away from their core roles of science, research and extension.

At a time when farmers need tools and solutions more than ever, our levy groups seem to be putting an increased focus on political advocacy and trying to be the “farmers voice”. That’s a real concern for me because that’s the role Federated Farmers has played for the past 125 years. n

Richard McIntyre Federated Farmers dairy chair

There is a sense of optimism among dairy farmers that things are starting to improve, says Richard McIntyre.

Altitude adjustment

A lot of rain and a lot of rainbows come with this part of Taranaki, where one couple face the challenges and rewards of high altitude farming.

Haydn and Bex Langton sitting on rocks in one of the farm’s rivers. The couple love exploring the farm’s waterways and native forest.

Photos: Ross Nolly

By Ross Nolly

In large and small ways, Haydn and Bex Langton have had to learn what it’s like to farm with an abundance of water.

Haydn and Bex Langton moved to a vastly different environment when they left their farm at Ōpunake in coastal Taranaki.

They said goodbye to a flat, 71 hectare, summer-droughtprone property to move to a hilly farm on the northern boundary of Te Papakura o Taranaki (Egmont National Park) near Kaitake, where the rain is measured in metres.

Their 280ha (187ha effective) West Coast Lease farm has around 50ha of mistshrouded native forest vistas. The call of the kiwi can be heard from their house.

Haydn, of Taranaki iwi Te Ātiawa, and Bex have been together for 18 years and have a blended family of six children aged 27, 26, 25, 24, 23 and 22.

Haydn’s father had been a teacher, but from quite a young age decided that he wanted to be his own boss, so he began farming. Haydn followed in his footsteps.

His father wanted his sons to first work off farm, so after leaving school Haydn worked for AA Insurance for a year, and for two years at BNZ before spending 12 months on his OE.

He then returned and worked on the family farm for 23 years, the first six or seven years as a lowerorder sharemilker, before purchasing the farm.

“Dad was a ‘sink or swim’ teacher. It was a case of ‘learn to farm the property and only come to me if you have any problems’,” says Haydn.

“‘Learn from your mistakes’ was his motto. After those first years sharemilking I was considering moving to another farm, but Dad suggested that I buy the property I was on instead.”

Bex grew up on her parents’ 160ha dairy farm on the Hauraki Plains.

“In my mid40s Bex and I decided that rather than just keep cruising, we should have a crack at a new challenge.” Haydn Langton

Bex left school to attend Auckland University, where she completed a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in

FARM FACTS

• Farm owners: West Coast Lease

• Lessees: Haydn and Bex Langton

• Staff: Two full-time staff

• Location: Northern boundary of Te Papakura o Taranaki (Egmont National Park, Taranaki)

• Farm size: 280ha (187ha effective) with around 50ha of native forest

• Cows: 420 Jersey-based A2/ A2 crossbred cows

• Production: 180,000 kg MS on average

chemistry and mathematics before going to Teacher’s College for a year. She has taught at Orewa College, Waihi College, Ōpunake High School and was the deputy principal at St Joseph’s Ōpunake.

Bex now has her own business working as an educational facilitator, and travels throughout the country.

She says she is a “silent partner” in the farm and Haydn and his staff do the day-to-day work, but she does own a pair of Redbands and has milked from time to time.

Haydn bought the Ōpunake farm around 20 years ago, milking 220 cows.

“I farmed beside my

brother on family farms that were both around 70ha each. But in my mid-40s Bex and I decided that rather than just keep cruising, we should have a crack at a new challenge.

“The climate was changing, and we were continually fighting droughts. I stumbled upon this farm, and I brought Bex to see it. I’m sure she thought ‘Where are you taking me?’”

The Kaitake farm is a West

Continued page 10

Supercharge your pasture

“When times are tough Haydn’s strategy is ‘Don’t tell Bex what he’s spending’.”

Bex Langton

Coast Lease property. The couple have been there since 2015 and see themselves as kaitiaki of the land. As such, they are striving to improve the farm and leave it in a much better environmental state.

The farm milks 420 cows with two full-time staff.

They farmed organically in Ōpunake and were progressing through the organic certification process. They have brought some of those principles to their current farm.

“Dad visited Ireland and saw just how much urea they were applying. He

immediately started using vermicast and chicken compost as fertiliser on the Ōpunake farm, and we continue to use it here.

“We haven’t used any phosphorus on the flats in the eight years we’ve been here.

“The soil tests have all been

Haydn and Bex Langton by the new wetlands with Te Papakura o Taranaki (Egmont National Park) in the background.

pretty good,” Haydn says. While the rainfall can be as high as 3.1 metres, it drains speedily to allow pasture to quickly recover.

Clover struggles to grow well, which Haydn puts down to the sheer volume of rain they receive, and that the ryegrass doesn’t have a

dormant period for the clover to come through.

During the milking season the flatter paddocks are used at night, because it’s too dangerous to use the hilly paddocks when they get the cows in for morning milking.

“This farm doesn’t have a deep rooting soil structure due to the high rainfall. The plants don’t need to hunt for water.

“On this property the timing of any fertiliser application is carefully managed as the steep terrain could result in runoff into our five rivers.”

It requires a different approach, he says.

“We’re doing mostly what we’ve always done but are modifying it to suit our environmental conditions and terrain. It’s a hilly and dangerous farm, especially during winter.

“So, for safety reasons we sometimes need to use a helicopter for the application of chemical-based fertilisers [DAP and urea].”

The best production year prior to them taking over the farm was 140,000kg milk solids, averaging around 125,000kg MS. Back then, the farm was milking 450 cows, and the young stock were grazed on farm.

The Langtons’ highest production is 193,000kg MS and in recent years they’ve averaged around 180,000kg MS.

Their best per-cow production was 460kg MS, but they usually average around 420kg MS in their very challenging environment. They also graze their young stock off farm.

“Because it’s so wet here, utilisation drops off overnight. We dial the in-shed feed up or down as required to fully feed the cows during those periods. I aim to fully feed them from the start of the season,” Haydn says.

“This also has herd health benefits, resulting in less downed cows. If it’s wet, we

One of the Langtons’ Murray Grey bulls

might not be able to get the tractor to an ill cow.”

Haydn has made some management changes, such as reducing the herd size, and this year he’s pushed calving back a week because he was needing to excessively feed out during the early part of calving.

He is aiming for a Jerseybased A2/A2 crossbred 450kg cow. His ideal cow is one that will reach 10 years old, get in calf every year, has good feet, sound udder, produce 420kg MS and is, in his words, “not afraid to hunt up the hills for its feed”.

Haydn is a firm believer in fully feeding the cows from early on to get them cycling. They use no intervention, only tail paint.

This year Haydn decided to start AI on November 4, a week later than usual. Seven Jersey bulls are also put in with the heifers on that date at the grazing property.

There are three weeks of AI

using a mixture of CRV and LIC bulls, before one week of Charolais AI used as a marker for when the dairy AI calves are finished. Six weeks of Murray Grey bulls are then used to tail the herd.

“I’ve always nominated my bulls to get the traits we need. I look for easy-calving bulls and have only had one vet callout to calve a cow in the last two seasons,” Haydn says.

“We usually have a 90-92% in-calf rate. If a well-fed cow with no health issues doesn’t cycle, why would you breed from it? Last year we tried sexed semen for the first and last time, but only had 30 heifer calves from 100 straws.”

Calving begins on August 4, and they usually keep 90 replacements. The calves are collected in the morning and again later in the day if bad weather is imminent. They’re housed in a newly built fivebay calf shed.

Continued page 12

Haydn and Bex in the farm’s 40-a-side herringbone shed.

“We’re kaitiaki of this environment, but we’re also kaitiaki of farming as a career choice. We’re passionate about dairying as an industry and want to help ensure its future.”

Bex Langton

Haydn feeds the calves once daily from day one on colostrum while it lasts, before switching to milk powder. They’re offered meal from two weeks old and are sent out for grazing on May 1.

The herd is vaccinated for rotavirus and salmonella prior to calving, which takes a lot of stress out of the busy spring period.

The farm is in three titles and the next infrastructure task is a water system upgrade. The current system uses smaller pipes than what Haydn is used to, as their Ōpunake farm was part of the pressurised Oaonui Water Supply.

It’s been a learning curve understanding the gravityfed system, which often loses water due to lack of volume.

The farm has a 40-a-side herringbone cowshed with

ACR, in-shed feeding, and a newly installed greenwash system for the yard. They recently built a separate AI race to comply with health and safety regulations.

Haydn installed a zigzag back rail and needed to strengthen much of the pipework the season after the in-shed feed system was installed.

The farm has had some issues with mastitis, with somatic cell counts hovering around 220,000-230,000. They now use dry-cow therapy on the entire herd and it has fallen to 150,000.

They run three dry mobs during winter and utilise a 120-day round and 1.5ha of pasture per day (0.5ha per mob).

In late spring a 21- to 22day round is used, and this is pushed out to 30 days in summer.

The farm operates at System 4, using an in-shed feeding mix of PKE, kibbled maize, Thailand-sourced tapioca, DDG and Forti-min + Monensin 40.

At the start of spring, 13 tonnes of meal is fed every five days.

Over the past few years they’ve needed to buy hay, purchasing 200 bales last

year. This season the farm has produced 220 bales of silage and 130 bales of hay on farm, and they purchased a further 166 bales of hay.

Over the past few seasons, the rain has become more widespread, rather than the typical short, sharp three-day weather events they were used to.

When the rain is spread out over a period of time it becomes difficult to grow and harvest crops.

