BUSINESS WINTERING
One shot at wintering right Farmers have been warned that they will be scrutinised this winter over grazing situations where cows are standing in mud for long periods of time. Karen Trebilcock reports.
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nvironment capability manager Beef + Lamb New Zealand Tom Orchiston told farmers at a joint B+LNZ and DairyNZ field day at Telford in early May this winter was the one shot they had to get wintering right. “Everyone is looking at us this winter and we’ve got to show them we’ve got this. “We have to show them we don’t need rules and regulations and dates where we must have things done by. We can
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achieve successful wintering without them.” He said all winter grazing, whether on grass or crop, was considered as intensive winter grazing and farmers had to do the best they could at minimising the effects of it on the environment and on their animals. “Yes, you will have bad weather, yes, you will have unexpected events and things you have not planned for, but do the best you can do every day,” he said.
Farmers at a wintering field day at Telford in South Otago in early May work on a written wintering plan for the swede paddock.
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | June 2021
