SYSTEMS FORAGES
Grant Rennie, AgResearch scientist explaining the trial plan to explore the potential of bananas as a forage crop for livestock.
Exploring the potential of bananas Words and photos by: Chris Neill
G
raeme and Carol Edwards continue to make clear choices about where they live and the business they operate. Their 240-hectare farm, of which 125 is effective pasture is surrounded by steep hill with both native and exotic forest cover, located at the north western extremity of a traditional mid-Northland dairy district, providing a relatively low investment base to achieve their primary KPI of return on asset. The other key ingredient to achieving this is a simple, low-cost farming system. 30
The Opouteke River which is highly rated for biodiversity bisects their farm and has large, mature riparian margins and plants. To maintain compliance and prepare for harvesting their own pine plantation, the river needed to be bridged. The siting of this led to a new 26-aside herringbone cowshed and associated dairy effluent system, effectively changing the whole farm configuration. It is a farm development investment that made economic and environmental sense. Milking 250 high BW (167/55) and PW (198/64) cows once a day for the whole season, has produced about 70,000kg
milksolids (MS) annually for the past five years. Predominantly a kikuyu farm with most of the farm undersown with annual rye to cover the shoulders of slow growth, and around 5% in turnip crop the cows are harvesting around 7.5 tonnes drymatter (DM)/ha. Nitrogen is usually applied in spring and late autumn at 100kg/ha. Silage is harvested when surplus pasture is available and palm kernel is used strategically averaging 150kg DM/cow. Recent changes in weather patterns have placed greater reliance on the use of silage, crop and as a last resort palm kernel through summer. In keeping with Carol and Graeme’s low-
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | January 2021