“We can take big amounts of rain, because it’s all downhill here. If we get 150mm of rain, we can be back on the paddocks within a few days.

“In a hilly high rainfall area, you actually need a lot of rain because it drains so fast. During a severe weather event in February 2022 we had 300mm of rain in one day,” Haydn says.

The previous effluent system was to spray the pasture from the pond. It was a stressful operation, especially when it was raining. Another weather event took out the farm’s second freshwater pond.

Haydn was already considering upgrading the system when that event forced his hand.

A three-pond anaerobic/ aerobic system was built and 9m was taken off a hill to build the system.

There is a solar-powered aeration system in the second pond, and a third pond leads down to a wetland and gravel beds. A trickle system runs into the gravel bed and out

through the wetlands.

The farm has a 25ha effluent platform and a Cobra Travelling Rain Gun powered by a stationary diesel motor to irrigate from the top pond when the weather conditions allow.

Their next step, once the wetland system is established, is to monitor the amount and quality of the water running into the system, and what leaves it through the wetland into the river.

“The farm currently has a Taranaki Regional Council dual consent. We aim to make the exiting water quality the same as what enters the system,” Haydn says.

“There’ve been a few teething problems. Due to the greenwash system, the nutrient loading has been getting a bit high in the first pond. We need to manage this by removing solids from the first pond until the wetland is more established to cope with the extra nutrients.”

Haydn inspects the new plants around the farm’s wetlands.

The Langtons milk 420 cows in a very challenging farming environment.

Taps have been installed to regulate the flow to the wetland whenever needed. Irrigation to land takes place during summer or when conditions are suitable.

Soil moisture testing is important to ascertain when it’s appropriate to irrigate. They aim to establish how many days of the year they can safely irrigate to reduce any environmental impact.

The cowshed gutters have been renewed to divert rainfall so it can be used for the shed washdown. They use a greenwash flood system for the main yard.

The farm is part of the HADES (High Altitude Dairy Environment Solutions) group of farms. This is a Taranaki catchment group formed to assist dairy farmers in meeting the challenges of high altitude and high rainfall farming.

Bex says their current priority is finding costeffective solutions for effluent management.

“Our aim was to see if this system would work because there are 250 other Taranaki

farms in a similar situation that may benefit from what we’ve learnt.”

With the chance of a lower payout predicted for next season, farmers are looking at ways to cut costs.

“On this property the timing of any fertiliser application is carefully managed as the steep terrain could result in runoff into our five rivers.”

Haydn Langton

Last year Haydn fixed half of their production at $9.80/ kg MS, which proved to be a wise move. He’d listened to the news and read many news articles and it seemed like the prudent thing to do at the time.

But, “even though this was the right thing for our season,

in a true co-op everyone should be paid the same”, he says.

Over the past two years they’ve offset some of their farm income by harvesting 15ha of timber from their 30ha pine forestry.

They were wondering what they were going to do with the land after harvest, but the natural native plant regeneration has been phenomenal. The land was probably going to be planted into native bush anyway, but the natural regeneration made their decision an easy one.

“When times are tough Haydn’s strategy is ‘Don’t tell Bex what he’s spending’,” Bex jokes.

“But seriously, we don’t live a lavish lifestyle and the farm takes priority. We’ve tweaked a few things and postponed some infrastructure projects. We never cut down on cow feed.”

Says Haydn: “In general, I think farmers are much better at making adjustments during the tougher times and consequently are better at

riding out those storms.”

The farm is a partner farm of the Dairy Trust Taranaki Step Change programme designed to help dairy farmers achieve financial gains while making progress towards environmental goals and adapting to pending regulations.

Dairy Trust Taranaki has partnered with DairyNZ to run the programme to create change on Taranaki dairy farms with respect to increased profit, lower methane output and lower N surplus.

“We’re kaitiaki of this environment, but we’re also kaitiaki of farming as a career choice. We’re passionate about dairying as an industry and want to help ensure its future. If we can share what we learn with others, it’s a win for the industry too,” Bex says.

“Early on, we began considering retiring parts of the farm. We were interested in the carbon credit process, but currently as leaseholders we can’t claim carbon credits or offset any of our plantings,” Haydn says.

Haydn values Step Change’s support and is currently exploring further different scenarios for the farm. “I love asking the ‘what if’ questions. It forces you to be creative in your approach,” he says.

The couple haven’t had to do a great deal of riparian planting because the farm naturally regenerates without intervention.

“We don’t often stop and look at what we’ve done here. Haydn’s pretty humble about what he’s achieved. Holding open day events and listening to the visitors talk about what they’re seeing really drives home what we’ve managed to accomplish so far,” Bex says.

Haydn loves being outside and, through farming, has been his own boss since he was 23 years old. He doesn’t think he could be happy in any other career.

Haydn and Bex in the native forest on the farm.

“My

Te Papakura o Taranaki (Egmont National Park) is on the border of Haydn and Bex Langton’s farm.

Surprisingly strong finish

Cristina Alvarado

Cristina Alvarado is NZX’s commercial manager – data & insights

As New Zealand finally sees a proper summer after the terrible floods many regions experienced around the same time last year, there has been significant movement within the dairy industry through January and early February, not only in the country but globally.

Following the price increases seen through the December and first January Global Dairy Trade (GDT) events, results from auctions 348 and 349 (January 16 and February 6) showed continued uptick in prices as the volumes offered were lower than the equivalent events last year, and demand was sustained.

We see varied factors playing out in these events – a combination of uncertainty for global milk production as well as demand strengthening again in certain regions.

The expectation on how the United States’ and Europe’s milk production will perform this year, the ongoing issues shipments are facing (with the drought in the Panama Canal, and tensions around the Suez Canal), and regions within Asia and the Middle East increasing their demand, have played a significant role in this. We are still to see if this buying activity will continue in the coming auctions.

Regarding production, despite numerous countries within the European Union, the US and the United Kingdom continuing to report a year-on-year (YoY) drop in production through the end of 2023, New Zealand and Australia have seen an increase in the latest reported milksolids numbers.

While the 2023/24 season in NZ has seen a positive increase season to date (December 23) by 1.1%, and 12 months through December by 2.1% both on a milksolids basis, production still has not recovered to the levels seen prior to 2022/2023.

While Australia’s YoY milk production for December was up 2.2%, it was down 4.6% against a five-year average. For nearly six months, global milk production overall has seen a YoY decrease in comparison to 2022 and 2021.

The US’s YoY drop of -0.3% and Argentina’s -7.7% for December alongside a reported 2.4% YoY decline for the EU27 nations through November sustains the current uncertainty for global milk production.

The world continues to see delays in shipments that transit via the Panama Canal or would normally go via the Suez Canal/through the Red Sea.

The two-week delay resulting from shipments having to circumnavigate Africa to avoid the ongoing conflict around the Red Sea has affected delivery times and imposed significant costs.

The latest report on export numbers from NZ show a YoY decrease of 5.6% for December. However, the export volumes finished the full year up 4.8% against 2022. While export volumes were up for the full year, on a value basis exports were down 7.8%.

Key products such as WMP, SMP had a YoY increase in volume for December (0.6% and 2.7% respectively), with the overall drop being driven by AMF, butter and cheese (-24.4%, -16.8% and -16.9%), but again all up on the year to date (YTD) basis.

From the key exporters, only Australia

reported an increase of 9% YoY of November exports with 35,000 tonnes of product. EU28 exported 196,000t of product standing for a YoY drop of -14%, followed by the US (156,000t) with -11%, and Argentina (28,000t) -8% YoY decrease of product exported in November.

As NZ heads towards the end of the milk production season with more strength than many expected, the panorama is still quite uncertain for milk production for most of the other key players in the industry.

Ongoing weather, and economic/ political issues that various regions are facing gives us the impression that the coming months will keep seeing some challenges on the supply side.

Gradually recovering demand bodes positively for dairy product manufacturers in the short run. However, delays on global shipping and increases in derived costs continue to weigh on market behaviour.

The industry’s ability to adapt to changing market conditions, weather patterns, and global economic trends will be crucial in shaping its trajectory for the coming months in the dairy industry. n

MORE:

To know more about the NZX Dairy Team subscriptions and publications, go to their website https://www.nzx.com/products/ dairy-insight

There has been significant movement within the dairy industry over the past few months, both locally and globally.

Building the mauri in the soil

By Gerald Piddock

A project looking at whole farm systems and soil biology is underway on 10 farms in Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

Aproject is underway throughout Waikato and Bay of Plenty that aims to build pathways to revitalise the environment, from soil to society.

Called Rere ki Uta, Rere ki Tai, it looks at whole farm systems and soil biology. It is funded for two years by Our Land and Water National Science Challenge as part of the Revitalise Te Taiao research programme and is hosted by AgriSea.

The project is in its second year, with 10 farms throughout the two regions participating.

In December, one of those farms held a field day at Matt and Shay Rout’s Morrinsville farm, where its results to date were shared to farmers.

The Routs became involved in the project after Matt started seeking alternatives to fertiliser when nitrogen prices spiked during the covid-19 pandemic.

He started looking at

AgriSea’s products and purchased one of them to test on a paddock.

This coincided with AgriSea looking for test farms for Rere ki Uta, Rere ki Tai, which he agreed to.

Matt says the involvement with the project has opened the door to a whole different mindset, “like diversity in pastures and looking at things in different ways”.

Matt and Shay have planted one area out into seed including plantain, chicory, red and white clover, tall fescue and others.

