Dairy Farmer May 2020

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Teaching Sri Lankans to farm the Kiwi way High tech shed saves time Post-covid alert: Beware

Diversification in dairy

West Cost farmers diversify their dairy operation with hemp crops

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Dairy Sheds/Automation/Robotics n Better Bulls Better Calves May 2020

Incl $8.95 GST

COVER Sarah Gibson examines the hemp crop on her West Cost dairy farm. Photo: Tony Benny

Teaching Sri Lankans to farm the Kiwi way High tech shed saves time Post-covid alert: Beware

Diversification in dairy

West Cost farmers diversify their dairy operation with hemp crops

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

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20 DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Contents NEWS 17 Milk Monitor Beware 27 Meat the need Kiwi charity is helping put food on the table for those who need a helping hand

ON FARM STORY

8 Switching focus West Coast farmers Aaron Silcock and Sarah Gibson growing hemp crops on their dairy farm

20 High tech Taranaki farmers John and Joanne Moore’s shed has all the bells and whistles

FARMING CHAMPIONS

6 Guest column – Katie Milne

18 Guest column – Tim Mackle 28 Dairy champion – Ross Wallis

SPECIAL REPORT 32 Rural GPs 34 Life in lockdown

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THEME 48 Dairy sheds, robotics and technology

FEATURE 60 Better bulls better calves

REGULAR FEATURES GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of all advertising revenue in Farmers Weekly and Dairy Farmer to farmer health and wellbeing initiatives. Thank you for your prompt payment.

36 Industry good 38 Women in agribusiness – Eva Botting 41 Research 46 Farmstrong

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Federated Farmers president Katie Milne says there is now evidence fellow Kiwis appreciate the role of agriculture during this crisis.

Federated Farmers president Katie Milne has been in lockdown with her family but has been just as busy as ever. She says the lockdown has given the agri sector the chance to rebuild New Zealand’s love for the sector that will drive economic recovery.

I

T’S hard not to have a bit of sympathy for politicians in these very uncertain times.

What a massive call for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Cabinet to make on when to step down to covid-19 level three.

It seemed like half of New Zealand was thinking along the lines of a sporting analogy. When you get to half-time and you’re ahead on the scoreboard it’s dangerous to let complacency set in lest your opposition make a comeback. The thinking was that to be safe we needed to stay in level four lockdown a few more weeks to really make sure the virus was down and out.

But the other half of the population seemed ready to give businesses a break and start to get spending and the economy ticking over again while still practising a degree of social isolation.

From a health perspective probably the 6

right call was made, not that many will remember that if it all turns to custard and there’s a big surge in in coronavirus cases.

At level four farmers across the nation have been able to get on with their essential work though they certainly haven’t been immune to the covid-19 impacts on their livelihoods because some partners lost off-farm employment.

There is now evidence fellow Kiwis really appreciate the role of agriculture during this crisis and how the sector will lead the drive to re-ignite the economy.

A survey of Kiwis’ perceptions of agriculture, run by marketing research company One Picture, found the primary sector will be the returning hero in our economic recovery, Kiwis are now prouder than ever of agriculture and 67% of New Zealanders believe farmers will play a more important role than ever

in helping the economy through this difficult time.

It said this is a chance to rebuild New Zealanders’ love for the agri sector and for people to better understand what we farm, how we farm and why we farm. It’s also a chance for those brands and businesses working in the regions and rural areas to show they’re getting behind and supporting our farmers – and winning trust in doing so.

I think the message for all of us in Team Ag is to keep doing what we’ve been doing – not to get defensive or bag others and to look for positives.

It’s agriculture’s chance to shine to an even greater extent.

Like many, Federated Farmers has given plenty of thought about what could help primary industries soak up the unemployment from tourism and other sectors that have been hit harder than us.

With climate change biting we’ve

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

It’s agriculture’s chance to shine to an even greater extent. said investment in water storage infrastructure would help future-proof rural communities – townships and hinterland – and we also raised the idea of boosting employment through initiatives that will also have environmental and export product marketing benefits, such as investment in farmer and communityled catchment/waterway initiatives, more riparian planting and pest and wilding pine control.

There is also a need to retrain people who might now be jobless in roles that need filling, like tractor drivers and general farm hands.

But what I want to highlight are the benefits of more investment in rural connectivity.

Hundreds of thousands of urban workers and school students have been able to work and study from home through the lockdown because they already have the ultra-fast broadband, fibre and cell towers that deliver speeds that drive their web access, Netflix, gaming, social media and all the rest of it.

That’s not the case in many rural areas.

Despite the virus crisis highlighting more than ever that primary industries drive our economy and export earnings, connectivity down some of those winding

Katie Milne says Team Ag needs to keep doing what it’s been doing – not get defensive or bag others and look for positives.

It’s agriculture’s chance to shine to an even greater extent.

country roads is often patchy, sometimes non-existent.

And so those farm-based businesspeople and their families drop in and out of Zoom meetings, tap fingers impatiently on the computer desk while a web page struggles to open and can’t complete bank transactions because those second-level authentication texts never arrive.

It’s not just that these farmers find it difficult to access vital information on the myriad business, government, regulation, weather, environment, trading and other topics they need to stay on top of to excel.

What about all the leaps-and-bounds stuff in agriculture that is hampered by poor rural connectivity.

Better connectivity would allow technology to play a bigger part in farming from water and soil monitoring to accessing services and is needed to attract more urban people to live rurally, Katie Milne says.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

I’m talking about the tools that would take away half the environmental arguments and diminish a lot of the time, pain and cost of farming challenges.

For example, networks of real-time soil and water sensors that would enable us to be more efficient with application of nutrients and irrigation.

The technology is there for us to have virtual fencing but the connectivity isn’t up to it. Blockchain could highlight to end consumers the wellness factors of food produced from paddock to plate.

Imagination might be our only limiting factor if rural areas enjoyed similar levels of connectivity to our city cousins.

We’ve got some very inventive small businesses. With the right connectivity they could choose to live and work in the provinces and hinterland rather than add to the pressure on urban infrastructure.

I engage with people on a variety of platforms and at international agricultural conferences. Cutting edge entrepreneurs and companies around the world are looking at how to tech-up farming and food production systems.

When I’ve suggested the global opportunities in this space are in the billions of dollars, folk from Silicon Valley have corrected me. Think trillions of dollars, they say.

Our Government is looking for ideas on recovering from the covid-19 hit and what stimulus would have payback.

I say let’s work on converting that innovative number eight wire mentality to number eight fibre. Never mind 5G technology, let’s go for 8G in our thinking. n

7

ON FARM STORY

Sarah Gibson and Aaron Silcock with daughter Gracie, 19 months, are dairy farmers on the West Coast milking 280 cows on the farm that has been in the family for four generations.

Photos: Tony Benny

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DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Getting out of dairy A West Coast couple are diversifying their dairy operation by growing hemp crops for seed and to make natural products. In the past three years there have been plenty of highs and lows with this year’s crop written off. Tony Benny reports.

W

EST Coast farmers Aaron Silcock and Sarah Gibson have enthusiastically embraced hemp as a diversification they hope will eventually allow them to stop milking cows on the family farm near Reefton.

Aaron is the fourth generation to farm the 300ha property at Reefton and milks 280 cows on 120 hectares with the rest of the block still in bush and boggy, infertile, pakihi land.

When he bought the farm from his grandparents he initially carried on much as they had, milking twice a day, but in 2003 he was one of the first in his district to switch to once-a-day.

“One year we had a lot of lame cows and there was a lady at LIC who said once-a-day was going to be the up-andcoming thing and we decided really early to try it. We didn’t really lose much production,” Aaron says.

“If you tweak your cows and increase your stocking rate you can get similar production to twice-a-day with less costs and better animal health.

“We’ve got happy cows and good incalf rates, around 94%.”

Initially, he increased the herd to 350 but soon realised that was too many in any area subject to high rainfall. They now

milk closer to 300 with 280 being milked this year.

Having fewer cows gives him flexibility if the weather turns bad, which isn’t unusual in this part of the country.

“When it goes a bit pear-shaped it goes pear-shaped pretty bad,” Aaron says.

“I think not having enough rain is probably worse than too much. You can still grow grass in mud but it’s hard to grow grass without any rain.

“It was good when it was good but when the weather wasn’t so great the pressure would really be on. When you get a shortage of feed you have to buy a lot of feed in and I was a bit sick of doing that.”

The operation is now mostly selfcontained and he doesn’t buy in any supplementary feed most years but grows summer turnips to have a bank of feed in case it goes dry.

The farm is supported by a runoff on rougher ground on the other side of the river that runs through the property, where they make silage and grow some feed and run R2 replacement heifers as well as wintering the milking herd.

He works with one full-time staff member plus relief staff as needed for milking. Production peaked at 1000kg MS/ha but Aaron thinks that has probably slipped a little over the past couple of seasons.

“We’re doing about 90,000kg MS but I

FARM FACTS n Owners: Aaron Silcock and Sarah Gibson n Location: Reefton, West Coast n Farm size: 300ha, 120ha effective n Cows: 280 Kiwicross n Production: 2018-19 90,000kg MS n Target: 2019-20 90,000kg MS

haven’t really worked that out,” he says.

Calving starts in mid-August and they aim to keep 70 replacement calves.

“Some people round here calve at the beginning of August but if we get really bad weather, which we quite often do, you can get into a real pinch because you’ve got to feed the cows pretty well once they calve and you start milking them.”

Replacement calves are run on the platform.

“It’s just better ground. Some of our ground is rougher and young stock tend to not do that great on that so we nurture them along and they seem to do a bit better.”

He says thanks to OAD milking the

Continued page 10

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The 280-cow Kiwicross herd is milked once-a-day and averages just under 1000kg MS/ha.

Kiwicross herd has good fertility and he does a nine-week, short and sweet mating with three weeks AI then runs Jersey bulls for six weeks.

With his change to OAD Silcock showed he was willing to try alternatives and he’s made a significant change in his own life too. Six years ago he became a vegan.

“I looked at plant-based eating for health first and I don’t really want to make money from exploiting animals to be honest. I’d much rather eat a plant than an animal,” he says.

“I definitely don’t hate the cows or anything. In fact I really like cows and that’s one of the reasons I don’t want to keep doing what we’re doing. You’ve got to be selective with the calves and the ones we don’t keep go for slaughter. It’s pretty rough.”

His partner Sarah Gibson is also vegan and they have a 19-month-old daughter Gracie, who has never eaten animal protein.

Like other farmers on the West Coast they’ve endured some difficult years as their co-op Westland Dairy struggled to survive and about five years ago they

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People are thinking about weird and wonderful things they might be able to implement into their farm system.

Angela Leslie

started looking for a way to diversify their farm business.

“Just not having all your eggs in one basket really is the simplest way to explain it,” Sarah says.

“The farm’s a family farm so it wasn’t just, let’s just sell the farm and go off and do something different. It was let’s turn the land into something else and with New Zealand farmers getting hammered for being dirty, hemp’s a really good crop.”

Before covid-19 measures made such events impossible the couple hosted a DairyNZ field day, telling about 25 other West Coast farmers and rural professionals about the highs and lows they’ve experienced in three years of growing hemp.

DairyNZ consulting officer Angela Leslie says farmers often talk to her about diversifying so the time seemed right to get them together.

Aaron Silcock outlines hemp growth rates to farmers at a recent field day.

“I’ve had discussions about hemp, peanuts, you name it.

“People are thinking about weird and wonderful things they might be able to implement into their farm system,” she says.

She’s compared NZ dairy farmers to their British counterparts and says while most here focus on producing milk, two-thirds of United Kingdom farms have diversified income streams that contribute an average of 22% of total farm income.

“I looked in DairyBase and diversification accounts for only 1.25% of dairy farm income in NZ so there’s some

The couple planted their first crop three years ago – a cultivar suited to producing seed. They now use it to make organic products.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

opportunity for growth there if that’s the way we think we might like to go.”

Aaron was already thinking about hemp before he met Sarah and together they have read everything they can about it as well as talking to other farmers and businesses about their experience.

They planted their first crop three years ago, growing a cultivar suited to producing seed.

“In our first season we had an amazing crop,” Sarah says, adding they also learnt a lot about what can go wrong.

To start with it was very dry and the crop was slow to take off. They sowed the crop at the end of October/early November and by December 20 it was not much higher than gumboot level when Sarah worriedly called the person who’d sold them the seed.

“He said ‘don’t worry Sarah, it’s a weed, it’ll grow’ and by January 5 although I’m not very tall I had plants up to my waist,” she says.

“By January 15 only 10 days later and after we got a bit of rain I couldn’t reach the top of them. They can grow 11cm a day in perfect conditions.

“We had two 1ha plots and the birds literally tell you when it’s ready so all these birds were flying round and we panicked and got the contractor in and he harvested the first bit a little bit green but then for the second paddock he was away driving a truck down in the Grey Valley and couldn’t get back here so we literally watched the birds decimate the crop.”

Continued page 12 11

Sarah is in charge of product development and negotiating the maze of paperwork and regulations to grow hemp.

Aaron adds “Birds suck. That’s one thing I’ve learned. They say it’s hard to keep birds off and we’ve used cannons, which work for a day or two but the birds just learn and keep coming back.”

Even with birds taking more than their fair share of the first crop there was a mountain of seed that had to

be processed quickly because it will deteriorate quickly if not dried correctly.

“In our first season we had so many people saying they’d come and help with the harvest and nobody turned up come harvest time because they realised what a big job it was,” Sarah says.

“We had the seeds on a tarp and on a

Aaron Silcock and Sarah Gibson with daughter Gracie, are in their third growing season and they are focusing on a small research block where they’re trialling techniques and looking for high-producing plants from which to breed.

12

concrete floor and we were just rotating them. We had leaf blowers, we had fans, you name it, we had everything.

“So we had this wonderful crop but no processing gear. I was six months pregnant sieving seeds through a 20 litre bucket with holes drilled in it just to get them clean and dry.”

This season is their third and they are focusing on a small research block where they’re trialling techniques and looking for high-producing plants from which to breed.

“With our research block we hang the plants upside down and have a tarp and the seeds drop out pretty much at that perfect moisture content without all the leaf and flower,” she says.

That gave them an idea for how to harvest their main crop and they bought a second-hand grape harvester.

“The idea is the grape harvester would shake the seeds off when they’re ripe instead of mowing the whole crop like a combine harvester but that’s a work in progress.”

There’s limited infrastructure on the West Coast to support crop growing so they face plenty of challenges turning hemp into a viable diversification.

Getting the seed dried promptly is vital to turning out a good product so they’ve had a silo built along with a loading

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Aaron Silcock grew up on the family farm at Reefton. He bought it from his grandparents.

conveyor but months later they’re still waiting for the heating unit.

The dryer was meant to be in action for this year’s harvest but, frustratingly, there’ve been successive hold-ups by the engineering company and it’s still not going. As it’s turned out though that’s not really an issue because this year’s crop has been a failure, again because of factors outside the couple’s control.

“Our big crop is sadly a write-off this year. We grow it organically so we had the ground worked, put the clover cover crop in, rang the contractor and said we are ready and need you now. He said, ‘yeah, yeah I’m coming’ and he didn’t,” she says.

“You only need the weeds to get a tiny bit up and the seedlings can’t compete.

We’ve got some plants that are taller than me but the docks are just about up there as well.”

Ideally, hemp should be planted at the end of October or early November but it wasn’t until mid December this season’s seed finally went into the ground. The reason planting was delayed was a plague of rats had exploded on the Coast.

“We were putting bucket-loads of bait around the paddock and it was disappearing. It was all we could do because rodents will go for hemp seed before they’ll go for anything else – they just decimate it,” he says.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

“In our glasshouse when I was trying to get the research and breeding going I planted 168 pottles with five seeds in each but only one or two came up. The rats were tipping over the pottles, digging them out of the ground. They were just so hungry for it.

“I don’t really want to make money from exploiting animals to be honest.

Aaron Silcock

“I pretty much had to build a damn fortress to keep the rats out. I had an electric fence unit with a wire on the ground, I put cayenne pepper round the outside and had some food wrap around this thing I’d made and it worked eventually.”

Though they’ve had more than their share of things going wrong they remain committed to diversifying into hemp and

say there’s more to it than just diversifying their income.

“There’s also the fact we like to help people. I honestly believe that hemp is the plant that could save the planet,” Sarah says.

“You name it, hemp can do it, from clothing to fuel, from health products to building products.”

They’ve developed 13 of their own products marketed under the brand Larrys Gold. One of their most popular offerings is their EPIK Daily Drops.

“We’ve trialled them out and have just been getting results that are a constant driver. People ring us up all the time to say thank you, which makes you feel good. And making it affordable for people, that’s our main driver,” she says.

“We can’t make claims but our customers can, that it can actually help people. You can’t make any claims about any natural product and even if you had an apple tree that made you healthy and said that they’d come and cut your tree down.”

Regulation of the embryonic hemp industry is in the hands of the Ministry of Health and growers have to satisfy strict conditions to get a licence.

“You can’t grow it beside the road,

Continued page 14 13

The DairyNZ field day was run by consulting officer Angela Leslie who says farmers often talk about diversification and what they can do on their own farms.

you’ve got to be 5km from a school, have no convictions. You’ve got to have been a good boy or girl,” she says.

A few weeks before harvest the crop is tested for THC levels with results sent to the ministry to prove it is industrial hemp rather than intoxicating marijuana, its identical-looking high-THC cousin.

The test costs $1000, which was one of the reasons the couple decided it wasn’t worth harvesting this year’s poor crop.

“High THC cannabis growers nowadays claim 20% to 30% THC. Hemp has to test below 0.35%” she says.

The couple have transferred the skills they already had to their hemp operation.

Aaron is used to growing grass and feed crops and is quickly learning how best to grow hemp on the West Coast.

“It’s like any plant, the more fertile you are the more you’ll grow. It doesn’t need big inputs but if you want to put those in you’ll get big plants and big yields. Each

year we’re picking one more thing that’s going to help us,” he says.

Sarah is in charge of product development and negotiating the maze of paperwork and regulations.

“All my previous jobs have involved a lot of talking so I’m usually the phone-call person, reading all the regulations and working with the ministry.

