Windy Ridge Farms

TESTIMONIAL

Mark and Vicki Sanson

“To get the best results out of your cows, you need to have the best tucker going in” according to Mark and Vicki Sanson. Their property “Windy Ridge” is a 450 ha dairy unit situated approximately 10 minutes east of Otorohanga. This is a system 4 unit, with a strong focus on maintaining cows at peak condition in order to get the best production out of them. Mark milks Holstein Friesian cows, which are very impressive when they walk past.

These cows have a large appetite, which Mark satisfies using a variety of products. This blend is fed out on his large feed pad. The most important component however, is the maize.

Mark grows around 50 ha of maize both on his platform and run-off every year. While maize is a vital part of his feed for the cows, it is also an important tool for regrassing on the platform.

Mark grows an early-maturing hybrid, C29-A1, on his platform and on his run-off blocks he uses longer maturing hybrids. This season he used Plenitude and given the extreme dry that the area has suffered, it has done really well.

The C29-A1 hybrid grown on his milking platform means he is able to grow a high yielding and great quality crop while also being able to take it off early enough to get his grasses planted and established. C29-A1 is a 96 CRM and on the milking platform conditions produce a very high yielding “massive” crop.

Yields in excess of 20 tDM/ha are not uncommon, in a typical year the yields are around 23 tDM/ha. His milking platform paddocks are rotated each year to improve the overall grass production, and removing generations of weeds in the process. The paddock rotation is key to the high yields that are achieved. When you cultivate soils that have been in pasture for a long time you unlock a lot of readily available nutrients. These nutrients are taken in by the maize crop and help it to produce the crop Mark is after. The crop paddocks on the run-off blocks are planted in annual grass after the maize has been harvested, which is cut in the spring and stacked at the home farm.

Plenitude this season, considering the drought pressure it has been put under, has performed really well. Plenitude is a solid performer in the Otorohanga area, with a proven track record of high yields. Some results have been as high as 27 tDM/ha over a weighbridge.

Maize has been an integral part of Mark’s system since he first arrived at Windy Ridge in 2004. He only grew a small area at first, but once he started increasing herd numbers he started increasing the area to match. Maize has allowed Mark to increase his milking season to produce more from his cows, while keeping them in top condition going into the crucial times of year (mating, calving etc.).

The introduction of a feed pad into Mark’ s system was revolutionary. This allowed Mark to increase the utilisation of his maize and reduce the amount of damage occurring in paddocks. The increased utilisation has paid for the cost of installing the feed pad many times over and has also given Mark the option of standing cows off when the ground is wet as pugging damage can become a considerable environmental issue.

The feedpad has also allowed Mark to feed nutrient dense blends at specific times to support an increase in production. Maize silage provides the base for his feed blends, and the cows obviously enjoy what they are getting as there is very little left once they head into the shed.

Mark has grown a variety of maize varieties over his years at Windy Ridge and has been very happy with the Corson hybrids. Corson hybrids seem to work well on Mark’s property and have shown their resilience and stability, performing exceptionally well in good growing seasons while maintaining high yields during the challenging seasons.

With the great support from his local merchant representative and Mike Turner from Corson Maize, he is happy with the service and support he gets for his maize crop. Mark is looking forward to some of the new hybrids that are coming through the development pipeline to see how they perform in his environment. We don’t think he’ll be disappointed.

Content supplied by Corson Maize