They have also had soil samples taken for testing, including carbon level testing, to see if the process adds carbon into the soil. They sent a sample off just before Christmas to get a baseline reading.

AgriSea’s Nick Collins says the project also looks at mindset, minerals, microbes, multispecies and management, bringing them together to build resilience

financially and socially.

“Landscape function is not just about drought tolerance. It’s about flooding tolerance, it’s about wet tolerance as well,” he says.

Matt adds, “It’s about financial tolerance as well with the increasing volatility in milk prices.”

The project is in its second year, and Nick wants to extend it if funding can be found.

He measures soil health by visual soil assessments – his spade and his eyes are his best tools to do that.

The project seeks to build

pathways to revitalise the environment.

It also puts these practices outside the organic way of farming, which does have a stigma attached to it, he says.

Researchers from Lincoln University, Manaaki Whenua, AgResearch, specialist social science research consultants

Heather Collins Consulting, and farm consultants RECO, are part of on-farm teams that will assess the value of this approach in partnership with tangata whenua, farm advisers, and sector representatives. n

Matt Rout show farmers his mixed pasture crop on his Morrinsville farm, which is participating in the Rere ki Uta, Rere ki Tai project.

Sorting good bugs from bad

By Richard Rennie

Sequencing and an Irish partnership are helping Fonterra to pick through a milk culture treasure trove.

New Zealand is known for the unique flora and fauna that being an island nation brings, but Fonterra researchers at the Fonterra Research and Development Centre in Palmerston North are also finding evidence that uniqueness applies to the bugs lurking in this country’s raw milk.

Fonterra has tens of thousands of milk cultures from almost 100 years of dairy processing stored in its extensive “library” and is just starting to better understand the potential they may hold for future innovations.

Shalome Bassett, Fonterra’s head of scientific affairs in the Palmerston North innovation centre, says she and her team are increasingly excited by what genomic sequencing technology is starting to reveal about their milk culture treasure trove.

She says genomic sequencing tech has come forward in leaps and bounds over the past decade.

Fonterra’s Research and

Development lab can unravel a culture’s DNA in a few days, presenting researchers with a genetic blueprint identifying marker genes for aspects including flavour, colour, and appearance.

“Fonterra is also one of the few dairy companies in the world to have this sort of capacity in-house,” Bassett says.

With almost 40,000 cultures in storage, the depth of cultures to screen is both daunting, and full of potential.

Fonterra has recently forged a partnership with the world-leading Irish research centre APC Microbiome, and established the Fonterra Microbiome Research Centre co-located with the APC Microbiome at University College Cork, focusing on the human microbiome.

A key focus is to identify and substantiate health benefits of the probiotic cultures Fonterra has isolated, aiming to launch several new strains within the next decade.

The partnership involves the skills of Ireland-based bioinformaticians, scientists

capable of understanding the mechanics of genomic sequencing and protein structure within large data sets.

“They are looking at the ‘uniqueness’ of Kiwi cultures that we are examining, and with that may come the ability to patent that strain as our own.”

Fonterra has two commercially patented probiotic cultures already utilised in probiotic supplements.

LactoB HN001 is marketed as an ingredient that helps support immunity and health in mothers and young children.

BifidoB HN019 is focused on improved immunity and digestive health by reducing gut discomfort and addressing the symptoms of constipation.

The products were initially “gut” focused, but a greater understanding of the braingut axis is revealing how a healthier gut plays a big part in a healthy brain.

Fonterra’s head of scientific affairs Shalome Bassett says there are some exciting opportunities for Fonterra to identify and market unique probiotic cultures extracted from the co-op’s vast library of milk cultures.

drives” that give researchers the unenviable task of picking through used disposable nappies for isolatable cultures.

“We are also using the genomic sequencing data to link unique sequencing to unique health benefits. Some strains are now going into human health studies.”

Genomic sequencing is also proving an effective way to assess the safety of identified cultures, to ensure that they are not carriers for antibiotic resistance. n

She says researchers are always looking for new strains. This can even include “nappy

Gain knowledge and practical skills

Lameness is now amongst the top three health issues on-farm and it is costing New Zealand dairy farmers millions of dollars every year.

Course Information:

ASHBURTON: 6 - 10 May 2024 and

2 - 6 December 2024

BOOK NOW: $2,750 + gst per person

This is an intensive 5-day course that covers both the theory and the practice of hoof care and hoof trimming techniques led by our director Fred Hoekstra, who is NZ’s only fully qualified hoof care instructor. Held at DHI headquarters and on local host farms. Register today at dhi.ac.nz

PREVENT DOWN COWS DURING TRANSPORT

Cull cows must be well prepared for travel, whatever the journey length.

Lactating cows are at increased risk of milk fever and going down in trucks or at the processor.

9 Only select animals that are fit for transport

9 Dry off (where possible) or milk close to pick-up

9 Supplement with extra calcium and magnesium

9 Transport for the shortest time possible to the nearest facility

9 Stand off green feed for 4-12 hours (max 6 hours for lactating cows) and provide roughage or dry feed and water until loading

For more information, visit mpi.govt.nz/dairycowtransport

By Samantha Tennent

Optimism amid challenges

Dairy products are expected to have the largest rate of consumption growth among all food categories over the next decade.

Global milk production achieved a new record in 2022 with a 1.1% increase, but for the seventh year in a row there was a decline in the growth of dairy production in cheeseproducing countries.

Two major causes were outlined during a session on the global outlook and marketing trends for dairy at the 2023 World Dairy Summit.

“Overall, the long-term prospect for milk and the dairy sector is optimistic even though some economic and political conflicts and issues remain a big concern for the near future.”

Laurent Damiens

“Sharp increases in production costs, energy, animal feed, fertilisers and so on,” Le Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière (CNIEL) director Kean-Marc Chaumet said.

“And another compounding

factor is the challenging weather. Adverse weather has been hitting many parts of the world.”

CNIEL is based in France and represents milk producers, dairy co-operatives and private dairy companies.

Its mission is to support collaboration across the dairy sector to promote economic development. It facilitates farmer and processor relationships and promotes milk and dairy products.

Chaumet highlighted the challenges around the world and their impacts on dairy. He spoke of the covid crisis creating a strong increase in demand for dairy products.

And some of the precovid consumer trends have increased recently, such as climate change concerns, animal welfare and demand for local products, he said.

Climate change and consumer demand for sustainability are becoming more urgent and the sector needs to be agile and innovative to address those concerns.

Inflation is causing a lot of uncertainty and the RussiaUkraine war has become an even bigger problem.

As for global market share, Chaumet said India now accounts for 24% of global milk production and it is trying to get to 30%.

The most impressive growth has been in Asia, which hit 12.5% in 2022. Africa also had good growth.

Dairy products are expected to have the largest rate of consumption growth among all food categories over the next decade, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisaton and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. However, CNIEL CEO Laurent Damiens said there are four risks the dairy sector needs to be aware of:

• The war in Ukraine remains the primary downside risk to the global economy. Russia’s termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, for example, could severely threaten global food security and reinforce price pressures.

• Economic scenarios, including that China, the United States and Europe are highly vulnerable to further shocks in the real estate market, financial instability and energy security. Downside scenarios

in any of these major economies would have severe global spillover effects.

Debt distress is another risk, with global debt rapidly surging in recent years, impacting emerging countries in particular. The risk of debt distress with negative spillover effects on economic activity and overall stability has increased substantially as borrowing costs hit new highs.

• And climate change, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events present multiple long-term economic risks. Despite all of this, CNIEL remains optimistic for the future of dairy.

“Overall, the long-term prospect for milk and the dairy sector is optimistic even though some economic and political conflicts and issues remain a big concern for the near future,” Damiens said. n

CNIEL CEO Laurent Damiens says there are four risks the dairy sector needs to be aware of in the year ahead.

How China takes its milk

New study provides some surprises

when it comes to China’s milk consumption habits.

Recent research from the Riddet Institute gives new insights into Chinese dairy consumption.

Alongside the Chinese government’s encouragement to increase milk consumption, an ageing population interested in maintaining bone and general health and a preference for imported milks, lingering mistrust of local products continues due to the 2008 melamine scandal.

This resulted in six infant deaths and numerous hospitalisations.

In response, the New Zealand government and dairy industry sought comprehensive insights into the consumption patterns in the vast Chinese market.

Fonterra-Riddet chair of consumer and sensory science at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University Professor Joanne Hort commissioned the report, NZ Milks Mean More.

The study surveyed 1000 Chinese milk consumers aged between 45 and 75 residing in the mega-cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, with two smaller provincial cities: Chengdu (in the southwest) and Shenyang (northeast).

“In the smaller cities, they tend to consume milk with more traditional breakfast foods such as steamed buns.”

Dr Ao Chen

The focus was on older adults, a fastgrowing demographic in China.

Dr Ao Chen was responsible for the research project and says he was surprised at the differences between milk consumption habits in NZ and China.

In China, he says, most dairy milk is consumed by city dwellers.

“Consuming dairy requires a changed mindset, and new ideas and exotic foods and drinks tend to be adopted first in the

big cities where people are more openminded and affluent,” he says.

Nearly half of the consumers buy UHT milks because of the distance from the main milk producers, primarily situated in Inner Mongolia, and the cost of cold chain distribution.

UHT is distinctly preferred by consumers in Chengdu and Shenyang, whereas powdered milk is favoured in Guangzhou.

“Fresh pasteurised milk consumption in China is not very common but in recent

years its popularity has been increasing, especially in Beijing and Shanghai according to our study,” he says. He says most participants drink their milk straight as part of their breakfast routine at home.