“I keep telling Aaron if someone knocks at the door and asks you what’s in the regulations and you give them a blank look it doesn’t look good – we’ll work on that,” she laughs.

With a toddler to look after she often finds herself working at night either answering emails or working in the certified kitchen they have on the farm developing new products.

“Sometimes I go down there and Aaron’s on Daddy-day-care. He comes in off the farm and we kind of balance everything.”

Harvest time can be very busy and has to be done before birds devastate the crop.

14

They admit that without the income from the dairy farm they’d struggle to make hemp pay at this stage but with each year they overcome another hurdle and develop the skills they believe will bring success.

There’s strong domestic demand for their hemp products, so much so they have to buy in de-hulled hemp seeds, known as hemp hearts, from overseas.

The high-protein hearts are a popular food with superfood status.

While from farm to plate and NZ-grown is their ultimate goal, organically grown is a priority. The couple soil test before and after growing and to date haven’t been able to find a grower in NZ with organic status who can meet their demand.

“Hemp is a remedial crop so if you spray the paddock out before planting then grow organically or spray-free after that you cannot claim organic or sprayfree status because those toxins in the soil will be up taken by the plant,” she says.

Their hemp hearts sell for $55/kg but it takes about 3kg of seed to make 1kg of hearts and costs include planting and harvesting the crop and drying the seed as well the THC testing.

“If you start having to send your product over to Canterbury or to the North Island to be processed that’s when it gets costly,” she says.

They are now concentrating on getting better at growing hemp and hope other West Coast farmers will follow their lead.

“We’re trying to keep that grassroots feel, even the idea of a co-op. I know that doesn’t always work but we don’t want to see a monopoly.

“The Hempire is so big that everyone can have a slice of the pie.

“One farmer could be making hemp toilet paper, another could be doing hemp clothing, there’s just so much.”

For now they’ll continue to milk cows but with a goal of one day becoming

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

I honestly believe that hemp is the plant that could save the planet.

Sarah Gibson

hemp farmers, not dairy farmers.

“We wanted to do something that ticks all the boxes – a healthy product, no need to exploit animals and environmentally sustainable.

“Hemp ticks all those boxes and is a plant that we are both extremely passionate about,” Sarah says.

“We’re making it happen and I guess the time will come when we’ll have to reduce the number of cows that we milk.

In fact we are already doing that slowly.

“We don’t just want to say, ‘that’s it, the cows are gone’. Our goal is to grow the hemp alongside our cows and eventually turn the farm into a sanctuary where the cows will happily live out their days on the farm.” n

Hemp plants can grow 11cm a day in perfect conditions. Aaron struggles to reach the top of the plant.

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MILK MONITOR Will a baby bump in nine months help the dairy industry?

Get ready to ride seesaw Each month the milk monitor Stephen Bell delves into the dairy industry and gives us the lowdown on the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between.

B

EWARE. All sorts of people like me are going to be telling you all sorts of things.

People who didn’t know they were experts will suddenly start offering inside knowledge on what’s going to happen.

But all fortune tellers should be treated with utmost caution.

The truth is no one knows what the future holds.

We don’t know if or when we might have a covid-19 vaccine. The virus might die out, it might linger or it might mount a renewed attack.

As for the markets, even the established commentators are at odds.

If covid goes away we might see a rapid recovery but even then the disruption is likely to linger.

We might see a mighty upsurge in people buying our goods.

We might well see continued ups and downs as markets and consumers make knee-jerk reactions to the latest developments. That seems likely given the recent behaviour, best exhibited by stock markets.

I call it the see-saw effect. We just have to hope the ride won’t be too bumpy.

In the meantime we have to rely on what we know.

Our advantage is our farmers know a lot about farming so its up to the Government and all those who have dealings with farmers to make sure it’s as easy as possible for farmers to farm.

Past the farmgate we are good

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

at processing our products and we know people like them because of our reputation for producing safe food to high quality in a manner that is good for the environment and animal welfare.

Now is not the time for anyone to do anything that might harm our reputation.

We have to leverage it as much as we can and keep hammering the message home to consumers.

I call it the seesaw effect. We just have to hope the ride won’t be too bumpy And we have to deal with what we have in front of us. In the immediate future Europe appears to be entering a phase where lockdowns are easing and China is reportedly getting back to normal.

So we have to hope for the best and do everything we can to take advantage of any opportunity that turns up in those places. We have to keep getting more nimble at selling our products.

In the immediate future for dairy farmers this season’s payout looks safe at $7-plus but next season is anyone’s guess.

Again it depends on what happens overseas. Commentators who should know about these things can’t agree on whether milk collections in other parts of

the world are rising or falling.

They do agree, however, farmers should expect a lower milk price for the 2020-21 season.

How much lower is open to conjecture.

The rule of thumb seems to be knock a dollar off what you get this season then keep going down depending on how pessimistic you are.

The latest NZX forecast, which is based on actual numbers from Global Dairy Trade auctions and milk futures contracts, has plunged 53c to $5.96/kg. That makes nasty reading.

The best advice I’ve seen is for farmers to do what they do best. They should limit the information sources they get – too much of a bad thing is a bad thing – and use sources they know to be reliable and trust.

And they must plan. Their budgets must cover a range of eventualities. In other words, to use a well-worn phrase, plan for the worst and hope for the best.

This pandemic has taught many of us we are not ready to deal with the unexpected and that includes farmers who should be well practised at planning for sudden events like floods and droughts or disease outbreaks. However, recent events tell us we are not as well prepared as we think.

It’s a chance for everyone to reflect on what they are doing and work out how to make sure they are there in a year’s time.

And if nothing else we can pin our hopes on a sudden leap in the world’s demand for infant formula to follow the lockdowns in about nine months. n

17

GUEST COLUMN

Working together through covid-19 While most of the country’s businesses and industries have come to a grinding halt during the covid-19 lockdown dairy farmers continue to feed the nation, DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says.

M

ARCH and April have been very eventful months for every Kiwi and for our dairy farmers.

We’ve all been affected by covid-19 and share concerns about its impact on our health, communities and economy.

In the dairy sector we’ve been fortunate to continue working in recent weeks when so many businesses and people have not been able to.

Covid-19 restrictions have seen farms make rapid changes to how they operate to ensure employees are protected.

Many farms have applied some Kiwi ingenuity to keep things going in a new operating environment and, in many cases, taken additional steps to keep staff safe. For example, we’ve heard of farmers splitting rosters into two shifts to reduce potential for staff transmission.

DairyNZ has been supporting farmers in a range of ways.

We’ve been working with the Ministry for Primary Industries, Federated Farmers and supply companies to provide advice for farmers and seek solutions for issues such as immigration, moving day and staff shortages.

I also want to acknowledge that many regions have been dealing with their own challenges – large areas of New Zealand have been battling drought conditions and, in Southland, farmers have been managing the aftermath of flooding.

Reduced capacity at meat processors, to protect staff during covid-19, has also seen more stock kept on farms.

There is a range of support available to help plan for feeding stock.

MPI, DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb and others are working together to provide farmers with feed budgeting support. To access this help, call DairyNZ on 0800 4 DairyNZ. In May dairy farmers have a once-insix-years chance to vote on the future of 18

Despite the challenges farmers have kept producing dairy at a time when food and income security are so important to New Zealand.

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says it’s been great to see farmers sharing the message with New Zealand that they can count on dairy farmers to carry on producing food during the lockdown.

Though it’s a busy time the vote can’t be delayed because it’s set by legislation.

Voting takes just one tick and can be completed online or through your voting pack.

As covid-19 might affect postal services we’re encouraging online voting. Vote by May 30 to have your say on this important issue.

Finally, it’s been great to see farmers sharing the message NZ can count on dairy farmers to carry on producing food at this time when both food and income security are so vital to NZ. The videos, produced by farmers, DairyNZ and partners, have collectively had over 400,000 views and have seen many Kiwis sharing their thanks for the great work farmers do.

Check them out on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/dairynz. n

MORE: the milksolids levy that enables DairyNZ to deliver a wide range of research, events and support to farmers.

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May 2020

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ON FARM

Janine and John Moore bought the original 58ha farm at Stratford in 1994 and have since expanded to 172ha.

Photos: Ross Nolly 20

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

They do it all properly A Taranaki couple have invested in a new shed with all the bells and whistles. It makes milking quick, efficient and saves them time and money. Ross Nolly reports.

W

HEN Taranaki farmer Janine Moore returned her grandchildren to her daughter’s farm one afternoon she noticed their worker knocking off at 4.50pm after milking 380 cows through a new 50-bail rotary.

They had begun milking at 3pm and were already heading home. At that time she knew her husband John was still milking 390 cows through their 32-aside herringbone shed back on their own farm.

“I remember thinking enough of this,” Janine says.

“We called Quintin Oakes, our builder, who told us the rough cost to build a new shed. The bank gave us the go-ahead so we rang Quintin and told him we were building a new shed. It just evolved from there.”

John and Janine farm 172 hectares (154ha effective) near Stratford in Taranaki. Their farm is on the edge of the Ngaere Swamp. A 3ha oil well site is on the farm.

The farm incorporates 7ha of regenerating bush and 1ha for mudfish conservation held in QE II Trust covenants in partnership with the Taranaki Regional Council.

The work they have done to protect and enhance the environment and biodiversity earned them a council environment award for their stewardship and sustainable dairy farming.

They moved to the farm 26 years ago and have since incorporated three farms into the original 58ha property. They went from milking 320 cows to 390.

Construction of the 50-bail Chapman Dairy rotary platform began in April 2019 and the first milking was on October 7. The shed has a spacious kitchen, a

Janine and John Moore milking in the new shed though one person can easily milk on their own.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

FARM FACTS n Owners: John and Janine Moore n Location: Stratford, Taranaki n Farm size: 172ha n Cows: 400-410 cows n Breed: 75% Friesian, 25% Friesian-cross n Production: 430-450kg MS/cow.

160,000kg MS. Aiming for 170180,000kg MS when herd gets to 400

viewing room and a secure external shed for chemicals.

“We installed the complete Dairymaster plant – pretty much whatever they had available at the time,” John says.

“A computer system, auto-draft (off EID tags) and animal health collars that record rumination, resting and cycling.

The system monitors everything 24/7 and reports via the office computer or our phones. We use Janine’s phone to scan the cow’s collars.”

John feels the labour savings from a one-person shed probably pay the shed’s interest bill and the computer system alone is worth one labour unit.

They also installed an auto-wash system and self-parking system on the platform. A simple push of a button starts the wash automatically after switching off the tap to the vat and connecting a hose to the platform.

Once the wash is complete the system automatically sets for a vat wash after the milk tanker has been.

“We installed a milk divert line so, during milking, if a cow with mastitis comes on she is cupped as normal but

Continued page 22 21

The Moores’ shed wasn’t ready for the start of last season but with all the bells and whistles saving them time and giving them peace of mind they hope the coming season will hum along.

we push a divert line button to dump her milk,” John says.

“Each individual bail has its own control panel. You push a control panel button and can either contain her on the platform until you can treat her or draft her off to the left or right.”

The cluster cleanse function rinses each cluster after a cow is milked. Cows are automatically teat-sprayed and the cups are automatically flushed to prevent cross-contamination and help lower cell counts. A Dungbuster in the yard minimises the amount of hosing down.

Calves in the yard ready for drenching before they were sent to the grazier on May 1.

22

“We only have one wash-down hose in the shed and it’s attached to a rail around the top of the shed. It’s the thing I love most as it eliminates having to drag a heavy hose around,” Janine says.

A comfy floor eliminates the need to stand on cold, unforgiving concrete during milking. John tends to have it lifted up relatively high because he’s used to milking in a herringbone shed. The comfy floor and the hose rail are two things he now couldn’t do without.

“The shed’s entire water system is built above the ground and constructed from stainless steel. Any leaks or breaks are easy to spot and remedy,” he says.

“The only place the water system goes underground is from the edge of the shed to the centre of the yard and is stainless steel too.”

The computer reads a cow’s ear tag and shows which cows are bulling as soon as they walk onto the platform. They use the system’s speaker, which eliminates the need to be constantly checking a monitor.

John feels the technology might help their in-calf rates.

“This year we used cow collars for the first time and I would now quite confidently tell an AI technician to mate any cow that has been automatically drafted off,” he says.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

The Friesian and Friesian-cross herd was producing 175,000 kilograms of milksolids but dropped to about 160,000kg MS because of the lower herd numbers.

A transmitter is in the cowshed and a portable one is on a hill. They enable the system to gather as much data as possible throughout the day. The more data that can be acquired further enhances the system’s accuracy.

“We milk pregnancy test the herd but we find that the collars have already picked them up as being empty,” he says.

“And I’ve usually observed them bulling in the paddock. I feel that as we build data we won’t be so reliant on pregnancy testing the entire herd and be able to rely more on the collars.

“In the past we might over time observe

a cow that wasn’t feeding properly whereas the collars instantly pick it up.”

The cows can be weighed as they leave the shed and the system has a time delay so the stock must be weighed in groups.

For example the R3 group can be weighed by entering them into the computer then the system identifies those to be weighed from their ear tags.

Culls can be drafted by simply programming their ID numbers into a phone to be automatically drafted.

The farm operates a three-pond

We don’t want small Friesians.

If you’re going to milk a Friesian you may as well milk a decent sized one.

John Moore

Continued page 24

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Milking in the 50-bail rotary will be quicker so Janine and John Moore will milk 400 cows next season and aim to milk 400-410 cows in the future.

effluent system. Every second year a contractor cleans the first pond and spreads it onto the farm. When their consent comes up for renewal they will install a pump on the pond and run it to a travelling irrigator. The capacity of the three ponds will be enough to meet the requirements of their new consent.

The shed has an auto-divert system so during heavy rain, and if there is no stock on the yard, the water automatically diverts to the drain. The effluent system automatically starts when the highpressure hoses are turned on and when the shed starts up.

The in-shed feeding system in the old shed was sold to neighbours who had just bought their first farm. It meant the Moore’s herd didn’t receive any inshed feeding until their first milking in the new shed. Production was a little lower than usual in August but that was predominately due to slower calving.

“We transitioned into the new shed really well. We’re currently milking 335 cows and from cups on until the last cow leaves the platform milking takes about 1hour and 20 minutes,” he says.

“A big difference compared to the twohours in the old shed. And that’s with only one person milking. The shed is welldesigned. We wouldn’t change anything about it.

They employ two full time staff but probably need only one now the shed is a one-person unit.

24

“We’re not going to change. It means that I only have to milk on statutory holidays. Doing the occasional milking allows me to keep an eye on how things are running.”

Both staff members are staying for the coming season and will be doing most milkings.

They will be able to rotate milkings and share the early starts.

I remember thinking enough of this.

Janine Moore

John does the day-to-day pasture management and this season will be the first full one in the shed. The staff will look after the day to day maintenance.

“A one-person shed eliminates the need to find reliable relief milkers and gives me the chance to get out of the shed more often. Last year I continued milking until Christmas but have rarely been in the shed since then,” he says.

“So the new shed has freed me up to do other things.”

John comes from a farming family and was born and raised in Manawatu.

The family started farming in Wairarapa

then moved to Taranaki after living in Manawatu.

“If I didn’t have a job by the time I left school I was going to do a builder’s apprenticeship but, luckily, I got a job on the coast milking 130 cows.”

He then returned home and went lower order sharemilking with his dad milking 200 cows.

Janine also comes from a long line of farmers. Her grandfather is the late Arthur Revell, the renowned Mangatoki Jersey breeder and her parents still live on their Riverlea family farm.

She was working at the ANZ bank in Stratford when they met through the Revells as the family would often gather to help during the sales and John lived just up the road. They married in 1981 and now have three daughters and two grandchildren.

After their marriage they spent four years as 50-50 sharemilkers on the Joll Estate, a Public Trust farm at Kaponga milking 120 cows, which they increased to 150 cows They then spent eight years 50-50 sharemilking on the Bonner Estate (Public Trust) farm near Stratford.

“Our goal from the beginning was to buy a farm,” John says.

“Back then farm ownership accounts were the go. You would deposit $10,000 and get a decent tax return so with that and the sale of a portion of the herd we funded the purchase of this farm.”

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

The original 58ha has been added to as neighbouring properties came up for sale and it is now 172ha. Every block they bought was done over a cuppa at the kitchen table and on a handshake.

The herd was producing 175,000 kilograms of milksolids but over the past few seasons dropped to about 160,000kg MS because of the lower herd numbers.

“We’re getting around 430-450kg MS per cow. When we get back to 400 cows we’re aiming to get back up to around 170-180,000kg MS again,” he says “With the 50-bail rotary we can milk faster, which will allow us to push cow numbers up to where they should be. We will milk 400 next season and aim to milk 400-410 cows in the future.”

The farm is a System 2 and they buy some palm kernel extract to feed in the shed and about 80 bales of hay.

In October or early November they direct drill 8ha of turnips and this year have sown 6ha of oats into paddocks that will be used for turnips. The oats will be used to add bulk to the silage.

Two years ago they trialled 2ha of oats and were astounded how much bulk it put into the silage when mixed with the grass in the pit.

“We use the turnips to sow new pasture and as insurance against the dry. We use a lot of tetraploids and the cows seem to enjoy them.

“We begin feeding the turnips from about January 20 and aim for them to last into the middle of March.

“In-shed feeding allows us to increase

About a dozen Speckle Park-cross beef cows are used to clean up the pasture.

the amount we feed if it becomes dry. If we have excess feed supplements over and above what we need for winter then we can dip into that. If we haven’t enough supplements we send off our culls.”

Depending on the season they will harvest 20-30ha of silage and about 200 bales of hay.

The farm is mostly flat and 60% is peat swamp. In the winter the peat becomes very wet and very dry in summer but it still grows a lot of grass.

“As long as the fertility is there the grass holds out well in the dry. If you do your

The shed is fully automatic and most things can be programmed in to start at a certain time or at the touch of a button. John entering the type of plant wash he wants to run into the computer panel.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

management right you can still winter on it. If it’s been raining during the night you have to move the cows early to minimise pasture damage.

“It’s a neverending job keeping the wood that comes up through the peat out of the pasture. We need to turn the paddocks over to get rid of the wood.

