SPECIAL REPORT
A different perspective By Andre van Barneveld
Andre van Barneveld is a consultant who lived in Ireland for several years. He recently returned home and shares his thoughts on sustainable farming practices in New Zealand dairy farming.
F
ollowing seven years in Ireland, the last five working under my own Graise Consultancy banner, it has been interesting to come back to NZ and travel around the North and South Islands looking at dairy farms/dairy businesses through different eyes than when I left. I have been a little surprised at how much NZ has changed and how far removed the dairy industry is from where it was when I was sharemilking in the 90s, farm ownership in the early 2000s and even when I was consulting here in the late 2000s. Chemical nitrogen use was minimal, palm kernel was just starting to become available and 300kg MS/cow was considered
reasonable production. Fast-forward 30 years and there has been a huge rise in nitrogen use, feeding 500 to 1000kg of palm kernel/cow is accepted practice, stocking rates have risen dramatically, but the two things that have not changed for many farms are that production is still below 350kg MS/cow on a large percentage of farms and profitability is pretty much static. Dairy farming in NZ is driven by two factors: profit and regulation. Change is only considered if it will be more profitable or it is forced by regulations, mainly environmental. Much of the decision-making should be based on the direction the industry is moving in and we know that dairy farming
will be governed by strict regulation around chemical nitrogen use, nitrate leaching and water quality, both in run-off as well as leached. So looking ahead, the question is how to remain productive and profitable with reduced input/ environmental impact. I don’t want to discuss “regenerative farming” here, it is not something I believe is a necessary direction, it is promoted as a system at the expense of all other farming systems, which is not healthy dialogue/ perception to create. It is a system that risks leading to a reduction in output which the world cannot afford – any reduction in output in NZ will be compensated for by an increase in output elsewhere
with much greater global environmental impact – and NZ soils are already bloody good, there is no need to “regenerate” soils, but we could do so with some finetuning. I recently heard that NZ soils are storing an average of around 90 tonnes of carbon per hectare, whereas Australia is at around 35t/ha and US at 45t/ha – NZ dairy farms run at 100-300t/ha. This means “regenerative” doesn’t really apply here, but “sustainable” does. Looking at the irrigated land, especially in Canterbury, it seems to me that soil quality has improved dramatically with the arrival of water, which initiated a large-scale conversion from cropping to dairy.
Why do we love our cows like they’re family? Because they are family Treating your animals with respect and kindness is vital. To us, it’s how we farm. In fact, we aim to be world leading in animal care. Why? Because we’re dairy farmers and we rise to the challenge. And it’s in these moments we shine.
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DAIRY FARMER
May 2021