“In the big cities, they often pair it with more exotic Western-style breads and cereals and sometimes make other beverages with the milk. In the smaller cities, they tend to consume milk with more traditional breakfast foods such as steamed buns.” n

Getting the balance right

A motocross accident nearly ended Gary Sunshine-Tervit’s farming career, but after a long period of recovery he won Otago/Southland dairy manager of the year in 2021. Nowadays, as well dairy farming, Gary helps other farmers and growers through Farmstrong.

Tell us about your accident.

I’d been riding motorbikes since I was two, but one day during a trail ride with mates a suspension malfunction sent me head first over a 50-foot cliff. It was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I went through some really dark times. If you break a bone you can see it getting better week by week, but when it’s your brain, something as simple as forgetting to shut the fridge door makes you want to beat yourself up inside. The turning point came when I spoke up and asked for help.

Since you shared your story what’s been the reaction?

Very positive. I was a typical Kiwi bloke. Prior to the head injury I didn’t talk about my feelings or mental health. People find the story of how I recovered and got on top of things helpful. From my point of view, if just one person reaches out and asks for help as a result of my story, it’s been all worthwhile.

You showed real determination in overcoming your injury. How important is it to have a sense of purpose when you’re managing challenges?

It’s really important to know your ‘why’ – why you’re doing what you’re doing on farm. That definitely helps you to get through tough times.

What’s your ‘why’?

My ‘why’ is being back home and helping out on my parents’ farm. They’re older

After recovering from a serious motorcross accident, Gary Sunshine-Tervit helps other farmers deal with their mental health through Farmstrong.

“The turning point came when I spoke up and asked for help.”

Gary Sunshine-Tervit

now and they’ve worked on farm all their life. We wanted to ease that load for Mum and Dad by taking over the day-today running of the farm.

What about the workload on yourself?

It’s about spreading the load. Tackling a couple of things well each day rather than getting bogged down

in 20 things, ‘eating the elephant’ in small pieces. Little and often rather than lots at once.

What about those days when everything seems to go wrong?

For me, it’s about staying in the moment and just dealing with what’s in front of you at the time. Mentally it’s about taking a step back to see the big picture and then tackling the thing that’s the highest priority, rather than five things. Tackle one thing first and then move on to the next thing.

Any other tips?

What I find really helps is writing stuff down in a notebook or putting notes

or reminders on your phone. That means it doesn’t take up headspace. That relieves stress and worry.

What about enjoying your farming? It’s easy in such a busy job to let the wins slide past unnoticed, isn’t it?

Yes, it is. I think it comes down to having a good worklife balance. I’m fortunate I work for family and have some cover if we take short breaks off farm. We took a couple of days off with kids and friends over New Year’s. It is about taking those short breaks away, because if you’re there at the ‘coalface’ 365 days a year, farming becomes very isolating. The boundary of your farm almost becomes like a prison cell.

What’s the benefit of taking breaks when you’re so busy?

It gives you perspective. Say you’re short of grass, well as soon as you drive off farm you see everyone else is short of grass too. They’re in the same boat as you. I think that old saying ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ is very true. Even a few hours off farm does work wonders. It just gives you that breather mentally.

What else helps in terms of a mental reset?

Staying in contact with neighbours and friends. About three or four times a year my wife Daniella and I have a catch-up with five or six other farming families. We book that time in to make it happen. We all come off farm, even if it’s

just for a lunch or a dinner out. It gives you a break for a few hours and gets you talking about what people are going through and ideas for fixing x, y and z on farm.

Why are you involved in Farmstrong?

I put myself out there to get people talking about this stuff. These days I’m an open book. People can come up and talk to me about anything and they do. When I had my injury, I didn’t have much in the way of help, so if I can push that message about looking after your mental health then I’m all for it.

How can farmers get behind Farmstrong?

If you’re at a field day, turn up at the Farmstrong marquee and grab some of the Farmstrong tools and resources. They are all free and there’s something in there for everyone. Even just

coming in for a cuppa and a chat lightens the load if you’re having a tough time. I’m getting along to the Southern Field Days and helping out at the Farmstrong tent.

There are also Farmstrong events that are a lot of fun. We’ve got a charity cricket game in Mossburn coming up this month between farmers and growers. We’re all getting along to that.

As an award-winning dairy manager, how important do you think mental skills are to the success of an operation?

I think they’re hugely important. They give you the ability to differentiate between what’s pressing and what’s not. They help you achieve work-life and home-life balance and keep the balance in check. They provide little strategies for keeping well. For example, I use my five-minute drive home from the cowshed to go through the mental

switch of getting out of work mode and going into home mode. I try my best not to talk about farm life and farming at home. I keep the two separate.

“Even a few hours off farm does work wonders. It just gives you that breather mentally.”

Gary Sunshine-Tervit

What does being Farmstrong mean to you?

I think being Farmstrong is just about putting your best foot forward on farm every day. That means being in the best shape mentally, physically and emotionally. Each of those things are as important as each other.

Gary SunshineTervit says short breaks away from the farm with wife Daniella and his children help break up the isolation of farming.

I’ve been farming 17 years and experience has taught me that everybody goes through low payouts or spells of no grass. It’s about preparing for these things as best you can and then not letting them get the better of you. Being Farmstrong means you’re in touch with how you’re feeling and you have the mental skills and resilience to get through.

Looking back at your journey, what have you learnt from your setbacks?

Before I had my head injury I would never talk about my feelings.

It just wasn’t how we were raised. It was all ‘toughen up and get on with it’.

But going through the ups and downs of my recovery flipped all that on its head. I could suddenly see it was a strength to share your feelings. That if you’re not right in yourself everything else on farm suffers. n

Know

Sam

By Samantha Tennent

The power of perseverance

It took a while, but Laura Murdoch overcame the phobia that was one of the obstacles between her and her beloved cows.

Hopes of becoming a dairy farmer were dashed for Laura Murdoch when she was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome at the age of 19.

She had discovered cows while visiting a friend at work a couple of years earlier and dreamed of a cow-filled career.

“It was gutting to know I wouldn’t be able to work with cows, but I have a medical phobia and I couldn’t deal with the idea of having the surgery [for carpal tunnel syndrome],” Laura says.

“I was too stubborn to accept it when I was told I couldn’t go farming, so started relief milking on the side, but I was pushing my body to the boundary limit.”

She had been working for a local Southland business when she was still in school and with farming off the table, that evolved into a full-time

job. She also started studying IT alongside work.

But she lost interest pretty quickly and picked up a role as an in-house accountant at HW Richardson in Invercargill before setting up her own contracting business, where she was doing some

bookkeeping and dabbling in relief milking “even though what I could handle was dwindling”.

“It got to the point where I couldn’t avoid surgery any longer, it was affecting my life so much, so I finally did it and it was a huge difference.”

After surgery she knew it was time to give farming a proper crack but she was very conscious that her CV lacked farming experience.

“I got in touch with Primary ITO to build my skill set and make me more appealing during job hunting.

“But when I got to Level 4 I needed to be attached to a farm, so one of the farms I was relief milking for picked me up as a 2IC.”

When she felt ready to hit the job market she took a different approach.

“I reverse advertised, by posting about who I was and what I wanted.

“People came to me with opportunities and I was able to choose where I went and I could follow my gut.”

She picked a role with Chris Reilly. He wanted a hand but was still working out what that could look like. So together they shaped it.

“He originally thought he

Laura Murdoch has developed a reputation for being ‘LouLou the cow whisperer’ and has a keen social media following.

“The cows are more like pets, they’re my mates and I really enjoy spending time with them, I don’t think I could go anywhere and leave them behind.”

Laura Murdoch

just wanted a hand with milking but once he realised what I could do he got me doing more and I managed to complete my Level 5, gaining a Diploma in Agribusiness Management and Production Management.”

That same year she did both diplomas, she also entered the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards and won the Southland Otago Manager title.

“It was a pretty awesome achievement and a good confidence boost, and confirmation that cows and farming was my thing.”

Laura lives in a house she owns in town and travels the 15km to work each day.

“I have a Batt latch [an electronically timed gate] so when I arrive the cows are usually in the yard ready.

“I milk, put the cows away,

set up the next paddocks and Chris tends to do the tractor work.”

She typically has holidays during June and July when the cows are dry as the herd is wintered off, but this season 50 of the 250 cows will stay on farm.

“Typically if there isn’t a lot to do Chris will just do it as he’s already on farm, to save me the drive.

“But we’ve got a good system going and I really enjoy it.

“I’ve been in jobs where there’s tiers of management but it’s so much easier just having one person to discuss things with and ask questions.”

She has developed a reputation for being “LouLou the cow whisperer” with a keen social media following.

“The cows are more like pets, they’re my mates and I really enjoy spending time with them, I don’t think I could go anywhere and leave them behind.”

Happy where she is, Laura is not striving for more responsibility or stress.

“I’m really comfortable where I am, there are so many paths within farming, you can just pick what you like.

“Every farm is different, find what you like and I always advise people to remember setbacks will help you learn your non-negotiables.” n

Laura Murdoch is happiest when she’s with the herd on Chris Reilly’s farm near Invercargill.

Stock up your winter toolkit

MJustin Kitto

DairyNZ lead adviser

any of us aren’t quite ready to say goodbye to summer yet, but we do need to look ahead and start planning for winter.

I am continually impressed by the efforts of farmers putting good wintering practices in place, ensuring they care for their animals no matter the conditions.