Some paddocks that were cleared about 15 years ago are now due to be cleared again.”

The swampy areas are also a staff health and safety issue. Last year he noticed a calf was missing. After walking along all the drains they eventually found it dead in a tomo where a swamp stump or log had rotted out. They emphasise their staff must be extra vigilant in paddocks where tomos might occur.

Calving begins August 2 they aim to keep 80-100 replacements but will rear every AB heifer calf. The calves are reared

by Janine in their purpose-built calf shed.

This year she is using woodchips instead of post peelings for bedding and they are already drying out nicely in the shed.

All new-born calves receive gold colostrum for the first few days to give them the best possible start. She has used Queen of Calves for a number of years.

“We tried it when it came out and noticed the calves had grown really well,” she says.

They were weighed often and we found they were putting on more than 1kg each day. The line of calves was evenly grown.”

“Whether we continue with it will depend largely on the payout. It’s an

Continued page 26 25

I don’t think we do anything differently to anybody else, we just try to do everything properly.

John Moore

added cost but we do end up with good calves by using it. We usually feed colostrum until it runs out and then swap to milk powder.”

This season their milk cartage system will have to be adapted because the milk used to be pumped directly to a vat in the calf shed from the nearby old cowshed.

“Due to the divert line in the cowshed we don’t have to run a separate colostrum mob as long as we don’t have more than 20 cups on the line” she says.

Replacement calves are weaned at 100kg then sent off farm to a grazier on May 1. This year they will have 100 weaners and some holdover cows going out to grazing.

Mating begins on October 25 and they do AI for four weeks followed by service bulls for a further two to three weeks.

They finish off with 30 straws of shortgestation semen around December 20 to obtain a nine to 10 week mating period.

About 75% of the herd is Friesian and the rest are Friesian-cross. They mate every cow they might want to keep replacements from to Friesian bulls but sometimes buy crossbred replacements.

Jersey bulls are put over the heifers and the bulls go directly to the works

The cluster cleanse function rinses each cluster after each cow is milked to prevent bacteria transferring between cows.

afterwards. A dozen Speckle Park-cross beef cows are used to clean up the pasture.

They use CRV Ambreed bulls and have had one of their own crossbred bulls enter the CRV Ambreed system. They use some Hereford on the cows they don’t want to keep calves from and Speckle Park over their beef cows.

“I pick four bulls that meet my criteria for BW, all of the traits, milk protein/fat ratio, general conformation and size.

“We don’t want small Friesians. If you’re going to milk a Friesian you may as well milk a decent sized one.”

“For the last few years we’ve had a private sale for all of our four-day-old Friesian bull calves and some whitefacedblack Hereford bull calves too. Another buyer takes all of our Hereford heifer calves. The only calves that go on the

bobby truck are the poorly marked Friesian bull calves and the heifers’ calves.”

Away from the farm they are busy with the grandchildren and try and get away at least once a year but hope to do more travel now they are less tied to the farm.

With the season winding down they are not sure what is in store as covid-19 restrictions are still in place. But at least the shed is up and running and ready to go when calving starts again.

“I don’t think we do anything differently to anybody else, we just try to do everything properly.” John says.

“In the future we may look at putting on a lower order sharemilker or contract milker and try to help someone else into the industry. No day is the same on a farm. You’re out in the open air and every day there’s something different to do.” n

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May 2020

NEWS

Meating the need GERARD HUTCHING

F

ARMERS are rallying around to help Kiwi families in need with a just-launched charitable initiative to ensure food will be put on the tables of the less privileged.

The Meat the Need charity is the brainchild of Motueka and Golden Bay farmers Siobhan O’Malley and Wayne Langford, who came up with the idea two years ago.

They had planned to get it off the ground towards the middle of the year but the covid-19 crisis persuaded them to bring the launch date forward.

“There’s been a huge escalation of demand on food banks in the past few weeks and we said we could make a difference right now.

“Both Wayne and I are food producers.

We felt New Zealand produces so much food for so many millions around the world but it’s never sat well with us that there are so many people in NZ who go hungry.

“Surely there’s something we can do,” O’Malley said.

The pair have teamed up with Silver Fern Farms, which process livestock donated by farmers, which is then sent to city missions or food banks for distribution.

O’Malley said farmers can donate by providing an entire beef beast, sheep or deer or they can offer a virtual one with a donation for all or part of an animal.

They don’t yet have a queue of farmers lining up to donate but O’Malley is confident they will once word gets out.

“The key piece of the puzzle was to find the processor who would pick up the animal, process it and provide us with the meat,” O’Malley said.

The animal is not divided up into different cuts. Rather the value of the livestock is exchanged for 500g packs of mince, which are more useful for families than prime cuts.

Food banks have welcomed the initiative because meat is one of the more expensive spends in a family’s shopping and yet provides excellent nutrition.

Christchurch City Mission chief executive Matthew Mark said the move

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Meating the need is a new national initiative started by farmer Siobhan O’Malley, with husband Christopher and the Dairy Industry Awards share farmers of the year trophy they won in 2017, to put food on the tables of those less fortunate.

Over the past year we’ve seen demand rise by about 300% for our services.

Matthew Mark

came at an especially critical time.

“Over the past year we’ve seen demand rise by about 300% for our services so it’s really welcome. And it’s all about guaranteeing a consistency of supply.”

O’Malley said though Meating the Need had been in talks with the food banks for more than a year, they had not wanted to proceed without sorting out the logistics first.

“We have to make sure we don’t burden them and that they have sufficient storage.

“The key role we play is smoothing out the supply chain – we’ve got farmers donating in a seasonal way and we

have food banks who need the meat in a regular and predictable way every month,” O’Malley said.

Langford hopes 1500 to 2000 animals will be donated by the charity’s third year of operation.

O’Malley has had no previous involvement with charities but has learned about vulnerable families through her social worker mother as well as her own experience as a school teacher when she saw the importance of programmes such as Milk in Schools.

She and husband Christopher manage a hop orchard and run beef cattle but because they miss their former occupations of dairy farming, they are going back to it.

Langford is known for his mental health work and Federated Farmers roles.

Adding guidance and experience to the charity are board members NZX analytics head Julia Jones, Agri-Women’s Development Trust Next Level graduate Cheyenne Wilson, Tatua director Richard Luxton and Riverstone Farming managing director Jessie Chan. n

MORE:

The address for donations is meattheneed.org/ 27

DAIRY CHAMPION

Waikato farmer Ross Wallis did not map out his career but along the way was not afraid to tackle new opportunities head on.

Living a purposeful life A Kiwi farmer is making a difference in Sri Lanka. He told Cheyenne Nicholson how he came to learn the most important life lesson.

W

AIKATO farmer Ross Wallis is an opportunist and a firm believer in letting go of the things he can’t

control.

It’s how he’s come to have a varied career path that lets him combine his great passions in life – farming and helping people.

Wallis and his wife Shayney farm 115ha at Raglan, milking 285 crossbred cows on a year-round, once-a-day system.

They were part of an advertising campaign for Anchor milk that followed their milk from their farm to Te Rapa factory and on to Sri Lanka in the form of milk powder.

Tear Fund New Zealand saw the advertisement and got in touch to see if the Wallises were interested in the dairy development work it does in Sri Lanka.

They immediately said yes.

They jumped in and financially supported the programme and in November 2018, with other donors from 28

NZ, went to see the programme in action.

“We got to see the difference between a farm that hadn’t started under the development programme versus one that had.

“I was blown away by the difference.

“One was full of hope and aspirations and the others were a bit beaten down and feeling hopeless. For me, this sold it.”

Having completed Fonterra’s governance development programme he wanted to get some board experience.

Impressed by Tear Fund’s work and keen to be a part of it he approached the chief executive and asked about an intern role on the board. A year later he was invited onto the board.

“It’s funny how opportunities present themselves. I’m quite an opportunist. I don’t plan much but if I had I couldn’t’ve planned it better.”

Much of his initial work in Sri Lanka was passing on basic best practice like feed budgeting, stock management and understanding pastures to local farmers who would go to stay on a demonstration farm to learn and go back to their

community as a model farmer who would further pass on that knowledge to other farmers.

“A really big learning for many of them was learning about the lifecycle of grass and understanding that grass has to be harvested at the right time to get the optimum quality, even if its elephant grass.

“The way the programme works is they can see one of their own implementing what they have learned and it gives them hope they can do the same. It’s simple but very powerful.”

Farmers have been able to take what was a sideline, supplementary income to a main source of income that lifts many families above the poverty line. The main purpose of the dairy development programme is not just dairy but helping to rebuild communities devasted by decades of civil war.

“These issues run deep.

“Many of the farmers we visited had family that were killed during the war and whole communities were displaced. Dairy has provided a catalyst to rebuild these

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

communities and give purpose back to families.”

The programme expands to young farmer groups, youth programmes and to the protection of women’s and children’s rights, all areas that require a great deal of support in post-war conflict areas.

In a bold step from an aid perspective Tear Fund NZ is moving to a social enterprise. Wallis helps that shift with his knowledge and expertise of co-operatives.

“We are all the same whether we farm in NZ or Sri Lanka. We all desire to live a purpose-led life, to be fulfilled in what we do. It’s about family and community and supporting a better life for our loved ones.

In Sri Lanka I saw tremendous hope in what they were doing and a tenacity.”

Farmers use everything, even capturing methane off a few cows to generate gas for their kitchen to cook with, a concept Ross says he would dismiss at home because he would always be looking at size and scale.

“They didn’t. They just saw opportunity to save a few cents a day in cooking costs.

I would argue that some of them are more efficient than us and could teach us a thing or two, particularly about waste.”

Alongside Tear Fund NZ, Wallis also sits on the board of Flame, an organisation working with the urban poor in the slums of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Children of urban poor families cannot access education easily and opportunities to reach their potential and develop are limited with families often struggling with social issues, continuing the poverty cycle.

Flame identifies children who want to learn and alongside their families supports those children through education with a number of initiatives aimed at helping to break the cycle of poverty and create opportunities.

Wallis is also passionate about helping people on his home turf.

As an advocate for continuous development he decided to stand for the Fonterra Shareholders’ Council in 2013 when his farm was ticking over nicely and he felt he had done all he could and wanted a new challenge.

He found the solitude that often comes with farming difficult and was keen to reconnect with people again, to give back to the farming community and develop his leadership capability.

“I was keen to understand my cooperative a bit better as I hadn’t really engaged with it before. You get to see the width, depth and breadth to what we’re part of. It’s given me greater confidence in the co-operative model.”

Part way through his last term on

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Many Sri Lankan farmers cut long, low-quality elephant grass and carry it to their cows to eat or feed hay. Teaching farmers about the lifecycle of pasture has made a big difference to their production.

It’s all about ensuring we are growing our leaders and giving them opportunities to step up. the council, he has learned a lot from gaining a deeper understanding of how co-operatives work, which has given him knowledge and tools to use in his work with Tear Fund and helped him become a more confident leader.

“In council my passion is helping to develop councillors and leadership. It’s a role I’ve really stepped into this year. It’s all about ensuring we are growing our leaders and giving them opportunities to step up.”

Wallis’ says the Fonterra governance development and Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme really helped with his own leadership growth.

“I remember at Kellogg we had to do a final report and because I hadn’t really been to university I didn’t really know about referencing and other things. I felt quite insecure about whether or not I could do it.”

Coming out of the programmes he had a greater sense of confidence as a person and as a leader, which ultimately encouraged him to grab every opportunity that came his way.

“It made me realise I do have a voice and something to say that could help people. I hate standing still and although Kellogg was a bit of a stretch from an academic perspective, having that chance to expand your mind and thinking is invaluable. It helps round out your experience and show you how little you really know, which is always good for humility.”

On reflection, he admits his career path hasn’t been a typical one, especially when it came to farm ownership.

But when it comes to his work with Tear Fund and Flame the answer to that path can be traced back to 1836 to Reverend James Wallis, a Methodist missionary who with his wife Mary settled in Raglan. The couple were the first Europeans to settle there. They established a church, opened a school and in 1851 bought land for their son to farm on the Oteke Harbour.

That land has been in the family ever since but over the generations got smaller as brothers took over different parts. His brother Shaun now farms part of the original land while Wallis and his wife farm a block across the road.

“I’ve always felt the pull of the land a bit here. There’s so much history here but when I was a kid if you asked me what I wanted to do my answer was always anything but milking.

“It wasn’t until dad started paying us $3 a milking that I started to thaw a bit on my dislike of it.”

True to his word, he didn’t milk for the first 10 years of his career. After dropping

Continued page 30 29

out of university he worked in retail at his uncle’s fruit and vegetable shop for a year before joining some friends and heading to Australia for six months for mission experience.

Six months turned into 10 years. His work took him all around the world. He met and married his wife and started a family. The latter five years of his work saw him in events management setting up city-wide youth events in Australia, the United States and India.

With child number four on the way the couple decided they needed a break from travelling for a bit. The timing was opportune with his dad going through some hardship on the farm and in need of some help. Twenty years later they are still there.

“We started managing the farm for dad and that’s when I kind of fell in love with the business side of farming.

“I started my agri-business management diploma, which was a far better way of learning for me.

“It was hands-on and all stuff I needed to know as I was progressing upward.”

He leased 40ha off his parents for a year before buying it and in October last year they bought a further 80ha they were leasing from a cousin.

Calving kicks off June on 20, which is earlier than most farms in the region.

That decision came off the back of the 2008 droughts when he realised they had to change things if they were going to see different results.

“It was a killer that year.

“We got to December and we’d done maybe half our usual production so it was a turning point for us.

“We brought calving forward, planted 10% of the farm in chicory to deal with summer dries and put in an in-shed feed system to help with early feed deficits.

“The idea being I would rather be buying feed for cows that had freshly calved producing 1.8-2kg MS than feeding at the other end of the season to cows

While in Sri Lanka working with Tear Fund NZ Ross passed on his knowledge of best practice like feed budgeting, stock management and understanding pastures to local farmers.

producing less than 1kg MS. It’s all about feed conversion efficiency to milk.”

Any post-December milk is seen as a bonus as their target is to do about 80% annual production by the end of December.

In 2008 the drought and the death of his mother to cancer made them reassess their goals.

“We seemed to be on a treadmill and life was racing by.

“Our children were growing up and I felt as though I was missing in their lives.

With debt mounting from the drought it was the worst time to make rash decisions but we did.

“We ticked up a holiday to Bali on the credit card. We got there, bought a timeshare on the credit card as well. I wasn’t thinking straight at the time and we had buyer’s remorse for about a month after. I don’t recommend doing this.”

In hindsight it turned out to be the best decision they could have made. The timeshare forced them to take time off the

farm every year to use it and was the first of many holidays they’ve had as a family.

From then on their farm business goals changed. The farm became a means to an end and a tool to help them help and influence not only their children but also others less fortunate.

Over the years Ross has realised he is only a caretaker of his land. His job is simply to look after it to the best of his ability and try to provide the best life possible for his loved ones.

“I can’t control the weather, the global financial situation or the markets that buy our products. The greatest lesson I’d give to people is control what you can control and let go of the rest. It’s out of your hands and you’ll be happier for it.

“If I was to go bankrupt tomorrow and lose everything I’d be content in the knowledge I’ve done my very best for myself, my family and others. At the end of the day, it’s not about size or scale, it’s about families, communities and living a purpose-led life.” n

Ross Wallis’ family have been farming in Raglan since 1851. He farms 115ha milking 285 cows. His participation in leadership and governance programmes like the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme has given him greater confidence in himself as a leader.

30

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Sending animals off to grazing?

The movement must be recorded in NAIT

• Farmer must create the sending movement • Grazier must confirm the movement (or create a receiving movement).* Need help?

Call 0800 482 463 or contact your information provider.

* Failure to record and confirm farm to farm livestock movements in the NAIT system may result in a $400 fine per animal or prosecution. The requirement to record livestock movements within 5 business days in the NAIT system is temporary and will return to 48 hours after the National State of Emergency is lifted.

NAIT is an OSPRI programme

ospri.co.nz

SPECIAL REPORT

Training our rural doctors Attracting general practitioners to work in small rural areas has been challenging at times, which has led people to delay seeking medical care. Ross Nolly caught up with one Taranaki rural GP who says there are a lot of benefits to working in small communities.

I

N RECENT years finding doctors willing to work in rural general practices and rural hospitals has been difficult.

The Rural Hospital Medicine Training Programme is a subset of the Royal New Zealand GP College. It’s a relatively new programme and its aim is to give doctors an experience of rural hospital medicine.

The programme has been operating at Hawera Hospital in South Taranaki for three years and shares some elements with general practice with many doctors practising rural GP and rural hospital medicine simultaneously.

Dr Anna Fischer, who is Hawera Hospital’s rural hospital medicine registrar, has worked at the hospital for more than six months. Before moving to Hawera she did four years of rural training in New Plymouth and Dunedin and GP training in Auckland and Central Otago.

“The rural hospital programme was born 11 years ago and is a separate training to general practice. It’s generally four years long and undertaken after completing two years as a hospital house surgeon,” Fisher says.

“The aim is to become a generalist and gain a wide range of experience that will enable doctors to run a small hospital and its emergency department in a limited resources environment.”

Programme doctors need to gain experience in general medicine, intensive care, paediatrics and anaesthetics to enable them to care for critical patients for an extended time before a helicopter or ambulance arrives.

It has become difficult for some people in the rural areas to find a GP to register with or even get to see their GP in a prompt time.

“Due to the shortage we sometimes have patients presenting quite late with illnesses. If we can catch those problems earlier we can often avoid hospital admissions or more intensive treatments,” she says.

“Chronic diseases are sometimes not as well managed as we’d like them 32

Hawera Hospital’s rural hospital medicine registrar Dr Anna Fischer feels more connected to her patients in a rural practice than she ever did working in a big city. to be. That can result in avoidable complications and more people accessing and clogging up the emergency department.”

Some urbanites have a preconceived idea of rural life, just as many country folk have preconceived notions of city life.

“Even though I came from Auckland I hated the rat race,” Fisher says.

“Here, there’s a sense of community.

People are proud to be from the region and they know and connect with each other. When you live in a busy city you can sometimes miss out on those connections.”

Fishers feels it’s easier for rural doctors to be in tune with a patient’s family and social circumstances. That can be extremely important in mental health cases.

