New Thinking

Sheep milker looks to future

Award-winning Christchurch farmers Ian MacDonald and Tanya Whiteford spoke to Richard Rennie about their pioneering on-farm mobile milking system.

TRYING to run a Ian. He has a strong background small-scale farm in animal breeding and has been economically on the crossing Lacaune, East Friesian, edge of Christchurch Awassi and Dorper genetics in an amid the creep of effort to deliver what he describes high-value lifestyle blocks is a as a “Land Cruiser” of milking challenge for any farmer. But it is sheep, rather than a Ferrari. even greater for Ian MacDonald He has gone as far as creating a and Tanya Whiteford, embarking selection index based on his early on running a commercial sheep efforts in Motueka where Brian milking operation. Their highly Beuke of Neudorf milked Ian’s innovative approach to dealing fledgling flock 2009-15 through with those challenges has not a plant that had milk meter only assured the future of his technology on it. This enabled Ian farm business, but earned them to build a picture of the higher the inaugural B.linc Celebrating performing animals. Success Innovation Award for onHe has also opted for a “wean farm design. then milk” approach with his

Tipping milking convention flock, leaving lambs on their on its head, Ian decided the ideal mums until weaning at 15kg, and approach for milking his dairy then continuing to milk the ewes sheep was to visit them in the OAD. paddock, rather than have them “It will tend to yield less than undergo the traditional trudge the more conventional dairy their other dairy relatives have type approach taken by some done for generations. of the bigger Taupo sheep milk

His idea to create a mobile operators, but we feel comfortable milking platform came as much with this approach, and our from looking over the horizon of customers do too,” he said. his farm’s future, as it did from But his decision to opt for a present day practicalities. mobile milking plant took the

“We were wanting to milk 300 operation to a whole new level of sheep on a 22ha block that is very pioneering. close to town, and looking around The New Zealand Farm dairy will probably eventually become operational code of practice (COPlifestyle blocks,” he said. NZCP1) is based around dairy cow

“I realised I could spend sheds, with specific requirements $500,000 building a sheep dairy, managing hygiene and effluent. only to have the next person It did not easily allow for a mobile come along and put no value on it design. because they don’t want the land “I found in some areas the for that reason.” COP was not appropriate for

He reasoned a good option small ruminants. I had to write to the usual concrete and steel variations to the code and dairy solution was to trailerise his demonstrate to MPI it could milking infrastructure, putting be done through an 18-month the entire system on wheels and validation process,” he explained. making it capable of being trailed It took four and a half years of around the farm for the once-aproblem solving. day (OAD) milking exercise. First came a “proof of concept”

It also seemed logical to have eight-bail machine, then 18 a movable asset that could be months to the validated 16-bail shifted to a bigger farm as the trailer, and 18 more months for sheep milk market allowed the latest 20-bail iteration. growth. The eight-metre-long machine

Tipping convention on its head has eight innovations that is not a breach of character for helped Ian get it over the line for

“I found in some areas the Code of Practice was not appropriate for small ruminants. I had to write variations to the code and demonstrate to MPI it could be done through an 18 month validation process

PORTABLE: Ian MacDonald felt compelled to create a fully self-contained, portable sheep milking system for his small block near Christchurch.

the MPI validation process.

This includes an inboard effluent storage and distribution system, where post-milking effluent can be distributed across the farm via a dispersal system controlled by bluetooth from the cab and captured on a field navigation system.

High quality Norwegian milk vat and chilling technology pulls the milk down to 3°C, even lower than NZ standards required.

The two-vat system on the 4WD truck towing the trailer is the same type incorporated into milking systems used on the Swiss-French border for milking cows.

An efficient Canterbury-built mobile wood-fired boiler heats water to 85°C in two hours for plant washdown after milking.

Between four to five litres of diesel is used by the 22kVh generator per day and refrigeration is plugged into mains power after milking.

Overall, running costs for the entire system are low and it can be run by one-labour unit.

The 20-bail unit can push through 200 sheep an hour, while also distributing 250g of uncrushed barley as supplement feed via a venturi air-powered feed delivery system.

Overall, he says it was not so much technical problems that presented the greatest initial challenges, rather convincing authorities what he had conceived was possible.

“We needed to demonstrate we fully understood the ‘fit for purpose’ intent of the code,” he said. “MPI seemed tough at desklevel evaluation but fair in the field having seen the system operating and the excellent validation results.”

Ian installed raceways around the farm for locating the trailer milker, ensuring sheep entry and exit is well-defined, with water pipes handy to supply the plant’s plate cooler.

He admits he is not an engineer, and was happy to engage with well-known Canterbury dairy engineering family firm Read Milking Systems for much of the project.

University of Canterbury engineering school was also very helpful with student Thomas Frewen completing his masters thesis on the project.

The accompanying truck doubles as a collection point and milk tanker, and Ian can spend nine hours on the road twice a week distributing raw milk for The Sheep Milk Supply Group Ltd. This is to any of six cheese making clients around central South Island that are shared with two other Canterbury families also milking sheep.

Ian MacDonald Company Milking sheep farmer

“For us the plant is really just part of the jigsaw, and breeding the right ewe to fit our wean-to -milk system is another big part of it,” he said.

“We don’t have plans to make more and sell it. Our job as farmers is to make wholesome food in a sustainable way.”

GlobalHQ co-owner and sponsor of the B.linc competition Dean Williamson said the sheep milking unit stood out for its daring take on what constituted a milking system.

He said the judges respected Ian’s persistent, innovative efforts to get it over the line and help rewrite standards around milking plants.

B.linc Innovation based at Lincoln University campus is a collaberative group linking existing knowledge bases to startup companies across the agriscience and technology sector.

Julia Henson of B.linc said the awards have helped celebrate new ways of thinking and devleop innovative working solutions during the lockdown and beyond in New Zealand’s primary sector.

“All winners have shown incredibly innovative solutions alongside actionable pathways to improve outcomes for NZ primary industries,” she said.

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Watch the interview at: farmersweekly.co.nz/sarahscountry/

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