There is good work happening on farm, and our recent DairyNZ wintering survey emphasised this, with some great achievements, including:

• The proportion of farmers with written wintering plans has improved, increasing to 80%.

There has been a significant increase in the proportion of farmers with a written contingency plan.

74% of farmers implemented at least five good management practices to support their cows and manage winter conditions.

96% of farmers said they had strategies to provide comfortable lying conditions.

“If the mud pulls your red bands off, it is too wet for the cows to lie on.”

Another finding from last wintering season was that the use of portable troughs and back fencing had a lower uptake rate and hasn’t increased over the past three seasons.

I have seen the benefits of using these on several farms and encourage all farmers to consider how they can add them into their winter plans.

The two main benefits farmers talk about both relate to better soil conditions:

• Paddocks dry out sooner – you can get equipment in early and get something else growing more easily.

• Soils are less damaged by cows moving back and forth, so when the wet weather does arrive, back fences can be extended or dropped to provide more area to cows to aid lying time.

For those concerned about the added hassle of using portable troughs, there are some great No 8 wire solutions recommended by farmers who have used them successfully.

Creative ideas include the installation of skis for ease of movement; putting the troughs under fences from neighbouring grass paddocks to avoid dragging through mud; and putting the troughs on trailers.

Portable troughs and back fencing are also part of a great winter toolkit to help provide comfortable lying surfaces for as long as cows want to lie down.

Since cows require a minimum of 8-10 hours of lying time per day, it’s important to ensure that conditions are sufficient for them to lie comfortably when they want.

The range of strategies available

with DairyNZ

include shifting them to a drier, lower risk paddock, or using crops positioned in drier or more sheltered areas for grazing during bad weather.

A question for some may be, “How do you decide when the conditions aren’t right for sufficient lying time?”

The gumboot score is a tried-and-true method; however, we have heard of a few other quirky but sensible ways of identifying this.

“If the mud pulls your red bands off, it is too wet for the cows to lie on.” Or, “If I won’t lie down in that paddock, I shouldn’t expect my cows to lie down in it either.”

Whatever your strategy for identifying a comfortable lying surface, it is important to have a firm boundary in mind for when you need to implement a contingency plan.

Outline what these are in your written wintering plan, including your portable trough and back fence strategy, then share it so everyone is on the same page before the cold weather arrives.

More information is available at dairynz.co.nz/wintering n

A recent DairyNZ wintering survey showed that 80% of farmers have written wintering plans.

World-first dairy farm sprayer

New Zealand company BA Pumps & Sprayers has designed a new type of sprayer that is believed to be a world first in design and innovation.

Called the LM Linkage Sprayer with fully hydraulic M-fold boom, it allows farmers to do their own spraying on a reasonably large scale.

BA Pumps & Sprayers general manager Mark Harris – himself a dairy farmer –says it allows for farmers to do their own broad acre spraying at an affordable price point.

Farmers also have complete control of the sprayer and its movement from their tractor cab.

“For mid-sized farmers, it’s now viable for them to do their own spraying at a lot bigger scale and gain a lot more benefit from it whether it be establishing crops, pasture spraying or doing a bit of liquid fert.”

The sprayer has a 12 metre boom, significantly longer than a standard boom, allowing for farmers to cover more crop before having to refill its 1150 litre chemical tank.

Harris says this saves farmers a huge amount of time.

“It makes it one, smooth continuous operation to get all of the spraying done.”

It also has an option to have a 900 litre tank and 10m boom.

It is also fully hydraulic, allowing the farmer to stay in the tractor cab when opening and folding the boom and it has full wing lift along the boom to match the contour of the country, allowing it to go to more areas.

“You can use this hydraulic boom whereas if it was a manual boom – you wouldn’t

be able to use it. You would be hitting the ground all of the time.”

Harris says it will set a new benchmark for pasture and crop spraying for farmers, providing them with a tool to get the job done quicker, easier and safely.

“It’s a world-first design, uniquely crafted in New Zealand for New Zealand’s local conditions, prioritising safety, efficiency and extreme durability.”

“For mid-sized farmers, it’s now viable for them to do their own spraying at a lot bigger scale.”

Mark Harris

“We believe we are offering something so unique to the market that we are currently in the process of patenting many features of this product – meaning you won’t find anything else like it.”

The sprayer will be on

display at the BA Stand at the Regional Field Days in Feilding and at Mystery Creek in June. n

BA Pumps & Sprayers have designed a new sprayer allowing dairy farmers to do their own chemical applications on crops and pasture.

Halter ups its grass game

By Richard Rennie

Halter’s new Pasture Pro system has gone out to customers of the collar cow management system, and the feedback is positive.

Atechnological buffet of artificial intelligence, satellite imagery, machine learning and computer vision is delivering farmers using Halter a means to optimise their grass feed supply.

Developed as a solarpowered collar cow management system for dairy cows by Craig Piggott, a dairy farmer’s son, Halter has made strong inroads in shifting conventional dairy farm operations.

The system enables farmers to set up virtual paddocks without the usual break fences or even boundary fencing, move cows on cue, and draft cows out of mobs as they respond to the collar’s guidance cues.

Halter’s latest Pasture Pro upgrade is intended to help farmers optimise their herd’s pasture utilisation, minimising lost grazing opportunities and optimising paddock feed supplies.

“Pasture Pro aims to better inform farmers’ decision-making processes and pasture management,” Piggott says.

“At a $7.00/kg MS payout, pasture represents 85% of most farmers’ profit driver as the cheapest form of feed. Key small changes in the amount of grass grown and fed have a massive impact upon farm profitability.”

At a $4.00/kg MS payout the contribution of pasture lifts to be 98% of the profit driver. n

SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO BE HUMBLE.

PROUD TO BE GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE YEAR. AND A FEW OTHER THINGS.

Not wanting to crow about it, but we’re pretty stoked to be named General Insurance Company of the Year by ANZIIF. Mostly because the award recognises how well we look after our clients. And at the end of the day, that’s what we’re here for. We’re also proud of the specialist advice we’ve gathered over the years to pass onto dairy farmers. Take a look at fmg.co.nz/advice/dairy for tips on everything from avoiding milk contamination to staying on top of cyber security. When you add to that the customer satisfaction awards we’ve recently been given from Canstar and Consumer, we’d have to humbly admit that we must be doing something right.

We’re here for the good of the country.

Craig Piggott says Halter’s Pasture Pro system will ensure dairy farmers can be sharper at managing their cheapest and most abundant feed source – grass.

Driving success with data

Samantha Tennent

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, data isn’t just a commodity, it’s the currency of progress and the key to unlocking success. Every piece of data collected holds the potential to revolutionise operations, guiding decisions that can significantly boost productivity and profitability.

Here at WelFarm, we have an extensive database of herd health and wellbeing information.

Spanning back a decade, we have dug to see what the trends are showing us in farm performance. And interestingly, the sooner herds start monitoring their herd, the better the results they achieve.

But one of the most interesting statistics we have uncovered is the types of farmers engaged with the programme.

Typically, people talk about seeing why corporates and large farming business operations benefit from a monitoring programme, but they only make up 8% of the farmers engaged currently.

We found that a whopping 67% of our farmer users are owner-operators.

This makes sense when you think about it – there are limited opportunities for owner-operators to compare their performance and they don’t always get many opportunities to get outside the farm gate.

So to have a system where their vet team collects data and provides them feedback

“What we can see is that overall farmers who have engaged with WelFarm have improved their performance.”

on their performance and how it compares to the regional and national benchmarks is a valuable tool.

Digging into the numbers, there is a clear upward trend across the seasons of all farms’ reproductive performance.

With an increasing sixweek in-calf rate value, that is steeper and more linear when we focus on the early adopters who have been using the programme since it was first launched.

That’s a great news story considering the six-week in-

calf rate has such an impact on the overall performance of a farm business.

Production was another clear success story. We capture data on the kilograms of milksolds produced per cow per season and the results show another positive trend across all farms. And a steeper one across the early adopters.

While we can’t attribute all of the improvements directly to WelFarm because it is not that simple – there are a lot of factors that contribute to a farm’s success – what we can see is that overall farmers who have engaged with WelFarm have improved their performance.

And with an average retention rate of 88%, the farmers using monitoring are also largely seeing the value.

At our recent member’s workshop, we had a panel of farmers talking about

why they use WelFarm and how they use the data and information to make decisions on their farm.

Ben McKerchar, a contract milker from Canterbury, emphasised how important data is, particularly in a low payout environment.

He talked about increasing the type of proactive monitoring measures he was capturing through his vet clinic, Rangiora Vets, because he knew there was no room to make the wrong decisions. He wants to be as accurate as possible, to maximise as much as he can, and ensure he is ready when the payout lifts again.

Embracing the power of data is not just a luxury but a necessity in staying ahead in agriculture’s ever-evolving landscape. n

Who am I?

Samantha

Embracing the power of data is not just a luxury but a necessity in staying ahead in agriculture’s ever-evolving landscape.

Weighing in

By Gerald Piddock

Farmers are losing genetic gains in heifers by not weighing their cattle, says an animal performance manager.

New data from LIC shows that too many farmers are not weighing their heifers when they return from grazing – and are missing

out on big genetic gains as a result.

The data, collected from LIC’s MINDA software, showed that at 22 months, heifers on average are around 4-5%

below MINDA guidelines.

LIC animal performance manager Steve Forsman says farmers need to do their replacement stock justice by properly growing their rising one- and two-year-olds to all the target liveweights.