“You are able to take a step back and think this patient has come to us three or four times with different issues.

“They may not have actually stated that they’re struggling with their mental health. When you have the time and more

scope of their situation you can recognise those factors.”

Small hospitals such as in Hawera are vital as some people live a long distance from a larger hospital but the rural context is not just a case of being further away from a major hospital. In a limited resource rural hospital the doctors must be prepared for any eventuality.

“The programme aims to create a workforce that’s equipped to maintain a high level of health care for their rural population. About 90% of the trainees who have completed the programme now work in rural areas. The programme is working and gathering momentum.”

Rural hospitals save money by proactively being the ambulance at the top of the cliff rather than at the bottom.

They have a distinct role compared to the large hospital specialist model.

Their role is a generalist model with the knowledge that specialists are available at the larger hospitals when needed.

“You can often manage without a specialist or by consulting a specialist for

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

If you’ve never been exposed to a rural region then you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ve never felt as though I’m stuck in a backwater, I love it.

Dr Anna Fischer

advice. Working in a rural hospital gives you a wide exposure to many different specialties. You need to be able to manage quite a lot more than you would in an urban hospital. Some patients need to be sent to a large hospital but we can do many procedures and do them very well.”

Fisher enjoys the generalist nature of her work. She finds it more satisfying than caring for a single aspect of her patients’ health. At Hawera Hospital she treats her patients across different specialties.

“Job satisfaction is very high and I really enjoy the rural population. I guess it’s a generalisation but rural people are very approachable and open. There’s a tangible sense of community and a strong sense of family,” she says.

“I like being able to connect with people and I feel that I’ve been able to do that better in a rural community. I enjoy that aspect of medicine.”

She knows all the nurses and other staff. It feels like a family where everyone gains strength from each other in a supportive work environment.

The difference between the rural regions has been a surprising revelation for Fisher. In Dunstan adventure tourism injuries were prevalent whereas in South Taranaki there are more injuries from agriculture.

Central Otago has a different demographic to South Taranaki, which has a larger Maori population and she also feels that depravation is higher in South Taranaki than in Central Otago.

“I didn’t realise how diverse the rural regions were and how the job differs in different parts of the country. It surprised me to learn parts of New Zealand had different access to specialists and resources.”

Access to health care around NZ can be variable. Dunstan is a three-hour drive

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Rural GPs deal with many farmers and injuries arising from rural activities.

from Dunedin, its closest referral hospital.

That distance requires doctors to manage more conditions due to the time it takes for an ambulance or helicopter to arrive.

“Hawera is only an hour’s drive from New Plymouth so we probably manage a few less conditions because we’re closer to referral services and specialists. Our training aims to give us skills in acute care in a rural environment.

“We’re a small team with only two doctors on at one time but that maximises experience. There’s more responsibility due to there being fewer doctors but we receive wonderful support. It’s a very wellbalanced system.”

Fisher enjoys working in Hawera and

feels she has a better work/life balance than when she lived in the big smoke. She loves the outdoors and her rural training has enabled her to live in parts of NZ she probably would have never otherwise considered.

“I’m always encouraging people to visit or work in Taranaki. Many have never been here. I’d encourage any doctor to come to a rural region for the job and the lifestyle.

“If you’ve never been exposed to a rural region then you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ve never felt as though I’m stuck in a backwater, I love it. Living here has been awesome and the people are awesome too.” n

It has become difficult for some people in the rural areas to find a GP to register with or even get to see in a prompt time, causing people like farmers to delay seeking medical advice.

33

SPECIAL REPORT

Life in lockdown When New Zealand went into lockdown offices closed and people were sent home. Those who could work from home did but many couldn’t. Considered to be essential workers, the nation’s farmers continued working to produce food to feed the nation. Tony Benny caught up with two families about how they managed.

T

HEY say timing is everything and that held true for Culverden farmers Ben and Gemma Abernethy when their new baby arrived a week earlier than expected on March 24 – the day before the covid-19 lockdown.

“It was pretty good timing really and I was lucky they let me stay at the hospital,” Ben says.

“But then, I guess the time we spent in the hospital in close contact with lots and lots of different people was probably what scared us the most in case we brought something home.”

At nine pounds six ounces Cohen Abernethy was a big baby and Gemma was kept in hospital for a couple of extra days before returning home where her mum was looking after daughters Ashlyn, 8, and Harper, 6.

With a new brother in the house Ashlyn and Harper aren’t too bothered about lockdown restrictions that mean they can’t leave the farm because they are engrossed in their little brother.

“We almost have a roster system in our

house for who’s going to hold the baby.

“He’s certainly got plenty of people to keep him entertained. It’s just sad that grandparents, cousins and uncles and aunts can’t see the wee fella.”

The Abernethys are 50:50 sharemilkers on a converted 170ha farm owned by David and Voray Croft and run 600 cows.

While they were away at the hospital their 2IC and staff kept the farm ticking over and once he was back home Ben kept well away from them following physical distancing guidelines.

“I’ve kinda been working separately from the rest of the staff because I was the highest risk of bringing something back. I was still in contact with the team making sure things kept happening but I was just trying to keep clear of them.”

That meant he had to keep out of the cowshed and for two weeks Ben didn’t milk until he was sure he hadn’t caught the virus.

“It was nice to be back in the cowshed once we got through that time,” he says.

“We’re just making sure there’s social distancing in the cowshed because I guess that’s our risk area and we’re doing extra

Ben and Jemma Abernethy with daughters Ashlyn and Harper are 50:50 sharemilkers on a farm at Culverden milking 600 cows.

Photos: Tony Benny 34

sanitising, anti-bacterial sprays and so on in the cowshed to keep things clean.

“I guess as farmers we’re pretty lucky we can still carry on and do our job with a few extra procedures and policies in place.”

It’s a relatively quiet time on the farm so he and his staff are just doing essential jobs and making sure they keep their distance from each other.

“It’s good and everyone gets to spend a bit more time at home.”

The only physical contact with the world outside the farm is when the tanker calls in but any chit chat with the driver is kept to a minimum.

“I was at the cowshed the other day when he turned up and said gidday from the other end of the tanker and that was it. It’s not like they’re sour fellas who don’t want a yarn. They’re under strict guidelines as well.”

The lockdown has changed the usual school holiday routine for Mt Hutt, Mid Canterbury, 50:50 sharemilkers Karl and Jilly Haywood and their three children too.

“It’s different but we’re feeling very fortunate we’ve got lots of space to be isolated in and the activities and things to do around us really,” Jilly says.

Normally, she could expect the kids to be asking if they can go swimming, go to the movies or visit their friends during the school holidays but with breaking their bubble now off limits Ella, 11, Maisie, 8, and Bert, 6, have to find other ways to fill their days.

“We’ve gone out and done stuff on the farm with Karl a lot more. Maisie’s actually helping him fence now and she’s learning to hammer staples in. And my girls ride horses so we’ve made cross-country jumps and they practise jumping them on their ponies.”

There’s a bike park near the farm which has closed during lockdown but which has become a recreation destination.

“We’ve been walking the bike track and that’s been really nice. I would never have walked the bike track with bikes

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

After the birth of baby Cohen, Ben Abernethy didn’t milk for two weeks and stayed away from other staff members for fear of passing something on. on it before as you’d get run over.”

The Haywoods run 820 cows on a 290ha effective property owned by Charles and Jan Whitehead. The farm’s not irrigated so they go on to once-a-day milking in February when conditions usually get drier.

“There’s a long incline across the farm and we were getting quite a few lame cows and we’ve found that going OAD reduces the lame cows a lot and we can get the condition scores up,” she says.

Once-a-day milking also reduces the workload.

“We just milk the cows in the morning and then feed them and sometimes everyone finishes at lunchtime and sometimes people will do some jobs like spraying weeds or fencing and everyone finishes at three o’clock. It’s quite nice and slow-paced.”

The family is in one bubble and their three staff are separate bubbles.

“They wear gloves on the vehicles and it’s a one-man shed so they don’t need to be in the shed together.

“We use alcohol teat-wipes on anything we touch on the milk vat before and after using it. We usually use them when we’re teat-sealing heifers or drying off cows and we’ve got a massive box left over from years of doing it and it’s finally come to a really good use. We knew we’d kept them for a reason.”

Jilly was a primary school teacher before they moved to the farm three years ago and says she’s looking forward to getting back into the classroom, albeit now at home.

“But I don’t think my children will be as good a students for me as other people’s children,” she laughs.

One thing both families agree on is how

lucky they are to have such big backyards to play in.

“We can be out on the farm without being in contact with other people,” Ben says.

“I feel for the people who’re stuck in the city with a tiny back yard full of kids. I couldn’t deal with that - we’re pretty lucky really.” n

Karl and Jilly Haywood are sharemilkers at Mt Hutt where they milk 820 cows.

During lockdown Jilly, Bert, Ella, Karl and Maisie stayed in their bubble but spent a lot of time on the farm together.

Photo: Inside Dairy

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INDUSTRY GOOD

Moving Day 2020 gets the go ahead Jane Muir DairyNZ people team manager

C

OVID-19 has had widespread impacts on the way we live and operate.

Recognising that Moving Day is a critical event for the dairy sector, DairyNZ has been part of a working group with Federated Farmers, Fonterra and FMG, which has helped plan and liaise with the Government on how the big shift can occur.

It’s been challenging to plan for Moving Day under a range of covid-19 alert levels.

We have developed Moving Day checklists, guidelines and procedures for farmers. They cover livestock, vehicles, the dairy shed, the farm, moving houses and possessions and moving people.

They also list the types of businesses you can involve in moving, such as moving trucks and cleaning companies and how you should manage this.

Good planning and communication are vital for any successful move.

Good planning and communication are vital for any successful move.

This year, with covid-19 requiring extra steps to keep everyone involved safe, forward planning and working together to ensure agreement about processes and timing are more important than ever.

Firstly, different alert levels will affect 36

Farmers shifting between farms this season can do so but must follow the guidelines and rules for covid-19.

with DairyNZ who can be involved in moving – at alert level four only those inside your bubble can help along with businesses registered as able to be used for Moving Day. At level three businesses should still be used as a preference for help. At alert level two friends and family can help but you’ll need to manage physical distancing and ensure regular hand washing. Anyone who is unwell should not help.

With social distancing rules in place you’ll need to plan how you will meet those requirements. For example, do you need to arrange more vehicles than normal to avoid people sharing a ride with someone outside their bubble?

Can you make plans for people to pack equipment in different rooms or locations? You should also consider what personal protective equipment (PPE) you’ll need to supply your moving team with.

Depending on alert levels, covid-19 restrictions might mean some helpers cannot cross regional borders so build how you would manage that into your plan.

Like farmers, other businesses must take extra steps to meet covid-19 restrictions so it’s best to book cleaners and transport and any other businesses you want to use early so they can plan what’s needed. The types of businesses registered to help are listed on DairyNZ’s website.

Keep in touch with them about what you need and let them know if requirements change. Booking a shipping container for household and farm goods might be really useful to allow you to start packing up early and reduce the pressure on everyone on Moving Day. n

MORE:

You can check out the latest advice on Covid-19 status from the Government at covid19.govt.nz and advice on Moving Day 2020 at www.dairynz.co.nz/covid-19 DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

37

WOMEN IN AGRI BUSINESS

The missing socks New Zealand is home to an extraordinary number of entrepreneurs changing the world, making life easier and pushing the boundaries. In this series we meet dairy women who, along with being top-notch farmers, are entrepreneurs and business owners. They share the triumphs and challenges of starting and running a business and a farm. Cheyenne Nicholson caught up with Eva Botting.

Matamata farmer Eva Botting diversified her farming business into socks to ensure her husband always had a good supply.

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DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

A

S THE saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention.

And it was Phillip Botting’s need for new socks at Christmas 2018 and his wife Eva’s willingness to take the plunge into the business world that led to the creation of The Sock Agent.

“Phil has an underwear subscription and I joked he should get a sock subscription. He just looked at me and said ‘Well, why don’t you just do it’. I knew nothing about retail or how to set it up so I laughed it off at first but he was the one who encouraged me to get it started and made me eat my words.”

Phillip, 28, and Eva, 27, have been married since they were 19 and now have three children – Noah, Jackson and Mila.

They began their dairying careers shortly after marrying, having dabbled in a few relief milking jobs before taking a huge leap and moving to the West Coast for a job on a Landcorp farm.

With no family nearby and four-dayold Noah in tow Eva looks back now and realises it was a bit of a crazy move but is just one example of their willingness to

take chances and try something new.

In subsequent years they took on various manager roles before landing their first contract milking position on John and Jane Martelli’s farm at Reporoa.

Being young and wanting to get their first shot at contract milking right they made many mistakes in their first year by simply wanting to do everything themselves.

“We’re both control freaks at times and we weren’t good at letting staff do their jobs and maybe mucking up,” Eva says.

“I guess we thought by doing it ourselves we’d save ourselves work but, looking back, we should’ve handed more over to our staff. I don’t think we’ve ever been so emotionally and physically exhausted than we were that year.

“It took a good year to recover from that fully. It was a real struggle and we had times where we thought why we are doing this, we have no family nearby to help, we’re tired all the time and it felt like everything was going wrong.”

They started delegating, handed bookwork over to an accountant and worked closely with the farm owners to make their second season a winner. When they discovered Eva was pregnant with

Eva Botting’s sock business sells only New Zealand made socks.

their third child Mila during their final season they decided they needed to go to a farm where it didn’t take both of them to be there if something went wrong.

“It really kicked in that we didn’t have

Continued page 40

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May 2020

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39

I like to leave a wee note in the package as well to add a personal touch. I really think as humans we need more of that. the balance when Noah had a triathlon at school and he’d forgotten how to ride a bike. We felt like terrible parents. We were working too much on the farm and not spending enough time with the kids.”

They are now contract milkers for Paul and Chris Mckenzie at Matamata. The System 5 farm produces 235,000kg MS and peak milks 400 cows.

When she decided to run with the idea of a sock subscription company Eva had no idea where to start and found herself facing similar challenges to their first season as contract milkers.

“Phil has his own side hustles with his cars and other ideas in the works so I really liked the idea of having my own wee business that could support our family and also do something to help farmers even in a small way.

“Farmers have largely been left behind in the world of convenience shopping.

Socks are just one of those things you always need.

“I feel like as farmers we have so many things on the go all the time and sometimes it’s nice to know that even one small thing is taken care of. And we all like to get a little something in the mail too.”

After speaking to friends who had set up businesses she set to making lists of what she’d need and the steps she needed to take to turn her idea into a proper business. She started making phone calls trying to find a stockist.

“I wanted the socks to be Kiwi made and a brand people trusted. I was turned down a lot because I wasn’t going to meet minimum spending and I honestly thought the whole thing wouldn’t work out but Phil was really supportive and knew it would take just one yes to get things moving.”

Former Norsewear general manager Steve Culevski heard Eva’s pitch and immediately gave her the yes she needed.

With a supplier locked in she worked 40

through her to-do list building and setting up her website, figuring out payment and banking and fine tuning the details of what the subscription would look like.

“Having a business in the form of being contract milkers I knew a little about what was involved so I wasn’t going into it completely green but things like the web development were a challenge and, in hindsight, I made similar mistakes to our first contract milking job, “I just wanted to do it all on my own. I was trying to do all of this in the middle of autumn calving as well.

“I remember one day driving the kids to school. Mila was in the back crying and I was tired. I was physically tired from the farm, I was mentally tired from setting up a new business and I thought to myself what am I even doing this for? I had that feeling like I couldn’t breathe again.

“It’s times like that where Phil is really great. I couldn’t have done any of this without him.

“I tend to get tunnel vision and focus only on the end product. He got me to focus on the small steps and take each of those steps as small wins.“

After five months of planning, setting up, overcoming unexpected issues like a change in management of her supplier, The Sock Agent launched last June.

Since then subscription numbers have grown steadily, the company is involved in a very successful project with Will to Live and the business is holding its own.

While there are some improvements she would like to make on the website and marketing front Eva has regular online sales, is making moves towards recyclable packaging and has mapped out other products she’d like to offer.

“The reception from customers has been great. It might just be a pair of socks but it’s one less thing for farmers to worry about. I like to leave a wee note in the package as well to add a personal touch.

I really think as humans we need more of that.

“We’re at a stage now with the farm and the business that we can take holidays and be more involved with the kids’ activities and we love it. It’s not all roses, farming never is, but on the whole I’m proud of how far we have come.” n

Everyone, especially farmers, need warm and cosy socks when working.

RESEARCH

Gas scholarships on offer SAMANTHA TENNENT

T

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the six scholarships are offered in Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases and will tap into the new research and knowledge students will bring to New Zealand.

HE global pool of innovation and ideas is set to be broadened by a new scholarship aimed at boosting global scientific expertise in agricultural

emissions.

The New Zealand Global Research Alliance Doctoral Scholarships programme announced earlier this year

by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor will enable science students from developing countries to complete their doctorates at a NZ university.

“NZ is a global leader on climate change,” he said.

“As part of that leadership role we’ve created these scholarships to support global efforts to tackle climate change and foster the next generation of climate scientists.

“We need to ensure the world’s brightest minds have access to our worldclass education,” O’Connor said.

“We are committed to supporting the scientific capability in developing countries. These scholarships will help us tap into the new research and knowledge these students will bring to NZ while enabling them to expand their knowledge and expertise in agriculture emissions science.”

Six scholarships will be offered this year.

The primary focus is on livestock emissions but innovative and novel aspects of other areas will be considered, especially relating to new technologies or new applications of existing technologies.

The scholarships are open to students eligible for doctoral study at any NZ university. The selection panel for the scholarship applicants includes representatives of the NZ Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Research Centre, relevant deans of graduate studies from the universities offering scholarships, members of the Global Research Alliance and MPI science experts.

MPI is contributing the full cost of the six scholarships totalling $650,000, which covers all major expected tuition costs, travel, visas, living and associated costs for the students to attend the university and live and study in NZ for three years.

There is also provision for students to bring their spouses and dependants.

The alliance focuses on improving agricultural productivity and production efficiency while addressing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and food security.

It also facilitates a wide range of capability building and research programmes.

“NZ is a founding member and key contributor to the GRA. Our role is at the core of our global leadership on climate change”,O’Connor said.

“Our leadership is well recognised by other countries and was praised by the United Nations secretary-general during his visit to NZ in May 2019.

“Through the GRA we have successfully mobilised action around the world from governments, international organisations and producers to better understand the opportunities we have to reduce global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.”

Applications close June 1. n

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Calving change tools coming A Massey student is researching autumn calving to help provide information to farmers wanting to make the switch. Samantha Tennent reports.

H

ELPING on the family farm after school and in holidays kept Jake Jarman busy but it was an ag teacher in high school who planted the seed to study agriculture.

He is now nearing completion of his master’s research into transitioning to solely autumn calving.

“There is a lot of information around steady-state autumn systems but a gap when it comes to making the transition,” he said.

He is working towards an ag science masters degree through Massey University with support from the DairyNZ Master’s Scholarship.

His work will help farmers considering the change and could spark interest in others. It is based on the Kavanagh Dairy Trust Taranaki Farm that transitioned between July 2017 and March 2019.

They extended a lactation to make the transition, which meant milking consistently for 18 months and skipping spring mating.

When Jarman got on board early last year the transition was nearly complete and he was given an extensive set of data to analyse.

He spent his first semester on campus in Palmerston North learning the skills to

Murphy the family dog helps Jake get the herd in for milking.

Debbie McCallum from the Dairy Trust Taranaki and Jake Jarman on one of the trust farms where he was researching the transition process to autumn calving for his thesis. complete his thesis then relocated to the DairyNZ head office in Hamilton last year where he has been working with the data.

“The farm information had been recorded in a range of programmes and a lot of my initial work was getting the data into an understandable format that is easy to work with.”

His findings have highlighted not all cows will milk for the extended lactation, which creates workload challenges as farmers need to manage both their milking cows and their dry cows well to get them ready for the following season.

The youngstock will be off-farm for a longer period, which incurs further grazing costs.

There is an opportunity when transitioning to have a clean slate and establish a tight calving pattern, which was seen on the Kavanagh farm in the first autumn calving. But it also highlighted underlying management challenges can hinder progress in subsequent seasons.

“There are carry-over effects into the next lactation. The first calving post transition won’t be a perfect example of what lies ahead.”

From his findings he will formulate some recommendations and considerations to make the transition.

DairyNZ will use the information to build some tools and resources to support farmers considering the option.

His family farm is near Inglewood and owned by his grandparents. His parents, Paul and Dale, are variable order sharemilking 410 crossbreed cows under a System 2 with in-shed feeding.

After finishing high school Jarman went to Lincoln University to complete an gricultural commerce degree. He wanted to learn about the business side of agriculture, recognising biological performance is fundamentally linked to financial performance.

He was fortunate to have support from a DairyNZ scholarship for his undergraduate studies and

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

RESEARCH

Jake Jarman and Dairy Trust Taranaki’s Debbie McCallum at the Massey University scholarship prizegiving last year where he was awarded the Colin Holmes Memorial Scholarship for post-graduate study in dairy science. he appreciated the breadth of the scholarship package.

“It was more valuable than just the financial support. There were great opportunities to meet a range of people.

“We had dinner twice a year with great guest speakers and there was a variety of people that sat at the tables with us that

we got to meet and chew the fat with.”

Throughout his study he had regular catch-ups with DairyNZ’s industry education facilitator Susan Stokes. During a catch-up in his final year he mentioned he was considering doing a masters through Lincoln.

Stokes encouraged him to investigate

the scholarship programme and he successfully secured a spot.

“It was a big jump from undergrad to post-graduate study and moving universities made it trickier. They’re both good but they do teach differently.

“There were things I found Massey assumed I knew so I had to do a bit extra to understand some parts.

“And there is a lot more independence in post-grad study, more is on the student to get things done and in on time and the requirements for what you have to do are broader.”

Being based at the DairyNZ office has allowed him to treat his study like a job.

He is included in the office culture, has a dedicated workspace and is surrounded by industry experts to learn from and bounce ideas off.

“It’s great not to be camped in a library battling through without a routine. It was a big draw-card to the scholarship having the structure and opportunity.”

He had planned to go travelling once he finished but with an uncertain landscape now he is revisiting his plans and will start looking for a suitable role in agriculture. n

ADVERTISEMENT

DBOY attracts new sponsors

This year, both MineralBoost and Overseer have joined the prestigious family of existing sponsors.

MineralBoost CEO, Warwick Voyce, says “Like the farmers who participate in DBOY, MineralBoost is committed

to the continuous improvement of our business and quality products. We are proud to produce products designed to underpin the health and wellbeing of dairy cows and our mission is to do this as safely and simply as possible. Our people understand that top farmers value their animals, environment and people highly and our purpose is to aid farmers in their aspirations to be the best they can be”.

be environmentally and economically

Overseer is likewise a first-time sponsor of the DBOY event and is “delighted” to be involved. Overseer exists to enable New Zealand farms to

For more information about DBOY

sustainable and to empower farmers to make science-backed innovations based on their own unique situation.

OverseerFM analyses the flow of nutrients through a farm. It produces nutrient budgets for seven key farm nutrients, as well as greenhouse gas reports. DBOY sees Overseer’s values as mutually-aligning with its own mission and purpose. please visit www.dboy.co.nz, email team@dboy.co.nz or freephone 0800 73 55 88.

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Dairy Business of the Year is pleased to announce the involvement of two new sponsors for their 2020 event.

Now in its 13th year, DBOY identifies and showcases high-performing dairy farming systems – farms that challenge current thinking about achieving ongoing improvements in farm profitability, are resilient, and have low impacts on the environment.

RESEARCH

Protecting our waterways TIM FULTON

C

ANTERBURY farmers are working with DairyNZ to pump confidence in high-performance, lowfootprint production.

Dairy farmers will lead the way in showcasing how nitrogen losses can continue to be reduced to protect local waterways, a DairyNZ flyer for a five-year research project says.

Kintore Farm at Ashburton is one of the farms showing how it’s done. It has two dairy units covering 450 effective hectares in the Hinds catchment west of the town.

General manager and equity partner Nick Hoogeveen, representing one of four shareholding groups in the business, hosted a field day on DairyNZ’s behalf.

Kintore is affected by Environment Canterbury’s Plan Change 2 and its main environmental issue is managing the freedraining, leaky soils to minimise nitrogen loss to water. Farms leaching more than 15kg N/ha/year and larger than 10ha must have an environmental plan and a farming activity land use consent.

Farms like Kintore have been required to submit their 200910 to 2012-13 Overseer nutrient budgets to form the baseline nutrient loss figure. Since 2017-18 farms not part of irrigation schemes have been required to operate at or below their baseline nitrogen loss figure and comply with industry-agreed, Good Management Practices (GMPs).

Properties leaching more than 20kg N/ha/year must progressively reduce their nitrogen loss beyond GMP levels by up to 36% before 2035.

Kintore is part of the Mayfield Hinds Valetta (MHV) Irrigation scheme so operates under its nutrient allocation requirements.

The farm’s base for comparison of physical, financial and environmental performance in the DairyNZ project was the 2015-16 season. At that time the farm ran a System 4 feeding 650kg DM supplement a cow and feed eaten was 80% from pasture. The rest was 10% imported supplement and 10% wintering off for 65-70 days.

The system then operated at 111kg N/ha/yr leaching losses (OverseerFM v.6.3.2), 19kg N/ha/yr above the estimated baseline (2009-13) loss rate of 92kg N/ha/yr.

Calves were grazed off from 80kg liveweight on a lease support block. The business peak milked 1508 Friesian cross cows (3.4c/ ha) producing 787,264kg MS (1751kg MS/ha or 522kg MS/cow).

Dairy effluent was injected into centre pivots and applied to 244ha across the two farms.

In the 2018-19 season Kintore still operated a System 4 feeding 687kg DM supplement a cow, peak milking 1533 cows producing 785,779kg MS (1757kg MS/ha or 512kg MS/cow).

Kintore reduced its fertiliser applications in the past few seasons from 310kg nitrogen per effective hectare in the 2016-17 to projected nitrogen use this year of just under 200kg N/ha.

The business is also trying to match stocking rate to growing season in the spring and strategically cut demand in the autumn to reduce feed eaten and therefore nitrogen surplus going into the risker drainage period.

Another priority is making the irrigation system more

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Canterbury farmers Nick and Melz Hoogeveen with their children Kayla, Bri and Millie are taking part in research into reducing nitrogen losses to protect waterways.

Photos: Emmily Harmer Photography operator-friendly and using pivots more efficiently, partly by reducing over-watering.

As MHV Irrigation had yet to establish a baseline period when the DairyNZ project analysis was done, the 2009-10 to 2012-13 period was used as the nitrogen-loss baseline.

A 25% target reduction in loss below the baseline was modelled to align with the farm’s 2030 target.

Kintore expected further reductions and scientific breakthroughs would be required to achieve that mark.

Modelling by Leighton Park from Perrin Ag outlined two possible ways to mitigate the loss, including upgrading inefficient irrigation infrastructure and early autumn culling.

Recommended changes included reducing nitrogen fertiliser on effective area from 310kg N/ha to 183kg N/ha, no nitrogen fertiliser from May to July and a single post-winter application of fertiliser (31kg N/ha) in high-nutrient areas.

Targeted application would allow 219kg N/ha to be applied to 80% of the paddock and 31kg N/ha/yr to the remainder (20% estimated) of the paddock for an average application of 183kg N/ ha.

The irrigation upgrade would convert just over 100ha of sprinklers and Rotorainers to low-rate application pivots. The change was assumed to provide an extra one and two tonnes DM/ha of pasture for the rotorainer and sprinkler areas.

Sprinkler application rates could also be lowered by installing

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

a timer on the sprinkler pump, allowing sprinklers to be run for shorter periods on the shoulders of the season. Water could also be applied only at night at certain times and it would mean a drop in water use from 560mm to 430mm on the sprinkler area.

Early autumn culling could also reduce the amount of lateseason urine on pasture and better match pastoral feed supply.

More than 90% of the farm’s cull cows were sold in March with the rest sold in May. Though late season milk production would fall under the less intensive approach it would be partially offset by typically higher cull prices of $100-200/cow.

Another option was to cut the fodder crop area from 16ha to 12ha a year because less feed would be needed with earlier culling. Plant oats (catch crops) after fodder beet could be used to take up nutrients and minimise the amount of bare soil on the property.

A similar approach aimed at maintaining the farm’s intensity included investing in a feed pad for each farm. A pad would allow for a slightly higher input/output system as the feed pad captured nutrients and limited their loss during high-risk periods.

Capital investment for the feed pads of $361,000 excluded extra effluent storage (assuming the existing system could cope with increased volume). The capital investment was fully costed including annualised costs, interest on extra capital invested and depreciation.

The farm would still reduce fertiliser, as under the first management option, but also build 450- and 400-cow feed pads to capture effluent on the milking season shoulders and in winter.

The nitrogen surplus could be reduced by feeding low nitrogen (low protein) feeds. That would be effective at farm scale only when the amount of supplement fed was significant.

Under that management scenario low-nitrogen feeds were not investigated because low-nitrogen fodder beet was grown in autumn. However, diet changes at the feed pad could be investigated for greater reductions. Capital requirements were assumed to be $425/cow, allowing 3.5 to 4m2/cow.

All of the cows would be on the feed pad for two hours a day in March and four hours a day in April, May, July, August and September. Half the cows would be on the feed pad for two hours a day in October. Imported feed would be increased to offset the drop in pasture eaten and maintain productivity.

DairyNZ says its participatory research project in Hinds and Selwyn builds on sustainable farming initiatives many farmers have already started and on previous nitrogen loss research. n

Kintore Farm general manager and equity partner Nick Hoogeveen presents data at a field day on the farm.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

FARMSTRONG farmstrong.co.nz

Sam has spent time during the lockdown out on the farm and doing the important jobs first.

Prioritising things during lockdown After a hectic trip home from Japan, Farmstrong Ambassador Sam Whitelock and his family are spending lockdown on their Hawke’s Bay farm. Sam says it has been the perfect time to look at the big picture and think about the balance between work and family life.

L

IKE a lot of couples Sam Whitelock and his partner Hannah are juggling work with looking after two young kids.

It’s definitely not business as usual.

Between conference calls and farm work Sam’s been clearing out old sheds with his son Fred and collecting pine cones.

“Getting through challenging times like these for us has been about prioritising our workload so we are looking after ourselves and our family as well as the farm. Now’s the time to focus on the things that really matter.

“Let’s face it, there are always a thousand of things that need doing on a farm each day.

“Hannah and I find the best way to figure out what needs to be done now and what can actually wait is to make a

46

plan and write it down. That simplifies everything and helps us work through any complicated issues, break them down and realise what we thought were complex problems are actually pretty simple ones that we can deal with.”

Sam says in this respect farming is just like rugby – during tough times it’s important to just focus on the things that are highest on the priority list.

“On the field, when things get tough, you have to decide what the next most important thing you can do is. That might be making sure you make your tackles or winning your next line-out ball.

“In farming it’s the same. It’s a case of looking at the bigger picture and deciding what the best thing is to do at this time.

Once you have figured that out everything will flow from there.”

With lockdown curtailing social activities Sam says there is a danger of working longer and longer hours.

“That’s definitely a real trap.

“It’s so easy in life to get obsessed with the small, one or two percent thing that in the bigger scheme of things doesn’t really change your business or how you are as a person.

“It’s the same back here on the farm.

There’s a thousand things we could do every day here but to be sustainable and healthy everyone needs some downtime.

“So we’ve got to stop and think.

“What is the main thing I need to do now? Is it fixing that fence or is it thinking ‘hey, I’ll fix that fence next week when there are animals in the paddock. Today we’ll fix the water trough where the animals are at the moment’.”

Sam has also been thinking about strategies to deal with the uncertainty that lies ahead.

“Everyone would love to head out of lockdown and go back to normal but that’s not the reality now.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

It’s a case of looking at the bigger picture and deciding what the best thing is to do at this time.

Sam Whitelock

“We all know there’s change ahead of us and no one knows what that will look like. The way I deal with it is to look at the big picture. I want to be able to look back in two years’ time and think we used this time as a great opportunity to do what we wanted as a family rather than just sitting round in the house getting grumpy.

“That’s why right now for us here in lockdown it’s just as important to create some awesome memories with our kids as it is to keep working.

“While we’ve been cleaning out these sheds we’ve found a few mice and cockroaches and Fred’s absolutely loving it. It’s cool to see him have that experience even though the world is going through a bit of uncertainty at the moment.

“We’re enjoying spending a lot more time together as a family. It’s been good to team up and parent together. That’s probably been the biggest change but it’s also been the best. That’s why it’s good to take some time and work out your priority list – what sits on top and what’s just a nice-to-have.” n

MORE:

For tips and advice about health and wellbeing, go to farmstrong.co.nz.

Farmstrong Ambassador Sam Whitelock says being in lockdown has been the perfect time to look at the big picture and prioritise himself and his family.

Sam says farming is just like rugby – during tough times it’s important to just focus on the things that are highest on the priority list.

Ten Basic Fertiliser Facts You Must Know and Adopt to Meet 2025 Water Quality Limits: Dr Bert Quin

Fact 1. The overuse of soluble P fertiliser is by far the largest cause of P run-off and leaching, and therefore of the decline in the quality of Kiwi waterways.

Fact 2. Once you have Olsen P levels that are more than a third of the P retention (ASC), application of additional soluble P is very prone to loss to the environment.

Fact 3. If you want to build up your soil P in an environmentally-protective way, simply apply RPR. It does not get leached or lost directly in run-off, but releases P in a sustained fashion for plants.

Fact 4. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. RPR-based fertilisers are even cheaper than super-based products as well! Added sulphur bentonite (sulphur 90) is far more efficient than the excess sulphate in super.

Fact 5. Following 1-4 above will greatly reduce P run-off and leaching. This should be done before anything else, and the situation reassessed before spending huge amounts of money!

Fact 6. It is nonsensical to give in to pressure to install expensive mitigations riparian strips, excessively large wetlands and ‘phosphorus walls’ when you have no idea of their long-term effectiveness and maintenance costs, and before you have established whether changing to sustained-release RPR is all you need to do!

Fact 7. in any case simple fenced-off 3-metre wide grass riparian strips are essentially as effective and vastly cheaper than more complex strips. Both reduce bacterial and sediment losses. Neither will have any significant long-term beneficial effect (on a whole -farm basis) on soluble P and nitrate-N loss. But grass strips can be harvested in summer to be fed out, to improve P and N cycling.

Fact 8. In a nutshell, for maintenance of P levels any genuine RPR (not an RPR/Boucraa mix please!) can be used. Just check the Cd content. For low fertility situations or low rainfall, use a blend of RPR and high-analysis soluble P. Fact 9. For N, rather than granular urea, use prilled urea, sprayed immediately prior to, or during, the spreading with urease inhibitor. Use of N can be literally cut in half with big savings.

Fact 10. Potash is more efficient, and must less likely to cause metabolic problems, if applied in small doses 4 times a year, adding up to 50-60% of the total annual amount you are using now. Easy to mix with your prilled urea. Leaching of anions like nitrate will be minimised as well.

For more info, email Bert Quin on bert.quin@quinfert.co.nz, or phone 021 427 572, or visit www.quinfert.co.nz

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

47

AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS

Fastest milking shed in the land A Taranaki dairy farmer has built what could be New Zealand’s fastest dairy shed but the process was not all smooth sailing. Ross Nolly reports.

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ARANAKI’S Shane Ardern spent more than 16 years as National’s Taranaki King Country MP before returning to farming in 2014.

Shane and his wife Cathy milk 612 Kiwicross cows on their 216 hectare (196ha effective) Opunake farm. Son Cameron is the farm manager.

The farm’s present day cow numbers have more than doubled since their 24year old 40-bail rotary turnstile was built.

It was taking three hours to milk through a shed that had become too small and slow for the size of their herd.

“Before building our 40-bail rotary Cathy and I had got to the stage where we doing three-hour milkings in our first

48

shed, an 18-a side herringbone,” Ardern says.