This is a significant sign that the heifers are being looked after by the farmer’s grazier, who they are paying to ensure the animals are properly grown when they arrive back to the farm.

In a group of 425,000 2021born heifers – roughly half of those born of that year – less than half had their weights recorded through MINDA, he says.

“The number of people weighing heifers is ridiculously

“The number of people weighing heifers is ridiculously low still. The silly thing is that farmers are weighing them, but not entering the weights in.”

Steve Forsman

low still. The silly thing is that farmers are weighing them, but not entering the weights in.”

Some also are still appraising their heifers by a visual assessment.

While some professional grazing companies weigh heifers as part of their service, the onus is still on the farmer to know these numbers.

Forsman says the numbers translate to big bucks.

Each percentage gain toward the 22-month liveweight target represents an additional 2kg of milksolids in the animal’s first year of production.

On a national basis, at a $5 payout, that extra 2kq equates to $10 million in extra revenue across the industry if the number of replacement heifers totals 1 million.

“If you’re having issues and you want to know whether or not your heifers are contributing to that, you’ll never know unless you weigh them,” Forsman says.

The farmers who are recoding their heifer weights are usually on top of their cow health management, he says.

“Farmers that are weighing their heifers are hitting their industry milestones,” he says. n

Too many farmers are still not weighing their heifers.

A legacy of balance and innovation

After buying his herd, the first thing Mathew Korteweg did was trim it by 100. Fewer, better cows was the strategy.

The Korteweg family are challenging tradition and changing the way they dairy farm.

Anchored in a thirdgeneration dairy farm at Kaitangata in South Otago, Mathew Korteweg, accompanied by his wife Catherine and their sons Beau and Leo, has been steering the ship for a decade, embracing the challenges and joys that come with 500 cows under their care.

For the Kortewegs, the farm’s beating heart lies in two vital components – its people and its cows.

After purchasing the herd from Mathew’s parents, the Kortewegs made a strategic move to trim the herd by 100, steering the farm towards a future focused on per-cow performance and animal health.

In the ever-changing South Otago climate, the cows must be robust and versatile to thrive both out on the grass and indoors. Winter resilience, postpartum recovery and overall fitness become crucial, all achieved through a combination of excellent genetics and nutrition.

Reflecting on the farm’s journey, Mathew recalls a time in West Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, about 14 years ago.

It was there that he first encountered the three-way cross concept, an idea that sparked curiosity. Eventually, once Mathew became a herd owner in New Zealand, it found its way into their breeding strategy.

The Kortewegs, always keen on staying ahead of the curve, introduced VikingRed genetics into their herd.

Seeking a more robust crossbreeding system, they are currently milking their first VikingRed x Holstein cows. According to Mathew, these newcomers are ticking all the boxes, from robust growth and successful calving to seamlessly blending with the existing herd.

Managing a traditional New Zealand KiwiCross herd had its challenges, as the cows would swing either too much towards the Holstein or to the Jersey breeds.

The VikingRed, a strategic addition to the mix, filled the gap perfectly in the herd’s breeding program.

Prioritising medium stature, strength and components, the Kortewegs have found

a balance that aligns with their goals, presenting the opportunity to breed a superior balanced crossbred cow.

It was in West Gippsland, Australia, that he first encountered the three-way cross concept.

As the Kortewegs continue to fine-tune their herd, Mathew envisions his dream cow – a medium-statured 550kg animal who produces more than her bodyweight in milk solids – a cow with a snug udder, great fertility, and the ability to self-sustain and look after herself, reflecting the

perfect balance of form and function.

In their pursuit of their genetic goals, the Kortewegs use VikingGenetics distributor Samen NZ. With a focus on picking genetics aligned with their goals, Mathew appreciates the collaborative approach, knowing he can lean on his local Samen NZ reps to deliver the sires he needs and to go the extra mile.

As the sun sets over Kaitangata, the Kortewegs’ dairy farm stands as a testament to innovation, resilience, and a passion as strong as their love for this land.

By balancing tradition and innovation, they are not just shaping their own family legacy but contributing to the evolving narrative of dairy farming in NZ. n

Mathew Korteweg introduced VikingRed genetics into their 500-cow herd to find a balance that aligns with his goal of breeding a superior balanced crossbred cow.

Continue adding value to your herd records

You’ve bred from your best; the R2’s have joined the milking herd, and you’re starting to see production results.

Now’s the time to gain some insight.

Regular herd testing provides accurate data to confirm how your animals rank within the milking herd. This valuable information feeds directly into MINDA® herd records and highlights the variation in performance and production efficiency.

From there, you can identify top producers, so you can continue to breed from your best, and detect low producers so you can make management decisions for culling or dry-off.

So, continue to add value with regular herd testing.

Talk to your Agri Manager today about regular herd testing or visit lic.co.nz/herdtesting

There's always room for improvement

Animal Health

Genetics

Herd Testing

MINDA®

GeneMark®

By Gerhard Uys

A licence to farm

Otago dairy farmers learn about effluent consent requirements at a local field day.

Effluent consents should be seen as a licence to farm.

Speaking at a South Otago effluent field day held near Balclutha, dairy farmer Stafford Fergusson said the reality is dairy farmers require effluent consents.

As such, a mind shift to see it as “a licence to farm” is needed.

The DairyNZ field day was held for Otago farmers to wrap their heads around Plan Change 8 (PC8) of the Otago Regional Council that is now operative, and to hear how four farmers from the region built effluent ponds and had them consented.

Under the plan change dairy farmers with effluent storage capacity of 11 to 40 days need to apply for consent by December 4 this year.

Farmers with more than 40 days’ storage capacity have until December 4 2025.

Fergusson said effluent pond size and consent are farm specific.

For example, his consent does not allow him to milk

through winter, which he could previously do, and gives him a start and end date for milking.

Because his farm is on clay tiles and sloped, he needs additional storage and is limited to 10mm irrigation at any time by the consent, he said.

Fergusson had a small claylined effluent pond with not more than 10 days’ storage capacity and as a result had to be consented by June 2023.

He upgraded to a 1.5 million litre Tasman Tank.

PC8 introduces two sets of rules, one for effluent application and one for collecting systems.

All farmers with an effluent system will need a management plan identifying, for example, actions to be taken to prevent a leak.

There are also requirements for the location of the storage facility and their proximity to water bodies.

Fergusson said being consented gives him peace of mind if he potentially wants to sell.

A farm that is not up to date is devalued, he said.

DairyNZ Extension Partner for Southland and South Otago Gareth Baynham said dairy farmers should not delay consenting and planning what storage they will install, as there are limited experts who can help them and a bottleneck is feared later in the year. n

His consent does not allow him to milk through winter, which he could previously do, and gives him a start and end date for milking.

Stafford Fergusson says having his effluent system upgraded to a 1.5 million litre Tasman Tank and consented gives him peace of mind. The tank behind Fergusson is a KlipTank belonging to the host farmer at a DairyNZ field day that focused on Plan Change 8 in Otago.

Picking the right-sized stirrer

There are a few aspects to consider when determining the right-sized pond stirrer for managing effluent.

While it is generally recommended to choose a larger pond stirrer, there are a few types and specifications that can help choose the right option for a farm’s requirements.

The two main aspects to consider are the length of the pond stirrer and the power capacity.

The length of the stirrer is determined by the overall size of the pond and the batter of the pond wall. If the wall slopes down at a 45 degree angle or steeper, then a short stirrer of 7m can be utilised. If

there is a gentle angle, which is often the case with most lined ponds, then a longer stirrer of up to 9m is needed.

In terms of power, electric pond stirrers can range from 10 to 30 horsepower. For smaller ponds or effluent dams, a smaller capacity stirrer is suitable.

If the pond is large, then farmers will want to consider a larger stirrer with more power capacity.

In some more extreme cases, it may require two pond stirrers to manage the effluent effectively.

Not every farm will have the power availability for a larger stirrer. If power availability is a concern, then it may take a little longer for the effluent

to mix. However, generally the stirrer can run for 30 to 60 minutes prior to the pump starting.

Electric stirrers that are shore mounted utilise a horizontal thrust that is far more efficient in propelling effluent around the pond than

The length of the pond stirrer and its power capacity are the two main considerations when looking at the right type of stirrer for an effluent pond.

any vertical mounted option. This brings the solids of the effluent into suspension.

If there is a high concentration of solids from feed pads or covered areas, make sure there is the right power capacity pond stirrer for optimal mixing. n

Slurry injectors offer cost savings U

sing slurry injection is one of the most beneficial and cost-effective ways of getting nutrient-rich dairy effluent back into the soil.

This type of slurry application requires manure to be ground into small particles that can be combined with water to create a liquid, which can then be injected into paddocks, making it less damaging than traditional muck spreading and minimising the need for synthetic fertilisers and reducing costs.

Slurry injection has become a favoured process of application in recent

years due to its reduction in ammonia emissions (around 70% reduction), which can preserve nitrogen, reduce odour complaints, eliminate of soil compaction and overall provide a more cost-effective agricultural service solution.

This technique replaces the more traditional method of spraying slurry onto fields using a broadcast spreader, in which the slurry is driven through a nozzle under pressure.

Up to 80% of the available N applied in the slurry by this technique of application may escape into the atmosphere as ammonia. Not only does this lead to the loss of an important nutrient, but it also

pollutes the atmosphere.

Thirty percent of the total ammonia loss after surface spreading occurs in the first hour and 80% in the first 12 hours.

Reducing the surface area of the distributed slurry that is exposed to the air is a fundamental strategy to minimise such losses and minimising the area for

ammonia to be lost from.