“Those hours are completely antisocial. You couldn’t pay someone to stand there and put cups on for that amount of time. It becomes an unbearable existence.

It really does kneecap the farm.

“You end up implementing a two-shift roster system, which is problematical to implement and sustain.

“It sounds very civilised and efficient but workers must arrive and leave at exactly the right time. Attracting people to that type of position isn’t easy, it’s challenging to manage and creates an environment that makes the business less profitable.”

They decided the time had come to investigate the feasibility of building a

new cowshed to replace their rotary shed.

Cameron was the driving force behind the project.

“Unless you’re fully engaged in the harvest you produce, milk, then planning often goes on the back foot and the entire business becomes less viable and less enjoyable. It becomes a chore rather than a nice place to be,” he says.

Cameron consulted all the major milking machine suppliers and the consensus was a 60-bail rotary platform in a greenfield location on the farm was the best solution.

Shane and Cameron visited some other 60-bail rotary sheds and Cameron milked in them to see how efficiently they operated.

They soon concluded dairy shed design

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

It really annoyed me that I’d spent 16 years in Parliament promoting our industry as world leaders in dairy technology systems only to find that it wasn’t true.

Shane Ardern The underpass in which the herds enter the yards. Cows use the races above to leave the milking shed. hadn’t advanced in 30 years but had in fact gone backwards.

Shane says he was staggered by that and wondered what they might have been missing so kept returning to the original concept.

But the more often he went back the more frustrated he became.

He again concluded cowshed design had declined since the 1980s, the stock flow was worse and the cupping speed per teat was slower.

Merv Hicks invented the Turn-style Rotary Milking System in 1968 and in the following year Hotter Engineering founder Tom Hotter made the prototype, which was installed on Hicks’ farm in 1969. In 1980 the design was advanced enough a 60-bail rotary cowshed could milk 500 cows.

Shane and Cameron were perplexed how the Hicks shed could milk 500 cows an hour yet companies wanted to sell them a shed that could milk only 430 cows an hour.

“It really annoyed me that I’d spent 16 years in Parliament promoting our industry as world leaders in dairy technology systems only to find that it wasn’t true.

“We’ve gone backwards in that field. It was a big surprise and disappointment,” he says.

“I became frustrated with one industry expert and tried to think of a sensible analogy. When that shed was built the farm used a Massey Ferguson 165 tractor and the mower was a 165PZ that could mow 1-1.5ha of grass per hour. Today they harvest 4-6ha of pasture per hour with a big tractor with a mower on the front.”

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

He felt that effectively he would need to sell his hypothetical Massey Ferguson 165 and mower and buy a Massey Ferguson 35 and a sickle-bar mower to obtain the same percentage reduction in speed since 1980.

“It wouldn’t be accepted in any other industry.

“So how is it that we’ve been able to move to 21st century technology when harvesting our grass surplus? But when it comes to our main crop, milk, we’re still back in the Massey Ferguson 35 days?”

This state of affairs prompted Shane and Cameron to embark on three years of research looking further afield to central Europe, Britain, Ireland and the United States. Their research included a trip to the US to see how farms with large herds operate.

All the milking plant suppliers they talked to in NZ had come from small farms. None had spent time managing or milking on a 1000-cow farm. They felt that factor made it difficult for the suppliers to understand the requirements of a shed catering to a large herd.

Shane noticed a NZ perception that American dairy plants were backward and that they simply threw a great deal of cheap immigrant labour into their farms.

“There was a great deal of negative commentary concerning what we might see in the US. But if you’re looking for speed in terms of cows per hour, we couldn’t find anywhere faster than the US. It’s very different to a NZ dairy system,” he says.

“The cows are housed in barns and

milk-harvest workers milk for three hours before knocking off. When we arrived we found many of the sheds were milking 1000 cows an hour and are operating for 16 hours on end, yet the best we were being offered in NZ was 400 cows per hour.”

They then had the task of considering how they could practically and economically adopt some of the American technology they’d seen.

A number of people suggested they should simply build another 40-bail platform beside the original platform.

They could then build the yard in a configuration that encompassed some of the US’s best stock flow speed technology.

That is exactly what occurred. The old platform was still in perfect order so they built a second 40-bail rotary beside it, which gave them a plant that could milk 600 cows an hour.

They were quoted $2 million to build a stand-alone 60-bail rotary and the associated infrastructure on a greenfield site. By building onto the existing shed they didn’t have the associated infrastructure costs. They ended up with a much faster shed and saved $500,000 on the build.

The major difference between the Arderns’ shed and other sheds is not the technology, it’s the yard’s special design and construction. It’s designed to provide a smooth flow into the shed, onto the dual platforms and to seamlessly exit the shed.

Watching the cows smoothly flow through the shed is a sight to behold.

When the first herd arrives at the yard it

49

The two herds come into the yards for milking.

takes only a push of a button at the yard entrance control panel to activate one of the two backing gates behind the herd.

It opens a V at the back of those gates in preparation for the next herd to enter. The cows flow directly into the platform and milking begins before the entire herd is in the yard.

The modern trend in every new shed is to have a single entry and more than a two-cow length bridge.

“It’s beyond my comprehension why you’d do that. What usually occurs is for a cow to stand at the end of the bridge and block the entire shed’s flow. We have a shorter and wider bridge but I’d do away with a bridge if I could. Ideally you want the edge of the yard on the edge of your platform.”

The new shed has a solid, pre-stressed concrete panel outer yard wall whereas most yards have a steel pipe outer wall that allows the cows to see the herd exiting the shed.

“Video analysis shows that the exiting cattle stop to look at the ones in the yard and hold up the exit flow. The cows in the yard then walk in the direction of the exiting cows, which is the opposite direction to where you want them to go to enter the cowshed.”

The cows enter the shed via an underpass and exit the shed on a bridge over the underpass, which eliminates any mixing of the herds. The cows can be remotely drafted in four directions by the cowshed computer system when exiting the shed and go in their respective destinations as the second herd enters the yard. There is no need to wait for the yard to clear before the second herd enters.

50

“You can’t mix both herds and expect the system to cope with the automatic drafting but if there are only a few cows left on the platform when the second mob enters the shed the system can distinguish from the ear tags which way they need to go when exiting.

“By the time the worker has got the second herd in, the first herd is finished or nearly finished milking. In a perfect world to get the maximum speed out of the shed you have two workers cupping while another fetches the cows. But you can cope quite easily with two workers.”

Rotary (turnstyle) gates are fitted in the yard. They are a health and safety feature allowing workers to rapidly exit the yards in an emergency and eliminate any chance of becoming hooked up in a squeeze gate or traditional gate.

There are five comfort platforms on either side of the two platform plus

one large one in the centre of the two platforms, which is used for vet work.

They are all able to be raised and lowered to suit the height and comfort of the individual operator. They can be raised right up to the milking platform height.

The hydraulically operated platforms were invented by Cameron and to the best of his knowledge are unique.

The shed features automated yard, platform and skirt washing, plant washcycle, teat spray and washing. Protrack Vantage herd management software keeps track of the herd’s data.

Shane feels American componentry is much better quality than what is available in NZ, where it is a great deal cheaper but poorer quality. For example, they use USmade silicone cups that weigh 50% less than standard stainless steel cups.

“You can go to any farm machinery company and ask to buy their best tractor.

They’ve got the best equipment from throughout the world but that’s not the case with cowsheds.

“What you’re shown is what makes the most money for the milking machine company.

“It’s easier for them to sell you a stock plan that has gone backwards.

“I think it’s a case of farmers going to a milking machine company wanting to replace their shed and the company gives them a plan of a shiny construction that’ll cost them a couple of million bucks and everyone’s happy.

“But we shouldn’t be happy because it’s starting to hold our industry back.”

Shane feels certain the shorter the time the cows now spend standing in the yard might also extend their longevity. He has no evidence to back that up yet but has a gut feeling it’s correct.

“We can now milk 600 cows in an hour

Shane and Cathy Ardern have been back farming since Shane left Parliament in 2014. Son Cameron is the farm manager on their 216 hectare farm at Opunake.

Cameron, Shane, Cathy with son Jonathan and daughter-in-law Amy. DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

An aerial view of the twin rotary shows the layout of the yard. The herds enter the yard through the underpass below the bridge. The outer ring on the main yard is the race where the cows exit the shed and cannot see the other cows waiting to be milked. They walk over the bridge and are diverted to where they need to go. and could milk 800-900 cows without any problem. If a cow has been off her pasture for more than seven or eight hours a day there’s a substantial loss of milk production and more effluent to contend with too.

“We’ve been through one mating with the shed in operation and it’s already improved our in-calf rate from 91% to 94%, which is well above the industry standard.”

Improvements in conception rates and animal health issues were expected but they weren’t sure to what extent they would improve. However, their expectations have been either met or exceeded.

They now have people queuing up wanting to work in their shed. When they advertised a farm managerial position they received 48 applicants. That tells them people don’t want to be milking for three hours at a time.

“During spring we used to get up at 4.15am and at about 5.15am at this time of year. We now get up at 6am and the cups are on by 6.15am. That just changes your entire ability to be part of the wider community from a social point of view and vastly improves family life.

“While I’m often seen as the one who initiated and drove this project the reality is that Cameron was the driving force and innovative thinker who brought this project to such a successful fruition.” n

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

51

AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS

South Island farmer Bruce Eade with the recently installed DeLaval Optiduo robot that pushes, refreshes and remixes feed.

Robot works like magic The first robotic feed pusher in New Zealand to also refresh and remix feed has been installed on a South Island dairy farm already reporting a promising milk production increase and significant labour savings. Cheyenne Nicholson reports.

S

OUTHLAND farmer Bruce Eade was the first person in Australasia to get his hands on a new piece of technology from DeLaval.

The Optiduo feed refresher was revealed at Mystery Creek Field Days in 2019 and the robot is well on its way to paying for itself through its created efficiencies.

The Optiduo, known as Dave at Fairleigh Dairy Farm, looks like a corkscrew. The twin-spiralled rotating auger lifts, mixes and aerates the feed while repositioning it closer to the fence, ensuring cows have constant access to refreshed feed.

Eade milks 540 cows under a split calving system on his 270ha farm at Kelso, Otago. He was in his seventh season of having his wintering barn and had historically used a big tractor tyre to push feed in the lane closer to the fence.

“Obviously, that required someone in

52

Dave the Optiduo runs on an electric motor and can be programmed to complete 10 runs throughout the day and night.

the tractor, which was time out of the day,” Eade says.

“When we had the dry cows in the shed it wasn’t too much of a concern as they don’t have the same feed requirement as the milking cows do but when we move

to autumn calving. We decided we should look into something more efficient.”

The Optiduo runs on an electric motor and can be programmed to complete up to 10 runs in 24 hours. He has his set up for six to seven runs a day to complement

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

the timing of cows going into the barn and feed drops. A groove is cut into the concrete floor for the trace wire, which the robot follows.

“It’s been pretty faultless.

“I had the technician’s from DeLaval out here for three days when I first got it to show me how to set it up and make sure it was working well.

“It’s quite neat to see in action.

“Instead of shoving the feed closer it mixes it up. The cows smell the refreshed feed and come over pretty quickly for their tucker.”

With the previous tractor and tyre set up he found it difficult to ensure the cows had full access to feed overnight even with doing a 9pm run.

Now the cows get refreshed feed during the night with the robot’s middle of the night runs.

Previously feed wastage was about 15-20% as it spoiled in the lane if the cows couldn’t reach it then wouldn’t eat when it was pushed closer.

Eade says they are still feeding the same amount but wastage has dropped significantly with cows eating almost all feed on offer. As a result, he has seen a 700ml per cow a day increase in milk production since he installed the robot.

“We noticed this around three days in and nothing else in the system had changed.

“Having the cows fully fed around the clock makes a big difference. Not going through that overnight period where they weren’t getting perhaps what they should’ve been. Just because we go to bed and sleep doesn’t mean the cows aren’t up eating.”

During those first days of having the Optiduo Eade and the technicians put the robot through its paces to test how much

The machine is silent and noticeable only by the flashing light on top that signals that it’s on a run.

and what types of feed it could handle and to see if they could beat it.

“We usually feed a ration of wheat straw, grass silage and cereal silage which it handles no problem. We tough tested it by putting big piles of lumpy silage in front of it and it just breezed through it. In realistic terms anything I feed it will cope with.”

When looking for something like the Optiduo his criteria was that it must be simple and easy to use to accommodate his lack of technology know-how and have solid safety features. Complete with a remote control used to programme the runs and how tight it pushes feed in, it’s very much a programme and walk away sort of machine.

“It hasn’t gone for a walk anywhere it shouldn’t, let’s put it that way,” he laughs.

The robot is silent, noticeable only by the flashing light on top that signals that it’s on a run.

There is no fear of a giant corkscrew running into people or shed doors either as safety bumpers on the front are

The 540-cow herd is split calving and fed a ration of wheat straw, grass silage and cereal silage in the wintering barn.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Having the cows fully fed around the clock makes a big difference. equipped with sensors that stop it in its tracks if there’s anything in the way.

“One day I left the tractor in the lane because that’s what I always did. The robot came along, touched one of the front wheels and just stopped. I came in later to find it sitting there with its light flashing, no damage to either machine.

Other than changing the time at daylight savings I shouldn’t have to tinker with it during the year.”

Costing around $35,000 including installation, Eade says it’s an investment he’s happy he made and has been pleased with the support from both DeLaval and his local farm services where he bought it.

“I’m not in the business of buying technology just for the sake of it. It has to have a purpose and provide a tangible benefit.

“It’s a real time saver and I think over time will save us money on the amount of feed we feed out. It has very few parts to it so there’s not a lot of maintenance.”

Having looked at other similar types of technology, which can be limited due to many brands not being imported to New Zealand, he says the simple concept of it makes it a winner.

“We wanted to get the maximum potential out of the cows and with a winter milk contract to fill you have to make every post a winner and on the feeding front the Optiduo is certainly earning its keep.” n

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AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS

Monitor gives peace of mind Abnormal temperatures recorded at pick-up led a Waikato farmer to install a monitoring system to identify faults, comply with milk cooling regulations and run more efficiently.

Samantha Tennent reports.

W

HEN Mark Spooner changed to night collection, he discovered a variation in milk temperatures. His tanker receipt was recording temperatures significantly higher than what he was seeing before collection.

After installing a DTS Vat-Man milk monitoring system in February last year he was able to uncover where his milk cooling system was letting him down.

“We discovered our system hadn’t been running at capacity,” Spooner says.

“There was a pre-cooling issue which we were able to improve simply through modifications to the plate cooler and avoided having to spend $30k on another chiller.”

He milks 270 cows at Te Aroha with his wife Karen and they have been part of a monitoring trial with DTS and Fonterra, which are rolling out milk quality monitoring across the country. The monitoring is aimed at helping farmers overcome milk cooling challenges to meet Ministry for Primary Industries standards.

The technology is part of the Fonterra Co-operative Difference strategy aimed at sustainability on farms. Farmers can choose between three providers and whether they upgrade from the base model. Spooner’s system has all the bells and whistles and he believes the technology lets him be more proactive than reactive.

“The system sends alerts if something isn’t right which is great if you’re out over the farm or even away from the farm.

“It gives you the opportunity to sort it before you get a grade or penalty and the peace of mind you are producing the best quality product.

“And if something does go wrong it’s the 54

Waikato farmer Mark Spooner milks 270 cows at Te Aroha. When his milk collection changed to night pick-up he noticed the milk temperature was fluctuating.

back-up data that makes the difference.

You can go back through and work out what has been going wrong. It gives you some control back.”

The system has a temperature sensor in the milk pocket of the vat and it measures volume by a radar beam that projects down from the top of the vat to determine the milk level. The system will send alerts when the vat is getting full, which is important to avoid overflow.

There are also other sensors to check the milk inlet temperature, agitator motor, water inlet of the plate cooler and the wash-up return pipe.

It will create more efficient milk collection for Fonterra because it will know exactly how much milk is in each vat and plan tanker routes accordingly.

The system connects to an app

and Spooner also has a digital display screen installed in the pit. It shows the vat temperature and the milk inlet temperature and if there are any concerns across the system such as the agitator or chiller not going, it will flash warning lights to alert the team.

“The screen shows the same info we can access from the app but it’s in view during milking and you get into a habit of looking at the screen regularly. It’s great because you can react quicker if something is out of whack.”

The system also sends text alerts and there can be multiple users. Spooner has connected his herd manager to the system and the notifications reassure everyone.

“Our system is to start our plate cooler immediately when we start milking and

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

then start the chiller later when there’s 300-400 litres of milk in the vat so it doesn’t freeze.

“If the chiller hasn’t been started we get an alert.”

He also recognises he is optimising his plant cleaning process as the washdown chemicals work best in a specific temperature range. The system allows him to monitor the temperatures and dump the wash water when it is getting cooler.

“Otherwise you’re losing the benefits of the last seven to nine minutes of the wash you’ve just done because you left it a minute too long.

“Wash products are a necessary expense and it’s good to know we are making them far more efficient and optimising their performance.”

The system has created greater awareness of milk cooling processes and he sees it as an insurance for his business.

With the system installed he has peace of mind that he has reliable data to show his milk and vat temperatures are compliant.

“We must think like food producers.

We are harvesting a product that needs to be of the highest quality so the product

The Vat Man monitoring system allows Mark Spooner to keep an eye on the cooling system through an app and alerts are sent if anything is detected.

consumers receive is in its best form.

“One of the easiest ways we can do that on farm is with our milk cooling. It has

certainly highlighted to me how critical temperature does affect the quality of milk.” n

COLLIS FARM CASE STUDY

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do and can solve the problem a lot faster than anyone else. It’s oldfashioned customer service and our clients really appreciate it.”

Fourth-generation farmer Mathew Collis milks 650 cows on the family farm in Manawatu.

Ever mindful of cutting increasing operating costs, Collis first engaged with Independent Energy in 2018. The initial energy audit of Collis Farm’s electricity supply contract resulted in a net $3000 a year saving.

For energy efficiency the milking shed now also has a dedicated hot water management system

making sure hot water is available for wash-downs only when it is required. Savings? More than $700 a year.

was prompted by a power outage on the Collis farm. Reconnection was quickly sorted without tying up farm resources.