By recycling the effluent on the land, farmers can mitigate these environmental risks and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

When properly managed, slurry application prevents the accumulation of nutrients in water bodies, which can lead to water pollution and eutrophication. n

SLURRY INJECTION

Keep costs low Improve soils

Reduce environmental impact Quick landuse turnaround

The Slurry Injector at Central Injection Agri, is one of the most cost effective, sustainable and less damaging way of dispersing your liquid gold while increasing available nitrogen and eliminating soil compaction. Visit our website or call Tom to find out more. cialtd.co.nz 027 358 0711

info@cialtd.co.nz

This type of slurry application involves grinding manure into small particles that are combined with water to create a liquid that can be injected into paddocks.

One last word …

The challenges that the dairy and arable sectors face in order to meet their climate obligations are immense.

But having spent the better part of two days at the Foundation for Arable Research’s Maize Conference in Hamilton, it’s clear to me that meeting those challenges is now an expected market requirement.

The event could have easily been called the “Dairy and Maize Conference”, given how much the two industries are intersect and how much crossover there was over the course of the two days.

A large section of the event centred on what the two industries have to do to remain economically and environmentally sustainable in the future and how farmers can retain their market and be compliant.

FAR chief executive Alison Stewart had a blunt message for farmers playing the victim card when it comes to tighter rules and regulations.

Every sector in society is facing similar challenges, the difference in New Zealand is the importance it has for the GDP, she told the audience.

“You have to get over it. You have to listen to what the markets are saying and you have got to be able to respond because if you don’t you’re going to get left behind.”

That message from the markets was made clear by Nestlé Australasia’s Margaret Stuart, who outlined the company’s emissions reduction targets in a pre-recorded message.

In 2018, the global giant emitted 92

million tonnes of GHG emissions, of which 71% came from agriculturally sourced ingredients. From that 71%, 34 million tonnes comes from dairy and livestock.

For Nestlé, it is a business imperative.

But it was also an opportunity, as FAR’s Dirk Wallace pointed out.

“At the end of the day, we grow maize so it can become something else and we need to be conscious about what those people are trying to achieve.”

Market requirements will become a major driver. For instance, Nestlé’s total emissions as a company are greater than NZ’s at 77 million tonnes. This puts into perspective the scale of these pushes in the market, he said.

For growers, the opportunity is in helping farmers with supplying locally produced feed as they look to reduce emissions intensity.

Fonterra’s Scope 3 emissions reduction roadmap showed that 10% of farming emissions inside the farmgate came from brought-in feed.

“That just screams of a maize opportunity.”

Fortunately, listening to a panel of growers who outlined their farming systems and challenges, all were well placed to meet all of these challenges and are optimistic about what the future holds.

It wasn’t all backslapping. AgFirst’s Raewyn Densley said the current dairy model needs to change in order to meet new consumer-driven sustainability goals. These goals are no longer governed by government regulations, but by consumers, and it also explains

why Nestlé is bringing in these new environmental and climate policies for its ingredient suppliers.

While farmers are still coming to terms with their climate obligations, overseas institutions are not just interested in on-farm losses, but also the embedded losses associated with on-farm inputs.

From a crop perspective, this is good news for the maize industry because as a feed source, it has a much lower footprint than feeds such as PKE imported from overseas.

This trend, combined with ongoing pasture variability issues due to climate change, means that farmers are going to need more than just pasture to feed their animals.

There will also be a move away from non-replacement calves. This topped the concerns among consumers in an United States survey.

This will increase demand for grain as this trend takes hold, she said.

This of course is taking place in one of the best growing seasons in a long time in the North Island. The maize harvest is set to get underway over the next month – much of which will be sold to dairy farms for feed.

And with the payout lifting and feed being in surplus, the industry looks like it will be hitting the back half of the season strongly.

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DAIRY DIARY

March 2024

Field day: Spotlight on the system

Hayden and Alecia Lawrence are farm owners on a 153ha (eff) farm, milking 400 cows in a System 3, split-calving operation in Hawera.

Hayden has invested heavily in technology including a 24 double-sided HB shed (new in 2019) with ACR, inshed feeding, auto drafting, auto weighing, and auto teat spraying; a new effluent system; smaXtec boluses; and auto calf feeders.

The day will include an in-depth look at how Hayden has set up his system, the tools and strategies he uses to run it, what benefits the various technologies offer, and what has and hasn’t worked for him. It hasn’t all come at a high cost – there are some low-cost solutions he has integrated that would slot into other systems.

Working out the value of different technology options, and whether they are the right choice for your business is a challenge.

DairyNZ’s Brian Dela Rue will talk about the technology farmers are adopting, the key points you should consider when investing, and farmer experiences with new technologies.

March 6

Hayden and Alecia Lawrence, 871 Fraser Rd, Hawera, S/N 40501, 10:15am-1pm

To register: https://www.smallerherds.co.nz/smash-events/ field-day-spotlight-on-the-system-hawera-taranaki/ contact.smashnz@gmail.com

People Expo

DairyNZ and the Dairy Woman’s Network are holding People Expo symposiums throughout New Zealand in March.

Join us at a People Expo symposium for the opportunity to hear from thought leaders on what’s needed to help tackle the big issues in employing and keeping people on dairy farms.

Speakers include economist Shamubeel Eaqub, dairy farmers Sue and David Fish and My Farm chief commercial officer Chris Parsons.

Each speaker will present followed by a workshop component. The workshops are to dig deeper into what the learnings are for you, your business and the dairy community.

Attendance is free and lunch is provided.

March 13

Northland: The Barge Showgrounds Event Centre, Maunu Road, Maunu, Whangārei, 9:30am-2:30pm.

March 19

Southland: Ascot Hotel CNR Racecourse & Tay Street, Invercargill, 9:30am-2:30pm.

March 26

Manawatū: Bush Multisport 57 Huxley Street, Pahiatua. 9:30am-2:30pm.

March 27

Bay of Plenty: Millennium Hotel Rotorua 1270 Hinemaru Street, Ohinemutu, Rotorua, 9:30am-2:30pm.

More information is at: https://www.dwn.co.nz/events/

Central Districts Fieldays

Central Districts Field Days attracts over 27,000 people each March for three days to friendly Feilding in Manawatū, where they connect, discover and experience the future of New Zealand’s primary industries.

The event showcases cutting-edge machinery and equipment, the latest developments in rural innovation, thrilling FMX shows, lifestyle trends, top-notch regional food and local brews. You can score yourself a heap of exclusive event deals and have the chance to yarn with sellers and exhibitors. It’s a great time to stock up, plus there’s fun and freebies for the whole family.

March 14-16

Manfeild, Feilding.

More information is at: https://www.cdfielddays.co.nz/

Dairy Woman’s Network 2024 conference

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

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

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

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

May 2

New Plymouth at the Plymouth International, 220 Courtenay Street, New Plymouth.

Who has a deeper understanding of what your crops need?

With its smart coating, N-Protect reduces N-loss volatilisation by up to 50% so your crops get more nitrogen to their roots. That’s why more than 58% of our farmers use it to boost growth and reduce N Loss. Talk to our team about boosting your yields with N-Protect on 0800 100 123.

SPREAD LARGE VOLUMES FAST

We’ve got everything you need for operating the ultimate umbilical drag hose system. Equipment can be purchased individually or as part of a package deal.

RainWaveTM 3PL Applicator

Nevada’s RainWave™ 3PL applicator easily attaches to your tractor, providing a controlled, even spread. The RainWave™ produces larger droplets, meaning less wind drift and volitisation for better nutrient absorption. This controlled application makes it ideal for spreading near boundaries or around irregular shaped paddocks.

Remote Valve Switch

The remote valve switch lets you switch between one irrigation line to another (or bypass back to the pond) without turning off the pump. This is made possible with use of a soft close switching system eliminating any potential pressure spikes. It’s so simple – just activate it from your mobile phone!

Heavy Duty, Effluent Grade

Layflat Drag Hose

Top quality PU and rubber lay flat hose is puncture resistant and stands up to rugged farm use.

• 102, 127 and 152mm diameter

• 3.3mm-4.0mm wall thickness

• 17bar max working pressure (250 PSI)

• 42bar burst pressure (610 PSI)

• 13,800 – 17,900 kg (in tonnes) tensile strength.

Effluent Pump

Choose from a range of top performing, high capacity PTO or diesel powered effluent pumps to suit your pumping requirements. Pumps suitable for small farms through to large farm and contractors!

See page 14.

Hose Reeler

Both random wrap and segmented mounted umbilical hose reelers are available, and all are fitted with a heavy duty, 3 point linkage and a female Quick fit ‘A’ frame. When the male ‘A’ frame is located it is secured by two loose fitting pins.

SWIRLS ABOVE THE REST

The Nevada range of PTO Pond Stirrers are built to last, using the highest-grade steel and galvanised for heavy duty use.

Slurry can safely interact with the oil-impregnated wooden Enduro Block bearings that support the shaft, and instead of harming the machine, it helps to grease and cool the shaft, simultaneously.

But the main benefit is the Typhoon™ 3-blade propeller. Churns through crust and vegetation with much higher performance at the same use of energy.

The Typhoon™ 3-blade propeller obtains a higher mixing performance than pumps or submerged motors. The research and development of the design makes the Nevada range of effluent PTO stirrers a truly superior machine.

Nevada FarmerStir™ 6000

Ideal for small to medium ponds that are easily accessible. With a convenient tractor-mount for mobility, you can insert the stirrer into different positions around the pond for optimum results.