“It’s not just about selling power.

It’s about finding the best option that suits you and working with that,” Matthew says.

According to Neville Taylor, the national sales manager for Independent Energy, clients use the service centre for all the usual interactions you would expect from an electricity retailer.

Independent Energy is not just about savings. It’s also about great service. An urgent call to Independent Energy’s Palmerston North service desk one morning

“The difference,” according to Neville, “is that when you call us, we know who you are, what you

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“We have a good system in place.

We know where the power is working for us today,” Matthew says as he looks forward to IE’s next steps in systems technology.

“It’s quite exciting.”

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More recently, Independent Energy installed equipment to monitor the milking shed’s peak demand. With plans to install irrigation in the coming season the monitoring showed the shed had plenty of capacity to power the irrigation outside milking time.

That resulted in a capital saving of $40,000 and an annual energy saving of more than $13,000 because the farm did not need to upgrade its power supply.

And the next steps for the Collis Farm? Independent Energy is about to begin working with them on solar and battery options, more smart shed systems and begin exploring the viability of electrifying farm transport to name just a few initiatives.

AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS

Emelia, Alecia, Finn, Hayden and Fletcher Lawrence are finding milking is no longer chewing up valuable hours in the day, which has freed them up to spend more time as a family.

New shed and new lifestyle A Taranaki farmer who has built a new shed, has found he is not only saving time and money, but now has a work environment that is so clean and safe he could milk in a business suit.

Ross Nolly reports.

T

HERE can’t be many cowsheds where you can comfortably milk in your business suit and tie without getting cow poo on you.

But when Taranaki farmers Hayden and Alecia Lawrence hosted a group of Malaysian diplomats at their sparkling new shed that is exactly what happened.

The couple, who milk 400 cows on their 154ha farm at Eltham, last year built a DeLaval Double Up Parallel Parlour P2100 rapid exit system cowshed.

The diplomats arrived in their suits, collars and ties to see the shed in action and though they never expected to, they turned their hand to putting on cups.

“They wanted to learn about

56

agriculture and I thought ‘While you’re here you may as well do some work’,” Hayden says.

“They were blown away by our clean, quiet working environment.”

Construction of the new cowshed began in February 2019. It was built around the old shed while it was still used for winter milking.

The Lawrences’ timeline was to be milking through the first side of their shed

by June 1 and in both sides by August 1.

They missed the target by 10 days.

“I was the project manager and onsite every day while our assistant farm manager Kenneth took care of the farm.

My father Ray had retired earlier that year and became my go-to. He was able to do any task needed to keep us ahead

of the tradies,” Hayden says.

“On a build like that I had to spend a great deal of time on-site or on the phone.

Though I was hands-on on the tools too it was good to set a job up and know dad would get it done.”

After half the old shed was demolished they began winter-milking 120 cows through the remaining half. That allowed construction to begin on the second side of the new shed.

The cows were already accustomed to stall bales and adapted well to the new shed.

“We brought the heifers in at night to train them so they were comfortable when we undertook teat-sealing.

“The cows were amazing right through the build even though the shed was an

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

“I now have the cups on at 5.15am and home by 7am to spend time with the kids before school.

Hayden Lawrence

active building site. The builders carried on through the milkings and the cows weren’t fazed at all,” he says.

The first milking in the new shed was a culmination of the entire team’s effort.

Hayden’s parents, their children and the tradies attended that milestone. They were milking through only one side of the new shed but still felt huge relief they’d reached that stage.

“There were a few hiccups and alarms going off in the first couple of days but that was to be expected.

“The success of the project was a testament to everyone involved. We were never more than half an hour late for any milking and were always able to milk through either shed during the construction.”

This year they have put their heifers out to graze and will boost their herd numbers to about 420 cows during spring.

It used to take two workers eight-hours a day to milk. Now it is a one-person job and takes 90 minutes. They have effectively saved 17-18 labour hours a day.

“We weren’t certain what the labour requirement was going to be but soon realised it was a comfortable one-person shed. This worked well during lockdown and allowed us to easily manage the separation.”

The old shed’s technology was dated and component reliability issues were becoming a factor. Hayden’s favourite feature in the new shed isn’t the technology but the milking environment.

The cows are extremely contented and he loves the milking space.

The three-metre wide pit, spacious environment and high roof ensure the milker never feels claustrophobic or cramped.

He likes everything to be in its place and has designed the cowshed with that in mind.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

The Lawrences built a DeLaval Double Up Parallel Parlour P2100 rapid exit system shed that is a clean and safe work environment.

“The shed pretty much cleans itself so is always a clean working environment. I had my 88-year old grandmother in the shed and the kids can come through in bare feet because the floor’s always dry,” he says.

“It’s a nice feeling when you get to the end of milking after spending only 90 minutes in the shed compared to the hours we used to do.

“I can see why this style of shed is so prevalent in the United States and Europe because you can do long hours if needed due to the clean, comfortable working environment.”

The shed’s 40-inch television screen is hooked up to the surveillance cameras.

But in the afternoon when things are cruising along nicely he likes to flick over to watch sport.

He is finding the shed has freed up time for feed planning, reviewing the farm system and has enabled him to make better management decisions.

“We used to get up at 3.45am and spend at least eight-hours a day in the shed. You still managed but your mind wasn’t clear.

“The shed has been beneficial for our physical and mental health. You make better decisions when you’re not knackered. I’m now probably more the farmer I was when I milked 220 cows.”

Alecia is no longer needed quite as often to milk so has been able to increase her nursing hours at Taranaki Base Hospital. She used to feed calves before milking another herd of cows but now, by the time she’s fed the calves, milking is done.

They now have no need for an au pair to mind the children because the time saved allows Hayden to collect the children from school.

“I now have the cups on at 5.15am and home by 7am to spend time with the kids before school. I didn’t want to be one of those people that got to 50-years old and missed their kids growing up.” Hayden says.

“We’re very happy with what we’ve produced for the amount of money we invested. The new shed is a comfortable, safe work environment. It makes it easy to come to work.” n

57

AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS

Technology fast-tracks genetic gains A South Canterbury couple are using technology to help monitor herd health and identify cows on heat. Brad Markham reports.

N

EW technology is helping Hugh and Jennifer Forsythe fasttrack genetic gains in their dairy herd and maximise livestock

sales.

The herd-owning sharemilkers milk 680 mainly Holstein Friesian cows on 185 hectares near Geraldine in South Canterbury.

They are now in their sixth season on the property where they live with their five children Tilly, 8, Isla, 6, twins Maeve and Olive, 4, and Quinn, 2.

They employ one full-time worker Soren Thiess and permanent relief milker Karen Walker.

In 2018 the herd was fitted with hightech smart collars that monitor a cow’s health and issue an electronic alert when she’s on heat.

The Semex ai24 collars and data transmitters cost the Forsythes almost $120,000.

“The collars have resulted in a huge improvement in the reproductive performance of our two-year-old heifers.

They’re getting in calf earlier,” Hugh says.

“Previously, a heifer with an undetectable, silent heat wasn’t being picked up when we monitored premating heats.”

“Consequently, we’d assume she hadn’t cycled and we’d give her a CIDR (controlled internal drug release) insert to bring her on heat.”

Half of the couple’s two-year-old heifers were receiving CIDRs before being fitted with smart collars. The figure’s now just 10%.

“That was a significant cost.

“Across the entire herd we would have used up to 250 CIDRs a year. It’s now less than 80.”

The Forsythes expect the collars will

58

South Canterbury farmers Hugh and Jennifer Forsythe are achieving genetic gains in their herd after fitting them with electronic collars. Hugh and Jennifer with their children.

The collars have resulted in a huge improvement in the reproductive performance of our two-year-old heifers.

Hugh Forsythe

have paid for themselves by the end of next season.

“There are no more missed heats, we don’t have to buy tail paint and other heat detection aides – or bulls, plus I no longer have to be in the shed every milking during mating.”

The farm’s 54-bail rotary milking shed has Protrack, an automated drafting system.

Before the start of milking the ear tag numbers of cows identified as being ready to inseminate are manually entered into Protrack.

“Currently, the ai24 system and

Protrack aren’t compatible with each other. It would be a big time-saver if they were.”

The Forsythes milk year-round, meaning they mate and calve twice a year.

The couple’s best 200 spring-calving cows are mated with sexed Holstein Friesian semen from Semex. The rest of the herd is mated to a beef breed.

“We’ve been using sexed semen for five years. We use it purely for faster genetic gain.

“We want to keep replacement heifers from only our top cows. It helps avoid the frustrating situation of good cows having bull calves.”

The mating window for a cow receiving sexed semen is more precise. She has to be inseminated between 16-20 hours after a standing heat.

“That’s another area where we’ve found the smart collars invaluable. They can pinpoint when the heat ended. It’s helping us achieve conception rates of 60-65% with sexed semen.”

The Forsythes do artificial insemination twice a day during mating.

Their ideal Holstein Friesian is one with good capacity, teat placement and feet, that’s highly fertile and will live a long time. n

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS

Happier, more productive cows A Southland farmer has not only found production has increased, but his cows behaviour has changed since installing a robotic milking system. Tim Fulton reports.

B

RUCE Dinnington’s production has increased and he has gained numerous other benefits since setting up a robotic milking shed and feed

barn.

Dinnington runs 350 cows on 210 hectares at Dacre, near Invercargill.

He switched to robotic dairying after his old 50-bale rotary platform reached the end of its life.

Dinnington had farmed with his parents for many years but was getting to a stage, as they got older, that he wanted to find a way to keep farming sustainably himself.

“We believed this was the way of the future and the style of farming we wanted to pursue.”

Nearly two years after installing a Lely Astronaut the Southlander has learned cows on automated milking and feeding systems like to be left alone as much as possible – and they do better for it.

“The cows have become a completely different animal. They’re far more contented and relaxed, basically stress free. That had huge benefits for production and health traits for the cows,” he says.

Since installing the system, a hybrid, single-shed, automated system, he has extended milking by up to 35 days and lifted production by 20%.

Per cow milk production is 700kg MS compared to 560-580kg MS before robotics arrived in July last year.

Dinnington understands his platform is the first in the world with individual stalls and freebarn under one roof coupled with outdoor grazing.

Cows seem to be holding their production a lot longer, fertility and concept rates have risen, lameness has virtually been eliminated and mastitis cell counts are improving, he said.

“We had only about two lame feet last year whereas some people have about 10% lame feet so there’s a lot of production and animal health benefits.”

Average production for the spring calvers this season was a tad over 42 litres compared to a previous peak before automated milking of 37 or 38 litres. Since

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Southland farmer Bruce Dinnington has three Lely milking robots for his 350cow herd. introducing the Astronaut milkers cows are now fed strictly according to their production.

“It’s performance-based, if you like.

“The big-milking cows are getting more compared to the rest. We’re definitely seeing a benefit with those big milking cows as they’re fed the extra grain required to keep them going.”

The robotic system gives him other insights too, like cell count information from the quarter of each cow. That allows him to detect and treat mastitis more quickly.

As part of the automation cows stand on scales and an alarm sends an alert if animals have lost weight so potential health problems are discovered sooner.

“Coupled with that, the system also reduces your reliance on staff and it gives you a much better lifestyle as well.

So, it combines a lot of issues into one, which makes farming a more enjoyable environment.”

Dinnington wanted to retain outdoor grazing so his system is a kind of New Zealand hybrid featuring a freestall barn to avoid pasture damage in winter and across the wetter seasonal shoulders.

The cows enter the milking barn from the paddocks through Texas gates, down the side of the barn and through a drafting gate into the pre-milk area.

The cows have access to balage and water in that area and it’s there they wait their turn for the milking robot. The cows then pass through two back-scratchers into one of four lanes and onto a fresh break of grass.

The farm is divided into four grazing blocks and the barn gates leading to those different feed blocks change about every six hours. The cows are usually let into the hybrid feed barn at the end of April when they are fed balage at night. They still have free access to the milking robots through the Texas gates, which can also be lifted off to give the cows free access to the robots if desired.

“The main reason we use this barn is to protect the pastures from pugging and also to give the cows a dry bed at night. Once we get into June and July with conditions a lot colder the cows can stay in here 24 hours a day.”

The shed has 360 stalls so there’s more than enough room for the entire herd. He says three-quarters of the cows that went through the robot the first time needed no further handling to get the hang of it.

The remaining cows had it sorted in two or three days.

“It shows you how quickly the cows adapted to this system - far quicker than the farmer does. The last group that were waiting behind to be milked were actually waiting for us. So since we walked away from the shed and left them to it the cows went through by themselves.”

His approach since then has been to step back and let the cows flow by themselves.

“The cows have trained far better than we thought and they’re free-roaming around the farm as they please.”

Dad Alan does the tractor driving and mum Noeline rears the calves with help from a Lely automatic calf feeder. n

59

BETTER BULLS BETTER CALVES

Samen’s top bulls Farmers looking for beef bulls to use over their dairy herd have a varied choice from Samen New Zealand’s more exotic breeds.

Short gestation Belgian Blue

Simmental

Red Wagyu

The leading edge in Dairy Beef Solutions. Samen New Zealand’s carefully selected, easy-calving, shortgestation Belgian Blues (the shortest on the market) have been bred for decades to bring more days in milk and a viable, colour-marked, soughtafter, beef-cross animal dedicated to helping dairy farmers and beef rearers maximise profit and remove/reduce bobby calf wastage.

Glenside Crumpy is an incredible Simmental that has ranked as the top Simmental in the Beef + Lamb dairy beef trial.

With balanced gestation and calving ease for the dairy farmer and growth rates for the beef farmer he produces those grey, diluted Simental-Friesian calves that so often top the calf sales.

Teaming up with Southern Stations Wagyu the Samen Red Wagyu is being offered to dairy farmers across NZ with lucrative dairy-beef contracts.

The Red Wagyu animals produce high-quality marbled meat and have been developed for the Japanese and Korean markets.

Blonde d’Aquitaine

Inra

Charolais

The Inra breed is a double-muscled composite especially developed for dairy beef in Europe with superior calving ease growth yield and gestation.

Samen has selected one of the easiest-calving Inra sires that also has short gestation in the breed and some great colour marking traits making him yet another fantastic dairy beef option.

Fortune is an outstanding bull bred in Europe especially for the dairy-beef market.

A top of his breed bull for calving ease with extreme muscle growth and spectacular yield.

Fortune’s calves are set to make a premium over any other Charolais with his increased muscling.

Gexan is yet another shining star in the specialist dairy-beef solutions team from Europe.

This Blonde d’Aquitaine boasts calving ease, great muscling and yet another colour marking option.

The calves are sure to make an impression.

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DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Zero bobby calves

BETTER BULLS BETTER CALVES

BRAD MARKHAM

Ryan and Billie Moffat milk 460 cows at Waimate on 145 hectares and adopted a zero bobby calf policy from the outset.

produced 262,000kg of milksolids and targeted 550kg MS/cow for the 2019-20 season.

“We usually rear about 160 replacement heifer calves, selling 40 after weaning.

They go to a local buyer or are sold to the export market,” Billie says.

“There’s still a big demand for the heifers. People are starting to look for quality over high BW. We’ve been really impressed with our Samen calves. Last spring’s calves are probably the best we’ve had.”

The couple is in their second season doing all artificial insemination.

The main bulls they use are SeagullBay MVP-ET, ABS Joppolo PP-ET, Co-Op Bosside Massey-ET and DE-SU 11236 Balisto-ET. “In the final four weeks of mating we mix it up a bit and use Angus, Speckle Park, Belgium Blue and Wagyu semen,” Ryan says.

There’s limited demand for bull calves out of crossbred and Jersey cows.

Rising two-year-old heifers are run with Angus bulls on a run-off owned by Ryan’s parents.

“Our beef calves have always been highly sought-after. Mum and dad now buy our beef calves. They take them right through to finishing, where they’re worth around $2000/head based on current prices,” he says.

“Here in the South Island we get $100$150 for four-day-old calves, which is significantly more than what a bobby calf is worth.” n

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HE versatility of Holstein Friesians is being credited with allowing a young South Canterbury couple to produce zero bobby calves.

Ryan and Billie Moffat milk 460 cows at Waimate on the 145 hectare farm they bought off Ryan’s parents Mike and Chris Moffat last year after buying their herd four years earlier.

“Our business doesn’t produce any bobby calves,” Billie says.

“We’ve always had a strong market for our surplus heifer and beef calves.

That’s a huge benefit of farming Holstein Friesians.

“There’s limited demand for bull calves out of crossbred and Jersey cows.”

Six years ago they started using Samen’s overseas genetics over their herd.

“We were quite a high BW herd and used a lot of genetics from other breeding companies,” Ryan says.

“But the genetic pool was getting too tight and we wanted to breed a higherproducing, medium-sized Holstein Friesian cow.”

In the 2018-19 season the herd

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May 2020

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BETTER BULLS BETTER CALVES

A life-long love of Herefords A Bay of Plenty farmer reckons there is nothing better than the sight of a Hereford with a white face and rich, red coat standing against the backdrop of green pasture. Elaine Fisher reports.

T

HE Davies name is well known in the world of Herefords, which is not surprising since they have been running Charwell Polled Herefords for more than a 100 years.

Peter and wife Penny now own the stud that celebrated its centenary in September with the sale of 104 bulls on the Taharoto farm near Whakatane.

“I admire other cattle breeds but I grew up with Herefords. They are in my blood.

I like the way they look and their docile temperament,” Peter says.

The family runs 300 cows on 800ha plus 200ha of leased land overlooking Lake Rotoma near Whakatane. The land is uneven and steep in places and with 150ha of hay country.

The cattle are run as a commercial enterprise being fed only grass and hay.

The property is of light soil type, mostly pumice and ash. It runs up to 400 metres above sea level and we experience quite long, cold winters. Consequently, the sale bulls shift and grow on well in other environments.

He believes the uneven contour of the farm also improves the performance of his animals.

“Climbing hills helps build fitness and muscle. We are focused on breeding structurally sound, fertile animals with quiet temperaments, clean shoulders and good neck extension, important for ease of calving, which is a priority for us.”

Ease of calving doesn’t necessarily mean calves have to be of low birth weight.