Model FarmerStirTM 6000

Shaft Length 5.5m

Adjust Quick Crank

Galvanised Yes

Bearings Enduro Block

Propeller Medium Typhoon™

$7,990

Ideal for medium to large ponds that have easy access. A popular choice for farmers and contractors.

Both TurboStir models come with a convenient hydraulic angle adjustment that can be operated from the tractor seat.

Model TurboStirTM 6000

Shaft Length 6.5m

Adjust Hydraulic

Galvanised Yes

Bearings Enduro Block

Propeller Large Typhoon™

With a 7.4m length, the TurboStir™ 7000 is a the most powerful in the range.

Capable of stirring ponds as well as clip tanks and can be easily maneuvered around the pond for optimum results.

Model TurboStirTM 7000

Shaft Length 7.4m

Adjust Hydraulic

Galvanised Yes

Bearings

Enduro Block

Propeller Extra Large Typhoon™

Nevada TurboStir™ 6000

Nevada TurboStir™ 7000

PTO PUMPS

Rovatti PTO Pump Set

With four options to choose from the Rovatti PTO Pump Set is a suitable option for all contractors or any size dairy farm.

• 5m suction hose with strainer Drive shaft

Hard-face lubricated mechanical steel

Bauer Magnum SX1000 Pump Set

With a massive capacity, the Bauer Magnum SX1000 pump set is perfect for contractors & large farms.

• Efficient and economical

• Low operating costs

• Easy maintenance

• Can handle up to 12% solids

The

Perfect

• Ferrari effluent chopper pump

• Iveco 126HP diesel engine

• Electronic control

Yes,

Nevada are Farm Dairy Effluent System Design Accredited by Irrigation NZ! This means we've been assessed (and passed with flying colours) on our competency and skills in all the important things to provide you with top notch advice. Read more nevadagroup.co.nz/about/industry-accreditations

SEE EQUIPMENT IN ACTION

Five reasons you won’t want to miss the Nevada Demo Day!

1. NEW Product Launch – See the Nevada Trailing Shoe in action behind a Nevada 14,700L Slurry Tanker.

2. See Nevada Equipment in Action – Like the Hose Reeler System.

3. Networking – Chat with other dairy farmers. Every dairy farming situation is different, share experiences.

4. Free Lunch - Great opportunity to get off the farm.

5. Great Nevada Experience – See the team on-site and get to discuss your situation with experienced expert advice. Along with lunch being provided there will be some giveaways.

Where South Taranaki

When 26th of March - 10:00am to 2:00pm

Who Dairy Farmers and Ag Contractors

Register your interest online nevadagroup.co.nz/DemoDay

NEVADA DEMO DAY 26 MAR 2024

DEMO DAY in South Taranaki

NEW

NEVADA TRAILING SHOE

Accurate placement while minimising odour, wind drift, and evaporation.

Teamed up with a Nevada Tandem 14,700L Slurry Tanker, this Trailing Shoe ensures unparalleled precision, delivering essential nutrients precisely where they are needed.

Thus minimising odour and evaporation. Effluent is placed directly to the soil (base of the plant) there is virtually no volitisation, wind drift, and no crop spoiling.

The Nevada Trailing Shoe assembly has a 8.6m working width and is ideal for farmers or contractors spreading up to 5,000,000 L/yr.

Features

• OPTICUT PROFI

• Rear lights

• Hydraulic clamping

• Manual width adjustment (with ball valve)

• Manual tramline shut-off (with ball valve)

• Electric control panel SMART CONTROLLER for hydraulic control

Specs

Working width 8.6m

Number of distribution hoses 40

Diameter of hoses 38mm

Number of cutting heads 1

System opening / closing time 15s/18s

System safety clamping hydraulic

Weight 750kg

DEAL DEMONSTRATOR

Nevada 14,700L Tandem Slurry Tanker

NEVADA SLURRY TANKERS

Spread further and more evenly with a slurry tanker that’s built to last, galvanised inside and out.

MB1204R

Tank Capacity 12,800L

Length 7.4m

Pump Capacity 13,500L/min

Suspension Axle & drawbar

Axle type Tandem/1-steering

Wheel 550/60R 22.5

Ezi-Load Arm 8” suction tube

Self-steering Rear axle

MB1404R

Tank Capacity 14,700L

Length 7.9m

Pump Capacity 13,500L/min

Suspension Axle & drawbar

Axle type Tandem/1-steering

Wheel 550/60R 22.5

Ezi-Load Arm 8” suction tube

Self-steering Rear axle

MB1604R

Tank Capacity 16,500L

Length 8.4m

Pump Capacity 16,000L/m

Suspension Axle & drawbar

Axle type Tandem/1-steering

Wheel 550/60R 22.5

Ezi-Load Arm 8” suction tube

Self-steering Rear axle

MB20TRIDEM

Tank Capacity 20,000L

Length 8.5m

Pump Capacity 16,000L/min

Suspension Axle & drawbar

Axle Type Tridem/2-steering

Wheel 550/60R 22.5

Ezi-Load Arm 8” suction tube

Self-steering Front & rear axle

12,800L TANDEM AXLE 14,700L TANDEM AXLE 16,500L TANDEM AXLE 20,000L TRIDEM AXLE

ON FARM CASE STUDIES

Brain & Ross Williams

Dairy Farmer

Patea, South Taranaki

Brian and Ross Williams are a father and son team situated in South Taranaki where they operate on 130 hectares with 400 cows on flat to rolling land. When consent was up, they looked for a local and trustworthy company that could help them run their dairy farm with efficiency.

The farm previously relied on a system that was put in place 30 years ago with the cow shed being located 500 meters away [from the effluent pond]. Occasionally Brian and Ross would call in a local contractor who would suck the ponds out for them in order to spread the effluent onto the paddocks. When their compliance was up, they knew it would be a larger expense to connect power down to the ponds for a traveling irrigator system that met compliance.

Instead of opting for a higher expense and more complex installation, Brian and Ross called Nevada to find the right system for the job. They opted to utilise their 112-horsepower tractor to pull a Nevada 12,800L Tandem Slurry Tanker that does an average two to three loads a day every fortnight.

Utilising a Nevada slurry tanker system helped them cut costs and share the responsibility of spreading effluent evenly to all paddocks. Brian noted that, “We chose Nevada cause they are local and I like supporting local businesses. I’ve certainly read enough about the equipment and seen enough of their tankers throughout the country to know that they’re good.”

They found a slurry tanker was easy to operate and could manage spreading effluent across 90% of the paddocks with a good natural fertiliser that comes directly from the cows on their farm. Instead of applying effluent in the same place every time, a Nevada tanker system helps them reach poor paddocks and spread effluent evenly.

With no challenges setting up the system, they have owned a Nevada 12,800L Tandem Slurry Tanker and a Nevada TurboStir 6000 PTO Pond Stirrer since early 2023. They enjoy the assurance of Nevada’s team only being a phone call away to help with any issues they may have.

Both Brian and Ross would recommend Nevada to other farmers who are looking to put in a reliable and efficient effluent system that makes it easy to meet compliance. In Brian’s words,”This 12,800 litre Nevada slurry tanker does the job.”

”This 12,800 litre Nevada Slurry Tanker does the job.”

AT-A-GLANCE

Brian & Ross Williams

REGION South Taranaki

FARM SIZE 130ha

CONTOUR Flat to rolling

COWS 400

INPUTS System 4

EFFLUENT STORAGE 1,000,000L

Clay lined

PRODUCTS

• Nevada 12,800L

Tandem Slurry Tanker

Nevada TurboStirTM 6000

PTO Pond Stirrer

Figures are approximate only.

WATCH BRIAN & ROSS’ CASE STUDY ONLINE nevadagroup.co.nz/infohub/videos/on-farm-case-studies

NEVADA APPLICATORS

The way it spreads matters!

All Nevada Slurry Tankers come standard with the Nevada RainWaveTM applicator. However, checkout the Nevada Trailing Shoe applicator option.

R ainWaveTM

All Nevada slurry tankers come standard with a Nevada RainWave™ applicator.

RainWave™ nutrient spreaders use low pressure combined with an oscillating fan pattern to achieve a wider, more controlled spread. Larger droplets mean virtually no wind drift, allowing effluent nutrients to be spread evenly. Single and tandem axle tankers have a single RainWave™ (duo optional), and tridem tankers come with duo RainWaves™.

Benefits

• Gentle low-pressure rain pattern

• High volume (100m3/h-200m3/h)

• Self-drive oscillating swiveling mechanism

• Ideal alternative to dropper booms

• Large droplet size, so very minimal wind drift

• Safe tractor speeds (less than 7km/h)

• Very even spread pattern

• Better nutrient use

• Less pasture damage

• Better for the environment

• Low application depth (1-10mm)

• Handles thick slurry (up to 20% solids)

Low maintenance

NEW

Trailing Shoes

Proof of placement while minimising odour, wind drift, and evaporation.

There are many benefits when using a trailing shoe – with effluent being placed directly to the soil (base of the plant) there is virtually no volitisation, wind drift, and no crop spoiling.

The Nevada Trailing Shoe assembly has a 8.6m working width and is ideal for farmers or contractors spreading up to 5,000,000 L/yr.

Features

• OPTICUT PROFI

Rear lights

• Hydraulic clamping

• Manual width adjustment & tramline shut-off (with ball valve)

• Electric SMART CONTROLLER for hydraulic control

System

Can be fitted to any Nevada Tandem or Tridem Slurry Tanker