“So long as it’s easy to calve it makes more sense to have a cow calve a 48kg calf that reaches, say, 300kg at weaning because it could be worth $150 to $250 more than a lighter birth weight animal.

“I try to tell my dairy farmer clients that when they are buying bulls, ease of calving is paramount.”

It’s an important trait to Peter who says “I’m too old to be walking round the farm helping cows calve.”

Temperament is also high on his list, He will never sell an animal he would not buy himself.

“At weaning I put each bull in the yards

62

Bay of Plenty breeders Peter and Penny Davies last year celebrated 100 years of Charwell Polled Herefords.

on its own, watch its behaviour and write a scorecard. If it rushes round the yard, hangs its head or looks nervous it doesn’t score well but if it is relatively calm and composed the score is higher. Anything that exhibits aggression, no matter how good its other attributes, gets a one-way trip on a truck.

“I like an animal that presents herself or himself well – a bull that will look you in the eye and has a presence that commands respect – but does not show aggression.

His father often told him it can take decades to build a reputation as a breeder and five minutes to lose it. It’s advice he has always heeded to maintain his reputation and integrity.

Stored away in the Davies home are Hereford stud books dating back to 1919 containing meticulous records, initially by hand, and the details of all the stud animals, many with links back to the original Koanui and Maungahina bloodlines.

He is proud of Charwell Stud’s history, which began in 1918 when J H Gross of Ngaio Downs on the Kaikoura Coast bought five horned, registered Herefords from the McKenzie family’s Maungahina

I try to tell my dairy farmer clients that when they are buying bulls, ease of calving is paramount.

Stud at Masterton. The names of the Gross stud animals all began with the prefix Ngaio.

In 1919 Peter’s grandfather, Thomas Davies, bought Ngaio Downs and those original five cows, beginning a century of the family’s association with Hereford cattle.

In 1936 his father Tom bought a polled son of Royal Gem from Fred Humphries of Wilencote, Gisborne, and since then the family has used only polled sires for breeding.

In 1945 Tom bought the Charwell property on the inland road at Kaikoura and took his stud animals there, hence

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

the name. That’s where Peter grew up and inherited his love of farming and Hereford cattle.

In the 1960s Peter met Penny Bull, the daughter of a Rotorua farmer, and decided to move north. In 1965 he bought a 162ha block at Onepu and he and Penny were married. Money was tight but when the chance came to buy a neighbour’s property they took the plunge, supplementing their income by the capture and farming of wild deer from the surrounding bush. However, the animals were too hard on the light pumice soils, eroding it with constant fence walking so eventually all were sold.

In 1966 when his father died they took over Kaikoura farm and stud and by the mid 1970s began moving Hereford heifer calves north.

Farming Herefords in both islands continued until the day before the 2017 Kaikoura earthquake when Peter took 90 cattle to Manawahe.

“That was very fortunate for us as after the earthquake it could have taken weeks to get them out.”

Part of his philosophy in having stud animals in different islands is his hope to reduce the risk from diseases such as foot

The Davies family runs 300 cows plus heifers and bulls for sale on their 800ha farm at Whakatane.

and mouth. However, Mycoplasma bovis has demonstrated how far disease can spread so today he relies on operating a closed herd of animals that never leaves the property and is never leased out. He’s also very careful about who and where he buys from.

A lifetime of breeding and working with Herefords has increased his love of the

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cattle and he is proud the Charwell Stud has achieved its 100-year anniversary, making it the third oldest Hereford stud in New Zealand.

It’s a record he and Penny celebrated at the time of their spring bull sale,with their children Tom and Annabel, the fourth generation of Davies to be involved in the Charwell Stud. n

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BETTER BULLS BETTER CALVES

F

LIC’s finest beef

or many years New Zealand dairy farmers have been accustomed to using one index as a reference point for dairy bull selection but have not had that luxury when it comes to choosing their beef bulls.

LIC in conjunction with Rissington Cattle Company have created the Beef Selection Index (BSI) where farmers can now compare Angus, Simmental and Profit Maker bulls across one index using data out of the Leachman Global $Profit multi-breed analysis which is also genomically enhanced by Zoetis.

The index puts emphasis on the traits that are important to dairy farmers like calving ease and gestation length then adds the traits sought after by graziers/finishing operators like carcase value and how efficient animals are in converting feed into growth.

SIMMENTAL

ANGUS Code

Name

BSI

Feed Gain

718115

Rissington C200

966

Top 1% Birth weight

EPD

-2.0

Top 1% Gestation length

New Zealands #1 ranked bull from NZBLG Dairy Beef Progeny Test Scheme, September 2019

-12.2

Days

Top 1%

PROFIT MAKER

Code

Name

BSI

Feed Gain

Code

Name

BSI

Feed Gain

719024

Rissington AF182

862

Top 80%

720250

Docs Remedy

933

Top 10%

Birth weight

EPD

Rissington AF182 ranks within the top 1% for Yearling Weight, Carcass Weight and total Retail Product value.

4.0

Code

Name Lord Stars

EPD

Top 85%

Top 1% Gestation length

-3.1

Days

Top 15%

Profit MakerÂŽ is a composite breed made up primarily of Angus and Simmental bloodlines.

Average 282 days

SGL HEREFORD IMF

Speckling

Top 15%

90%

Code

Name

814103

Shrimptons Hill 130015

IMF

Eye Muscle

Top 55%

Top 80%

Birth weight

EBV

Lord Stars a white Speckle Park bull is Homozygous polled and our easiest calving Speckle Park bull.

64

-1.8

Gestation length

SPECKLE PARK

717176

Birth weight

Birth weight

-0.7

EBV

12.1

Top 5%

Top 2%

Gestation length

Gestation length

EBV

-0.2

Top 40%

Shortest gestation and easy calving individual SGL Hereford bull now available outside of stand pack option.

EBV

-8.5

Top 1%

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Our Premier Teams are still taking to the field.

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There's always room for improvement DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

65

BETTER BULLS BETTER CALVES

First Light feels right

N

ORTH Canterbury farmers Peter and Joc Kinney have been farming at Culverden for the past 20 years.

Their four sons – Charlie, Sam, Alex and Max – are the fifth generation to live on Ballindalloch where they milk 1200 cows on the 326ha site, which has a 220ha dairy support block down the road. Next to that is Beechwood, a 275ha beef farm running 1300 to1400 cattle, of which 35% are Wagyu.

All three farms are run separately but in conjunction with each other and each is under centre pivot irrigation with water supplied through the Amuri Irrigation Company, which acts as a collective and audits their on-farm environmental plans.

It’s feeling that connection with the land and the stock and with what we do.

The Kinneys initially bought Beechwood to convert to dairy but Peter says the climate was changing and they also wanted to diversify the farming operation. It has also ensured the ongoing involvement of the boys, two of whom are boarders in Christchurch with the younger two at the local area school.

“Having the boys involved is very important to us,” Joc says.

“It’s feeling that connection with the land and the stock and with what we do.”

In 2015 they were looking at beef options to diversify their beef operation and bought some Wagyu weaners.

“We heard about them through word of mouth. We were looking at different beef options and Wagyu came out as an option that gave us a bit of diversity within the beef operation,” Peter says.

In the following years they came to understand more about First Light as a company and its aspirations.

“We liked what First Light was all about – a leading company doing innovative things, controlling the process from the 66

growing through to the sale.”

Joc says they also liked that it was New Zealand-owned and how it evolved.

“It has a good feel about it.

“It involves other farming families.

Some are quite different to us but we’re all on the same page. It does actually feel like a family and I really like that,” she says.

“Plus it is front-footing and leading all those customer-driven aspects such as grass-fed, antibiotic free, non-GMO, certified humane and the whole animal welfare side. Rather than waiting for things to happen First Light was taking a leading step in that regard.”

The dairy herd is the breeding platform to supply the beef animals for the beef unit.

“We’re using sexed semen over our best dairy cows to generate our replacements, which gives us the ability to use more beef semen over the rest of the herd cows,” Peter says.

“Wagyu fits in there strongly in that we mate our first-calving yearling heifers to Wagyu where otherwise they would probably be mated to Jersey and their calves bobbied. The Wagyus are easy calving and this captures value from those animals that would otherwise be lost.”

The Wagyu calves are mostly reared on Beechwood by the dairy team. They are grass fed on irrigated pasture and wintered on fodder beet, pasture and silage.

Peter and Joc Kinney own three farms in North Canterbury including a beef finishing farm where they run Wagyu for First Light.

“We enjoy working with the Wagyu cattle - their temperament is very good and they are relaxing to work with. We enjoy the challenge of getting the best out of these cattle by striving to achieve high marble scores.” n

The Wagyu breed is used over the Kinneys’ dairy heifers because it is easy calving and adds value to calves.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Jerseys on

the rise

•

T

HE Jersey breed is on the rise.

That’s the message being reflected in stock and semen sales, Jersey Advantage committee chairman Ben Watson says.

“The economic benefits are undeniable and we’re seeing the market respond to that.”

It’s a sentiment Link Livestock general manager Ross Riddell agrees with.

“Demand for Jersey herds and stock lines has been significantly ahead this season and we’re getting good interest in surplus in-calf Jersey stock,” Riddell says.

“Prices for in-milk stock are at least as high as the other breeds but in many cases higher due to shortage in supply.

“The drought conditions in many areas may exacerbate the problem and push prices higher with farmers not in a feed position to carry surplus in-calf cows through to the end of the season for other farmers to purchase.”

LIC, which supplies semen to about 80% of the industry, also experienced an increase in Jersey semen sales this season.

Jersey sales of LIC’s flagship AB product – Premier Sires – ended the season 2% ahead of last year at 14% while its frozen product was also up 2% to 21% of total frozen straws.

With increased demand for Jersey semen LIC has decided to extend the fresh sexed semen offering next season to include Jersey.

All this is good news for those wanting to get more Jersey genetics in their herd, Watson says.

“There’s long been acknowledgment of the ability for Jerseys to convert feed into milksolids more efficiently than any other

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

•

• • •

•

Ben Watson, dairy farmer and Jersey Advantage committee chair, farms 1700 Jersey and Jersey X cows across three dairy farms in Walton and Piopio.

breed and we’re seeing renewed interest in Jerseys due to strong milk-fat prices. All indications are that a VCR of parity to 1.2 is the new normal.”

“Increasingly, farmers are also becoming aware of the breed difference in pregnancy rates. This spring the majority of Jersey herds are reporting non-pregnancy rates in the 7-12% range whereas the typical Holstein Friesian herd is around 11-17%.

“This variation makes a significant difference to year-on-year replacement rates, farm carbon emissions and the cost of rearing young stock,” Watson says.

The Jersey breed also has the advantage when it comes to those wanting A2 animals.

“Around 60% of the Jersey population carry the A2A2 gen compared to 44% for Holstein Friesian and 53% for crossbreeds,” Watson says.

“It’s certainly something farmers should be thinking about when they make their breeding decisions next season.” n

BETTER BULLS BETTER CALVES

CRV’s top five The team at CRV Ambreed has come up with its top five beef breed bulls for 2020 to help farmers decide what bulls they could use over their cows come mating.

Hereford

Charolais

Fertabull short gestation Hereford FertaBull straws contain semen from three elite Hereford sires in each dose. This increases the length of time the semen is viable, giving farmers a greater chance of getting their cows in-calf. The three Hereford bulls have been carefully selected together with partners Bluestone Herefords. They offer breed-leading short gestation, calving ease and growth EBVs. All three bulls are homozygous polled so no de-horning is required.

Angus

Focus Whitlock 75 Bred by Focus Genetics this young Angus sire has the benefits of short gestation length (-8.9EBV, breedplan April), calving ease and strong growth traits that will appeal to beef finishers.

He is a registered Angus and that qualifies him to use of the Angus X dairy tags, endorsed by Angus New Zealand

68

Kakahu Gerry PP Gerry was accepted into the Beef + Lamb dairy beef progeny test in 2017 and proved why he is an outstanding choice as a dairy beef sire. Gerry was number one for days to weaning 100kg calves, at 90 days. A proven low birth weight and easy calving Charolais bull with well-aboveaverage carcase traits. He has traits dairy farmers, calf rearers and finishers look for with the added bonus of being homozygous polled.

Speckle Park

Parkvale Mark Mark is a deep-bodied, wellmuscled bull with an impressive eye muscle area of 124sq cm and aboveaverage growth EBVs. This young sire also has the added bonus of being homozygous polled and produces easily identifiable colour markings.

Belgian Blue

Elk 41 Elk 41 has been selected from the Belgium Blue Group’s dairy beef programme for the bull’s extremely short gestation length (276 days) and calving ease qualities. This Belgian Blue also provides easily identifiable colour markings and the exceptional growth/muscle development through the double muscling gene and fineness of bones, ultimately resulting in greater carcase yields.

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

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It’s this kind of specialised rural knowledge that allows us to pass on valuable advice to farmers to help manage risk. Like advising dairy farmers to mark cows that need antibiotic treatment, so they stand out. At the end of the day, if we can help you avoid loss, it reduces stress, lost production and downtime. So why not get in touch with FMG to see how we can help you make some good calls on your farm. Call us on 0800 366 466, or go to fmg.co.nz

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May 2020

69

Est 1993

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180 Registered & Purebred 1 year & 2 year Angus, Hereford, Murray Grey & Jersey Contact Robin Blackwell 06 762 4805 mangaotea@xtra.co.nz

THE

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Quiet and easy to handle. Instant white face recognition. Lower birth weights.

These are just some of the traits that define the HerefordX advantage.

Registered Herefords have an incredibly quiet nature.

We know a large number of dairy farmers allow their Hereford bulls on and off the milking platform and are confident their staff will be comfortable working with these docile animals. What’s more the highly sought after HerefordX commands a premium at all weight ranges, with 4 day old calves making up to $400.

Use our Dairy Beef Selection Index to calculate all pedigree information, and put it into a dollar value for you. Because the more dollars, the better. Right?

You can’t argue with genetics when it comes to maximising the value of your herd. To find out more about buying a registered Hereford bull, visit herefords.co.nz/bullsales or talk to your stock agent.

70

DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

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Our complete program (all 300 cows) is focused on ease of calving and heifer mating Good selection of bulls with growth and carcass attributes without compromising ease of calving FERTILITY Calve as 2 yr old Only 43 days mating - cows and 30 days mating - heifers Cull everything that doesn’t rear a calf

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DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

100 Yearling Angus bulls at our Annual sale, on farm

2nd Sept 2020, 12.30pm

Limehills Starter 1078 – a heifer-mating bull Top 5% calving ease. Top 10% 400 day growth Top 5% HPI Offering includes: 50 top Hereford bulls and 10 top Angus bulls Sale on the farm – 1 pm, 313 Maurice Rd, Glen Murray Contact: John Allen 027 440 7504 Kane Needham 027 839 3612

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Ross, Grace and Troy Herring from Whakatane, Bay of Plenty, spent an afternoon making their teddy.

Schools might have been closed but kids across the country are still studying and doing projects at home. Tamara Treymane from Isla Bank in Southland completed this for her school art project – the theme was Anzac.

The bear is Gordon from Gordon between Matamata and Te Aroha with his creators Emma, Lexi and Scott.

Sharemilkers George and Megan Hoffman from Tahuna, Morrinsville, paid tribute to the Anzacs with this touching display at the end of their drive including George’s great grandfather, also named George Hoffman, a farmer and soldier from the Hauraki Plains.

This wee fella from Grant and Kathryn Lovelock began as a teddy bear but had a couple of different outfit changes including this Easter look.

Amy White and Jeremey Clarke from Spring Creek Blenheim got creative with their bear, right.

One last word …

I

T HAS taken an amazing effort from everyone and we can be proud of what we have achieved in the fight against covid-19 but even though the country has dropped to level three little has changed really.

Government advice is still to stay at home and do only essential travel.

We have already put in the hard yards so now is not the time to become complacent and think that just because new cases have dropped to single digits life can return to normal. There is still

74

work to be done and if we all continue to do our part we can look forward to returning to pre-covid life.

Doctors, nurses, lab technicians, supermarket workers, cleaners, truck drivers and emergency services and many others have kept the country going. Farmers have continued fighting the good fight and we can proudly say not only are primary industries the only ones that have earned revenue for the country but they have continued producing food for the nation.

And living rurally did not meant that

farmers couldn’t join in the nationwide teddy bear hunt. Thanks to all those who sent in their photos of their teddy bears made from bales and old tyres and anything else they could find. Kiwis also went the extra mile to remember our Anzacs. What a great effort. Keep up the great work everyone and stay safe.

Sonita

Like us: farmersweekly.co.nz Follow us: @DairyFarmer15 Read us anywhere: farmersweekly.co.nz DAIRY FARMER

May 2020

Built To Last Longer

Production up 28%

“The BvL mixes very well, its solidly built and has made our life a whole lot easier. In conjunction with our barn, we increased our production by 28% in its first year without increasing feed costs,” Tony & Lucas Allcock, Waikato.

Less Wear, Less Costs, Less Time

“We can run our BvL at a lot lower RPM than our previous machines. Fuel consumption is down, wear ‘n’ tear is down, and mixing time is down.

It is a win-win situitation with the BvL,” George Campbell, Waikato

Flawless Mixing Job

“The BvL is proving very reliable, it’s easy to drive and does a flawless mixing job. With it being a critical part of our operations, we feel that this is very important to us,” Aad Van Leeuwen, Canterbury

BvL: The Longer Lasting Mixer Wagon Can you afford not to have a BvL? 600 cow Waikato dairy farmer Richard Greenville upgraded from a feedout wagon to a BvL Mixer Wagon. He did not change his ration, and in his first season, which was very dry, he added another 15MS. Production increase: 600 cows x 15MS = 9000MS Payout est: $6.00/MS BvL Lease costs per month (est)*: $1,700 Total extra earnings: $33,600/Year *All finance is subject to normal lending criteria

With over 55 years experience selling equipment to New Zealand contractors and farmers, Webbline is well placed to offer you their huge source of knowledge that ensures the right equipment is matched to your specific farming needs, the first time. Add to that, attractive and convenient leasing options and you have all the right reasons to talk to Webbline about getting the best out of your new BvL Mixer Wagon.

Call 0800 932 254 now for an expert assessment or visit www.webbline.co.nz for more details.